Are you still going to eat that?

"Ahem, ahem..."

Yan Wushuang hastily cleared his throat several times, his face reddening with embarrassment as he turned aside.

Yet he could not resist looking again.

To him, nothing was more embarrassing than sneaking a look at someone and getting caught.

But Li Qingyue truly was beautiful at that moment. Dressed in men's clothes, she had a distinctive charm that made onlookers forget themselves.

Yang Wuzheng remained perfectly composed and said calmly, "Miss Qingyue, your beauty is peerless. I couldn't help taking a few extra looks. My apologies!"

Hearing his explanation, Li Qingyue frowned slightly.

She had never cared about her appearance, especially during the past year or so, when she had spent every day in the mountains eating raw flesh and drinking blood.

She had lived like a savage.

Even after leaving the mountains, she had lived among the simple villagers.

Apart from the children who gathered around her with silly grins,

most of the villagers had actually complained that her hips were not wide enough and her body was not sturdy enough to bear children easily.

"It's only a skin-deep shell. Why care about it?"

Li Qingyue's voice was cool, but her gaze turned toward the mountains beyond the village.

She needed to leave, to learn cultivation methods and gain more knowledge about cultivation so she could grow stronger faster.

"I... Grrrr..."

The moment Li Qingyue opened her mouth, her stomach let out a rumbling roar.

Practicing Kunpeng Devouring had given her an astonishing appetite.

She had been busy since morning without even a sip of water, and now her stomach had begun reminding her.

Even someone as unconcerned about appearances as she was felt embarrassed upon hearing that noise.

She instinctively lowered her head, her face flushing.

Yan Wushuang, who had been equally embarrassed beside her, suddenly felt much less awkward when he saw her expression.

Suppressing a smile, he said considerately, "You must be hungry, Miss Qingyue. Wait a moment!"

As he spoke, his body instantly became a streak of light and shot into the sky.

He returned moments later.

Balanced on his not particularly large arm was a deer-shaped Fierce Beast.

It looked about the size of a calf, and strangest of all, light flowed over its entire body.

That was the Fierce Beast's divine power.

Clearly, this was different from the Fierce Beasts she usually ate. It plainly possessed cultivation, at least at the Bitter Sea Realm.

Thud!

With a light flick of Yan Wushuang's arm, the Giant Deer landed on the ground with a tremor.

The impact actually left a depression in the earth.

Yet the Giant Deer remained completely undamaged, giving the impression that it weighed several thousand pounds.

"Yang, give me a hand!"

Yan Wushuang rubbed his fingers together, and golden flames sprang into view.

Then he waved one hand, instantly drawing over the timber piled beside the village.

Crackle, pop!

Flames leaped up.

Hearing him, Yang Wuzheng also raised his palm. Divine light flowed, and wisps of moisture actually gathered in the air.

Before long, they formed a pool of water floating in midair.

The two worked together seamlessly. In just a few swift motions, they gutted and cleaned the Giant Deer, then set its four enormous legs over the flames to roast.

"Just wait a little, Miss Qingyue. It'll be ready soon!"

Yan Wushuang spoke with a cheerful smile and a hint of confidence.

It was as though he were showing off his specialty.

His movements as he roasted the meat flowed like drifting clouds and running water.

Watching the faintly glowing flesh, Li Qingyue swallowed.

This flesh surpassed that of ordinary Fierce Beasts. Compared with anything she had eaten before, it held far more vital essence.

She would not have minded eating food like this even raw.

She did not care about flavor. All she had ever cared about was eating more, because eating more meant growing stronger.

Half an hour later, the fragrance of roasted meat filled the air.

Fat sizzled on the golden deer legs, dripping steadily.

Yan Wushuang even took some salt from inside his robe, sliced open the venison with divine power, and sprinkled it evenly, little by little.

The aroma immediately grew richer.

"It's ready. Have a taste, Miss Qingyue!"

Yan Wushuang looked expectantly at Li Qingyue and offered her the deer leg in his hand.

"Thank you, Young Master Yan!"

Li Qingyue did not stand on ceremony. Taking the deer leg, she began tearing into it with large bites.

The venison was wonderfully fragrant, more delicious than anything she had ever eaten.

Young Master Yan... She called me Young Master Yan!

Yan Wushuang grinned foolishly, leaving Yang Wuzheng rather speechless.

His junior brother was good in every way, except that he was a little too straightforward and somewhat savage in a fight.

Back in the sect, plenty of women had surrounded him, yet he had never grinned so foolishly. Why did meeting Li Qingyue make him seem like an entirely different person?

"Where's mine?"

Yang Wuzheng spoke, looking calmly at Yan Wushuang.

"Oh! Here!"

Yan Wushuang seemed particularly agreeable just then. He handed over a piece of deer leg meat, then turned his gaze back to Li Qingyue.

Li Qingyue ate quickly, without the slightest restraint, yet in Yan Wushuang's eyes, she possessed a distinctive, utterly genuine beauty unlike anything he had ever seen.

Her small red lips, slick with grease, moved against each other without pause, carrying an inexplicable allure.

Her white teeth and delicate tongue flickered into view and hid again beneath those red lips like startled rabbits.

Especially with grease on the corners of her mouth, the tip of her nose, and her cheeks, and strands of hair clinging there, she had a charm he had never encountered before.

It made him want to wipe her face himself and brush those strands of hair aside.

In mere moments, the girl finished the piece of roasted meat.

Her clear, bright eyes turned toward Yan Wushuang again.

"You didn't salt it!"

Yang Wuzheng looked at the venison in his hand, rather speechless.

His junior brother was never like this normally.

"Do it yourself. I'm preparing Miss Qingyue's!"

Yan Wushuang tossed him a packet of salt.

Then he hurriedly cut off another ten-odd pounds of venison for Li Qingyue, sprinkled the salt evenly, and handed it over.

At this sight, Yang Wuzheng froze slightly, staring at Yan Wushuang in disbelief.

This was the first time he had seen the normally careless Yan Wuzhuang take such good care of a woman.

But then he suddenly understood. None of the women in their sect would ever be like the beautiful girl before him.

She truly was different, impossible not to notice.

"Thank you, Young Master Yan!"

Li Qingyue spoke again, her gaze toward Yan Wushuang growing considerably gentler.

This big fellow was actually quite a nice person.

"No need to thank me, no need!"

Yan Wushuang answered hastily, smiling without pause.

The girl before him was genuine and beautiful. Even while eating, she possessed an allure that made it impossible to look away.

Especially with that delicate air that made him want to protect her, she was utterly unlike the lofty fairies in his sect.

For a while, he even forgot to eat, continually tearing and cutting meat for the girl before him.

But gradually, both men's expressions began to change.

After eating a piece of venison weighing over ten pounds, Yang Wuzheng ate no more.

Cultivators had long since grown less concerned with satisfying their appetites.

Yet Li Qingyue kept eating without stopping.

This was a divine deer with considerable cultivation. Although it did not look large, its flesh had been nourished by divine power, and a piece the size of a forearm weighed over ten pounds.

Yet Li Qingyue had already eaten half of the four deer legs.

Had there not been absolutely no trace of Demon Race aura on her, they would almost have thought she belonged to the Demon Race.

"You're still not full?"

Watching Li Qingyue continue eating, Yan Wushuang's eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

He had originally prepared the other deer legs for himself. Yan Wushuang had no other hobbies, but he loved eating.

And he could eat plenty, too!

This was the first time he had encountered a beautiful girl who could eat even more than he could.

In the past, he had even secretly caught spirit beasts raised by the sect and roasted them.

That was how he had honed his skill at roasting meat.

Yet he had never imagined that these four deer legs might not even be enough for Li Qingyue alone.

"I..."

Li Qingyue felt a little embarrassed, her face flushing as she looked sheepishly at Yan Wushuang.

Had she put him off?

But seeing the pure astonishment on Yan Wushuang's face, she knew she had overthought it. "I'll do it myself. You eat too!"

Li Qingyue drew the dagger at her waist and pulled a deer leg over. Without caring whether it was fully cooked, she began eating.

The Fierce Beast meat was overflowing with vital essence. With every mouthful, she could feel her true qi increase considerably.

It continually washed through her flesh, strengthening her body before gathering in her dantian.

The vortex of true qi within her dantian kept expanding, as though she had taken spirit pills and immortal medicines.

Her strength grew extremely quickly.

She had never experienced anything like this before.

Could these two already have entered the Dao Palace Realm?

They could even hunt down a Fierce Beast like this!

Li Qingyue was inwardly stunned. On the path of cultivation, the Four Sea of Bitterness Realms were followed by the Five Dao Palace Realms.

The increase in strength was immense. Compared with the Sea of Bitterness Realm, the difference was truly that between heaven and earth.

Sacred Bodies and various other special physiques, in particular, were incomparably powerful.

The Big Dipper Star Domain was vast and densely populated. Central Province alone was comparable to tens of thousands of Earths.

Of course, she meant the Earth of her previous life.

With such an enormous population, many different physiques naturally emerged.

Especially during Desolate Antiquity, when the other races slumbered without emerging, humanity had flourished tremendously.

But any Sacred Body that managed to mature either had a major power behind it or had encountered an opportunity as vast as heaven.

The resources required were simply too great.

A Sacred Body born in a mountain village would likely struggle to embark on the path of cultivation in an entire lifetime without someone to guide them.

Many powerful special physiques had even had their origins refined away by powerful individuals seeking to strengthen themselves.

That included her older brother. She did not know whether he had possessed a Sacred Body.

But he too had been killed by the Feathered Divine Dynasty, and the dynasty had shown not the slightest concern.

Clearly, during Desolate Antiquity, the various special physiques were not particularly rare.

For that very reason, having even one Sacred Body mature in a generation was already a blessing bestowed by heaven.

Li Qingyue clearly remembered that after Desolate Antiquity, several Holy Lands and Great Sects, and even the Demon Race, had found Sacred Bodies and attempted to nurture them, but every effort had fizzled out.

The two men stared blankly at Li Qingyue. Before long, the deer leg weighing a full four or five hundred pounds had been reduced to nothing but bones.

The dagger had scraped away every scrap of roasted meat, leaving not a shred behind.

Yet the girl still seemed unsatisfied.

Li Qingyue raised her head and pointed at the last deer leg, asking rather hesitantly:

"Um... are you still going to eat that?"

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