In the immediate aftermath, the shock Tai Yan had brought had barely subsided before Long Xuechan was startled once more by the phantom spirit hawk king summoned by Nie Kong.

Back in Lingyu City, she had been urging Nie Kong to hurry precisely because she worried they wouldn't reach the Dragon Temple passage before it opened. But now, seeing the phantom spirit hawk king, she finally understood: with a peak ninth-grade flying spirit beast for transport, half a month was more than enough time to reach Dragon Island.

"Screech!"

The phantom spirit hawk king let out an excited cry, flapped its wings, and shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, tearing through the dense canopy overhead and soaring thousands of meters into the sky. As for the body of the brightly colored giant snake and She Ming, Nie Kong had reduced them to ash with a touch of Nether Fire; in a little while, even the lingering scent there would dissipate completely.

The wind howled past their ears; gazing out into the distance, all that met their eyes was blue sky and white clouds.

Only Long Xuechan and Nie Kong were currently on the hawk king's back. Tai Yan had shrunk her body down to the size of two or three fingers and burrowed into Nie Kong’s chest. The thought of this made Long Xuechan unable to suppress a secret laugh: how could someone as formidable as Tai Yan suffer from acrophobia, afraid to even ride on the hawk’s back?

This weakness of Tai Yan’s brought a significant sense of balance to Long Xuechan’s heart.

Nie Kong's sworn sister was a match for her in beauty and figure, and what was more rare, she possessed that genuine sincerity and pure aura that could move men's hearts. Coupled with her terrifying hidden strength, this had put immense pressure on Long Xuechan throughout their journey. Now, that pressure had finally dissolved.

Long Xuechan looked around incessantly, like a young girl setting out on her first long journey. As a member of the Dragon Spirit Clan, if she could merge with her heart-spirit, she too could soar at high altitudes now, but the spiritual energy drain was rapid; only upon reaching the Cave Spirit realm could she sustain it, and only at Heavenly Spirit would there be no restriction at all.

After a considerable stretch of time, Long Xuechan finally let out a soft breath and smiled sweetly, "Junior Brother Nie Kong, Sister now understands why you claimed you could handle four Heavenly Spirit experts. You can stall one with that 'Crimson Star Combat Body'; Junior Sister Tai Yan can intercept another; the Phantom can also deal with a third..."

Speaking of which, Long Xuechan’s beautiful eyes darted around Nie Kong’s frame, "Calculating this way, you must possess something else incredibly powerful to hold off a fourth Heavenly Spirit expert, ensuring that Sister isn't killed by one right at the start, right?"

"Haha."

Nie Kong neither confirmed nor denied, simply smiling with a hint of mystery. Long Xuechan’s guess was entirely correct. Qing Yue, residing within the Beast Token, would find it hard to eliminate a Heavenly Spirit expert, but temporarily stalling one with illusion techniques was no issue. After Tai Yan dealt with the first foe, she could lure others to continue attacking her... Of course, if Long Xuechan wasn't around, or if he simply fled with her, he wouldn't fear ten more Heavenly Spirits.

"It seems Sister guessed correctly."

Long Xuechan chuckled, spun her delicate body, and suddenly parted her two shapely legs, straddling Nie Kong’s lap face-to-face. As if embarrassed by this first attempt at such an intimate posture, a faint blush rose on her fair cheeks once her elevated hips settled securely.

Seeing Nie Kong stiffen, staring at her dumbfounded, Long Xuechan placed her hands on his shoulders, brought her red lips close to his face, her expression captivating, breath like orchid perfume: "First, achieving the cultivation of a ninth-grade Pill Spirit, then the power to refine eighth-grade spirit medicine, followed by Tai Yan, the Crimson Star Combat Body, and the peak ninth-grade spirit beast Phantom... Junior Brother Nie Kong, how many more secrets are you still hiding from Sister?"

Long Xuechan wasn't truly trying to pry into Nie Kong’s trump cards. It was just that realizing he possessed such formidable strength without revealing anything to her had made her worry like a fool the entire journey, causing an unprompted wave of grievance and frustration. Was Sister truly so unworthy of your trust?

"Ahem... cough..."

Nie Kong vaguely sensed Long Xuechan's current feelings and couldn't help but clear his throat dryly. He trusted Long Xuechan implicitly; it wasn't intentional concealment, but rather a desire to give her a surprise. But now, it seemed the surprise he had engineered for her was a bit excessive.

Long Xuechan leaned her chest forward, her crimson lips gently brushing against Nie Kong’s cheek, murmuring alluringly, "Is it that you cannot tell, or that you are unwilling to?"

What a devastatingly charming enchantress!

Nie Kong managed a wry smile, "There's nothing I truly cannot say, it's just that there is also a little Medicine Spirit sister with Heavenly Spirit cultivation. Sister Chan, could you please sit back properly?"

If an incident like the one at the Bloodfang Auction House were to happen again, it would be too awkward. Back then, at least Serpent Fang had paid attention for a moment before being distracted by the sudden complication arising from the 'Dragon Blood Bewitching God Pill.' But now, he had Tai Yan nestled against him, the phantom spirit hawk king beneath him, and while the little one Qing Yue could be disregarded—she had witnessed such things countless times, and Nie Kong was long accustomed to pretending she wasn't there.

"Medicine Spirit?"

Long Xuechan was surprised again, but seeing that Nie Kong wasn't continuing to dodge her, a flicker of joy lit up her heart. Her delicate body made no move to leave; instead, she sank even closer. In the next instant, both shivered slightly as they simultaneously felt an unusual pressure between their legs. A strange thought suddenly flashed through Long Xuechan’s mind: when Nie Kong activates the 'Crimson Star Combat Body,' does that thing also follow suit? That would be terrifying.

At this moment, Nie Kong's heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but say, "Sister Chan, are you overthinking things?"

"Uh..."

Long Xuechan let out a soft murmur, her face flushing deeply, like a thief caught red-handed by the homeowner while breaking in, feeling guilty. "Who... who is thinking nonsense? Junior Brother Nie Kong, you're the one thinking wildly, aren't you?" As she finished, Long Xuechan reverted to her seductive and charming expression.

Nie Kong sighed helplessly, "Fine, it was me thinking nonsense. But, Sister Chan, we really can't stay like this."

"Like this is what?"

Long Xuechan giggled coquettishly.

She knew that continuing like this could easily lead to trouble. However, after playing games with Nie Kong a few times, she had unexpectedly become addicted to this strange sensation of clandestine intimacy, especially knowing that Nie Kong also had Tai Yan and a Medicine Spirit with him, which gave her a thrill of breaking taboos. For a moment, she was reluctant to move.

Wait a minute... Besides Tai Yan and the Medicine Spirit, there was also the phantom spirit hawk king; it was peak ninth-grade and already possessed high intelligence...

As the thought crossed her mind, Long Xuechan slightly turned her head, only to meet the gaze of the hawk king, whose eyes held an extremely human-like expression of lecherous amusement. In a daze, Long Xuechan thought she heard the hawk's mocking laughter echoing in its mind, which sent a chill down her spine, raising goosebumps all over. All the delightful sensations vanished instantly.

Her delicate body twisting like a boneless spiritual snake, Long Xuechan settled back beside Nie Kong, huffing, "Junior Brother Nie Kong, you are becoming less and less able to handle a tease. Alas, it will still take several days to reach Dragon Island; sitting here every day is truly quite boring."

"If I can't handle the teasing, I can't handle it. It’s better than teasing out a fire," Nie Kong muttered inwardly, secretly letting out a sigh of relief, suppressing the lustful thoughts that had just surfaced in his mind. He was genuinely beginning to fear Long Xuechan; her actions were becoming increasingly reckless. If this continued, trouble was inevitable. Although it had happened twice already, he had no desire to have it happen while being watched by so many eyes...

... ...RO