Hua Mei felt as though struck by lightning, her dazed mind instantly jolted awake, her delicate body flushing hot. Instinctively, she tried to cry out, but as her lips barely parted, Nie Kong’s tongue deftly slipped between her rows of pearly teeth, like a wandering bee flitting over a blossom, latching onto her soft, three-inch lilac.

"Mmmph," a strange, unfamiliar sensation bloomed in her core, eliciting an involuntary moan from Hua Mei.

However, in the next instant, Hua Mei recoiled like a startled fawn, a flicker of shyness and panic crossing her beautiful eyes. Her small hands pressed against Nie Kong’s shoulders, intending to push him away, but they landed with the softness of cotton, devoid of any real strength.

Nie Kong thoroughly savored the fragrance lingering on Hua Mei’s lips; the exquisite sensation left him slightly intoxicated. Yet, he knew this was not the moment for indulgence. His spiritual sense remained intently focused on the fluctuations of that soul force. Indeed, under Nie Kong’s kiss, the fluctuations grew increasingly violent.

It seemed Qing Yue had been correct: such stimulation would cause the nascent soul to awaken prematurely.

Of course, this did not mean the new soul would immediately supplant Hua Mei and seize control of the body upon awakening. Since the new soul had evolved from Hua Mei’s primary soul, it was predetermined that it could never truly command this body until it had completely devoured the original.

Unless, as Hua Huang and Hua Yan Ji of the Hua Ling Clan had planned, they used the "Yuhuo Youquan" (Netherfire Underworld Spring) to help Hua Mei condense a second incarnation, transferring her primary soul into that vessel. Only then would the nascent soul remain in the original body, allowing it to automatically awaken and take over.

As for now, there was nothing to fear; otherwise, Nie Kong would not have dared to use Qing Yue’s idea to stimulate the nascent soul within Hua Mei.

Though effective, this method felt somewhat unfair to Hua Mei.

Nie Kong cared for Hua Mei, and upon seeing her in the Dark Soul Hall, he had greatly anticipated something happening between them, but it should have unfolded naturally. To initiate such intimacy now felt jarringly abrupt, a fact reflected in Hua Mei’s reaction.

Sensing Hua Mei’s alarm, Nie Kong felt a twinge of guilt.

"Mmm..."

Hua Mei managed a muffled sound in her throat.

Nie Kong's sudden action had indeed startled her. Yet, under his gentle assault, Hua Mei’s resistance weakened, her once rigid body growing increasingly soft and pliant. A surging heat rose within her, making her feel as if she were on the verge of melting entirely.

But inexplicably, this feeling terrified Hua Mei, as if the distance between her and Nie Kong was growing ever wider, ever farther... gradually, Hua Mei’s consciousness began to haze over...

Simultaneously, the fluctuations of the soul force started to become chaotic.

"Nie Kong, it’s about to wake up!"

Qing Yue’s voice echoed in Nie Kong’s mind. "Hurry up, push harder! Intensify the stimulus!"

"..."

Nie Kong dearly wished he could seal the little medicine spirit’s mouth shut.

Unfortunately, Qing Yue existed only in a spiritual state; sealing her mouth was impossible, and even without a mouth, she could transmit her thoughts to Nie Kong.

Despite feeling speechless, Nie Kong's kissing intensified, and his right hand shifted from Hua Mei’s back to her waist. Even through the white skirt, Nie Kong could clearly feel the tender smoothness of Hua Mei’s skin; the satin-like touch made him linger.

But this was a critical moment. Nie Kong’s right palm rested only briefly at Hua Mei’s waist before gliding upward along her left flank. Moments later, it reached beneath the mound of full, towering jade peaks. At this point, the soul force fluctuations had reached an extreme chaos, utterly without pattern.

Nie Kong gritted his teeth and let his right palm descend toward the abundant peaks...

"Boom!"

Just as Nie Kong’s right palm was about to graze the fullness, a hurricane seemed to erupt between him and Hua Mei, a powerful surge of force violently expelling itself from within her body. With Nie Kong’s current cultivation, he could easily block this force, but doing so would likely endanger the nascent soul’s awakening within Hua Mei’s body!

A thought flashed through Nie Kong's mind, and in the very instant the force erupted, he released Hua Mei’s delicate form and swiftly retreated backward. "How dare you trespass upon my body!"

Suddenly, Hua Mei sprang up. The confusion vanished entirely from her eyes, replaced by an icy glare fixed tightly on Nie Kong. Though a blush still stained her delicate face, her entire demeanor had changed; the timidity from moments before was gone.

The body remained the same vessel, but the Hua Mei of before and the Hua Mei of now seemed like two entirely different people. It felt akin to Long Xuechan being suddenly replaced by Long Mei Xian.

"You’ve finally decided to wake up."

Nie Kong stared intently at Hua Mei’s face.

"You violated my body just to wake me up?"

Hua Mei’s delicate brows furrowed, her expression turning cold.

"Wrong!" Nie Kong countered, frowning. "Hua Mei is Hua Mei, and you are you; the two should not be conflated. Furthermore, Hua Mei will soon be my wife, so it is perfectly normal for me to be intimate with her now. As for you, what is your origin that you dare to devour Hua Mei’s soul!"

Hua Mei replied calmly, "I am Hua Mei, and Hua Mei is me! Since you can detect the anomaly in my soul, you should know this is not devouring, but transformation. Only through this spiritual metamorphosis can I become the true me! As for becoming your wife, you should dismiss that thought."

"Whether it is devouring or transformation, I will not let you succeed." Nie Kong stated in a deep voice.

"Insolent!" Hua Mei spoke coldly. "Thousands of years ago, anyone who dared speak to me this way would long ago have been reduced to a corpse. However, given that your Nie family sheltered me for three years, I shall overlook this. But if you dare to violate my body again, do not blame me for being merciless!"

Nie Kong paid her threat no mind. "Hua Mei’s strength is at best the sixth or seventh grade of the Spirit Transformation Realm. The power you wield cannot possibly exceed the ninth grade of that realm! I would like to see how you intend to be merciless to me with such strength! Moreover, even though you have awakened and temporarily usurped Hua Mei’s body, I suspect you cannot sustain it for long."

"Am I wrong?"

As he finished, a slight sneer touched the corner of Nie Kong’s lips, though internally, he was profoundly shaken. This nascent soul had uttered words like "thousands of years ago"; it was likely true, but why would such a strange soul evolve from Hua Mei’s primary soul?

Could it be, similar to the guardian spirit beast of this "Dark Soul Hall," the "Phantom Eagle King," that some powerhouse from the Tian Ling Continent thousands of years ago had successively reincarnated, becoming Hua Mei, and that memory was inherited when her bloodline awakened, thus transforming into this new soul?

Or perhaps "thousands of years ago" was an exaggeration; maybe the spiritual (nian/thought-force) of a Tian Ling powerhouse had merged with her soul while she was still in the womb. Otherwise, how could the nascent soul integrate so perfectly with Hua Mei's body? This scenario seemed highly unlikely. If simple spiritual could be inherited, wouldn't those Tian Ling powerhouses achieve immortality? If it were a Spirit God, that might be slightly more plausible.

"Hmph!"

Hua Mei remained silent, but let out a heavy snort, indicating Nie Kong’s words had struck a sensitive nerve.

In fact, that was precisely the case. Although her soul was continuously consuming Hua Mei’s primary soul, she could not become the true master of this body until the original soul completely vanished!

Seeing her expression, Nie Kong knew he was correct. "Hua Mei never entered the Hua Ling Clan's 'Butterfly Secret Realm' before the age of twenty, yet that seems incorrect. Those exiled from the Butterfly Secret Realm... but she possesses the Hua Ling Clan's royal bloodline. If I haven't guessed wrong, you must be from the Hua Ling Clan?"

Hua Mei did not hide anything, narrowing her eyes. "Your reaction is rather quick. Correct, I am indeed from the Hua Ling Clan."

Nie Kong suddenly felt he was inching closer to the truth. His mind raced, and after a moment, he ventured a test. "You are from the Hua Ling Clan, possess royal blood, and can pass down your memories to spawn a new soul—it seems you were a powerhouse thousands of years ago!"

He paused, then deliberately added, "I wonder what grade you were in the Tian Ling Realm back then?"

"Tian Ling?"

Muttering the words, Hua Mei let out a cold laugh.

Seeing her expression, Nie Kong’s heart skipped a beat. He gazed intently at Hua Mei’s face and said in a firm voice, "If not Tian Ling, then you must be a Spirit God. In all these millennia, the Hua Ling Clan has only had one Spirit God—'Pianxian Yudie Chun' (Fluttering Jade Butterfly Spring), who founded the Hua Ling Clan lineage on the Tian Ling Continent."

Having voiced this, Nie Kong himself was astonished.

The soul of the Hua Ling Clan ancestor, 'Pianxian Yudie Chun,' had spawned from Hua Mei’s primary soul? This was something never before seen or heard of; yet, here it was today.

Amidst the shock, Nie Kong felt an immense complication. 'Pianxian Yudie Chun' was the ancestor and symbol of the Hua Ling Clan. Knowing that this was the soul that had evolved within Hua Mei, even if Hua Huang and Hua Yan Ji had the means, they would never dare move against the nascent soul.

One was the soul of the Hua Ling Clan ancestor, the other was Hua Mei’s primary soul; Hua Huang, Hua Yan Ji, and the others were undoubtedly clear on which held greater importance. They had just sent Hua Mei here to obtain the "Yuhuo Youquan" to refine her second incarnation; this was likely the extent of what they could manage.

"You are quite intelligent!"

Hua Mei stated calmly. "Since you have guessed everything, there is no harm in telling you. I am precisely 'Pianxian Yudie Chun' from thousands of years ago, who overcame the Spirit Tribulation in the form of a Medicine Spirit to achieve the Spirit God realm. If not for an accident midway, my soul would have already completed its transformation, returned to the 'Butterfly Secret Realm,' and awakened my bloodline; why would I have to wait until today? Nie Kong, I can let today’s events pass, but now that you know my identity, you should give up! How could a dignified Spirit God condescend to be your wife?"