78: Chapter 78 Suppressive Intimidation! Those Desperate Eyes Behind the Rock

In the tranquil dense forest, a gentle breeze brushed through the branches and leaves of the ancient trees, creating a soft rustling sound.

Gu Yi pulled the soft, curvaceous body in his arms tighter, his chin resting gently on the top of Valley Master Yan Shuyao's head.

He could clearly feel that the usually dignified and holy Valley Master of Medicine Valley was now breathing rapidly due to his confession, causing her unique, faint medicinal scent to become even more intense.

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled light and shadows across this secluded forest glade.

Less than ten zhang away from the pair, behind a massive, moss-covered rock, a completely different world was hidden.

A crude yet secretive illusion Formation barrier disguised a recessed cliff face as ordinary rock.

Inside this narrow, dim, abandoned cave, the air was filled with a dense, almost tangible aura of vegetation and Creation.

Ye Fan, dressed in worn-out servant attire, sat cross-legged in the center of a simple Spirit Gathering Formation. His hands trembled slightly from extreme excitement, clutching the mysterious small green bottle he never left behind.

Directly in front of Ye Fan, a Spiritual Plant emitting a faint purple glow with mysterious patterns covering its leaves was rooted in a patch of frigid spiritual soil. This was the legendary "Nine Nether Yellow Springs Grass" capable of reshaping one's Dao foundation and Heaven-Defyingly changing one's fate.

As the last drop of emerald-like, crystalline Creation Spirit Liquid fell from the small green bottle, the ninth golden pattern on the Spiritual Plant's leaves, representing one hundred thousand years of age, began to become clear at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"It's almost there... almost there!"

Ye Fan's originally dull and humble face was now filled with undisguised fanaticism and greed. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the Immortal Plant, and a suppressed low growl emanated from his throat.

As long as this ninth golden pattern closed completely, this one-hundred-thousand-year Immortal Plant would be considered truly mature.

Once that happened, he would only need to consume and refine it to break through the shackles of this Trash body in one go. The bullying from Inner Sect Disciples, the humiliation of being a servant—all of it would become stepping stones on his path to the Peak!

Not only that.

In Ye Fan's mind, the gentle and stunningly beautiful face of Valley Master Yan Shuyao appeared involuntarily.

"Valley Master Yan, those hypocrites who circle around you every day are not worthy of you at all. Only I, Ye Fan, a peerless Genius possessing great Luck and great perseverance, am qualified to stand by your side and hold you in my arms!"

The massive delusion and the imminent success kept Ye Fan's spirit at a Peak of excitement. He seemed to have already seen himself breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, taking Valley Master Yan Shuyao's jade hand amidst the shock and worship of everyone in Medicine Valley.

Just at this moment when Ye Fan was immersed in this grand vision.

Outside the cave, a chilling, cold sharpness flashed in Gu Yi's deep black eyes.

He maintained his gentle posture of embracing Valley Master Yan Shuyao, one hand gently stroking her soft long hair, not even changing his breathing frequency in the slightest.

But beneath that gentle, jade-like appearance, the vast True Qi of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator within Gu Yi, along with the mountain-heavy Law aura of his Creation Immortal Body, had already been compressed into an invisible sword.

This terrifying coercive pressure perfectly avoided the unsuspecting Valley Master Yan Shuyao in his arms, like a frenzied Dragon breaking out of the sea, piercing directly through the crude illusion Formation barrier and descending with pinpoint accuracy into the narrow cave behind the rock.

Boom!

The air inside the cave was sucked dry in that instant.

Ye Fan, who was holding the small green bottle with a face full of wild joy, didn't even have a chance to react. He only felt as if a ten-thousand-zhang high mountain had plummeted from thin air above his head, and that absolute suppression force belonging to a high-level Cultivator slammed down fiercely through his crown.

"Crack, crack..."

Under this heavy pressure, Ye Fan's bones emitted a series of brittle sounds, unable to bear the load. His originally straight spine was instantly bent, and his knees slammed heavily onto the hard stone surface, creating two fine cracks in the ground.

The immense fear was like a basin of bone-chilling ice water, completely waking Ye Fan from his delusion of reaching the Peak.

He opened his mouth in terror, wanting to let out a roar for help, wanting to ask exactly which great expert had descended.

That coercive pressure not only imprisoned his Physical Body but also locked his throat and vocal cords tight like iron tongs. He tried his best, the veins on his forehead bulging, his face turning bright red, but his throat could only emit a weak "cluck" sound like a broken bellows.

Run!

This was the only thought remaining in Ye Fan's mind. He tried to mobilize the Foundation Establishment Stage True Qi he had always hidden to break through the restraint, but this power, in the face of the Nascent Soul Stage coercive pressure, was like a candle flame in a gale; it couldn't even last for a single breath before being completely crushed.

That coercive pressure seemed to carry a certain malice, like a cat playing with a mouse. It didn't directly crush Ye Fan into meat paste but precisely controlled its force, stripping away all control of his body, to the point where he couldn't even close his eyes.

He could only act like a statue nailed to a pillar of shame, forced to lift his head, his gaze passing through the thin illusion Formation barrier at the edge of the cave, staring fixedly at the forest glade directly ahead.

As his vision penetrated the ripples of the barrier, the scene outside clearly entered Ye Fan's eyes.

On the fallen-leaf path less than ten zhang away from him.

Stood two figures, a man and a woman.

The man was handsome and tall, a green robe swaying gently with the wind, exuding the aura of an immortal who was untainted by the mortal world.

And the woman who was held tightly in his arms, her hands wrapped around the man's neck...

When Ye Fan saw the woman's profile clearly, his eyeballs, which were bulging due to blood congestion, instantly froze.

That familiar green wide-sleeved flowing immortal dress, that dignified and beautiful, usually high-and-mighty, gentle face that he felt was a sacrilege to even look at for too long.

It was none other than the Valley Master of Medicine Valley whom he thought of day and night, and whom he had secretly sworn in his heart to conquer once the Immortal Plant matured—Valley Master Yan Shuyao!

But at this moment, this "white moonlight" goddess whom he regarded as the moon in the Nine Heavens and inviolable, had shed all her defenses and dignity. Her stunningly beautiful cheeks were flushed with a moving rosy hue, her eyes rippling with spring water, and she was pressing tightly against that man's chest with a look of extreme attachment and submission that Ye Fan had never seen before.

"No... impossible..."

Ye Fan's heart felt as if it were being fiercely gripped by an invisible giant hand. He roared desperately in his heart, trying to deny everything he saw before him.

This must be an illusion! It was a test of his Dao Heart because he was about to break through with the one-hundred-thousand-year Immortal Plant!

How could such a noble Fairy as Valley Master Yan show such an expression of a doting little wife to a man?! She should be waiting for him to save her, waiting for him to stun her with the posture of a peerless Prodigy!

The gentle breeze outside carried Valley Master Yan Shuyao's gentle and soft voice, intermittently, into Ye Fan's ears.

"Young Master Gu... as long as you are by my side, whether it is the prosperity of Medicine Valley or the dangers of the Great Wilderness, I do not care. To be able to trade these three sixty-year cycles of loneliness for your feelings today, I feel... everything is worth it."

Valley Master Yan Shuyao's voice was very soft, yet every word and sentence revealed the determination and deep affection of entrusting her body and soul completely. She tilted her head slightly, and her usually cold jade hands even took the initiative to stroke the man's profile, her eyes filled with love that was about to overflow.

She was completely unaware that just a few steps away, behind that cold rock, there was a pair of eyes filled with despair, jealousy, and madness, staring fixedly at her every move.

Hearing this "Young Master Gu" and seeing Valley Master Yan Shuyao's active display of affection.

A "boom" sounded in Ye Fan's mind, as if something had completely shattered.

It was not an illusion.

His beloved "white moonlight," the future mistress of his harem, was currently, right before his eyes, dotingly pleasing and pouring out her heart in the arms of a strange man!

This pain of his faith collapsing and his beautiful dream being torn apart at its Peak made him feel that death was better than life, even more so than the coercive pressure imprisoning his Physical Body.

Because his eyes were wide open to the point of tearing, a trace of bright red blood seeped from the corners of Ye Fan's eyes. Like a stray dog with a broken spine, he let out a silent wail behind the rock.

Just as Ye Fan was sinking into the abyss of madness and despair.

Outside, the man in the green robe who was holding Valley Master Yan Shuyao gently stroked her cheek.

Subsequently, the man turned his head slightly.

Those black eyes, which were originally full of deep affection, in the instant they crossed over Valley Master Yan Shuyao's shoulder, lost all their warmth, turning into two bottomless, cold, frigid pools.

The man's gaze pierced through the layers of tree shadows, penetrated the illusion Formation that was effectively useless, and with pinpoint accuracy, without any deviation, collided into Ye Fan's eyes that were shedding tears of blood.

Separated by a distance of ten zhang, separated by a layer of the Formation barrier, their gazes collided tightly in mid-air.

Ye Fan's heart shrank violently.

Only at this moment did he finally understand.

This man didn't walk here by accident at all. That terrifying coercive pressure that had pinned him to the ground was released by this man!

He knew he was hiding here, and he knew he could see everything outside. He had deliberately led Valley Master Yan Shuyao to the outside of this hidden cave, deliberately letting him witness all of this with his own eyes!