The Silent Disappearance

‘No, something was profoundly amiss.’

Qiu Yue’s brows furrowed deeply. The repeated obstructions in her search for Lin Mo were, admittedly, within her expectations.

Although the secret realm was not vast, attempting a comprehensive search with her limited assembled forces was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

There were bound to be oversights.

What truly struck her as odd, however, was that the news she had deliberately spread had vanished without a trace?

She had meticulously disseminated the false intelligence of ‘Ji Xue captured and being tortured’ throughout every corner of the secret realm. Logically, any slight movement or attention from Lin Mo should have led him to receive this information, enough to throw his mind into utter disarray!

‘Could it be… Lin Mo’s concern for that wretched wench was far less than she had initially presumed?’

Though the thought brought a flicker of perverse delight to Qiu Yue, her rationality immediately severed such a tempting speculation.

Her strategy was clear: to use this fabricated news to provoke Lin Mo, causing him to lose his composure and either reveal himself or his whereabouts.

Then, she would deliberately allow Lin Mo to rescue the ‘fake Imperial Princess,’ only for Lu Ping’an, impersonating the ‘Imperial Princess,’ to betray him with a stab in the back during their escape.

Naturally, this represented the most ideal scenario.

In reality, however, Qiu Yue’s primary objective was to restrain Ji Xue, who, to Lin Mo, represented a formidable fighting force.

No matter how much she despised the vixen, Qiu Yue had to concede that Ji Xue’s strength was now far beyond what it once was.

Furthermore, and more critically, she needed to display her arrogance and superficiality to the women of the outside world.

The bedrock of one’s arrogance stemmed from two possibilities: genuine power, or blind self-assurance.

The Empress had long harbored displeasure towards the Qiu family, yet she had suppressed it. This wasn’t out of benevolence, but rather a profound apprehension of the Qiu family’s influence and her formidable strength.

Even if the Qiu family were to brazenly challenge the entire dynasty, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they could still undoubtedly inflict severe damage upon the Ji Imperial Dynasty.

With internal strife and external threats still plaguing the Imperial Dynasty, and frequent border conflicts, a war initiated by the Qiu family at this juncture would inevitably plunge the nation into turmoil—a scenario the Empress would never desire.

More importantly, the Qiu family’s Old Ancestor was nearing the end of his lifespan and could not outlast the Empress. If she did not deliberately present this arrogant display, this conspicuous foolishness, and this strategy riddled with flaws directly before the Empress, the latter’s vigilance against the Qiu family would only deepen.

‘After all, within this secret realm, death was merely a simulated illusion, utterly insufficient to force Lin Mo into revealing himself.’

‘Besides… with the Empress observing everything from outside, how could I truly dare to torture her daughter?’

‘Moreover, she could also ensure the Empress witnessed her cruelty.’

‘How could the Empress not favor an arrogant, self-righteous, and autocratic Qiu family heir?’

Yet, everything had been meticulously planned, perfectly executed! Even as the third day drew to a close, Lin Mo remained utterly still, without a single stir.

Lin Mo’s score on the points board had been utterly dormant since he dispatched those two individuals at the beginning of the second day, showing not the slightest ripple.

In stark contrast, only Ji Xue’s name on the leaderboard saw her points soar continuously.

Lin Mo, on the other hand, seemed to have completely vanished from the secret realm, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Once the secret realm’s time concluded, she would secure a decisive victory, her points far exceeding Lin Mo’s.

By then, the Xuan Nv Sect would find no grounds or justification to shield Lin Mo, allowing her to legitimately take him away.

‘She refused to believe Lin Mo wasn’t anxious!’

Yet now, the undeniable truth lay before her…

“Bring me the ‘New Capital Map’ you’ve drawn,” Qiu Yue commanded.

Suddenly, her gaze caught upon Liu Ruyan’s name.

In that instant, the image of a figure, as petite as herself, materialized in her mind.

Her points were also at zero.

‘Logically, this little hussy should also be infatuated with Lin Mo, and her strength is considerable.’

‘But why… was she not included in my plans?’

‘The Imperial Princess’s identity was sensitive; wouldn’t impersonating Liu Ruyan be more logical? Wouldn’t torturing Liu Ruyan be even more effective in drawing Lin Mo out? Yet, to defile the Imperial Princess, to make Lin Mo unable to restrain himself, and to better display my own cruelty… that was the true goal.’

‘But why had this only occurred to me now, upon seeing Liu Ruyan’s name?’

‘Right… what cultivation realm was Liu Ruyan in again?’

‘What cultivation art did she practice?’

‘I can’t recall. I feel like Qing You mentioned it to me, but…’

‘It feels as though a hazy mist shrouds my mind, affecting nothing else, yet whenever Liu Ruyan is concerned, I simply feel no desire to pay attention to her.’

‘I want to ignore her.’

‘I should clearly be wary of this little green tea, yet…’

A frustrated hum escaped her. The more she pondered, the more irritated she became.

With so many pressing concerns weighing on her, Qiu Yue decided not to delve deeper into the matter.

She merely wished to re-verify the areas where Lin Mo had appeared and the patrol routes over the past two days, to ensure nothing had been overlooked.

“Someone, bring me a map,” Qiu Yue stated, extending a hand behind her, awaiting someone to place the map within her grasp.

Yet, after a long moment, her hand remained empty.

A flicker of doubt arose in Qiu Yue’s heart. She turned around, but in the very next second, found herself utterly alone.

‘Where is everyone?!’

A sudden, chilling dread seized her heart.

She was currently situated within a simple, makeshift hut.

It was no difficult feat for cultivators to erect a rudimentary council chamber through their arts.

To draw the secret realm’s map, collate intelligence, and deploy personnel, there should have been at least several core disciples surrounding her, ready to heed her commands and convey her directives at any moment.

Yet now… as far as her eyes could see, there was not a single soul?

A chilling breeze swept through the chamber, rustling the scattered scrolls on the ground with a soft ‘whoosh’.

The space, which only moments ago had been fraught with the tension of the situation, was now left with nothing but a suffocating silence.

This sudden emptiness, more than any enemy ambush, sent an inexplicable wave of unease crashing into Qiu Yue’s mind.

Previously engrossed in her calculations concerning Lin Mo and Ji Xue, the strange sense of oversight triggered by Liu Ruyan had prevented her from noticing the silent disappearance of her subordinates… until now?

Alarm bells blared in Qiu Yue’s mind!

Qiu Yue remained silent, the deathly stillness within the hut speaking volumes.

Her spiritual energy instantly surged to its peak, the oppressive aura of her late Foundation Establishment stage erupting without reservation. A cold light gleamed in her azure eyes as her senses, sharpened to their utmost, probed every corner of the room.

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing!

She felt nothing at all.

With a single stride, her form moved like lightning, instantly appearing at the entrance of the camp tent, where she violently flung aside the curtain.

Outside, where the ‘Flowing Fire’ region’s edge should have been, the scorching heat was now utterly absent!

An eerie, indescribable cold current had, at some unknown point, silently permeated the air.

The characteristics of the area had changed.

And still, outside the door, there was no one!

Qiu Yue’s heart sank heavily…

At this moment, everyone in the entire camp had vanished without a sound.

What truly made Qiu Yue’s pupils constrict was the sight of Liu Ruyan’s ranking on the Myriad Manifestation Scoreboard, now rising sharply!

“Liu Ruyan?!”

Swish!

Three hair-thin, almost transparent black lines of light, without a whisper, shot out from the shadows, striking towards three fatal points on Qiu Yue’s body: the back of her head, her heart, and her lower back!

There was no sound of tearing air, no spiritual energy fluctuations; not even the slightest disturbance in the atmosphere. They simply emerged from the void with an unsettling eeriness—cold, sharp, and laden with a deathly stillness that promised annihilation!

Yet Qiu Yue remained utterly still!

She seemed entirely engrossed by Liu Ruyan’s frantically ascending rank.