I Don't Want You to Envy Others

The moment the Sky Burning Cauldron appeared.

Cao Ying's instincts as an Alchemist were stirred.

She could even feel the slight tremor of the Dou Qi and Soul Power within her body.

"This... this is..."

Cao Ying's breathing caught again.

The shock in her beautiful eyes was even greater than before.

She had seen quite a few medicine cauldrons, and the Pill Pagoda's secret treasury held several renowned precious cauldrons.

But her intuition told her that compared to this Sky Burning Cauldron, those cauldrons would likely all pale into insignificance!

If the Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi was an intangible cultivation technique worth a fortune.

Then this Sky Burning Cauldron was a tangible, supreme tool capable of bringing a qualitative transformation to her alchemy!

No Alchemist could remain calm upon seeing it.

Cao Ying's gaze clung tightly to the Sky Burning Cauldron, almost unable to pull away.

Only after a long while did she struggle to shift her eyes toward Shen Wen. Her exquisite face was filled with an incomparably complicated expression, mixed with shock and confusion.

As well as a trace of emotion that even she herself had not noticed.

Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice carried a faint huskiness she had not noticed herself: "Shen Wen... if you merely wanted to complete the transaction, or toy with me, there was no need for you to bring out something so precious."

Either of these items, if they were to spread outside, would be enough to drive countless experts and Alchemists into a frenzied struggle, setting off a bloody storm.

Not even the Cao Family could possess such things.

Perhaps...

Even Old Monster Lin might not have them.

Yet he had gifted both to her so casually, on their wedding night.

Seeing the rare, nearly bewildered complexity on her face, Shen Wen's heart softened slightly.

He did not answer directly.

Instead, he leaned forward a little, moving closer until he could almost smell the elegant fragrance in her hair.

He could see the faint shadows cast beneath her eyes by her long lashes, as well as the tips of her ears, slightly flushed from nervousness or excitement.

He extended a finger without touching her, merely lightly tapping the Sky Burning Cauldron as he smiled. "A precious cauldron for a beauty!"

He paused, the corners of his lips curving upward. "Other men's wives receive betrothal gifts and heartfelt tokens carefully prepared by their husbands when they marry.

My wife, Shen Wen's wife, should naturally have them too. I just...

Don't want you to envy others in the future."

"Don't want me to envy others..."

Those words.

Were like a stone thrown into a tranquil lake, stirring violent ripples across Cao Ying's heart.

They struck harder than any sweet words.

They pierced directly through the pride and wariness she had always used to arm herself.

She stared blankly at the handsome face so close to her, at her own clear reflection in his eyes.

And at the undisguised, almost scalding seriousness and... tenderness within them?

An unfamiliar, numbing heat suddenly surged from her heart and swiftly spread through her limbs and bones, making her cheeks, ears, and even her neck burn fiercely.

Instinctively, she wanted to avoid his overly scorching gaze, yet her eyes seemed drawn by a magnet, unable to move away for a moment.

The palm holding the Jade Slip was slightly sweaty, and Cao Ying's heart pounded like a drum.

She did not know what was wrong with her.

She had never felt this kind of emotion toward the opposite sex. Even throughout her upbringing.

The person she had looked at most was Shen Wen.

Now that Shen Wen had shed his former sharpness and enveloped her like a pool of spring water, she felt somewhat at a loss.

This unusual emotion left Cao Ying flustered and distracted, before embarrassment turned into anger.

"You said it! Don't regret it later!"

Cao Ying snorted and put the Sky Burning Cauldron and the Jade Slip containing the Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi into her Storage Ring.

"Sleep."

Cao Ying walked to the bed, bumped Shen Wen aside, and pulled the blanket at the foot of the bed into a long strip, placing it across the middle.

Her beautiful eyes widened as she said fiercely, "I sleep on the inside, you sleep on the outside. This blanket is the boundary."

"If your paws cross this boundary, I'll chop them off!"

After saying that, she climbed onto the bed and lay at the very innermost edge, curling herself into a ball and pressing against the wall like a little grub.

[Favorability: 15%]

Seeing the increase in favorability, Shen Wen thought, So Cao Ying is a tsundere?

"Fine. Rest well. I'll cultivate."

Shen Wen had recovered over the past few days and did not particularly want to rest anymore. After all, Hun Tiandi was always weighing on him.

The previous few days had merely been his resistance to Old Monster Lin's high-pressure cultivation. Now, if he did not cultivate, he instead felt as though something were missing.

Perfect.

He could study the Devouring Ancestral Symbol and the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.

Cao Ying also sensed energy fluctuations appearing around them. Her flushed little face, originally pressed tightly into the pillow, could not help turning back as she looked at Shen Wen's seated silhouette.

This guy's back seems pretty good-looking too.

For a moment, Cao Ying examined Shen Wen's back, starting from the back of his head. Just as her gaze reached his neck.

A soft chuckle interrupted her thoughts.

"Say, don't let your eyes stick to me so tightly, all right?"

Cao Ying was immediately startled. "When was I looking at you? Don't talk nonsense!"

After saying that, she quickly turned back and buried her little face in the pillow.

"Please respect my profession. As a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, my Soul Power sensed long ago that you were looking at me."

"I wasn't looking! You're too narcissistic!"

Cao Ying said in a muffled voice.

"Fine, fine. You weren't looking..." Shen Wen's voice paused. "Don't look again later. Being watched while cultivating can easily affect one's state of mind!"

"Got it... I already said I wasn't looking!"

Cao Ying answered instinctively, then immediately came to her senses. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she let out an indignant hiss!

After a while.

The room fell completely quiet, with only the faint crackling of the candle burning.

Only Cao Ying kept clutching the blanket, secretly grumbling to herself.

This guy was really cultivating instead of paying attention to such a stunning beauty as her?

Even if they could not do anything else, couldn't they at least chat?

Blockhead!

Meanwhile, Shen Wen had already completely immersed himself in the abilities of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.

Its greatest characteristic was that it could devour all forms of power and turn them into one's own. For others, its effect might not be all that significant.

But do not forget that Shen Wen was an Alchemist.

Which meant.

Pills were not something one could simply consume whenever they wanted. Many pills required time to refine, or in other words, one could only take one within a short period of time.

Yet the Devouring Ancestral Symbol could perfectly solve this problem.

After examining the abilities of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, Shen Wen turned his mind toward his other reward.

The next moment.

A vast torrent of information flooded wildly into his mind.

Shen Wen closed his eyes, absorbing the enormous amount of information pouring into his mind...

The information surged in crazily, but in the end, it condensed into five ancient characters of deep azure.

Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.

The five ancient characters were vast and majestic, faintly exuding an indescribable authority.

At the same time.

A force was immediately stirred.

"Roar!"

An incomparably terrifying roar burst from Shen Wen's body in an instant, its sound shaking the air as though it contained supreme pressure.

It startled Cao Ying, who had still been feeling shy, into turning her head at once.

And she saw a sight that made her blush!