The lingering warmth of their pleasure drifted through the air like honey. Aina curled up in Xia Lun’s arms like a satisfied cat, smiling as she gently prodded his cheek with one fingertip.
“Xia Lun, you were crying just now.” Her voice held a hint of triumphant amusement, and her eyes glittered mischievously.
“I was not.”
Xia Lun slowly turned his head aside and cleared his throat.
The tent was filled with the scent of grass and earth, mingled with the warmth left behind by their intimate union. A hide blanket lay in disarray beneath them, still bearing the traces of their passion. Xia Lun reached out and pulled it higher over Aina’s smooth shoulders. His fingertips lingered there for a moment, as if confirming that this warmth was real and not a dream.
Xia Lun suddenly asked with concern, “What’s your condition like right now? Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m still alive. You should have confirmed that for yourself already.” Aina spoke as though it were self-evident.
Yes, Aina was still warm and very much alive—not a ghost.
“Then, back in the Spirit Realm, the Chaos Demon God didn’t…?” Xia Lun couldn’t help pulling her closer.
He recalled what had happened before: the light pillar that had seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth, the crimson radiance that devoured everything, and Aina’s figure gradually blurring within that light…
“Ah, that attack really was terrifying, but I dodged it.” Aina still looked a little shaken. Then she stuck out her tongue. The childish gesture formed a strangely charming contrast with the alluring flush that still lingered across her face. “That attack nearly dragged you in too. I barely managed to push you away before escaping the Spirit Realm and avoiding it.”
Xia Lun’s expression suddenly turned somewhat odd. “That’s it?”
“What else? Do you want something to have happened to me?” Aina pretended to be angry, baring her teeth and clawing lightly at his chest with her fingertips. Like a cat scratching at a post, her touch was so gentle that it amounted to nothing more than a teasing tickle. Her long hair spilled between them, with a few strands clinging to Xia Lun’s skin.
“No… It’s really wonderful that you’re all right, Aina.” Xia Lun held her tightly against his chest, savoring the marvelous warmth and softness of her body.
“But afterward, when I tried to reenter the Spirit Realm, I found that I couldn’t get in anymore.” Aina gazed at Xia Lun with a faintly reproachful look, tracing meaningless patterns across his chest with one finger.
Xia Lun suddenly understood. By then, he had apparently begun merging with the Spirit Realm.
In other words, the Spirit Realm had become his private domain, leaving Aina shut outside its gates.
“I was so worried at the time. I was afraid you’d really been taken by the Chaos Evil God…” Aina rubbed her cheek against Xia Lun’s chest, her voice slightly muffled. “You really are incredible, Xia Lun.”
“Of course I am. I’m your husband, after all.” Xia Lun couldn’t help feeling a little smug. After all, he had faced an opponent who had even left Aina helpless.
“Xia Lun, you really did your best.” Aina reached up and gently stroked his dull, lifeless eyes.
Even now, Xia Lun remained unable to see anything.
“This might hurt a little. Bear with it.”
Xia Lun suddenly felt an astonishingly intense heat surge through his eyes, as though a drop of magma had fallen into them. At first, there were only blurred shapes, patches of color drifting aimlessly across his vision. Then, like mist scattered by the morning breeze, his sight gradually cleared.
Xia Lun blinked. At last, he could clearly see his wife’s face before him.
“Vampire’s Eyes may not offer as many convenient abilities as the Eyes of Insight… but they’re certainly better than leaving you blind.”
Aina somehow produced a small mirror and held it up in front of Xia Lun. In it, Xia Lun saw that his pupils had turned blood-red.
“If you had this ability…” Xia Lun drew a deep breath and stared at Aina with his newly acquired red eyes. “Why didn’t you fix my eyes earlier?”
After all, he hadn’t even been able to see the expression on his wife’s face during their lovemaking.
“Ahem… If you couldn’t see, perhaps you’d be able to focus more on the physical pleasure and have an even better experience…” Aina’s eyes began to wander. She absently twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she replied.
“Did you forget?”
“N-No… Xia Lun, do you think I’m as foolish as you?” Aina turned her head away guiltily.
“I think you did forget.” Xia Lun sighed. “Your husband was living in darkness, and the first thing you did after waking up was satisfy your own desires…”
“Xia Lun, you definitely cried just now.” Aina forcibly steered the conversation back.
“I did not.”
“Then I didn’t forget either. That makes us even.” Aina offered the compromise.
Xia Lun pinched her cheek, then couldn’t resist giving her a kiss.
“Deal,” Xia Lun said with a soft laugh.
…
The two of them walked out of the tent together.
It was already afternoon. Slanting sunlight bathed the campsite in a layer of warm gold. The air carried the mingled fragrance of grass and the distant pine forest, while a breeze brought a touch of coolness that perfectly tempered the afternoon heat.
“Father! Mother!”
The moment Xia Lun and Aina appeared, Xia Yi charged toward them like a little cannonball, kicking up a trail of dust before skidding to a stop in front of them.
Liyana followed close behind.
“Mother, you’re alive again!” Xia Yi began circling Aina excitedly like an overjoyed puppy.
“Oh? What did you say?” Aina narrowed her eyes slightly. Only then did Xia Yi realize that his little bottom might be in danger again.
“I mean, you’ve finally woken up.” Xia Yi shrank his head back and put on the most ingratiating, obedient smile he could manage.
Aina reached out a hand. Xia Yi squeezed his eyes shut in fright, his little face scrunching up. But Aina merely placed her hand on his head and vigorously ruffled his hair.
Luo Lun and Mo Lini also emerged from behind the tent. The blood bat perched on Luo Lun’s shoulder let out a cheerful “caw,” while Little Lan kept making “pop-pop” sounds atop Mo Lini’s head.
Seeing Xia Lun and Aina standing side by side, the two of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief, faint smiles appearing at the corners of their mouths.
“Xia Lun, what happened to your eyes?” Liyana was the first to notice the change. She leaned closer, staring curiously at Xia Lun’s blood-red pupils. “Don’t tell me… you have pinkeye?”
“Do you think that’s possible?” Xia Lun shot Liyana an exasperated look.
Liyana chuckled and rubbed the back of her head.
“Father’s eyes are just like mine now!” Xia Yi was overjoyed. He dashed around the campsite in excitement.
“I’m fine now. More importantly, I have something else to announce.”
Xia Lun’s gaze slowly swept across everyone in the campsite.
The camp fell silent. The wind rustled through the treetops, and the faint sound of running water drifted from somewhere in the distance. Xia Yi stopped running as well and obediently stood beside Liyana, looking up at his father.
“Thank you all for waiting. The Wings of Dawn are setting out again.”
“Yay!” Liyana cheered enthusiastically. “So which city are we heading to next?”
But Xia Lun shook his head and pointed toward the azure sky.
“Our next destination is the sea of stars.”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
