Shen Qingyue's voice trembled, and the array formation rippled with a trace of instability.
However.
The way things unfolded completely exceeded both of their expectations.
The drop of Primordial Extreme Yang Blood Essence that Gu Yang offered up was too scorching, too pure.
It was not merely an antidote.
In this enclosed space filled with the aphrodisiac mist of the Heart-Questioning Illusion Array, this drop of blood essence, brimming with the ultimate masculine aura, began to vaporize.
Boom!
An overwhelmingly domineering and masculine fragrance instantly filled every inch of the space.
For Shen Qingyue, who possessed the Nine Yin Physique and was already forcibly suppressing her instincts.
How could this be an antidote?
This was the final, crushing mountain that broke the camel's back.
Mmh...
An uncontrollable, muffled groan escaped the lips of the figure who had just stumbled out of the void.
Where was the Shen Qingyue from the illusion, who still wanted to test and manipulate him? She had lost all semblance of that posturing.
Reality and illusion were, after all, completely different.
In the illusion, she had been acting. But now, she was truly starving.
She was still wearing that white palace dress with gold patterns, a symbol of her authority as the Peak Master. The collar was meticulously buttoned, her hair worn in a high bun with dangling golden hairpins, making her look so dignified that one hardly dared to look directly at her.
Yet, it was exactly this dignity, contrasted with the sickly flush on her face and those misty, watery eyes, that created a maddening sense of taboo.
Gu... Yang...
Shen Qingyue gripped the bed curtains beside her in a deathly hold, her knuckles turning white from the force. With a loud rip, the premium merman silk was torn apart by her bare hands.
She was resisting.
She was the Master, a Golden Core Master. How could she harbor such a beast-like desire to devour a mere Qi Condensation Realm disciple?
Reason told her she should immediately activate the array and blast this rebellious disciple out, or hide herself in the secret chamber.
But her body seemed to have developed a mind of its own.
That extreme yang fragrance acted like a pair of invisible, giant hands, tightly grabbing her ankles and dragging her toward Gu Yang.
One step.
Two steps.
Master?
Gu Yang remained kneeling there, maintaining the posture of offering his blood essence.
His face was as pale as paper, but his eyes were clear and resolute, as if he truly were a foolishly loyal disciple willing to drain himself dry for his master.
This display of absolute righteousness became the final straw that crushed Shen Qingyue's sense of shame.
He is doing this to save me...
To avoid impropriety, he would rather mutilate himself...
If I push him away now, wouldn't I... be tortured to death by this agony?
You... brought this upon yourself.
Shen Qingyue's voice was terribly hoarse, as if she were holding a mouthful of scalding gravel.
She stopped suppressing herself.
A fragrant breeze swept over.
Gu Yang's vision blurred for a second, and the wrist he had used for the sacrifice was suddenly clamped down by a terrifyingly hot, soft hand.
Immediately after.
A breathtakingly beautiful face rapidly enlarged in his pupils.
There was no gentle caress.
Shen Qingyue was like a traveler who had thirsted in the desert for three days and three nights, lunging fiercely at the only source of water.
She bit down hard.
Right where the blood was oozing out.
Ugh!
Gu Yang let out a muffled grunt.
Moist, scorching hot...
A sound of satisfaction, akin to the whimper of a young beast, rumbled in her throat.
As the blood essence flowed down her throat, her originally pale skin instantly flushed with a breathtaking shade of pink. The gloomy, freezing energy that perpetually lingered between her brows melted away in an instant, like snow meeting a blazing sun.
It was not enough.
How could a mere drop of blood be enough to fill the abyss-like chasm of the Nine Yin Physique?
Shen Qingyue's eyes changed.
It was a look of pure madness and possessiveness, having completely torn away all disguises.
She abruptly raised her head. Those originally cold and aloof eyes were now burning with a dark gleam hotter than the Golden Crow Fire.
She looked at Gu Yang as if she were looking at the most delicious sacrifice, one that belonged exclusively to her.
Gu Yang...
She reached out, her trembling fingertips brushing against Gu Yang's cheek. The pads of her fingers were burning hot, coated in a fine layer of sweat.
You are a good child...
Since you are so filial... then as your master, I shall oblige you.
Before her voice faded.
Shen Qingyue suddenly raised her hand and tapped her fingertip against the center of Gu Yang's forehead.
A soul impact belonging to a Golden Core cultivator surged into Gu Yang's sea of consciousness. It carried no killing intent, but possessed an irresistible, sleep-inducing magic.
Gu Yang's pupils contracted.
What is going on?
This woman...
Before Gu Yang could even think, his eyes rolled back, his body went limp, and he collapsed into Shen Qingyue's embrace.
Right before he completely lost consciousness.
He felt himself being fiercely pulled into the tight embrace of a shockingly hot, delicate body.
...
...
What kind of dream was that?
Gu Yang felt as if he had fallen into a bizarre and dazzling vortex.
Half of it was a freezing glacier that encased all things in ice, so cold it threatened to shatter his very soul.
The other half was scorching magma that incinerated the eight wastelands, so hot it threatened to boil his blood.
He struggled and sank within the rift between ice and fire.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
The wind stopped, and the rain ceased.
The shuddering sensation deep within his soul receded like the tide.
Gu Yang slowly opened his eyes.
Entering his sight was the familiar vaulted ceiling of the Cold Moon Palace. The one hundred and eight luminous pearls inlaid within it emitted a soft, lonely halo of light.
It was terrifyingly quiet all around.
Only the distant dripping of a water clock served as a reminder of the passing time.
Gu Yang was lying on the freezing floor.
No, to be exact, he was lying on a soft couch covered with thick white fox fur.
He twitched his fingers.
There was no expected soreness; instead, he felt filled with an explosive sense of power.
He sat up and looked down at himself.
His gray disciple uniform was worn neatly, and even the buttons at his collar were meticulously fastened.
The storage bag hung in its original place at his waist, and even his shoes and socks were not the least bit messy.
It was as if everything that happened last night had truly been nothing more than an absurd dream.
...
Gu Yang raised his hand and lightly sniffed near his nose.
Even if his clothes had been changed and washed, even if a Cleansing Spell had been used.
That deep-seated, faint scent of snow lotus unique to Shen Qingyue, along with a subtle, ambiguous scent of musk, still could not hide from his nose.
Not to mention...
Gu Yang looked inward at his dantian.
His recently stabilized Early Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation base had actually surged dramatically. The density of his spiritual energy had saved him at least several months of bitter cultivation!
Above the five-colored lotus platform, the Golden Crow True Fire was brighter and more agile than before, as if it had just feasted on an unparalleled delicacy.
The Nine Yin Physique truly was a top-tier cauldron physique.
Understanding dawned in Gu Yang's heart. He stood up and straightened the hem of his clothes.
He looked around.
The grand hall was completely empty; there was no sign of Shen Qingyue.
Only the massive Cold Jade Bed stood out, the layers of curtains that originally hung there had been replaced with new ones.
And at the most conspicuous spot at the head of the bed lay an exquisite jade bottle and a token radiating a chilling aura.
Gu Yang walked over.
Beneath the jade bottle was a piece of paper.
The handwriting was elegant yet powerful, exuding a coldness that pushed others thousands of miles away.
In consideration of your absolute sincerity and your merit in offering blood, I grant you the Cold Moon Peak Passage Token and a Tier-Two Peak-Grade pill, the Heaven-Mending Pill, to stabilize your foundation. Your master must enter secluded cultivation to stabilize her realm. Do not disturb me unless necessary.
A trace of complexity flashed through Gu Yang's eyes. He solemnly put the items away and bowed respectfully toward the inner chambers.
He turned and left.
...
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
