Three months had passed since the night Su Qingxue first invited Xiao Yang into her cave mansion.
Three months of stolen nights, whispered confessions, and dual cultivation that shook the very foundations of their dao hearts.
Xiao Yang's cultivation had exploded beyond anything the system had promised. From early Foundation Establishment, he had rocketed through middle and late stages, stepping firmly into perfect Foundation Establishment in just ninety days. His Heavenly Yang Essence Bloodline—now High-grade—made his qi so potent that even Core Formation elders would envy its purity.
All of it came from her.
From them.
Every session with Su Qingxue pushed both their cultivations higher. She had stabilized at half-step Nascent Soul, her Ice Phoenix bloodline awakening traces of ancient divine power. Her beauty had become almost otherworldly—skin glowing like moonlit snow, silver hair shimmering with faint spiritual light, curves fuller and more alluring than ever.
The sect whispered about the "Madam's miraculous recovery." They attributed it to rare pills or hidden opportunities.
No one suspected the truth.
No one except Elder Liu Mei, a sharp-eyed late-Core Formation enforcer who oversaw sect discipline.
And today, she had come too close.
It began innocently enough.
Xiao Yang had just left Jade Phoenix Peak at dawn, using the concealment talisman the system had rewarded him. He was halfway down the eastern path when a powerful divine sense swept over the mountain—probing, curious.
He froze behind a spirit tree, heart pounding.
Elder Liu Mei's voice rang out, cold and authoritative.
"Madam Su, this elder sensed unusual qi fluctuations from your peak last night. Dual cultivation waves, perhaps? Is the Grand Elder's seclusion ending early?"
Su Qingxue's reply came swiftly—calm, elegant, perfect.
"Elder Liu need not worry. I have been experimenting with a new yin-yang harmonization technique from an ancient inheritance. The fluctuations were merely side effects. My husband remains in seclusion."
A long pause.
Liu Mei's divine sense lingered, brushing dangerously close to Xiao Yang's hiding spot.
Finally: "Very well. But if assistance is needed, the sect stands ready."
The presence withdrew.
Xiao Yang exhaled slowly, then hurried down the mountain.
That night, when he arrived at the cave mansion, Su Qingxue was waiting with fear in her eyes.
She flew into his arms the moment the doors sealed, burying her face in his chest.
"Liu Mei suspects something," she whispered, voice trembling. "If she investigates further… if she discovers you…"
He held her tightly, stroking her back.
"We'll be more careful. I have new concealment treasures from the system. And my cultivation is rising fast—I'll soon be strong enough to protect us both."
She pulled back, phoenix eyes searching his face.
"Protect us?" A sad smile curved her lips. "There is no 'us,' Xiao Yang. Not in the eyes of the world. I am still Zhao Wuji's wife. You are… my sin."
The word hung heavy between them.
Then her hands slid up his chest, fingers trembling as they untied his robes.
"But tonight," she breathed, "I need to forget that."
What followed was the most intense session yet.
Su Qingxue took the lead for the first time—pushing him onto the bed, straddling his hips, guiding him inside her with desperate urgency.
She rode him slowly at first, silver hair cascading around them like a curtain, full breasts swaying with each roll of her hips.
Her moans were no longer restrained—they echoed through the chamber, raw and needy.
"Xiao Yang… my Xiao Yang… fill me… make me yours…"
He gripped her waist, thrusting up to meet her, watching her face contort in ecstasy as another breakthrough loomed.
When she came, it was spectacular—yin essence erupting in waves of ice-blue light, her body convulsing as she stepped fully into early Nascent Soul.
The surge pulled him with her—perfect Foundation Establishment shattering as he broke into early Core Formation in a single explosive release.
They collapsed together, panting, bodies slick with sweat.
Afterward, she lay draped over him, tracing lazy patterns on his chest.
"I initiated tonight," she murmured, voice husky. "I seduced you. That makes me the faithless one, doesn't it?"
He kissed her forehead.
"It makes you human. It makes you mine."
She closed her eyes, tears slipping free.
"I am both yours and his. And it is tearing me apart."
Silence stretched.
Then the system's voice—cold, mechanical—cut through the intimacy.
Xiao Yang's blood ran cold.
Zhao Tian—the same arrogant genius who had killed him in his previous life.
The one whose spilled spirit tea had cost him everything.
Now the system wanted him to steal his fiancée.
He looked down at Su Qingxue, peacefully asleep in his arms—her face serene, lips swollen from kisses, body marked with faint love bites.
His aunt by marriage, in a way. Zhao Tian was Grand Elder Zhao Wuji's direct disciple and rumored distant nephew.
The web grew more tangled.
More dangerous.
More irresistible.
The next morning, as he prepared to leave, Su Qingxue caught his wrist.
"There is an inter-sect exchange in one month," she said quietly. "The Pure Moon Sect will send their saintess as a guest. Zhao Tian has been boasting about his perfect fiancée to everyone."
Her eyes met his—conflicted, but burning with something new.
Jealousy.
Possession.
"Will you… look at her?"
Xiao Yang pulled her into one last fierce kiss.
"I will look," he admitted. "The system demands it."
Pain flashed across her face.
Then resolve.
"If you must take another…" She pressed her forehead to his. "Promise me this: never forget what we have. Never let anyone replace me in your heart."
He cupped her face.
"No one could. You are my first. My phoenix."
She smiled through tears.
"And you are my flame. The one that thawed three hundred years of ice."
As he descended the peak, the system prompted again.
Xiao Yang clenched his fists.
The hunt was expanding.
But as the image of Su Qingxue's tear-streaked, loving face lingered in his mind, he wondered:
Was he still the hunter…
Or had the Ice Phoenix already captured him completely?