Faced with this sudden intimate advance, Mu Nan Zhi’s mind was hazy, but her body instinctively resisted, pressing her thighs together and holding her silk pants in place with both hands.

Then, her beautiful eyes suddenly opened wide, and upon recognizing Xu Qi An, she frowned and said reproachfully:

“What are you doing?”

Her tone carried no strong aversion or anger, more like chiding him for his lack of martial virtue in attacking at night.

“Advancing to Second Grade,” Xu Qi An chuckled.

Mu Nan Zhi was stunned for a moment before understanding, a blush creeping across her delicate face.

She quickly realized what was happening, thinking Xu Qi An was teasing her, and turned away, spitting:

“Remove your Demon Sealing Nail first.”

Then, remembering his earlier behavior, she hurriedly added:

“No, don’t act like a love-struck fool.”

Although she had accidentally expressed her feelings earlier, that moment of emotion had passed, and getting the Flower Goddess to admit she liked him and agree to consummate their relationship was impossible in the short term.

I knew this would happen. I should have struck while the iron was hot earlier and played the devoted fool once. Then she wouldn’t be able to act so proud. It’s all Asura’s fault… Xu Qi An breathed against her ear and said softly:

“I’ve removed the last Demon Sealing Nail.”

He was telling Mu Nan Zhi that it was time to consummate their relationship, time for her to give her first blood, and time for their relationship to finally make substantial progress.

Mu Nan Zhi turned suddenly, staring at him with wide eyes.

It was then that she noticed Xu Qi An was completely bare, his strong physique pressed tightly against her.

Mu Nan Zhi’s heart pounded wildly as she pushed against his chest with both hands:

“You, move back a bit… men and women shouldn’t be so intimate, don’t touch me, what am I to you…”

As she spoke, she wrapped herself in the quilt and tried to shrink away. For every inch she retreated, Xu Qi An advanced, until he had her cornered against the wall.

“What are you to me? You tell me!” Xu Qi An smirked.

She glared at him angrily: “I’m your elder.”

By age, Xu Qi An should call her aunt.

Xu Qi An nearly lost his composure. After a few seconds, he complained:

“I worked so hard to create the mood, and you’ve completely ruined it.”

He lay down on the bed, silently staring at the ceiling rafters.

He thought of Luo Yu Heng unexpectedly, thinking these two best friends were truly alike in their tsundere attitude – wanting romance but afraid of intimacy.

When Luo Yu Heng had initially sought him out for dual cultivation, she had been half-willing on the bed but then changed her mind at the crucial moment. When Xu Qi An tried to remove her clothes, she even slapped him several times.

What he had told Asura was half-truth and half-lie. He had only dual cultivated with Luo Yu Heng twice (two months), though he had previously said it would take three months minimum, and six months maximum.

Only then could she completely calm the karmic flames and transcend tribulation without worry?

In other words, the Luo Yu Heng card couldn’t be played effectively for at least another month.

Currently, she couldn’t fight at full strength, or the karmic flames would lose their suppression and immediately attract heavenly tribulation, leading to her death and destruction of her dao.

Besides Luo Yu Heng, the others were all Third Grade, too weak to interfere in battles like the one with the Supervising Director. A First Grade expert could probably kill a Third Grade cultivator within ten moves.

“Zhao Shou’s attitude is ambiguous, and it will be difficult to draw him in. That’s another problem. In any case, I need to advance to Second Grade quickly.”

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he felt Mu Nan Zhi quietly move closer, her soft small hands exploring his chest before exclaiming in surprise:

“The Demon Sealing Nail is gone!”

“Would I lie to you?”

Xu Qi An said irritably.

Mu Nan Zhi huddled under the quilt, glanced at him, made a small “oh” sound, and quietly retreated back to the wall corner.

In the silence, time flew by quickly as the candle burned quietly, its wax dripping.

Xu Qi An moved close to Mu Nan Zhi again, his abdomen pressing against her peach-like curves, his strong arm embracing her slender waist.

Mu Nan Zhi’s back stiffened as she felt his presence against her.

Xu Qi An tried to remove her clothes but was unsuccessful. She tightly gripped her collar, curling up her body, as if… she would rather die than submit.

Xu Qi An paused, raised his head, and looked at her face.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, biting her lip, showing neither shyness nor nervousness, only bitterness and grievance.

At that moment, he felt as if he had lost all strength, releasing his arm from her waist.

“I’m sorry…”

Mu Nan Zhi was stunned, remaining silent without response.

Xu Qi An said softly:

“I knew your identity early on, not long after bringing you back from the Northern Border.

“At that time, my feelings toward you were complicated. I wanted to possess your spiritual essence, yet having seen your true form, I couldn’t help but cherish and admire you. So I kept you in the outer residence, thinking to let things develop naturally.

“Later, when you traveled the jianghu with me, as we spent more time together, I don’t know when it started, but suddenly I didn’t want to possess your spiritual essence anymore.

“I thought, since Kou Yang Zhou could advance to Second Grade using lotus roots, I surely could too.”

In the later stages of collecting dragon qi, he had indeed abandoned the idea of seizing the Princess Consort’s spiritual essence.

Mu Nan Zhi’s nose stung with emotion, but she maintained composure, speaking coldly:

“Why are you apologizing? Why are you telling me all this? Why did you give up the idea of possessing my spiritual essence?”

Xu Qi An was silent for a moment before answering honestly:

“I’m sorry because my initial approach to you, gaining your trust, was selfish, no more noble than Zhen De’s motives. If I can’t face this fact, I don’t deserve to have you.

“As for why I’m telling you this, we’ve kept too many things buried in our hearts along this journey, too many feelings unexpressed. I want to take this opportunity to tell you my true feelings.”

He paused before answering the final question:

“Because the longer we spent together, the more captivated I became by you, though I never showed it. I didn’t know what harm seizing your spiritual essence might cause you.

“More importantly, I didn’t want you to look back after we truly consummated our relationship with regret or pain, thinking I only possessed you for the Flower Goddess’s spiritual essence.”

He had kept these words in his heart for some time, previously feeling no need to speak them, expecting their relationship to naturally progress to intimacy as it warmed.

This way, it wouldn’t seem like he was only after the Flower Goddess’s spiritual essence.

But circumstances are unpredictable, people are always pushed forward by greater forces, and now he urgently needed Mu Nan Zhi’s spiritual essence to advance to Second Grade.

Mu Nan Zhi, because of her past experiences, was particularly sensitive to this.

Her earlier confession while sitting on the bed was an unprecedented revelation, the first time in her life she had expressed true feelings for a man.

But it was met with the man’s urgent desire, and her reluctance wasn’t from unwillingness, but from an uncontrollable sense of grievance welling up in her heart.

Xu Qi An understood her heart.

“I feel these things need to be said clearly. I don’t want you to have regrets later, nor do I want this to become a knot between us.”

He pressed against her neck, inhaling her intoxicating fragrance, his voice deep and magnetic.

Mu Nan Zhi’s face was covered in tears.

“It’s not such a big deal anyway, I don’t lack any spiritual essence.” She sniffled, speaking proudly.

The grievance in her heart slowly melted away, replaced by a honey-sweet feeling that was addictively delightful.

Just as she finished speaking, he took her right hand and gently removed her bracelet.

Then Mu Nan Zhi saw his dazed, enchanted gaze.

She felt somewhat shy, blushing as she turned her head away.

In the dim candlelight, the beauty on the bed was shy and demure, ready to be plucked like a flower, biting her lip as her long eyelashes trembled with nervousness.

No sight in the world could be more enchanting. Xu Qi An held her delicate chin, turning her country-toppling beautiful face back toward him, and lowered his head to capture her full red lips.

Mu Nan Zhi closed her eyes tightly, her small hands pressed against his chest as her breathing grew heavier and her face redder.

When Xu Qi An raised his head, she gasped for breath like someone deprived of oxygen, her red lips slightly swollen from his passionate kisses.

Whoosh…

Xu Qi An suddenly pulled away the quilt forcefully, straddling Mu Nan Zhi’s abdomen and looking down at her from above.

He lifted the hem of her inner clothes, revealing her fair, sensually slender waist and navel, her skin like congealed cream or the most flawless jade.

Xu Qi An bent down to kiss her abdomen, like savoring the most delicious food, his expression both fervent and reverent.

After some time, Mu Nan Zhi felt herself being turned over, followed by a cool sensation on her back. Her mind cleared slightly as she let out a soft moan:

“What are you doing…”

Her tone was contentedly languid.

Xu Qi An held a wine jug, tilting it to pour the clear liquid onto Mu Nan Zhi’s cream-jade back, watching it flow along her beautiful curves to pool in the sensual dimples of her waist.

With reverent devotion, Xu Qi An lowered his head to taste the “wine pool.”

He had never been so enthusiastic before, filled with a sense of ceremony about their dual cultivation, believing that hasty taking would be a desecration of Great Feng’s greatest beauty.

After sampling the autumn water that had pooled, he moved on to taste the waterfall cascading over twin peaks, quickly emptying the wine jug.

Mu Nan Zhi was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the bed, finally understanding what it meant to be utterly devoted.

After a while, the Flower Goddess reincarnate saw that he still hadn’t made a move and felt somewhat confused.

“I don’t know how to begin…”

Xu Qi An held the empty wine jug, somewhat helplessly.

Mu Nan Zhi was both embarrassed and angry, thinking: you’re telling me this at a crucial moment, do you expect me to teach you? When you dual cultivated with Luo Yu Heng, did she have to guide you step by step?!

Xu Qi An truly was at a loss, not about the physical act, but about how to absorb Mu Nan Zhi’s spiritual essence.

The reason he believed consummation could absorb spiritual essence was because the Flower Goddess had been Princess Consort for twenty years, with the Northern Border King staying at the border and never touching her. From this, he could deduce it had something to do with the Flower Goddess’s first blood.

Well, let’s try the ancient Daoist dual cultivation technique… Xu Qi An lifted the Flower Goddess’s fair legs and thrust forward.

“Ah~~!!”

Mu Nan Zhi arched back like a wounded female beast, her hands unconsciously clutching the bed sheets as she cried out.

Xu Qi An closed his eyes, using the ancient Daoist dual cultivation secret technique to guide the qi mechanism to flow between them.

When concave met convex, forming a perfectly sealed connection, the two became like a single entity, with qi flowing through both their extraordinary meridians, completing a grand celestial cycle.

Xu Qi An divided his attention, completing one grand celestial cycle amid the bed’s creaking.

In that instant, he felt a dormant power awakening within Mu Nan Zhi, stirred by the qi mechanism, joining in the celestial circulation.

This power possessed unimaginable vitality. As it followed the qi flow into Xu Qi An’s body, he felt unprecedented comfort, his four limbs and hundred meridians suddenly opening up.

Every cell received nourishment, flourishing vigorously.

Xu Qi An’s physique made a breakthrough at this moment, his bones becoming stronger, his muscles more resilient, and his cells filled with power.

He unconsciously quickened his movements, the bed’s rocking growing more intense.

Mu Nan Zhi’s cheeks were flushed red, her beautiful brows tightly knitted, her teeth biting her hand as sweet sounds continuously escaped her small mouth in fragments.

Her whole body swayed like seaweed in the waves.

Pat pat pat pat… In the cold winter, Xu Qi An diligently swatted mosquitoes for the Flower Goddess.

“The qi mechanism is growing stronger, the physical body is rapidly strengthening, all aspects are surging – these are signs of advancement, but something is missing… Yes, it’s the elevation of ‘intent.’

“Second-grade martial artists are called Dao Unity, it’s not just physical enhancement. My Jade Shatter should also advance a level. Nan Zhi is truly… Bah, focus your mind, focus your mind.

“Hmm, what is the advancement of Jade Shatter? The basic level is an explosion, the advanced level is a rebound, what comes after Dao Unity, what comes after Dao Unity…”

The candlelight cast their shadows on the wall, showing the man’s proud upper body, with a delicate jade foot swaying on his shoulder.