Tang Dou and Yue Jinxuan quickly arrived at the secret chamber Xiaoxiao had mentioned, and saw a deep underground river flowing quietly ahead.
Tang Dou urged eagerly, "Hurry! Let's swim out along this river!"
Before his voice faded, the two of them jumped into the river and swam hard toward the exit.
The current was turbulent, and amidst the pitch darkness, they finally spotted light filtering in from ahead.
They climbed ashore one after the other, and Tang Dou looked around vigilantly.
"This place is not far from that demonic serpent," he said. "We must leave quickly to prevent it from catching up!"
Yue Jinxuan nodded and followed closely behind Tang Dou.
The two of them hurried along the way.
Suddenly, Yue Jinxuan's gaze was caught by a plant—a spirit grass growing in the crevice of a rock, its leaves emerald green and emitting a faint glow.
Yue Jinxuan stopped in her tracks, reached out to pluck the spirit grass, and then waved excitedly.
"Senior Brother, I found the Fat-Reducing Spirit Leaf!"
Hearing her call, Tang Dou bounded over to her side in a few leaps.
"Really? Junior Sister, you're amazing!"
Afterward, they headed straight back to Yue Jinxuan's Cave Abode.
As soon as they stepped inside, Yue Jinxuan eagerly walked toward a clear spring deep within the Cave Abode.
She gently untied her robes, and her pink dress slowly slipped to the ground.
Then—
Yue Jinxuan lightly stepped into the pool.
Her waist was slender yet full of resilience, swaying gently with the water.
Her pair of long, perfect legs cut graceful arcs through the water.
Her hair fanned out in the water, swaying gently with the current, sometimes gathering together, sometimes scattering apart.
At the same time—
Tang Dou sat obediently on a stone stool outside the Cave Abode, hugging his knees, his eyes darting toward the cave entrance from time to time.
Finally, Yue Jinxuan emerged from the pool, having changed into a white dress.
She gently dried her hair and softly called out Tang Dou's name.
Hearing her voice, Tang Dou ran happily into the Cave Abode and asked impatiently,
"Junior Sister, can you help me refine the pills now?"
Yue Jinxuan smiled slightly and said, "We'll start refining right away."
With that, she walked gracefully to the Alchemy Furnace, sat down, and took out various medicinal herbs from her Storage Bag.
Yue Jinxuan formed hand seals rapidly, and a mysterious energy surged from within her body, purifying the impurities in the herbs.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she tossed the herbs into the Alchemy Furnace one by one.
Immediately after, she drove the flames.
Just as Yue Jinxuan was fully focused on condensing the essence and preparing to shape the pills, her expression suddenly turned abnormally panicked.
She leaped to her feet, grabbed Tang Dou, and bolted wildly toward the exit of the Cave Abode, crying out in alarm,
"Run!!"
Before her voice faded, a heaven-shaking "bang" echoed.
The Alchemy Furnace burst apart violently, the powerful shockwave knocking the two of them to the ground as dust and debris flew everywhere.
They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Yue Jinxuan got up and walked back into the Cave Abode to clean up the wreckage of the Alchemy Furnace.
Then—
She took a brand-new Alchemy Furnace from her Storage Ring and plunged once more into the pill-refining process.
She skillfully controlled the heat and observed the changes in the medicinal pills...
As time passed, a medicinal fragrance drifted from the Alchemy Furnace.
A smile curved the corner of Yue Jinxuan's mouth; this refining process had gone exceptionally smoothly.
Finally, accompanied by a soft "ding" sound, the lid of the Alchemy Furnace slowly opened.
Tang Dou hurried forward.
Five round, smooth medicinal pills lay quietly inside the furnace. Yue Jinxuan reached out, took the pills, and handed them to Tang Dou.
Taking the pills, Tang Dou examined them closely.
"Wah, Jinxuan, your alchemy skills are truly exquisite!"
"The luster of these pills is simply intoxicatingly beautiful!"
Before his voice had even faded, he impatiently grabbed one of the pills and popped it gently into his mouth.
The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, and a warm current quickly spread through Tang Dou's entire body.
His originally bloated body began to change, gradually growing slender and well-proportioned.
Tang Dou was over the moon with joy!!
From time to time, he lowered his head to look at his palms or gazed at his belly, his eyes brimming with delight.
However—
What he hadn't expected was that as his body thinned down, his trousers suddenly became loose and ended up sliding to the ground.
This scene came so abruptly that it left Tang Dou somewhat at a loss.
What is going on?!
How did my trousers just drop by themselves?!
Tang Dou's face was full of question marks!!
Yue Jinxuan was watching the changes in his body with rapt attention.
"Clatter!"
Hearing the sound, she jerked her head up, and the sight before her made her face flush crimson instantly.
Tang Dou's trousers had already slipped down to his ankles.
"Ah-ah!"
Yue Jinxuan let out a shrill shriek.
She hurriedly covered her eyes and turned around, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz:
"Senior Brother, you..."
"You should put on some clothes first."
Behind her, Tang Dou wore an expression of utter embarrassment.
He stammered a reply and clumsily picked up the trousers from the floor.
His fingers trembled with tension!!
The wide trouser legs seemed to deliberately go against him, and after several attempts, he still failed to put them on.
Damn it—
Tang Dou felt like crying!!
He felt as though ten thousand startled fawns were rampaging in his chest!!
Sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped onto the floor, making a tiny sound.
Yue Jinxuan stood with her back to Tang Dou, her heart beating like a battle drum.
Her toes were gripping the ground so hard they were almost cramping!
Finally—
Through Tang Dou's strenuous efforts, he managed to pull the trousers on.
Though they still looked somewhat baggy, they at least covered his private parts.
Uh...
It was just like...
A little kid wearing a giant balloon!!
Tang Dou took a deep breath, struggled to calm his emotions, and said softly,
"Alright, Jinxuan, you can turn around now."
Hearing this, Yue Jinxuan slowly turned around, her gaze meeting his in mid-air.
Tang Dou broke the silence first.
He fished out Spirit Stones from his tunic, handed them to Yue Jinxuan, and spoke awkwardly,
"Jinxuan, take these twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones for now. If it's not enough, I'll make up the rest later."
"I'm going to go change into a fitting set of clothes."
Without waiting for Yue Jinxuan's reply, he scurried toward the door like a frightened rabbit.
However, fate did not seem ready to let him off so easily.
At the very moment he was about to step across the threshold,
Tang Dou's foot caught on something, and he stumbled forward headlong.