141: The taste of our ancestors

The Huan Demon Sect's dungeon was buried hundreds of feet beneath the mountain range. Sunlight never reached this place. The damp stone walls oozed with dark red moss like congealed blood, and the air was thick with the stench of rotting flesh mixed with the cloying sweetness of an aphrodisiac incense. This was meant to break the will of captured Cultivators with desire, reducing them to powerless Cauldrons.

Lin Chen, clad in black robes, tightly gripped the Saintess's token given to him by Su Mei, which emitted an enticing purple glow.

With the Saintess's personal guard leading the way, the Devilish Cultivators guarding the gates dared not even approach to question him, nor even raise their heads. They could only kneel on either side, watching Lin Chen's tall and domineering figure stride into this forbidden place.

"Revered Master, the lowest level is just ahead. That's where they keep the recently captured Ascendants, and a few... are the 'premium beings' the Sect specifically requested to be offered to the Old Ancestor." A female Cultivator in purple respectfully whispered, yet her eyes couldn't help stealing glances at Lin Chen's broad shoulders.

Lin Chen gave a slight nod, his gaze cold as a blade. His human emperor's eye had already pierced through the layers of black mist, sensing a familiar presence. In several cells at the end of the corridor, many women from the Lower Realm were indeed imprisoned. One of them was a former personal maid who had served Luo Bingli, now curled in a corner, trembling.

However, just as Lin Chen prepared to step towards that cell, a faint yet exceptionally pure aura, tinged with a sharp Sword Intent, seeped out from a specially constructed water prison cell in the deepest part.

That aura was utterly out of place in this lewd, dark demonic Sect dungeon, like a dying white lotus in a pool of filth.

A flicker of thought crossed Lin Chen's mind. He turned and walked towards that water prison.

The heavy dark iron door was pushed open with a piercing screech of friction. Inside the water prison, icy Xuanming black water rose to the woman's waist.

What a sight it was.

A woman was brutally pinned to the cold stone wall by four thick Spirit-Sealing Nails driven through the joints of her limbs. Her originally snow-white long gown was now stained with dark red blood. Having been soaked in the cold water for so long, the gown clung tightly to her graceful figure, outlining a breathtakingly mature curve.

Her head was bowed, a cascade of jet-black hair falling in disarray, obscuring her face. Yet, even so, the innate, righteous leader's aura of cool purity and noble integrity emanating from her very bones was unmistakable.

Liu Ruyan. Former Fairy of the Azure Thunder Sword Sect, the current Sect Master's Revered Master, and the wife of the fallen Sect Master.

"Who is it?"

Hearing the noise, Liu Ruyan lifted her head with difficulty. Though her face was deathly pale, though she was gravely injured, her starlike eyes still held an unyielding, proud defiance.

It was a stunning beauty born from the dignified grace of a mature woman intertwined with the sharp edge of a Sword Cultivator.

"Someone from the Azure Thunder Sword Sect?" Lin Chen stopped, looking down imperiously at this "bloodstained white lotus."

Liu Ruyan saw the newcomer clearly and found it was actually a handsome young man with a profound aura. A bitter smile touched her lips. "The Hehuan Sect... when did they become so generous as to use such a premium male Cultivator to humiliate me? If you intend to Dual Cultivate, get on with it. Spare me the chatter."

Lin Chen ignored her sarcasm. He stepped forward slowly, his boots making steady splashes in the accumulated water. He reached out, his hand gripping Liu Ruyan's icy-smooth, snow-like chin with domineering force, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"I will save you. But the price is, your life belongs to me."

Liu Ruyan's breath hitched slightly. She had never seen a man with eyes so domineering, even carrying a regal majesty. Instinctively, she wanted to despise this member of the opposite sex before her, yet under the gaze of those dark eyes, her long-frozen Sword Heart trembled inexplicably.

"Save me? Hah, these Spirit-Sealing Nails were implanted by the combined efforts of the Sect's Elders. Only the Old Ancestor could... Ah!"

Before Liu Ruyan could finish, her words dissolved into a soft, startled cry.

Lin Chen's large hand had already covered the most crucial nail embedded in her abdomen.

The Human Emperor's pure Yang Qi erupted instantly!

That pure, vast, and undeniable force instantly dispersed the insidious Devilish Qi. Lin Chen's actions were not gentle; they carried a plundering, domineering quality.

"Endure it."

He commanded in a deep voice, then exerted force abruptly.

*Rip—!*

Accompanied by Liu Ruyan's pained, suppressed moan, the Spirit-Sealing Nail buried deep in her bone marrow was forcibly pulled out by Lin Chen.

The process of detoxification and healing was long and ambiguous. Since the Devilish Qi had penetrated her Meridians, Lin Chen had to use his own Yang Qi, through direct physical contact, to gradually draw out the toxins.

Lin Chen held this cool-as-snow, yet voluptuously mature, delicate body in his arms. Liu Ruyan had always been extremely averse to a man's touch; she was a symbol of the Righteous Path, a forbidden fruit of her Sect. But at this moment, enveloped by that scorching body heat and that domineering aura, she found her originally depleted Dantian beginning to stir back to life.

"You... just who are you?" Liu Ruyan bit her vermilion lips tightly, allowing Lin Chen's palm to roam over her back. She was overwhelmed with shame and indignation, feeling her decades of cultivation crumbling bit by bit under this intimate contact.

"I am your creditor."

Lin Chen sneered coldly. From his System space, he retrieved a drop of Human Emperor Divine Blood radiating a sacred aura and directly pressed it against Liu Ruyan's lips.

As the divine blood entered her body, Liu Ruyan's depleted form instantly erupted with astonishing vitality. Her deathly pale skin began to regain its rosy hue, and the light in her eyes grew sharp once more.

She looked at Lin Chen. This man had just saved her, a leader of the Righteous Path, right in the heart of the demonic Sect's dungeon, in front of countless Devilish Cultivators. Even before she could fully process it, he was already treating her as his private property.

"Liu Ruyan, remember this feeling." Lin Chen released his hold, letting the mature body, now glowing with renewed vitality, stand steady on its own. "Three days from now, at the Ten Thousand Devils Grand Ceremony, I will personally send you back to the Azure Thunder Sword Sect to reclaim what is yours. Of course... I will collect the interest myself."

Liu Ruyan looked at him, her expression incredibly complex. There was gratitude, awe, and even a hint of a deeply buried longing she herself didn't dare acknowledge.

"Yes, Mas... Revered Master." In the end, she lowered her noble head. That cool, proud aura was completely subdued by Lin Chen in this moment.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Chen opened his human emperor divine kingdom.

It was a personal spatial realm he had comprehended upon becoming emperor. In a flash of light, Liu Ruyan and dozens of other Ascendants from the cells were all drawn into it.

The dungeon fell into dead silence once more.

Lin Chen straightened his black robes and turned to leave.

Now, less than twelve hours remained until the Ten Thousand Devils Grand Ceremony.

Above the demonic Sect, crimson clouds had coalesced to their peak. Countless Devilish Cultivators cheered and rejoiced, awaiting the Old Ancestor's emergence from seclusion.

But they did not know that this so-called "Grand Ceremony," the pride of their Sect, would ultimately become the grand funeral Lin Chen had prepared for them.

Lin Chen walked out of the dungeon. Looking at the scarlet moon in the sky, the corner of his mouth curved into a cruel arc.

"Old Ancestor? Perfect. My divine kingdom still lacks nourishment at the Late Stage of Dao Integration."