Shang Miaoyan...
Pei Yuhang's eyes widened. He never would have imagined that the fellow cultivator who moved in next door would be this Witch.
He subconsciously wanted to flee, but his body was instantly locked in place by an irresistible force. A bewitching, purplish-red pattern bloomed across his forehead—
Pei Yuhang was frozen on the spot.
'Bai Jingjing!'
At Pei Yuhang's thought, Silence, the sword at his waist, shot out of its scabbard.
After Pei Yuhang's "training" session that morning, Bai Jingjing, however reluctant, had no choice but to drive Silence to attack Shang Miaoyan.
In an instant, an extreme cold spread through the air. Even Shang Miaoyan had to temporarily evade its icy edge.
"You're clearly best at the Supreme Yang Fire Technique, yet this Frost Sword Intent is so stunning... It seems you really were wasting your talents back at the Yin Yang Sacred Land, Xiaohan. No wonder you were so dissatisfied with me~
But I'm sure you understand my intentions, Xiaohan. After all, if you became too strong, you wouldn't need Miaoyan to protect you anymore. It was so I could always protect you that I stopped you from practicing those Slaughter Techniques."
Shang Miaoyan chuckled lightly. With a tap of her shapely toes, clad in thin black socks, her body fluttered like a butterfly, nimbly dodging the flash of cold light that sliced a line through the clouds.
She raised a hand, and several brilliant silk ribbons embroidered with lotus patterns flew from her body, tightly binding Silence in mid-air and immobilizing it.
This Huailian Silk was, in itself, a supreme treasure of the Yin Yang Sacred Land.
Under Shang Miaoyan's control, the Lifebound Spirit Sword, lacking its master's empowerment, naturally couldn't break free in a short time.
Bai Jingjing, for her part, had no intention of breaking free. Slacking off, she symbolically released a bit of Extreme Cold Sword Intent, coating the surface of the Huailian Silk with a layer of frost.
Then, Bai Jingjing turned toward Pei Yuhang and helplessly spread her small hands.
It was as if to say: 'See, Master, I tried my best... but it's no use. I really can't break free. So, whatever that Witch does to you next, don't you dare blame me for it afterward~'
"..."
Pei Yuhang stared at Bai Jingjing, speechless. If she hadn't already taken up residence in his Lifebound Spirit Sword, he would have kicked this bratty little Sword Spirit out and found a new, more reliable one.
"Now we can finally be alone, Xiaohan."
Shang Miaoyan walked to Pei Yuhang's side with a gentle smile, cupping his head in her hands to meet his gaze.
"What... what do you want?"
Pei Yuhang swallowed instinctively.
"Hmph. Miaoyan really only wanted to invite you to see my new residence, Xiaohan. But I didn't expect you to be so uncooperative.
I think I'll have to punish you a little."
A glint of excitement shone in Shang Miaoyan's wine-red eyes.
Her breath was as fragrant as an orchid. As she exhaled, Pei Yuhang inhaled the scent, and the Evil Yang Fire Qi the Sword Immortal had struggled to suppress began to stir again, his body temperature rising rapidly.
His body was frozen, unable to resist.
A deep kiss from the woman he loathed most.
Pei Yuhang's eyes flew wide. Though his mouth was filled with a sweet, wonderful fragrance, his heart was flooded with endless bitterness.
This familiar kissing technique, this irresistible feeling of weakness.
It was as if he were dragged back to those humiliating days and nights as a slave in the Yin Yang Sacred Land.
More importantly—
He had just said goodbye to his beloved Dao Companion, promising her he wouldn't give the painted floozies of the Yin Yang Sacred Land a second glance... Yet here he was, in the neighboring cave residence, being intimate with a Witch from that very place.
He was clearly being forced, clearly disgusted by it in his heart.
And yet, his body was stirring with uncontrollable desire.
Like a beast without morals.
This was a betrayal of his Dao Companion, and of himself...
Pei Yuhang's heart felt like it was being sliced by a knife, yet he could feel an intensely pleasurable, numbing sensation spreading through every nerve in his body.
Torn between this pain and pleasure.
The deep kiss lasted for nearly five minutes, and only when Pei Yuhang began to suffocate did Shang Miaoyan reluctantly part her lips from his.
The "MWUAH~" sound was exceptionally clear on the silent mountain peak.
A ferocious Sword Intent flashed in Pei Yuhang's eyes as he glared at the Witch who had humiliated him, wishing he could slice her into a thousand pieces.
"Shang Miaoyan, you'd better pray I never break free from or seal your Demon-Planting Mark... The moment I regain my freedom, my very first sword strike will be to cut you down as a sacrifice to the heavens!"
Hearing Pei Yuhang's "declaration of independence," ripples seemed to pass through Shang Miaoyan's wine-red eyes.
There was jealousy in them, as well as a hint of sadness, and even a trace of regret.
It seemed she hadn't wanted to end up on such an irreconcilable path with Pei Yuhang either.
But ever since she had kept Pei Yuhang like a Canary in her personal chambers, ever since she had deceived him by saying his fiancée in the Mortal World had long since remarried—preventing him from returning to Lishui Village in time and leading to its destruction—there had been no other choice.
Suddenly, Shang Miaoyan's eyes cleared. She caressed Pei Yuhang's face and said, "Palace Master Pei, your disciple is coming to find you... She was probably drawn by the clash of our Magical Treasures just now.
You certainly don't want your relationship with me exposed to that lovely disciple who respects and adores you, do you?"
"Finding out that her beloved Master was once lovers with the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land—a Demonic Sect famous for preying on men...
That would be a little too cruel for a young Female Cultivator who aspires to become a Righteous Fairy, wouldn't it?"
Hearing this, Pei Yuhang's ink-black pupils froze.
...
「A few minutes earlier.」
In front of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, a silver-haired Fairy was diligently practicing her swordsmanship at the gate amidst a swirl of heavy snow.
"Nine thousand eight hundred ninety-nine..."
"Nine thousand nine hundred fifty-one..."
"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine."
Qing Yueqiu raised the cold glint of her blade, about to slice the final snowflake to achieve her goal of ten thousand.
Suddenly, the shockwave from a fierce collision of Spiritual Qi rippled over from a kilometer away, causing Qing Yueqiu to stop her sword.
Her eyes froze and her thin lips parted in disbelief.
"Is that Master's Spirit Sword—the Sword Qi of Silence?"
'Is Master fighting someone?'
'But who would dare to make a move within the Xuanyuan Dao Sect?'
Qing Yueqiu instinctively started to go find her Master's wife, but she stopped dead after just three steps.
'No, I can't... Master's wife's Cultivation is completely destroyed. She has no fighting ability. Telling her would be useless; she might even be a burden...'
'Master's wife is no use right now, and junior sister is no use either... I'm the only one who can go!'
Qing Yueqiu tightened her grip on her sword hilt, estimating that if she used all her trump cards, she could at least hold her own against a Nascent Soul Cultivator for a short time.
While that wasn't much in the Xuanyuan Dao Sect, which was filled with experts, it would be enough to buy her Master a few seconds to escape and find reinforcements within the Sect!
Qing Yueqiu leaped onto her Flying Sword and shot into the sky, heading straight for the source of the Spiritual Qi shockwave.
Her breathing grew ragged. Her heart was pounding even faster than when she had left the mountain for training and nearly died at the hands of a Demonic Cultivator.
'Master... please be okay...'
'Anyone can get hurt, but not you... Yueqiu doesn't want to lose the happiness of being with you, Master.'