"Y-you, hold me tighter... I-I'm still cold."
Xiao Xiao lowered her head, speaking with a hint of embarrassment.
An Yi, feigning reluctance on the surface, tightened his embrace around her soft, delicate frame.
The two held each other so closely that there was almost no space between them. He could even catch the faint, pleasant fragrance of her hair.
The warmth and softness of her body pressed tightly against him made An Yi involuntarily swallow hard.
This girl was truly a rare beauty.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Xiao Xiao decided to throw caution to the wind.
The cold was unbearable—it felt like her blood had frozen solid, the pain excruciating.
Compared to that, being stared at in public seemed trivial.
Besides, this guy was ridiculously handsome! It wasn’t exactly a loss for her.
Zhang Qianyu was on the verge of a breakdown. "Wait, you two—what are you—"
"D-don’t misunderstand! I’m just using him as a heater!" Xiao Xiao stammered, her face flushed.
Never in her life had she imagined she’d end up embracing a guy she’d just met.
But An Yi’s embrace was impossibly warm. The bone-chilling cold that had gripped her body melted away in an instant.
It was like falling into an icy abyss, only to suddenly find herself wrapped in a heated blanket, basking in the warmth of a fire—utterly intoxicating.
Thud!
At that moment, a plump Taoist priest who had also been poisoned by the snake venom collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
His face had turned a sickly shade of purple.
He wasn’t the only one. Others, too, were pale and ghastly, their complexions worsening by the second.
Only Jiang Cheng, whose strength was formidable, managed to hold on, using his inner energy to resist the venom.
"Senior Brother Zhang Peng!"
Seeing the poisoned Taoist collapse, Xiao Xiao immediately broke free from An Yi’s arms and rushed over.
"Quick, An Yi, hold him!"
She dragged the unconscious priest toward An Yi, urgency in her voice.
An Yi: "..."
That wasn’t exactly his preference.
"Uh... I-I can’t hold him like this," An Yi hesitated.
He really didn’t want to.
But the expectant gazes of the crowd bore into him.
Fine, fine.
With a long sigh, An Yi retrieved a set of silver needles from his storage space.
"Open his collar," he said, rolling up his sleeves.
Someone stepped forward and loosened the priest’s robes.
In the next moment, An Yi’s needles flashed as they struck precise points across the man’s body.
Before long, the priest’s torso was lined with silver needles.
Thump!
An Yi delivered a firm strike to his back, channeling fiery spiritual energy into him.
Gag!
The priest’s face flickered between shades before he suddenly vomited a thick, black substance.
"Senior Brother Zhang, how are you feeling?" Xiao Xiao handed him a handkerchief.
Zhang Peng wiped his mouth, gasping for breath. The purple hue had faded from his face, replaced by a more natural pallor.
"I... I think I’m better. Just a bit weak," he said, surprised.
Xiao Xiao shot An Yi a sharp look.
So he knew how to cure the venom all along?!
And yet he’d held her for so long—
"Next! Quit dawdling—time is life!"
An Yi assumed an air of solemn authority, his tone stern.
A second poisoned priest was brought before him.
Another mesmerizing display of acupuncture followed.
Every movement An Yi made carried an effortless grace, exuding a unique charm.
The second priest spat out blackened blood, his complexion improving almost instantly.
"Next!"
An Yi sterilized the needles with a flicker of flame before continuing.
Soon, all five affected priests had been treated.
Finally, it was Jiang Cheng’s turn.
"Who would’ve thought the leader of the Asura Sect possessed such extraordinary medical skills? You’ve kept this talent well-hidden."
Jiang Cheng watched An Yi’s movements with a faint smile.
Though no expert in medicine himself, he could recognize mastery when he saw it.
An Yi’s needle technique alone was unparalleled in all of Xia.
"You flatter me," An Yi replied humbly. "I’m not that impressive. I’m also a singer, and I’m pretty damn good at basketball."
Jiang Cheng: "..."
"You’ve reached the Void Realm, haven’t you?"
Jiang Cheng’s narrowed eyes sharpened as he studied An Yi.
The Void Realm—the pinnacle of martial prowess in Xia.
Those who attained it stood among the nation’s elite warriors.
An Yi arched a brow. "Not sure. What’s it to you?"
"Fight me."
Jiang Cheng’s gaze hardened, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
"To determine who stands above—and who dies."
In some ways, he was a madman.
His pride refused to tolerate a rival.
"Agh!"
Suddenly, Jiang Cheng let out a pained cry.
"Oops. My hand slipped. Wrong acupuncture point."
An Yi calmly withdrew the needle and continued, smiling. "What were you saying?"
Jiang Cheng’s forehead beaded with cold sweat.
This bastard did that on purpose!
"N-never mind."
He gritted his teeth.
I’ll have to plan my challenge more carefully.
After Jiang Cheng expelled the venom, only Xiao Xiao remained.
She glared at An Yi, clearly still annoyed.
Ahem. "Your turn," An Yi said, clearing his throat awkwardly.
This time, he refrained from any mischief, treating her properly.
Xiao Xiao coughed up black blood, her complexion brightening.
The icy grip on her body vanished completely.
The return of warmth made the world feel vibrant again.
"Thanks," she said softly, meeting his gaze with sincerity.
"Oh? Not mad anymore?" An Yi teased.
"Of course I’m still mad!"
She shot him a fiery glare.
Not only had he shamelessly taken advantage of her, but he’d done it in front of all her fellow Taoist Union members.
Her reputation was probably ruined!
"But... you defeated the Water Demon of the Hundred Ghosts Sect and saved all of us. That’s a debt we can’t ignore."
Xiao Xiao pressed her lips together, her tone firm. "The Taoist Union owes you. If you ever need anything, I’ll do my best to repay you."
An Yi chuckled.
This girl knows how to separate personal grudges from duty.
She then pointed a warning finger at him. "But don’t you dare use that as an excuse to grope me again!"
An Yi: "..."
Slander!
Outright slander!
As a scholar of Donghai University, how could he possibly stoop to such vulgar behavior?
"Brother An Yi, may I ask where you learned your fire-attributed spiritual techniques?"
A lean, sharp-eyed Taoist—Wu Senior Brother—stepped forward, his voice cold.
Xiao Xiao quickly interjected, "Wu Senior Brother!"
An Yi smirked. "I learned it after watching Miss Xiao Xiao demonstrate it once."
To him, such a basic spiritual art was child’s play.
"You mastered it after one glance?"
The Taoists exchanged stunned looks.
This was a secret technique of the Azure Sky Pavilion!
Even Xiao Xiao, a prodigy, had taken a month to learn it!
And this guy picked it up instantly?
Xiao Xiao suddenly recalled something—An Yi had also wielded flames effortlessly.
In fact, his control surpassed hers.
Could it be...
She gasped. "Y-you’re also a Natural Dao Body?!"
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!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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.
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.
