The Hundred Paintings Bottle contained quite a bit of spiritual energy. If she gave it to him, it might suppress his excessive resentment energy. However, with the recent bumpy journey, she must have left the bottle somewhere.
The man before her looked at her indifferently, yawning without much concern, but when she raised her eyes, she could see his red robes were covered with a layer of dark energy, and black qi was faintly visible between his brows.
The scene of him slashing through the heavenly light flashed in her mind. Er’er shuddered and, without thinking, pressed her hand against his forehead, saying anxiously, “Please wait, I’ll go find the Hundred Paintings Bottle.”
Li Ye remained silent, calmly watching as she got out of bed. Only after she had run a few steps away did he let out a muffled groan.
That sound carried a hint of savagery, like the low growl of a wild beast hiding in a mountain cave, making one’s hair stand on end.
Er’er immediately halted her steps.
She couldn’t leave now. If she left, even if she found the Hundred Paintings Bottle, she might not have another chance to bring it back to him.
She needed to think of another solution.
Turning back to Li Ye, Er’er scratched her head in confusion, not knowing what to do, and just grinned foolishly at him.
…
…
Not surprisingly, she received several eye-rolls from the boss.
“What are you trying to do?” Li Ye said. “If you stay here too long, you might not be able to endure it either.”
Although the death resentment around them had somehow stopped surging, she was still an immortal. Not only was she without spiritual energy replenishment, but even the slightest breath could easily contaminate her with resentment energy. Anyone with sense would know to run quickly.
However, after a moment of silence, the person before him raised her face and asked, “What if I also practiced the demonic path?”
The smile in his eyes disappeared as Li Ye’s expression darkened. “You would die.”
Since ancient times, immortals and demons could not coexist. In tens of thousands of years, only he and Xin Wu had managed to cultivate both paths. Everyone else who dared to attempt it ended up with their souls scattered and bodies turned to ashes.
With her slender arms and legs, this little immortal certainly wouldn’t be one in a one-in-a-million prodigy in cultivation. Venturing into demonic cultivation on her own would mean certain death.
Er’er was intimidated by his serious expression for a moment, but quickly recovered. “If I can cultivate the five elements simultaneously, why can’t I add demonic cultivation? Isn’t it all about breath control and integrating immortal techniques?”
Momentarily speechless, Li Ye didn’t know how to refute her. His gaze swept across her puffed-up cheeks and caught sight of the wound on the side of her face.
He hadn’t noticed until now—her wound was still bleeding, the cut red and inflamed, tainted with black mist.
His heart tightened. Li Ye reached out to pull her closer, raising his finger to heal her.
Er’er blocked his hand, her gaze stubborn. “Tell me why first.”
Her temper flaring, she dropped all honorifics, like a stubborn little donkey determined to challenge him.
Li Ye narrowed his eyes and said irritably, “Setting aside everything else, with dual cultivation of immortal and demonic paths, you would have to endure the suffering of resentment energy entering your body. Your five organs and six viscera would feel like they were being gnawed by ten thousand ants, persisting for a full ten years. Could you bear that?”
“…”
Honestly, she couldn’t.
Er’er was too afraid of pain. She was naturally delicate, and her greatest wish was to live a carefree life without illness or pain. How could she endure ten years of suffering?
Li Ye presumably knew this point, so without waiting for her answer, he lightly snorted and turned his head away. “There’s no point discussing this. You should leave soon, go feast and play with that senior martial brother of yours. Wait until I come out…”
His face was suddenly grabbed, cutting off the rest of his words. Li Ye’s pupils contracted slightly. Before he could react, she had turned his face toward her.
Er’er propped herself up like a kingfisher suddenly taking flight during a hunt, abruptly drawing close to him. Then she tilted her head up, parted her lips, and with a little “awoo” sound, kissed the corner of his mouth.
Something seemed to crush his heart. Li Ye groaned and instinctively grabbed her waist.
When he realized what he was doing, he quickly let go and frowned, looking into her eyes.
—What are you doing?
He silently questioned.
Er’er answered him with action: she straddled him, pressed intimately against his body, and then activated her magic to plunder the death resentment energy from his body.
In an instant, she was able to snatch away some of the resentment energy that he hadn’t had time to refine.
Li Ye grew angry and reached out to push her away, but as soon as he raised his hand, she extended her fingers, threading them through his, intertwining their fingers.
Then she let out a pitiful whimper, licked the corner of his mouth with the tip of her tongue, and whispered, “Do you dislike me that much?”
With just this one sentence, Li Ye’s heart crumbled.
Reason told him this was nonsense, unreasonable behavior—she didn’t truly want to kiss him, she only wanted to steal his resentment energy. What right did she have to talk about liking or disliking?
Yet in his heart, he truly couldn’t bear to reject her. He only frowned, looking at her with an expression that suggested an impending storm.
The person before him moved an inch away, sniffled pitifully, and looked at him with moist eyes, her nostrils slightly flaring. “I knew it. You still prefer that beautiful girl with fifty thousand years of cultivation in the palace.”
“…”
That soft, tearful voice could melt even an iron heart. Li Ye instinctively shook his head, wanting to explain, but she pressed forward again, capturing his upper lip between her teeth.
“While she’s not here, would the Supreme God please favor me a little?”
A wave of desire flashed in his eyes. Li Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he flipped their positions, pinning her beneath him.
His cold lips brushed against the still-bleeding wound on her face. He licked away the blood, then looked up and asked with restraint, “How else should I favor you?”
Er’er’s entire body trembled, but she still smiled up at him. “Would you share half of this precious death resentment energy with me?”
“Wishful thinking.”
His firm rejection still carried undertones of arousal.
Er’er fell silent, pulling him down, desperately absorbing whatever resentment energy she could still find in his body. The resentment energy entering her body was indeed painful, but perhaps because she was so afraid, her meridians automatically channeled all the resentment to a single acupoint for storage, preventing it from circulating throughout her body.
Even so, the pain made her whimper.
Li Ye lay against her neck, gritting his teeth. “Why are you being so stubborn?”
Pouting with grievance, Er’er clutched his sleeve and said tearfully, “I’m just afraid something will happen to you.”
Pecking her forehead, Li Ye dismissed her concern. “What could happen to me? Next time you want to offend the Supreme God, you should find a better excuse.”
Shaking her head, Er’er rested her chin on the crook of his neck and said seriously, “If you enter the demonic path, that would be something happening to you.”
This was the truth. After entering the demonic path, Li Ye would not leave a single living soul in the world.
However, these words sounded rather mixed to Li Ye’s ears.
The little one was kind-hearted by nature, disliking killing and the death of others, while the path he walked was destined to be covered in blood.
How should they get along in the future?
This thought flashed through his mind, and the black energy in Li Ye’s eyes completely dispersed.
He couldn’t abandon his great cause for this little one, but he could prevent her from discovering it.
As if pleased with his cleverness, Li Ye sighed contentedly, then lowered his head and whispered against her ear, “Then you’ll have to find a way to keep me out of trouble.”