The Immortal Sect disciples’ faces paled.

These Demon Cultivators were ruthless, attacking at the slightest disagreement.

"Y-You... stop this."

"Let go of our Junior Uncle! Let go of our Junior Aunt!"

Damon Grant swung the Iron Ball in his hand and smashed it into the ground. The earth instantly trembled and caved in, sending the shouting Immortal Sect disciples stumbling and tumbling into a heap.

Damon Grant glanced at them, casually yanked the Iron Ball’s chain, and slung it over his shoulder.

He spoke. "I’ll give you till the count of three. Anyone still here can go join your Junior Uncle in the mines. And when that happens, the ransom won’t be just two thousand Spirit Stones."

As he spoke, he held up a finger.

"One."

"Two."

The disciples of the Primal Heaven Sect looked to Rowan Forrest and shouted to her.

"Junior Sister Forrest, we have to go!"

’Go? I’m not going anywhere.’

’I finally got to see the man I like; I have to at least say something to him.’ With this in mind, Rowan Forrest shook her head and said,

"Senior Brothers, you go on ahead. I’ll catch up."

Before Damon Grant could even shout "three," the Immortal Sect disciples had all bolted. They vanished in the blink of an eye, their voices drifting back from the distance.

"Junior Uncle, we’re going back to the Sect to get an elder to rescue you!"

"Yeah! Junior Uncle, we’re going to find our Grand Uncle to save you! Just hang in there!"

’Hang in there?’

Hearing this, Sean Lockwood’s hands trembled with rage. His blood surged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing her Taoist Companion vomit blood, Jocelyn Grant cried out in distress.

"Senior Brother... Senior Brother, are you alright?"

Her eyes turned red as she glared furiously at the Demon Cultivators. "Let him go!"

Looking at Jocelyn Grant’s worried expression, Sean Lockwood couldn’t bring himself to offer a single word of comfort. He was just so sick of all this.

’I used to be a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, the respected Junior Uncle of the Primal Heaven Sect. Now I’ve been brought so low that I’m being injured by Foundation Establishment Stage ants, and they’re about to drag me off to a mine.’

’This humiliation is worse than death.’

’Everything was fine before I met Jocelyn Grant. Since I got with her, everything’s gone wrong.’

’Last time, my cultivation fell to the Foundation Establishment Stage because of her. This time, my leg’s been broken.’

’The more I think about it, the more terrifying the details become.’

Sean Lockwood’s gaze shifted to Jocelyn Grant’s face. ’I’m starting to regret becoming Taoist Companions with this woman.’

At that moment, Sean Lockwood once again thought of the men who had been involved with Jocelyn Grant. All of her men had died tragically, one after another. Not a single one had met a good end. Thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.

’Was I wrong to take her in? Could it be... is Jocelyn Grant really a jinx?’

His leg throbbed with pain. Sean Lockwood’s face was pale as he looked down at his broken, bloody leg. At that moment, one thought finally crystalized in his mind: ’She’s a jinx. My jinx.’

He pointed at Jocelyn Grant.

"You..."

"This is all because of you."

His lips trembled.

Jocelyn Grant, however, thought he was worried about her and was deeply moved. "Senior Brother, don’t worry about me. We’ll be fine. The elders will definitely come rescue us."

Sean Lockwood clutched his chest, his vision went black, and he fainted.

Seeing Sean Lockwood collapse, Jocelyn Grant’s tears began to fall, and she choked out a sob.

"Senior Brother..."

"It’s all my fault... If I hadn’t insisted on going out with him today, this never would have happened... Let him go!"

Hearing Jocelyn Grant’s sobbing, Damon Grant’s temper flared. He turned and cursed at her. "Are you wailing for a funeral? If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll break both of your other legs! What a damn jinx."

He gestured to his men. "You lot, take this woman and her boy-toy to the mines. And right, separate them. Throw them in different mining sectors. Damn couple, showing off in front of me."

The Demon Cultivators raised their fists.

"Yes, Hall Master!"

"Yes, Boss!"

In an instant, they had seized Jocelyn Grant and Sean Lockwood from the ground and vanished on the spot, their figures already receding into the distance.

After Jocelyn Grant and her companion were taken away, Damon Grant prepared to leave as well. He had just taken a single step when a female cultivator standing nearby called out to him.

"Please wait..."

As she spoke, Rowan Forrest moved in front of Damon Grant, holding out a hand to block his path.

Seeing this female cultivator, Damon Grant gave the chain of the Iron Ball on his shoulder a sharp tug and glared down at her. "You dare block my path? You want to go to the mines, too?"

’Mining? A scrawny thing like me wouldn’t last a day in the mines.’

"No, no, I don’t want to go to the mines."

Rowan Forrest was petite and had to tilt her head way back to look up at him. "You don’t have to be so fierce! I just wanted to say thank you."

She quickly added, "You probably don’t remember me, but you saved me in the Secret Realm a while back. I’ve always remembered you. Thank you."

Damon Grant studied her for a moment. He did have a faint impression of it. As he was about to leave the Secret Realm back then, he had seen a female cultivator about to be swallowed by a Demonic Beast. He’d casually grabbed a saber from one of his men and cut the beast down.

Of course, he would never admit that out loud.

’I’m a Demon Cultivator, after all.’

’A real villain.’

’How could I possibly save someone?’

"You’re thinking too much. The Demonic Beast was just in my way."

Damon Grant couldn’t be bothered to deal with her and turned to leave, but just then, a hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Don’t go!"

’What the hell does this Immortal Sect girl want?’

’I’m a Demon Cultivator.’

’Usually, female cultivators like her cower and run at the sight of us without saying a word. Why is this one so eager to get close? Isn’t she afraid I’ll swat her dead with one slap?’

He stopped walking.

He looked down at the hand clutching his clothes.

"What now? Are you trying to provoke me?"

Rowan Forrest blushed.

’Who knows when I’ll see him again?’

So she held on tight.

"It’s not a provocation! I have something to tell you."

Damon Grant was not happy. "If you have something to say, then say it. Stop grabbing at me. Do you think you can just pull on my clothes whenever you feel like it?" ’I’m a man of principle,’ he thought to himself. ’I don’t get familiar with any woman who isn’t my wife. Otherwise, if I have a wife in the future and she brings this up, I’ll end up kneeling on the washboard. This kind of thing has to be nipped in the bud, absolutely.’

Before he could push her away, the woman clutching his clothes said,

"I like you."

Damon Grant looked utterly confused.

"What?"

Before he could process it,

the female cultivator was still talking.

Rowan Forrest was already rambling on, "I know you might not like a scrawny female cultivator like me, but rest assured, I’ll definitely eat more in the future. I’ll get fatter, and sturdier."

She kept her head down as she spoke, not daring to look at him, her words tumbling out in a continuous stream. "I don’t have any other agenda, I just wanted to tell you that I really like you. You’re handsome, tall, and strong—you’re exactly my type. After you saved me in the Secret Realm, I haven’t been able to get your image out of my mind. I’ve been thinking about you ever since."