Yuan Shu had just advanced in strength and wanted to consolidate her cultivation.
So she did not hold back and simply lifted her head to kiss his lips.
“Mmm…”
Mu Fengyun was slightly stunned, but immediately opened his mouth and yielded to her.
His hands instinctively closed around Yuan Shu’s slender waist.
…
“Is it done?”
Yuan Shu asked Mu Fengyun, who was sitting cross-legged and suppressing the Cangming Ice Soul.
The power of the spirit flame flowed continuously from Mu Fengyun’s palms. Yuan Shu watched as his brows furrowed and his expression shifted unpredictably.
Only after a long while did the surging spiritual energy around him gradually settle.
Mu Fengyun slowly opened his eyes and nodded at Yuan Shu.
With a wave of his hand, the Cangming Ice Soul appeared in his palm. It was a tiny, ice-blue object that changed form according to Mu Fengyun’s will.
A faint ice-blue mist rose from it before quickly sinking back into his palm.
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow. “You broke through to the Deity Transformation realm?”
She keenly sensed the change in the spiritual energy within Mu Fengyun.
Mu Fengyun nodded lightly. “Yes. And I feel that the power of the Cangming Ice Soul doesn’t end there. A large portion of it hasn’t been completely refined yet. Once I refine it all, I may be able to advance another step.”
His words were cautious, but Yuan Shu could hear the joy in his voice.
Mu Fengyun’s cultivation talent was not weak. However, because of the Cangming Ice Soul, his talent had been suppressed and his body affected.
All these years, he had suffered greatly!
Now that he could control the Cangming Ice Soul, it meant that he could cultivate normally.
“Congratulations, Mu Fengyun. Your hardships have finally paid off!” Yuan Shu said with a smile.
A heavenly treasure like the Cangming Ice Soul could be extremely useful if wielded properly.
Not only would it allow Mu Fengyun to control ice-type spiritual energy more freely, it could also improve his cultivation aptitude.
Who knew? Perhaps the next time they met, Mu Fengyun would have broken through to the Void Refinement realm!
Mu Fengyun smiled faintly. His warm, bright eyes gazed quietly at Yuan Shu, filled with deep affection.
“Shushu, I have you to thank for this.”
The corners of Yuan Shu’s lips curved upward. “This isn’t all my achievement.”
“Mu Fengyun, if you hadn’t suppressed it all these years, my spirit flame wouldn’t have been able to control it completely.”
“You’re amazing!”
The two exchanged a smile, their intertwined hands clasped tightly together.
“By the way, Shushu, earlier in the underground palace, we encountered a powerful expert in the Great Ascension realm…”
Mu Fengyun told Yuan Shu about the mysterious expert they had encountered before, hoping to persuade her to leave the underground palace.
Yuan Shu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. “There’s something I need to find an answer to, so I have to see the central underground palace.”
Mu Fengyun pondered for a moment. “In that case, I’ll go with you.”
Yuan Shu moved her lips, just about to stop him, but he interrupted her with a smile.
“I’m already your dao partner. How could I stand by while you go somewhere so dangerous?”
“Shushu, I’m one of your own.”
Yuan Shu burst into laughter. She hooked an arm around his neck and kissed those exceedingly persuasive lips.
“Fine. One of my own!”
…
Three days later, after winding through the underground river, Yuan Shu and Mu Fengyun finally found the exit of the cavern.
“This should be an underground palace connected to a chain of formations. If we follow this route, we should be able to return to the main path of the underground palace.”
In the modest-sized palace, Yuan Shu carefully examined the surroundings before pointing toward the path ahead and explaining.
The underground river could also lead to the central underground palace, but its terrain was complicated. Even Yuan Shu could easily lose her way there.
With no other choice, the two of them had been forced to find another route back to the underground palace.
“Fortunately, there’s a teleportation formation ahead. We can use it to shorten the journey somewhat.”
Mu Fengyun had long since grown accustomed to Yuan Shu’s uncanny ability to find her way.
For the past three days, Yuan Shu had done nearly all the guiding, and every direction she chose had been completely accurate.
He knew she had secrets, but he never asked about them.
“Good,” Mu Fengyun replied, following Yuan Shu.
They had not gone far when a scream suddenly rang out ahead, accompanied by a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy.
Bang!
Yuan Shu and Mu Fengyun exchanged a glance before hurrying toward the source of the sound.
As they drew closer, harsh reprimands mingled with the sound of a whip striking flesh.
“Speak! Where is your formation master hiding? If you don’t tell us, I’ll skin every one of you alive and tear your tendons out!”
Crack!
The sound of the whip rang out, immediately followed by two agonized cries.
Yuan Shu frowned. From a distance, she could already see a group standing inside the underground palace ahead, surrounding two disciples in the white robes of the righteous sects.
The group wore identical black armor. One of them held a whip and was conducting the interrogation.
The person leading them wore a dark green robe and had a stern, cold expression.
Upon closer inspection, Yuan Shu realized that he was someone she knew!
Liye?
Wasn’t this man near the center of the underground palace?
Could the earlier spatial teleportation have thrown him off course as well?
What a small world!
Yuan Shu’s heart gave a slight jump. She quickly pulled Mu Fengyun beside her behind a stone wall. When she turned around, she met his subtly changed expression.
Yuan Shu’s heart stirred. “You know those two righteous disciples?”
Mu Fengyun nodded. “They’re from my Ten Thousand Swords Sect. They’re my junior brothers.”
Yuan Shu frowned. “That group… they’re demons. The one leading them is the Third Demon Prince.”
Mu Fengyun turned to look at Yuan Shu, his eyes filled with surprise.
The Third Demon Prince?
The so-called greatest genius the demon race had produced in the past century, Liye, who had reached the peak of the Demon Transformation realm?
Over by the cavern, the two men lying on the ground and rolling in agony gradually fell silent.
After a moment, the interrogator cupped his fists toward Liye. “Third Prince, their injuries are too severe. They’ve passed out.”
Liye was in an extremely irritable mood.
After Yuan Shu humiliated him that day, the Demon King had summoned him, and together they had attacked the defenses at the center of the underground palace.
Unexpectedly, the defenses had automatically counterattacked, using the palace’s formations to send them directly into a chain of interconnected formations.
This had deprived him of even the chance to capture Yuan Shu!
Now, the formation master in his group had died inside the formations because of one careless mistake, leaving them unable to determine the direction of the underground palace.
With no other option, he had begun forcibly recruiting people from the underground palace. Ideally, he would seize a formation master and hold him hostage!
As luck would have it, he had run into these two men.
Unfortunately, the bones of these righteous cultivators were remarkably hard. Even under his torture, they had refused to reveal a single useful piece of information.
“Lock them up first. Tonight, use those black rats Father gave me. We must make them tell the truth!”
“Yes.”
After Liye finished speaking, he ordered his men to imprison the two Ten Thousand Swords Sect disciples.
Yuan Shu and Mu Fengyun remained hidden in the corner, watching the entire process without rushing out recklessly.
“Let’s withdraw for now. We’ll observe the situation and think of a way to help them later.”
Seeing the worry on Mu Fengyun’s face, Yuan Shu knew he was concerned about his fellow disciples and reminded him accordingly.
Mu Fengyun nodded.
There were only two of them, while their opponents were the demon race’s main force. If they charged out now, they had no chance of winning.
Although the two disciples had been abused, judging from the situation, their injuries did not appear fatal. There was still hope of saving them.
Yuan Shu and Mu Fengyun hid in the darkness and kept watch over the demons in the cavern ahead.
Only after Liye led his people away did they exchange a glance and quietly make their way over.
