Helan Ying spoke as he raised his right hand, his fingertips weaving a seal, slowly conjuring a Soul Guard Flower brimming with vibrant life force.
"Sister, eat this."
Helan Ying turned his face away, fighting back the agony of clashing forces surging within his body, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Yuan Shu.
The Soul Guard Flower was a high-tier god-grade spiritual plant, with only a handful of specimens left in the entire world. It was a rare, almost unfindable life-saving treasure for spirit cultivators and those on the brink of death from severe injuries.
It was impossibly scarce.
This made it clear that Helan Ying was not entirely without genuine concern for her.
But if all he needed was just a small amount of ordinary blood, why would he ever go so far as to offer the Soul Guard Flower to keep her alive?
What he wanted was never just a bit of blood!
The Hehuan Divine Tree was fused completely with her soul. To draw on its divine power, he had to absorb her essence blood and spiritual power along with it.
Even with the Soul Guard Flower, all it could do was stabilize her soul and ensure she would not be destroyed body and spirit.
Her spiritual power and natural talent for cultivation would be drained dry!
Yuan Shu finally understood why this man had not dealt with her after regaining his strength.
He must have known long ago that absorbing the power from the underground spiritual veins could very well clash with the baleful spiritual force inside him.
Only by drawing on her divine power could he balance the two opposing forces and boost his own strength.
That was why he had kept her by his side all this time.
Helan Ying did have feelings for her, but they were far from enough.
Yuan Shu's face turned cold. She glanced at the arrogant, wanton-looking young man before her, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curled into a smile.
"Since you've already planned everything out, and there's no way for me to escape your grasp, then... fine, I'll do as you wish. Come on."
Yuan Shu spoke in a low, alluring tone, slowly relaxing her previously tensed body. She stepped forward and leaned voluntarily into Helan Ying's embrace.
"Helan Ying, be gentle. Your sister is afraid of pain."
Her soft, sweet voice carried a hint of a sigh after seeming to surrender, sounding equally enchanting and provocative.
Helan Ying's body stiffened. His deep green eyes, which had been lowered, trembled slightly, and a look of unmasked joy spread across his features.
"Sister, are you being this good for me?"
"What? Is it bad that I'm being good? Or do you prefer that I fight to the death and ruin your grand plan? If that's what you want, it's not like I can't do that..."
Yuan Shu let out a cold snort. Before she could finish her sentence, Helan Ying leaned down and sealed her lips with his own.
He kissed her lips tenderly twice. "No, it's more than enough that you're good, sister. I promise I'll be as gentle as I can be later."
The words had barely left his mouth when Helan Ying used one hand to pin Yuan Shu's wrists down, and wrapped the other arm around to pull her fully into his hold.
He slowly opened his mouth, his pair of sharp fangs growing long and pointed, and moved them gradually toward the pale, graceful swan-like curve of Yuan Shu's neck.
Just as Helan Ying was about to sink his teeth into her neck, Yuan Shu wrenched her hands free from his grip.
"Hehuan!" Yuan Shu called out in a quiet cry within her sea of consciousness.
The Hehuan Divine Tree immediately condensed its divine power into a sharp spike, which materialized right in Yuan Shu's palm.
Yuan Shu's face turned icy cold. She gripped the spike tightly and drove it straight toward Helan Ying's heart.
The sharp spike sliced through skin, but not Helan Ying's chest — only the back of his hand.
His reaction speed was several times faster than Yuan Shu's.
Even though she had pretended to submit and catch him off guard to strike, all she managed to do was cut the back of his hand before Helan Ying seized control of her again.
"Ha, hahaha..."
Helan Ying burst into low, deep laughter, looking at the furious Yuan Shu with a wild, unrestrained grin.
"I knew you weren't being good, sister. I almost fell for your trick, though."
"But with the strength you have now, did you really think you could assassinate me?"
Helan Ying spoke as he stuck out his tongue, lapping up the bead of blood on the back of his hand.
Then he suddenly grabbed her chin and crushed his lips to hers in a fierce, forceful kiss.
The scent of osmanthus mixed with the tang of blood filled her mouth in an instant, overwhelming her senses and invading every part of her breath.
Yuan Shu furrowed her brows, struggling hard to keep her mouth shut, but he pressed his fingers to both sides of her jaw, forcing her lips apart so he could tangle with her.
Before long, Yuan Shu's tongue went numb from the brute force of his kiss, and she winced.
After a long while, Helan Ying seemed to snap out of his fit of rage and slowly released her.
"Slap!" Yuan Shu lifted her hand and smacked him hard across the face.
"Helan Ying, you're insane!"
Helan Ying froze for a moment, then slowly came back to his senses.
He lifted his head to look at Yuan Shu, and there was no anger in his eyes — only unbridled excitement and a wide smile.
Yuan Shu's face paled.
Oh no, she had almost forgotten. This guy had a masochistic streak.
That slap she just gave him was no different from the lashes she had given him a few days earlier.
All it did was stoke his twisted desires.
"If that's the kind of thing you like, sister, there's no rush. Once we're done with this, you can hit me as much as you want!" Helan Ying said with a laugh, his voice unnervingly gentle. He tightened his arms around her, pressing her firmly against his chest.
"Now, be good. I told you I would keep you safe, and even help you rebuild your cultivation path."
As he spoke, he waved his hand to crush the Soul Guard Flower into a liquid, then pushed all of it straight into Yuan Shu's mouth.
Yuan Shu opened her mouth to spit it out, but he lowered his head again and sealed her lips with his in another domineering kiss.
"This flower is good for your soul. Don't you dare spit it out!"
He forced the liquid into her throat completely, stopping her resistance with a cold, firm tone, even channeling his spiritual power to make sure she could not fight back.
Yuan Shu had no way to resist. Moments later, all the liquid had gone down her throat.
Helan Ying gave her one last hard, sucking kiss before abruptly pulling away. Before Yuan Shu could react, he sank his teeth into her neck.
"Mn..."
The sharp pain made Yuan Shu jolt. She tried instinctively to struggle, but Helan Ying had anticipated that and held her so tight she could not move an inch.
As the essence blood infused with the divine power of the Hehuan Divine Tree flowed into his body, the ferocious, contorted look on Helan Ying's face softened instantly. The twisted, eerie green veins winding across his skin began to fade away.
Yuan Shu's eyelids twitched wildly. She could not break free no matter how hard she tried, and her face darkened with rage.
"Shushu, I feel like my whole being is being drained. The spiritual sense I worked so hard to form, wuwuwu..."
Soon, the panicked wail of the Hehuan Divine Tree echoed in her sea of consciousness.
"If he drains all my power, my spiritual sense will dissipate, wuwuwu..."
It was true. Helan Ying's target had always been the divine power of the Hehuan Divine Tree.
If all that divine power was siphoned dry, the Hehuan Divine Tree's spiritual sense would fall back into a deep slumber.
She had finally managed to wake its spiritual sense after so much effort. How could she stand by and watch it slip back into dormancy?
A soft, low moan of utter satisfaction came from Helan Ying beside her. It was clear that the essence blood carrying the Hehuan Divine Tree's divine power had made him feel completely invigorated.
Yuan Shu's eyes narrowed in thought. She pressed her lips together for a moment, then suddenly her eyes snapped open.
"I remember you have an innate skill called the Yin-Yang Equalization Contract."
The Hehuan Divine Tree, which had been sobbing and clutching its head, went quiet mid-cry. It seemed to remember something, and suddenly looked up at Yuan Shu. "I do have that innate skill."
"Yin and Yang turn in cycles, balancing and equalizing all vital forces. It is the most profound innate skill paired with the Yin-Yang Hehuan Art. When two partners cultivate together in harmony, it can balance their spiritual power, letting them support each other and grow in tandem."
"Helan Ying would be able to use my divine power to suppress the conflicting properties of the spiritual forces inside his body just as he wants."
"But using this skill will drain your yin essence and limit your own cultivation, Shushu. You... you're planning to use this skill on Helan Ying?"
