Yuan Shu's eyes trembled. She gently bit her crimson lower lip with her pearly white teeth and, under Yin Ruobai's gaze, gave a soft nod.
"I know, Senior Brother. You... you can come over..."
Yin Ruobai's heart trembled. With a stride of his long legs, he sat behind Yuan Shu.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.
"Junior Sister Yuan, I... I will take responsibility for you..."
His voice was husky as he lifted his head and bit her earlobe.
Yuan Shu's eyes flickered. She casually popped an Acacia fruit into her mouth, and when Yin Ruobai kissed her, she passed the fruit's juices to him.
...
At the roots of the dim Acacia Divine Tree, right beside the glowing dark blue light, a streak of golden light was born.
The golden light gradually deepened, becoming dazzling and resplendent. Together with the dark blue light, it illuminated the entire space of the divine tree, making it breathtakingly radiant.
A supreme-grade Metal Spiritual Root, also one of the foundational layers the Acacia Divine Tree needed the most.
Yuan Shu slowly opened her eyes, her gaze brightening slightly.
The Metal Spiritual Root foundation was a success!
Moreover, her cultivation level had successfully advanced to the eighth level of the Qi Condensation stage, just as she wished!
The diamond foundation of the tree was not yet completely successful. If it succeeded, she could probably advance another level!
"Shushu, after we leave this cave, I will report our relationship to Master and marry you!"
Behind her, Yin Ruobai leaned in, wrapping his hands around her and gently resting his chin on her shoulder.
His voice was gentle, his gaze lingering and deeply affectionate as he looked at Yuan Shu.
If, at first, he had merely been stunned by Yuan Shu's figure in the woods...
Then now, his heart and eyes were completely filled with her.
In the past, when he knew his fellow disciples would seek out female disciples they liked for dual cultivation, he had always scoffed at it.
He felt that such crooked paths were unworthy of great responsibilities.
But he never expected that the process would be so soul-stirring!
Had he known earlier, he definitely would have gotten to know Yuan Shu sooner.
And pursued her!
Yuan Shu's expression shifted. Hearing this, she hurriedly turned around, pressing her tender white fingertips gently against Yin Ruobai's lips, a look of embarrassment appearing on her face.
"Senior Brother, let's hold off on this matter for now. I... I'm not ready yet."
Yin Ruobai grew a bit anxious upon hearing this. He grabbed Yuan Shu's hand. "Junior Sister Yuan, could it be that you don't like me?"
They had just been so compatible.
Yuan Shu liked him; her passion had been uncontrollable.
And he liked her just as much, so much that he didn't want to waste a single moment!
Yuan Shu gently shook her head and spoke softly, "Senior Brother is the head disciple of Lingyun Peak, blessed with outstanding talent and excellent looks. How could I not like you?"
"However... Senior Brother, I want to focus on my cultivation and strive to achieve good results in this year's sect competition."
"For now, I don't want to get married."
Yin Ruobai opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
He could tell that Yuan Shu's spiritual roots were impure, and her strength was likely hovering between the sixth and seventh levels of Qi Condensation.
Yet the minimum requirement to participate in the sect competition was to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Now, there were only a few months left until this year's sect competition.
With Yuan Shu's talent, it would probably be very difficult for her to break through to Foundation Establishment before then.
But meeting Yuan Shu's bright, dazzling eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say such confidence-crushing words.
"Junior Sister Yuan, are you truly unwilling to marry for the time being?"
Yin Ruobai pursed his lips and asked again, his gaze showing a hint of disapproval.
Now that he was considered her man, he needed to shoulder the responsibilities he ought to.
He didn't care that Yuan Shu's cultivation was low; he truly liked her!
Yuan Shu, however, shook her head with a firm gaze. "Senior Brother, I want to focus on my cultivation."
Hearing this, Yin Ruobai no longer forced the issue and nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Since Yuan Shu was unwilling, he couldn't force her.
Even if they didn't marry, he could still go to Yuan Shu, just like the other disciples did with their partners.
As long as he let their fellow disciples know about their relationship, he could still protect her!
Having made up his mind, Yin Ruobai stopped dwelling on it and changed the subject.
"Junior Sister Yuan, since the snake venom has been cured, we shouldn't delay. We need to leave here quickly."
Although Yin Ruobai was reluctant to part with this private time with Yuan Shu, this place was an underground cave behind the forbidden area.
It was still within the territory of the Xiushe.
If the Xiushe found them here, something terrible might happen!
Yuan Shu nodded.
Having obtained the supreme-grade Metal Spiritual Root foundation, she was in a good mood, and a bright smile rippled across her face.
"I'll listen to Senior Brother Yin!"
Yin Ruobai's heart stirred. Unable to resist, he lowered his head, captured her lips, and gave her a deep kiss.
...
Yuan Shu suggested continuing further down the cave, which gained Yin Ruobai's approval.
"There is indeed an exit leading to the surface beneath this forbidden area, but the route is very hard to find. I'll hold your hand; follow behind me."
Yin Ruobai reminded her thoughtfully. Holding Yuan Shu with one hand, he took out a down feather of a Blue Swan bird with the other and gently tossed it into the cave.
The next moment, the Blue Swan feather was blown forward by the mountain draft.
"Let's go. If we follow that feather, we can find the exit where the wind is coming from!"
Yuan Shu looked at Yin Ruobai in slight surprise, thinking to herself that he truly lived up to his status as a core disciple with his broad knowledge!
He actually knew that the Blue Swan's down feather was several times lighter than the feathers of ordinary avian spirit beasts. Even the slightest mountain breeze could move it, making it perfect for guiding the way in a cave!
"Senior Brother Yin knows so much!"
The obedient, soft, and delicate voice coming from behind almost melted Yin Ruobai's heart. His grip on Yuan Shu's hand tightened.
The underground of the forbidden area was shrouded by a confining array.
Yuan Shu had originally thought it would be impossible to find the exit so easily.
To her surprise, half an hour later, Yin Ruobai actually led her to the exit connecting to the surface!
"We made it out!"
The moment he saw the daylight, a joyful expression appeared on Yin Ruobai's face, and he pulled Yuan Shu along, quickening his pace.
"We really made it out!"
Yuan Shu was a bit surprised.
The confining arrays in the cave were intricate and complex. Even with her extensive experience, it would have been difficult to find the correct route out.
It turned out Yin Ruobai had an extremely strong talent for arrays.
She had only pointed out a few universally known precautions, yet he had actually found the critical nodes of the array.
He successfully led her out of the cave on the correct path!
"It will still take some time to descend the mountain from here. Junior Sister Yuan, we can rest here for a while first," Yin Ruobai suggested.
Yuan Shu nodded. "Alright."
The two had just sat down and started talking when a sudden gasp came from behind them.
"Yuan Shu?"
Yuan Shu turned her head to look and saw four familiar figures walking over from the forest path.
Leading them was Shen Qi, followed by Shu Linyuan, Su Lingxi, and a man Yuan Shu was seeing for the first time since her rebirth.
However, judging from his cynical, carefree expression and the metal folding fan he was waving in his hand...
This should be the core disciple of Qingyun Peak—Third Senior Brother Long Yunhui.
The one who had cried out was Su Lingxi from the group.
At this moment, her gaze toward Yuan Shu was filled with absolute shock as she blurted out, "Why are you here? Weren't you already..."
Halfway through her sentence, Su Lingxi seemed to realize something and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
She couldn't say it; those things couldn't be said!
However, she couldn't understand why Yuan Shu wasn't dead.
She had seen with her own eyes the Xiushe sweep her away from the forest and drag her into the forbidden cave!
Only then did she feel at ease enough to go down the mountain and gather a few senior brothers, all for the purpose of witnessing the reality of her being killed by the Xiushe!
To think that she actually didn't die?
And even made it out of the Xiushe Cave?
Yuan Shu tilted her head, feigning confusion as she asked, "Junior Sister, shouldn't I be here? Then where should I be?"
