Devoured

“Chop it off?” Looking at her feigned frosty expression, Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Threatening him with something so impractical was far less effective than just declaring she would beat him up. “What?” Tianyan stood facing away from him about ten feet from the bed, her petite, delicate figure enveloped beneath an oversized palace gown. “You think I wouldn’t dare?” “Whether you dare to or not is one thing, but whether you can bring yourself to do it is another.” Xu Yuan untied the sash at his waist and said with a chuckle, “If it were really chopped off... could you truly bear to part with it?” Tianyan answered without a second thought, sneering, “Why wouldn’t I be able to? A scoundrel like you will only—” Midway through her sentence, Tianyan’s voice cut off abruptly. Once she realized the secondary meaning behind that bastard’s words, she froze as though struck by the “Fix” True Word. Seeing this, Xu Yuan slowly stood up. This washboard Saintess’s reaction time was actually quite fast. Fabric rustled softly as Xu Yuan stripped off his outer robe, continuing in an airy voice, “See? I knew you couldn’t bear to—” “Fix.” Before his words had even finished, a single word slipped from her lips. Boundless pressure instantly enveloped his entire body, freezing his hands in place just as he was undoing the ties of his inner shirt. His words just now had apparently truly riled Tianyan up; this time, her “Fix” True Word did not immobilize only his body—it locked down his intent-soul and even his spiritual vision. Within his frozen field of view, the barefoot girl hovering in midair about ten feet away slowly turned around. At this moment, Xu Yuan felt that if glares could become blades, he would have already been sliced into a thousand pieces. Before his thoughts could even finish— “Blade.” Tianyan uttered the single word in a flat tone. The corner of Xu Yuan’s eye twitched. *Oh no.* Within the wing room, already dim from the veil of rain outside, specks of golden light suddenly sprang to life. In an instant, those points of light coalesced between Tianyan’s raised, delicate hands into a dagger adorned with intricate engravings. With that done, Tianyan stepped across empty air toward him with an aloof expression. One step. Two steps. By the time she reached Xu Yuan, her feet had touched the floor. Because of their height difference, the immobilized Xu Yuan could only see the smooth black hair on the crown of Tianyan’s head and feel the biting chill radiating from the dagger in her grasp. Even though he knew deep down that Tianyan would never actually do such a thing, he couldn’t help the unease born of not being able to see what was happening, nor the shudder when the bone-chilling blade traced across his inner shirt, leaving behind a sharp draft of cold. After a fleeting moment of anxiety, Xu Yuan put his heart back at ease. Clearly, Tianyan still couldn’t bring herself to do it; the blade of light had merely slit open and parted the inner shirt on his upper body. A breath later, all the fastenings and ties on his inner shirt had been sliced clean through. Tianyan kept her head lowered, her voice detached: “Fussing around just to take off your clothes, full of endless nonsense.” “.......” Hearing her disdainful remark, an unbidden warmth softened Xu Yuan’s heart. She truly was a woman with a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Still, was it really necessary to shred his clothes? And judging from how practiced she looked, this probably wasn’t the first time; they had certainly gotten creative in the illusion realm. While such thoughts drifted through his mind, the light blade in Tianyan’s hand dissolved into glittering stardust. She took hold of the hem of his ruined shirt, ripped it off in one motion, and tossed it casually onto the floor nearby. As the garment hit the ground, Xu Yuan noticed the girl before him suddenly pause. She seemed to be staring blankly at him, though it lasted only a fraction of a second. “Control.” With another Heaven Character True Word, Xu Yuan’s body moved entirely beyond his own control. He took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and assumed a proper cross-legged position. The shifting viewpoint brought by these automatic motions allowed Xu Yuan to see her face again. A rosy flush dusted her fair cheeks, though she was doing her utmost to feign composure. It seemed his bare torso had stirred up some tender, sensual memories in her heart. Her eyelids lowered, her long, dense lashes trembling faintly, Tianyan quietly climbed onto the bed as well, sitting cross-legged opposite him. Looking at her flushed face, Xu Yuan suddenly found himself wishing that the cultivation method for the Divine Soul Chapter were like a certain Jade Maiden Heart Scripture from his past life. Requiring both parties to cultivate entirely in the nude. Wait. Who cultivated the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture again? At that thought, Xu Yuan quickly reined in his imagination; if he let his mind wander any further, his Dao heart felt like it would collapse. Then again, if Tianyan left without undoing the “Fix” True Word once cultivation was finished, and then Xiao Bai slipped into the room... *Hiss... thinking about it like that, it didn’t sound half bad.* “Calm Heart.” Sitting upright, Tianyan adjusted her breathing and once again spoke a Heaven Character True Word. It was directed at herself, and at Xu Yuan as well. Whatever had occurred in the illusion realm aside, this was likely Xu Yuan’s first time experiencing the “Calm Heart” True Word in reality. It took effect far faster than running the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art, feeling almost like being forced straight into sage mode. This experience, however, suddenly reminded Xu Yuan of something. A matter that was both important and yet not particularly important right now. Before entering the Charm God Illusion realm, Tianyan had been afflicted by the Charm God cherry poison he had administered. While less than a month had passed in the outside world, in the illusion realm... Tianyan had endured nearly twenty years under the influence of that poison. For Tianyan to maintain her true heart for twenty years, it was probably thanks to this “Calm Heart” True Word. Yet against the Charm God cherry poison that could bewitch even a Saint, could the Heaven Character True Words really possess such potent efficacy? Xu Yuan instinctively wanted to ask, only to realize he was still silenced, unable to blink even an eyelid. “Hmph. Indeed.” Even though he could not speak, a single glance was all it took for Tianyan to divine what he wanted to ask. She gave a soft huff and murmured, “In the Charm God Illusion realm, it was by relying on this true word that I maintained my lucidity.” Having said that, her pure golden eyes turned slightly sultry and charming as she whispered her next words: “Along with... someone’s help, of course.” With that, Tianyan paid no further mind to Xu Yuan’s reaction. A slender, jade-like finger pressed with precision against his lower Zhongji acupoint. There were two Zhongji acupoints on the human body. One was located at the exact center of the spine along the back, connecting to the dantian in the lower abdomen, known as the principal Zhongji acupoint. The other was located one inch below the navel, connecting to the sea of consciousness in the head, known as the lower Zhongji acupoint. Naturally, the positions of these acupoints varied from person to person, sometimes deviating by half an inch or a few fractions. For Tianyan to locate his Zhongji acupoint directly, she must have performed similar actions in the past. While his mind was wandering through these random thoughts, Tianyan’s voice suddenly rang out: “Do not resist. I will guide your intent-soul to comprehend the Divine Soul Chapter I left for you.” “.......” Hearing this, Xu Yuan hastily focused his mind. Interactions involving Source Qi and intent-soul were delicate work; a single misstep would lead to qi deviation. Seeing Xu Yuan enter the proper state, Tianyan said nothing more. Her delicate intent-soul, blended with Source Qi, surged gently into Xu Yuan’s lower Zhongji acupoint. Outside the body, the lower Zhongji acupoint was merely two feet or so from the sea of consciousness, a distance Source Qi and intent-soul could cross in an instant; inside the body, however, they had to advance with meticulous caution. Several breaths later, a wisp of Tianyan’s intent-soul arrived at the entrance of Xu Yuan’s sea of consciousness. “Relax.” As the word fell, Xu Yuan felt only a cool shiver, and Tianyan’s Heavenly Yan divine soul entered. Yet before the two could engage in any further interaction, almost the very moment it entered, the expressions of both changed drastically. It was gone. That faint wisp of her Heavenly Yan divine soul had vanished the instant it entered his sea of consciousness. Or rather... far more than having vanished, it seemed to have been devoured.