Unlucky Seduction

"Heh~~~ Yawn!" Yaoying yawned out of boredom, reaching out to grab the whisk from Daoist Yi Yi's hand, slowly stroking the long, soft, thousand-year-old snow silkworm threads on it.

Daoist Yi Yi, who was sitting cross-legged opposite Lin Xiao, chuckled, glanced at Yaoying, and nodded, "Moss can actually transform into a demon. This is the first moss demon in the cultivation world. So be it, this is your destiny, young friend. Let her follow you as a maid." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a black iron token, handing it to Yaoying. Yaoying quickly snatched the token and played with it curiously in her hand.

Lin Xiao took a small teacup from Qingchu's hand, swallowed the scalding tea in one gulp, closed his mouth to savor the rich aroma of the tea, and said faintly, "Thank you, senior."

Daoist Yi Yi chuckled softly, looked at the somewhat foolishly smiling Yaoying, and simply nodded, "It's nothing, no need for thanks."

The four of them sat under a very large ancient tree, fifty-odd feet tall, with a canopy spreading a hundred feet in all directions. Qingchu spread a bamboo mat under the tree, placing two cushions and a small tea table on it. Lin Xiao and Yi Yi sat cross-legged facing each other, savoring the fragrant tea served by Qingchu and two plates of fragrant pine nuts on the tea table. The ancient tree was covered in white flowers Lin Xiao didn't recognize. The bowl-sized, dove-shaped flowers swayed with the breeze, their faint fragrance lingering in the air, bringing a sense of refreshing freedom and detachment.

After another sip of hot tea, Lin Xiao looked up at the few white petals gently falling and said faintly, "Tomorrow, I will start the furnace to refine the 'Snow Gleam Pill'."

"Snow Gleam Pill?" Daoist Yi Yi's long eyebrows twitched. He asked excitedly, "Is it that pill that best replenishes True Essence, one pill of which can instantly restore a Golden Core Stage cultivator's True Essence? Hmm, this is a top-grade Cosmos Grade pill in the Great Luo Pill Scripture of the Great Luo Pill Dao. Young friend, you~~~"

Lin Xiao nodded, clenched his fists, and said in a deep voice, "My cultivation is sufficient, but my experience is still a bit lacking. However, with the insights of countless ancestors in the Great Luo Pill Scripture, I should have an eighty to ninety percent chance of refining a top-grade Cosmos Grade Spirit Pill. It's just that I'll need senior's help with the various medicinal ingredients."

Daoist Yi Yi's long eyebrows twitched, and he quickly agreed. Lin Xiao had spent over a month refining millions of pounds of medicinal ingredients he had previously scoured from Medicine Mountain into Spirit Pills, greatly replenishing the depleted inventory of Origin Sect's Pill Room. The low-grade Spirit Pills refined by Lin Xiao were more potent, more effective, and even more lustrous than those refined by Origin Sect's Pill Hall. The low-grade Spirit Pills sold on consignment in the apothecary shop fetched a good price. Now, hearing that Lin Xiao was going to refine even more advanced pills, Yi Yi was naturally overjoyed.

Snow Gleam Pill, a great pill, a very practical great pill! If Lin Xiao could refine Snow Gleam Pills in batches of tens of thousands like he did the basic pills, Daoist Yi Yi would truly laugh his teeth out. Even if the basic Spirit Pills sold well, the profit wasn't high. But a Spirit Pill like Snow Gleam Pill, which could rapidly replenish True Essence, was always the most sought-after and most profitable.

"This is excellent." Seeing that Daoist Yi Yi had agreed, Lin Xiao nodded faintly, casually tossed a recipe for Snow Gleam Pill to Daoist Yi Yi, and closed his eyes to rest. The breeze flowed past him, the floral scent wafted by, and two white petals quietly landed on Lin Xiao's head. A few fine white pollen grains stuck to Lin Xiao's nose, leaving white spots. Lin Xiao's consciousness roamed within a hundred feet of himself, quietly sensing the changes of creation and destruction in the world.

Daoist Yi Yi nodded. He was accustomed to Lin Xiao's indifference, even coldness. He knew Lin Xiao carried a heavy burden in his heart and didn't want to enlighten him. The minds of cultivators were stable; if a heart demon arose, it would be exceptionally stubborn. Daoist Yi Yi didn't believe he had the skill to dispel Lin Xiao's inner turmoil with just a few casual words. Ascending into the sky on clouds, Daoist Yi Yi looked back at Lin Xiao with a hint of worry, "Heart demons must be overcome by oneself!"

Yaoying, holding the black iron token that signified her formal disciple status in Origin Sect, bit it for a while. Finding her teeth unable to bite through the token protected by Daoist spells, she angrily threw the token aside and lightly leaped up, landing beside Qingchu. She hugged Qingchu's waist from behind, rubbing her small face against Qingchu's back and humming, "Qingchu~ Let's go eat medicine, eat medicine~ Purple Ganoderma, and blood ginseng, they're delicious." Drops of crystal-clear saliva dripped from Yaoying's mouth, wetting a large patch of Qingchu's clothes on her back. Yaoying kept tugging at Qingchu's ear, shouting, "Let's go eat medicine~ This water isn't good!" She pointed at the teapot on the small charcoal stove.

Qingchu pursed her lips and looked at Yaoying helplessly. She carefully picked up the steaming teapot and slowly poured Lin Xiao a cup of hot tea.

Lin Xiao suddenly spoke, "Qingchu, take Yaoying to play. There's nothing much to do these few days, so you don't have to stay by my side all the time." He reached out and gently flicked Yaoying's forehead, smiling, "Go on, go play. I'll rest here for a while. Wake me up when you get back." With that, Lin Xiao tossed the cushion he was sitting on far away and lay down lazily on the bamboo mat. Soon, his snores boomed like thunder. With his snores, wisps of Spiritual Energy 'hissed' into his body, and a thin layer of mist gradually enveloped him.

"Huh? That's amazing! Can you still increase your cultivation while sleeping?" Yaoying looked at Lin Xiao in surprise, put her right index finger in her mouth, and gnawed on it lightly, her eyes darting around rapidly.

"Is that so? Brother Lin can still cultivate while sleeping? How did he learn this method?" Qingchu also stared at Lin Xiao blankly, not understanding how Lin Xiao suddenly possessed such a wondrous ability.

Lin Xiao himself was unaware that his body could absorb external Spiritual Energy autonomously while he slept, and the absorption speed was not slower than when he consciously cultivated. The Golden Core in his Dantian spun slowly, and the Black Tortoise Ring spun even faster. A black Tortoise phantom hovered above the Golden Core, its mouth wide open, constantly inhaling and exhaling in the surrounding void. With each inhalation and exhalation, the speed at which external Spiritual Energy surged into Lin Xiao's body increased. As the Tortoise phantom continued to breathe, faint, tiny inscriptions gradually appeared on the Black Tortoise Ring. The golden inscriptions were ancient, wriggling like tadpoles, appearing extremely mystical.

Lin Xiao, however, was completely oblivious to the changes within him. He lay comfortably on his back on the bamboo mat, gradually stretching out his arms and legs, snoring loudly in a sprawled position. The mist formed by Spiritual Energy tightly wrapped around his figure, being rapidly drawn into his body. After being tempered by the Golden Core into Skyfire True Essence, it was completely absorbed by the Black Tortoise Ring. The luster of the Black Tortoise Ring gradually became smooth and translucent, and the small Tortoise phantom also gradually condensed and solidified. Suddenly, the Tortoise phantom opened its mouth, and a tiny drop of black water was sprayed from its mouth, falling onto Lin Xiao's Golden Core. Lin Xiao's Golden Core dimmed, its volume slightly reduced, and then it shone brightly again, seemingly having condensed further.

Qingchu and Yaoying exchanged glances, then shook their heads enviously. They stood up quietly and, hand in hand, tiptoed away for dozens of feet before skipping along the forest path towards the nearest flying boat docking point. After they had run for about a mile, Yaoying suddenly shuddered and stopped abruptly. Qingchu looked at Yaoying in surprise, and before she could ask, Yaoying pulled Qingchu along and ran away quickly. As they ran, she whispered to Qingchu, "Someone is hiding by the roadside, a very fragrant person."

Yaoying's face was filled with a strange smile. She giggled, "She's hiding in the forest, but she can't hide from me~ Where there are mosses at the base of the roots, that's my ears and eyes."

Qingchu was stunned and looked back with some worry. Yaoying, however, displayed the cunning and unpredictable methods of a natural little demon. She pulled Qingchu and ran hundreds of feet, then pulled her and plunged into the roadside grass. The two little girls whispered to each other as they parted the dense grass and crawled towards the ancient tree where Lin Xiao was sleeping. With Yaoying by her side, Qingchu crawled through the grass with remarkable ease. All the tall grass parted silently before her, and as her body brushed against the grass, not a sound was made. A faint green light emanated from Yaoying, controlling the tall grass within a radius of several feet. This was a unique innate instinct of a plant spirit.

Lin Xiao was sleeping soundly. In his dream, he smelled the aroma of roast chicken. He seemed to see Yao'er's confused little face again. Suddenly, that fair face was covered in blood.

A sharp pain pierced his heart, and Lin Xiao suddenly woke up from his dream. The dense Spiritual Energy around him quickly dissipated, and patches of light white clouds materialized around the ancient tree. Lin Xiao looked around blankly. Bright sunlight streamed through the branches and leaves of the ancient tree, casting transparent beams of light into the somewhat dim forest. Patches of light swayed on the ground. The forest was empty, with no one in sight. The bamboo mat, cushions, tea table, and other items beside him were clearly present, yet they seemed to possess a sense of unreality.

"Master~ Mistress~ Sister Hua~ Yao'er~~~" Lin Xiao murmured the names of his former fellow disciples. Sticky cold sweat poured out of his body, and his Daoist robe was quickly soaked. The back of his robe was discolored. Lin Xiao wiped his forehead with his sleeve, sighed suddenly, clasped his head with both hands, and began to sob softly.

Qingchu and Yaoying watched from afar as Lin Xiao cried, hugging his head under the tree, and their hearts felt indescribable. Qingchu felt a dull ache in her chest. She looked at Lin Xiao, and tears began to fall. If this young man could stop crying, Qingchu would gladly die for even a hint of his smile. Yaoying, from somewhere, produced a piece of red Reishi mushroom, broke it apart bit by bit with her fingernails, and stuffed it into her mouth, muttering, "Big Brother Lin can cry too? Strange, no one is attacking him with a sword?"

Thin wisps of mist suddenly appeared in the forest, swirling around Lin Xiao within a hundred-foot radius, forming an invisible wall that completely sealed off the area where Lin Xiao was. Within the mist, a maiden in a white long dress, her translucent gauze skirt revealing her exquisite figure alluringly, with long black hair flowing behind her, her fair legs exposed outside the skirt as the breeze blew, walked slowly towards Lin Xiao with a timid smile.

Lin Xiao fiercely wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and looked coldly at the maiden. "County Princess Jie? If I recall correctly~ what brings Your Highness here?" Lin Xiao frowned, his gaze flickering strangely over the two legs revealed beneath County Princess Jie's skirt, which was lifted by the breeze. He subconsciously turned his head away, avoiding looking at County Princess Jie's body.

County Princess Jie looked at Lin Xiao timidly and slowly walked to within three feet of him, then knelt down tremblingly. Her body swayed slightly, and her slender gauze skirt slipped off, revealing her fair, tender body like a peeled bamboo shoot, completely exposing County Princess Jie's slender, beautiful, and flawless physique to Lin Xiao. She leaned forward, her small hands gently wrapping around Lin Xiao's calf, and said in a soft voice, "This junior, Huang Jie'er, greets Honored Guest Lin Xiao."

Lin Xiao's calf was wrapped by County Princess Jie's arms. Lin Xiao felt his scalp tingle. Despite being such a beautiful and lovely maiden, Lin Xiao felt as if a venomous snake had coiled around him. Especially as County Princess Jie's fingers lightly slid and tapped on Lin Xiao's calf, making Lin Xiao's body tense up.

County Princess Jie noticed the change in Lin Xiao's calf muscles. A hint of a triumphant smile appeared on her beautiful face. She gently looked up at Lin Xiao and chuckled softly, "Honored Guest, Jie'er is most fond of studying the Dao of Pills. I heard that Honored Guest Lin inherited the supreme pill Dao treasure, the Great Luo Pill Scripture. Therefore, Jie'er is willing to serve Honored Guest with her humble abilities. I beg Honored Guest to enlighten me." County Princess Jie chuckled, and faint pink mist drifted from her mouth. This mist spread rapidly, and within moments, the surrounding air was filled with a sweet, cloying fragrance. County Princess Jie let out a soft moan and leaped up from the ground like a nimble monkey, curling up and pouncing towards Lin Xiao.

County Princess Jie opened her arms, deliberately exposing her full breasts and abdomen, and moaned coquettishly, "Honored Guest~ Junior~~~"

Lin Xiao let out a strange cry, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost. His body sprang up from the ground like a spring. He kicked County Princess Jie in the chest, then turned around and, with a desperate scream, fled into the forest. County Princess Jie was sent flying back nearly ten feet by Lin Xiao's kick to the chest. A large section of her ribs caved in, and large amounts of blood spurted from her mouth, dyeing her chest red.

In the grass, Qingchu gritted her teeth and muttered, "This is a bad woman!"

Yaoying, while rapidly chewing the Reishi mushroom, shook her head and said, "Bad woman! Yes! Bad woman~ Hmm, Big Brother Lin is afraid of girls who don't wear clothes, I get it! No wonder he ran so fast the morning before yesterday! Hmm, and then he punished me to repair the hole in the wall. That was the wall Brother Lin broke, why should I fix it?"

Qingchu glared at Yaoying and said sternly, "Little Qing, shut up! You weren't wearing clothes when you slept, you scared Brother Lin!"

Yaoying glared at Qingchu resentfully and complained, "It has nothing to do with me~ I revert to my original form when I sleep. I ate so much Purple Ganoderma, my original form expanded too much, whimper my clothes were all torn. I didn't mean to not wear clothes~" Seeing Qingchu's grim expression, Yaoying quickly pointed at County Princess Jie, who was curled up on the ground spitting blood, and whispered, "I'm better than her. I accidentally tore my clothes, but she took them off voluntarily~ Hmm, bad woman!"

Qingchu hesitated, looking at County Princess Jie, and said softly, "Although Senior Sister Jie is not good~ but~ we can't just watch her die like this, can we? Hmm, I have wound medicine from Brother Lin~ If she dies, Brother Lin will also be in trouble." After only a moment of consideration, Qingchu's kind nature prevailed, completely suppressing her resentment towards County Princess Jie. She crawled out of the grass and walked up to County Princess Jie, who was still spitting blood. She took out two white jade medicine bottles from her belt, poured out two wound pills, one red and one white, and fed them into County Princess Jie's mouth.

The pills refined by Lin Xiao had excellent efficacy in treating such purely physical injuries. In just a moment, County Princess Jie stopped spitting blood, and the sunken ribs on her chest gradually healed. She weakly opened her eyes and saw Qingchu. County Princess Jie's eyes widened, and she angrily said, "You little slut saved this County Princess? Argh, you make me so angry!"

The thought that her attempt to throw herself at him had been kicked away, and that this little freak might have seen it, made County Princess Jie's face turn purple with rage, wishing she could just die. But in the next moment, she noticed the change on Qingchu's face. County Princess Jie shrieked, "Little slut, you little freak, where is the birthmark on your face? Ah! I can't believe it, without that birthmark, you're actually a little beauty! Ha, did Honored Guest Lin remove your birthmark? How many days did you sleep with Honored Guest before he gave you this favor?"

A torrent of vulgar curses poured from County Princess Jie's mouth, her words more vile than those of a common street ruffian.

Qingchu backed away repeatedly, startled by the unpleasant words pouring from County Princess Jie. Feeling wronged and stifled, Qingchu's tears began to fall again.

Yaoying angrily rushed to County Princess Jie's side and shouted, "You bad woman! Yaoying saved you!"

County Princess Jie sneered and said dismissively, "What is this County Princess's status? Do I need to be saved by such a lowly, ugly monster? Humph!"

Qingchu's face turned extremely ugly. She pulled Yaoying and said loudly, "Little Qing, let's go, don't pay attention to her! She approached Brother Lin with such a wicked method, she must have bad intentions!"

County Princess Jie smiled enchantingly and laughed loudly, "Oh my, has the little slut learned about seduction? This County Princess approached Honored Guest Lin just to try his taste~ Hehe, it's better to share the joy than to enjoy it alone. Little girl Qingchu, why don't you invite Honored Guest Lin out, and we'll find a place to have some fun under the stars?"

Qingchu's face flushed, then turned green, then black. She dared not speak to County Princess Jie again and pulled Yaoying, turning to flee.

Yaoying glared back angrily at County Princess Jie, who was lying on the ground in a very seductive pose. A green light flashed in her eyes, and countless tall grasses suddenly sprang from the ground, surging densely towards County Princess Jie. Amidst County Princess Jie's terrified screams, these tough, iron-like grasses wrapped her into a cocoon, suspending her high in a large tree!

Yaoying chuckled triumphantly and ran away quickly, hand in hand with Qingchu.

Lin Xiao ran wildly through the forest like a headless fly for a while. He suddenly stopped, exclaiming in shock, "Great Luo Pill Scripture? Why would County Princess Jie mention that? Didn't Senior Yi Xing already issue a gag order within the sect, strictly forbidding anyone from mentioning this matter? She~ why~ Hmm, this matter~"

He stood under the tree, lost in thought for a moment, then took out a paper crane from his bracelet. He whispered a few words to the paper crane and flicked his finger at it. The paper crane immediately let out a soft cry, carrying a white light, and flew rapidly towards the northwest.

"This is Origin Sect's business, let Origin Sect handle it!"