Heat

"Hot?" Hearing her tone, Xu Yuan instinctively suspected that this little green tea was stirring up trouble again. They were inside a massive cavern of ice, and she was at the peak of the Grandmaster realm. How could she possibly feel hot? Yet when he turned to look back, Xu Yuan froze involuntarily. Fine beads of perspiration seeped from her fair forehead, and a faint blush dusted her exquisite, delicate face. As Xu Yuan’s gaze swept over her, Bai Muxi hooked a slender, dainty index finger into her intricate collar and tugged it down slightly, exposing her delicate, alluring collarbones as she tried to let the frigid air of the crystalline cavern flow inside her robes. His brows furrowed slightly. Glancing at the small wound on Xiao Bai’s waist and abdomen, Xu Yuan immediately understood. As a wielder of the Meishen Dao Charm, Xu Yuan knew all too well how difficult illusion and charm techniques were to guard against. Possessing a triple stack of buffs, Su Jinxuan's charm arts and illusions were bound to be stronger than his. He had managed more than once to trap enemies in illusions merely by lacing his slashes with Meishen Dao Charm, let alone Su Jinxuan. Bai Muxi must have fallen victim to it through that minuscule wound. Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yuan strode quickly toward Su Jinxuan. He had to dissolve the impurities inside this disgraceful succubus as soon as possible; otherwise, if they waited any longer, the situation in the cave might turn into a two-on-two. As he walked, Xu Yuan instructed in a solemn voice, "Circulate your cultivation to suppress it. You've been affected by Su Jinxuan's charm arts." Panting softly, Bai Muxi countered, "Young Master, I checked. There's nothing amiss with my body." "The only reason you noticed me before was because I did it on pur—because my cultivation was too low. Can Su Jinxuan and I even be compared? Ran Qingmo, help her with your Dao charm." "Xu Yuan... I seem to feel a bit hot too." "......" They were doomed. Now it was about to become a three-on-one. After a momentary daze, Xu Yuan suddenly sensed something wrong. Ran Qingmo had no wounds on her body. How could she have been affected by charm arts? It was true that the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique could affect others from a distance, but Xu Yuan had already shared all of this intelligence with the two women while planning their moves. Given the strength of that big block of ice, she shouldn't have fallen for it. Besides, if even the big block of ice had succumbed, Xu Yuan himself ought to be done for. Yet the reality was that Xu Yuan didn't feel hot in the slightest. In fact, he felt a chilly draft on his back, breaking out in cold sweat. "Hehehehe..." A weak, enchanting chuckle broke the silence of the ice cavern. Su Jinxuan lifted her right hand, reaching toward the blade of the ink sword embedded in her left shoulder. Seeing this, Xu Yuan flickered before her in an instant, seizing her fair, slender wrist and pinning it against the ice wall behind her. "What do you think you're doing?" "What do you think?" Su Jinxuan winced in pain and knitted her brows. But gazing at Xu Yuan inches away, her soft, delicate red lips curved slightly as she murmured, "Because having it thrust inside hurts so much. I want to pull it out. Is Young Master unwilling?" Infused with charm, her words caused Xu Yuan to daze for a brief moment before he gave a slight smile. "You've even learned to make dirty jokes. You're finally looking like a proper succubus. But right now, this young master isn't in the mood to joke with you." Without waiting for Su Jinxuan to speak again, Xu Yuan bent his fingers, circulated his cultivation, and pressed his hand firmly against Su Jinxuan's flat lower abdomen. The next instant, Su Jinxuan felt a burst of warmth flood into her meridians. Sensing this warm current, Su Jinxuan's peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, a profound, lingering smile playing on her lips. She put up no resistance—or rather, lacked any power to resist at all. The preceding fierce battle had already drained a massive amount of the Source Qi from her body, and the black-robed maiden's Black Ice Dao Charm had directly suppressed her to the point of being a mortal virtually incapable of channeling Source Qi. After that powder had been forced down her throat, she had gradually lost the ability to sense her body, and her flesh, numbed by the Black Ice Dao Charm, was consumed by a feverish, sickly heat. Even so... Su Jinxuan narrowed her eyes, gazing at the man before her. Since he had a death wish, she might as well let him enter and have a look. She possessed absolute confidence in her physique and cultivation method. "......" Sensing the unusually smooth progress, a faint hint of vigilance rose in Xu Yuan's heart. He didn't know why Su Jinxuan's charm arts could affect Ran Qingmo across the distance, but it was best to finish this as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it really would turn into a three-on-one shortly. To be cautious, however, Xu Yuan did not immediately employ his spiritual vision. Instead, he chose to use his black Source Qi. He planned to use the black Source Qi's property of reverse deconstruction to thoroughly drain every drop of Source Qi in Su Jinxuan's body first, before extending his spiritual vision inside to conduct a full-scale diagnostic sweep. Time ticked away. Feeling that warm current rampaging uncontrollably through her meridians, Su Jinxuan's pale face took on a sickly flush. She didn't know what was happening inside her body, but a profound sensation of weakness steadily crept up into her heart. It felt as though, somewhere in the deepest recesses of her memories, she had experienced this kind of weakness before. It was somewhat long-forgotten, somewhat nostalgic. Still, the drug that woman had forced down her throat was truly terrifying... It was an aphrodisiac, yet potent enough to impair the mind of someone with a Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique. Gazing at the increasingly familiar figure before her, she slowly lifted a hand to clutch his collar, murmuring instinctively, "Young Master Xu?" "Hmm?" Xu Yuan blinked in surprise. He shouldn't have started purging the impurities left behind by Madame Wan's soul-controlling secret technique yet. How had this disgraceful succubus suddenly recognized him? Puzzled, he looked up, only to lock eyes with those gorgeous, soul-devouring pupils. While he was still caught off guard, her slender hand gripping his collar suddenly yanked hard, and her luscious, moist red lips gently pressed against his thin lips. "......" Xu Yuan. "?" Ran Qingmo. "!" Bai Muxi. The magnificent cavern sculpted from ice crystals suddenly turned so silent that a heartbeat could be heard. Parting like a dragonfly grazing the water, Su Jinxuan flicked her moist, pink tongue across her lower lip and let out a soft, seductive chuckle. Her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly as she stared straight at him with misty, dripping eyes. Xu Yuan felt that he, too, was beginning to feel a little hot. The unexpected turn had happened abruptly, but nothing further followed. Su Jinxuan's consciousness appeared to have been completely numbed by Lou Ji's medicinal powder. Reining in his thoughts, Xu Yuan resumed the task at hand. Fifteen minutes later, Xu Yuan had thoroughly sucked Su Jinxuan's dantian dry with his black Source Qi, and immediately plunged his spiritual vision into her body. With its formidable penetrating power, his spiritual vision instantly detected the foreign matter lurking within Su Jinxuan. Minuscule, dense crystal powder met his sight, making Xu Yuan's scalp tingle with dread. Back in the guest quarters of the nameless residence, he had helped Bai Muxi purge this soul-controlling crystal powder left by Madame Wan. If the crystal powder he had purged back then was comparable to a single stray ant, then inside Su Jinxuan right now lay an entire anthill. It seemed Madame Wan had indeed held back out of wariness toward his "Saint Tier Ghost Willow." Otherwise, based on the timeline of when Su Jinxuan and Tianyan entered Thousand Thorns Gorge, even if the two had stayed in the nameless estate the entire time, it would have been impossible for the powder to accumulate to such a scale. Tingling scalp aside, he could only deconstruct it bit by bit. Retrieving a jade box from his Sumeru ring, Xu Yuan popped two precious Twin Ghost Pills into his mouth as reserves. Hardening his resolve, he dove deep to clean up after this disgraceful succubus. Time trickled past. The midday sun sank westward and blushed crimson, and the sky outside the crystalline cavern gradually faded into darkness. The cave was deathly quiet. Su Jinxuan continued to gaze dazedly at the man before her, her cherry-pink pupils glowing with an eerie, bewitching luster in the dark. Compared to when he had begun, Xu Yuan was now drenched in sweat. Literally—his inner tunic was completely soaked through. Were it not for the cheat that was his black Source Qi, attempting to unravel her technique would have been utter fantasy. Yet Madame Wan was, after all, a Saint Tier yin ghost, while he was still merely in the Body Integration realm. He could only count his blessings that Madame Wan's technique was not tethered to her true body. The jade box containing the Twin Ghost Pills was already more than half empty, and running his meridians under such high strain left Xu Yuan's body burning with unusual heat. However, judging by this rate, another two hours or so should suffice to wake Su Jinxuan completely. The meridians were entirely cleared; all that remained were the traces of soul-controlling crystal powder lingering in her brain and sea of consciousness. Amid this stillness, while Xu Yuan was concentrating on administering this "chemotherapy" to Su Jinxuan, subtle shifts were quietly unfolding within the darkened ice cavern. Bai Muxi sat cross-legged near the cave entrance with her eyes closed, circulating her cultivation method with all her might. Her white outer robe had already been cast aside, leaving her collarbones and arms bare, while her thin inner tunic clung over her chemise to keep her modesty intact. Even so, her fair, bloodless face remained flushed bright red, and fine, fragrant perspiration constantly seeped from her skin. From time to time, her gaze darted toward the Young Master's back deeper inside the cavern. Beside her, Ran Qingmo fared much better than Bai Muxi. She sat cross-legged circulating her energy just the same, but her ink-colored robes remained untouched, and she even had enough composure to help suppress the charm poison in Bai Muxi beside her. Ran Qingmo barely broke a sweat, though a faint blush tinged her cool, serene cheeks. Waves of indescribable restlessness continuously battered her tranquil, mirror-like state of mind. For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to go and hug Xu Yuan... Yet recalling how that big-breasted woman had suddenly kissed Xu Yuan at noon, she felt a strange, suffocating knot in her chest... Still, it should be wrapping up soon. Ran Qingmo could sense that the aura of the big-breasted woman deeper in the cave was steadily stabilizing. Just as the thought crossed her mind, an invisible tremor suddenly rippled outward from the depths of the cavern. The moment it washed over the two women seated near the entrance, Ran Qingmo's closed eyes snapped open, and a faint, shimmering pink glow flickered within her dark, tranquil pupils. The very next second, "Fuck!" Xu Yuan's low curse abruptly echoed from deep within the cavern. Instantly, the two women meditating broke their postures, rose to their feet, and looked into the cave. At the deepest point of the crystalline cavern, Xu Yuan was nowhere to be seen; only the naturally seductive woman remained leaning against the ice wall. When he reappeared, Xu Yuan was already standing before the two women. Enduring the strange sensation in her heart, Ran Qingmo hesitated and asked, "Xu Yuan... what happened?" Flushed red in the face, Xu Yuan panted heavily in ragged gasps. He glanced at Ran Qingmo and muttered between breaths, "Now... now you can let her go. Everything has been purged." Though somewhat puzzled, Ran Qingmo complied obediently and raised a hand, gesturing lightly. The ink sword pinning Su Jinxuan to the ice wall flew back into her grip in an instant. Pressing her long, straight, slender legs tightly together, Bai Muxi asked in a trembling voice, "Young Master... is it over?" Hearing this, Xu Yuan wiped the sweat from his brow and said hurriedly in a low voice, "Yeah... Tianyan used the Heaven-Deducing Art to plant a hidden measure inside Su Jinxuan's sea of consciousness. I... I just activated that contingency, and it was quickly purged clean." A trace of bittersweet delight surfaced on Bai Muxi's flushed face, and she said tremulously, "Then, could Miss Su be asked to dispel the charm poison on us?" "Without Madame Wan's soul-controlling restraint, Su Jinxuan has become a bit strange." Offering a brief explanation, Xu Yuan stretched his hand directly toward Ran Qingmo, panting as he struggled to suppress certain primal urges. "Let me see that powder. Hurry!" "......" Seeing his grave expression, Ran Qingmo blinked. Disregarding Lou Ji's parting warning, she tossed the pouch holding the powder straight into Xu Yuan's palm. Xu Yuan caught it and inspected it closely, his mind instantly turning foul. Damn it all. Charm God cherry blossoms! This was a powder that old broad had concocted from Charm God cherry blossoms! All the doubts he had held earlier were solved in an instant. Why Su Jinxuan, despite being heavily injured, could still affect Bai Muxi, and even influence that big block of ice. Why Xu Yuan had felt hotter and hotter while purging the soul-controlling crystal powder, even after Su Jinxuan had run completely out of Source Qi. It was all because of this powder! Though the powder had all been poured down Su Jinxuan's throat, she possessed the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique. The potency of the Charm God cherry blossoms had diffused through the medium of Su Jinxuan's physique, blanketing the entire crystalline cavern. And what was even more deadly: Under Lou Ji's concoction, this raw Charm God cherry poison had become completely colorless and odorless, making it impossible to detect any anomaly. Now, with the Meishen Dao Charm, the Great Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art, the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique, and the Charm God cherry blossoms stacked together—a quadruple layer of peak bewitching buffs... Xu Yuan hardly dared to imagine. Instinctively, Xu Yuan prepared to whisper instructions for the two women to quickly take her and leave. Yet as the words reached his lips, Xu Yuan paused. Charm poison... didn't really pose any danger to him, did it? Run? Why should he run? His anxiety turned into pleasant surprise in an instant. Sensing the tranquil gaze beside him, Xu Yuan slowly turned his head, adopting a solemn, dignified expression. "I think I know the reason. Wait here for a moment—" Before his words could finish, a slender afterimage abruptly bolted from the depths of the ice cavern, charging straight at the three of them. Su Jinxuan, having absorbed the deepest dose of the charm poison, had lost all control. Seeing this, Xu Yuan's brows knitted sharply. With a grave expression, he barked, "Let me—" Yet before the words could leave his mouth, the big block of ice beside him swung her scabbard straight toward Su Jinxuan's forehead. It left afterimages in its wake. Both sides' qi dynamics collided in midair. And then, *Thud!* "......" Xu Yuan. The little succubus dropped to the ground, fast asleep, a huge swelling bump rising on her fair, reddened forehead. Ran Qingmo turned her head and whispered softly, "Did... did I hit her a bit too hard?" "Uh... just right." Xu Yuan's solemn expression stiffened for a second, and he said in a low voice, "A small injury like this, once she wakes up—" Halfway through his sentence, a metallic *clatter* rang out. The ink sword slipped from her grasp and clattered onto the ice, and a soft, fragrant warmth suddenly crashed into his embrace. A flickering, shimmering pink glow gradually rose within the black-robed maiden's dark eyes. *Buzz—* A loud buzz rang out in his mind. Xu Yuan dropped directly to one knee on the ground, his gaze instinctively darting toward the succubus Su sleeping so peacefully nearby. Her qi dynamic had directly detonated all the charm poison. Inside a sealed, secluded cavern, a pale young girl in court dress sat cross-legged atop a smooth boulder. The Source Qi inside the cavern ebbed and flowed with her breath, circulating along a profound trajectory. Suddenly, a golden radiance lit up the darkness. Those were a pair of pure gold pupils, brimming with doubt and confusion. Sensing that bizarre fluctuation, the young girl looked toward the direction from which the qi dynamic originated, murmuring in perplexity: "Master has arrived? Why was the hidden measure on that woman activated? And it's even transmitting a familiar sensation." As she spoke, she slowly rose, her crystalline bare feet treading upon empty air, her flawless willow brows furrowing: "This sensation... feels like... feels like..." Pacing unconsciously through the secluded cavern, understanding dawned within the maiden's golden eyes, and her crisp voice grew increasingly emphatic: "Feels like... Charm God cherry poison?!" Inside that cavern built of ice crystals, Xu Yuan had a dream. Misty yet lucid. The faces in his dream seemed like shadows, like phantoms. At times serene like Qingmo; at times shifting into the delicate cries of Tianyan; but when he tried to look closer, it transformed into the valiant, sharp brows and eyes of Li Qingyan. Robes slipped away, revealing jade-like mountain peaks; the carriage rolled down the pathway, and the babbling stream echoed with the sound of splashing water. Dipping into the stream, the warblers and phoenixes chirped melodiously through the woods. Such a beautiful, tranquil sight made one sink into its depths, unwilling to awaken.