Dual Cultivation: Gathering SSS-Rank Wives in the Cultivation World-Chapter 429- A Mermaid

Mirala froze.

The word hung in the air between them like a blade suspended mid-fall.

Her amber eyes went wide—not with arousal, not with excitement, but with genuine shock. Her mouth opened slightly, lips parting as if to respond, but no sound came out immediately.

Behind Tianlong, the atmosphere shifted.

Akane’s nine tails rose slowly, fanning out like a crimson peacock display. Her golden fox eyes narrowed to slits, locking onto Mirala with predatory focus.

Yu Xiang’s violet gaze sharpened, her butterfly aura rippling invisibly through the room. Her lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile—more like the expression of someone watching a mouse realize it had wandered into a snake’s den.

Sabrina’s arms uncrossed. Her hands dropped to her sides, fingers flexing once. Her tiger ears swiveled forward, tracking every micro-movement Mirala made.

Yuna pressed even closer to Tianlong’s back, her red hair brushing his shoulder, her cat ears flat against her skull. But her silver eyes were wide, watching.

Sylvea remained still, her emerald eyes unblinking, her pale green skin somehow looking even paler in the chandelier light.

The pressure in the room was *physical*. Not just intimidation—actual cultivation pressure, Tianlong’s aura flooding the space like water filling a sealed chamber. It pressed down on everything, making the air itself feel thick, heavy, difficult to breathe.

Mirala’s knees buckled slightly before she caught herself, one hand shooting out to grip the armrest of the sofa.

"I—" Her voice cracked. She swallowed, tried again. "I don’t... understand. What—"

"You heard me," Tianlong said. His tone hadn’t changed—still calm, still conversational. But underneath, there was something else. Authority. The kind that didn’t need to be loud because it expected obedience as naturally as gravity.

Mirala’s breathing quickened. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breasts pressing against the tight black fabric with each inhale. Sweat beaded at her temples despite the room’s comfortable temperature.

"I’m... not sure I..." She licked her lips, her amber eyes darting between Tianlong’s golden gaze and the women behind him—specifically focusing on Akane, whose nine tails were now glowing faintly with crimson energy. "This is... highly unusual—"

Tianlong took one step forward.

Just one.

But Mirala flinched back as if he’d swung at her.

The pressure intensified. Not enough to injure—Tianlong had perfect control—but enough to make her body *know* it was in danger. Her instincts screamed at her, every survival mechanism she’d developed over decades of navigating dangerous situations blaring alarms.

"Wait—wait!" Mirala raised both hands, palms out, her confident demeanor shattering completely. "Please, I didn’t mean—I wasn’t trying to—"

Tianlong stopped. Didn’t speak. Just looked at her.

His golden eyes were unreadable. Not angry, not lustful, not even particularly interested. Just... evaluating. Like she was a problem he was deciding how to solve.

Mirala’s hands trembled. She lowered them slowly, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"I... apologize," she said quietly. "I spoke out of turn."

Silence stretched.

Then Tianlong’s lips curved slightly. Not a smile—more like acknowledgment of a lesson learned.

The pressure vanished instantly, sucked back into his body so fast the sudden absence left Mirala gasping.

She sagged against the sofa, one hand clutching her chest, her breathing ragged.

"Leave it," Tianlong said, his tone casual again. He turned away from her, hands clasping behind his back. "You’re not my type either way."

Mirala’s head snapped up, confusion replacing fear on her face.

"I... what?" She blinked rapidly, her mind clearly struggling to process the sudden shift. "Not your—but then why—" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Tianlong was already walking toward the door. Not the one they’d entered through—a different door, set into the opposite wall. He’d noticed it the moment they’d entered the room. His divine sense told him it led deeper into the facility, toward the holding areas.

"Follow me," he said without looking back.

His wives moved immediately.

Akane floated forward first, her nine tails returning to their relaxed sway. She passed Mirala without even glancing at her, her attention focused entirely on Tianlong’s back.

Yu Xiang followed, her hips swaying with each step—a deliberate, exaggerated motion that made her tight black dress shift and cling. She *did* look at Mirala, her violet eyes meeting amber for just a moment. Her smile was sharp, predatory, promising violence if given the slightest excuse.

Sabrina walked with her arms crossed again, her golden eyes scanning the room one last time before she passed through the doorway. Her tail swished once, contemptuous.

Yuna hurried after them, her latex suit creaking softly, her cat ears still flat but starting to relax.

Sylvea moved last, her steps careful and measured. She glanced at Mirala briefly—something complicated crossing her delicate features—before following the others.

Mirala stood frozen for a long moment, her mind racing.

Then she moved.

Quickly, stumbling slightly as her legs nearly gave out, she rushed after them. Her heels clicked rapidly against the stone floor as she caught up, entering the corridor just as Tianlong’s group moved deeper into the facility.

The corridor was narrower than the one they’d used to enter.

Lighting came from the same embedded formations, but dimmer here. Shadows pooled in the corners, making it harder to see details.

Mirala followed a few steps behind, her breathing still uneven.

Her mind worked frantically, trying to understand what had just happened. One moment she’d been in control—her domain, her rules, her negotiation. The next, she’d felt like an insect beneath a boot, seconds from being crushed.

And then... nothing. Just dismissal.

’Not my type.’

The words echoed in her head, mixing with confusion and—strangely—a flicker of something that felt uncomfortably like ’disappointment’.

She shook her head sharply, pushing the feeling away.

’Just get them what they want. Get them ’out’ of here without causing trouble. That’s all that matters.’

Ahead, Tianlong walked with his hands still clasped behind his back. His crimson robes swayed slightly with each step, catching the dim light.

But it was his wives that drew Mirala’s attention.

The way they moved.

Akane’s hips rolled with each step—not human motion, more feline, sensual in a way that suggested centuries of practice. Her nine tails swayed in perfect rhythm, almost hypnotic.

Yu Xiang’s walk was more deliberate. Each step placed precisely, her spine straight, her head held high. But her hips ’swung’, side to side, making her ass shift beneath the tight fabric of her dress. She knew exactly how she looked and used it like a weapon.

Sabrina moved like a warrior—economical, no wasted motion—but even that had a certain grace to it. Power restrained but visible in every line of her body.

Even Yuna and Sylvea, less confident than the others, carried themselves differently than any women Mirala had seen in this realm. They walked ’behind’ Tianlong, yes, but not as servants. More like... guards? Companions? Something else entirely.

And the pressure.

Even with Tianlong’s aura suppressed, Mirala could ’feel’ them. All of them. Their cultivation levels were... she couldn’t even pin them down. Too high for this circle, maybe too high for several circles above.

’Who the fuck ’are’ these people?’

The corridor opened into the holding area.

The same space Tianlong’s group had passed through earlier. Cages lined both walls, occupied by slaves waiting for auction. The lighting was even dimmer here, making the shadows deeper.

Tianlong walked past the first row of cages without slowing.

The male slaves watched him pass—some with confusion, others with hope, a few with naked hostility. None of them spoke. Probably didn’t dare.

He passed the female warrior cages. One of the women—the one with cuts on her arms—leaned forward, her hands gripping the bars.

"Please—" she started.

Tianlong didn’t even look at her.

She fell silent, her expression crumbling.

He kept walking, past row after row, until he reached the very end of the holding area.

The aquarium tank.

Ten feet across. Eight feet deep. Glass walls reinforced with metal frames. Water filled it completely, salt-infused to maintain the proper environment for its occupant.

The mermaid.

Tianlong stopped directly in front of the tank, his golden eyes focusing on the figure inside.

She sat at the bottom still, exactly as she had been when they’d passed through earlier. Knees pulled to chest, arms wrapped around herself, her long tail curled beneath her.

But this time, she wasn’t looking down.

She was looking at him.

Her deep blue eyes—almost black in the water’s dim refraction—tracked his approach, watching him with that same exhausted despair as before. No hope, no fear, just... observation. Like she was watching a storm approach from a distance, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Tianlong’s gaze swept over her slowly, clinically.

She was completely naked.