The Lotus-ship touched down with a soundless grace, its golden hull repelling the murky Jade Mist like a god rejecting filth. The hatch hissed open, and the Cloud Messenger stepped out.
His name was Lord Zephyr, a Rank 8 World Breaker. His skin was translucent, glowing with the radiance of a man who had crushed moons with his bare hands. The gravity around him warped, making the villagers fall to their knees, their bones groaning under the sheer weight of his presence.
Zephyr's gaze swept over the kneeling crowd with utter boredom until it landed on Lin Xiao.
He paused. In this decaying, rotting world, she stood like a pristine emerald amidst ash. The dark energy Fang Yuan had infused into her didn't look like a corruption to Zephyr; it looked like an exotic, high-density allure that enhanced her natural beauty.
"A Saintess with such... vigorous vitality?" Zephyr mused, his voice echoing like thunder across the square. He ignored the Village Head and walked straight toward Lin Xiao, his golden robes trailing behind him.
He reached out, his gloved hand lifting her chin. Lin Xiao trembled, the "Void-Charges" inside her screaming in response to his massive Rank 8 aura.
"The higher realms are cold and empty, little lotus," Zephyr whispered, a predatory glint in his eyes. "It would be a waste to turn a beauty like you into a mere pill. I think I shall keep you as my personal 'Cultivation Cauldron' before this world is liquidated."
In the shadows of the nearby hut, Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed. He felt the resonance through the soul-tether. Lord Zephyr was powerful—dangerously so—but his lust was the perfect conductor for the trap.
"Go on, Lord Zephyr," Fang Yuan thought, a cold, deathly smirk playing on his lips. "Touch her. Claim her. Reach for the beauty, and find the void."