A Sneak Attack

Hiding several hundred miles away, Shi Feiyang took out three sticks of the Heaven-and-Earth Union Incense he used in his cultivation, lit them with pill fire, and sent their fragrance toward the island, mingled with the sea mist and wind.

As for Lady Baoxiang, once she learned that Zhuge Jingwo was the eldest disciple of Xuanzhenzi of the Emei Sect, she immediately quenched the fires of desire blazing through her body. Fear gripped her heart, and she inwardly counted herself lucky. She knew all too well how formidable the Emei Sect and the Three Immortals of the Eastern Sea were. Fortunately, her seduction had failed. Had she truly ruined Zhuge Jingwo's Dao Practice, Xuanzhenzi would surely have slain her with his Invisible Sword in a fit of fury!

Even if Xuanzhenzi refrained from acting personally out of regard for his standing, she would still face certain death if the hundreds of disciples across the Emei Sect's three generations, young and old alike, surrounded and attacked her. Fortunately, she had discovered the truth in time.

No sooner had that thought passed through her mind than the fragrance of the Heaven-and-Earth Union Incense arrived on the wind. It had never been strong to begin with, and traveling such a great distance had diluted it further. Her own body constantly carried a fragrance that turned men's bones soft and their sinews weak, while the nectar wine set before her gave off its own sweet aroma. Together, they completely masked the Union Incense, and she noticed nothing.

She had only just put aside her lustful thoughts when Zhuge Jingwo, sitting cross-legged in cultivation, suddenly seemed overwhelmingly handsome. His brows were sharp as swords, his features well-defined, his shoulders broad, and his waist slender and rounded. The longer she looked, the more handsome he became, and the more she adored him. Her heart began pounding wildly despite herself. She could hardly wait to go over and touch his face, and wanted even more to rub her own face against his chest...

But she knew that Zhuge Jingwo was Xuanzhenzi's disciple. This man is absolutely off-limits! With my beauty and magical power, every handsome youth in the mortal world is mine for the taking. Even young sword immortals, whether righteous or evil, would fall at my feet beneath my pomegranate skirt with a mere crook of my finger. There's no need to offend the Emei Sect and Xuanzhenzi over one man!

What remained of her reason warned her not to do it, yet she could not tear her gaze from Zhuge Jingwo. Her mouth and tongue felt dry, and she wanted something to drink. Without thinking, she picked up the nectar wine from the table. Just as it reached her lips, she suddenly realized that she must not drink it. She meant to put it down, but one whiff of its aroma made her reluctant to let it go. The fragrance seemed to penetrate straight into her Primordial Spirit, and she desperately wanted a sip.

Heaven and human desire warred within her heart, while her body also began to respond. Her face and ears flushed scarlet, and even her fingers took on a rosy hue. She endured it for a little while longer before finally losing control. Raising the cup, she tipped back her head and drained it in one gulp. I love this man too much. I'll enjoy him first and worry about everything else later!

Lady Baoxiang rose off the ground and threw herself into Zhuge Jingwo's arms, clasping his neck and leaning in to kiss his lips.

Zhuge Jingwo hastily turned his head aside and pushed her away, though his resistance was not entirely firm.

Ever since entering the path of cultivation, he had remained diligent and worked tirelessly to advance, never daring to stray even the slightest step. He had already reached the state where "abundant essence leaves no thought of lust." There had been no desire in his heart, and his mind had always remained clear.

But that was under ordinary circumstances. Essence Qi was like oil, and lust was like fire. A plentiful supply of oil did not ignite on its own; instead, it nourished the entire body, refining the flesh and cleansing the marrow, naturally benefiting both body and mind. Yet even that could not withstand such powerful provocation from outside.

The scent of the nectar wine had already stirred his body, but his resolve in the Dao was firm enough that he could still control himself. Silently circulating his profound arts, he dissolved the lustful influence and transformed it into purity. Before his mind could settle completely, however, the Union Incense arrived, and the desires at the bottom of his heart surged over him like wave after wave of a rising tide.

While he struggled to cope and desperately held on, Lady Baoxiang threw herself bodily against him. Her fragrant, yielding body nestled into his arms, and both arms wound around his neck. He hurriedly turned his head away and tried to push her back, but over her two thousand years, the Heavenly Fox had bewitched countless men. She merely blew a breath of warm, richly fragrant core qi into his ear. Zhuge Jingwo shuddered violently, his head buzzed, and his blood and qi surged upward beyond his control. Unable to hold out any longer, he turned and clasped Lady Baoxiang tightly, and the two rolled down the slope into the grass below.

Both had utterly lost their reason. Reckless of everything, they sought only release, and soon they were entwined in the grass, the phoenix tumbling with the luan, oblivious to heaven and earth...

Shi Feiyang flew over at midnight. Having indulged to excess, the two had lost their primal yang and primal yin respectively and had fallen into a heavy sleep. Lady Baoxiang's red mandarin-duck dudou hung from Zhuge Jingwo's ankle.

He looked at the pair without doing anything, then turned and went over to the Purple River Grass.

Bathed in the moonlight from above, the immortal herb was nearing maturity. Within moments, its petals unfolded layer by layer. The little purple fruit figure inside came alive, jumped to the ground, and ran happily up to Shi Feiyang.

Shi Feiyang let him hop onto his finger. The little fellow gestured at him and babbled, repeatedly pointing toward the two sleeping figures in the distance. He had already gained spiritual awareness and knew that his tribulation had not yet passed, so he wanted Shi Feiyang to take him away at once.

Shi Feiyang dug him up, roots and all, and put him into the Jade Casket, then turned and returned to the pair.

He did not intend to kill them. Just as when he had trapped the Two Maidens of Xiandu on Dinghu Peak and forcibly seized their magical treasures and sword qi, Xie Shan and the forces behind him would not personally come seeking revenge. They would merely equip the Two Maidens of Xiandu and let them slay Long themselves in the future.

But if he killed the Two Maidens of Xiandu, Xie Shan and his companions would certainly emerge from their caves at once and hunt him to the ends of the earth, never resting until he was dead.

Now that Zhuge Jingwo's Dao Practice had been ruined, Xuanzhenzi would likewise have no face to leave his mountain and seek revenge himself, because it would be far too humiliating. The exalted eldest disciple of the Emei Sect, and Xuanzhenzi's disciple at that—the equivalent of the eldest grandson of the senior branch—had been bewitched by a fox spirit, lost his virginity, and spilled his pure yang primordial qi, while a demonic dragon had secretly meddled behind the scenes. The story alone would make him a laughingstock if it spread. If Xuanzhenzi then personally hunted down the demonic dragon, it would become an even greater joke!

Xuanzhenzi would only make Zhuge Jingwo work hard on his own and find an opportunity to kill the demonic dragon in the future. Only then could he wash away the shame, which belonged not just to Zhuge Jingwo himself, but to the Emei Sect as well.

Shi Feiyang would kill neither Zhuge Jingwo nor Lady Baoxiang, but he had no intention of simply leaving. He meant to take Lady Baoxiang's Heaven and Earth Bag as a little compensation for the trouble the fox Monster had caused him.

He raised a claw and drew it toward him from a distance. The Heaven and Earth Bag on Lady Baoxiang's person immediately rose into the air.

The fox demon possessed profound Dao Practice, but this was the first time she had encountered such a fine man, and she had also absorbed a large quantity of aphrodisiac. Unable to restrain herself, she had lost her true yin primordial qi, leaving her dazed and briefly unconscious. The disturbance now stirred her awake. She hastily opened her eyes and saw an enormous black Long drawing away her Heaven and Earth Bag from over a hundred feet away.

Lady Baoxiang was greatly alarmed. She swiftly formed a spell seal with her left hand and likewise seized the Heaven and Earth Bag from afar, struggling to pull it back. At the same time, she extended the five fingers of her right hand and fired five Red Cloud Flying Needles, which became five parallel streaks of red light shooting straight toward him.

Shi Feiyang dared not take them lightly. He spat out two inner cores to meet the attack. When the cores struck the flying needles, flames burst in all directions and needle qi crisscrossed the air. Caught between the immense pulling forces of their magic and then struck by the shock of the clash, the Heaven and Earth Bag burst apart in midair with a muffled bang, scattering its contents everywhere.

These were treasures Lady Baoxiang had collected over more than two thousand years. She hurriedly cast a spell to gather them, while Shi Feiyang opened his mouth and sucked them in furiously. Each claimed half.

Shi Feiyang swallowed the items into his belly. Knowing he could not get the rest, he did not prolong the fight, but turned and flew away.

Their magical clash also startled Zhuge Jingwo awake. Although he had lost his reason earlier, he had not lost his memory, and every detail of his pleasure with Lady Baoxiang remained perfectly clear. Now that his reason had returned, boundless remorse overwhelmed him, and he let out an anguished howl of fury.

Even now, he did not know that Shi Feiyang had tampered with them. He believed he had simply been utterly bewitched by Lady Baoxiang. Wracked with grief and regret, he prepared to unleash his flying sword and slay her.

The moment the Invisible Sword emerged, every hair on Lady Baoxiang's body stood on end, and she hurriedly blocked it with the Rainbow Silk. As the black Long flew away, she cried urgently, "That beast has stolen the Purple River Grass! However much you hate me, recover the herb first, and we can settle this afterward!"

Having said that, she flew off first in pursuit of Shi Feiyang. She knew nothing of his interference either, believing only that she had been unable to control herself. Now she had harmed Zhuge Jingwo, and in truth had damaged her own foundation as well. But matters had already come to this, and the terrible mistake had been made. She could only find some way to salvage the situation, and that meant helping Zhuge Jingwo recover the Purple River Grass to lessen Xuanzhenzi's wrath.

Her reminder brought Zhuge Jingwo to the same conclusion. He realized that his only course now was to reclaim the Purple River Grass, complete the task his honored master had entrusted to him, and then return with the herb to confess his wrongdoing and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, with both his Dao Practice ruined and the immortal herb lost, how could he have the face to return to Turtle-Fishing Rock? He might as well slit his own throat and undergo corpse-release ascension!