8: Chapter 8 Heading to the Center of the Secret Realm

Xiang Tian sneered inwardly: Only a fool would believe her words!

This woman spoke with gentleness, but the calculation in her eyes could not be hidden. It was nothing more than an attempt to coax him into a good mood and extract that so-called "Legacy."

On the surface, however, he deliberately put on an appearance of being tempted, his tone ambiguous: "As long as Senior Sister Duanmu is willing, I can call off the marriage with Xiahou Yun at any time."

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Duanmu Hongdie's face instantly froze.

She was merely being polite; did this kid actually take it seriously?

She hurriedly retracted her coquettish demeanor and put on an earnest expression: "Junior Brother, when out and about, one relies on status and reputation. You must not do anything ungrateful! If it weren't for Xiahou Yun bringing you into the Haotian Sect, you would still be back in your hometown!"

Reaching a poignant moment, she even wiped away non-existent tears, "I cannot be so selfish as to ruin your reputation for the sake of my own feelings."

With that aggrieved appearance, anyone unaware of the truth might really believe her nonsense.

Xiang Tian, however, followed her lead, reaching out to take hold of her white, jade-like wrist: "If Senior Sister Duanmu truly wants to be with me, I am not afraid of bearing the infamy."

Duanmu Hongdie's wrist stiffened; this kid was deliberately taking advantage of her!

She tried to pull her hand back violently, but Xiang Tian took a step forward, wrapping his other arm around her waist, his tone frivolous: "Haha! Senior Sister Duanmu, there is no time like the present. There happens to be a cave up ahead; why don't we engage in Dual Cultivation to deepen our relationship?"

"You brat, how dare you play games with me!"

Duanmu Hongdie instantly bristled, her spiritual power surging, and a powerful wave of Qi blasted Xiang Tian away.

If she couldn't tell by now that Xiang Tian was toying with her, she might as well just go bang her head against a block of tofu and die!

"Bye-bye to you then!"

Xiang Tian took the Opportunity to pinch her waist, feeling the soft, warm touch, and then took to his heels.

"Don't run!" Duanmu Hongdie, both angry and annoyed, gave chase with rapid strides.

"I'm not stupid! Am I supposed to wait for you to castrate me?" Xiang Tian yelled without looking back, his heart in a panic.

This woman was notorious for her ruthless methods; if he were caught, the happiness of his lower half would be completely gone!

"When did this Senior Sister ever say I wanted to castrate you?" Duanmu Hongdie shouted while chasing, "Just tell me the secret of the Legacy, and we'll call it even!"

How could Xiang Tian believe her? He ran even faster, simultaneously calling out urgently in his mind: "System! Think of a way to help me shake off this wicked woman!"

[Isn't she just a woman? Wouldn't it be fine if the Host just "softened" her up?]

"What do you mean?" Xiang Tian was stunned.

[It just means Dual Cultivation with her! After Dual Cultivation, she will definitely cling to you like a little kitten. Once she has tasted the sweetness, how could she possibly still attack you?]

Xiang Tian rolled his eyes: "Dual Cultivation again? I don't even have the strength to resist right now; wouldn't going up there just be serving myself on a platter?"

[This System has already analyzed it. Duanmu Hongdie has superior Aptitude and is a decent Dao Companion; she definitely won't cheat on you!]

"Forget it! Let me survive under her hands first!"

The man and the woman chased and fled through the forest like this, and in the blink of an eye, three hours passed.

Both of them were exhausted and panting, and just at this moment, a figure in white suddenly blocked the middle of the path.

It was a man wearing a white robe with a handsome face.

"How long do you two intend to keep chasing?" the man said in a gentle voice.

"Hmm? Senior Brother Liu Jian?" Xiang Tian's pupils constricted.

Of course he recognized this person; the number one person in the Outer Sect, Senior Brother Liu Jian!

This person's swordsmanship was superb, unmatched in the Outer Sect, and even Duanmu Hongdie had to restrain herself in his presence.

"Senior Brother, are you also here to snatch the Legacy?" Xiang Tian looked at him vigilantly, mentally preparing for a big battle.

Duanmu Hongdie also stopped, looking at him with complex eyes; she did not believe anyone could resist the temptation of the "Legacy."

But Senior Brother Liu Jian shook his head, looked at Duanmu Hongdie, and said in a serious tone: "Junior Sister Duanmu, you must not act recklessly! Fellow disciples should help each other; how can you fight and kill over a little suspicion?"

He walked between the two, separating them, "The Legacy of Junior Brother Xiang is his own fate; we should not covet the Opportunity of others."

This statement not only exceeded Duanmu Hongdie's expectations, but even Xiang Tian was stunned.

There was actually someone who didn't covet his so-called "Legacy"? This Senior Brother Liu Jian was quite an upright person!

Xiang Tian hurriedly cupped his hands in a salute, his tone sincere: "Many thanks to Senior Brother for the rescue; in the future, I, Xiang Tian, will certainly repay the kindness of today!"

"Junior Brother Xiang, there is no need for such formalities," Senior Brother Liu Jian waved his hand, "That you could obtain this Opportunity is your good fortune; there is no need to dwell on it."

He paused, then added: "You should also want to get a good ranking on the Spirit Beast Hunting List, right? I suggest you go to the center of the Secret Realm. The density of Spirit Beasts there is higher, and they are stronger, which is suitable for training."

"Many thanks for the guidance, Senior Brother!" Xiang Tian cupped his hands again and turned to head toward the center of the Secret Realm.

Seeing this, Duanmu Hongdie hurriedly bowed to Senior Brother Liu Jian, her tone respectful: "Senior Brother, this Junior Sister was wrong; I should not have coveted Junior Brother Xiang's Legacy. To express my apology, I will apologize to him right now."

After saying this, she turned to look at Xiang Tian, and taking advantage of his distraction, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and gave him a "smack" on the face.

"Damn it! Are you trying to use a honey trap on me?" Xiang Tian retreated a step violently and reached out to wipe the saliva off his face.

Duanmu Hongdie watched his actions, her teeth itching with anger, but she could only forcibly suppress her rage!

Seeing the two "reconcile," Senior Brother Liu Jian nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, it is well that you can bury the hatchet. The time for training in the Secret Realm is limited; I still have to go hunt Spirit Beasts, so I will take my leave."

After saying this, he tapped his toes and quickly disappeared into the forest.

As soon as Senior Brother Liu Jian left, the gentleness on Duanmu Hongdie's face instantly vanished, replaced by a cunning smile: "Hehe! Junior Brother, weren't you running quite fast just now?"

"What do you want to do? Senior Brother hasn't gone very far yet!" Xiang Tian retreated a step vigilantly.

"I am your Senior Sister; what could I possibly do to you?" Duanmu Hongdie stepped forward quickly, grabbed his arm, and deliberately rubbed her fingers gently against his arm, "Isn't it better if we go hunt Spirit Beasts together? With me here, no one will dare to bully you."

Xiang Tian only felt waves of soft tactile sensations coming from his arm, but his heart ached; this woman had absolutely not given up on calculating against him!

In the end, it was all the fault of those two guys, Qin Yan and Qin Qiong. If they hadn't spread the news of the "Legacy" everywhere, he wouldn't be targeted by so many people.

"Senior Sister Duanmu, with a personality like yours, I'm afraid you won't be able to find a Dao Companion in the future." Xiang Tian tried to persuade her.

"If I can't find one, then I can't. Who says a woman must find a man?" Duanmu Hongdie didn't care at all, and even deliberately moved closer to him.

Before he could speak, Duanmu Hongdie pulled him toward the depths of the dense forest: "Follow me; I know where there are Spirit Beasts. We will hunt together, and our ranking will definitely be high!"

For the rest of the journey, with Duanmu Hongdie "escorting" him, indeed no one dared to come and cause trouble for Xiang Tian.

But precisely because of this, all the Spirit Beasts were snatched up by Duanmu Hongdie to be hunted, and Xiang Tian didn't even have a chance to make a move. The number of Spirit Beast carcasses in his Storage Pouch remained pitifully low.

After walking for half a day like this, a deafening beast roar suddenly rang out.

They saw that in the clearing ahead, a leopard the size of an ox was eyeing them like a tiger watching its prey.

That leopard was covered in black stripes, its fangs exposed, and its eyes were fierce; it was exactly a Tier 2 Spirit Beast, the "Black-veined Leopard"!

Xiang Tian frowned tightly; this Black-veined Leopard was definitely not something Duanmu Hongdie could handle.

"You wait here; I'll go take care of it!" Duanmu Hongdie took a deep breath and pulled a red-tasseled spear from her Storage Pouch.

Previously, hunting Tier 2 Spirit Beasts was always done by groups working together. Since learning that Xiang Tian had the "Legacy," everyone had dispersed to search for him, and no one was teaming up anymore.

But she did not believe she couldn't even handle a single Spirit Beast.

"Watch my red-tasseled spear!"

Duanmu Hongdie shouted loudly and thrust the spear toward the Black-veined Leopard.

But the Black-veined Leopard reacted extremely quickly, violently dodging to the side, while simultaneously swinging its thick front paw and slapping the shaft of the spear.

"Bang!"

The tremendous force sent Duanmu Hongdie flying, along with her spear.

"This beast has quite some strength!" Duanmu Hongdie wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and rushed up again, unconvinced.

"Bang!"

With another loud bang, she was slapped away by the Black-veined Leopard again. This time she fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a long while.

After repeating this several times, Duanmu Hongdie had added several wounds to her body, her face as pale as paper, yet the Black-veined Leopard was still full of vitality.

"Senior Sister Duanmu, are you actually capable or not? If not, let's just run away quickly!" Xiang Tian watched with trepidation, having already developed the intention to retreat in his heart.

If even Duanmu Hongdie couldn't beat it, him going up there would just be throwing his life away!

"Hmph! Today, I am determined to beat this beast down!" Duanmu Hongdie gritted her teeth, struggled to climb up from the ground, and charged up with her spear again.

"Bang!"

Another crushing defeat; she slammed heavily onto the ground and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"Stop acting tough! If you won't leave, I'm leaving first!" Xiang Tian said, having already retreated two steps, ready to turn and run at any moment.