Listening to the commotion above, Su Shi'er's heart pounded wildly. Such close contact with Shen Miaoyin also triggered an instinctive physical reaction from his body.
"You..." Shen Miaoyin's eyes flew wide open. Her body stiffened as she instinctively tried to cry out.
Intimate contact was one thing, but Su Shi'er's reaction made her feel violated.
Su Shi'er felt rather awkward. This reaction was beyond his control. Yet his mind remained constantly alert, and upon suddenly hearing movement, he instinctively tilted his head and covered Shen Miaoyin's mouth with his own.
In this situation, if they made a sound, they would surely lose their lives!
"Mmph..."
The instant she made a sound, Shen Miaoyin also realized something was wrong.
But she never imagined that Su Shi'er would stop her from making a sound in such a manner.
This bold brat, I... I...
Shen Miaoyin's chest heaved violently with anger.
But the more she reacted like this, the more awkward Su Shi'er became.
For a moment, an intimate atmosphere filled the entire underground hollow.
Shen Miaoyin's face soon flushed red. If there had been light at that moment, one would surely have seen her cheeks glowing scarlet, delicate and lovely as if ready to drip.
She had always severed emotion and desire, yet her injuries had damaged her foundation. Now, in such contact with Su Shi'er, an itchy, tingling sensation actually arose in her heart.
A feeling of shame could not help brewing within her.
Within the Spiritual Plant Garden, Ye Liangchuan held a longsword as he swiftly made arrangements.
Behind him, the others quickly departed, and before long, fewer than ten people remained.
Ye Liangchuan wore an indifferent expression and was about to turn away when his gaze suddenly swept toward the distant Boulder Pile.
"Martial Brother Ye, what happened?" a disciple hurriedly asked.
"Tell me, could that person have never left, but hidden somewhere instead?" Ye Liangchuan narrowed his eyes, asking as a thoughtful look surfaced on his face.
"Hidden? Could he be in that pile of rocks? But there are... no spiritual qi fluctuations here!" Someone examined the Boulder Pile and hurriedly began to sense the area.
"Whether he is or not, we'll know if we go check," another disciple quickly said.
"No need for such trouble!"
Ye Liangchuan snorted coldly, a savage glint flashing through his eyes.
With the Purple Lightning Sword in hand, he swept his arm, and a mass of dense purple lightning mist surged forth.
The dense mist shot straight toward the Boulder Pile!
Lightning raced through the mist. Strands of electricity as thin as hair instantly blanketed the entire Boulder Pile.
Under the lightning, that towering mass of boulders turned into powder in the blink of an eye.
The excess lightning struck the ground and sank deep underground.
Within the underground hollow, lightning coursed in, making Su Shi'er and Shen Miaoyin's bodies convulse repeatedly.
Fortunately, after being conducted through the ground, the lightning's power had diminished greatly. Though painful, it was not fatal.
Neither dared circulate their cultivation to resist. They could only grit their teeth and use their flesh-and-blood bodies to endure it head-on, forcibly swallowing their pain without making a sound.
Su Shi'er was all right. The pain he suffered while cultivating with Qi Gathering Pills was no less than this.
Shen Miaoyin was different. She had not endured such agonizing pain in who knew how many years. She clung tightly to Su Shi'er, her fingers digging into his back until her nails unknowingly sank into his flesh.
Fortunately, the disturbance did not last long.
"Let's go. It seems that person really has left!"
Seeing every boulder reduced to powder and still no trace of anyone within the Boulder Pile, Ye Liangchuan finally turned his attention elsewhere.
He would never have imagined that Su Shi'er and Shen Miaoyin had indeed not left, and were hiding in the underground hollow beneath the Boulder Pile.
"Martial Brother Ye, if we can't find that person, then our trial..." Several disciples close to Ye Liangchuan hurriedly asked in low voices.
To them, whether they could recover those spiritual plants was not important. What mattered most was their respective trials.
"Don't worry. Even if we can't find that person, I have ways to ensure you pass the trial assessment."
"Three days. If there is still no trace of that person by then, I will take you to find another way." Ye Liangchuan spoke with an indifferent expression.
He did not dare waste too much time either. This matter placed enormous pressure on him as well.
There had been no gains in the Spiritual Plant Garden. If the remaining days yielded nothing too, then once the trial ended, he would inevitably face tremendous pressure.
Hearing this, the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Within the underground hollow, Su Shi'er and Shen Miaoyin remained pressed close together. Only after there was no longer any sound outside did they finally relax.
"They've left. Peak Master Shen, you can let go of me now." Su Shi'er's eye twitched as he hurriedly separated his lips from Shen Miaoyin's and spoke softly.
Shen Miaoyin's cheeks were crimson. Only then did she realize that she was tightly wrapped around Su Shi'er.
"Your... back!" Feeling the sticky sensation on her fingers, she finally realized she had unintentionally scratched Su Shi'er. Her tone carried a slight hint of apology.
"It's fine. Just a superficial wound. It'll heal in a few days." Su Shi'er shook his head and replied with a smile.
For a cultivator, such an injury was nothing at all. Rather, that intimate contact with Shen Miaoyin had given him a wondrous experience he would never forget for the rest of his life.
"Hmph!" Shen Miaoyin gave a faint cold snort and raised her hand to push open the entrance to the underground hollow.
"Peak Master Shen, I advise you not to rush out. The area outside has already been sealed off. If they can't find anyone, they will definitely come back again." Su Shi'er swiftly warned her, looking calm and composed.
"I never expected that though you are young, your thoughts would be so meticulous." Shen Miaoyin spoke indifferently, stopping what she was doing.
Naturally, she had thought of what Su Shi'er said as well. It was only that such intimate contact made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Forget it. I'll take this opportunity to restore my strength as quickly as possible!"
With a turn of thought, she took out a pill and swallowed it. She then closed her eyes and concentrated, beginning to refine it.
Only in such a state could she empty her mind of all distractions and remain unaffected.
Moreover, the sooner she recovered her cultivation, the better her odds would be should danger arise again.
Seeing this, Su Shi'er did not waste time either. He directly took out a Cinnabar Fruit and swallowed it. Refining one Cinnabar Fruit required at least ten days, and he was not lacking in time now.
As the Cinnabar Fruit went down his throat, he felt as though he had swallowed an enormous mass of energy.
The energy traveled from his throat into his abdomen. With the slightest movement of his thoughts, he felt a stream of heat rapidly circle through all the meridians in his body before transforming into his own cultivation.
This was far easier than refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi or a Qi Gathering Pill. More importantly, it was exceptionally comfortable.
However, the rate at which he stripped it away was far slower than with the energy light sphere.
Thinking of this, Su Shi'er did not dare waste a single moment. He hurriedly focused his mind and began refining it with all his strength.
His cultivation also slowly rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Over ten days, the people of Tianhua Peak searched the outskirts of the Spiritual Plant Garden countless times and returned to the garden several times, yet all their efforts came to nothing.
In the end, they could only give up unwillingly.
The eleventh day.
Within the Boulder Pile, two figures burst out from underground.
Shen Miaoyin wore a smile, looking full of vigor. A robust aura suffused her entire body, a sign that her cultivation had recovered.
Ten days of recuperation had completely restored her cultivation. Once she returned and refined those two Cinnabar Fruits, she had a seventy percent chance of forming a Golden Core.
Yet when her gaze fell upon Su Shi'er beside her, her expression became somewhat awkward, though there was even more surprise in it.
Before you continue