My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 77: Long Lost Young Lord

In the mortal world, metals were considered scarce treasures with high value, especially materials that could store spiritual energy.

The precious metals were needed to create a high-level artifact and magic weapon. Aside from the scarcity of materials, there weren’t many high-level craft masters and blacksmiths who could refine and craft those precious metals.

Alchemist was also as valuable as those craft masters and blacksmiths because everyone’s demand for medicine, elixir, and potions was extremely high.

That was why the S Rank alchemist of Sacred Sakura made many people immediately switch sides to uphold justice for the nine-tailed fox sisters.

However, what they found at this time was truly surprising. The twenty-one Sacred Sakura Holy Land disciples were armed with full-body magic armor and many artifacts!

The sapphire vanguard, obsidian mid, and ruby rear. That top-tier equipment was just given to the young seedlings below 6th Rank...

The poor mages and rogue cultivators could only dream of possessing top-tier magic items and artifacts. Even the authentic knight must sacrifice many things to obtain their full-body armor.

Other holy lands were pale in comparison. No, even the Saint-level expert, the elite of the elite of any top-tier prominent sect lost when compared to those junior disciples.

Sacred Sakura Holy Land was so rich and overbearing!

Several parties intended to seize those artifacts and magic armor. Yet, the target had already entered the ancient secret realm ahead of everyone.

"The ancient secret realm has been opened. Each faction can only send a team of disciples under the 6th Rank!" A human elder shouted out loud.

"I will get my treasures there."

"My fortune is waiting!"

"Beware of the danger! Other factions might want to harm us in there."

"O-oh!"

The disciples of various factions went into the ancient secret realm as if their lifelines were there.

More than six thousand disciples from over three hundred factions left, leaving the elders or old monsters representing their respective factions behind.

Yuuki’s expression remained calm yet cold as she watched the disciples of various factions enter the secret realm’s portal.

The disciples from Tiangong Sacred Land clearly had no good intentions. Nevertheless, those disciples would be doomed once they faced Ely’s exploration team.

"Ahem, little sister. Are you alone?" Blood Empress from the Blood Moon Pavilion came over.

"You should call me senior, Blood Empress." Yuuki squinted her eyes skeptically. She was sure this was their first meeting.

"If you’re alone, how about you join us for a chat? Those monsters and villains wouldn’t dare to make any funny move."

"No need. Not even their ancestors dared to attack me recklessly."

"Anyway, where is your little sister? I want to meet her."

"She’s not here."

"So, you are alone~ But I don’t think you are truly alone. Like any other faction, Sacred Sakura sent a backup force, right? This will obviously be a great war, not just a dispute between holy lands. Look at those hungry demons and greedy humans."

"Indeed."

"But Sacred Sakura sent a 10th Rank expert just to escort the exploration team. Isn’t your current sect so overbearing?"

The Blood Empress’ question made many people curious as they still needed to learn about the Sacred Sakura Holy Land’s top combatants.

"Yes, we are entitled to do so. How about you? Patriarch’s precious daughter, Blood Empress? You are a 9th Rank expert, but you became one of the escort elders."

"I want to meet you and your lil sis."

Blood Empress then opened the conversation as she wished to approach Sacred Sakura Holy Land and build a good relationship.

Unfortunately, Yuuki didn’t divulge any helpful information. Her cold temperament kept her from saying much, but the allies soon flocked around her to curry favor.

They certainly couldn’t see the Sacred Sakura’s reinforcements, but that was the same as their respective faction. Their main armies were on standby elsewhere, waiting for their signal.

"Heh." The Buffed Buffalo snorted sarcastically.

He and the two elders beside him remained calm to see their enemy gain many allies.

Once their trump card arrived, not even God could save those ignorant fools. Those people could only blame themselves for offending Tiangong Sacred Land.

---

Once the disciples from the various factions stepped into the ancient secret realm’s portal, they were teleported to random places in the unknown dark forest.

However, that ancient secret realm was pretty weird and oppressive. Everyone’s cultivation base and power were suppressed to the Core Formation by force. No one could exert any power beyond the 3rd Rank by any means!

Everyone immediately communicated with their team members with their own methods to quickly regroup because working as a team was much safer than individual exploration.

It was the same with Ely’s team. Ely’s disciples immediately used the teleportation crystal to regroup at Michael’s spot. They were rich and sacrificed such precious teleportation crystals without a second thought.

"Where’s master?" Jophiel wondered in confusion. The twenty disciples, including her, had gathered, but their master was nowhere to be seen.

Several people immediately tried to contact their master, but their master was out of reach. Their master was either still in the outside world, teleported to a forbidden zone, or fell into a restricted area with signal interference.

Regardless, they activated an anti-debuff talisman and went deeper into the dark forest to find their master. They began to explore this newly emerged secret realm.

A massive castle stood magnificently somewhere deep within the super vast dark forest.

Ely was teleported to a stiflingly hot dark room, and the mist that filled the room made her shiver. She glanced left and right confusedly. She was currently in someone’s bedroom.

There was a super big canopy bed and various typical bedroom furniture. Everything was dark in color, almost black. Lots of hunting and warfare equipment was displayed on the walls. Also, a demonic aura radiated everywhere.

Outside the window was midnight, but the moonlight and the starry sky were pretty bright to illuminate the night world.

When she looked out, she found the massive volcano on the left, a vast dark forest on the right, and a vast ocean as black as ink on the front.

’Did I get teleported to a powerful demon’s castle? The final boss stage right at the start?’ Ely grasped her head in panic. She couldn’t fly to escape from this tall castle tower.

Her teleportation crystal didn’t work, and her telecommunication talisman couldn’t reach her disciples.

In this secret realm, there was not a single nature spirit. Thus, her only escape path was by land because the flying artifacts were in her disciples.

*Creak*

The door suddenly opened, and Ely’s heart skipped a beat. Nevertheless, she was ready for a battle, or instead, run away.

*Clang*

The demon maid dropped her tray, surprised to find someone in the room. She couldn’t help but ask. "Who, who are you? Eh, young lord?"

"Eh?" Ely was taken aback, but she took advantage of the misunderstanding to save her from her current predicament.

---

"..." Ely didn’t know what to say. She remained silent as the demon maid spoke many things like a happy little bird.

Luckily, this demon girl was gullible and easy to deal with. She also managed to extract some information. This ancient secret realm was called Ancient Night, and she was in the Nightmare Clan’s castle.

Her voice also became heavy because she wore a mask, respirator, and helmet. So, she would raise no suspicion.

Hearing that name alone, Ely wanted to run away immediately. This secret realm was actually inhabited by many strong ancient demons and monsters.

However, this demon maid thought she was the long-lost young lord who just returned. Ely played along as she didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble while looking for a chance to escape from this castle.

"My young lord, I have notified Lord Martin and Madam Sarah regarding your return. They are currently awaiting your presence at the family hall." The demon maid’s moon-like eyes sparkled with joy.

"W-what?" Ely gasped. Her escape path was sealed, and she would be doomed. The demon king was expecting the newly arrived young lord’s presence!

"You may not feel it, but everyone is happy to hear about your return." The demon maid put her hands together.

"State your name? Why did you enter this bedroom as if it was your room?" Ely could only buy a little time to think of a solution to escape.

"This maid’s name is Daphne Moon. I need to clean your room regularly, young lord. Please pardon my audacity, but this is madam’s order." The demon maid knelt down to apologize.

"Stand up." Ely sighed.

In the end, she followed the demon maid to the family hall. She couldn’t possibly jump from the high castle tower and ran away.

She could also see the demons in this secret realm were pretty powerful. The random servants were already at 4th Rank, and the weakest guards were 5th Rank demons.

She would surely be dead if she was ganged up by demon armies in their domain. Her holy artifacts couldn’t even soothe her.

On a particular wall, she found the family painting. The demon king, the demon queen, and the young lord. The young lord was also wearing black armor but was a black-haired swordmaster and nightmare demon, not a knight.

Therefore, Ely chose to play the fake young lord and ran away when the time came. It was her current escape plan.

She arrived at the family hall. Dozens of powerful demons were already in that room, watching the so-called long-lost young lord’s arrival.

"You are finally back home, my child!" The obese lady jumped from her seat and flew. She wished to hug her long-lost child.

Even though Ely had decided to play her role, she would be squashed to death if she received that big lady’s bear hug.

Ely avoided it by a hair, and the obese lady was stunned momentarily.

"You’re still as shy as ever." The obese lady grinned.

"No, I don’t." Ely took a safe distance. Her first safety rule was not to allow herself to be caught by the enemy.

"Sarah, you will crush our son because of your excitement. Please behave with more grace." The chubby white-haired demon stroked his long moustache.

"Uh-huh... My child? Did you fail to ascend and choose to start all over?" The obese lady was shocked when she found her child had no cultivation base.