Lowering his eyes, his lips were only a finger's width away from Yuan Shu's.
An ambiguous atmosphere circulated. Long Yunhui looked at the small face so close at hand and finally couldn't help but kiss her.
"Mmph..."
Yuan Shu's lips were blocked, and she tilted her head back slightly under the kiss.
A scorching, boiling kiss.
Drawing out her breath bit by bit.
Tender, smooth, and slightly cool skin.
Covered inch by inch by his scalding palms.
Yuan Shu narrowed her eyes and reached out her arms to wrap around his neck.
The temperature gradually rose, and the sounds became ambiguously enchanting.
Long Yunhui finally saw with his own eyes what Yuan Shu looked like when aroused, instead of only relying on his imagination.
That stunningly beautiful face flushed a deep pink, her eyes brimming with moisture, her mouth slightly open as she gazed at him with a hazy look.
Intermittent, trembling moans spilled brokenly from the corners of her lips, every sound seeming to strike right at his heart.
The person in the dark finally had a face at this moment.
That kind of excitement stimulated him so much that his whole body tensed up, as if he wanted to offer up all of himself!
...
When Long Yunhui opened his eyes, Yuan Shu was sitting cross-legged in meditation.
After their lovemaking, she wore only a thin layer of sheer silk, covering her vital parts.
Her slender, soft, and beautiful back was perfectly straight. Wisps of overflowing spiritual energy surrounded her body, glowing with a faint cyan light.
It gave that peerlessly beautiful face a touch of holy divinity!
Feeling the change in the aura around Yuan Shu, Long Yunhui's eyes flashed with surprise.
Did Yuan Shu... break through again?
After a long while, the cross-legged Yuan Shu withdrew her overflowing spiritual energy and slowly opened her eyes.
"Shushu, you broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage?"
Long Yunhui's expression shifted, his tone filled with uncontrollable shock.
How long had it been since Yuan Shu entered the Foundation Establishment stage?
It was only a few days before the sect competition. Only a little over a month had passed, and she had already entered the late Foundation Establishment stage?
What kind of cultivation speed was this?
"It originally would have taken some more time, but thanks to your Mermaid's Tear," Yuan Shu explained lightly, a gratified smile appearing on her pretty face.
After the divine consciousness of the Hehuan Divine Tree awakened, its cultivation could also feed back into her.
Furthermore, the Dao companions who dedicated their primal yang to the Hehuan Divine Tree would also feed back to Yuan Shu while they cultivated.
That is to say, whether it was Shen Qi, Zhai Shuo, Long Yunhui, Leng Shuxue, Shu Linyuan, or Yin Ruobai, Li Xie, Ji Yun—as long as they made progress in their cultivation, they would more or less feed back cultivation base to her.
The growth of her strength was naturally visible to the naked eye!
"Let's go, I need to return to the sect."
Calculating the time, Yao Qianci should be back by now, right?
She had to go ask how to enter the medicinal plant vault of Yaoyun Peak.
...
The bedchamber of the Peak Master of Qingyun Peak.
Lu Guichen and Su Lingxi sat facing each other, palms touching. Powerful spiritual energy continuously transferred from Lu Guichen's arms into Su Lingxi's body.
He was trying to awaken that wisp of depleted immortal energy within her body.
But after trying for a long time, let alone immortal energy, there wasn't even a trace of any other aura!
A moment later, Lu Guichen formed a hand seal and withdrew his power with a disappointed look.
Opposite him, Su Lingxi's face was deathly pale, full of disbelief. "Master, is there really no way to nurture the immortal power back into my body?"
She felt her body; it was no different from before he channeled his power.
It was completely unlike the past, when as long as she gathered her spiritual energy, the immortal energy in her body would be summoned and surge.
Lu Guichen slowly shook his head. "It was extracted completely, without the slightest remnant left. Unless a miracle happens, it cannot be nurtured back."
What a pity.
Lu Guichen closed his eyes briefly.
The reason he had taken a liking to Su Lingxi at first glance and accepted her as a disciple was because he discovered this unusual wisp of immortal energy in her body.
This wisp of immortal energy could not only allow Su Lingxi to make rapid progress in her cultivation, but it could also allow him to receive the blessing of immortal energy, communicate with the laws of heaven and earth, and accelerate his own cultivation speed.
He didn't expect that just one trip to the Death Demon Forest would ruin everything!
The gaze Lu Guichen directed at Su Lingxi no longer held its former affection.
A disciple who was useless to him was no different from any other disciple.
"From now on, you don't need to come over anymore," Lu Guichen said coldly.
That single sentence made Su Lingxi's face turn deathly pale.
She knew what this meant. It meant her Master no longer needed her. It meant her privileged treatment from her Master was gone!
Just because that wisp of immortal energy was no more!
Su Lingxi gritted her teeth fiercely, Zhai Shuo coming to mind.
No, it wasn't Zhai Shuo!
Her Master had already investigated it clearly; it was a demon who had transformed into Zhai Shuo's appearance!
That damned demon! It was all him! He ruined everything for her!
And Yuan Shu! That damned woman! She saved Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother, but actually left her in the demon group, making her suffer endless torture!
She opened her mouth to argue something, but Lu Guichen lightly waved his sleeve, sweeping her directly out of the main hall.
The hall doors closed, cutting off Su Lingxi's line of sight.
Su Lingxi scrambled up from the ground in a sorry state. She glanced at the tightly shut hall doors, almost shattering her silver teeth from biting down so hard.
After a long while, she suddenly thought of something and touched the Qiankun bag at her waist.
She had already memorized the Withered Wood Plucking Technique by heart, and she had learned how to circulate the cultivation method once, but she just hadn't experienced it personally yet.
Is this thing really that powerful?
To actually be able to pluck and supplement oneself with someone else's cultivation base?
Su Lingxi's eyes flickered, and thinking of her several senior brothers currently in the experiential secret realm, her eyes brightened slightly.
Her senior brothers all possessed top-grade spiritual roots and outstanding natural talent.
If she used them as human cauldrons for plucking, wouldn't her cultivation speed be even faster?
Just in time, the aphrodisiac she had secretly gone down the mountain to have someone refine was also ready!
Her Master no longer cared about her. She couldn't just sit and wait for death like this; she had to work hard to become stronger!
The more Su Lingxi thought about it, the more she felt that a beautiful future was waiting for her. Under her excitement, she gripped the Qiankun bag at her waist and headed to the entrance of the experiential secret realm.
The person in charge of managing the secret realm was an inner disciple of Qingyun Peak. The order he received was to let male disciples like Shen Qi enter the secret realm to gain experience and slay demonic beasts.
Su Lingxi was originally not among them.
But she couldn't be resisted—Su Lingxi was beautiful and had a sweet voice, acting spoiled and cute.
The gatekeeping disciple's cheeks turned red from being called "Senior Brother" over and over again. After a slight hesitation, he agreed to let her enter the secret realm.
Su Lingxi thought about it. Her relationship with the other senior brothers wasn't very good; the only ones she got along with decently were Shu Linyuan and Shen Qi.
The Withered Wood Plucking Technique stated that the first Dao companion one practiced dual cultivation with was the only one who could be cultivated with long-term without having their body damaged by the plucking technique.
Therefore, she had to choose this first one carefully.
After careful consideration, Su Lingxi decided to go find Shen Qi first.
After all, she didn't know what was going on with Shu Linyuan lately; no matter how she showed her goodwill, he kept ignoring her.
If he couldn't be the first, she could only say he brought it upon himself!
Su Lingxi thought resentfully. After entering the secret realm, she followed the clues provided by the inner disciple and went searching for Shen Qi.
...
Meanwhile, Yuan Shu had just returned to the sect and bid farewell to Long Yunhui when she was blocked by a flock of spirit cranes not far from the mountain gate.
Over a dozen spirit cranes with elegant forms and lively eyes completely blocked the path up the mountain, refusing to yield an inch.
Yuan Shu looked up and saw Ji Yun looking down from a commanding position on the canopy of a large tree not far away.
