But seeing Bai Yuqing’s troubled expression, clearly unable to part with her sword, Nie Kong gritted his teeth and snarled, "Sister Bai, whatever you need for cooperation, I'll agree to it?"

Bai Yuqing nodded. "Indeed, whatever you can think of!"

"Very well, lift them up."

Nie Kong’s gaze fell upon Bai Yuqing’s chest, tightly bound by the compression wrap, and he smirked mischievously.

Bai Yuqing proved utterly cooperative; almost the instant Nie Kong spoke, her arms exerted slight force, lifting her chest high. Nie Kong reached behind her, fumbled for a moment, then gave a gentle tug, slowly peeling away the tightly wound binding layer by layer.

As the tension in the wrap slackened, Bai Yuqing’s full bosom began to swell, much like leavened dough expanding.

After a few seconds, when Nie Kong pulled away the final strip, her chest finally broke free of all restraint. The two orbs of flawless, milky jade surged upward with a whoosh, trembling and undulating majestically, the pale pink pearl atop each one pressing directly against Nie Kong’s cheek.

A faint, ethereal fragrance drifted straight into his nostrils, intoxicating the mind.

"So large!"

Nie Kong involuntarily drew a sharp breath.

"Just a couple of cumbersome burdens, terribly troublesome during combat." Hearing this, Bai Yuqing frowned in clear displeasure. She raised her left arm slightly, her slender hand gently cradling the base of the jade peaks, giving a soft squeeze. Immediately, her fair, tender curves erupted in churning waves, dazzling the eyes and enchanting the spirit.

"Cumbersome burdens?"

Hearing those words, Nie Kong nearly went mad.

In his past life, anyone possessing such assets would surely incite insane jealousy among countless women, and the same was true even on the Tianling Continent, yet this girl actually considered them a nuisance. However, this perspective did align with Bai Yuqing’s nature, Nie Kong muttered inwardly, pressing closer with a surge of impatience...

Within the Frozen Space, absolute calm finally returned. Nie Kong rested his right hand against his head, lying on his side next to Bai Yuqing, his face etched with helplessness. He had been utterly defeated by Bai Yuqing.

During this endeavor to foster harmony, Bai Yuqing’s soul and body seemed entirely separated; her soul remained cool, and her flesh naturally could not yield any fiercely passionate response. Faced with this situation, even a tireless old ox like Nie Kong found it difficult to coax much fertile ground from the earth below.

Thus, upon reaching the third attempt, Nie Kong wisely brought the encounter to an end. It was undeniable that Nie Kong’s infatuation with Bai Yuqing’s body was no less than his feelings for Tai Yan and the others. But his intimacy with them wasn't merely an outlet for physical desire; more than anything, he sought to share that feeling of spiritual and physical merging, of complete comfort, within their physical entanglement.

He felt that even with Long Meixian. Long Meixian likely felt it too, though she never admitted it aloud.

But the tender Bai Mei before him...

Nie Kong looked at her with a hint of melancholy, sighing inwardly. It seemed that Sister Bai truly viewed this whole affair merely as a process to dissolve her inner demons.

"Sister Bai, are your heart demons gone?"

"They are gone," Bai Yuqing replied faintly.

"That’s good then!"

Nie Kong rubbed his face against the nape of Bai Yuqing’s neck for a long moment before suddenly embracing her, rolling over, and rising.

Then, a purple light flashed between his brows, and the tent vanished.

Putting away his Heart Form, Nie Kong carefully laid Bai Yuqing down. Among the women with whom he had shared such intimacy, he could disregard Mo Xinyue, but his first times with Long Xuechan, Long Meixian, and Tai Yan had all occurred in a haze; only with Bai Yuqing had he possessed her first time while completely clear-headed.

Even though Bai Yuqing herself seemed unmoved, Nie Kong felt deep tenderness for her. He picked up her discarded clothes and handed them to her. "Sister Bai, be safe. I’m going to retrieve the companions who came with me. The day after tomorrow, if we are to capture that fellow here, we absolutely need her help..."

"Alright!"

Bai Yuqing looked slightly puzzled but asked no further questions. Taking the clothes, she reached for the binding wrap to secure her tender chest.

Seeing the two bountiful mounds being flattened once more, Nie Kong felt a pang of emotion and couldn't resist grasping her wrist. "Sister Bai, perhaps forget about this? Binding them like this every day—don't ruin these treasures." Seeing Bai Yuqing look at him coldly, Nie Kong sheepishly let go. "Fine, pretend I never said anything."

Quickly tidying herself and dressing, Nie Kong released the gourd.

"Sigh..."

The small, fleshy orb released from the medicine bottle only managed to let out a cry of pleasant surprise before Nie Kong grabbed it and tapped it against the ice wall beside them. "Gourd, make haste; we need to find Tai Yan."

"Wonderful!"

Gourd beamed, opening its mouth to inhale, and a small aperture appeared on the ice wall. A flicker of faint surprise crossed Bai Yuqing's beautiful eyes upon witnessing this.

Seeing that Bai Yuqing was still nude, Nie Kong first pushed the gourd, which had transformed into a pill shape, into the opening.

"Be careful and stay alert," he cautioned, before transforming into his Heart Form. His body shrank into a small, round mass, following Gourd into the small, narrow hole.

Once the aperture was sealed, Bai Yuqing withdrew her gaze and sat cross-legged at the base of the Frozen Space. She retrieved the long, white compression wrap in her hand.

Wrapping it twice around her chest, Bai Yuqing suddenly remembered something and loosened the binding again. After a few seconds, she wrapped it back on, but shortly thereafter, she released it once more. Repeating this back and forth over ten times, Bai Yuqing frowned, set the wrap down, and briskly pulled on her underpants and snow skirt.

However, without the confinement of the chest wrap, her breasts beneath the skirt now swelled high, stretching the neckline wide open and revealing two smooth, pale hemispheres.

With the slightest movement of her body, those two round, majestic white jade globes jumped and swayed, seeming ready to spring forth from the collar.

Throughout this entire process, Bai Yuqing’s right hand never left the hilt of her sword for more than a second.

After dressing herself properly, she rested the greatsword across her knees and closed her beautiful eyes, sitting still like an ice sculpture. After a long while, Bai Yuqing suddenly snapped her eyes open, her eyebrows drawn together tightly. She muttered in surprise, "Logically speaking, the inner demons that manifested these past few days should be completely eradicated by now. But why are my heart demons growing stronger?"

"Could it be... because of this?"

Bai Yuqing looked at the pile of white compression wrap gathered beside her, suddenly drawing a sharp breath. Her shoulders shifted, and her snow-white upper body slipped out from beneath the skirt like a lithe snake. Instantly, her hands fluttered like butterflies weaving through flowers, and in moments, the long binding wrap was tightly coiled around the two robust jade peaks once more.

After covering her upper body again, Bai Yuqing closed her eyes once more.

However, this time she opened her eyes even faster, a look of confusion clouding her delicate face. "No, it’s not right, the heart demon is still here!"

The wrap loosened again! Tightened again!

Loosened! Tightened!

"The heart demon is still here! Still here! Still here! Still here..."

After a long period, Bai Yuqing sprang up, her beautiful eyes wide open, a chilling aura surging wildly from within her body, sweeping through the narrow, hemispherical space. It even lifted the recently discarded white wrap from the floor, the long white strip swirling around her body like a silk banner.

"Heart demon, perish for me!"

The great sword, Xi Ran, let out a low hum. Bai Yuqing’s wrist flickered, and countless icy, bone-chilling sword shadows crisscrossed, instantly shredding the snow-white wrap into tiny fragments that drifted down through the air. With a clang, the great sword struck the ice surface heavily. Bai Yuqing narrowed her eyes, her expression lost.

The heart demon remained...