At this moment, inside the cave. The cave was illuminated by a dim glow emanating from an orb that was positioned on the side.
Shi Tian was lying on the mattress, and to his left, Shen Xiaoli was sleeping, covered in a warm quilt.
At this moment, Shi Tian was thinking about the secret realm. How to leave this place? There was only a teleportation stone, he had used it already. Unless he sign-in another teleportation stone, his return to his home would be delayed for an unknown time.
He also considered the possibility of searching for the legacy of the peerless expert mentioned by Shen Xiaoli.
A person who could build this secret realm must be a top-ranked cultivator. He was not greedy for the treasures or legacy; no matter how awesome it was, it wouldn't be better than his golden finger.
However, if Shen Xiaoli wanted to find the hidden legacy, he would accompany her. Anyway, wasn't he longing for an adventure? Now here it is.
Although this place was dangerous, he had a cheat that provided him with many treasures, so he wouldn't die easily.
Cough! Cough!
Suddenly, Shi Tian heard her coughing. He felt her body shivering due to the cold.
"Sister Xiaoli, what happened?" Shi Tian turned around and checked up on her.
'Huh, her body is too cold. What is going on? She should be able to resist this level of coldness; she has ice element spiritual roots, after all.' Shi Tian thought inwardly, feeling a little confused.
He transferred his internal energy into her body, expelling the cold aura from her body. At this time, her condition improved as she stopped shivering.
"Sister Xiaoli, what is going on? Are your injuries that bad?" Shi Tian asked in concern.
"I lost too much blood essence, and my current strength has regressed greatly. The healing pills could heal wounds, but they can't restore the blood essence." Shen Xiaoli said weakly.
"What?, Why didn't you say so before?" Shi Tian was startled. He didn't check her injuries carefully, didn't notice that she had burned her blood essence.
The blood essence of a cultivator was their life force or vital force. Burning blood essence was the same as burning lifespan. She must have burned her blood essence to enhance her strength for a short time. Although this method could give one a boost in strength, it consumes lifespan; if you burn too much, you will die.
Knowing that she needed something that could restore the blood essence, Shi Tian started to look into his system space. The system rewarded him with various items on each sign-up, he remembered that he obtained a vitality pill that could restore the blood essence.
After a few moments, he took out a pill.
"Sister Xiaoli, eat this pill, it will help you recover your blood essence faster." Shi Tian said he handed the pill to her.
Shen Xiaoli looked at the pill in his hand, she didn't ask questions and ate it. The pill didn't work rapidly; it melted steadily, showing its effect, restoring her blood essence in a slow process.
"Why is it working so slowly? Is it a broken item?" Shi Tian frowned and said slowly.
"It is already working much faster than other pills." Shen Xiaoli shook her head and said.
"Sister Xiaoli, you can't use your spiritual energy right now to expel the cold aura. I will use mine. However, infusing too much of my internal energy might cause some wrong effect; it would be better if I use my internal energy to cover you. That way, the cold aura won't penetrate into your body."
"However, to do that, we have to close the gap. I might need to hold you in my arms." Shi Tian hesitated for a moment and said.
"Oh! It is alright." Shen Xiaoli nodded. Shi Tian was no stranger; he was like a younger brother to her. She was already feeling guilty as he came here to such a dangerous place to save her and got stuck in this secret realm with her.
He was doing all of this for her; she should make some effort as well.
"Okay!" Shi Tian nodded, then slid under the quilt. Shen Xiaoli was lying sideways, and he hugged her from behind.
Shen Xiaoli's body stiffened slightly when he hugged her.
At this time, she felt the warm breath of Shi Tian, which was warm and comfortable, and her heart calmed down a little. She also felt that the coldness in her body was subsiding slowly.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep for real this time, snuggling close into his arms to a comfortable position.
Shi Tian breathed in her fragrance. Her body was cold like an ice block, but under his care, it started to warm up. While hugging her, Shi Tian covered her with his aura mixed with a wisp of chaos flame, now the cold aura of this secret realm couldn't get close to her.
'She has a nice figure. It is perfect.' Shi Tian thought inwardly. His left hand was under her head, becoming her pillow, while his right hand was placed on her abdomen.
Just like this, both of them fell asleep.
...
In the early morning next day...
Shi Tian woke up first. He instinctively tried to move his muscles but found some weight on his chest. He lifted the quilt and looked down, and saw Shen Xiaoli sleeping on his chest. She must have curled up on him in her sleep.
Her body was not cold anymore. He checked her injuries and found that she was healed. Not only were her external wounds healed, but her internal injuries were also healed.
The lost blood essence has been restored to a great extent; it might recover fully in one more day.
"System, sign in."
[Congratulations host, for signing-in in the Empress Yao's secret realm, rewarded with the detailed map of the secret realm.]
Huh!
Hearing the voice of the system, Shi Tian was a little startled, he couldn't help but look again. He saw a new item added to his system warehouse.
[Empress Yao's secret realm Map - Empress Yao was a peerless expert of her era who attained immortality and ascended to the high immortal world. Before transcending to the immortal world, she wanted to leave behind something for the mortal world, so she built a secret realm and left her legacy in the mortal world for a fated one to discover. This map contains all the details of the secret realm, details about dangers, treasures, and even the location of the hidden legacy of Empress Yao.]
"Holy shit, thank you, system, I love you." Shi Tian was excited and overwhelmed with joy when he read the map's information.