“No more fighting! No more!” Feng Tianyao struggled to reach the shore from the suspension bridge, shouting as soon as he landed, “I surrender, alright?”

Ling Luo sheathed her sword, not giving him a hard time. Her gaze passed over Feng Tianyao to the cave behind him—the path to the next scene.

Feng Tianyao rubbed his wrist, which ached from the sword momentum that had struck it. His face showed frustration and unwillingness, yet he obediently followed Ling Luo.

He asked suspiciously, “Was your swordsmanship truly taught by Immortal Master Sanxi?”

“Who else?” Ling Luo answered carelessly.

“You seem very familiar with the divine sword intent,” Feng Tianyao stared at her back. “Does Immortal Master Sanxi have such extensive research on divine sword intent?”

Ling Luo mocked, “It’s not that he has researched it; rather, you’re simply incompetent, revealing all your weaknesses.”

Feng Tianyao: “…”

He took a deep breath, telling himself to endure it.

After enduring for a moment, he still couldn’t hold back. The young master, both angry and proud, declared, “I may lose, but the divine sword intent will never lose!”

“Is that so?” Ling Luo turned to look at him. “Where does your confidence come from?”

“Isn’t it universally acknowledged that divine sword intent is the strongest swordsmanship in the world?” Feng Tianyao countered. “Losing simply means the swordsman isn’t strong enough; it doesn’t mean the divine sword intent itself isn’t powerful.”

Ling Luo smiled gently.

Feng Tianyao was stunned by this smile.

From the beginning, Ling Luo had been arrogant toward him. Occasionally, the depths of her eyes revealed contempt with a hint of barely perceptible disgust. Even when she smiled, it was always with mockery and malice.

The more she behaved this way, the more Feng Tianyao wanted to prove himself to her, believing all the mockery and disdain were because he wasn’t strong enough.

But now, Ling Luo’s smile contained no targeting or malice, no mockery—just a simple smile.

Seeing her smile purely for the first time, Feng Tianyao felt awkward and at a loss.

The young master uncomfortably turned his face away, yet still glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Trying to be dominant but stammering, he said, “W-what are you smiling at?! What’s so funny?!”

Ling Luo turned around, her back to him as she walked forward, scouting the path.

Only then did Feng Tianyao breathe a sigh of relief, quickly following.

Ling Luo asked, “How old were you when you started learning divine sword intent?”

Feng Tianyao answered instinctively, “Twelve.”

Ling Luo snickered, “All these years and you’ve only mastered five-tenths?”

Feng Tianyao’s eyes widened, “Do you think this sword intent is so easy to learn?! Others couldn’t even grasp the basics in a lifetime!”

Ling Luo: “This is your Feng family’s unique inherited sword intent. How would others know it?”

Feng Tianyao was choked by her words. He coughed lightly and continued, “Anyway, my father says I’ve learned very quickly. Even with inheritance, it’s not something you can master just by looking at it.”

With her lips slightly curved, Ling Luo asked lazily, “Did your father teach you the divine sword intent?”

Feng Tianyao found her question strange: “Who else could it be? Only my father knows it in our family.”

He heard Ling Luo laugh, “Then you should learn it diligently. If your father were gone, I fear that as a half-baked practitioner, you’d struggle to command respect.”

Feng Tianyao took this as Ling Luo mocking his imperfect skills. Though somewhat annoyed, he stubbornly retorted, “I warn you not to underestimate me. I’ll master the entire divine sword intent this year! Then I’ll challenge you again!”

This year was almost over.

Ling Luo: “But what if you master the entire divine sword intent and still lose?”

Without thinking, Feng Tianyao replied, “Impossible.”

Ling Luo smiled silently, saying nothing.

The two walked in silence through the dark cave for a moment before Feng Tianyao spoke again: “Do you have some issue with me?”

Ling Luo replied bluntly, “Don’t tell me you’ve only just realized.”

Feng Tianyao told himself to be patient. He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, the young man very troubled and aggrieved: “Whatever issues you have, tell me. If this young master is willing, perhaps I’ll make some changes.”

Ling Luo said coldly, “You can’t change it.”

Feng Tianyao exploded, “How do you know I can’t change if you haven’t even told me!”

“Tell me!”

“Right now, immediately!”

Ling Luo suddenly stopped walking, alerting Feng Tianyao behind her. Instinctively, he grasped his sword hilt, thinking Ling Luo was about to attack, but saw her make a flame-conjuring gesture and look up toward the cave ceiling.

Feng Tianyao followed her gaze upward and saw snake demons hanging from the cave walls, opening their bloody mouths and flicking their crimson tongues at the two of them.

Ling Luo said, “I remember you’re afraid of snakes, right?”

Feng Tianyao froze completely: “…Let’s go, let’s go quickly!”

He grabbed Ling Luo and ran.

“?” Ling Luo said irritably, “If you want to run, run by yourself. Why are you pulling me?”

Without looking back, Feng Tianyao replied, “So many snake demons!”

Ling Luo sneered, “I’m not afraid.”

The slimy snake demons fell from above, chasing after the two. The walls and ground were covered with them—all sizes, lengths, and colors. The rustling sounds in the cave grew increasingly loud.

Feng Tianyao’s scalp tingled as he listened.

Among all demons, he feared snake demons the most.

In his hazy childhood memories, one scene remained deeply etched.

A snake demon coiled around his neck, its red eyes full of malice, and behind the snake demon, a woman in a light blue dress whose face he couldn’t see.

Since that time, the fear of snake demons had been deeply imprinted in his heart, impossible to erase.

Ling Luo looked up. Feng Tianyao ran ahead, pulling her along. His other hand pressed on his sword hilt, but he lacked the courage to draw it.

His courage was firmly suppressed by fear.

Being able to run was already progress.

In the past, his good brother Yu Cang had to support or carry him.

But now, Yu Cang wasn’t here.

Wait, how did she know I’m afraid of snake demons?!

Isn’t this a secret only between Yu Cang and me?!

Feng Tianyao suddenly turned around but collided with an enormous flying snake demon. He was completely terrified, and in the next instant, a sword light flashed, pulverizing the snake demon.

Ling Luo turned to block the pursuing snake demons. Her sword light swept across, powerfully crushing all the snake demons.

When she finished, she found that the once imperious young master had been frightened into weak-kneed collapse, clinging to her waist and trembling.

“…” Ling Luo’s eye twitched slightly, her tone sinister, “Feng Tianyao, get up.”

Feng Tianyao: “S-snake de-demons… Yu Yu Yu Cang, he-help…”

Ling Luo lowered her head, took a deep breath, and was about to use her sword to teach him a lesson when she glimpsed a courtyard at the exit. Yu Cang was running toward them: “Ah Yao!”

Yu Cang stopped at the cave entrance, his expression peculiar as he saw Feng Tianyao clinging to Ling Luo’s waist like a spoiled child.

Inwardly, he drew a sharp breath.

It’s over.

The young master was truly doomed.

Chu Yi, who had followed, raised an eyebrow slightly. Zi Xiu shouted, “What are you doing? Let go quickly!”

Meanwhile, he signaled silently to Yu Cang with his eyes, wordlessly urging him to save his young master—if you don’t pull him away, my junior sister will cut him in half with one sword strike!

“Young Master… Ah Yao!” Yu Cang swiftly came forward to pull him away. Seeing the shattered snake demon corpses behind, he immediately understood what had happened and quickly reassured him, “They’re gone, they’re all gone.”

Feng Tianyao, dazed and confused, was pulled up by Yu Cang. Realizing what he had done, his fair face turned crimson. Faced with the grim stares of the two Tianji senior brothers, the young master stammered, “Misunderstanding!”

Zi Xiu snorted, “Even if you are the young master of Nanshan Xuehe, you cannot harbor improper thoughts toward my Tianji junior sister!”

Feng Tianyao raised his hand in an oath to prove his innocence: “I swear, if I have even the slightest improper thought toward her, may heaven strike me with lightning!”

Zi Xiu pointed at Feng Tianyao: “Strike him!”

With a raised hand from Chu Yi, lightning flashed.

Feng Tianyao: “…”

Yu Cang stepped in front of Feng Tianyao to smooth things over: “Senior Brothers, please calm down. My young master would never do such a thing. This must be some misunderstanding.”

Feng Tianyao looked expectantly at Ling Luo, but she walked away with disdain. Not seeing Yue Liangze, she asked Chu Yi, “Where is Immortal Master Danshui?”

Chu Yi pointed to the courtyard behind them: “The Seven Emotions Stone Barrier of the demon realm is here. It should be the exit of the Twenty-Four Phase Formation.”

Zi Xiu added, “He entered the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier to break the formation.”

The Seven Emotions Stone Barrier of the demon realm would infinitely amplify one’s seven emotions and six desires. If one remained unmoved, they could break the formation.

They waited outside. The courtyard scene was night, with flickering candles. The doors to the houses were closed. Ling Luo stood at the door trying to push it open without success.

She turned to glare at Chu Yi: “You let him enter the formation alone?”

Zi Xiu spread his hands: “Junior Sister, for this Seven Emotions Stone Barrier, who has the most advantage and the highest possibility of breaking it if not him? Who else but him?”

Yu Cang nodded: “Immortal Master Danshui certainly doesn’t seem like someone who would be tempted by the seven emotions. His determination exceeds all of ours.”

Ling Luo had navigated this formation in her previous life.

For the desire of love, she had seen the scene of falling onto Yue Liangze in the Bewildering Cave. She was angry that the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier used Yue Liangze to confuse her, but she passed it relatively smoothly.

The only thing that nearly trapped her was hatred.

The Seven Emotions Stone Barrier separated all her hatred and infinitely magnified it, almost causing her to be devoured by another self.

Ling Luo stood at the door with furrowed brows, deep in thought. With the endless twisted darkness in the depths of Yue Liangze’s heart, could he truly emerge smoothly?

As Feng Tianyao tried to talk to her about the snake demon incident, a tall figure materialized behind the bright door. He opened the door, his long arm encircling to grab her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.

With a bang, the door closed again.

Feng Tianyao: “?”

Zi Xiu was stunned.

Yu Cang stammered, “Im-Immortal Master Danshui?”

Chu Yi drew his sword without hesitation and slashed at the door, but the blade was swallowed by the barrier of the Seven Emotions Stone.

Zi Xiu froze: “Wait, the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier is still active. How did he come out just now?”

Candles illuminated the courtyard, and the shadows of the two inside were cast on the doors and windows—an intimate scene of a lowered head for a kiss.

Everyone outside exploded with shock.

Chu Yi’s eye twitched slightly. If that person wasn’t Yue Liangze, his junior sister inside would certainly have reacted even faster than him.

Feng Tianyao’s eyes widened as he pointed at the door: “Despicable, shameless, indecent! Open the door for this young master!”

He drew his sword and slashed, but was again absorbed by the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier.

Yu Cang persuaded, “…Im-Immortal Master Danshui isn’t that kind of person! He isn’t!”

Zi Xiu also stammered, “Ri-right, right, it’s just a lighting issue, it just looks that way because of the angle, they’re completely innocent…”

Only Chu Yi stood holding his sword, saying to the two from Nanshan Xuehe: “What are you looking at? You two are not allowed to look!”

The firelight flickered. After entering the room, Ling Luo was turned around, her back against the door. A familiar presence and figure pressed down, their kiss intertwining in passionate intimacy.

Only when that hand moved from her neck downward, slipping inside her clothes, did Ling Luo turn her head aside and stop him: “As a dignified disciple of the Holy Sword Sect, how could you be affected by carnal desire while traversing the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier?”

Hearing this, Yue Liangze laughed softly, kissing her lips gently and tenderly for a moment, his hand at her waist moving downward: “Do you truly have no reaction at all?”

Ling Luo placed her fingertip on his chest, spiritual light flickering: “Don’t force me to fight you.”

Yue Liangze lowered his head to look at her.

The identical face, the same aura and voice, but the person before her was only a separate aspect—one controlled by desire.

“Fighting me isn’t something new for you,” Yue Liangze’s voice was husky, his warm fingers lightly tilting her chin. “Isn’t saying one thing while meaning another what you do best?”

Ling Luo: “…”

Outside, several people were shouting fiercely. Ling Luo tilted her head, trying to look, but he lifted her by the waist.

“Don’t look at those irrelevant matters,” Yue Liangze said. “Having only me in your eyes is enough.”

He carried her to the couch, the curtains slowly falling to shield the light.

Yue Liangze gazed into her eyes—so beautiful. When her eyes held only him, it stirred all his desires: loving, possessive, good or bad.

“I passed through resentment and hatred, yet became stuck on love and desire. Do you know why?” Yue Liangze whispered, his fingers gently caressing her neck. “During my cultivation in the sect, the most fundamental requirement from my master was to control my desires. This barrier shouldn’t have stopped me, yet now this body is controlled by desire. Tell me, where did I fail?”

Ling Luo blinked at him, saying proudly, “Is this somehow my fault?”

Yue Liangze gradually untied her sash. This time, Ling Luo simply watched without stopping him.

He paused at her silence. Yue Liangze braced his hands on the bed, encircling her as he looked down.

Ling Luo smiled: “You failed because you shouldn’t have come looking for me, as you knew that once controlled by desire, only finding me would make you stop.”

Yue Liangze watched her smile arrogantly yet charmingly. Taking a deep breath, he slightly gritted his teeth, appearing quite exasperated.

Ling Luo blinked: “Break the formation, then I’ll accompany you outside. What’s so impressive about love and desire that it can stop you?”

Yue Liangze was helpless against her approach of alternating between criticism and sweetness.

If it had been resentment or hatred seeking Ling Luo, it wouldn’t have been so easily persuaded. But it was love and desire, originating from Ling Luo herself—she could resolve it with just a few words.

Yue Liangze bit her shoulder as if releasing frustration, then rose and returned to the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier.

Ling Luo glanced at the teeth mark on her shoulder without moving. She lay on the couch, patiently waiting.

Waiting for Yue Liangze to emerge again.

A moment later, someone lifted the curtain.

Yue Liangze, having broken through the Seven Emotions Stone Barrier, entered within the curtains. Seeing the person lying on the couch, his calm gaze darkened slightly.

Ling Luo extended her hand, offering him her sash: “You untied it, so you have to tie it back for me.”