First Blood, Nine-Star Dou Ling

Xiao Yi Xian's scream jolted Xiao Ce from head to toe. He immediately sat up in bed, his face full of helplessness.

"I'm saying, Xiao Yi Xian, wasn't your reaction a little too intense?"

"I didn't lay a finger on you while you were unconscious. Don't go falsely accusing an innocent man."

"Uh?" Xiao Yi Xian froze, only then realizing that she had overreacted. She lowered her head and looked herself over.

Her clothes were intact, with no signs of having been undone. She felt no obvious discomfort either, and embarrassment immediately appeared on her face. Apologetically, she said, "Sorry, Xiao Ce. I misunderstood you just now."

It was not entirely her fault. The moment she woke up, she had seen Xiao Ce lying in the same bed as her. Besides, Xiao Ce was usually so improper—who knew whether he might have done something inappropriate to her while she was unconscious?

Xiao Ce shrugged. "You'll be mine sooner or later anyway. Why would I seek a momentary thrill and take advantage of you while you were vulnerable?"

Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks immediately grew hotter at his words.

Then Xiao Ce added, "All right. Your Woeful Poison Body has officially awakened now. Hurry and check the changes in yourself. The poison you took yesterday was extremely potent, so it must have improved you quite a bit."

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly examined herself. A moment later, she let out a startled cry.

"I-I actually broke through to Nine-Stage Dou Qi!"

"How does it feel? Now you know how terrifying the Woeful Poison Body is, right?" Xiao Ce asked.

Xiao Yi Xian's face flushed as she nodded repeatedly, her expression full of excitement.

Under normal cultivation, she might not even have been able to break through to Nine-Stage Dou Qi after another year.

Xiao Ce smiled faintly. "This is nothing. It's merely an appetizer."

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian's lively eyes turned, and a thought suddenly arose in her heart.

At this rate, perhaps there really will come a day when my strength surpasses Xiao Ce's.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yi Xian secretly glanced at Xiao Ce. Her soft pink tongue licked her lips as she thought, Let Xiao Ce bully me for now. Once I become stronger than him, I'll definitely bully him back fiercely.

As she continued thinking, a captivating smile unconsciously bloomed across Xiao Yi Xian's fair cheeks.

"What are you thinking about that's making you so happy? Tell me and share it with me," Xiao Ce asked with a smile.

Seeing Xiao Ce's smiling expression, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly came back to her senses. Feeling guilty, she hurriedly said, "Nothing, nothing. I was just a little excited because I broke through from Eight-Stage Dou Qi to Nine-Stage Dou Qi."

Xiao Ce's gaze met Xiao Yi Xian's in midair. After only a second, she guiltily turned her head away.

Xiao Ce stared at her for a while, then leaned closer.

"Xiao Yi Xian, now that your Woeful Poison Body has awakened, I think it's time for us to take the next step."

The low, heated voice entered Xiao Yi Xian's ears, making her whole body tremble. From her slender neck to the tips of her ears, she instantly blushed as though blood might drip from them.

She knew perfectly well what Xiao Ce meant by the next step.

Although she had long been mentally prepared, when the moment truly approached, her heart was still filled with hurried unease. Yet she had no intention of resisting; she was simply bashful and shy.

"O-okay." Xiao Yi Xian did not dare look directly at Xiao Ce, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's.

Upon hearing that, even Xiao Ce's heart began pounding wildly.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ce calmed down considerably. His eyes, however, still gleamed as they watched Xiao Yi Xian's graceful figure beneath her white clothes. At the same time, one hand silently grasped her jade-like wrist.

Xiao Yi Xian's delicate body trembled slightly. She did not resist in the slightest, merely whispering, "Can we wait until tonight? It's still daytime."

There was a faint tremor in her voice, revealing that beneath her seemingly calm exterior, endless waves had already risen in her heart.

Xiao Ce suddenly smiled. "Of course!"

Night arrived swiftly.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, its light falling like a veil of white gauze with a touch of chill.

Yet within the bedroom of the quiet courtyard stood two figures whose hearts burned fiercely.

Xiao Yi Xian lay flat upon the bed, covered only by a silk quilt. Her skin was smooth and tender, and she looked like a beauty freshly emerged from a bath, exceptionally alluring.

Her eyes watched the tall, upright young man standing before the bed. Her lovely face held a young girl's bashfulness, while her moist eyes seemed as though they could drip with water.

Xiao Ce wore only a loose white robe. Its lapels hung boldly open, revealing a perfect, sculpted body that added a touch of masculine vigor to him. The sight made Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks redden, and she could not help swallowing.

Looking at the incomparably beautiful, bashful girl on the bed, Xiao Ce's emotions surged, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

"Xiao Yi Xian, from today onward, you'll belong to me alone!"

With that, he stepped forward, leaned over the bed, braced his hand beside her pillow, and lowered his head to capture Xiao Yi Xian's soft lips. He indulged in their sweetness before finally pulling away after an unknown amount of time.

Their faces were very close, close enough for them to clearly sense the heat burning within each other.

Xiao Yi Xian met Xiao Ce's gaze, her lovely face flushed with shy apprehension.

"Y-you can begin!"

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Xiao Ce curled his lips into a smile, and the robe on his body slipped away.

Before long, a moving melody sounded within the bedroom.

When the darkness receded like a tide and the first light of dawn shone upon the earth, the sounds in the bedroom finally ceased.

Xiao Yi Xian looked exhausted as she slept deeply.

Beside her, Xiao Ce wore a serene expression, like a Buddha, as he sat cross-legged on the bed.

Above the Yin-Yang Qi Cyclone in his dantian, a mass of exceptionally pure and vast Yin-Yang energy swirled.

This was the pure energy of Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body's primordial yin. It was simply too pure and vast, so much so that he had yet to fully refine it.

After refining merely one or two parts out of ten, his cultivation had already broken through in one stroke to Three-Star Dou Ling.

Time passed bit by bit. After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ce finished refining the remaining energy in his body and suddenly opened his eyes.

In an instant, a sharp gleam shot from his eyes. The aura that had been about to erupt retreated into his body like a receding tide in the next second.

Nine-Star Dou Ling!

Xiao Ce smiled in satisfaction.

As expected of the Woeful Poison Body—it had directly raised his cultivation from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to Nine-Star Dou Ling.

Most importantly, although his cultivation had soared, unlike the unstable realms attained through pill consumption, his foundation was incomparably solid, as though it had been tempered a thousand times.

Just as Xiao Ce quietly sensed the surging power within his body, the jade-like delicate figure beside him suddenly trembled slightly.

Xiao Ce turned his head and swept his gaze over her.

He saw the white jade beauty's long eyelashes twitch, though there was no sign of her opening her eyes.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce leaned over and lowered his head, kissing Xiao Yi Xian's smooth forehead. Then he whispered, "Still pretending to be asleep?"

Warm breath brushed against Xiao Yi Xian's soft ear, and a flush immediately appeared on her snow-white skin. Yet she still showed no sign of waking until Xiao Ce reached his mischievous hand toward her Xiao Yueliang, stirring once more. Only then did Xiao Yi Xian open her eyes in fright.

"N-no!"