Qin Hao left the Demon Cultivation Sea and teleported all the way to the courtyard where Feng Luan lived.
With a sweep of his divine sense, he discovered Li Muwan inside one of the rooms.
"Whoosh!"
Qin Hao flashed forward, passed through the wall, and entered the room.
At that moment, Li Muwan was sound asleep atop a long table, still holding an ancient tome on medicinal refining in her slender hand.
Her silky black silk hair was casually pinned up, with a few strands falling naturally beside her ears. Her pretty face was rosy, beautiful without makeup, like morning clouds reflecting off snow.
The purple dress she wore made Li Muwan seem like a delicate beauty from a painting, enough to make anyone's heart flutter.
Qin Hao stepped forward, took the ancient tome from Li Muwan's hand, then lifted her by the waist, intending to place her on the bed.
"Ah!"
Li Muwan instantly woke up and began struggling.
But when her sleepy eyes saw Qin Hao, she immediately stopped.
"It's you!"
Li Muwan gazed at him with her beautiful eyes and smiled. "I thought you'd already left!"
"With a beauty like you by my side, how could I bear to leave just like that?"
Qin Hao deliberately leaned his face closer, took a deep breath, and praised, "You smell so good—like orchids and musk, utterly refreshing!"
"Y-You're so annoying!"
Li Muwan looked shy, but inwardly, she felt sweet.
"Y-You should put me down!"
Li Muwan was somewhat nervous. She and Zhou Zihong were staying in the same room, and she was afraid Zhou Zihong might suddenly return and see her being intimate with Qin Hao.
She could feel that her best friend had also fallen for Qin Hao.
She even knew that Zhou Zihong had secretly left and returned that night, though she had pretended not to notice.
At the same time, Li Muwan found it somewhat thrilling, like when she had secretly read storybooks as a child while worrying that her master might suddenly appear.
"Put you down? Sure!"
Qin Hao walked over to the bed and gently set Li Muwan down.
He then sat at the bedside.
Qin Hao patted his storage bag and took out a palm-sized furnace.
"Wan'er, do you know where I went? I got you a gift especially for you!"
"An Alchemy Furnace?"
Li Muwan looked at the blood-red furnace. She could see ferocious Spirit Beasts engraved across its surface.
These Spirit Beasts were lifelike, and waves of powerful spiritual energy radiated from them.
She could tell that the furnace was currently sealed. If the seal were removed, its spiritual energy would likely soar straight into the heavens.
Qin Hao introduced it, "This is the Thousand Beast Spirit Furnace, refined from the beast cores of ten Mid-grade Spirit Beasts and nine hundred ninety Low-grade Spirit Beasts!"
"Hiss!"
Upon hearing that, Li Muwan's expression immediately changed.
One had to know that Mid-grade Spirit Beasts represented Nascent Soul stage Spirit Beasts, while Low-grade Spirit Beasts were Core Formation stage Spirit Beasts.
In other words, refining this single furnace required killing ten Nascent Soul cultivators and nine hundred ninety Core Formation cultivators.
And it had to be successfully refined in one go. There could not be any failure midway through, or it would have to be refined all over again.
"This is far too precious."
Although Li Muwan could hardly put it down, she still pushed the furnace back.
"If I give it to you, then take it!"
Qin Hao forcefully placed the furnace in her hands and said affectionately, "Even if you wanted the stars and moon in the sky, I'd pluck them down for you."
"Oh, and I also refined a piece of inner armor for you from Spirit Transformation stage Flood Dragon leather!"
With a wave of Qin Hao's hand, a close-fitting piece of inner armor gleaming with treasure light appeared out of thin air.
"A Spirit Transformation stage Flood Dragon?"
Li Muwan clicked her tongue. "Where did you get it?"
"Someone gave it to me."
Qin Hao answered.
"Who would give away such a good treasure?"
Li Muwan rolled her eyes.
In the Cultivation World, there were only two ways to obtain treasures: buy them with spirit stones, or kill people and seize their treasures.
No matter which method it was, he had paid an enormous price for her.
Li Muwan gently stroked the Flood Dragon Leather Armor and murmured, "I really don't know how I should thank you."
"If you want to thank me, that's easy!"
Qin Hao pointed to his cheek, a trace of ill intent flashing in his eyes.
Seeing this, a blush rose to Li Muwan's pretty face.
Still, she took a deep breath and leaned in with her red lips, intending to kiss Qin Hao's cheek.
But in the next moment, Li Muwan's eyes widened.
She saw Qin Hao suddenly turn his head, his lips pressing against hers.
At the same time, Qin Hao wrapped his arms around her and gently caressed her back.
Li Muwan's body stiffened instantly, but soon softened again. Her arms could not help but wrap around her beloved.
Li Muwan shut her eyes tightly, her lashes trembling without pause.
She could feel that bastard's lips lingering over her lips, cheeks, and fair neck. From time to time, he lightly nibbled her earlobes, his warm breath making her itch as though countless tiny insects were crawling over her, leaving her whole body numb and weak.
"Mmm~"
Li Muwan panted as she opened her eyes and pushed at him. "N-No... don't... Sister Zihong will be back soon..."
"I'll be quick!"
Qin Hao was already worked up, so naturally he was unwilling to let her go.
With a stretch of his hand, he separated her little hands and slowly laid her down.
"It isn't soundproof here... mm... they'll hear us..."
Li Muwan did not resist, but her face was flushed crimson, her heart shy to the extreme.
"It's fine. I'll put up a Soundproof Barrier!"
Qin Hao snapped his fingers, and a spiritual energy barrier immediately enveloped the area around the bed.
"Now no one can disturb us!"
Qin Hao gently kissed Li Muwan's forehead, his lips traveling downward before finally pressing against her red lips.
He started light, then grew forceful; shallow at first, then deep. His tongue nimbly pried open her teeth while his hands did not stop moving.
At some point, shoes had scattered across the once clean and empty floor, while clothes and skirts were tossed about in disarray.
The old Sandalwood Bed creaked and rocked, as though an earth dragon were rolling and raging beneath it.
The shadows cast by the candlelight upon the wall entwined together, swaying softly.
Outside the room.
Zhou Zihong had no idea how long she had been standing there.
Her bright, starry eyes stared unblinkingly through the crack in the door.
Whatever Zhou Zihong saw, she occasionally swallowed, her legs beneath her skirt pressed tightly together.
"Mmm~"
After more than an hour, Zhou Zihong seemed to have gone numb from standing. Her legs gave out, and she could not help dropping to her knees, her body trembling.
She leaned against the nearby doorframe, weakly waiting to recover.
"Creak!"
The door opened, and Qin Hao walked out of the room.
"Miss Zihong, what happened to you?"
He knowingly asked.
In truth, Qin Hao had sensed Zhou Zihong's arrival long ago, but he had not said anything.
"I accidentally twisted my ankle and fell."
Zhou Zihong's pretty face flushed with embarrassment, and she did not dare look at him.
"I'll help you up!"
Qin Hao stepped forward and helped Zhou Zihong to her feet.
"Thank you, Senior!"
Zhou Zihong thanked him and was about to return to the room.
"Wait!"
Qin Hao called out to her.
Zhou Zihong asked excitedly, "Senior, do you... need something?"
She thought he had not had enough of dual cultivation.
"During my trip to the Demon Cultivation Sea, I obtained several treasures. This is for you!"
Qin Hao patted his storage bag and took out the Level 10 Artifact Refining Reactor he had obtained, along with a piece of Women's Inner Armor refined from Flood Dragon leather, then handed them to Zhou Zihong.
These things were useless to him, but to Zhou Zihong, they were undoubtedly peerless treasures.
Zhou Zihong asked curiously, "What are these?"
She could sense the astonishing energy fluctuations contained within them.
Qin Hao introduced them, "This is a Level 10 Reactor, refined from a Desolate Beast Skull. The other is inner armor made from Spirit Transformation stage Flood Dragon leather, capable of withstanding attacks at the Spirit Transformation level."
"Senior... this... this is far too precious!"
Zhou Zihong's eyes widened as she shook her head in refusal.
She did not want him to think she wanted to be with him only for treasures and cultivation resources.
"If I give them to you, then take them!"
Qin Hao stuffed the items into her hands and said, "These things are of no use to me."
"Thank you, Senior!"
Zhou Zihong hurriedly thanked him.
The armor made from Spirit Transformation stage Flood Dragon leather was already a supreme treasure.
The Level 10 Reactor refined from a Desolate Beast Skull was an even greater treasure among treasures.
One had to know that even the weakest Desolate Beast possessed Spirit Transformation stage Great Perfection cultivation, only one step away from Nascent Soul transformation.
The powerful Desolate Beasts had even reached the Ascendant level.
Before you continue