The sun had climbed halfway to its zenith, casting golden rays slantwise that bathed the entirety of Spirit Command City. Bathed in the glow of the morning gold, the sprawling complex of the Crimson Mansion shimmered with a brilliant, dazzling scarlet light, a sight that was utterly mesmerizing from a distance.

In the small attic room atop the Crimson Mansion Tavern, Long Meixian lay reclining on a lounge chair, her slender, pale feet bare. Her delicate head rested upon her jade-white arm, while two segments of her snowy legs extended from beneath the hem of her skirt, radiating a soft, lustrous sheen. At this moment, the delicate curves of her voluptuous body were revealed beneath the snow-white gown, contrasting sharply with her placid expression, lending her an altogether unique aura of **. Above her form, a massive, snow-white dragon silhouette hung suspended just as silently. Faintly, one could perceive a subtle layer of white brilliance emanating from the phantom dragon. As time passed, this white glow intensified, until, after about half an hour, it almost filled the entire room, becoming dazzlingly bright.

"Hiss!"

Suddenly, the white dragon opened its mouth, seemingly letting out a silent roar. Yet, the void within the attic reacted as if a ferocious hurricane had swept across a calm sea surface. Centered around the white dragon and Long Meixian, the space began to undulate violently, sending ripples spreading outwards in concentric circles.

After a good while, the fluctuations subsided, and the attic returned to stillness.

"Hoo!"

With a long exhale, Long Meixian sat up, narrowing her eyes as she carefully sensed the lingering energy. The white dragon phantom immediately retreated into her body. Long Meixian murmured, "It seems I won't need much longer to break through to the Core Spirit Realm. At only in my twenties, perhaps I can reach the Heavenly Spirit Realm before I turn fifty. Right now, Xuechan and I rank last among the elders in seclusion, but in the future, the Great Elder and Second Elder of the Dragon Spirit Clan will undoubtedly be us."

Saying this, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of Long Meixian's lips. But then her brow furrowed again. All of this depended on finishing that one matter first. Otherwise, if the Dragon Spirit Clan continued to wither away, what enjoyment would there be in becoming the Great Elder and Second Elder?

Thinking of this, Long Meixian's calm expression shattered. She suddenly gritted her teeth and cursed, "Cowardly Nie Kong!"

"Haha, Kuixian, I was wondering why my heart felt so itchy today—turns out you were missing me!" A voice suddenly sounded outside the door.

"Nie Kong!"

Long Meixian started in alarm, and instantly, her fair face hardened. She spat the name out coldly. Sure enough, the next moment, the door creaked open, and Nie Kong, clad in black, sauntered in with a wide grin, his gaze sweeping shamelessly over Long Meixian's alluring figure.

Under the perusal of Nie Kong's brazen eyes, Long Meixian felt as if her clothes had been stripped away, leaving her utterly naked standing before him. A surge of shame and indignation welled up. Suppressing her rage, Long Meixian returned to the lounge chair and sat down, coldly demanding, "What are you doing here? What business do you have?"

"I need to find Xuechan!"

"This matter I can only discuss with you!" Nie Kong closed the door and walked up to Long Meixian with a smile. Long Meixian's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the incident at the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range had given this scoundrel a taste for more? After such a long seclusion and cultivation, perhaps he couldn't stand the loneliness anymore and had come calling again! This thought flashed through her mind, making Long Meixian instantly uneasy. The best course of action now was to leave quickly. Yet, if she avoided him every time Nie Kong appeared like a mouse seeing a cat, how could she ever accept that?

"Oh? I'd like to hear what business you have," Long Meixian replied, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees, forcing herself to remain calm.

Nie Kong said, "It's quite simple. In two days, those of us who ranked in the top ten of this year's Inner City Competition will be leaving Spirit Capital City—you know that, right?"

"Of course, I know."

Long Meixian said coolly, "I didn't expect you to take first place in this year's Inner City. I truly must congratulate you." Though she spoke the words of congratulation, her tone held none of the sentiment. Internally, however, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed the bastard hadn't come over that kind of business.

"Good that you know," Nie Kong nodded, smiling. "Before I leave, I will entrust Pingping and Tingting to Sister Chan. In truth, I don't care much whether their cultivation is high or not. Of course, if you really can't stand seeing their cultivation progress slowly, you can continue to urge them to practice. However, I hope that during those times, you won't instill any more 'negative ideas' in them. Meixian, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

"'Negative ideas'? I'm sorry, I don't understand!" Long Meixian sounded slightly surprised, yet she couldn't be bothered to take offense at Nie Kong using an intimate tone to address her as 'Kuixian'. In fact, she genuinely had no idea what "negative ideas" Nie Kong was referring to.

Nie Kong sighed slightly. "Pingping and Tingting said that only if their cultivation surpasses mine can they truly become my handmaidens. You told them that, didn't you?"

"That's right," Long Meixian paused, and then her expression grew somewhat unnatural, though she feigned indifference. "I just casually said that when I saw the two little lasses slacking off in their practice. I didn't expect them to take it seriously and start cultivating with such diligence. Nie Kong, I'm surprised you didn't take advantage of the situation to claim their bodies while absorbing spiritual energy back then. It turns out there was this other use. Now I actually hope your cultivation can advance faster; if the two little girls really catch up, won't they lose their motivation to cultivate?"

At the end of her speech, Long Meixian leaned back against the lounge chair and scoffed, "They are your handmaidens to begin with; it's normal for them to have such thoughts. How did you derive the word 'negative'? As for the two words, what are you basing your judgment on?" Hearing Long Meixian’s twisted logic, Nie Kong was rendered speechless. His eyes swept over Long Meixian’s proud physique, and a vivid, alluring image suddenly flashed through his mind. The opposite Long Meixian, caught off guard, let out a soft sound, like a faint whistle, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed with a faint trace of crimson.

Nie Kong stared into Long Meixian’s eyes: "Meixian, is what I'm thinking right now positive or negative?" Long Meixian stiffened her delicate body, biting down on her row of shell-like white teeth, her voice full of vexation, "Nie Kong, don't push it too far..."

"Push it too far?" Nie Kong teased. "What's too far? According to your Dragon Spirit Clan rules, only between husband and wife can the Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal appear. In other words, since we already possess the 'Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal,' we are husband and wife. Thinking about such matters between spouses is perfectly normal, isn't it?"

"You..."

Long Meixian was struck dumb. After a long pause, she said coldly, squeezing the words out from between her teeth, "Nie Kong, don't assume only you can exert influence through the 'Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal.' If I go all out, you won't escape the restraint of the 'Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal' either."

Nie Kong was genuinely surprised. "How do you plan to 'restrain' me?" Long Meixian’s statement wasn't entirely false. The "Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal" maintained the spiritual and physical fidelity between Dragon Spirit Clan spouses. However, Nie Kong was not of the Dragon Spirit Clan. The imprint currently in his soul was bestowed by the sisters Long Meixian and Long Xuechan. The word "fidelity" could naturally be ignored, but the influence on that kind of matter was mutual.

"..." Long Meixian bit her lower lip without speaking, but her exquisitely beautiful face grew redder and redder. Her dark, bright eyes darted away as she thought about something.

"Nie Kong, if my senses aren't deceiving me, it looks like she's preparing to flee?"

"Huh?"

At this moment, Qing Yue's voice suddenly sounded in Nie Kong's mind.

Nie Kong was momentarily stunned. Why would she suddenly prepare to flee? Did she really think he would forcibly push her toward something using the bond of the 'Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal'? Although he had indeed been intimate with her twice, both times were accidental. The first was due to a problem with the spiritual medicine he was refining for Long Xuechan; the second was because, at the beginning, he hadn't realized the existence and function of the 'Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal,' which provoked Long Meixian's impulse, resulting in her forcefully taking the initiative. Afterwards, Nie Kong had also been provoked by her teasing, becoming abnormally agitated, leading him to push Kuixian back a few times uncontrollably.

If they were to encounter each other again in the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range now, with the illusionary realm collapsing, that kind of thing would absolutely not happen again. Although Nie Kong wasn't some morally upright gentleman, he was at least a decent person. He would never force someone into 'combat' with him.

However, before Nie Kong could figure out Qing Yue's meaning, a strong, irresistible urge suddenly surged from his mind, spreading instantly to his limbs and bones. In the next moment, Nie Kong felt all his blood boiling, veins swelling, and a burning heat flooding his entire body.

"Qing Dan, stop her!" Nie Kong roared inwardly. Only then did he understand why Long Meixian was preparing to flee—she intended to use that "Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal" to ambush him and then make a swift escape. Once she activated her technique of "Merging Body with the Void," he would just have to stand there and watch, waiting to be consumed by lust!

It was only now that Nie Kong understood why Long Meixian had cast aside all feminine reserve and frantically pushed him down in the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range. When the effects of the "Dragon Couple's Affectionate Seal" erupted in this regard, no level of cultivation could stop it. However, due to her physical constitution, Long Meixian could still resist it for a while back then, whereas he found it impossible to offer any resistance; both his mind and body were beginning to lose control.

"Hiss!" The void flickered with turbulence. Just as Long Meixian was about to merge into it, a mass of dense green energy suddenly surged out from Nie Kong's chest, and a powerful oppressive force swept towards the space surrounding Long Meixian from all directions. A split second later, her figure, which had begun to fade, was forcibly squeezed out of the void.

Long Meixian's beautiful face showed a trace of disbelief at what had just happened. But before she could recover, a black shadow flashed before her eyes, followed immediately by her waist being gripped tightly. Then, her body was thrown down onto the lounge chair, enveloped by a familiar masculine aura...