"Just an aphrodisiac."
Those were Li Zhaoye's words.
Luo Luo remembered that night—the moon was full, and Li Zhaoye had taken her sneaking through the window into the library. Their shadows stretched across the wooden floorboards, every strand of hair sharply outlined.
He had somehow procured a bent piece of thin wire and, with a suspiciously practiced hand, picked the lock to the Pavilion.
Then he stole two books, leapt onto the windowsill, bent one knee, squinted, and held the books up to the moonlight.
Luo Luo looked out from the pavilion—one moon hung in the sky, another reflected in the window.
The moon was Zhaoye’s namesake.
A gentle breeze, the bright moon, and Li Zhaoye.
The scene was poetic, if not for the questionable titles in his hands.
"Palace Depths: That Beastly Divine Lord, Stay Away!"
"Morality Undone: Three Men and One Woman in a Dark Room, Day and Night!"
Luo Luo: "..."
She lowered her gaze and spotted a line near his fingers: "Yu Fusheng—to drown in desire, entwined in the red dust of passion."
She already had a hunch the book wasn’t exactly wholesome, but the passage below still seared her eyes.
If this were out in the open, eight out of ten words would’ve been censored into little squares.
The gist was this: When the Divine Lords of past generations engaged in… union, to avoid being torn to shreds by the inhuman, demonic "Him," they had to use the secret aphrodisiac Yu Fusheng.
Yu Fusheng could pull the consciousness of a man and woman into a peach-hued dream woven from memory. The details of their entanglement went without saying—every line dripped with jade and fire, spring and pleasure, lust and abandon, moans and beasts.
The most refined libertines crafted the most exquisite dreams of debauchery.
Even a being as powerful and devoid of humanity as the Divine Lord would be utterly consumed, lost in the throes of ecstasy—ensuring "He" wouldn’t casually slaughter or devour his partner mid-act.
Luo Luo skimmed just a line or two before the air in the pavilion grew too thin.
Her ears burned as if dripping blood. She stammered, "L-Li Zhaoye, y-you—"
He glanced up from the book, dark eyes clear and utterly unashamed. "Why stutter? It’s just an aphrodisiac."
His tone was so casual, as if he were discussing roast chicken rather than a lust-inducing drug.
With a thud, he snapped the dusty old book shut, braced his hands on his knees, and leaned toward her.
Luo Luo forgot to breathe.
She forced herself not to flinch, not to close her eyes.
Closer. Closer still. She held her breath, but his scent was inescapable—intoxicating, unique, as aggressively bold as he was.
Then—Li Zhaoye abruptly leaned past her, reaching for another book on the shelf behind her.
The breeze from his movement lifted a strand of her hair.
Luo Luo: .
Her scalp tingled with delayed embarrassment.
Of course. Thank goodness she hadn’t moved. That would’ve been mortifying.
She pretended to browse another book, subtly stepping back—afraid he’d hear her pounding heartbeat.
She flipped through a few rare volumes without absorbing a single word.
Feigning nonchalance, she asked, "Does that drug… enhance cultivation?"
There was no way someone like him would care about an aphrodisiac otherwise.
Sure enough, Li Zhaoye set his book down and launched into a serious explanation.
He believed the ingredients for Yu Fusheng were all top-tier spiritual treasures. Though it was an aphrodisiac, the spiritual energy within was nothing to scoff at. Endure the burning desire, trade it for pure power—total profit!
Yu Fusheng required the combined efforts of three great sects to refine, with the final step handled by the Tai Xuan Sect.
The finished product was stored with Sect Master Lingxue, awaiting retrieval by the Divine Palace.
Luo Luo hesitated. "Stealing this… breaks sect rules, right?"
Li Zhaoye gave her a pitying blink, rapped his knuckles on the windowsill, and pulled out a grease-dripping roast chicken from his qiankun pouch.
Luo Luo: "..."
Eating sacred phoenix chicken in the Pavilion while talking about sect rules. Bold.
She swiftly changed the subject. "These books make the Divine Lord sound like a beast."
Such disrespect!
"Pretty much," Li Zhaoye said, unwrapping the chicken. "Just an unlucky stud."
Luo Luo: "..."
You’re worse than the books.
Since the founding of the Twelve Sealed Divine Halls, the Divine Palace had existed solely to serve the Divine Lord.
The Divine Lord wasn’t a god but a hereditary tomb guardian—sealing the abomination deep within the twelfth hall of the underground palace.
Each generation’s Divine Lord would eventually enter that hall, remaining forever as a living sacrifice to buy the world another century of peace.
Luo Luo knew the Divine Lords had to leave behind heirs before their final duty… but she never imagined the process would be so violent and yet so… indecent.
Yu Fusheng.
Luo Luo stared pleadingly at Master Qingxu.
"Shifu," she said, "Yu Fusheng is with Sect Master Lingxue. Since Li Zhaoye isn’t here, you’re the only one who can help me steal it."
Master Qingxu’s eye twitched.
"We don’t need much," Luo Luo reassured him. "Just enough for one dose. I’ll enter the fake Li Zhaoye’s memories and expose his true form!"
Master Qingxu: "..."
What difference did it make—execution once or execution ten times over?
"Shifu!" Luo Luo pressed. "I’ll force him to break through to the Divine Transformation realm in the dream. He’ll think it’s real—the moment his ‘true self’ manifests during ascension, we’ll see who he really is!"
The Nascent Soul stage revealed one’s "true self," and Divine Transformation fused that soul into the body, achieving physical apotheosis.
This impostor had taken Li Zhaoye’s body, but his "true self" remained his own.
For that split second when the true self surfaced, his face might flicker between two identities.
Luo Luo’s eyes shone. "The Reflection Wall in the Penal Hall can capture images, Shifu. The timing is perfect!"
"The logic isn’t wrong," Master Qingxu mused. "It’s clever. But in that dream, your mind will be clouded by the drug. Will you even remember the mission? What if you just… roll around with him the whole time?"
Yu Fusheng could intoxicate even the Divine Lord.
Who could resist its effects—burning desire, lost reason, utter abandon?
Luo Luo was silent for a long moment. "...Shifu, he’s not Li Zhaoye. I wouldn’t roll around with him."
She gripped her left wrist.
Every heartbeat tugged at an ache deep inside. How could she ever forget the real Li Zhaoye?
"I can do this," she said firmly.
Master Qingxu sighed. "Fine!"
Outside the main peak, Master Qingxu gaped at her. "What? I’m the one stealing it?"
Luo Luo blinked innocently. "Who else?"
Master Qingxu nearly smacked his own forehead. "Obviously, I’ll play the mysterious intruder to lure that icy nun away while you sneak in!"
Luo Luo sighed. "Shifu, Sect Master Lingxue would recognize my spiritual traces instantly."
Master Qingxu flailed. "And mine won’t be completely erasable either!"
Luo Luo: "Hide your stash well, and it should last until we finish using the Yu Fusheng. Once the rice is cooked, it’s done. At worst, the sect leader will only break Master’s bones—he won’t actually kill him."
Master Qingxu: "..."
What a filial disciple. Truly heartwarming.
The night was dark, and the wind howled.
While Master went to steal, Luo Luo naturally had to distract the owner.
She watched the old man’s figure vanish along the mountain path, waited a few breaths, then raised her voice and shouted, "Sect Leader, I’ve come to apologize—I was wrong! I shouldn’t have called you stupid!"
The echoes rolled.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..."
Birds and insects on the main peak scattered in panic.
Disciples who weren’t asleep turned their heads in disbelief.
Master Lingxue, unable to bear the embarrassment, teleported to Luo Luo by her fourth shout and hauled her away.
Spring had arrived, and the icicles no longer hung like frozen daggers from the eaves of Qingnv Hall.
Luo Luo followed Master Lingxue into a side chamber and settled cross-legged on a plush white rug.
"There’s no need to apologize," Master Lingxue said, her voice as cold as frost, as if speaking around ice. "Due to past events, I let my emotions get the better of me and said things I shouldn’t have."
The coldest tone, the softest apology—when an elder spoke like this, it was as good as admitting fault.
Luo Luo: "Oh."
Master Lingxue wasn’t one for conversation, and neither was she.
An awkward silence stretched between them.
Seeing the sect leader about to dismiss her, Luo Luo quickly cut in, "Sect Leader, would you believe Li Zhaoye was possessed? In the Nether Palace, he—"
"Enough." Master Lingxue raised a hand. "There’s no such thing as possession. Stop reading mortal folktales."
Luo Luo: "Oh."
She’d expected as much!
But Luo Luo wasn’t disappointed—after all, her real goal was to stall the owner. As long as she wasn’t kicked out, she was winning.
Luo Luo pressed on, "In the Nether Palace, I saw someone in a black cloak heading toward the Sealed God Hall. Right after, the wall collapsed—it must’ve been him."
"Master Qingxu mentioned this," Master Lingxue said, forcing patience. "While repairing the outer seal, enemies lurked in the shadows. Either the Heavenly Path Sect or the Stellar Zenith Sect."
To be safe, Master Lingxue had no choice but to leave the sect’s treasure, the Soul-Calming Banner, behind.
Even now, the thought made her seethe.
"If you have nothing else—"
Luo Luo hurriedly interrupted, "Sect Leader! At the place where Li Zhaoye was attacked, was there really no trace of the culprit?"
Though reluctant to indulge idle chatter, Master Lingxue still closed her eyes and carefully recalled the scene.
She shook her head slowly. "None at all. It’s baffling. The three of us searched repeatedly but found nothing."
It was strange, but since Li Zhaoye had returned—albeit changed—they counted it as a stroke of luck and let the matter rest, waiting for clues to surface in time.
Luo Luo narrowed her eyes. "So it was done by a Daoist of the Unity Realm?"
In this world, there were only three and a half such beings: Daoist Xuan Yi of the Supreme Profound Sect, Daoist Cangyue of the Heavenly Path Sect, Patriarch Guanhai of the Stellar Zenith Sect, and the violent Divine Lord of the Celestial Palace—though the Divine Lord lacked true consciousness, so he only counted as half.
Master Lingxue lowered her gaze.
Speculation without proof was pointless.
Besides, if a Unity Realm expert had been involved, Li Zhaoye would’ve been killed with a glance—he wouldn’t have had the chance to fight so fiercely.
Luo Luo pressed, "Sect Leader, this 'Li Zhaoye'—he knows our sect’s ways too well!"
Master Lingxue frowned. "Li Zhaoye only lost his memories. Old habits remain. What’s the issue? Luo Luo, don’t twist logic just because he’s shifted his affections elsewhere."
Luo Luo: "Oh."
She recklessly changed topics. "Sect Leader, how is Daoist Xuan Yi these days? Just asking out of concern—no ulterior motives! Definitely not digging for gossip about your past!"
Master Lingxue’s displeasure showed, but she answered bluntly, "The Daoist personally rebuilt Li Zhaoye’s sword foundation. Your master guarded the peach blossoms that year. If you have questions, ask him. I never met our honored teacher face-to-face."
Luo Luo: "Oh..."
Mentioning Master Qingxu made Master Lingxue raise a brow. "You came alone. Where is Master Qingxu? Doesn’t he worry I’ll bully you?"
Luo Luo: "..."
A wave of guilt! Where was Master Qingxu? Stealing, of course!
Luo Luo forced a laugh. "Hah, of course not! Master may talk big, but privately, he always speaks highly of you!"
The words cost her every scrap of conscience she’d saved over the years.
By the time she left Qingnv Hall, her robes were damp with cold sweat.
Master Qingxu did not disappoint—he secured the Yu Fusheng.
It shimmered in a crystal-clear vial, two shallow pools of spring-green liquid.
"Make it quick," the old man sighed. "Once that icy woman realizes something’s amiss, she’ll suspect me."
Luo Luo grinned. "That’s the reputation you’ve earned, Master!"
She ducked just in time to avoid a flick to her forehead.
Beneath the Cliff of Reflection, wind and rain wailed.
The Elder of Penal Law guarding the punishment array brightened at the sight of the master-disciple pair. "Ah! Has the Master come to retrieve his disciple early?"
Master Qingxu and Luo Luo exchanged a glance, then moved closer—only to suddenly bind the elder with a Spirit-Restraining Rope.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. No time for explanations.
Elder of Penal Law: "..."
As the two rolled up their sleeves and marched into the array, the elder hopped after them, still bound. "Hey—hey hey hey! At least knock me out! Or leave a wound so I have an excuse later!"
Master Qingxu & Luo Luo: "..."
Inside the array, Li Zhaoye sat meditating, eyes closed, while Gu Meng lay unconscious nearby—likely knocked out for being a nuisance.
Hearing the intrusion, Li Zhaoye opened his eyes. His gaze swept over the uninvited guests, and he frowned.
Master Qingxu grinned, waving the vial. "Look what we brought you!"
Li Zhaoye’s eyes fixed on the liquid, then lifted to Master Qingxu. "Tch. If she kills and burns, you’d still indulge her?"
He recognized Yu Fusheng too.
"No more talk," Luo Luo tilted her head. "Master, do it! Internal dose—pour it down his throat!"
Li Zhaoye laughed. "Ah, so it’s a forced feast!"
He knew better than to resist.
The spring-green liquid slid down his throat. Almost instantly, a flush crept up his neck. He smirked at Luo Luo. "Just so we’re clear—I won’t take responsibility. Either way, it’s not my loss."
Luo Luo clenched her jaw, then downed the other half of the vial without hesitation.
Cloyingly sweet!
She swallowed against the thick, itching sensation in her throat and glared at that familiar face.
"Li Zhaoye, just wait. I’ll find out who’s behind this—and tear them to pieces!"
