My Xianxia Harem Life

Riley simply nodded. "I'll have to carry you." He said and agreed to the request of the beautiful woman.

She said nothing, but her eyes met his for a brief moment. The blush on her cheeks deepened, spreading to the tips of her ears. Slowly, she gave a small, embarrassed nod of consent.

Without another word, Riley slipped one arm behind her back and the other under her legs, lifting her effortlessly into his embrace.

Her body trembled slightly against his chest—not out of fear, but from the last traces of the aphrodisiac still working its way out of her system.

She didn't resist. In fact, she leaned into him, resting her head lightly against his shoulder.

And Riley, steady and silent, carried her away—through the broken remnants of battle, through the quiet trees at the edge of the clearing—toward the shelter of privacy she had asked for.

They arrived just in time, the place behind them vanishing after a few minutes as they stepped onto moss-covered earth.

All around them stretched an ancient forest, thick with towering trees whose canopies blotted out much of the sky.

Shafts of sunlight pierced through the leaves like spears of gold, illuminating drifting motes of spiritual energy that danced in the air.

The aura of the place was suffocatingly vast, brimming with primal energy and untouched by time.

This secret realm was more than a mere hidden space—it was a world of its own, boundless and mysterious, as if carved from the ancient fabric of existence itself.

In the distance, the cries of battle echoed faintly.

The thunderous roars of savage beasts mixed with the pained wails of men, forming a haunting symphony that reminded them of the dangers lurking within this realm.

The ground trembled occasionally, stirred by the footsteps of something massive far away. Even without seeing them, the presence of terrifying creatures could be felt pressing in from all directions.

Riley glanced around warily, then turned his attention to the woman in his arms. Her breath was shallow but steady, her skin pale but still glowing faintly with spiritual energy.

With care, he lowered her to the ground, letting her rest against the roots of an enormous ancient tree that towered high into the heavens.

Its bark was dark and weathered, yet streaked with veins of silver light, pulsating slowly like the heartbeat of a slumbering giant.

The tree seemed to recognize her, its leaves rustling softly despite the stillness of the air.

He stepped back, giving her space, and waited in silence.

He didn't know what to expect—perhaps she would decide to drive him away, deem him unworthy of even standing near her. And if that were the case, so be it. He wasn't the type to overstep.

He was content just knowing she was safe, for now.

Still, his eyes lingered on her. Earlier, when he had checked her condition, he had felt it clearly—this woman had already reached the peak of the Void Tribulation Realm.

The strongest cultivation that this world could tolerate.

"Thank you... for saving me again. I am the Maiden of Milfwood," the woman whispered, her voice ragged with strain. Each syllable trembled as it left her lips, punctuated by uneven gasps.

Her delicate figure, now reclined against the ancient tree, seemed even more fragile beneath the haze of poison.

A soft, involuntary moan escaped her, and though she bit her lip to hold it back, it was clear the affliction within her was still wreaking havoc.

Her robes, though not torn, clung to her like a second skin, drenched with sweat.

Her cheeks were flushed an unnatural pink, her breathing shallow and quick, and her limbs quivered slightly—as though she were locked in an invisible struggle, fighting a battle within herself.

Riley stood a short distance away, arms crossed loosely, his presence steady and calm in contrast. "I'm just a passerby," he replied, his voice even. "A stranger who happened to lend a hand."

His face remained concealed beneath the obsidian mask—smooth and expressionless, it gave away nothing. To the world, he was nameless, faceless, and unreachable.

But within that anonymity lay his strength. What she could not see was that the body before her was merely a clone, a proxy of his true self hidden safely elsewhere.

With a thought, he could withdraw this body and send another.

Even the mask he now wore had been transferred from his original form using his secret technique. That flexibility gave him an overwhelming advantage—one no other cultivator in this secret realm could replicate.

The maiden looked at him with weary, half-lidded eyes—eyes that still held strength, but were clouded by pain, confusion, and a growing urgency.

"Can you... take off the mask?" she asked hesitantly. "Let me look at your face… at the face of my benefactor."

Silence stretched between them like a drawn bowstring.

Riley said nothing, only gave a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Her eyes lowered at that, lips tightening in a bittersweet smile. "I see. Then... I won't press."

For a moment, the only sounds were the gentle rustling of leaves above, and the faint, ominous cries of beasts far in the distance.

Then, after a pause, she looked up again—her expression more serious now, more desperate.

"I... I need one more favor," she said, voice barely more than a whisper.

"The poison… it's still strong in my veins. The antidote has slowed it down. It helped me, but not enough. The powder was mixed with something far more sinister."

She paused, clearly struggling to find the right words. Her fingers gripped the edges of her robe tightly. "It's not just a poison—it's fused with a soul-burning aphrodisiac... one crafted by demonic cultivators who delight in torment. Even with the antidote, it lingers... twisting the body, clouding the mind, inflaming desire beyond control. And worst of all… its effects can only be fully purged through physical release."

Her words hung in the air, heavy with shame and desperation.

Her blush deepened. Her body trembled visibly now. Every breath she took seemed labored. Her legs shifted slightly, as though her own body betrayed her with every passing second.

"I… I'm not asking you to love me," she said, biting her lip. "I just… need your help. Just this once. If I can pass the next few hours... I'll be able to stabilize my condition. Otherwise..."

She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. Her condition was clear enough to Riley.

The ancient tree behind her pulsed with light, reacting subtly to her distress, as though nature itself mourned her fate.

For a long moment, Riley said nothing.

He looked at her—not with lust, nor judgment, but with quiet understanding. He was no fool.

He knew such poisons were rare and cruel, used only by the most depraved sects to turn cultivators into slaves of their own bodies.

And in front of him now was a woman of high status and peerless talent—a peak Void Tribulation cultivator—reduced to begging for help from a stranger in a mask.

She could have fought, lashed out, threatened or pleaded more forcefully. But instead, she bore her shame with dignity, and waited—still trying to preserve the last fragments of her pride.

Riley exhaled slowly, then stepped closer.

"…What's your name?" he asked at last, his voice low.

The maiden blinked, startled by the question. "My… name?"

He nodded. "If I'm going to help you… then I want to know the name of the woman I'm saving."

"…Diana," she said quietly. "My name is Diana."

He nodded once.

Then he knelt beside her, his eyes hidden behind the mask, but his presence gentle.

Riley gently took her wrist and checked her pulse. His fingers remained steady, but inwardly, he frowned.

Her words had not been an exaggeration—the aphrodisiac was still surging through her meridians like wildfire. Her qi was chaotic and unstable, her spiritual veins trembling under the strain.

Left unchecked, it wouldn't be long before her cultivation base began to collapse entirely and she would die.

With a silent thought, Riley summoned a pill from his true body—a rare detoxification elixir capable of cleansing nearly any poison or malignant energy.

It was a precious item, something he wouldn't have used lightly. But now, as it appeared in his clone's hand, he felt a sudden shift.

The pill, once vibrant with shimmering energy, instantly dulled. Its surface turned gray, then black, and within seconds, it crumbled into dust, disintegrating between his fingers like ash.

His expression darkened.

This realm... it wasn't ordinary. It was absorbing spiritual energy—not just from the environment, but from any treasures brought in from the outside.

A natural formation, or perhaps an ancient curse, was at work here. One designed to strip intruders of their resources, ensuring that no foreign power could be used to disrupt its balance.

"Impossible…" he muttered under his breath.

The maiden, still lying weakly against the ancient tree, looked up at him with dazed curiosity.

"How… how did you do that?" she asked, her voice soft but strained. "Storage rings don't function in this realm… they're completely sealed."