Mo Yi froze, his arm tightening instinctively around Yuan Shu as he asked, “Afraid of what?”
Yuan Shu tilted her head to look at him. The back of her hand drifted lightly down his cheek to his jaw, a hint of slyness flickering in her eyes.
Her voice brushed against his ear like a ghostly breeze. “Afraid that once we leave this cave, Peak Master Mo will deny everything…”
Mo Yi pressed his lips together. The fewer people who knew about the Earth Demon Fiend aura, the better. He had indeed never intended to let her go so easily.
Yet as he looked at Yuan Shu’s beautiful, spotless face, an inexplicable hesitation rose within him.
Someone this beautiful… Wouldn’t it be a waste to kill her just like that?
He was about to speak when Yuan Shu suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and brought her face close to his, pressing a finger against his lips.
“Shh. You don’t have to answer.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her rosy, glistening lips gently brushed against his jaw. It felt like a kitten’s paw scratching at him—soft and ticklish.
Mo Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. When Yuan Shu tilted her head and kissed him, he instinctively lowered his head to meet her.
Mo Yi felt as though this woman possessed some kind of bewitching power. Her little mouth was far too alluring.
Once he had tasted it, his body had developed a conditioned response.
Forget it. Just as she had said, once they left the cave, he would deny everything and might even do something to her.
Then, while they were still in the cave, he would indulge himself once.
Mo Yi convinced himself of this. His large hand slid up Yuan Shu’s back and clasped the back of her head, guiding her more deeply toward his lips.
The fragrance of pear blossoms filled the space between their lips and teeth, seeming to possess a magical power that drew him in, little by little, devouring him.
Soft moans and the sounds of wet kisses intertwined.
For a brief moment, the two of them forgot their purpose and lost themselves in this intimate embrace.
“Boom!”
A muffled rumble rose from deep beneath the ground, startling them both awake.
When they parted, their breathing was somewhat ragged.
For the first time, Mo Yi reached out and gently caressed Yuan Shu’s cheek. A complicated emotion surged in the depths of his eyes.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand and turned to look deeper into the cave.
Several more heavy rumbles echoed from within. Immediately afterward, a surging force of dark gray energy rushed out from the depths of the cave and suddenly coiled around Mo Yi.
The force shoved Yuan Shu away, and she stared at the scene in astonishment.
“Shushu, the Earth Demon Fiend has awakened!” the Hehuan Divine Tree cried out.
The Hehuan Divine Tree did not need to remind her. Yuan Shu could already sense the fierce, oppressive force that could only belong to the aura of an awakened Earth Demon Fiend.
This was the circulation of fiendish energy that could occur only when the Earth Demon Fiend awoke.
As a member of the Earth Demon Fiend clan, Mo Yi would absorb this fiendish energy into his body, increasing his strength!
Mo Yi was already a cultivator at the mid-stage of Deity Transformation. If his strength increased now, wouldn’t he reach the late stage—or even the perfected stage—of Deity Transformation?
Yuan Shu had to admit that she was genuinely envious!
But this was no time to think about that.
Mo Yi was looking at her, his gaze deep and unreadable.
If her guess was correct, he was probably considering how to deal with her.
After all, she had witnessed the Earth Demon Fiend aura entering his body with her own eyes.
Yuan Shu had just glanced around. The cave was extraordinarily well hidden, and there were even formations blocking it off.
It would probably be difficult for her to escape on her own.
So, for the moment, she still had to pretend to be ignorant and play dumb.
Meeting Mo Yi’s deep gaze, Yuan Shu blinked in confusion before asking innocently, “Peak Master Mo, are you… about to break through? Your dark-element spiritual power is so powerful!”
The Earth Demon Fiend aura and dark-element spiritual power were both grayish-black, so this explanation might be enough to muddle through.
Mo Yi possessed a dark-element spiritual root to begin with. It was perfectly normal for him to create certain phenomena when breaking through.
Sure enough, after hearing her words, Mo Yi’s expression relaxed slightly amid the dark gray spiritual energy swirling around him. He gave her a long look, and most of the killing intent in his eyes faded away.
As long as she had not recognized this as the Earth Demon Fiend aura, everything could still be explained.
The situation changed the instant the communication jade talisman at Yuan Shu’s waist lit up.
It was the sect’s highest-level directive, transmitted by the sect master, Qu Qing. It did not require the disciples to accept the message; it would display automatically.
White light shone from the communication jade talisman at Yuan Shu’s waist. Then came a message from Qu Qing to every disciple of the sect.
“Large quantities of Earth Demon Fiend aura have appeared within the sect. The situation is critical. All disciples are hereby summoned to assemble at Immortal-Fall Hall. If you encounter anyone compatible with the Earth Demon Fiend aura, kill them without exception!”
Attached to the message was a trace of aura used to identify the Earth Demon Fiend aura.
The imprint was stored within the communication jade talisman. Whenever it drew near the Earth Demon Fiend aura, it would emit a dazzling golden light.
At that moment, the aura imprint inside the communication jade talisman at Yuan Shu’s waist was radiating the most dazzling golden light it had ever produced!
It was plainly telling Yuan Shu that the dark gray energy surrounding Mo Yi was the Earth Demon Fiend aura mentioned by the sect master.
And Mo Yi was the person compatible with the Earth Demon Fiend aura whom the sect master had ordered them to kill without exception!
The cave fell silent for a moment.
The smile on Yuan Shu’s face stiffened. Across from her, Mo Yi slowly raised his head and stared down at her coldly, his expression blank.
An invisible killing intent enveloped her.
The corners of Yuan Shu’s mouth twitched violently. She cursed inwardly, Why did Qu Qing have to send that message now? Why not earlier or later, but precisely when she was pretending to be innocent and ignorant to save her life?
Was he deliberately making things difficult for her?
Across from her, Mo Yi raised both hands and enjoyed the baptism of the Earth Demon Fiend aura as it surged forth.
The strength within his body rose rapidly.
Perfected Deity Transformation!
Using the Earth Demon Fiend aura that had emerged, this man had actually broken straight through the late stage of Deity Transformation and reached its perfected stage.
He was only one step away from advancing to the Void Refinement realm!
The white light on the communication jade talisman soon faded away, but it could not dispel the turbulent emotions surging within their hearts.
Mo Yi had originally intended to let her live without making a fuss. Even if he later kept her by his side, with his status as Master of Profound Shade Peak, asking for a disciple of the Immortal-Fall Sect would not have been impossible.
But all of that depended on Yuan Shu not discovering the existence of the Earth Demon Fiend aura.
Then he could still have an excuse to keep her.
But just now, sect master Qu Qing had sent out that message. The dazzling golden light had plainly informed her that the energy surrounding him was the Earth Demon Fiend aura.
And he was someone compatible with the Earth Demon Fiend aura, hated by everyone in the Immortal-Fall Sect!
There was no longer any way for him to ignore it.
Mo Yi finished consolidating his increased strength. With a wave of his hand, all the Earth Demon Fiend aura filling the air gathered together and returned to his body.
He let out a soft sigh, then took one step after another toward Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shu: “…”
She had no idea whether saying “damn it” at this moment would be appropriate.
Qu Qing had truly caused her no end of trouble!
Now that everything had been exposed, how was she supposed to keep pretending to be ignorant?
“Ahem, Peak Master Mo, what are you trying to do? Can’t we talk this over calmly?”
Yuan Shu looked up at him and forced a polite smile.
Mo Yi’s gaze trembled faintly. His expression remained unchanged, but the aura surrounding him grew even sharper. As he approached Yuan Shu, the powerful pressure weighed on her more and more heavily.
“You know now?”
Although it was phrased as a question, Mo Yi’s tone was already certain.
The sect master himself had taught everyone how to identify the Earth Demon Fiend aura. Unless a person was an idiot, they would know what it meant.
The corners of Yuan Shu’s mouth twitched. “Peak Master Mo, are you referring to…”
“The Earth Demon Fiend aura!”
