Wen Jiao frantically grabbed the thin blanket and clothes from the bedside and desperately covered her chest, feeling utterly ashamed and furious, wishing she could bang her head against the wall on the spot.
She bit her lip, frantically turning over and trying to jump off the bed to escape this extremely embarrassing situation.
However.
A warm, strong hand unexpectedly gripped her slender, willow-like wrist.
An irresistible and domineering force came.
"Ah!"
Wen Jiao let out a soft cry, lost her balance, and fell back into that hot, broad chest.
Wen Jiao's body stiffened, her eyelashes trembled wildly, and she didn't dare to move an inch.
A playful smile played on Chu Yunfei's lips as he looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms, her face as radiant as a peach blossom.
" Pavilion Master Wen, what are you doing to me while I'm unconscious?"
Wen Jiao kept her eyes tightly shut, feeling as if her entire face was burning hot and about to melt. She stammered in defense:
"I... I didn't do anything... No! I was saving you!"
"Now that you're awake, hurry up... hurry up and let go of me."
Chu Yunfei did not let go; instead, he tightened his grip, pulling that soft, jade-like body completely into his arms.
The next moment, without warning, he lowered his head and kissed Wen Jiao's trembling cherry lips with domineering passion.
"Ugh...!"
Wen Jiao's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, her mind going completely blank.
She instinctively raised her hands to push Chu Yunfei away, but when her hands touched the sword wound on Chu Yunfei's chest that had not completely faded, her movements suddenly froze, afraid of tearing his wound open again.
This slight hesitation completely deprived her of any room to resist.
After a long while, their lips parted.
A wisp of glistening liquid swayed gently in the candlelight.
Chu Yunfei stared intently at the stunningly beautiful woman in his arms, her face flushed, and his expression turned solemn.
" Pavilion Master Wen, my injuries are extremely severe, and I... have not yet fully recovered."
His voice was deep and husky, his hot breath brushing against her earlobe. "I... I still need your help."
Wen Jiao kept her eyes tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling violently.
She knew Chu Yunfei was pushing his luck, but feeling his burning breath, the last line of defense deep in her heart finally crumbled.
After a while.
A soft, almost imperceptible "hmm" escaped from the girl's throat.
A carefree smile crept across Chu Yunfei's lips. No longer able to suppress the raging fire in his heart, he leaned down and kissed him again.
The curtains hung low, and dragons and phoenixes sang together.
That night, the tent was warm with spring's embrace, and they entwined themselves in passionate love.
The next morning.
As the warm sunlight streamed through the window and fell onto the bed, the raging spiritual currents within the room finally subsided.
Wen Jiao was already exhausted. Her long hair was disheveled as she curled up in Chu Yunfei's arms and fell into a deep sleep, a faint smile of relief still lingering on her delicate lips.
Chu Yunfei slowly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing like lightning.
He focused his mind and looked inward, and couldn't help but gasp.
His internal injuries were completely healed, and his meridians, tempered by the fusion of dragon and phoenix, had expanded by a full thirty percent.
What surprised him even more was that his cultivation, which had been stuck at the Seventh Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm, had now advanced two levels and was firmly stationed at...
Peak Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer!
He's only one step away from breaking through to the Divine Sea Realm!
"The extreme exploitation of the Great Heaven-Burning Art, coupled with the pure essence nourished by Wen Jiao 'Heavenly Yin Baleful Intent Physique..."
Chu Yunfei breathed a long sigh of relief.
In just one year, he went from a useless Body Tempering Realm to someone on par with the top Holy Sons of the Seven Sects of the Eastern Continent.
"Mmm..."
The delicate body in his arms stirred slightly.
Wen Jiao slowly woke up. When she realized that she was naked and nestled in Chu Yunfei's arms, she instinctively wanted to burrow deeper into the blankets, her pretty face turning bright red with embarrassment once again.
Chu Yunfei's eyes were full of tenderness as he gently stroked her hair and teased her:
" Pavilion Master Wen, you're awake?"
Wen Jiao bit her lip, burying her head in his chest, not daring to look up at him, her voice barely a whisper, "Young Master Chu... have you... fully recovered from your injuries?"
"He's out of danger."
Chu Yunfei grasped her soft, boneless hand and said solemnly, "If it weren't for Pavilion Master Wen Wen's selfless rescue, I would probably be lying dead in the wilderness long ago. I will forever remember this great kindness."
Upon hearing this, Wen Jiao felt a pang of disappointment. She shook her head and said softly, "Young Master Chu, you flatter me. If you hadn't removed the Heavenly Yin Baleful Intent Qi from my body in Qingyang City, I would have been nothing but a skeleton long ago. I did all this... simply to repay your life-saving grace."
A playful glint appeared in Chu Yunfei's eyes as he gently stroked her delicate nose with his finger.
" Pavilion Master Wen... is it truly only to repay a debt?"
Wen Jiao was taken aback, raising her reddened eyes to look at him, somewhat at a loss. "Young Master Chu... you..."
Chu Yunfei hugged her even tighter and said softly, " My Jiao'er, things have come to this point. If you still call me Young Master Chu... don't you think it's too distant?"
That tender and deeply moving " my Jiao'er " struck Wen Jiao's heart like an electric shock.
From childhood until now, apart from her closest relatives and elders, what man has ever dared to call her so affectionately?
Wen Jiao felt her ears burning hot, and she buried her head in embarrassment, murmuring softly, "Then... what should I call you?"
Chu Yunfei's eyes were full of mischief as he coaxed in a low voice:
"Call me 'husband' and let me hear it, shall I?"
Wen Jiao trembled, closed her eyes tightly, and her beautiful face was as ripe as a peach.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, her thin lips trembling, in an extremely soft voice:
"... My husband."
Chu Yunfei felt his blood surge, and looking at the gentle and alluring beauty in his arms, his breathing became heavier.
" My Jiao'er, I feel... this cultivation technique can probably complete another cycle."
Wen Jiao closed her eyes, her face flushed crimson, but her jade-like arms quietly wrapped around his neck, and she uttered a few words almost imperceptibly:
"As you wish, my husband."
The curtains swayed again, filling the room with decadent music.
at the same time.
In the southwest of the Great Qian Imperial City, deep within a dark and desolate courtyard.
A young man dressed in a plain blue robe stood with his hands behind his back, staring blankly through the window at the majestic imperial palace in the distance.
Behind the boy stood a towering figure wearing a purple mask.
It was the deputy leader of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower who had previously stormed the palace.
"Young Master, are you absolutely certain... Ling Zhantian has fully awakened?"
His voice was hoarse, tinged with a hint of solemnity.
The boy slowly withdrew his gaze, his voice filled with exhaustion:
He is indeed awake.
"The unparalleled battle that took place in the desolate mountains outside the city a few days ago, the lingering Imperial Dao Dragon Qi and Nine Dragons Sword Intent —no one in the world could compare to Ling Zhantian."
The purple-faced deputy lord's pupils contracted sharply beneath his mask, and he said in a deep voice:
"That's absolutely impossible."
" The Soul-Devouring Nether Poison is a rare poison brought out by the Lord from ancient ruins. Throughout the entire Vast Waves Domain, no one knows its antidote. How could Ling Zhantian possibly cure it?!"
The boy remained silent for several breaths, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.
"Originally, no one could solve it, but in this world, Chu Yunfei just happened to appear."
We all underestimated him.
The purple-faced deputy sect leader frowned. " Chu Yunfei? How could a mere junior at the Heavenly Origin Realm possibly cure the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison?"
The boy turned around and said calmly:
"Others can't solve it, but what if he possesses some kind of supreme poison-type constitution that can devour all poisons?"
"Some time ago, I had someone dig deep into Chu Yunfei's past in Qingyang City. One of the things they found was that he had treated the young lady of the Pill Pavilion for a hidden ailment when he was in the Azure Mystic Sect."
"And combined with the information relayed back by our informants at the Pill Pavilion, the hidden danger of Yin Baleful Intent Qi within the Wen Family family's eldest daughter, who possesses the Heavenly Yin Baleful Intent Physique, has already been completely cured."
The boy shook his head, a self-deprecating bitter smile playing on his lips:
"I hadn't connected these two things before, until the battle outside the city broke out... and then I finally understood."
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A hint of violence and murderous intent flashed in the eyes of the purple-faced deputy landlord:
"If I had known this boy possessed such a constitution, I should have crushed him at all costs the very first day he stepped into the capital!"
"That's enough."
The young man waved his hand wearily. "It's too late to say anything more. Ling Zhantian's fate is not yet sealed. This situation... we miscalculated one step."
The purple-faced deputy lord pondered for a moment, then suddenly sensed something amiss and frowned, asking, "Since Chu Yunfei cured the poison, then logically, he should be the royal family's savior, a person of immense merit."
Why would Ling Zhantian leave the city and use such a deadly attack on him in the desolate mountains? Isn't this a classic case of discarding someone after they've served their purpose, cutting off their own escape route?
Upon hearing this, the young man in the blue robe curled his lips into a mocking and cold smile.
"Heh... discarding the donkey after it has served its purpose?"
"That Ling Zhantian has always been cold-hearted and ungrateful; what's so surprising about him doing something like this?"
A deep-seated hatred flashed in the boy's eyes. "If it weren't for that, back then I..."
The words abruptly stopped.
The boy abruptly shut his mouth, his hands, which were tucked into his sleeves, trembling slightly.
In the shadows, the purple-faced deputy landlord raised an eyebrow slightly beneath his mask.
He didn't know what secrets this young master was hiding, but he knew very well that some things, even if asked, would not yield answers.
For a long time, the courtyard was deathly silent.
The purple-faced deputy sect leader suppressed his doubts and asked in a low voice, "Now that Ling Zhantian has awakened, and Chu Yunfei has somehow ended up at the Jade Firmament Sect, the plan originally scheduled for the Seven Sects Grand Competition... has completely fallen through."
"What are your plans next, young master?"
Upon hearing this question...
The young man in the blue robe closed his eyes, as if all his strength had been drained away, and waved his hand:
"Go back to Blood Baleful Intent Tower."
"From now on... you don't need to come looking for me anymore."
"All my transactions and collaborations with the Blood Baleful Intent Tower end here. Just pass on this message to the Tower Master."
The purple-faced deputy master trembled slightly and gave the young man in blue a deep look.
He knew it better than anyone else.
Now that Ling Zhantian has awakened from the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison, what awaits this young man now...?
There is only one way out: death...
He won't even have a chance to escape this imperial city.
"Take care of yourself."
The purple-faced deputy master sighed softly, his figure disappearing into the shadows like wisps of smoke.
The empty stone chamber was once again left with only the boy.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through layers of void, fixing once again on the direction of the deepest part of the imperial palace, a tragic and mocking smile curving his lips:
"Father, oh Father... you've finally come to this."
" Ling Chenglie has disappeared..."
"I wonder, will my eldest brother be next, or... me?"