Messing with the Saintess Again

Ning Fan muttered to himself, a flash of decisiveness crossing his eyes. He immediately focused his mind, drawing upon the cold, aloof aura within the white light.

The next moment, he felt a direct connection form with that distant, ethereal presence, and the aura began to solidify rapidly.

...

Meanwhile, in the world outside.

Lingxu Fairy stood suspended in the void a short distance away, quietly gazing toward the Yin Yang Tower. Her beautiful eyes were unfocused, deep in thought.

Suddenly, a strange sensation welled up from her chest. Her gaze sharpened, and she reached into her robes to pull out the ancient jade.

The jade was pulsing with a brilliant light, radiating a powerful, undeniable summons.

"What!?"

Lingxu Fairy ground her teeth as a brilliant flush of crimson rushed to her cheeks. Realizing what was happening, she spat out a curse at the empty air beside her.

"That little thief... he dares try this again!?"

She initially intended to ignore the summons, just as she had done previously, assuming the anomaly would fade if she simply waited it out.

But this time was different. The burning heat radiating from the ancient jade grew increasingly intense, so much so that the temperature of the air around her began to rise visibly.

The pull of the summons grew stronger by the breath, rapidly slipping beyond her ability to suppress.

This cannot go on.

If she allowed the pull to keep escalating, she would be forcibly dragged across space into another domain entirely. Yet, no matter what techniques she tried, she could not disrupt the jade's power.

Left with no choice, she gritted her teeth and shifted her weight, blurring into motion as she fled the vicinity of the Yin Yang Tower toward a secluded, hidden clearing.

The moment she found a quiet spot, a blinding white light erupted from the jade, swallowing her whole.

...

At the exact same moment.

Inside a warded barrier within the Yin Yang Tower.

As that cold, detached, and lofty aura finally solidified, the white light receded into nothingness. There on the bed, Lingxu Fairy's face appeared directly before Ning Fan.

"You... Disciple Ning Fan!"

"You are courting death!"

Looking at Ning Fan's face, Lingxu Fairy ground her teeth in sheer hatred. Defiling her once wasn't enough for him!?

He actually dared to do it a second time!?

"I will absolutely-mmph!"

Before she could finish her threats, Ning Fan made a sudden move, cutting her off and leaving her voice fragmented.

"Your Highness Saintess, you can't blame me for this," Ning Fan said defensively. "I was minding my own business dual cultivating with my wife. You're the one who suddenly dropped in. How is that my fault?"

Granted, while that excuse had been technically true the first time, it was highly disingenuous now that he had actively triggered the summons.

But it was close enough!

"Hmph."

"Do you think I wanted to come here? What is wrong with that ancient jade... It must be the jade. There is something sinister about it."

Even as she tried to analyze the root cause, Lingxu Fairy attempted to struggle and circulate her spiritual power. However, she quickly discovered that during the process of dual cultivation, it was physically impossible for her to harm Ning Fan. In fact, the moment a harmful intent even surfaced in her mind, her gathered spiritual power would instantly dissolve.

Damn it!

What kind of unnatural restriction was this? That ancient jade was far too terrifying.

"Wait."

"Where are we!?"

Only after a dozen breaths did Lingxu Fairy finally think to take in her surroundings. When she did, her eyes widened in utter disbelief.

Wasn't this inside the Yin Yang Tower!?

That was impossible.

She had already entered the Yin Yang Tower twice in her life. By all known laws of the sect, the tower's absolute rejection meant she could never set foot inside again unless someone managed to shatter the artifact itself.

Yet here she was, perfectly intact inside the tower, with thick currents of Yin Yang Qi swirling all around them!

"Hiss-"

Ning Fan suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

It seemed Lingxu Fairy suffered from the exact same issue as the others; the moment her emotions flared, the involuntary tightening of her physical focus became incredibly overwhelming for him to endure.

Catching the shift in his expression, Lingxu Fairy instantly realized what was happening. A dark thought bloomed in her mind-

Could she perhaps use this involuntary reaction to deal him a crippling blow?

But upon further consideration, she dismissed the idea.

As for the reason...

Anyway, it was simply unacceptable!

Ning Fan remained completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. With a flick of his wrist, two thousand Spirit Stones materialized in his palm.

The moment they appeared, they began to absorb the surrounding Yin Yang Qi, turning from crystal-clear to a delicate, pale pink.

Immediately after, the spiritual power laced with Yin Yang Qi was drawn out from the stones in waves, pouring directly into Ning Fan and Lingxu Fairy's bodies.

As this tidal wave of highly refined, effortlessly digestible spiritual energy flooded their meridians, it felt as though their cultivation bases were being directly injected with pure power.

It was absurdly simple.

At this point, the indignation in Lingxu Fairy's heart began to wane. Even with her profound realm, refining this specialized Yin Yang Qi provided her with a small but noticeable boost.

With the unique properties of the Yin Yang Qi guiding the flow, the absorption efficiency of the spiritual energy was a flawless one hundred percent-perhaps even higher.

Of course, for someone of her terrifying caliber, such a minor increase was practically negligible under normal circumstances. However, logically speaking, dual cultivating with a low-level cultivator like Ning Fan shouldn't have granted her any progress at all. The mere fact that she was gaining anything was a qualitative miracle.

Furthermore, the Yin Yang Tower consisted of nine floors. The higher one ascended, the denser and more potent the Yin Yang Qi became. If they could harness the energy of the ninth floor...

Even with her current immense cultivation, she might actually achieve a massive breakthrough.

When viewed through that lens, the ancient jade truly represented an unimaginable fated chance-provided she was willing to repeatedly endure dual cultivation with Ning Fan.

"Dis... Disciple Ning Fan."

"Is it not over yet?"

Lingxu Fairy panted softly, her resolve beginning to falter under the continuous onslaught of the cultivation cycle.

"We still need a bit more time," Ning Fan replied honestly.

Lingxu Fairy could only close her eyes in resignation, allowing him to drive the cultivation forward.

Yet, right at that moment, the distinct sound of footsteps echoed from the distance.

A few sect disciples were walking slowly toward the very barrier where Ning Fan and Lingxu Fairy were hidden.

Ning Fan: "..."

Lingxu Fairy: "..."

No.

There was no way they were about to get caught, right!?

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