But I found I couldn't exert any force at all." It seemed even his bones had gone soft. This grab didn't hurt him; instead, it nearly injured my own fingers. Heavens above, how could this fellow be so formidable? He had completely sapped my strength...

Jun Mo Xie let out a low chuckle and brazenly stood up, entirely naked. Miao Xiao Miao immediately clamped a hand over her face and turned away—what a lewd rogue this man was, to actually...!

Jun Mo Xie stepped off the bed, leisurely pulling on his clothes. Then, aiming precisely, he slapped the beauty's soft, ample rear over the quilt. "Hmph," he sneered, "Daring to doubt this young master? This is the consequence! Next time you harbor any dissent, watch out, or I'll have you bedridden for seven days and seven nights! Consider today a small lesson!"

Miao Xiao Miao stirred weakly in protest, but that slight movement was enough to send an overwhelming wave of fatigue washing over her. She truly lacked the strength to argue back. The sun, not intensely bright, angled in just then, revealing it was already afternoon. It seemed a solid four or five hours of relentless exertion had truly left the beauty utterly drained.

This man was a genuine brute; he had no concept of cherishing a woman. Wait, no, even a brute probably wasn't this tyrannical. He was more extreme than that... too sharp!

Given the current situation, she probably wouldn't be able to leave this bed for a full day and night... Thinking of how this lord had looked unsatisfied earlier, a blush of shyness mixed with an undeniable thread of terror crossed Miao Xiao Miao's mind. It seemed the idea of this husband taking several more wives wasn't without reason; with that ability of his, very few women could withstand it. She, a dignified Sovereign expert, possessed a physique far surpassing ordinary people, and yet she was like this. Who knew how much worse it would be for others? Although she had suffered a minor internal injury before... well, that thing?

Lost in thought, she drifted off to sleep... completely failing to notice that her internal injury, after such intense—ahem—clash, had not worsened in the slightest; there wasn't even a trace of pain. It seemed her internal ailment had somehow healed while she wasn't looking. Oh well, there hadn't been enough strange things happening these past few days to worry about this...

Jun Mo Xie had been waiting for her reply, but to his surprise, in the blink of an eye—he had only just pulled up his trousers and hadn't even tied his belt—the girl had already fallen asleep...

"So direct," Young Master Jun shook his head and walked out, feeling completely refreshed.

However, there was one strange detail niggling at him: Miao Xiao Miao possessed the Profound Yin Body, one of the finest constitutions for cultivation among women. Logically, cultivating simultaneously with his own pure Yang energy should have triggered some special reaction, shouldn't it?

Why had he detected absolutely no abnormality whatsoever?

He often heard that if a woman’s Yin energy was too heavy and her cultivation was high, sharing intimacy would bring about a pleasant surprise... but what was going on with him? It was certainly satisfying, but where was this supposed surprise? Was his technique still lacking? Or was the "surprise" merely a rumor?

Looking again at the beauty deep in slumber, Young Master Jun smacked his lips twice, shook his head: it didn't seem like a failure of his own abilities; there must be some other hidden reason. The utterly relaxed Young Master Jun walked towards the doorway. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he spotted a graceful figure standing silently around the corner, diligently pressing a small ear against the wall, seemingly listening intently to something...

Someone was eavesdropping!

Seeing the girl so completely engrossed, she must have been listening for quite some time. Jun Mo Xie felt a mixture of annoyance and amusement. With a swoosh, he was behind her, yanking her ear: "What are you doing, girl? What mischief are you plotting now?"

That graceful figure was none other than the Eldest Miss, Dugu Xiao Yi!

In the Evil Monarch’s Residence, it seemed no woman besides her would stoop to such an act of eavesdropping...

"Ah mn," the Eldest Miss Dugu was utterly startled by the sudden confrontation and let out a sharp cry, attempting to leap up, but the moment she jumped, her body went instantly limp, and she collapsed...

"I—I—I... I was catching crickets, hehehe," Dugu Xiao Yi stammered, her face crimson as she bent down, meticulously examining the corner of the wall, searching around...

"What? Catching crickets?" Jun Mo Xie’s forehead darkened. "Then you'll have to wait two or three months! Are there any of those things at this time of year? Crickets! You certainly can weave a tale..."

Dugu Xiao Yi’s expression was unreadable, her eyes hazy as if drunk. She avoided looking at him, pressing her slender legs tightly together, seemingly not hearing Jun Mo Xie. She slowly tiptoed toward the distance, muttering incoherently, "You—you're talking nonsense, that’s not a cricket... a cricket... I found it! A cricket... don't run away..."

With a whoosh, she turned sharply around a corner and vanished instantly. Despite her mediocre cultivation level, the movement she displayed just then left even Young Master Jun momentarily stunned. Human potential was truly sharp...

A long, deep exhalation sounded from around the corner, immediately followed by the frantic sound of running feet—the little girl had fled in disarray...

"Hm? Crickets?" Jun Mo Xie tilted his head slightly, clicked his tongue, and then twitched his nose twice. It seemed a strange scent was lingering in the air here. Thinking about it, a grin of knowing indulgence spread across his face as he muttered to himself, Today I only just noticed that this little girl has grown up... I’ll go catch this ripe cricket tonight...

Miao Zhan and the other two, along with Mo Wu Dao, Xi Ruo Chen, and the four regional powerhouses, were seated in the widest sitting room of the Evil Monarch’s Residence, staring at each other.

These contemporary powerhouses, or representatives of them, had been sitting there for a full day!

Ever since the sudden celestial anomaly vanished that morning, these individuals had gathered here. Their purpose was naturally to meet and speak with Jun Mo Xie; however, the Great Lord of the Manor Jun had disappeared for some unknown "important..." matter... This had left the esteemed guests terribly frustrated.

The tea was excellent tea, true, but even the finest tea couldn't withstand being steeped thirty or fifty times, turning it as clear as water. Naturally, they didn't have superior amenities like the Myriad Ancient Tea Fragrance Grass to entertain them...

The consequence of this meager hospitality was that even these peak experts couldn't endure it. They had visited the latrine several times already. Even the strongest expert is still human, and human capacity is ultimately limited. The saying that a prime minister’s belly can hold a boat is just a metaphor, not a fact. The smaller factions who had come earlier to offer congratulations had already departed after this morning, having achieved their goal of making an appearance and even gaining some unexpected benefits—the trip was certainly not in vain. But everyone had their own matters to attend to, and since there were no major events unfolding, they naturally left.

Besides, this was truly not a comfortable place to stay. Remaining here meant constantly worrying about one's safety, so leaving sooner was better for peace of mind.

Upon leaving the Evil Monarch’s Residence, everyone let out a long sigh of relief; they had managed to survive. Mo Wu Dao and the others were even busier! They were even more eager to depart!

But their main objective in coming had not yet been accomplished. Leave? Where could they go?

It was believed that even if the Evil Monarch’s Residence genuinely forced them out, they would not leave.

As for the trio from the Miao family, they had gained much from this visit, but their unresolved matters with Young Master Jun Yan still lingered, so they were certainly unwilling to leave just yet. Moreover, the current Evil Monarch’s Residence was the home of the Miao family's son-in-law; how could it not be their own home!

Thus, these groups, each with their own calculations, sat in stunned silence. Initially, there had been conversation and laughter. After several hours, Miao Zhan had already moved from reminiscing about the past to dwelling on the present, and everyone had boasted about their heroic deeds from their youth—yet Young Master Jun remained unseen.

During this time, a joke even surfaced. Since everyone was desperate for conversation, eventually the stories became riddled with holes. Finally, Miao Dao frowned at Hu Yan Ao Bo, who was holding forth animatedly, and said disapprovingly, "Didn't you say that the younger brother of the uncle of the sister-in-law of the husband of your second aunt who lived next door, when she was selling vegetables, was spotted by a Heavenly Profound expert and taken away as a concubine? Why are you now saying she was violated?" Hu Yan Ao Bo stared back, stubbornly retorting, "Can't a concubine of a Heavenly Profound expert be violated? What's so strange about that? How much stronger is a Heavenly Profound expert than an ant in our eyes..."

And so, the several Saint Venerables and Sect Masters debated the matter of a vegetable seller being raped... before falling silent. Everyone felt a little embarrassed.

An impulse to gossip was one thing, but persistent gossiping rather unbecoming of their status; those present were generally mindful of their reputation. "What on earth is Jun Mo Xie doing..." Miao Dao stood up and paced the spacious sitting room, his tone increasingly impatient. "At this crucial juncture, to be cultivating for so long..."

The answer they received from Mei Xue Yan was: "Mo Xie is cultivating! Please wait!" No one expected Jun Mo Xie's so-called cultivation session to last from morning until sunset! It had already been nearly four or five hours!

But they all understood the reasoning: sometimes when inspiration strikes, cultivation can last for months, which is not at all unusual. Their only concern now was how long this man planned to cultivate.

There were only a little over two months left until the Battle of Seizing the Heavens. If this fellow didn't emerge from seclusion by then, things would become truly serious...

But if these men knew that Jun Mo Xie's supposed cultivation was actually Dual Cultivation, the respectable high masters would surely spit in disgust and curse him as a "Beast! Scoundrel! Worse than a beast!" Never mind whether his stamina was unmatched or his endurance sufficient to shame 99.9999% of the world's men into self-loathing or even suicide; just the sheer arrogance of it was unprecedented.

Unmatched before and never to be repeated, he was truly one of a kind!