Lock of Shared Life

*Gurgle.* The sound of welling blood was very faint. Lowering her lashes, Tianye glanced at the hand that had thrust in from behind and pierced entirely through her chest. Blood spread from her ruptured chest, serpentine rivulets of crimson coursing along his forearm to gather at the fingertips before dripping down into the void. After gazing down with a cool, gloomy look for a breath, an ambiguous smile suddenly flitted across Tianye's lips. Sensing this with his intent-soul, Xu Yuan's voice remained cold and soft: "What are you smiling at?" "What am I smiling at?" Tianye raised her hand with some difficulty, gently grasping the palm-blade that impaled her chest. It was warm to the touch and slick with fresh blood. Turning her beautiful eyes toward the man behind her, she smiled like a flower in bloom. "What do you think I'm smiling at right now?" Xu Yuan stared at her flawless profile for a moment, then chuckled softly. "I'd guess... probably because my move exceeded your expectations." "Brother Changtian, you really do understand me, don't you..." With a light, silvery laugh, Tianye's dainty tongue flicked over the blood spilling from the corner of her lips. The smudged smear of crimson made the smile on her lips look all the more bewitching. "I thought you might cooperate with me, and I thought you might make a move against me, but I never expected you to strike with such resolve. Acting like this truly did exceed my expectations." "Once certain opportunities are missed, they never come again," Xu Yuan said noncommittally. "You went through all the trouble of telling me so much—the least you could have done was discuss it with me." Tianye had noticed, yet she did not resist. Tilting her magnificent golden eyes toward him, her voice trembled slightly from the grave injury. "After all, she and I both belong to the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. What if... what if I had actually agreed?" "You wouldn't have," Xu Yuan replied without a shred of hesitation. "At the very least, the probability of your agreeing was lower than the chance of slaying you right here with a sneak attack." "...Heh, putting it that way, you're not wrong." Tianye fell silent for a few breaths. Her back still turned to him, she let out a soft laugh and casually pointed at the thigh-thick Charm God tree seed beside her. "Still, you were a bit impatient. You should have waited a little longer. Only when this charm poison had completely dulled my senses could you have achieved a guaranteed fatal strike." "I wanted to, but a certain someone didn't seem to trust me." Xu Yuan sighed and leaned closer to Tianye's ear, though his eyes remained fixed on the barefoot girl across from them as he said slowly, "If I'd waited any longer, I fear a certain someone would've flown into panic. In that case, the risk of things going sideways would've multiplied infinitely, wouldn't it?" With that, Tianyan bit her lip and looked away. Tianye shook with laughter, uncaring of the crimson blood gushing from her wound or her garments that were already thoroughly drenched in it. Once she had laughed her fill, Tianye glanced down at her blood-soaked robe and asked in a low voice: "Still, Brother Changtian, are you certain you want to choose her?" "Can I still back out now?" Xu Yuan's hand, still buried deep in her chest, shifted slightly. "..." Tianye. "Of course not." Tianye gave a soft humph, her fingertips stroking the warm hand piercing her chest. "I just wanted to tell you that this isn't a wise choice." Feeling the soft touch of her hand, Xu Yuan's voice was calm as a deep pool. He chuckled softly: "Of course I know. Even though that woman has a lousy temper and her figure isn't much to look at, the terms you offered were truly tempting. But after all, we've shared seven years of hardship, and she's saved me many times..." Toward the end, his tone took on a hint of self-mockery: "So even if she doesn't trust me, I still can't betray her, can I?" "Xu Yuan, I..." Tianyan parted her lips, but before she could finish, Xu Yuan cut her off with a shift in topic, asking: "Tianye, given your current state, you should be about ready to cast that death substitution secret art, shouldn't you?" To have survived Tang Ruofu's assassination attempt, Tianye had most likely learned that death substitution secret art of Tianyan's. Tianye giggled weakly, her lovely eyes flitting about. "A secret art that not even the Pavilion Master knows about can indeed only be practiced by 'Tianyan'... It seems little Tianyan didn't lie to me after all." With those words, a brief silence fell. Then her nonchalant, melodious voice rippled through the mist like rain falling upon a lake: "But who told you I'm going to use that art?" "..." Xu Yuan was taken aback. The death substitution secret art in the Heaven-Deducing Art defied all logic; though it consumed a tremendous amount, once used, it could dispel all negative conditions afflicting the body. From the instant his hand pierced Tianye's chest, his Source Qi and intent-soul had begun infiltrating her body through the bloody wound. He had not grasped "Intent," so a wound piercing through the chest was not necessarily fatal to someone in the Origin Realm; therefore, it required a little "assistance." In the brief span of these few sentences, Tianye's body had already been filled with his intent-soul and Source Qi. If she didn't use it, how was this woman going to get away? Amidst his thoughts, Xu Yuan's voice took on a teasing edge: "Giving up the fight?" "Give up? How could I?" "Then Dao Charm." "Not that either." Tianye leaned back slightly, resting against Xu Yuan's chest. Her eyes were fixed on Tianyan as well, her tone soft and frivolous. "If I wanted to use Dao Charm, I would've used it the moment you ambushed me. Using it now, that woman across from us is probably already on guard, so it wouldn't be very effective." Hearing this, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the woman whose chest was pierced by his forearm resting in his embrace, his brow furrowing deeper. Neither the death substitution secret art nor Dao Charm—then only one possibility remained... Calling for backup. "Not that either~" With her cascading black hair resting against his chest, Tianye seemed to perceive what he was thinking. "I haven't notified that old bastard surnamed Luo. He won't be coming anytime soon." "..." Xu Yuan. Tianye's words completely threw him for a loop. In truth, his plan was quite simple. Killing Tianye outright with a sneak attack would be the best outcome. The second-best outcome was gravely injuring her to force out the death substitution secret art, then instantly ganging up with Tianyan to surround and slaughter her. The third was, failing to kill her instantly, taking her hostage before the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's Saint arrived after she signaled for help. Yet now, Tianye's utterly laid-back posture of doing nothing completely shattered his expectations. Looking at Tianye resting defenseless in his arms, Xu Yuan's racing thoughts came to an abrupt halt. He realized something. He didn't need to overthink this at all. No matter what she intended to do, his Source Qi and intent-soul were already dispersed throughout her body. If he detonated this Source Qi and intent-soul directly, then if Tianye used the death substitution secret art, they would surround and kill her. If she didn't use it, then it would just be over right then and there... At this thought, the hand piercing her chest suddenly flared with a dazzling burst of blood-red light... Seeing this, Tianye merely closed her eyes with a hint of fatigue, the faint smile still lingering on her lips. "..." Xu Yuan. Her serene, give-up attitude caused a deep sense of unease to surge within Xu Yuan. Something wasn't right... Although true chaos-seekers might sacrifice their lives for amusement, they wouldn't just throw their lives away for cheap fun on a whim. Unless... Her death would bring about even greater amusement. "..." His throat bobbed slightly. Xu Yuan's blood-red eyes suddenly froze, and his gaze snapped toward the jade slip he had crushed to powder. [The secret art is called the Lock of Shared Life. It can link the intent-soul origins of two individuals. If one party dies, although the other's life will not be endangered, they will be reduced directly to a raving lunatic.] His pupils contracted violently. No way... Could the Lock of Shared Life be cast unilaterally? At this thought, Xu Yuan suddenly recalled the intent-soul and Source Qi he had poured into her body as contingencies. *Damn it!* He immediately tried to wrench his hand out of her body. Unfortunately, this time, he couldn't pull it free. Tianye's supple body clamped down on his hand like a quagmire, rendering him unable to retreat in the slightest. "What a pity. You noticed?" A plaintive voice sounded softly. Tianye turned her cheek halfway, her golden eyes brimming with amusement. "Brother Changtian, I really didn't misjudge you~" Seeing this, without any hesitation, Xu Yuan immediately looked up at the washboard across from them and shouted: "Tianyan, help me get separated from her!!" *Buzz—* The moment the words left his mouth, a soft golden light instantly flared between Xu Yuan and Tianye. As a top-tier teammate, Tianyan had already suppressed all those stray emotions the moment Xu Yuan struck. The instant the golden light appeared, a colossal aura burst forth. Enveloped within that sphere of light, Xu Yuan felt the grip constricting his forearm loosen, and he instantly ripped his hand free and flew backward. The moment his hand pulled away, the gaping hole in Tianye's chest began to heal at a visible pace. In mere moments, the wound had fully recovered. Beneath her torn clothing, a deep cleavage gave way to the soft curves of her breasts. Tianye showed none of her earlier shyness, making no effort to cover up as her Shu brocade fur robe fluttered in the wind. Gazing at the man who had already returned to the other golden-eyed girl's side, her smile was blood-red and brilliant: "Brother Changtian~ although your reaction was quick, the spell is already complete. We are already locked together, you know~" As she spoke, Tianye invoked the Instant True Word and appeared right before the two of them. Her eyes curved as she looked at Tianyan and smiled: "Heh heh~ Brother Changtian didn't give up on you, so now it's your turn to choose, little Tianyan." Tianyan's gaze was cool, meeting her eyes impassively. "Choose what?" Tianye spread her arms wide, her blood-soaked garments clinging to her curves, her ample, barely constrained bosom swaying right before Tianyan at close range. "..." Tianyan narrowed her eyes. "..." Xu Yuan swallowed dryly. Her starry, magnificent golden eyes half-lidded, Tianye leaned forward slightly, drawing close to Tianyan's ear, her breath fragrant as orchids: "You have about half a quarter of an hour to consider. After that, the old man surnamed Luo will arrive here." As she spoke, her bloodstained fingertips lightly traced Tianyan's pristine, cold face: "Either kill me, turn the man who gave up on me for your sake into a raving madman, and flee on your own— "Or wait to be captured and dragged back to the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, refined into a tree spirit, and die." With that, Tianye tilted her chin up, exposing her vital spots without the slightest defense, the smile curving her blood-soaked crimson lips demonic and breathtakingly beautiful: "Now, you can choose, little Tianyan~"