Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The following dawn.

Without having to spend the night dual cultivating with the Demonic Sect Enchantress, Yan Yu's sleep quality had improved a lot, dreamless throughout the night.

He woke up groggily, wondering why his phone alarm hadn't gone off?

His vision suddenly caught sight of someone squatting by the bed, staring at his face.

Yan Yu instantly snapped his eyes open, only to see Su Yunjin quickly stand up in a fluster, pretending to fiddle with the plastic bag on the bedside table, then feign surprise, saying,

"Captain, you're awake? I've brought you breakfast."

Yan Yu: ......

Although I'm touched by your thoughtful gesture of bringing me breakfast, the way you were squatting by the bed staring at me was truly frightening. I can't say for sure whether I should be grateful or scared right now.

He slowly sat up, rubbed his eyes, and began to eat the breakfast Su Yunjin had brought.

Plain porridge, baked buns, a small dish of finely chopped vegetables, and milk tea served in a cup. Although it looked lavish, it had already gone nearly cold, seemingly having been left there for at least half an hour.

So the question arises: From the time the breakfast was placed on the bedside table to the moment I woke up, what had Secretary Su been doing all this while?

There's no use in dwelling on this question too much, just like you shouldn't probe into whether beautiful girls need to use the restroom. Let's maintain some dignity for each other.

After finishing breakfast and freshening up, Yan Yu and Su Yunjin went downstairs and met the stationed cultivator troops outside the hotel entrance, who then escorted the pair to the entrance of the Mysterious Realm at Tianzhu Mountain.

Due to previous events at Changbai Mountain, all major entrances to Mysterious Realms within the country are now heavily guarded to prevent unauthorized entry.

If the two of them had directly used Sword Flight to go there without the correct friend-or-foe identification code, they would most likely have been riddled with bullets from anti-aircraft machine guns.

The officer in charge of guarding the entrance to the Mysterious Realm was surnamed Bo, and Yan Yu was not in a hurry to enter. Instead, he inquired about the situation with Officer Bo,

"Have drones been sent in to scout?"

"They've been in, but all the footage they captured was just white."

"White?"

"As if the signal was being interfered with," Officer Bo handed him the video to see.

Yan Yu carefully watched, noting the video wasn't the kind of white static you'd get from a TV with no signal. It was simply pure, contentless white.

This... doesn't seem like a signal issue, but more like it's being obscured by some kind of illusionary barrier.

Heart-refining illusions are also a staple in traditional Lu Country cultivation dramas, and the more pure-minded a person is, the less likely they are to be affected. For example, the Demonic Sect Enchantress, whose mind is full of eating and drinking, or the handsome no-good who is all about fun and games, are the kind who can resist the effects of illusions well.

On the other hand, someone like Chen Lingyun, with a more complicated mind, even knowing they are within an Illusion Realm, would find it difficult to calm their mind and see through the deception for a while.

Of course, now that we're at the entrance to the Mysterious Realm, there's no need to call those two fools over by phone.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Yan Yu and Su Yunjin put on their cameras and entered the Mysterious Realm.

Past the entrance, they saw endless mountains all around, lofty snow peaks without end in sight.

In front of the two was an extremely tall, massive, and magnificently beautiful "super peak," rising from among the surrounding mountains, stretching upwards so high that its peak was not visible, as if reaching to level with the sky.

Su Yunjin gaped at the tower-like mountain peak and suddenly couldn't help shivering.

Help, my fear of large objects is kicking in.

Yan Yu, however, wasn't as sensitive as she was; he just tried Sword Flight.

As expected, it wouldn't work.

In the intermediate-to-advanced stages of the Lu Country Mysterious Realm, there are often restrictions on flight, which is also a kind of demarcation between "high-difficulty Mysterious Realms" and "ordinary Mysterious Realms." For instance, residential communities with security are everywhere, but those where the property management cares about drones are generally a bit more upscale.

Otherwise, what would you do if a drone flew to your balcony and peeked into your bedroom?

Flight restrictions are very intricate and complex; ordinary Mysterious Realms wouldn't bother to set such things up. This only implies that the owner behind the Mysterious Realm certainly puts a lot of effort into display and grandeur.

Yan Yu continued to gaze into the distance and noted that Tianzhu Mountain's peak was exceptionally steep. Although it wasn't completely vertical to the ground, it wasn't far off from ninety degrees.

Free climbing was definitely impossible.

The restrictions prevent Sword Flight, Cloud Ascension Technique, and most methods of ascent, like the flight of bird-like beasts, meaning you're not allowed to take shortcuts, only permitted to follow the mountain path.

By the mountain gate at the base of Tianzhu Mountain, there stood a large stele with the words "Kunlun Tianzhu" inscribed.

Behind the stele, a winding and rugged path led behind Kunlun Tianzhu.

The mountain path was paved with stone steps, not looking very difficult, but there must be dangers ahead.

"Shall we go?" Yan Yu turned to ask.

"Yeah, let's," Su Yunjin nodded her head.

The two passed the mountain gate and climbed the steps.

After walking for more than ten minutes without encountering any danger, they saw the mountain path gradually tilting to the right, likely winding up and around Tianzhu Mountain.

"Yun Jin, be careful," Yan Yu reminded her to prevent any carelessness. "Just because we haven't encountered any enemies here doesn't mean the way ahead will be clear."

"I understand," Su Yunjin secretly rejoiced, nodding her head without showing much on her face.

During normal team operations, the leader would only say, "Everyone be careful," or even not say anything and leave the reminders to Ling Yun. Where can that compare to now, with his concern directed only at me, and his attention focused solely on me?

With that thought, her heart grew even sweeter, as if she had eaten honey, and her steps became much more lively and brisk.

She quietly approached Yan Yu from behind.

"What's wrong?" Yan Yu was always scanning the surroundings with his Divine Sense, and Su Yunjin's movements naturally couldn't escape him.

"I think what the captain said makes a lot of sense," Su Yunjin said earnestly, "It's better if we stay closer together. If anything unexpected happens, we can look out for each other, right?"

Thinking of Secretary Su's anxious on-the-spot reactions, Yan Yu had no choice but to agree, so he instructed:

"Then come closer to me."

"Okay~"

Was this girl deliberately acting cute? Yan Yu had his suspicions, but seeing her constantly vigilant gaze scanning the surroundings, he felt like he might have been overthinking.

Let's move on, then.

The two continued for half an hour, and Yan Yu was also somewhat exhausted... Physical strength was one thing, but mental fatigue was another.

If it weren't for the changing scenery around them, he really would have thought they'd run into a looping enchantment like 'ghost hitting the wall,' but looking at these endless stairs with no end in sight made it discouraging.

"Do you need to rest for a bit?" Su Yunjin asked.

"Let's rest for a while," Yan Yu took out his phone, "I'll set an alarm."

Su Yunjin found a flat spot near the steps, wiped it with a napkin, and gestured for Yan Yu to sit down.

The two sat on the steps, feeling the cool but not cold mountain breeze and looking out at the continuous snow-capped mountains, it felt as if the whole world had quieted down.

It even made them a little sleepy.

"Yan Yu," Su Yunjin suddenly asked, "do you ever feel... that I'm pretty aggressive?"

"Not at all," Yan Yu continued to scan the surroundings with his Divine Sense, and said, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Su Yunjin said in a ladylike manner, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees, speaking softly, "I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't know how guys view me. I'd like to hear your thoughts."
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It was another skillfully indirect conversation. It seemed just like asking for an "opinion about me," but the precondition of "I've never been in a relationship" was incredibly suggestive.

However, once you tell her "you're not my type," she would immediately put on an innocent face, "I haven't confessed to you," "Why would you say that"...

Yan Yu's mind raced, and he knew he had to play dumb and pretend not to catch Secretary Su's hints, so he replied:

"I think you're quite nice."

"What kind of 'quite nice'?" Su Yunjin stretched out her slender finger, resembling a green onion, and toyed with the little grass growing in the cracks of the stone steps, "Can you be more specific?"

"You're quite pretty," Yan Yu said frankly.

Su Yunjin couldn't help but chuckle, and with a clear voice she said:

"Captain, you can't just compliment a girl on her looks, it would make you appear superficial, as if you only care about her face."

"Indeed, I remember now," Yan Yu nodded and casually continued the conversation, "I recall you once said to me: you prefer others to focus more on your inner qualities than your appearance."

"That's right," Su Yunjin put away her smile, looking gentle yet serious, "So I hope the captain can pay more attention to, and appreciate, my inner qualities, rather than seeing me just as a pretty vase."

"I don't think you are a vase."

"I know."

... So, Captain, perhaps that's why I was initially attracted to you.

Thoughts running through her mind, Su Yunjin gradually felt sleepy, and she stealthily glanced at Yan Yu's profile next to her.

If I pretend to fall asleep and quietly lean my head on his shoulder, would he push me away firmly, or would he let me lean on him?

Maybe... give it a try?

...

"No, that's not right," Yan Yu suddenly stood up.

"Ah?!" Su Yunjin was startled into jumping to her feet, thinking her covert thoughts had been seen through by the captain, her voice trembling, "What's the matter?!"

"I set an alarm on my phone," Yan Yu took out his phone, "It shows that it has already gone off. Did you hear it?"

"No, I didn't," Su Yunjin calmed down, "So what?"

"There's some kind of sensory interference trying to keep us here, to stop us from thinking about moving on!" Yan Yu said with a stern voice.