224: Chapter 224 Kidnapping Wen Xiaoke

"Actually, Miss Wen, there's no need to worry about Purple Ghost Source Emperor, because he's already dead." The corners of Cao Yang's mouth curled up slightly, a hint of pride showing on his face.

"What? How is that possible? Fellow Daoist Cao, don't talk nonsense. Who could kill an expert like that? An expert of that level would surely sense it if someone spoke ill of him. Be careful not to bring disaster upon us," Wen Xiaoke said with a look of terror, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She hurriedly reached out her hand, trying to stop Cao Yang from continuing.

However, Cao Yang completely ignored her persuasion, appearing somewhat indifferent.

He laughed inwardly, thinking that this Wen Xiaoke was truly interesting, as cute as a startled little rabbit.

To tell the truth, Wen Xiaoke was indeed a unique woman.

Although she didn't possess the world-toppling beauty of Liu Ruyan, she was the type of woman who grew on you; the more you looked at her, the more stunning she became.

"That old ghost Purple Ghost Source Emperor has actually been killed by me. Miss Wen, you don't need to be afraid," Cao Yang said with a mischievous grin, intentionally raising his voice as he shouted.

"Ah!" Hearing this, Wen Xiaoke was startled. She stared with wide eyes, looking at Cao Yang in disbelief.

Afterward, she stomped her foot and said angrily, "How can you be like this! Fellow Daoist Cao, farewell! May we never meet again!" After saying that, she turned and fled quickly, seemingly afraid of being implicated by Cao Yang.

But she hadn't gone far before she was blocked by Cao Yang, who suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Fellow Daoist Cao, what exactly are you trying to do? Don't forget, I am also at the Peak of the Nine-Tribulation Saint Realm; my cultivation base is no lower than yours," Wen Xiaoke said, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh, Miss Wen, don't be angry. Being angry doesn't look good on you," Cao Yang continued to maintain his smile.

"Just now, I helped you find the truth behind the deaths of those two men. It seems inappropriate for Miss Wen to leave without even saying thank you," Cao Yang said calmly, his smile fading.

"This... what do you want? But I don't have anything valuable on me, only ten top-grade Divine Artifacts and one quasi-Sacred Artifact," Wen Xiaoke whispered, sounding a bit reluctant.

"No way, your Holy Land is spoken of so highly. As an Old Ancestor, are you really this poor? You don't even have a single Low Grade Sacred Artifact?" Cao Yang asked skeptically. He found it hard to believe that an Old Ancestor of a Holy Land could be so impoverished.

Wen Xiaoke sighed inwardly; she truly didn't have many precious treasures. Although she was at the Peak of the Nine-Tribulation Saint Realm, she was not wealthy in terms of cultivation resources.

Looking at Wen Xiaoke, Cao Yang couldn't help but feel puzzled as well.

He had originally thought Wen Xiaoke was someone with a powerful background, but now it seemed she wasn't as wealthy as he had imagined.

"It's true, I'm not lying to you! Sacred Artifacts are very rare treasures; they aren't that easy to come by! You've been staying here and haven't gone out to see the world, so of course you don't know the situation outside. Those who possess Sacred Artifacts are all established old-school Nine-Tribulation Peak Saints, while I just broke through to this Realm. How could I possibly have a Sacred Artifact?" Wen Xiaoke said with a wronged expression.

Seeing that Cao Yang still seemed skeptical, she hurriedly added, "Even many Extreme Dao Saints can only use High Grade or Medium Grade Sacred Artifacts! It's said that in the entire Huangyuan Universe, only three Extreme Dao Saints possess top-grade holy artifacts!"

Cao Yang nodded in agreement. In fact, he had believed Wen Xiaoke's words long ago; he was just intentionally teasing her.

At this moment, Cao Yang suddenly took out a dress radiating Holy Light, showed it to Wen Xiaoke, and asked, "Look at this, what is it?"

Wen Xiaoke took a closer look and cried out in surprise, "This... this is a Sacred Artifact!" Her eyes widened as she stared intently at the top-grade holy artifact in Cao Yang's hand, involuntarily swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"Wrong, this is a top-grade holy artifact. As long as you accompany me to travel in the world behind us for three days, it will count as repaying me for my previous help, and I will give this top-grade holy artifact to you." Cao Yang waved the top-grade holy artifact dress in front of his eyes.

"This? Don't take me for a fool. How could you just give me a top-grade holy artifact of inestimable value for nothing? You must have other motives," Wen Xiaoke said, having snapped out of her money-grubbing state over the top-grade holy artifact.

"Rest assured, you only need to accompany me on the flying ship to drink tea and look at the scenery. If you're worried about the tea being spiked, you don't have to drink it," Cao Yang explained.

Hearing Cao Yang's words, Wen Xiaoke actually really wanted to agree, but her reason told her there must be a catch.

After all, there was no such thing as a free lunch, and no one would give away a top-grade holy artifact for no reason.

She didn't think her charm was so great that it could make Cao Yang so generous.

She began to carefully consider Cao Yang's purpose and motivation, but no matter how she thought, she couldn't come up with a logical answer.

Wen Xiaoke hesitated, not knowing how to answer Cao Yang. On one hand, a top-grade holy artifact was indeed a huge attraction to her; on the other hand, she was afraid of falling into some kind of trap or trouble.

She decided to stall for time first to see if she could find more clues or understand Cao Yang's true intentions.

"Um... this proposal sounds good, but I need to think about it. After all, I have other things to handle," Wen Xiaoke said, pretending to be calm.

Cao Yang seemed to see through Wen Xiaoke's concerns and smiled, saying, "It's okay, you can take your time. However, this top-grade holy artifact won't always be available." After saying that, he intentionally waved the top-grade holy artifact dress in front of Wen Xiaoke before putting it away.

As Wen Xiaoke watched Cao Yang put away the top-grade holy artifact, she felt a sense of loss, but at the same time, she became even more determined not to agree easily.

She knew that if she really accepted this condition, she might face even greater risks and unknowns.

Thus, she decided to continue observing Cao Yang's actions and look for more information to judge whether it was worth the risk.

Seeing that she had truly resisted the temptation, Cao Yang took out the top-grade holy artifact dress once more.

"If you still don't believe me, I can swear to the Heavenly Dao of our Huangyuan Universe that I will never force you to do anything you don't like, nor will I do anything to harm you." Cao Yang raised his right hand with a serious expression and swore with a firm tone.

After speaking, he lightly tossed the top-grade dress, which was emitting a brilliant light, to Wen Xiaoke.

Wen Xiaoke caught the dress somewhat blankly, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt as she stared at Cao Yang in a daze.

After a long while, she snapped out of it and asked stutteringly, "Fellow Daoist Cao, are you really giving this top-grade holy artifact to me?"

Cao Yang smiled slightly and didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he took another ship out from his Storage Ring and then turned to look at Wen Xiaoke.

His voice was calm and gentle: "Haven't I already given it to you? Although it is a top-grade holy artifact, it is just a dress after all, and it's not of much use to me. Besides, I find you pleasing to the eye, so I might as well give it to you."

Hearing this, a hint of a blush appeared on Wen Xiaoke's face, and a surge of warmth rose in her heart.

However, she still said with some hesitation, "But... but Fellow Daoist Cao, you could totally exchange it for a Medium Grade or High Grade Sacred Artifact! That way, you could also obtain a large amount of top-grade holy crystals." Despite saying this, her hands tightly gripped the top-grade dress, as if afraid it would fly away.

"I don't lack Sacred Artifacts. Also, don't call me Fellow Daoist Cao anymore. I've already given you a top-grade holy artifact, so we're friends now, right? Call me Brother Cao. Come, get on the ship, I'll take you to the Divine Realm to have some fun!" As Cao Yang spoke, he took the initiative to step forward, took Wen Xiaoke's hand, and walked into the flying ship.

"Thank you, Brother Cao. Thank you for your top-grade holy artifact!"

"You're welcome. Come, have some tea; this is the best divine tea in the Divine Realm."

...

The flying ship slowly sailed toward the Divine Realm.