"Ah, I was hoping to pry some ancient secrets out of you. Even if they weren't useful to me, they would certainly serve well for fooling the others later on, wouldn't they? But why on earth would you think about devouring my very flesh? To consume my consciousness within my Sea of Consciousness—is that arrogance, or just sheer idiocy?" Ye Jingyu withdrew the Heavenly Venerable Blade with a sigh of deep feeling. His form, shaped by consciousness, completely dissipated. The battle against Donghuang Taiyi had not only drained all his energy but had also exhausted the accumulated power of Water that he had finally managed to gather.

The great war within the Sea of Consciousness, while sounding like it consumed a long time, actually unfolded in the blink of an eye. For Xi Yang outside, she had no idea what had transpired. She only witnessed Ye Jingyu’s expression flicker—moments of agony, then fleeting joy—until finally, there was no movement at all, and his body gradually grew cold...

"Brother Ye, don't scare Xixi, Xixi doesn't want you to die!" Shaking Ye Jingyu’s body vigorously, she received no sign of him waking. Xi Yang was beside herself with panic, unsure what to do.

"No, I cannot let you die. Brother Fang and Brother Blood told me that a person’s body grows cold after death. As long as his body isn't cold, you absolutely won't die, I don't want you to die!" Xi Yang muttered to herself, yet how could she prevent his body from turning frigid? She surveyed their surroundings; the temperature was already high. Even lighting a bonfire would be useless. What could she do?

Suddenly, Xi Yang recalled the love stories her father used to tell her, where the hero and heroine were trapped in a severely cold place, and to warm the other, they pressed their bodies tightly together.

She possessed the Innate Fire Physique; her body temperature was naturally higher than that of ordinary women. She should be able to warm him, right?

With this thought, Xi Yang paid no mind to anything else and reached up, slipping off the red gauze skirt she wore...

A pair of peaks, so immense they could drive any man mad, were thus exposed, immediately followed by a slender waist free of excess flesh, then her perfectly curved, fragrant hips, and long, smooth, rounded thighs. Everything combined to form a figure of absolute, flawless perfection.

Any living being beholding such a perfect physique would instantly go mad; no man could refuse such a form. Even the Buddha himself, were he present, would chant "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form," while lunging forward.

Alas, our Mr. Ye Jingyu was utterly exhausted, sleeping as soundly as a dead pig, completely incapable of sensing anything.

A faint blush crept across Xi Yang’s face—whether illuminated by the firelight in the cave or by sheer shyness, it was hard to tell. Her small, delicate, pale hands reached toward Ye Jingyu’s front, slowly beginning to remove his garments.

When Ye Jingyu’s magnificent physique was fully revealed to Xi Yang’s eyes, her face had turned entirely crimson.

"Brother Ye, even if you reject me later, I will follow you forever!" Xi Yang murmured softly. She then pressed her entire body onto Ye Jingyu, holding him tightly. Her massive chest pressed directly against his sternum, and a faint aura of flame began to emanate from her, attempting to warm his gradually chilling body.

"Sss-sss-sss..." The reason Ye Jingyu’s body was growing cold was that the power of Water from his Water Acupoint had been entirely drawn out to obliterate Donghuang Taiyi in the Sea of Consciousness. This residual power was now escaping through his physical body, causing his temperature to plummet.

Now, held tightly by Xi Yang and baked by her flames, the dissipation of the Water power accelerated. Gradually, a thin layer of mist began to permeate the cave.

Combined with the red light surrounding them, the entire scene took on a hazy quality.

Slowly, the impurities of the Water power that Ye Jingyu had used to slay Donghuang Taiyi were completely expelled from his body. His body temperature gradually rose. It seemed that sensing something incredibly soft and yielding, a certain part of him began to stir.

It was a purely instinctual physical reaction, and the first to feel this response was Xi Yang, draped over him.

"You wicked man, I thought you were dying, how can you still be thinking about that now?" Xi Yang had regained her senses, letting out a soft, playful chiding sound. However, after a while, there was still no reply. She couldn't help but lift her head and saw that Ye Jingyu’s expression remained unchanged, and his temperature seemed to have normalized, yet there was still no sign of him waking.

"Is he dreaming?" Xi Yang didn't know, but she could feel the thing beneath him growing larger and harder, and the flush on her face deepened.

"Brother Ye..." Xi Yang shook him again with force, but Ye Jingyu gave no reaction.

Did he truly not know? But perhaps this was better. Last time, neither the Red Dust Wine nor the dual cultivation had managed to entice him. Wouldn't this time allow her to have her way? As long as she forcefully took him now, what more could he say?

With this thought, a sly, captivating smile spread across Xi Yang’s face.

"Brother Ye, do you want me? If you don't want me, just say the word, and I absolutely won't force you!" Xi Yang raised her head and spoke.

"You haven't spoken, which means you do want me?"

"And so, from now on, I belong to you?"

"You are still silent, which means you consent?"

If Ye Jingyu could hear this, one wonders if he would feel excitement or utter frustration at such a line of questioning. But regardless of how Miss Xi Yang posed her inquiries, after Ye Jingyu failed to respond several times, Xi Yang’s fiery red lips sealed themselves onto his mouth. She forcibly parted his pearly teeth, entwining their tongues, while her small hand grasped the hardening point beneath him and guided it toward her passage...

It was unclear where Xi Yang had acquired such skills—perhaps inherited from her mother's memories—but for someone performing this act for the first time, she was astonishingly adept. Aside from a brief tightening of her brow the moment of entry, her face remained alight with a blissful smile.

As the two became intertwined, a certain seal on Xi Yang’s body fractured. A surge of immensely powerful energy flooded from her into Ye Jingyu’s body. Immediately, his form was covered in spreading crimson hues as they were both enveloped by the raging fire.

Within the soaring flames, their bodies rolled and writhed continuously. That mysterious energy grew and nourished itself ever stronger. The Fire Eye Acupoint within Ye Jingyu constantly absorbed this pure Fire power, while Xi Yang's body continuously absorbed the rapidly increasing strength.

Both their cultivation levels soared upward in unison. For Xi Yang, it was like being strapped to a rocket: peak of the Seventh Heaven, Eighth Heaven, peak of the Eighth Heaven, Ninth Heaven...

The white flame that had been leaping nearby suddenly shot upward, soaring directly toward Xi Yang’s body...

(This is not a Harem narrative, nor is it a simple romance. The conflicts Ye Jingyu faces are merely facets of his growth experience. I am simply writing what I wish to express; what the final outcome will be, we shall discover slowly!)

A message for the readers: This chapter was uploaded at 00:10 AM. I hope you can read it early tomorrow morning. Writing is indeed hard work, but with your support, pushing myself to the limit is worth it. I promise more bursts of content later!