Contention

Hearing this, Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised, but he felt no panic.

His body might be immobilized, but his connection to his five senses had not been severed.

He could see Su Jinxuan's increasingly pale complexion, so naturally, he knew she had already realized something was wrong.

However, every time he selected a "lucky" soul particle to devour and refine, the floating particles on the surface of his soul showed no abnormal reactions. Xu Yuan vaguely sensed that while Su Jinxuan knew something was amiss, she had yet to pinpoint the cause.

It was like a horror movie where the person walking at the back suddenly vanishes, yet the others have no idea how it happened.

But since there were only two of them in the room, Su Jinxuan surely knew that her growing weakness was the work of him, Xu Yuan.

Yet, Su Jinxuan had no way out.

Outside, guards were stationed to ensure the safety of the Third Young Master. Now that the facade had been torn away, she had to bite the bullet and press on regardless.

Either she forcibly burrowed into his Innate Soul Body to take complete control, or she would face a fate worse than death once captured.

That Su Jinxuan chose to speak with him now was somewhat beyond Xu Yuan's expectations.

Xu Yuan sensed that the ant-like, spore-shaped particles suddenly ceased their rhythmic pulsing, and with that, control over his body returned to him.

Inside the bed curtains, Xu Yuan slowly shifted his body.

The red bed was not large, making movement somewhat difficult.

Sharing the same bed, he looked at such a beauty from a close distance.

Her cheeks were like peach blossoms, her eyes filled with allure.

The breath she exhaled made one think of a vast field of roses in a mountain valley.

Looking at the stunning woman lying beside him, Xu Yuan narrowed his long, slender eyes. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again.

He felt the spore particles clinging to the surface of his soul emit an abrupt pulse.

She was warning him not to speak out of turn.

With a soft chuckle, Xu Yuan reconsidered his words, his eyes curving as he said softly:

"Jinxuan, since I promised to respect your wishes, I have naturally made no untoward moves these past few days. You... have truly wronged me."

They locked eyes for two seconds.

Lying on her side, Su Jinxuan raised a slender finger and tapped his chest, her voice tinged with resentment:

"Third Young Master, then why is it that every time Jinxuan wakes up these past few days, I feel so weak and sore?"

"Weak and sore?"

Xu Yuan murmured, nodding slightly: "Jinxuan, why is your complexion so pale? Perhaps you are truly ill. But if you are indeed feeling weak, how about this Young Master helps you massage it away?"

As he spoke, Xu Yuan reached out toward her with a smile.

Slap—

A crisp, light sound.

Su Jinxuan swatted his hand away and teased: "You only know how to take advantage of me the moment you wake up. The Third Young Master is truly wicked."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, not offended. He withdrew his hand and laughed:

"Hehe... if you are truly feeling weak, Jinxuan, I happen to have some Essence Dissolving Powder right here."

If Zhou Chen were peeking, he should have noticed something was wrong by now.

However, after waiting for several seconds, Zhou Chen did not appear. He was likely being very well-behaved and not using his soul to spy on him.

He was being far too obedient.

Feeling a bit helpless inside, Xu Yuan instead grabbed her delicate hand and continued: "As long as you are willing to bathe with me, Jinxuan, I am happy to share this Essence Dissolving Powder with you~"

Su Jinxuan's eyes flickered for a moment, and she laughed softly:

"Jinxuan's body is weak right now and cannot withstand the Third Young Master's antics. I hope the Young Master will show some pity."

"Since that is the case, then we shall postpone it."

"Giggle, giggle."

With a burst of coquettish laughter, Su Jinxuan slowly sat up on the bed. While gathering her smooth, long hair, she said nonchalantly:

"The Third Young Master can see that my health has been failing lately, and the physician I am familiar with is not here in Jingjiang City. Might the Young Master allow me to leave temporarily to seek medical help?"

Xu Yuan smiled upon hearing this.

When things don't go as planned, she prepares to run?

How could there be such a good thing?

But just as Xu Yuan's smile appeared—

Hum—

Among the countless spore particles, several thousand inconspicuous ones suddenly moved.

Contrary to their previous behavior of trying desperately to burrow into Xu Yuan's soul, these thousands of spore particles began to extract the soul energy from the surface of Xu Yuan's body in reverse.

This sight left Xu Yuan suddenly feeling uncertain and alarmed.

This woman's cultivation technique—was it actually a cannibalistic style?

However, the keen perception of the Innate Soul Body allowed Xu Yuan to instantly discover the difference.

After these ant-like spore particles absorbed a certain amount of his soul intent, they did not consume or refine it to strengthen themselves; instead, they simply disintegrated.

The soul intent between two people is inherently repulsive; that is not just an empty saying.

Forced absorption leads precisely to this consequence.

This was Su Jinxuan's warning, and also a method bordering on mutual destruction.

Let her leave, or else they would perish together.

Xu Yuan sensed the slight damage to his soul intent, a look of contemplation appearing in his eyes before he chuckled softly:

"We have been inseparable these past few days; is Jinxuan truly willing to leave?"

If you are far away, is this method of yours still effective?

He paused, and without waiting for Su Jinxuan to reply, Xu Yuan continued:

"Why not let this Young Master accompany you?"

He wanted to see if Su Jinxuan had any other tricks up her sleeve; if this was all she had, then he would no longer need to be polite.

One must know that the soul intent contained within those disintegrated spore particles would not simply vanish into thin air; it would linger for a while before gradually dissipating into the atmosphere.

And these fragmented remnants were even easier for Xu Yuan to absorb and refine.

Moreover, once the magnitude of spores sucking simultaneously increased, the vibrations emitted by the soul intent would become violent.

Whether Zhou Chen would be peeping, Xu Yuan did not know, but he knew that woman Ying'er certainly would be.

Once the vibrations were emitted, she would arrive in an instant.

Xu Yuan's words were met with the simultaneous suction of ten thousand spores.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled even more happily.

Fine, this move again.

It was time to act.

Xu Yuan suddenly grinned, his internal Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art and its accompanying secret techniques operating in tandem.

He slowly rose, suddenly reaching out to grab Su Jinxuan's throat.

But just like before, his body's control seized up halfway through the motion.

Staring at each other in silence, Su Jinxuan flipped over to straddle Xu Yuan, her fingers tracing circles on his chest as she pushed him back onto the bed, narrowing her eyes with a coquettish laugh:

"Does the Third Young Master truly wish to accompany this slave girl?"

As she spoke, those floating spores began to undulate like waves of wheat, while Xu Yuan began to feast wantonly.

The "stealing" he had done over the past few days had made him quite familiar with the consumption and refining aspect of the secret technique.

The surface of Xu Yuan's soul intent suddenly manifested countless pores, like thousands of mouths, continuously swallowing the ant-like spore particles attached to him.

A thousand.

Several thousand.

Ten thousand.

Tens of thousands.

For a moment, the space between those dense, ant-like spores became a living hell.

The instant the change occurred, the pupils in Su Jinxuan's alluring eyes constricted slightly.

She attempted to contact the spore particles that had been swallowed into Xu Yuan's soul intent.

If she could cause those spores that Xu Yuan had actively swallowed to disperse, she could directly and completely control his mind.

But those spore particles were like clay oxen entering the sea—there was no news of them whatsoever.

Realizing this, Su Jinxuan's small face turned pale, and she bit her lip hard with a canine tooth.

She realized what had been happening over these past few days.

The current situation had completely spiraled out of her control.

The rumored useless Third Young Master was completely at odds with the intelligence she had received beforehand.

It was said he had no cultivation, yet he had already reached the Ninth Grade.

It was said he had an innately crippled soul, yet not only was he an Innate Soul Body, he was also practicing an extremely bizarre soul-path secret technique.

But complaints were useless now; Su Jinxuan's smile remained unchanged as she leaned down, her jade hands beginning to wander slowly over the surface of Xu Yuan's clothes, her eyes brimming with seduction:

"If the Third Young Master truly wishes to go, it is not impossible. The time is still early; let us sleep a while longer."

The more damaged one's soul intent, the more muddled one's consciousness becomes.

As long as she weakened this Xu Changtian's soul intent to a certain degree, the bizarre technique he was operating would naturally stagnate, and at that point, she could force him into a coma.

It was just that the price for doing so was too high, but at this point, she could no longer afford to care about that.

If she could avoid alerting Xu Changtian's guards, she still had a sliver of a chance to escape.

As Su Jinxuan's thoughts settled, those dense spore particles began to extract Xu Yuan's soul intent in batches.

One group of spores disintegrated, and the next batch of particles immediately took their place.

Wave after wave, surge after surge.

Xu Yuan, who had been focused on devouring and refining, immediately felt waves of dizziness surging into his mind.

He steadied his spirit, knowing clearly that this was Su Jinxuan beginning her counterattack.

However, having faced death countless times while cultivating the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art, he had long since adapted to maintaining his composure in such near-death moments.

After slightly adjusting, Xu Yuan perceived what was happening on the surface of his soul intent.

Watching the majority of the floating particles still clinging motionlessly to the surface of his soul intent like ants, a strange feeling rose in his heart.

What is the meaning of this?

He had already prepared himself to risk his life, yet this Su Jinxuan was actually still thinking about finishing him off without disturbing Ying'er?