The proprietress closed the door behind her as soon as she entered, locking it shut.
Ji Mo's brow furrowed. Trouble often followed a widow, and this would surely stir up gossip.
He tried to open the door, but the proprietress grabbed his arm.
"Mr. Ji, Chizhang City is too dangerous. You can't stay. You must come with me."
The proprietress spoke urgently, emphasizing that it was time to leave.
Ji Mo assumed she was referring to the retaliation from Floating Mountain and calmly replied, "Proprietress, thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."
"How can you be fine? You'll die! No, you must leave with me immediately."
The proprietress was adamant, intending to force Ji Mo to leave.
After Ji Mo had given her a gua sha treatment last time, she had benefited greatly and had recently successfully advanced to the Mortal Immortal realm.
Now, she was confident she could help Ji Mo break through the encirclement and escape.
She pulled hard.
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Ji Mo remained unmoved.
She pulled again with all her might, but it was still the same.
Ji Mo was as rooted to the ground as a tree, not even swaying.
The proprietress refused to believe it. Her eyes widened, runes erupting within her pupils. Demonic markings intertwined on her fair, crystalline arms as she activated the power of her demon royal bloodline.
To save Ji Mo, she no longer cared about exposing her demon identity.
She directly embraced Ji Mo around his waist and pulled with all her might, intending to lift him into the air and escape by sky.
Once.
Twice.
They didn't fly.
The warmth and softness in his embrace stirred Ji Mo, but he quickly pushed the proprietress away. "Proprietress, I'm not that kind of person. How about we have a candlelight chat and talk about life and dreams?"
"Get lost with your candlelight chat! I don't believe I can't subdue you."
The proprietress was unconvinced. Was he really that strong, to be able to ignore her royal bloodline power?
She lunged at Ji Mo again, unleashing her full strength to suppress him and forcibly carry him away.
The lodgers eavesdropping outside were stunned.
"Wow, the commotion inside is that intense? Has the 'virtual man' become so vigorous?"
"Could drinking goji berry tea every day really be effective?"
Just then, the proprietress's incredulous exclamation echoed from within: "What is that thing you have? Take off your clothes and let me see!"
While attacking... well, more accurately, while fumbling with Ji Mo, the proprietress accidentally discovered a mark at the collar of his shirt and was greatly alarmed.
The Heavenly Demon Mark, it looked exactly like the legendary Heavenly Demon Mark!
"Take off my clothes and let you see?"
Ji Mo would never agree. He wasn't that kind of man.
The proprietress grew anxious and threw all caution to the wind, attacking forcefully, determined to strip Ji Mo and see clearly.
Furious power cascaded in all directions, cracking the ground. Beds, tables, and other furniture turned to dust.
Those outside exchanged bewildered glances. What were these two doing? The commotion was so fierce, anyone who didn't know would think they were demolishing the house.
In fact, they were indeed demolishing it. Before long, the guest room Ji Mo was staying in could no longer withstand the onslaught and collapsed with a loud crash.
"From now on, anyone who calls Mr. Ji a 'virtual man,' I'll be the first to object."
A lodger stared blankly, his face full of admiration.
However, no figures were seen in the rubble.
Ji Mo and the proprietress had vanished.
"Not good, Ji Mo has escaped..."
A scream pierced the night.
Song Weixi and Lin Mengmeng rushed over, their divine senses probing the ruins. They indeed couldn't sense any presence.
Ya Zi sniffed the scene and said to them, "Mr. Ji seems to have gone underground. I'll go see what's happening."
With that, his figure glowed with a faint yellow light and he burrowed into the ground.
"Hmph, he must have gone underground to have fun with the little widow. Shameless."
Song Weixi's tone was tinged with jealousy, showing no concern for Ji Mo's safety.
"Teacher Song, please don't speak nonsense. Mr. Ji must have important matters to attend to."
Wang Wenjian vehemently defended Ji Mo's illustrious image.
Xuan Yang nodded in agreement. How could picking up girls not be important?
The group could only wait.
Not long after, Tang Xueyi and Tang Xuan also arrived.
Tang Xuan's expression was grim and uncertain, his face filled with rage, his eyes red. "Ji Mo, you actually ran away! You've betrayed the trust of so many people."
He felt he had backed the wrong horse.
From Tang Xueyi's description, Tang Xuan inferred that Ji Mo was an unfathomably profound reclusive master. Yet, this master had now abandoned everyone and fled.
"Uncle-grandfather, Mr. Ji is definitely not that kind of person."
Tang Xueyi defended Ji Mo, but her words were weak and powerless.
Facts spoke louder than words.
With the person gone without a trace, what else was there to explain?
As for the cultivators who had chosen to strongly support Ji Mo, they were like mourners at a funeral, their faces ashen, feeling as though the entire world had turned dark.
They had been mistaken after all!
"Haha, you brought this upon yourselves. You actually believed Ji Mo, that shameless scoundrel who stole fame through deceit. How pathetic and laughable!"
Tang Heng laughed triumphantly and ordered his subordinates to search the entire city.
He wasn't worried about Ji Mo escaping, because the formation of Chizhang City had already been activated. From this moment on, not even a fly could escape Chizhang City.
Ji Mo would eventually be driven to despair and collapse, realizing he was merely a turtle in a jar, unable to escape.
The more Tang Heng thought about it, the more smug he became, his mouth splitting into a grin that reached his ears.
In a tunnel deep underground.
Ji Mo and the proprietress stared blankly at their surroundings.
Ji Mo was the first to react, saying, "You must have accidentally hit a node of the guardian formation just now, teleporting us down here."
He carefully examined the glowing rock wall beside him. This was part of the foundation of the guardian grand formation, but it seemed to have been tampered with.
The proprietress tiptoed closer to Ji Mo, her mind solely focused on pulling open Ji Mo's collar to see if the pattern was indeed the Heavenly Demon Mark.
She reached out her delicate fingers towards Ji Mo's chest but was caught.
"Proprietress, at a time like this, you shouldn't be thinking about such things."
Ji Mo said righteously. They were underground now, and they should be focusing on finding a way to escape.
"I just want to take a peek, really, just one peek."
The proprietress extended her slender index finger, her gaze fixed on Ji Mo's collar, her expression pleading.
Ji Mo sighed helplessly and nodded. "After we escape, I'll let you have a good look."
The two proceeded along the underground tunnel. Along the way, Ji Mo noticed the altered formation nodes and adjusted them back as he went.
The proprietress's gaze never left Ji Mo, her heart feeling as if it were being scratched by cat's claws. She desperately wanted to uncover the truth.
The Heavenly Demon Mark, the eternal and unchanging faith of the demon race.
Those who possessed the Heavenly Demon Mark were either the chosen sons of demon luck or the reincarnated bodies of demon gods. Their status was noble beyond measure, and even she had to submit.
The proprietress couldn't understand. She had already leaked her demonic aura, and Ji Mo should have sensed it. If he truly possessed the Heavenly Demon Mark, why didn't he reveal it?
Did he not trust her?
Ahead, the scene opened up.
A massive lava cave appeared before them.
This was the core area of Chizhang City's guardian grand formation. An indestructible light film blocked their path.
Ji Mo, seemingly unaware, stepped directly into it.
The proprietress, however, was repelled by a powerful force.