Liu Ziyan sat elegantly with her legs crossed on the soft, comfortable purple bed.
Cool moonlight streamed through the window and fell across the side of her face.
It draped a hazy veil over her exquisite profile, whose beauty seemed to rob heaven and earth of their splendor.
Lin Mo's slightly lowered gaze took in the slender, silky jade legs exposed beneath the hem of Liu Ziyan's purple gauze dress.
Legs he could play with for a year-that was the best way to describe them.
In the past, Liu Ziyan would have gouged Lin Mo's eyes out long ago.
But now... there was no need.
When Lin Mo had taken advantage of her vulnerability that night, what part of her body hadn't he seen? Making an issue of this now would only make her seem coy and two-faced.
"Old lackey, do you hate me?" Liu Ziyan asked out of nowhere.
Lin Mo froze briefly, unsure what madness had seized this she-devil now.
A moment ago, she had looked ready to beat him or kill him. Why had she suddenly become so gentle?
"Not at all, Sect Leader," Lin Mo promptly replied.
"Really?"
Liu Ziyan's incomparably alluring, soul-stealing eyes stared straight into his, as though seeking to pierce his mind.
"Yes."
This time, Lin Mo met Liu Ziyan's gaze without flinching and answered:
"Over the past hundred years, you have certainly been rather strict with me, Sect Leader, and have punished me many times. But compared with staying in the Maidservant Department, where the senior servants bullied and oppressed me, I think this has been much better."
"I believe that if you hadn't shown me favor back then, Sect Leader, and transferred me to the Purple Heaven Palace to oversee the menial duties here, perhaps..."
"The senior servants in the Maidservant Department would have beaten me to death long ago. How could I have clung to life until today?"
"People often say that serving a sovereign is like keeping company with a tiger. But compared with your punishments, Sect Leader, the bullying of those senior servants was far crueler and darker."
"In fact, the only reason I can still stand here alive today is your mercy, Sect Leader. Otherwise, I would have long since become a corpse buried deep underground."
"Even if I make some mistake one day and you decide to execute me, Sect Leader, at least I will die quickly."
Liu Ziyan fell silent.
Her expression remained calm, with barely a ripple in her beautiful eyes, leaving her thoughts unreadable.
After a long while, Liu Ziyan parted her red lips. "Enough. You're being so mushy that my goosebumps have fallen all over the floor. If I were merciful, there would be no evil people left in this world."
"Still... you old lackey do have a way with words. Since you've been reasonably honest this time, I will allow you to cross the line once more."
"Sect Leader, d-do you mean that?!"
Lin Mo's cloudy eyes lit up, and his voice trembled with excitement.
Was it possible?
Just saying-could there be a chance?
Could one session of dual cultivation with Liu Ziyan send him straight from the eighth level of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment?
Dual cultivation with Shangguan Wuqing had already produced such remarkable results.
Surely switching to Liu Ziyan couldn't yield worse results than with Shangguan Wuqing?
"Do you take me for one of you foul men, spouting lie after lie?"
Liu Ziyan lightly lifted her skirt with her delicate fingers, extending her exquisitely sculpted, long, lustrous jade legs. Her tone allowed no argument. "But there is one thing. Remember your place as a lackey. You are not to overstep."
Lin Mo understood at once.
So Liu Ziyan liked this sort of thing too?
"Please rest assured, Sect Leader. I know my place better than anyone. If you wish to take the lead, I will naturally follow your arrangements."
Then, looking at those long, jade-like legs, Lin Mo said, "Sect Leader, you smell so lovely."
Liu Ziyan closed her eyes, surrendering body and mind to the soothing clouds.
This was different from last time.
This time, Liu Ziyan was completely clearheaded.
She felt embarrassed, yet the exquisite pleasure of this unusual cultivation, with her taking the lead as the one in authority, also drew her under.
At first, Liu Ziyan could still actively guide the flow of Lin Mo's yang energy, but as their cultivation deepened...
The electric tingling in Liu Ziyan's meridians made her body naturally relax.
Naturally, Lin Mo took control of the direction of their cultivation.
Amid the clouds of her mind...
Nourished by an endless stream of yang energy, Liu Ziyan could clearly feel it.
Her somewhat unstable cultivation realm was constantly strengthening and consolidating at a visibly apparent pace.
This terrifying speed was more than a hundred times faster than cultivating on her own!
As Liu Ziyan drew endlessly upon Lin Mo's yang energy like a dragon sucking up water, his pure yang sacred body began to exert its power.
At the same time, the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art circulating within him continuously drew in Liu Ziyan's yin energy.
It mingled with the yang energy inside him, ultimately forming the purest spiritual power.
Vast spiritual power gathered into a torrent, flowing through his meridians, flesh, and blood into his dantian.
His aura climbed steadily along with it!
Pleasurable times were always fleeting.
Three days passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
Once their battle was over, Liu Ziyan cast aside the wantonness of the past three days and returned to her usual lofty coldness.
She lightly clenched her delicate hand, and the immense spiritual power gathering in her palm actually caused space itself to warp violently.
"It actually... stabilized completely!"
Liu Ziyan marveled inwardly, quite surprised.
She had originally thought that even with Lin Mo practicing the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, she would still need two or three sessions of dual cultivation with him to fully stabilize her realm.
Void Refinement was, after all, nothing like Golden Core or Nascent Soul.
Yet the actual results had exceeded her expectations!
Whatever the case, this was excellent news for her.
If she could continue cultivating at this pace...
"Mahayana doesn't seem quite so far out of reach!"
A sharp gleam flashed through Liu Ziyan's beautiful eyes.
Perhaps it was time for her to reassess Lin Mo's value.
Then Liu Ziyan shifted her gaze slightly, letting it settle on Lin Mo.
Compared with three days earlier, Lin Mo actually looked considerably younger now.
His cultivation had broken through the ninth level of Qi Refining and reached Qi Refining period perfection.
He was only a single step away from Foundation Establishment!
This old lackey has benefited greatly too. It seems I no longer need to worry about whether he can reach Foundation Establishment within the limited time the Life-Prolonging Pill gives him.
She studied Lin Mo's face, which was no longer as sallow, gaunt, and thin as a stick as it had once been.
Liu Ziyan blinked, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
She had clearly despised every man in the world equally before, so why...
Had her opinion of and attitude toward Lin Mo gradually changed deep down inside her lately?
"Perhaps it has something to do with the secret this old lackey is hiding."
He had risen from the second level of Qi Refining to the eighth level of Qi Refining in a little over a month. Liu Ziyan had no doubt whatsoever.
Lin Mo definitely possessed some secret she had yet to uncover!
Before you continue