Chapter 9: Chapter 9 – Nymph’s?!

The light that erupted from the flagship wasn’t like anything I’d seen before—a brilliant white beam that split the sky like lightning, then fractured into hundreds of smaller rays that struck the ground around us with surgical precision.

Where each ray hit, reality seemed to tear apart at the seams, opening swirling portals that hummed with otherworldly energy.

“Dimensional rifts!” I shouted over the growing chaos, recognition hitting me like a sledgehammer. I’d read about this shit in the novel—an Immortal Sect technique called the Scattering Array.

It randomly teleported people across vast distances, splitting up groups and leaving them stranded in dangerous territories. Perfect for breaking up organized resistance.

[System Alert: Dimensional Displacement Imminent]

[Survival Mission Activated: Protect Bonded Targets]

[Warning: Separation may result in bond severance]

The portals widened, their edges crackling with unstable energy. Some led to what looked like frozen wastelands, others to burning deserts, a few to places so dark I couldn’t make out what lay beyond.

The suction was already starting—loose rocks and debris getting pulled toward the nearest rifts.

“What the hell are those?” Lin Yue shouted, loosing arrows at the approaching war fleet. Her shots sparked harmlessly off energy shields, but she kept firing anyway. Stubborn woman had balls, I’d give her that.

“Teleportation traps,” I yelled back, grabbing Mei Ling’s arm. “They’re trying to scatter us! Stay close!”

But before anyone could react properly, the real assault began. The smaller ships opened fire—not with energy blasts or cultivation techniques, but with rapid-fire projectiles that screamed through the air like angry hornets.

Spirit-enhanced bullets, designed to punch through qi barriers and turn cultivators into swiss cheese.

The first volley cut through our ranks like a scythe through wheat. Rebels who’d survived years of guerrilla warfare were dropping left and right, their protective qi useless against the advanced ammunition.

Captain Huo took three rounds to the chest and went down gurgling blood.

One of Lin Yue’s fellow archers simply… exploded… as a high-caliber round found his spirit core.

“Chen!” I saw my grandson leap into action, his Soul Formation aura blazing as he deflected bullets with his bare hands, each projectile turning to molten slag before it could reach him. He was magnificent—a whirlwind of golden light and fury, protecting the weaker rebels behind him.

But even he couldn’t be everywhere at once. The dimensional rifts were pulling harder now, and the weaker cultivators were losing their footing, sliding inexorably toward the swirling vortexes.

Lin Yue was one of them. Her boots scraped against the rocky ground as she fought against the suction of the nearest portal, her bow forgotten as she clawed desperately for handholds.

The rift was pulling her toward what looked like a volcanic hellscape—jagged peaks wreathed in poisonous smoke.

“Help!” she screamed, her fingers finding purchase on a jutting rock just as her legs were sucked into the portal’s edge. “I can’t—”

A burst of gunfire erupted from above, the bullets chewing up the ground around her.

One of the war ships had her in its sights, pilot probably figuring a half-swallowed target was an easy kill.

I moved without thinking.

The vitality overflow made me faster than any old man had a right to be, but it was still a desperate dive across sharp stone and loose gravel.

I slammed into Lin Yue just as the bullets arrived, wrapping my arms around her and using my body as a shield.

Pain exploded across my back—three, maybe four rounds punching through my ribs and spine. Blood sprayed, hot and metallic.

[Severe Damage Taken: Vitality -40]

[Heroic Sacrifice Bonus: Harem Points +25]

[Lin Yue: Trust Level Maximum]

We tumbled into the portal together, her body pressed against mine, her eyes wide with shock and something else.

Gratitude? Attraction? Hard to tell when you’re bleeding out and falling through a dimensional tear, but the system seemed pleased.

“Tianlong!” Mei Ling’s scream cut through the chaos as she was pulled toward a different rift—this one leading to what looked like a dense forest.

She tried to fight it, reaching out desperately, but the suction was too strong.

I made a choice that was probably stupid but felt right.

With Lin Yue clinging to me and my back on fire with pain, I kicked off the edge of the volcanic portal and launched us both toward Mei Ling’s rift.

We caught her just as she crossed the threshold, all three of us tumbling through the dimensional barrier in a tangle of limbs and torn clothing.

The last thing I saw before we fell was Zhao Chen scooping up little Xiao, the boy’s arms wrapped tight around his neck as they were both pulled into yet another portal.

Mei Ling screamed her brother’s name, but then reality twisted around us like a kaleidoscope, and everything went white.

We hit the ground hard—me first, then both women landing on top of me in a groaning pile of bruised flesh and tangled robes.

Pain shot through my wounded back like liquid fire, but at least we were all breathing. That had to count for something.

[Dimensional Travel Complete]

[New Location: Whispering Grove – Ancient Forest Region]

[Allies Present: Mei Ling, Lin Yue]

[Status: All targets alive and within bonding range]

I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. The bullets had done more damage than I’d thought—I could feel torn muscle and probably a cracked rib or two.

But the system’s vitality was already working, knitting flesh back together at a pace that would have seemed miraculous to anyone watching.

“Don’t move,” Lin Yue ordered, her hands pressing against my bloody back. “You’re hurt bad. Those bullets—you took them for me. Why?”

Good question. In my old life, I probably would have calculated the odds, weighed the strategic value, made the smart play.

But looking up at her face—beautiful and fierce and genuinely concerned—I couldn’t bring myself to give some bullshit tactical answer.

“Because you didn’t deserve to die,” I said simply.

Something shifted in her green eyes. The suspicion was still there, but underneath it was something warmer. Something that made the system ping with satisfaction.

[Lin Yue Bond Established: C-Rank]

[Intimacy Opportunities Detected]

Mei Ling rolled off me, her own robes torn and dirty from our rough landing. “Xiao,” she whispered, staring back at where the portal had been.

Nothing there now but empty air and dappled sunlight. “My little brother. Chen has him, but… where did they go?”

I struggled to sit up, leaning against the massive trunk of what had to be a thousand-year-old oak.

We were in the middle of an ancient forest, the kind where the trees grew so thick their canopy blocked out most of the sky.

Shafts of golden light filtered down through the leaves, illuminating a carpet of moss and wildflowers that looked too perfect to be real.

It was beautiful. It was peaceful. And according to my memories of the novel, it was absolutely crawling with things that wanted to eat us.

“Whispering Grove,” I muttered, recognizing the description. “We’re in Whispering Grove.”

Lin Yue frowned. “Never heard of it. Is that bad?”

“Depends on your definition of bad,” I said, wincing as I tested my range of motion. The bleeding had stopped, but I was still weak as a kitten. “This place is supposed to be full of spirit beasts, carnivorous plants, and worst of all—”

A rustling in the underbrush cut me off. Then another. And another. We were surrounded by the sound of things moving through the forest, circling us like predators.

Lin Yue had her bow out in an instant, arrow nocked and ready. Mei Ling pressed close to me, her qi flaring as she prepared for battle.

Both women looked magnificent—fierce and protective and completely focused on keeping me alive.

Which was sweet, but probably unnecessary. Because as the first of our visitors emerged from the undergrowth, I realized we weren’t facing spirit beasts or carnivorous plants.

We were facing something much worse.

Wood nymphs. A dozen of them, all breathtakingly beautiful, all completely naked, and all looking at us like we were the most interesting thing they’d seen in centuries.

[Multiple Targets Detected: Wood Nymphs]

[Harem Potential: S-Rank (Species Bonus)]

[Warning: Hostile Seduction Detected]

[Recommendation: Resist charm effects or risk total domination]

Well, shit. The system wanted me to seduce forest spirits who could mind-control men with their pussy. This was either going to be the best day of my life or the last day of my life.

Possibly both.

“Um,” Lin Yue said, her bowstring creaking with tension. “Are those…?”

“Wood nymphs,” I confirmed. “And they’re probably going to try to fuck us to death.”

Mei Ling’s face went red. “W-what?!”

The lead nymph—a stunning creature with bark-brown skin and hair like autumn leaves—smiled at us with too many teeth. “Welcome, travelers, to our domain. We so rarely get visitors. Won’t you… stay for a while?”

Her voice was like honey and sin, designed to make men drop their weapons and walk straight into her arms.

I felt the charm effect hit me like a wave, trying to scramble my thoughts and turn my cock into a divining rod pointing straight at her.

But the system had other plans.

[Charm Resistance Activated]

[Counter-Seduction Mode Engaged]

[Mission: Dominate the Forest Spirits]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep