Ju Zi carefully dried Xu Zihuang's body, her hands gently touching every inch of his skin.
Afterward, she attentively took out dry and clean bedding from her storage soul tool and moved Xu Zihuang into it.
Clearly forced into such a desperate situation by that terrifying giant whale, yet right now, she felt a surge of relief.
Relief that both she and Yu Tianhuang were still alive, relief that she could once again have Yu Tianhuang all to herself for a longer time.
However, Ju Zi also knew that the most important matter at present was ensuring their safety. Taking a deep breath, she quickly stepped out of the tent. The orange-red bracelet on her right wrist flashed with light as she took out soul tools one after another, setting up a defensive perimeter around them.
Among them were several detection soul tools newly developed by the Sun Moon Empire's Illustrious Virtue Hall. If any soul beast or uninvited guest approached, these detection soul tools would immediately sound an alarm.
Moreover, these detection soul tools utilized sealed milk bottle technology. They did not require a soul master to infuse soul power; they could operate entirely on the soul power stored in the sealed milk bottles, capable of continuous operation for at least a month.
The sealed milk bottle technology had finally been conquered by Xuan Ziwen. Once conquered, Illustrious Virtue Hall began attempting to integrate it with certain soul tools.
The most successful integration was with these detection soul tools.
These were absolute secrets; the Sun Moon Empire had not revealed even a hint of them to the outside world. Ju Zi, due to her special status, was able to access them in advance.
These detection soul tools had originally been prepared by Ju Zi to deal with the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group. Now, they were perfectly put to use here.
After finishing this, Ju Zi returned to the tent, extended her right hand, and gently caressed Xu Zihuang's cheek with tender eyes.
"Tianhuang, this is already the third time you've saved me."
When she had fainted earlier, she had seen Yu Tianhuang use his head soul bone skill to release that silver crystal. Although she did not know what happened afterward, she was certain that it must have been Yu Tianhuang who carried her to safety.
If it hadn't been for Yu Tianhuang protecting her, how could she have remained unharmed?
Before she turned twenty, there had been only one man in her heart: her father, the one who had given her a wonderful childhood but whose life had been taken by war. And now, Yu Tianhuang's figure had unknowingly slipped into her heart.
Touching Xu Zihuang's body, which had become ice-cold, Ju Zi snapped out of her daze. Without any hesitation, she slipped into the bedding.
Piece by piece, she removed her clothing, pressing closely against Xu Zihuang, trying to warm his body with her own body heat.
"Sigh—what a good girl."
Within Xu Zihuang's mental sea, Tianmeng sighed with deep emotion. Before Ju Zi made her move, it had deliberately withdrawn its extended mental power from inside the leather tent. Sensing the activity in the nearby sea area, it smacked its lips somewhat sourly.
"Who knows when this bro will get to cuddle up with Bingbing like that?"
Compared to when he had used the golden-level innate body martial soul second awakening during the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Competition, this time Xu Zihuang's backlash was far more severe.
He remained unconscious for a full half month. During this half month, Ju Zi had cared for him intimately the entire time.
They had encountered several attacks from sea soul beasts along the way, but fortunately, those soul beasts were not strong and were easily repelled by Ju Zi using soul tools. Judging comprehensively from the cultivation levels of those soul beasts, it seemed they had already left the deep sea area.
Above a vast, boundless golden sea, a beam of light slowly emerged. It was the projection of Xu Zihuang's consciousness within his mental sea.
As his consciousness returned, the confusion in his deep purple eyes faded, restoring their original brilliance. Looking around his mental sea, he found that the previously collapsing mental sea had once again become stable.
Xu Zihuang was not surprised, for everything was within his expectations.
With a mental-attribute soul core seated in his brow, as long as the mental sea did not collapse instantly, it could generally repair itself.
"Zihuang?! You've finally regained consciousness."Tianmeng's surprised voice rang out from all directions. Immediately afterward, the golden sea surged, and specks of golden light floated up, forming its body.
Its hundred-meter-long plump white body wriggled, raising its chubby head. Its glittering golden little eyes revealed a trace of anthropomorphic excitement.
Xu Zihuang smiled faintly, landing on Tianmeng's head, his emotions filled with gratitude.
"Tianmeng, I've troubled you during this time."
"Actually, this bro didn't do much." Tianmeng shook its head, embarrassed, and sighed softly.
"I'll transmit the events that happened while you were unconscious to you in images."
As it spoke, a mass of golden light separated from Tianmeng's body and merged into Xu Zihuang's brow.
Scene after scene flashed rapidly through Xu Zihuang's mind like a revolving lantern.
First was the silver-scaled white whale that had brought them to this massive reef, followed by Ju Zi's meticulous care for him, and the process of the Gold of Living Creatures in his second sea of consciousness, replenishing his vitality.
With the nourishment from the Gold of Living Creatures, both his body and mental sea had fully recovered.
Tianmeng had remained awake the entire time and casually recorded these scenes.
"Zihuang, your body and mental sea are fine now. However, your injured soul will still need some time to recover. Fortunately, your mental power has reached the tangible and qualitative realm, making your soul relatively stable, so the consequences weren't too severe. In the future, try to use the Soul Barrier skill as little as possible. This soul skill is strong, but the risks are also quite high."
Listening to Tianmeng's advice, Xu Zihuang helplessly shook his head.
"Tianmeng, you've overlooked a very important point. That is, I only use this soul bone skill when I'm on the brink of death. Since I've reached that point, do you think I'd still consider those risks?"
"Moreover, this soul skill is actually more powerful than you imagine. Among all attributes, only the lightning attribute and the destruction attribute can counter the soul power within the soul barrier, and those happen to be the two attributes possessed by my second martial soul, the Purple Inferno Thunder Prison Dragon. In this world, I believe no human soul master or soul beast can surpass me in these two attributes. The reason I suffered such a great loss against that Deep Sea Demon Whale before was purely that the difference in our cultivation levels was too vast."
"Now that you put it that way, Zihuang, it really is true."Tianmeng was stunned for a moment, then nodded in deep agreement.
"I could feel that guy's cultivation was almost comparable to that bastard Di Tian."
Xu Zihuang smiled noncommittally, involuntarily recalling the scenes he had seen when using his martial soul true body.
But the specifics would require him to verify in the future.
At this moment, as if remembering something, Tianmeng smirked mischievously: "Ahem, that's all for now. Zihuang, this bro won't disturb your good time. Going to sleep. Anyway, now that your consciousness has returned, you can mobilize the mental power in your mental sea, so self-preservation shouldn't be an issue. You won't need this bro anymore."
With that, Tianmeng's massive body turned into specks of light and submerged into the mental sea.
Xu Zihuang's consciousness also returned to his body, regaining control over it.
The first of his five senses to return was touch; he felt a warm, fragrant, and soft jade in his embrace.
His eyes opened and closed. Xu Zihuang's gaze shifted upward, meeting a stunningly beautiful face that carried a trace of weariness. Her fair, tender skin still had a crystalline, translucent quality even in the dimly lit tent, moist and radiant.
"Ju Zi." Xu Zihuang murmured, his eyes carrying an inexplicable emotion.
Ju Zi's eyes were closed, but she had actually remained awake the entire time. After all, it was too dangerous on the sea; she had to stay vigilant at all moments. Hearing Xu Zihuang's murmur, she suddenly opened her eyes, her long eyelashes brushing across Xu Zihuang's forehead.
Their gazes met at this moment. The joy in Ju Zi's eyes was even greater than that of Tianmeng earlier.
"Tianhuang, you're awake?!"
"Mm." Xu Zihuang responded softly. He tried to sit up but found he could not control his body or mobilize the soul power within it.
Realizing what was happening, he understood this was the effect of his soul injury—his consciousness and body were out of sync.
What he could currently control was only the mental power in his mental sea and the second sea of consciousness. However, as Tianmeng had said, merely mobilizing the vast mental power from these two seas of consciousness was enough for self-preservation in this sea area.
Seeing Xu Zihuang's brows slightly furrowed, Ju Zi quickly hugged him tighter and asked anxiously, "Tianhuang, what's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
This time, the unusual sensation from their skin friction was even clearer. Only now did Xu Zihuang realize that inside the bedding, Ju Zi was completely naked.
"Ju Zi, I'm fine. It's just that I temporarily can't control my body. It'll be better after some time."
Xu Zihuang's voice sounded somewhat unnatural. He truly could not control his body right now, but his body's instinctive reactions were still present and even stronger. The most fatal part was that he, too, was completely bare.
"Then don't force yourself; don't move recklessly. I'll go prepare breakfast. You just focus on recovering during this time." Ju Zi breathed a slight sigh of relief, got up, and slipped out of the bedding. Turning her back to Xu Zihuang without any concern, she began dressing herself, her crouched, delicate figure revealing perfect curves.
Completely unmindful of Xu Zihuang's gaze.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Ju Zi returned. She held a bowl of steaming meat porridge in her hands.
She scooped some with a spoon, blew on it near her lips, and fed it into Xu Zihuang's mouth.
However, Ju Zi soon discovered that Yu Tianhuang seemed to have difficulty even swallowing. Without hesitation, and under Xu Zihuang's gaze, she first sipped the porridge herself, then leaned in close.
In this even more intimate manner, she assisted Xu Zihuang in eating.
Noticing the unusual look in Xu Zihuang's eyes, Ju Zi paused her actions and smiled gently.
"What's wrong, Tianhuang? When you were unconscious before, this is how I fed you every time."
"Thank you, Ju Zi."
Xu Zihuang naturally knew this; he had seen it all in the memories transmitted by Tianmeng. It was precisely because of this that he felt touched.
Ju Zi was slightly stunned, gazing at Xu Zihuang. The tenderness in her beautiful eyes did not diminish, but she said nothing more. She simply continued feeding him several bowls of meat porridge in repetition, her dark eyes filled with deep affection, extremely patient and considerate.
On this reef, the two spent a period of peaceful days isolated from the world.
Another half month passed, and Xu Zihuang had essentially fully recovered. Ju Zi also knew that the happy time she was immersed in was about to end; afterward, she would have to return to that place.
The bonfire flickered with the sea breeze, the scattered sparks dissipating in the wind.
Xu Zihuang and Ju Zi sat embracing on a protruding rock, their faces close, breaths mingling. Passionate and lost in the moment.
As night faded and dawn broke, bathed in a brilliant golden light, the two stopped their actions and gazed toward the east.
"Let's go." Xu Zihuang rose while holding Ju Zi. The Demon Whale was anchored in the sea area right in front of them.
And the destination of their journey was Moon Pivot Island.
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