Seeing Qin Jianglan come out, Su Zhuyi knew there wouldn’t be a fight. Before them was the chasm Qin Jianglan had carved with one sword strike, that sword mark completely overlapping with the one she had drawn earlier. Such control could only be described as reaching the pinnacle of perfection.

In her previous life, Su Zhuyi knew Qin Jianglan’s swordsmanship was exquisite, but since she wasn’t a sword cultivator herself, she only felt it was impressive without grasping its essence. Now, however, she understood the gap between herself and Qin Jianglan. If Sword Ancestor were in Qin Jianglan’s hands, it would probably be completely restored by now.

Qin Jianglan embraced Su Zhuyi’s slender waist and carried her flying over the heads of the Yunxiao Sect disciples. Just as Su Zhuyi took flight, a flash of white light appeared – it was the spirit snake from before biting onto her shoe.

“Be careful!” A Yunxiao Sect disciple below saw this and, fearing the spirit snake was poisonous, instinctively swung his sword to strike it down. But the next moment, an elder spoke to stop him: “That spirit snake wants to acknowledge a master. Don’t interfere.”

People really could be driven to death by comparisons. How could she be so young, beautiful, highly cultivated, skilled in swordsmanship, beloved by spirit beasts, and still have a top-tier expert as her backing…

A female Yunxiao Sect disciple finally couldn’t help but mutter: “That Su Zhuyi has heaven-defying fortune. All the good luck in the world has gathered on her alone.”

Su Zhuyi was beautiful, but the man beside her was even more handsome and powerful, making many female cultivators unable to help but look again and again. “If only I had even a fraction of her luck.”

“How wonderful it would be to have such a powerful person protecting me.” Although they were usually female sword cultivators who trained hard, seeing Su Zhuyi now still stirred some unrealistic thoughts and expectations in their hearts. Who wouldn’t envy such a life?

Su Zhuyi and Qin Jianglan flew north.

The white transparent little snake bit onto her shoe, then coiled around her ankle like a silver-white anklet. Having eaten the Sushin flower and advanced in rank, the spirit snake could now communicate with Su Zhuyi through divine consciousness, expressing its desire to follow her.

Su Zhuyi was somewhat curious and asked: “He’s much stronger than I, so why choose me over him?”

The little white snake proudly coiled its tail twice: “But he listens to you.” It didn’t mention that the other strong one was somewhat frightening, seeming to carry a power people didn’t quite like, as if others carried vigorous life force while he carried an aura of decline.

Su Zhuyi had no intention of keeping a spirit snake. With her current strength, having Qin Jianglan beside her was better than any spirit beast, plus there was Little Skull in the Rebirth Pond, who would be incredibly powerful when he emerged. With two such strong fighters around her, what need was there for a little spirit snake? If this creature insisted on following, she could just leave it at Luoxue Peak to guard the place later.

Qin Jianglan didn’t step on his sword while flying.

He held Su Zhuyi’s slender waist with one hand, lightly stepping with his toes, occasionally needing to touch fallen leaves and treetops for leverage. His flight speed without relying on magical treasures wasn’t slow, just not very stable, rising and falling. When stepping on treetops, his body would soar high into the air, leaping up with his robes billowing in the wind like an eagle spreading its wings in the night. Su Zhuyi was held in his embrace without using any spiritual energy herself, clinging to him like a dodder vine.

In that moment of soaring high, Su Zhuyi felt as if she could reach the moon with an outstretched hand. She freed one hand and raised it high, cupping her palm to catch the night wind. Then she spread her five fingers, letting the night wind flow through the gaps.

She had flown on her own before when she had no flying treasures or when her treasures were destroyed, but those times were usually when she was desperate and fleeing for her life, completely different from the current situation.

Moreover, flying by herself felt completely different from being carried while flying.

They flew high and fast, no slower than Songfeng Sword, yet the night wind didn’t hurt her face, and she didn’t feel cold at all. It seemed like he used a barrier to block the wind, but there was still a gentle breeze flowing through, cool and refreshing, making her very comfortable. After stretching her hand out for a while and feeling tired, she actively embraced Qin Jianglan’s waist with both hands and burrowed into his embrace.

She pressed her head against his neck, burying deeper and deeper, her body pressing closer and closer. Su Zhuyi even lowered her head slightly, placing her toes on Qin Jianglan’s shoes. Despite being in the cool wind, she felt his body growing hotter and hotter.

Su Zhuyi fearlessly bit his Adam’s apple, lightly licking it with her tongue tip a few times, causing Qin Jianglan to tighten his grip and hold her firmly.

He stopped flying.

His body suddenly plummeted downward. Su Zhuyi giggled a few times, and just as they were about to hit the ground, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Eh, not flying anymore? Just falling like this to crash into the ground?

Falling from such a height might result in injury. However, she wasn’t too worried. Sure enough, the next moment Qin Jianglan stepped onto Songfeng Sword, which carried them back up into the sky. This time, instead of the rising and falling flight, it was very smooth.

Once on Songfeng Sword, Su Zhuyi lost interest in teasing. She released her arms from around Qin Jianglan and sat aside to cultivate, consolidating the benefits gained from their earlier dual cultivation. As for Qin Jianglan, whom she had aroused, she couldn’t be bothered to care.

After all, she wouldn’t be the one suffering.

And he wouldn’t force her to do anything.

After Su Zhuyi sat down, Qin Jianglan also sat down. When Songfeng Sword flew past a large tree, he reached out and plucked a green leaf. With a gentle touch of spiritual energy, he brought the leaf to his lips and began to play it.

He stared intently at Su Zhuyi, watching her while playing with the leaf at his lips.

Recalling the joy in the flower sea earlier, Qin Jianglan felt it wasn’t enough. His gaze fell on her face, sweeping over her jade-like features, straight nose, and crimson lips, then following her chin downward, passing over her collarbone as if penetrating her clothes to see the snow-white smooth skin beneath.

Just as in the Liuguang Mirror where she tirelessly used her divine consciousness to caress his entire body over and over, now Qin Jianglan’s gaze lingered on her body, his thoughts already returning to not long ago, as if what he held between his lips wasn’t a leaf but her finger, her smoothness and sweetness seemingly still lingering on his fingertips, making him immerse himself as his eyes gradually darkened.

Lost in deep thought, the melody he played became tender and passionate, full of love, tugging at heartstrings.

Like having one’s heart coated with honey and eyes covered, leaving only overwhelming sweetness – not wine, yet sweet enough to intoxicate.

…

“What’s that sound?”

On the ground, in a mountain hollow, seven or eight people were lying in ambush. They had all found places to hide – some behind blue stones, others behind large trees, and some lying flat in grass clumps. Their divine consciousness was focused on a blue-green medicinal herb in a puddle in the depression, specifically watching the flower bud on the herb.

Hearing that tender melody, Dan Ruyun couldn’t help but look up at the sky. She felt the song contained intense, burning, passionate, and enchanting love that moved her to tears in that instant.

“Don’t let your mind wander!” Her fellow sect sister Mi Yue, beside her, scolded softly. “The Phoenix Feather Flower is about to bloom.”

The Danhe Sect cultivators had followed Su Zhuyi and the others into the ancient secret realm, but after entering, they hadn’t seen them. Along the way, they had encountered considerable danger. Most importantly, Dan Ruyun and two fellow disciples had gotten separated from the other Danhe Sect cultivators. The three of them seemed to have entered a fairyland where trees flourished, spiritual energy was abundant, middle-grade medicinal herbs were everywhere, high-grade herbs were plentiful, and all were of sufficient age, like entering a vast medicinal field. For Danhe Sect cultivators, encountering so many herbs was an incredible opportunity.

What excited them most was seeing the Phoenix Feather Flower.

The Phoenix Feather Flower was a treasure in the hearts of cultivation practitioners. Ground up and combined with Snow Leaf Grass, Green Withered Vine, and other herbs to refine the Tribulation-Crossing Pill, taking it could greatly improve cultivation. If one encountered a cultivation bottleneck, taking the Tribulation-Crossing Pill could directly advance one’s cultivation realm. This meant a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator who might lack the talent to advance to the Golden Core stage could directly advance to the Golden Core stage by taking the Tribulation-Crossing Pill, even avoiding the Golden Core tribulation lightning.

However, after taking this pill, breaking through to Nascent Soul would be wishful thinking, and Golden Core cultivators who relied on pill power to advance would be somewhat weaker in combat than those who broke through naturally. But with increased cultivation realm came increased lifespan and strength, so overall the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. This applied not only to Golden Core but also to the Nascent Soul stage – high-grade Tribulation-Crossing Pills could provide advancement. The grade of Tribulation-Crossing Pills depended not only on the cultivator’s pill-refining skills but also on the length of the Phoenix Feather Flower petals.

The Tribulation-Crossing Pill had tremendous effects.

But the current cultivation world didn’t have this pill. Not because they lacked the formula, but because they lacked one ingredient.

Ten thousand years ago, Phoenix Feather Flowers had already gone extinct, so Tribulation-Crossing Pills completely disappeared. Seeing the Phoenix Feather Flower that only appeared in medicinal texts, the three Danhe Sect disciples were ecstatic. However, this Phoenix Feather Flower wasn’t easy to obtain.

When spirit flowers bloomed, they would emit rich spiritual energy, attracting nearby strange beasts. They needed to absorb heaven and earth essence for three hours before they could be picked. If harvested early, the flower would lose its medicinal effects. This meant they had to guard the flower for a full three hours, fighting off competitors attracted by the flower’s fragrance.

They had considered setting up a barrier to completely conceal the area, but medicinal texts stated that this flower’s fragrance and emanating spiritual energy simply couldn’t be hidden – even Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivators couldn’t shield it with barriers. They could only hope there were no fierce spirit beasts nearby to be attracted.

As a result, before the flower even bloomed, they encountered four Xundao Sect cultivators.

Among these four, one happened to be knowledgeable and recognized the extinct Phoenix Feather Flower.

They temporarily allied, planning to guard together for three hours. After driving off the spirit beasts that came, whoever could pick the Phoenix Feather Flower would depend on their abilities.

Speaking of which, these four had considerable strength, including a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator whose power exceeded the Danhe Sect cultivators. Dan Ruyun knew that if they cooperated, their chance of obtaining the Phoenix Feather Flower was at most twenty percent. But Xundao Sect probably didn’t have confidence in refining Tribulation-Crossing Pills and would still need to find Danhe Sect for pill refining. So as long as they could guard the Phoenix Feather Flower, Danhe Sect would have a chance to refine pills. For this reason alone, they had to cooperate with these four.

“It’s opening…”

The Phoenix Feather Flower petals didn’t bloom outward. Its petals were like curled-up feathers rolled into small balls. When blooming, the slender feathers would gradually unfurl bit by bit. When fully opened, they would look like a phoenix’s long tail feather, hence the name. Now the curled petals were only opening slightly outward, not fully blooming, but Dan Ruyun could already smell a rich fragrance that made her feel refreshed and almost unable to resist wanting to emerge from behind the tree and walk to the flower.

Her body moved slightly, then she shuddered the next moment. This flower had such great attraction for her, practically able to bewitch one’s mind. No wonder it would attract large numbers of spirit beasts to compete for it.

With such tempting power before full bloom, Dan Ruyun didn’t know if she could resist the flower’s allure with her current cultivation when it fully opened. It would be terrible if she lost her wits.

She was very nervous, fists clenched, heart beating like drums. Due to nervousness, her chest felt somewhat breathless. During her rapid breathing, her already full bosom rose and fell dramatically, as if about to burst out of her clothes.

Just then, Dan Ruyun heard a teasing voice say: “What are you doing lying on the grass? Don’t your breasts hurt?”

…

The newcomer was naturally Su Zhuyi.

Su Zhuyi had smelled the flower fragrance while in the sky, and the little white snake coiled around her ankle was also restless. So she opened her eyes and met Qin Jianglan’s burning gaze directly. When her gaze moved down, she discovered his unresolved desire.

“Am I so beautiful that just looking at me gets you hard?” Red lips parted slightly. Though she was an absolutely beautiful person, her words were quite crude, yet within that vulgarity was a magnificent, primitive seduction.

She was like poison to him.

With no antidote.

“There’s a Phoenix Feather Flower below. Let’s go join the fun. You can slaughter everyone and cool down your heat.” Su Zhuyi stood and walked to Qin Jianglan, reaching out to hook his chin. “Let’s go down.”

After arriving, she discovered Dan Ruyun was here.

Not only Dan Ruyun, but also two Danhe Sect disciples and four Xundao Sect cultivators. Not far away, a high-level spirit beast was also hiding, yet none of these people had noticed.

This was truly a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Su Zhuyi felt tired just looking at Dan Ruyun.

Pressing herself down like that – didn’t it hurt?

“Shh!” Dan Ruyun raised her finger in a silencing gesture. “It’s about to bloom, come quickly.”

Over there, the Xundao Sect cultivator also said: “So it’s a fellow Daoist from Gujian Sect. You’ve come at just the right time. Let’s guard the immortal herb together later.”