Luoyu felt as though she had been having a long, lingering dream in which Liangchen called her name over and over, alongside visions of their naked bodies intertwined. A dull ache still lingered between her legs, reminding her that this was no dream.
Looking at the tightly furrowed brows of the woman in his arms, Liangchen inwardly regretted being so heavy-handed yesterday. He placed a palm over Luoyu's lower abdomen, channeling a stream of pure Spiritual Power over and over again to soothe her pain.
He felt no remorse. When he recalled his past affairs with Fan Ni, they now seemed utterly superficial. Firstly, there was the bond of their childhood friendship; secondly, their union would consolidate his relationship with the Alchemy Sect; thirdly, Fan Ni was bright and captivating. Yet he hated himself for never having noticed the filthy heart hidden beneath her glamorous exterior.
Luoyu was different. Though she seemed gentle and easy to bully, her heart was resolute and calm. Her true beauty could only be truly appreciated by someone by her side.
"You're awake."
Luoyu did not speak, nor did she know what to say, her empty gaze fixed on the distance.
"Does it still hurt?"
"Brother Liangchen, I will treat yesterday's events as if nothing happened. There were circumstances beyond our control; I won't blame you, and you needn't feel guilty."
"You should call me husband."
Luoyu looked into his eyes, where the tenderness of melting snow now resided.
"Not just because you are already my woman, but because I truly adore you from the bottom of my heart."
"I, Liangchen, swear by my Inner Demons: for the rest of my life, I will love Luoyu and Luoyu alone! If I break this oath, may my body and soul be destroyed, and may I be reduced to ashes and dust!"
Hearing his vow, Luoyu felt a tingling warmth in her heart. A strange new emotion sprouted from the depths of her soul, growing in a luxuriant frenzy.
Is this what love is?
Luoyu did not know. In all her life, she had barely interacted with a handful of men, and Liangchen truly was the only one who could stir her heart.
"Do I need to swear an Inner Demon oath as well?"
Liangchen affectionately flicked the tip of her delicate nose.
"You silly girl, all you need to do is rest easy and accept my pampering."
"Then what about Senior Sister..."
"You needn't trouble yourself with that. Husband here is, after all, the successor to the Sect Leader of the Canglan Sect. If they still refuse to allow it, we will simply become a carefree pair of rogue cultivators. Come, call me husband—I want to hear it."
"H-H-Husband..."
Looking at Luoyu, who was shy and bashful with cheeks like peach blossoms, Liangchen was overcome with emotion and kissed her lips passionately.
"Luoyu, your husband wants you again."
Dazed, Luoyu let him lead her once more to wander among the highest peaks of the clouds...
Half a day later, Liangchen meticulously wiped down Luoyu's body.
"You've worked hard, my wife."
Blushing furiously, Luoyu buried her head in the crook of Liangchen's arm. The lingering charm at the corners of her eyes had not yet faded, stirring another wave of temptation in Liangchen.
Sensing the change in his body, Luoyu hurriedly dressed herself, terrified that a moment's hesitation would lead to being ravished again.
A smile danced across Liangchen's eyes as he watched Luoyu's hurried little movements, utterly satisfied.
"The Secret Realm is about to close. I need to absorb a bit more Demonic Qi."
"No! What if you fall into demonic corruption again?"
Smiling without a word, Liangchen directly summoned his Nascent Soul. The miniature version of Liangchen was half pure gold and half pitch-black Demonic Qi.
"How can this be?"
"It must be related to your Yin blood, Wife, which contains the Glazed Pure Fire. Your husband can now cultivate both spiritual and demonic paths simultaneously, though I only hope we can bypass the test of the Truth-Revealing Stone."
Liangchen's expression was grave. The Demonic Qi in this Secret Realm was dense, and everyone leaving the realm was required to use the Truth-Revealing Stone to test whether they had fallen into demonic corruption. Given his current state, he was probably no different from a supreme demon lord. Just to be safe, he had to make himself strong; if his demonic nature were truly detected, he would at least be able to take Luoyu and flee together.
Luoyu concurred wholeheartedly. It was impossible to elevate her realm in such a short time, but with the blessing of the Glazed Pure Fire, she could certainly refine her fire-attribute arts further.
When night fell, the rustling sounds began once more. Drawing on their previous experience, the two of them climbed straight onto the Purifying Willow Leaf and began meditating and cultivating where the passage was relatively smooth.
Five days later, both simultaneously felt the Secret Realm begin to contract and compress; it seemed the month was up.
Liangchen pulled Luoyu tightly against his waist. After a dizzying spin through the heavens and earth, a blinding glare of sunlight made it impossible for them to open their eyes.
"Has Senior Nephew Liang made any gains? And who is this young girl?"
After adjusting slightly, Liangchen saw that the newcomer was an Enforcing Elder of the Cloud Storm Sect.
"Greetings, Elder Qiu. This is Luoyu, the seventh disciple under Sect Leader Fan of the Alchemy Sect."
"Greetings, Elder Qiu." Luoyu saluted alongside Liangchen.
"Good, good, good. I heard the Alchemy Sect produced a genius—this must be her, little friend?"
"You flatter me, Elder. It is indeed this junior."
"Not bad, not bad. The Cloud Storm Sect has quite a few disciples of your age; feel free to visit more often when you have time, spar with one another, and make progress together."
"Yes, this junior will certainly obey."
Qiu Shuqian looked at Luoyu with satisfaction. This young girl had a boundless future ahead of her—at least she was far better than that old fox Fan Guangchuan.
"This old man will be waiting for little friend Luoyu, so don't forget. Come, let's have a drop of blood."
Qiu Shuqian produced two fist-sized black stones and handed them to the two of them respectively.
"Elder Qiu, surely this isn't necessary? Anyone who has just fallen into demonic corruption will have bloodshot eyes and a tyrannical temperament; the two of us show not the slightest abnormality."
"Brat! This is this old man's duty, don't stall!"
"I'll go first." Looking anxiously at Liangchen, Luoyu tried to buy as much time as possible, praying for a miraculous turn of events. Unfortunately, things did not go as she wished; no matter how much Luoyu stalled, it bought no more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
Liangchen patted the back of her hand, signaling her to play it by ear.
Qiu Shuqian was at the Void Training mid-stage, two major realms higher than him, and Liangchen had no confidence in being able to escape. Yet sitting idly and waiting for death was out of the question.
Liangchen's blood fell upon the Truth-Revealing Stone. In an instant, a brilliant blue light burst forth. Just as he thought he had narrowly escaped, the blue light rapidly faded, and the Truth-Revealing Stone flared with a blinding red light before shattering with a loud *bang*.
In the distance, several sect leaders staring at the map underwent drastic changes in expression. Wan Rentu, the Sect Leader of the Myriad Swords Sect, immediately covered the exit of the Secret Realm with his spiritual sense.
"Everyone, gather in the southwest direction! Do not let the demon escape!"
His majestic voice echoed through the heavens with a ringing resonance. Qiu Shuqian struck out with a palm, and a pale-gold palm print grew rapidly in the wind, blocking their path.
Having already run several hundred meters away, Liangchen and Luoyu had no choice but to halt their flight and dash in another direction.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
With a fierce roar from Qiu Shuqian, his spiritual sense crushed down. Liangchen let out a muffled groan and plummeted from mid-air, coughing up blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs.
Luoyu fared somewhat better than Liangchen. Firstly, because her spiritual sense was formidable, and secondly because Qiu Shuqian had no intention of harming her; she was only caught in the aftermath because she was too close to Liangchen.
Feeding Liangchen a medicinal pill, Luoyu deployed a flurry of golden needles to heal his injuries, then quietly stuffed her own storage ring into his embrace.
Having done all this, Luoyu stood up and formed hand seals. Encapsulated within the red light needles condensed from her spiritual sense was a faint layer of blue light—a brand-new technique she had recently invented by combining her inherited arts with the Glazed Pure Fire. She hoped it would buy Liangchen a moment of breathing room.
The tiny light needles drifted leisurely forward. Qiu Shuqian suddenly felt his sea of consciousness shake, as if something were tearing apart his brain, accompanied by a scorching pain from the depths of his soul that felt world-destroying, as though it would burn everything to ashes.
Withdrawing his spiritual sense, Qiu Shuqian felt his vision go black as he pitched headfirst into the ground and lost consciousness.