The weightless sensation of falling at extreme speed plunged Luoyu into a brief faint, and the bone-chilling cold yanked her consciousness back. The Demonic Qi had already penetrated deep into her marrow.
Cold. So cold.
A moment later, scorching flames enveloped her, and her flesh began to melt. Had the Demonic Qi entrenched in her body not fused into her bones and blood, this physical form would likely have turned to wisps of smoke before even touching the fire. The talisman in her hand also ignited, and a pale yellow glow supported Luoyu as she descended to the bottom of the cavern.
The Glazed Pure Fire suspended in the center of the cavern had now shrunk to the size of a palm. Originally trapped here for hundreds of thousands of years, it had just erupted once more; although most of the Demonic Qi within the cavern had been purified, it was now exceptionally weak as well.
The Spiritual Power around Luoyu was frozen by the Demonic Qi, and she instinctively walked toward the Glazed Pure Fire, which emanated warmth.
Sensing someone approaching, the flame of the Glazed Pure Fire darted about reluctantly. Wisps of Demonic Qi were steamed out of Luoyu's body, and her freed Nascent Soul hurriedly spat out a breath of monster beast fire to resist the scorching heat of the Glazed Pure Fire.
Acting like a gluttonous Taotie that had discovered a delicacy, the Glazed Pure Fire plunged like a streak of light into Luoyu's Nascent Soul. After devouring that cluster of monster beast fire, the palm-sized flame expanded by more than double, and the abruptly rising temperature instantly woke Luoyu up.
Her Nascent Soul had already been burned into a piece of humanoid charcoal, and the rampant flames darted about wildly. Everywhere inside her body was charred black. Unable to care about much else, Luoyu welcomed all of it into her body, regardless of whether it was Demonic Qi or Spiritual Power.
The once arrogant Glazed Pure Fire instantly became docile, purifying the Demonic Qi pouring into the Nascent Soul one by one, transforming it into Spiritual Power, and slowly repairing her riddled body.
I do not know how much time passed before the Glazed Pure Fire finally settled quietly within the Nascent Soul. The warmth exuded between each inhalation and exhalation made Luoyu feel supremely comfortable.
A beast-like, hoarse roar suddenly resounded within the dead-silent cavern.
Luoyu probed with her Divine Sense, but found nothing besides Demonic Qi.
A muffled groan sounded again. Luoyu waved her hand casually, and a cluster of deep blue Glazed Pure Fire suspended in the air, illuminating the entire cavern.
At the edge of the cavern, a pair of scarlet, bloodthirsty eyes stared fixedly at Luoyu, backing away with a hunched back, poised to strike.
"Liangchen?"
Luoyu looked at the face hiding in the dark. It was Liangchen without a doubt, but at this moment, his whole body radiated Demonic Qi, and his eyes were blood-red. Hearing Luoyu's call, his neck turned stiffly. The next second, his mouth widened to an unimaginable degree, and with a roar, he lunged straight at Luoyu.
Liangchen tackled Luoyu to the ground, a pair of hands pressing down hard on her arms, and bit directly toward the blood vessels in her neck.
"Liangchen!"
Luoyu cried out in alarm, yet Liangchen was completely unconscious, no different from a monster beast hunting for food.
With no other alternative, Luoyu could only urge the Glazed Pure Fire, wrapping her entire body in a layer of deep blue flames.
Liangchen could not bite down, but he refused to let go of the food right at his mouth either. Even though the hands pressing down on Luoyu's were burned until wisps of smoke rose, they still confronted each other, locked in a stalemate.
Looking at Liangchen's charred hands, Luoyu simply could not bear it and drew the flames back into her body. During the course of the confrontation, the Demonic Qi within Liangchen had been scattered quite a bit, and his consciousness had returned a fraction.
Cold. So cold.
The thing pressed beneath him was so warm, so soft.
Liangchen curled Luoyu into a ball and pulled her tightly into his embrace. Luoyu struggled several times but could not break free, only managing to straighten her head, which had been hanging upside down between Liangchen's legs.
Warm breath brushed across his chest. Liangchen pinched Luoyu's chin and bit down straight into the gushing current of warmth.
Luoyu shivered. She couldn't do this! She knew that Liangchen only had Fan Ni in his heart; if things went on like this, how would they face each other in the future!
A pair of hands pressed hard against Liangchen's chest, desperately trying to avoid his entangling lips and tongue. Yet at this moment, Liangchen was like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a life-saving straw, tyrannically imprisoning Luoyu in his embrace. One large hand locked down her hands pressed against his chest, while the other hand wrapped around her armpit to support the back of her head. His domineering tongue pried open Luoyu's lips and teeth, greedily sucking on the alluring warmth.
Luoyu blended a trace of flame into her Spiritual Power and passed it into Liangchen's mouth. The chill inside his body largely dissipated. He let out a groan of comfort, his violent movements also softening as he captured Luoyu's warm, soft little tongue and slowly sucked on it.
"Ni'er, Ni'er."
The soft murmurs beside her ear instantly extinguished the warmth rising in the depths of Luoyu's heart, and tears fell unfilially. Although she knew that someone else resided in his heart, probably no woman could tolerate the person rubbing cheek-to-cheek with her calling someone else's name—and that person being the ruthless woman who had cast her down into the abyss.
"Liangchen, I am Luoyu."
Liangchen released his grip as if electrocuted, and Luoyu fell from his arms onto the rock. The tear tracks in her eyes had not yet dried. Without saying another word, she propped up her body, walked to the edge of the cavern, and sat down against the rock wall.
"Luoyu, I..."
"I'm sorry."
Luoyu did not make any response, holding her knees with both hands. After a long while, she asked faintly:
"Are you feeling better?"
"Mm, I'm much better."
"Then let's go out!"
Liangchen internally inspected his physical condition and said somewhat awkwardly:
"I can't use my Spiritual Power. If I use Demonic Qi, I'm afraid I'll lose my mind again."
"Lend me your flying magical artifact."
Liangchen hurriedly took out the clear willow leaf. Luoyu activated the magical artifact and carried Liangchen all the way upward, but at the exit, they collided with a transparent barrier.
"It's Fan Ni's sixth-grade array disc. Can you break it?"
Liangchen shook his head. Not to mention that his Spiritual Power was currently frozen, even at his peak, wanting to break this array disc would require attacking the weakest part of the formation, and that part was outside the cavern entrance.
When Fan Ni was dragged away from this place by Fu Yuanbo, the Glazed Pure Fire behind her looked as though it was about to burn her. Yet Fu Yuanbo paid it no heed, leaving her with no choice but to seal the cavern entrance to trade for a sliver of survival for herself. This move was not intentionally meant to trap Liangchen and Luoyu to death; she had never thought the two of them could survive either, or rather, their lives were not as precious as a sixth-grade array disc.
The two returned to the bottom of the cavern once more, and Liangchen asked in puzzlement:
"Why are you in this place?"
"Your fiancée pushed me down."
Liangchen did not even know what he ought to say. His first reaction was disbelief, but a voice deep within his heart told him firmly: it must be so. Otherwise, Junior Brother Fu would not have abandoned Luoyu and instead taken a heavily injured Fan Ni away.
A trace of bitterness grew in Liangchen's heart, and more than once he asked himself: did he really love the right person?