Chapter 366: Diplomacy Before Betrayal

Damian instinctively took a step backward when Cassandra moved closer.

Cassandra immediately licked her lips. "Relax, Master. I just want to drink your blood while we have some fun together. Two things at once."

Damian gulped.

He was shameless, perverted, and definitely wasn’t going to pretend he disliked sleeping with a beautiful woman.

The only problem was that this woman was Cassandra, and she was way too fucking fierce to deal with normally.

The last time they had done it together a few days ago, Damian had ended up staying in bed for an entire day afterward because his body was completely exhausted.

He gave her a cautious look. "Can we maybe do this later? We literally did it a few days ago."

Cassandra’s grin only widened as her sharp fangs slowly appeared. "No can do."

Damian’s eye twitched. "Why not?"

Cassandra placed a finger against his chest. "Because your blood is just too fucking delicious. More importantly, every time I drink it, I can feel my body’s refinement speeding up noticeably."

Her crimson eyes gleamed with obvious excitement. "So... the more often we do this, the sooner I’ll reach the King Realm."

She leaned closer and whispered teasingly, "Think about it, Master. The faster I become a King Realm cultivator, the safer your harem will be. You wouldn’t want some stronger enemy suddenly appearing and killing everyone, would you?"

Damian stared at her for a moment before frowning. "Are you threatening me right now, Cassandra...?"

Cassandra simply laughed, her grin widening enough to reveal her fangs. "Of course not, Master. I’m just saying it would be better to listen to me now than regret it later."

Damian clenched his fists dramatically before finally lowering his head. "Fine!"

He spread his arms as if accepting his fate. "Drink all you want. My body is yours."

Cassandra grinned. "Hehe... good answer."

Before Damian could say another word or even think about escaping, Cassandra casually grabbed him, threw him over her shoulder, and started walking toward the bedroom.

Damian hung over her shoulder helplessly for a moment before sighing.

Strangely enough, despite being carried around like this, he didn’t really care at all.

He had never understood those cultivation protagonists who acted like being led around by a woman was somehow humiliating.

It was as if letting a woman take control for once would magically destroy their path to immortality.

Even more ridiculous, some of those bastards could spend hundreds of Chapters surrounded by beautiful women.

Yet somehow, they believe that sleeping with any of them would ruin their Dao Heart and cut off their path to immortality.

To Damian, that was just fucking stupid.

On the other hand, Damian relaxed comfortably over Cassandra’s shoulder. At the end of the day, he was still getting exactly what he wanted.

Even better, Cassandra drinking his blood actually counted as giving her something valuable.

The System would produce returns from it, and those rewards often strengthened Damian’s foundation, body, or cultivation in return.

The realization suddenly hit him. Both of them were getting stronger through this, and both of them enjoyed it.

Damian rubbed his chin and grinned. "Hehe... so is this basically dual cultivation?"

Cassandra heard him and immediately burst out laughing. "Dual cultivation? Hahaha! Good, good! Then stop complaining and get to work, Master."

A moment later, Damian was tossed onto the bed. He quickly sat up with a competitive grin. "Goddammit, Cassandra. I’m not losing this time."

Cassandra flashed her fangs and grinned back. "Hehe... then prove it, Master. Let’s see which one of us is stronger."

---

About a week later, Corlan finally arrived at the Hidden Abyss Hall.

Lenox personally received him inside a private meeting room, and after a few casual greetings, the conversation quickly turned toward the Twin Keys.

Corlan frowned as he placed several intelligence reports on the table. "This Forbidden Immortal Harem isn’t simple. The Morath Clan already tested them for us and got completely wiped out."

Lenox nodded. "I know. One of their High Golden Core members even forced Jelra back."

Corlan’s expression became more serious. "Exactly. If we charge in recklessly, we could lose a lot before we even touch the Twin Keys."

For a few moments, both men remained silent. Lenox leaned back in his chair, then suddenly paused. "Wait a minute..."

Corlan looked at him.

Lenox slowly smiled. "Why the hell do we even need to fight them?"

Corlan raised an eyebrow.

Lenox continued, "Our real goal is the inheritance. The Twin Keys are only necessary to awaken and unlock it."

His fingers tapped lightly against the table. "So we approach this harem, explain just enough to convince them to cooperate, awaken the sisters, open the inheritance... and split whatever is inside."

Corlan stared at him for several seconds before suddenly laughing. "Hahaha! Split it? You seriously expect me to believe that?"

Lenox immediately laughed as well. "Of course not. I don’t want to fucking split it with them. I’m already splitting it with you."

Corlan grinned. "Good. I was starting to think you’d become generous in your old age."

Lenox waved dismissively. "That’s Plan B."

He leaned forward. "Plan A is simple. We play along, help awaken the Twin Keys, enter the inheritance, and assess the harem’s real strength."

Corlan immediately understood. "So basically, if they’re not as strong as the rumors say..."

"We take everything," Lenox finished.

Corlan raised an eyebrow. "And if they really are monsters?"

Lenox shrugged. "Then we share. Better to walk away with half an ancient inheritance than die trying to take all of it."

Corlan thought about it for a moment before slowly nodding. "That’s actually a reasonable plan. At least this way, we’re far more likely to walk away alive."

Lenox picked up another report concerning Damian’s faction. "There’s also something else. Their leader literally named his group the Forbidden Immortal Harem."

Corlan chuckled. "Meaning?"

"He clearly values those women," Lenox replied.

His smile became more calculating. "A man who built an entire faction around his harem probably won’t casually risk getting all of them killed in a war against two established factions if negotiation is possible."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "So I’d say the chance of him agreeing to cooperate is at least eighty percent."

Corlan laughed. "Hahaha! Good. The plan sounds solid enough, so let’s move."

Lenox nodded. "Of course. We still need to see for ourselves whether they’re really as strong as the rumors claim."

The two old friends exchanged knowing smiles as they prepared to leave. For now, diplomacy came first.