!

Red King Palace, Chaos Peak.

Seeing that the spirit fields on Chaos Peak had already been tilled, yet Chu Chen remained in Secluded Cultivation, Yu Youwei deliberated for a long time. To avoid delaying the planting season for the Spirit Grass, she took the Spirit Stones Chu Chen had bestowed upon her and set off for the Spirit Herb Hall.

Chaos Peak stood hundreds of meters tall, piercing straight into the clouds.

Born a servant, Yu Youwei possessed no cultivation methods. Ascending and descending the mountain relied entirely on her own two feet.

Fortunately, during the initial construction of Chaos Peak, spiritual power cableways had been installed to facilitate the movement of servants and guards. They only required a single Low Grade Spirit Stone to activate, making travel quite convenient.

Half a day earlier, Yu Youwei had already descended the mountain, heading straight for the Spirit Herb Hall of the Red King Palace.

Once she left Chaos Peak, the spiritual power cableways ended; the rest of the journey had to be made on foot.

Luckily, Chaos Peak was well-positioned. It was not far from the Red King Palace's Spirit Herb Hall, Technique Hall, Dharma Treasure Pavilion, and other key locations. A single hour's walk was enough to reach her destination.

The weather was scorching. By the time Yu Youwei arrived at the Spirit Herb Hall, her clothes were already soaked with sweat.

After a brief rest, she gazed at the crowded Spirit Herb Hall before her. Hesitating slightly, Yu Youwei retrieved a face veil to conceal the hideous scar that slashed across her face from ear to nose.

All women loved beauty, but after being disfigured, Yu Youwei had never once thought of restoring her appearance.

Her parents had been murdered, and she herself had nearly been whipped to death. She hated her own weakness, her own powerlessness, and this man-eating world...

Fortunately, she had met her master.

The man who helped her take revenge, granted her a new life, and did not even show disgust at the shocking, ugly scar on her face.

Yu Youwei desperately wanted to repay Chu Chen, to do something-anything-for him.

But as a mere mortal with a flesh-and-blood body, Yu Youwei knew she was powerless.

When Zhao Kongyang attacked.

When hundreds of outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples surrounded Chaos Peak so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

When the Saint King realm powerhouse, Qi Lao'er, single-handedly and forcefully slaughtered over three hundred disciples to resolve Chu Chen's crisis.

...

Having witnessed the terrifying might of cultivators who could move mountains and drain seas, Yu Youwei felt increasingly useless, unable to aid her master in the slightest.

But in this world, too many things were decided the moment one was born.

Wealth, authority, and even talent-their absolute limits were set the second one left the womb.

Sometimes, it truly wasn't a lack of effort, but a lack of opportunity, a lack of a platform, a lack of Fated Chance.

No matter how high one's talent, without a cultivation method, they were destined never to step onto the immortal path.

And for Yu Youwei, born a lowly servant, she was fated to have no connection with the immortal path from her very first breath.

Merely surviving was already an immense stroke of luck.

Yu Youwei had once dreamed of defying the heavens, of declaring that her fate belonged to her and not the heavens...

She had tried to resist her destiny, had struggled more than once, but what was the result?

It was being suppressed with a casual wave of a hand by guards at merely the first or second layer of the Qi Gathering realm.

It was the old steward Qian Bao, at the tenth layer of the Qi Gathering realm, forcing her parents to their deaths and attempting to forcibly defile her...

In the face of absolute power, resistance was futile.

All Yu Youwei could do was destroy her own breathtakingly beautiful face as a final act of defiance.

Yet even that changed nothing. If not for Chu Chen's sudden appearance, Yu Youwei would have been thrown off a cliff to be dashed to pieces.

Yu Youwei was a stubborn woman. She knew her life belonged to Chu Chen. Her desire to repay him was vast, but her abilities were limited. Therefore, all she could do was pour her heart and soul into managing the sprawling Chaos Peak for him.

Securing her veil, Yu Youwei stepped into the Spirit Herb Hall. She wanted to purchase the Spirit Grass seeds quickly and return to Chaos Peak. Calculating the time, her master might be emerging from seclusion soon, and she needed to have a hot, delicious meal ready before he did.

"Who goes there? Not a shred of cultivation, yet you dare enter my Red King Palace's Spirit Herb Hall?"

"You aren't a disciple of my Red King Palace, are you? Even the lowest-ranking outer disciple should have Qi Gathering realm cultivation."

"If you aren't a disciple of my Red King Palace, what business do you have in my Spirit Herb Hall?"

...

The moment she stepped into the Spirit Herb Hall, she was blocked by several disciples guarding the entrance.

Although Yu Youwei was disfigured, the veil obscured her features. Unless one scrutinized her closely, the ferocious scar on her face remained hidden.

Coupled with her graceful figure and elegant temperament, the veil only added a tantalizing layer of mystery.

Her mere appearance instantly drew the leering gazes of numerous male disciples within the Spirit Herb Hall.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, look at how flustered she is, stammering like that. She definitely has a guilty conscience."

"Looks like a spy to me. Why don't we just capture her and send her to your room... hehehe!"

...

Whether one possessed cultivation or not could be seen at a single glance.

In the eyes of these male disciples, the mortal Yu Youwei was no different from a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"I say this woman is acting suspiciously. She looks like she was born a servant."

"Junior Brother speaks reason. Let's capture her directly. If she resists, kill her on the spot."

As he spoke, Senior Brother Zhang San drew his sword with a sharp shing. His spiritual power surged, and the oppressive Pressure of the Essence Condensation Realm crashed directly down upon Yu Youwei.

"V-Various Senior Brothers, you misunderstand. I... my name is Yu Youwei, I am..."

Boom!!

Under the crushing Pressure of the Essence Condensation Realm, Yu Youwei staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground.

But she knew she was no match for these cultivators. Resisting would only enrage them and bring trouble to her master.

Thus, Yu Youwei hurriedly cupped her hands in a respectful salute and explained:

"I am no spy. I... I am the steward of Chaos Peak. My... my master is Chu Chen. He..."

Clatter!!

The moment the words "Chaos Peak" and "Chu Chen" left her lips, Senior Brother Zhang San and the surrounding disciples trembled so violently that their flying swords slipped from their grasps and clattered against the floor.

The Pressure of the Essence Condensation Realm vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The faces of Zhang San and the other disciples shifted from green to pale white. Their bodies began to shake uncontrollably as cold sweat drenched their backs.

"You... you say you're from Chaos Peak?"

Zhang San shakily retrieved his longsword from the ground. When he looked at Yu Youwei again, his eyes were brimming with absolute terror.

"Yes..."

"Your... your master is Senior Brother Chu Chen?!"

Yu Youwei nodded. The commotion had drawn a large crowd of disciples who gathered around, pointing and whispering.

Yu Youwei despised being stared at, especially after her disfigurement. She only wanted to flee this place as quickly as possible.

Thump!

In the very next instant, right before the eyes of the countless disciples in the Spirit Herb Hall, Zhang San did not hesitate for a single second. He dropped straight to his knees before Yu Youwei and began kowtowing, his head slamming against the floor like a pounding pestle.

Seeing this, the disciples behind him also dropped to their knees, kowtowing to Yu Youwei while frantically begging for mercy.

"M-Miss, we had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai! We have deeply offended you, please forgive us!"

"We let lust cloud our minds! We deserve death!"

"We beg the young lady to take pity on us, spare our miserable lives, and please... please do not inform Senior Brother Chu Chen of this matter."

...

Led by Senior Brother Zhang San, the group of disciples knelt on the floor, viciously slapping their own faces while pleading for Yu Youwei's forgiveness.

Compared to their previous aggressive, imperious arrogance, it was as if they had been replaced by entirely different people.

"P-Please, get up."

As more and more disciples gathered to watch, Yu Youwei's face flushed red. She reached out to help them up, but the disciples adamantly refused to rise.

"I only... I only came to the Spirit Herb Hall to purchase Spirit Grass seeds. You... you can rest assured."

"I will not tell my master."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yu Youwei squeezed through the crowd and hurried deeper into the Spirit Herb Hall.

Even after Yu Youwei had walked far away, Zhang San and the other disciples remained kneeling on the floor, their faces ashen with terror, not daring to stand.

They were all disciples of the Red King Palace. They knew better than anyone about the incident where Zhao Kongyang led over three hundred disciples to besiege Chaos Peak.

Palace Master Qi Lao'er had forcefully slaughtered over three hundred disciples just to protect Chu Chen. He had even seized Zhao Kongyang's [Locking Heaven Formation] and publicly declared Chu Chen as the number one person in the Red King Palace. What kind of blind fool would dare provoke that demon now???

"Master is truly formidable. Just his name is enough to scare them away."

Yu Youwei walked with light, brisk steps. Lost in her own thoughts, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. She was overjoyed.

In all her life, this was the first time she had ever experienced such a feeling.

Having someone to protect her... it felt so wonderful~

...

"Senior Brother Zhang San, get up! Get up right now!"

"That bitch is long gone. Why are you still kneeling?"

Not long after Yu Youwei walked away, a stunningly beautiful female disciple with a seductive figure strode into the Spirit Herb Hall. Seeing Zhang San and the others still kneeling on the floor, she pouted her lips in anger:

"So what if that bitch is Senior Brother Chu Chen's steward? A servant is still a servant. We are formal disciples of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace. How can a lowly servant ever compare to us?"

This female disciple was named Feng Jiao, a cultivator at the first layer of the Essence Condensation Realm, and Zhang San's Dao Companion.

She had witnessed everything that had just transpired.

She simply hadn't figured out how to handle the situation, so she had refrained from stepping forward.

She didn't mind her man fooling around with other women.

She cared even less about her man losing face or suffering humiliation.

Furthermore, her decision to step forward now wasn't solely for Zhang San's sake...

Looking down at her own proud, ample bosom and her graceful, alluring curves.

Then reaching up to caress her delicate, flawless cheek and picturesque features, Feng Jiao smiled seductively.

As the saying went, wealth is sought amidst danger.

After witnessing the sheer terror that Chu Chen commanded.

Feng Jiao, instead, had formulated a very bold idea~

...