Are you trying to make me pity you

Xu Mu found it hard to believe that Dantai Quan had suddenly made such a move.

No matter how one looked at it, she had once been a princess.

In front of him, she had always appeared calm and composed, completely unruffled.

When they had first met, she had even carried herself with a sense of superiority.

Even when she asked him to refine pills for her, that attitude had remained.

After all, Dantai Quan had reached the peak of the first tier of the Boundary-Breaking Realm.

By comparison, the Xu Mu of before had been nothing more than a minor grandmaster in her eyes.

Even before this battle, she had still regarded Xu Mu as merely a Transcendent.

He was indeed powerful and capable of fighting above his level—even of battling those in the Boundary-Breaking Realm.

But she had still believed that he could not provide her with any meaningful assistance in combat.

Yet she had presumably heard about what happened in this battle.

Xu Mu’s combat strength had far exceeded her expectations. With the help of a ninth-level formation, he had slain so many Boundary-Breaking experts.

Such strength had overturned Dantai Quan’s understanding of him. The faint sense of superiority she had maintained in front of him had collapsed in an instant.

Xu Mu suddenly grabbed Dantai Quan’s hand.

Dantai Quan raised her head. Her eyes were already brimming with tears. While waiting for Xu Mu in the car, she had already imagined the worst possible outcome.

Aside from this, the greatest sacrifice she could make for Xu Mu was the one she had mentioned earlier.

She could sell everything the Mangmang Mountain faction had accumulated over the years in exchange for rare treasures, helping Xu Mu break through into the Boundary-Breaking Realm.

But as Xu Mu had said, he was already very close to breaking through.

With his talent, entering the Boundary-Breaking Realm was only a matter of time. Why would he risk his life?

The Flood Dragon clan was no ordinary race. They had ninth-tier experts among them.

“Xu Mu, you agreed?”

Dantai Quan noticed that Xu Mu was holding her hand and asked softly.

“I didn’t.”

Xu Mu’s reply was indifferent.

“Then why are you stopping me? Do you really not want to help me?”

Dantai Quan clenched her fists, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Do you know how much resolve it took for me to make this decision?”

“You seem to have misunderstood something.”

Xu Mu looked down at Dantai Quan, who was kneeling before him, his tone calm. “Why would you think that I’d help you after you did something like this?”

“This…”

Dantai Quan was left speechless.

He was right. Xu Mu was not so hopelessly infatuated with her that he would agree to anything.

“Did you think my divine artifact had a switch? That if you used your body, I’d agree?”

“Xu Mu! What exactly do I have to do for you to help me? Aside from my body, all I have left is Mangmang Mountain. I truly have nothing else!”

Dantai Quan placed both hands on the floor. “I’m begging you. As long as you’re willing to help me, I’ll do anything for you from now on!”

Xu Mu shook his head slightly. “You’re an intelligent woman. How could you possibly do anything for just one person?”

With that, he rose to his feet and walked toward the villa’s entrance.

“Dantai Quan, I’ll continue refining pills for you just as before. You take nine portions, and I’ll take one. That is the greatest concession I’m willing to make.”

Xu Mu pushed open the front door.

“Go back.”

[Favorability +10]

Supporting herself with one hand, Dantai Quan slowly stood up.

“Xu Mu! I’m glad you’re willing to make this sacrifice for me, but it isn’t enough! Our people are truly facing annihilation!”

“Now that things have come to this, I have no other choice. I can only prove it through my actions.”

As she spoke, Dantai Quan took a fist-sized glass jar from her spatial ring.

She unscrewed the lid and poured some of the white powder inside into her mouth.

Xu Mu frowned slightly. He immediately went over, snatched the jar from her, and held it beneath his nose.

“Powdered Spring Night Grass? Have you gone mad?”

“I really don’t want everything we’ve worked so hard for over the past several decades to be destroyed at the very end.”

Tears streamed down Dantai Quan’s face as she spoke. “I’m sorry for forcing you into this.”

As soon as she finished speaking, an unhealthy flush appeared across her face. Her body began to sway.

In only a short time, Xu Mu could already see the change in her expression.

She had originally looked solemn and serious, but now her control over her expression was gradually slipping. Her features became increasingly alluring, and drool even began to trickle from the corner of her mouth.

She had simply consumed too much.

“Xu Mu…”

Dantai Quan staggered toward him as though drunk and threw herself into his arms.

Xu Mu let out a helpless sigh. In her current state, he couldn’t very well throw her out onto the street and leave her for someone else to find.

All he could do was support her and take her to a guest room on the first floor.

Once they arrived, every breath Dantai Quan took carried a wave of heat mixed with the scent of Spring Night Grass.

From her eyes, Xu Mu could tell that she had nearly lost all reason, with little remaining beyond her most basic instincts.

On top of that, she had been born with an exceptionally seductive constitution. The fiery intensity in her eyes was enough to overwhelm almost anyone.

Perhaps Xu Mu’s mental strength was simply too powerful.

Even in such circumstances, he was still able to maintain his composure.

He held Dantai Quan’s hand, still hesitating.

Xu Mu was a man of principles. If he truly used his divine artifact to resolve her crisis—especially if she was still inexperienced—he would almost instinctively come to regard her as his woman.

But the crucial question was whether the woman before him was sincere.

Or had she done everything merely to become queen, treating her own sacrifice as nothing more than another ruthless means to an end?

“Xu Mu… I want you to see my finishing touch.”

Dantai Quan pushed Xu Mu down, flames seeming to burn in her eyes.

She had been wearing an exceptionally ornate traditional Chinese dress, making her look almost like an ancient courtesan.

With only a few hurried movements, she cast aside her remaining restraint and threw herself completely into the encounter.

Xu Mu could only face her desperate advance.

What else could he do? He could hardly surrender at such a moment.

…

Two in the afternoon.

Dantai Quan was lying on a bed on the first floor, while Xu Mu stood by the window, gazing out at the courtyard of his villa.

He couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

She really had been astonishingly intense.

He had never dealt with someone like her before.

Neither Fu Jinyu nor Nalan Shisan had ever gone that far.

As for Li Yun, although she possessed similar charms, she had long since become a mother and had consequently lost much of her former aggressiveness.

Dantai Quan, however, was completely different. The intensity of their confrontation had been unmistakable.

Of course, that was most likely also because of the effects of the Spring Night Grass.

Dantai Quan suddenly opened her eyes.

She looked around and then noticed Xu Mu standing by the window.

She pulled up the covers, wrapping herself tightly in them, and began to sob quietly.

Xu Mu had initially intended to accuse her of pretending, but after checking her filial piety value, he discovered that she had leveled up.

She had originally been at level four, but now she had reached level five.

Although that level was still not particularly high, it had nevertheless reached Xu Mu’s threshold.

“You were the one who took the Spring Night Grass voluntarily. Why are you crying now?”

Xu Mu looked at Dantai Quan indifferently.

“Are you trying to make me pity you?”