“Xiu Yuan?!” she cried out urgently. Where had he been hiding all this time? “Let go! Stay away!”
He mustn’t get close to her! His spiritual energy would be drained by her!
Lei Xiu Yuan remained silent, his expression extremely peculiar as he stared at her intently. The pair of slender horns on his temples glowed with an intense golden light as if they were about to drip. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and bit down on her shoulder, causing Li Fei to jolt in pain.
He held her so tightly, not like the embrace of a lover, and his bite was far from playful. The most unsettling part was that her spirit absorption seemed ineffective against him as if she had hit an iron wall – she couldn’t absorb even a trace of his spiritual energy.
Even more terrifying was the sensation of all her strength being drained away. An endless stream of spiritual energy was being frantically absorbed by her, yet the empty feeling inside her body grew stronger – the person before her was stealing her fundamental spiritual energy.
She could no longer control the flow of spiritual energy. The Horn of the Mythical Beast suddenly vanished, and she cried out in shock as he held her, plummeting straight down.
With a loud rustle, they crashed through the dense foliage, breaking branches that left countless bloody gashes on her face and body. They then slammed hard onto the ground. Li Fei felt as if every bone in her body had shattered. Lei Xiu Yuan still held her tightly, almost suffocating her. The pain was indescribable. Her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness.
An unknown amount of time passed. Li Fei felt utterly exhausted, her body empty, craving spiritual energy even more than before. She could sense the thick spiritual energy around her, enveloping her skin like warm, viscous water. Before fully regaining consciousness, her instincts had already begun greedily absorbing it.
The unbearable hunger for spiritual energy in her body finally eased somewhat. A massive crashing sound came from the distance, startling Li Fei awake. Her eyes flew open to see countless enormous floating islands, their palaces gleaming with gold and jade – it was the White-Edged Cliff in the heart of the Central Lands. Those magnificent palaces were collapsing one after another. The massive loss of spiritual energy had stripped all flora and fauna of their vitality. The spiritual energy in the trial grounds surged chaotically, driving terrified beasts and monsters to flee deeper into hiding.
Someone was gently holding her from behind. Her body was curled up in his embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest. She could smell the heavy scent of blood and sweat. Li Fei was stunned for a moment before coming to her senses and exclaiming in surprise, “Xiu Yuan! You just…”
She abruptly stopped mid-sentence. What had he just done? Did you try to kill her? Attempted to steal her fundamental spiritual energy? How could she ask? Was the person holding her now Lei Xiu Yuan, or a Yaksha driven mad by the curse? She had shed her mortal shell and was no longer in her previous human body. The Fruit of Jian Mu had fully manifested before him. What would he do? What would happen to them? If he made a move, should she resist?
She froze for a moment, hearing Lei Xiu Yuan’s familiar heartbeat in her ear. She remembered the many fatal wounds on his chest and back earlier, which had now all healed. Was it due to stealing her fundamental spiritual energy?
Li Fei barely managed to compose herself and asked softly, “Who hurt you? Did you… did you kill anyone?”
Lei Xiu Yuan was silent for a moment before suddenly chuckling, “Mm, killed them all.”
She jumped up as if startled, retreating several steps to stand at the edge of the cliff, staring at him. Dark clouds loomed overhead, the sky gloomy. He was covered in blood, his face no exception, even the slender horns on his temples were stained with blood. His eyes, gleaming with golden light, met hers, their meaning unclear – was he mocking her, or himself?
Li Fei suddenly felt a wave of sadness. She was doubting him. She was doubting him.
“You’ve shed your mortal shell,” Lei Xiu Yuan said softly.
The moment she had shed her shell, he had sensed it from thousands of miles away. Driven by instinct, he had followed her scent to Qing Qiu before his wounds could heal. What happened next was like a nightmare. When he regained his senses, he found her barely clinging to life, most of her bones shattered and internal organs ruptured. If not for her abundant fundamental spiritual energy, she would have died before his eyes.
Li Fei nodded, unsure of what to say. Should she apologize? Lei Xiu Yuan hadn’t apologized for his extreme treatment of her earlier. All apologies would only serve to ease one’s conscience. They had already hurt each other; apologies between them would be even more hollow than silence.
The Fruit of Jian Mu could absorb spiritual energy, but not from a Yaksha. Instead, its fundamental spiritual energy had been stolen. Yakshas were incredibly fierce, but their tribe had been cursed, leading them to slaughter each other for the Fruit of Jian Mu. They were practically mortal enemies, entangled from life to death.
Once separated by vast distances, they had crossed oceans and braved lightning and fire to meet. The Central Lands were so vast, yet they had still encountered each other and come together. Perhaps it was fate, as Ri Yan had said.
After a long while, a light rain began to fall on the trial grounds, slowly washing away the blood on his body. Bloodied water trickled from beneath the tree to the cliff’s edge, causing the grass along its path to grow lush before quickly withering away.
Lei Xiu Yuan suddenly spoke, “Are you hurt or feeling unwell anywhere?”
Li Fei shook her head again and asked softly, “What about you? Are you alright?”
“Won’t die. Why did you suddenly shed your mortal shell? Who told you to act so recklessly and leave Gan Hua Realm?”
That unhesitating, arrogant tone – it had been a while. Li Fei smiled bitterly, “You’re the reckless one, nearly dying. I’m invincible now that I’ve shed my shell, you’re far from my level.”
Lei Xiu Yuan frowned and clicked his tongue, “Tch. What if you had died?”
Li Fei also frowned, “Those immortals couldn’t kill me, but you nearly did just now.”
After she said this, he fell silent. Li Fei suddenly realized that what she had meant as a casual joke probably couldn’t be taken lightly by him. She said softly, “I was just kidding, don’t take it seriously.”
Lei Xiu Yuan replied, “Mm, I know.”
Nearly dying wasn’t a joke, and he couldn’t help but take it seriously. He had done it. This time she hadn’t died, but perhaps she would die from another unintentional act next time. He was a cold, sharp blade, and she willingly held it against her heart, not knowing when it might pierce her heart and take her life.
Lei Xiu Yuan suddenly reached out and pulled her close. Li Fei’s nose bumped hard against his chest, causing her to yelp in pain. He lowered his head and, as he had done countless times before, pressed his burning, soft lips against half of hers.
Their lips were tightly pressed together, but he made no further movement, simply remaining still. Li Fei tried to pull back slightly, but he immediately held the back of her head, not allowing her to move.
Their joined lips slowly became moist and hot. Li Fei was both confused and surprised, her eyes wide open, only able to see the flashes of golden light in his eyes. After a long while, the flickering, intense golden light finally disappeared into his pitch-black pupils. His long eyelashes lowered, and he finally moved, with five parts caution and seemingly five parts reluctance and defiance, licking her lips.
It was an extremely careful kiss, unlike his usual style. He slowly sucked and pecked along the curve of her beautiful lips, neither teasing nor intimately affectionate, but rather as if he were exploring while guarding against something.
This was far from a pleasant kiss. Li Fei felt increasingly uncomfortable as he continued, pushing hard against his chest with both hands. He paused for a moment but soon resumed his careful kisses, moving up along the contours of her face – the tip of her nose, the bridge of her nose, her eyelids, and finally lingering on her forehead.
He could no longer kiss her without distractions. Even holding her like this, he couldn’t stop himself from plundering her fundamental spiritual energy. As long as the Fruit of Jian Mu existed, the Yaksha would never die, never lose.
But he had already lost, lost to that curse.
Lei Xiu Yuan closed his eyes reluctantly. He didn’t want to lose, wouldn’t lose, couldn’t lose.
“Xiu Yuan?” Li Fei called out to him softly.
He never answered, only holding her tightly. The wind on the cliff was strong, and the heavy rain poured down. The wind and rain raged, and she kept shivering. Or perhaps it wasn’t her who was shivering. Wave after wave, her heart felt as if it was about to sink.
She suddenly laughed lightly and hugged him back tightly. “What are you afraid of? I won’t die.”
She cupped his face in her hands and tilted her head up to kiss him actively. His lips were stiff and trembling, his whole body rigid, as if he wanted to avoid her but couldn’t help wanting to be close to her. Li Fei’s fingers moved stealthily, finally gently grasping the two horns on his temples. She rubbed them with her fingertips, causing Lei Xiu Yuan’s arms to suddenly tighten, nearly suffocating her.
“Either retract them or let me play with them some more. It’s your decision,” Li Fei said, leaning her head back and looking at his alternating red and pale face with malicious intent. It was rare to see Lei Xiu Yuan like this!
He seemed to be angry, his face stern as he glared at her fiercely.
In the past, he had always been the one teasing her. Now she had finally gotten even. She lightly flicked the two horns, and Lei Xiu Yuan suddenly shuddered. Those slender horns vanished with a whoosh as if admitting defeat. He grabbed her face and said coldly, “Playing with fire?”
Li Fei laughed, “Didn’t you obediently retract them? It wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Before she could finish speaking, she felt herself being roughly pushed against a tree. She let out a cry, and the next moment, his hot lips and tongue had invaded her mouth. This kiss was worlds apart from the previous one. She quickly found herself breathless, her hands frantically unsure whether to push him away or pull him closer.
Her sash had long been undone by him, his palms caressing her damp skin, feeling as if sparks were igniting wherever he touched.
Whether this was the trial grounds or the wilderness, Li Fei no longer intended to resist or refuse. What did it matter? They both needed some more definite sensations, to adapt to her newly shed body, to adjust to their increasingly dangerous, precarious relationship.
When she came to her senses, the downpour had stopped. They were still sitting under the tree at the edge of the cliff, her body curled up in his embrace, his steady heartbeat in her ear. His body carried the scent of blood, sweat, rain, and various other odors. Li Fei covered her nose and mumbled, “It stinks.”
“Bear with it,” he said calmly.
He told her to bear it… Li Fei raised her hand to touch his head again. At the height of their passion earlier, his horns had emerged once more. She intended to tease him, but as she touched him, she only felt his wet hair. Lei Xiu Yuan gently bit her hand and said, “Disappointed?”