“Ready?”
Luo Shuiling sat with her back to Yun Hao, asking softly. After he returned to the wooden house that afternoon, she had also been adjusting her Ice Jade Physique inside her elegant pavilion, suppressing her spiritual energy absorption to the lowest possible level.
The process had been difficult, but she succeeded in the end. This dual cultivation session came only two months after the last one—far too short an interval—and she worried the youth might not be able to endure it.
“Senior Sister, I’m ready.”
Yun Hao’s steady voice came from behind her. Luo Shuiling had meant to say they should begin, but the words caught in her throat. After a brief hesitation, she spoke.
“…This time will be different. It will last longer. If you truly cannot hold on, tell me. Understand?”
(It will last longer?)
Yun Hao blinked, caught off guard. Though his cultivation had advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage—far stronger than when he was still in Qi Refining—their dual cultivation sessions had never exceeded an hour. Senior Sister always stopped at the critical moment so he would not faint. Yet now she said it would take longer…
A faint smile touched the youth’s handsome face, his tone carrying a trace of eagerness.
“I understand, Senior Sister. Let’s begin.”
“………..”
Luo Shuiling gave no reply, but after so much time together, Yun Hao already knew what her silence meant.
He no longer hesitated. His slender hands gently pressed against her jade-smooth back and began slowly channeling his spiritual energy into her body.
…………….
As time passed, a scorching warmth began to fill Luo Shuiling’s meridians, flowing through every part of her body. Her breathing grew slightly heavier. Pleasure gradually replaced the anxiety she had felt about the upcoming sect grand competition, leaving only pure bliss in its wake.
To her, Yun Hao’s spiritual energy was an inexhaustible clear spring. No matter how many times she had experienced it, she still wanted to sink into it—wanted it more with every passing moment.
Her body greedily absorbed the energy, yet remained unsatisfied. The Ice Jade Physique stirred restlessly within her, clamoring to break free from the restraints she had placed on it and seize control.
(Even after so many dual cultivation sessions, Yun Hao’s spiritual energy still leaves me unable to stop.)
The scorching energy made Luo Shuiling’s mind hazy. Instinct urged her to draw in more nourishment. Influenced by his spiritual energy, she drifted into a half-conscious state. Memories of her battle against the demonic cultivators years ago surfaced unbidden.
Back then, she had lacked experience fighting demonic practitioners. Deceived by lies, she had shown mercy—and been ambushed for it. She had suffered grievous injuries, and her Immortal Foundation had been left riddled with cracks, nearly destroyed.
That battle had changed everything. The position of Holy Maiden she had been meant to inherit was taken from her through the combined efforts of the sect elders. Her master had sacrificed a great deal just to protect her…
She hated herself. Why had she not been more cautious? Why had she chosen to believe others instead of heeding her master’s teachings and striking them down with her sword…
If only she had done so, none of this would have happened. She would not have to…
A trace of haziness appeared in her beautiful eyes. Luo Shuiling could no longer tell reality from illusion. In her dazed state, she vaguely sensed that something was mending her damaged Immortal Foundation…
(It seems… I need more…)
Her consciousness grew faint. Unable to restrain the desire any longer, she surrendered her body to instinct.
…………
(Something is wrong. Very wrong.)
Yun Hao’s brows drew together tightly. Senior Sister’s condition was strange—her consciousness seemed to have slipped into a coma-like state.
He already felt somewhat exhausted, yet less than half an hour had passed.
Normally, Senior Sister would never suddenly increase the intensity of her absorption like this. She always drew from him slowly, like a gentle stream…
“……Senior Sister……?”
He could not help calling out, but Luo Shuiling gave no response. She continued silently drawing in his spiritual energy.
Cold spiritual energy radiated from her body without conscious control. Even Yun Hao began to feel the chill and could barely endure its invasion.
He could no longer hold back. Cutting off the flow of spiritual energy, he called to her again and again, his voice filled with worry.
“Senior Sister… are you alright?”
“Senior Sister…? Senior Sister!”
The youth grew anxious. He considered whether he should wake her. Dual cultivation was not something to rush. If it was not enough this time, he could rest and try again later—he would be fine.
But Senior Sister was different. Her cultivation was profound, and any problem during her training could be extremely dangerous. It would be better to wake her now.
As Yun Hao made up his mind to rouse her, he never expected the previously silent woman to suddenly turn and pounce on him.
Thud!
Caught completely off guard, Yun Hao’s head slammed hard against the headboard.
“Hiss!”
A pained cry escaped him as Luo Shuiling pinned him beneath her. His vision spun from the impact. Before he could recover, her cold spiritual energy surged violently into his body—rough, savage, without any warning or restraint, as if only raw instinct remained in control.
“Ah!!!!”
The bone-piercing chill yanked Yun Hao back to full awareness. For the first time, he felt the agony of his very soul freezing over. Enduring the severe cold with great difficulty, he forced out a strained plea.
“……Senior Sister… please wake up……”
Even now, the youth’s first concern was for her. He understood that Senior Sister must have encountered some problem in her recent cultivation; otherwise, she would not have needed to dual cultivate with him again so soon.
And now she seemed to have lost consciousness entirely. This was dangerous. One wrong step could cause severe damage to her cultivation. The sect grand competition was approaching—she could not afford such an injury. He had to find a way to help her…
“Ha… ngh…”
(Senior Sister is pressing down so tightly… I can’t move…)
Yun Hao tried to break free from her hold. His current position was like being pinned by a wild beast—his limbs trapped beneath hers. No matter how he struggled, it was useless. What should he do!?
He turned his head and found himself face to face with Luo Shuiling. Her refined, beautiful features were right before his eyes; their breaths mingled in the narrow space between them.
But the youth had no mind to appreciate the sight. The merciless way she drew from him made his head spin, yet the cold spiritual energy kept forcibly stimulating him, preventing him from slipping away completely.
It felt like torture—constant, unrelenting torment…
Gradually, Yun Hao’s struggles grew weaker. His consciousness began to fade. Even the pain from the invading chill could no longer pull him back.
Something inside him was draining away faster and faster, yet he was powerless to stop it.
His consciousness slowly slipped away. He had finally reached his limit. Just before darkness claimed him, he murmured weakly.
“Senior Sister……”
………….
“……?”
Having lost consciousness and left only with instinct, Luo Shuiling felt a faint confusion. Why had the spiritual energy stopped? Along with that comfortable sensation—she had not yet fully enjoyed it…
Dissatisfied, she tugged intermittently at the person beneath her, trying to draw out more of whatever it was that brought her pleasure.
But that person was like a puppet with its strings cut. No matter how she called, he would not wake. Luo Shuiling clawed at Yun Hao’s robes like a newborn child, pulling at them with no order or reason, and in the process tugging at her own clothes as well.
What was she craving…?
Her mind was in chaos. She could not remember what she wanted—only that it felt urgent, desperate.
Just like five years ago when she had fought the demonic practitioner to the death—so frantically urgent… And there was also the feeling that she did not want to disappoint someone.
(……Demonic cultivator..?……Master?)
Suddenly, she could not breathe. A sweet, metallic taste surged up her throat. Unable to endure it any longer, she released the person beneath her and tried to rise. She had barely sat up when a mouthful of fresh blood spilled forth.
Bright red droplets scattered across the bedding. Luo Shuiling’s body went limp and weak.
This was the backlash of the Ice Jade Physique.
When she had tried to suppress it that afternoon, her mind had been filled with her master’s unresolved worries and the crushing pressure of the approaching grand competition. That anxious state had made her careless—she had failed to adjust her physique to its optimal condition and had planted a hidden danger.
During dual cultivation with Yun Hao, that same urgency had driven her to absorb spiritual energy faster. While still trying to suppress the Ice Jade Physique, she had also stimulated it. Under all these conflicting pressures, the physique had finally lost control.
The consequence was that even Luo Shuiling’s consciousness had scattered, leaving only instinct behind.
After coughing up that mouthful of blood, her consciousness gradually faded as well. She collapsed beside Yun Hao.
The two of them lay there, clothes in disarray, both fallen into unconsciousness.