Otherworldly Desert Dust

Cai Huang's words had an effect.

In the fog screen, the figure of the woman gradually became visible.

Tall and slender, with simple clothing, her boldly exposed skin gave off an aura of untouchable dignity.

Wu Hen was already a Seventh-rank Life, his body radiating a light akin to that of the Heavenly Light, illuminating a vast swathe of the land.

The woman's realm was clearly higher; the luster of her body released a light similar to that of a frosty moon. No matter where in the Cang Chu Divine Realm one was, they could see her Holy Light, like frost sprinkling upon all things in the world.

In the past, Wu Hen would've found it difficult to feel the power of such a Hua Chen, but now, staring at her was like gazing upon the bright moon—after continuously unlocking the mysteries of the Alternate Universe, the differences ingrained deeply in his soul were almost comparable to the fear and reverence encoded in the genes of creatures at the bottom of the food chain.

Wu Hen was certain the awe inside him was not his intention.

It was an awakening of the Desert Dust body after becoming a Seventh-rank Life, or perhaps more so, having absorbed a vast amount of Spiritual Factors that had crafted the highly evolved current self. These Spiritual Factors, while wandering the Alternate Universe, were branded with countless memories of reverence towards high-dimensional life. As they transformed into his internal energy, he inherited their fearful memories.

Very strong. This Cold-blooded Woman's power was immense, and the oppressive feeling she gave was even stronger than that of the recovering Hell Nine-Headed City. It made the fervor released by the Evil Cauldron of Grand Canyon City seem insignificant compared to the cold brilliance sparkling in her eyes.

"Her?" the Cold-blooded Woman asked, pointing at Cai Ni with a casual hand gesture.

"Cai Ni is your youngest sister." Cai Huang hurriedly spoke, fearing that if he delayed any longer, Cai Ni would truly be thrown in to feed the dogs.

"Heh, you're quite the libertine… What did you teach her?" the Cold-blooded Woman Cai Lan then asked.

"I only taught her some of Holy Sect's rules. Her cultivation is dull, nowhere near as good as you. However, Cai Ting is a prodigy, especially after the opening of his Divine Python Earth Vein's potential, his power has greatly increased. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to obtain the Spirit Key, so his Holy Origin cannot advance further." Cai Huang said with his head bowed, not resembling a father, but more like an old slave.

"We have a lack of servant girls in the house," said the Cold-blooded Woman.

"Cai Ni, aren't you going to thank your sister?" exclaimed Cai Huang in sheer delight, urgently commanding.

Cai Ni's arms were covered in blood, her face deathly pale, and her eyes reflected terror and grievance.

She had thought that upon arriving at her second sister's, even if not favored, she'd at least find a place to stay. She never expected her second sister to suggest feeding them to the dogs without a second thought, exhibiting a tendency far more outrageous than her father Cai Huang!

Wu Hen understood as well.

The genes of this family were not great to begin with.

The most normal member was probably Cai Ni, likely because she had less contact with those cold-blooded Saints from the clan.

Cai Ni's arm was practically ruined, yet she had no choice but to kneel and, bearing the pain, thank her second sister Cai Lan for taking her in, her eyes brimming with tears she dared not let fall.

Wu Hen also felt pained and quickly helped her treat her wounds.

The habits of this second sister were terrifyingly horrible; it was better not to rely on her.

But what worried Wu Hen now was that the Cold-blooded Woman wouldn't let them go, coupled with her extremely terrifying strength, Wu Hen also restrained his own temper.

Seeking refuge with a relative.

He almost lost his life because of it!

"And him, what have you taught him?" the Cold-blooded Woman pointed at Wu Hen and inquired.

"Nothing at all, you can mold him as you please," said Cai Huang promptly.

"Come to my side," the Cold-blooded Woman told Wu Hen.

Wu Hen was entirely reluctant.

The power of this Cai Lan was beyond Wu Hen's expectations.

Her brutal nature also shattered any positive illusions he had about this supposedly impressive second sister.

"I'll give you another chance. Where did you cultivate this Abnormal Breath from?" the Cold-blooded Woman looked at Wu Hen, asking indifferently.

"We passed through a Snow Realm, where I attempted to break through the shackles of the Holy Infant on my own. Unexpectedly, without breaking through the cultivation shackles, a surge of this silver Abnormal Breath emerged. It is very rich and solid, and when exercised, its power far exceeds that of the golden Holy Breath," Wu Hen pressed down the anger in his heart and replied in a different tone.

"What you previously cultivated was Void Power; what you have now comprehended is the True Mystery of Holy Sect," said the Cold-blooded Woman.

As if the previous incident had never happened, Cai Lan calmly explained to Wu Hen.

Wu Hen's mouth opened in astonishment, a look of shock on his face.

Fake??

His previous cultivation of the Holy Sect's power was fake??

No wonder!!

No wonder, no matter how far he reached in his realm, the Holy Infant inside him showed no signs of breakthrough, making him want to give up this path of evolution.

What is the Holy Sect playing at?

The cultivation method they let disciples practice turned out to be a fake, without someone to guide, their achievements would hit a bottleneck at a certain stage.

"We've been cultivating the Path of Illusion?" Cai Huang himself seemed to find it hard to believe.

The Cold-blooded Woman didn't respond but continued to scrutinize Wu Hen.

Suddenly, her gaze fell on Wu Hen's chest.

Her divine eyes seemed to penetrate Wu Hen's flesh and reach directly into his soul, where the Black Divine Death Sword within his soul trembled slightly, like a dormant dragon sensing danger in its midst!

"Can this woman see Little Yi's existence???"

Waves of agitation rose in Wu Hen's heart, accompanied by an ominous premonition.

Suddenly, Little Yi moved from Wu Hen's chest to his left hand, evading the cold-blooded woman's gaze.

The cold-blooded woman revealed a hint of confusion on her face, but then she shifted her gaze downward, intently scrutinizing the Holy Infant within Wu Hen's Dantian, looking through his physical body.

Wu Hen let out a long sigh of relief.

Little Yi is indeed somewhat capable.

It was good that he hadn't been discovered.

But this also made Wu Hen's scalp tingle; the woman was terrifyingly perceptive. Even though he was clothed in thick garments, he felt as though he stood naked before her, a spasm of vulnerability washing over him under her inspection.

"Hmm, you are a passable seedling," the cold-blooded woman commented, seemingly approving of this suddenly pledged brother, "Follow me in your cultivation."

"Cai Ting, have you not knelt to thank your sister yet?" Cai Huang was extremely excited and prostrated on the ground to kowtow first.

Cai Huang had high awareness.

He knew all too well that Cai Lan had now become a deity, an unreachable existence.

That she was willing to show even the slightest bit of kinship was already quite remarkable.

Wu Hen couldn't feel any less happy.

He felt like he had been tricked by Cai Huang!

From his descriptions, the second sister, Cai Lan, was uncared for since childhood, independent and strong, and uniquely talented. She ascended to an unparalleled status in the Holy State through her own efforts.

This made both Wu Hen and Cai Ni subconsciously think of their second sister Cai Lan as an inspiring figure, a golden phoenix who had escaped her cultivation-born family circumstance. They hadn't expected her to be so capricious and naturally cold-hearted.

The illusion they had of this revered Holy Nun shattered completely.

Wu Hen now wished to escape this place even more and seek out the Evolution Chain Gate on his own. If he inadvertently displeased the cold-blooded woman, he might honestly be killed with a single slap. She could take a life without batting an eye!

...

"Wuuu, Father, Brother, can we return to Divine Realm? The Holy State is too terrifying, and Sister is too frightening. I don't want to be her servant here," Cai Ni finally cried out, scared like a wounded fawn.

"It's my fault; I should have clarified things earlier, but at least we are here now," Cai Huang spoke with grave sincerity. "You heard the Bright Venerable; countless people risk their lives to come here to vie for a spot, and many have been killed. Being by her side, we will eventually receive great opportunities. Sigh, I know you feel wronged, but where can you walk in this world without being wronged? It's better to be under the protection of your sister than to be injured and bullied outside; at least no one else dares to mistreat us besides her!"

Influenced by the culture in Nuwa God End, Cai Huang understood that Cai Ni had accepted the idea of the equality of all life and the nobility of every soul, but that type of environment existed only within the utopia created by Nuwa. The real universe is this cruel!

To think, back then, a mere Purple Robed Xin Feng nearly annihilated their small civilized nation. In comparison, Xin Feng would be too worthless even for Cai Lan's dogs—they'd disdain his tough and woody flesh.

"Does it still hurt?" Wu Hen, having treated her arm wound, asked with concern.

"I'm still afraid. I have to follow such a sister from now on. I'm scared that one day I'll say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing..." Cai Ni said, filled with grievance.

"Here's what we'll do: I'll find a suitable opportunity to send you back to the Divine Realm. But if we say we want to leave now, I'm afraid she might actually chop us to pieces," Wu Hen consoled her.

Hearing Wu Hen's comforting words, Cai Ni finally stopped shedding tears.

She had not expected that returning to the Holy State would be a hundred times more perilous than her past experiences.

"It's alright now, it's alright," said Cai Huang, muttering some hollow words.

"Old Deng, you've really put us in a bind," Wu Hen realized he had been thoroughly deceived as Old Deng had painted Cai Lan in a rosy light all along.

"I haven't seen her for many years; how could I know what she's turned into? But she is the governor of this Holy State and a figure revered by all in Cang Chu Divine Realm. She must have lost all meaningless human emotions, her heart aligned with Heavenly Dao. In her eyes, we are nothing more than chickens and dogs that once shared a roof; it's already fortunate she doesn't find us filthy and noisy," Cai Huang declared.

Wu Hen also knew this truth all too well and nodded helplessly.

What could they do now?

"We're walking on thin ice in this residence. But once we leave here, we can strut through the Divine Realm!" Cai Huang exclaimed.

What's wrong with being chickens and dogs?

Didn't you hear what Bear Teng Ming Venerable said? Hundreds of people risk their lives to fight for the position of chickens and dogs here, leaving only a handful by the end!

"I cultivated Void Origin before; will she teach me True Yuan?" Wu Hen inquired.

"Absolutely, you've deduced True Yuan on your own, showing you possess outstanding talent like her. You've seen it: there are few people in Yun Mansion. It's evident that over the years, Cai Lan has had few underlings she trusts. She won't be short on conflicts to deal with in her current position. By training you, you could help share her burdens," Cai Huang explained.

"To be honest, from beginning to end, she never even brought up family matters. I feel if it hadn't been for my insight into True Yuan, which impressed her, we'd now be having a family reunion inside a Qilin's stomach," Wu Hen said.

Wu Hen had, in fact, prepared many pretexts to ensure that his disguise as Cai Ting was believable, so that Cai Lan would not see through him.

However, the cold-blooded woman didn't care at all.

Family ties only provided the three of them with an opportunity to meet her.

Staying alive was simply because he possessed usefulness to her through the True Yuan he'd cultivated.