Chapter 736: An Invitation for the Goddess
As Shen Anyu arrived at Villa Number One of Jinxiu Mountain Villa, a figure clad in crimson descended from the sky, drifting toward him with an ethereal grace.
The woman was a vision of peerless beauty. She wore an complex, long red dress embroidered with shimmering gold thread, its fabric flowing around her like a second skin. A silken sash cinched her waist, accentuating a lithe, willowy figure and a waist so slender it seemed a single hand could encircle it. As the hem of her dress fluttered in the gentle breeze, it offered tantalizing glimpses of a pair of long, fair, jade-like legs, their skin as flawless and translucent as fine porcelain.
Shen Anyu's gaze lingered, his eyes tracing her form with open appreciation. He took in the sight, then looked again, a faint smile touching his lips.
The crimson figure floated to the ground. Her exquisitely beautiful, jade-like face was a mask of cold indifference as she looked at Shen Anyu. It was the gaze of a goddess observing a mortal, a look of supreme arrogance and disdain, tinged with a flicker of disgust one might reserve for something utterly beneath notice.
"Yun Nu, you've come to welcome your Master," Shen Anyu said, his smile widening into a smirk. "Master is very happy. But Master doesn't quite like that look of contempt on your face."
He watched the red-clad figure before him—the Southern Border Goddess, Wu Shenyun—with a playful glint in his eyes.
At the sound of the name "Yun Nu," Wu Shenyun's delicate brows knitted together. The temperature around her seemed to drop several degrees as her red lips parted to release a voice as cold as ice.
"Shen Anyu, I lost to you. I acknowledged you as my Master, and I will obey your commands." Her words were clipped and precise. "But know this: if I can defeat you in the future, you will become my servant, Wu Shenyun's servant."
She was the Southern Border Goddess, the supreme ruler of the Southern Border, the revered leader of the Shaman God Cult. Her martial prowess and her Wu arts had both reached the legendary world of the Land Immortal. She would never willingly remain Shen Anyu's "Yun Nu," a cloud slave to be toyed with and humiliated.
'I will never truly submit,'Wu Shenyun vowed silently, her mind ablaze.'The day will come when I defeat him. I will make him my male servant, force him to kneel and wash my feet, to place my shoes upon them with his own hands.'Her fantasy grew more vivid. She would ride on his back, returning every ounce of humiliation she had endured these past days a hundredfold.'Yu Nu? A male slave... yes, that's a fitting title.'A subtle, anticipatory curve appeared at the corner of her exquisite lips.'He will be my one and only male servant, my private plaything. Then he'll never have the chance to run off and flirt with other women again.'Through the divine-grade Master-Servant Contract that bound them, Shen Anyu heard every word of Wu Shenyun's vengeful thoughts. A strange expression flickered across his face.'This Southern Border Goddess... her mind is a little twisted, isn't it? How frightening,' he thought, though the amusement in his eyes betrayed any real fear. The idea of Wu Shenyun ever defeating him and turning the tables was, in his mind, nothing more than a pipe dream.
"If you can defeat me, then naturally, you can do as you wish," Shen Anyu replied, his tone light and casual. "But until that day comes, you are still my Yun Nu. Now, call me Master."
"...Master."
Wu Shenyun bit her lower lip, the soft red flesh turning a shade paler under the pressure. Her arched brows and phoenix eyes, set within her flawlessly beautiful oval face, shimmered with a deep sense of humiliation. Facing Shen Anyu's taunting, half-smiling gaze, she finally lowered her noble head and forced the word from her lips.
The reluctance in her voice, the unwilling submission in her posture—it was a particularly stimulating sight.
Shen Anyu's expression was one of pure satisfaction. He let her stew in her shame for a moment before asking casually, "Yun Nu, did something happen?"
He knew that Wu Shenyun and Bai Bing had been in seclusion, locked in a silent competition of their own. They wouldn't have emerged to greet him unless something significant had occurred. Shen Anyu wasn't one to stand on ceremony; he would never demand they interrupt their cultivation just to welcome him—unless, of course, it was for a more... personal form of service.
While he could simply review the records from his nanometer monitoring robots, asking her directly saved him the effort.
At his question, Wu Shenyun's expression turned serious. "A powerful individual sent an invitation to the Shaman God Cult headquarters in the Southern Border," she said, her voice grave. "They are requesting a meeting. I suspect they are a Land Immortal."
She paused, her gaze locking with his. "Besides you and me, Yanxia hasn't produced a Land Immortal in a hundred years. For one to suddenly appear now... they must be some old monster who has been living in seclusion. I intend to meet them." Her tone was firm, but then it softened with a hint of forced deference. "But before I go, I still require your... Master's... permission."
Each time she spoke the word "Master," Wu Shenyun felt a fresh wave of irritation.
'Still not used to it,' Shen Anyu noted with an inward chuckle.
He set aside his amusement and considered her words, his curiosity piqued. "How do you know this person is a Land Immortal? Is there any proof?"
It was impossible not to be intrigued. In the current era, the peak of combat power in the mundane world was generally considered to be the level of Heavenly Masters and Tenin. The sudden appearance of a Land Immortal was highly unusual.
While hidden families and reclusive sects existed, their strength was typically limited. Shen Anyu was familiar with many of them. His own maternal grandmother was the descendant of one such hidden sect, and she was only a Half-step Heavenly Human.
Truly top-tier powers had no need to hide. And even those that did would have agents operating on the surface, like the marriage alliance between his grandmother's sect and Yanxia's An Clan.
As far as Shen Anyu knew, there were no Land Immortals among the known powers, open or hidden. Unless...
'It's related to a Child of Destiny.'
A deep light flickered in Shen Anyu's eyes as he fell into thought. Could it be that the Child of Destiny connected to Wu Shenyun had finally appeared?
Wu Shenyun was a Destined Heroine, yet he had never been able to identify the corresponding protagonist in her story. He had even asked her directly, but she had no childhood sweetheart or fiancé to speak of. After the Blood Gu Sect destroyed her family, she had fled into the mountains to cultivate. Once she achieved her great power, she emerged only to seek revenge, annihilating the Blood Gu Sect before falling into his hands. Where would she have found the time for romance?
This unknown Land Immortal, appearing out of nowhere... could this be him?
"This is the proof," Wu Shenyun said, interrupting his thoughts. "The invitation delivered to the cult headquarters."
With a graceful flick of her sleeve, she produced a hot-stamped invitation card. She held it with two hands, her fingers like polished jade, and presented it to Shen Anyu.
He took the invitation and gently unfolded it. Inside, several lines of flowing, elegant script were written on the fine paper:
"I have long heard of the Southern Border Goddess's esteemed name, and this Qin is deeply drawn to it. If the Goddess has the leisure, might we meet? We can exchange pointers in the martial path, and Qin guarantees you will not be disappointed."
Aside from this, there was no other information, no clue to the sender's full identity.
Yet, as Shen Anyu gazed at the powerful, flowing characters, he felt a strange pressure. The calligraphy itself seemed to possess a life of its own, capable of unsettling the mind. The faint sound of thunder seemed to echo in his ears, and an indescribable, astonishing aura washed over him—deep, mysterious, and truly extraordinary.
If an ordinary person were to see these characters, they would likely be compelled to prostrate themselves in worship, their minds completely subdued. Even a Heavenly Human expert would be deeply shaken, feeling a sense of inferiority before the sheer will embedded in the ink.
"Only a Land Immortal or a being of even greater power could write with such deep and mysterious intent," Wu Shenyun stated, her own judgment clear as she watched Shen Anyu examine the message with interest.
"Indeed," Shen Anyu affirmed with a smile. "These characters were written by an existence at or above the Land Immortal realm. They are imbued with a spiritual divinity."
At that moment, Shen Anyu felt a surge of satisfaction, like finding something he had long sought without even trying.
'Qin...'he thought.'Could it be that Qin Yuan?'
An existence at or above the Land Immortal realm, also surnamed Qin... there was an eighty percent chance it was him.
As for why Qin Yuan would seek out Wu Shenyun, Shen Anyu had a few guesses. Could it be that the reborn protagonist, on his path of vengeance, was trying to recruit allies to deal with him?
The corner of Shen Anyu's mouth curved upward into a dangerously playful arc. A cold sneer formed in his mind.
'Walking right into my trap...'
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