"Junior Brother, are you here at the Dan Yun Pavilion to ask for Spirit Stones and Elixir resources again?"
"Yes, I'm here to ask you, Senior Sister..."
"But I've already given you this month's resource share for your Cold Palace Sword Mansion, and even the next two months' worth.
Advancing resources ahead of time is already against procedure. For you to keep asking me for more, Junior Brother...
Even as an Elder of the Dan Yun Pavilion, it puts me in a very difficult position."
Lu Ruoxi spoke as if she were deeply troubled, but her eyes secretly swept up and down the otherworldly, handsome Junior Brother before her.
Who could have imagined that the once-famous Cold Sun Sword Immortal of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect would end up in such a sorry state?
'But... maybe this isn't such a bad thing.'
A smile played on Lu Ruoxi's glistening pink lips, and she unconsciously extended the tip of her tongue to lick her dry lips.
Pei Yuhang kept his head lowered, completely oblivious to the greedy look in the beautiful eyes of the senior sister he had known for a hundred years.
But despite his bitter expression, he had to swallow his pride and beg for the sake of his gravely injured Dao Companion.
"Senior Sister, Junior Sister Ye was gravely injured a few months ago when her cultivation went awry and she was on the verge of falling into demonhood. If we don't use a large amount of the Purest Spiritual Qi to heal her wounds soon, I'm afraid her entire Cultivation will be crippled..."
"Senior Sister, Junior Sister Ye and I have always respected you. I beg you to help us through this difficult time!"
Lu Ruoxi looked at Pei Yuhang's fingers, which had turned white from how tightly he was clenching them, and a flash of heartache crossed her eyes.
But it was overshadowed by a much stronger feeling: jealousy!
Mere cultivation resources were nothing. As a Great Alchemist renowned throughout the Cultivation Realm, her wealth was inexhaustible. In her eyes, solving Pei Yuhang's current predicament would take but a single word.
If Pei Yuhang himself had been the one who was gravely injured and needed a large quantity of Spiritual Objects to be healed, Lu Ruoxi wouldn't have even needed him to ask. She would have personally brought him the best Heaven and Earth Spirit Treasures.
But—
Pei Yuhang was doing all this for his Dao Companion, Ye Liyuan!
Lu Ruoxi was so jealous her Dao Heart was on the verge of shattering. Why did that girl get to have all the good things?
Fortuitous encounters... and men!
Even though Ye Liyuan was her own junior sister, ever since she and Pei Yuhang had become Dao Companions, she was the woman Lu Ruoxi hated most in this life.
It wasn't just because Ye Liyuan had stolen Pei Yuhang away... More than that, Lu Ruoxi felt that Ye Liyuan was unworthy of Junior Brother Pei.
'This woman will only hinder Junior Brother Pei's path on the Dao!'
'If it weren't for you, you dead weight, causing Junior Brother Pei to exhaust half his Cultivation and overdraw his own life force to heal you, he wouldn't have fallen from the Divinity Transformation stage to Early-stage Nascent Soul, losing his eligibility to compete for the position of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect's Saint Son.'
'How could I, Lu Ruoxi, possibly let you recover and continue to hold Junior Brother Pei back?'
'Only I... can support Junior Brother Pei on his Great Dao of fortune!'
At this thought, the Dao Fruits on Lu Ruoxi's chest, which her Daoist robes could barely conceal, heaved violently.
A captivating flush appeared on her face.
Lu Ruoxi stood up. With a sway of her long, slightly plump thighs clad in pale pink silk stockings, she moved in front of her handsome junior brother.
She extended a slender, delicate hand and placed it gently on Pei Yuhang's shoulder.
Pei Yuhang's brow furrowed slightly. His body shifted, but ultimately, he did not pull away.
"Senior Sister, what are you doing?"
"Junior Brother, your big sister here has recently hit a bottleneck in her cultivation. I really can't break through on my own."
Pei Yuhang felt the delicate hand on his shoulder stroking him restlessly, and a bad feeling welled up inside him.
He knew that ever since he had joined the sect, this senior sister had always been overly familiar with him... That was why, for the thirty years after he became Dao Companions with Junior Sister Ye, he had deliberately kept his distance from Senior Sister Lu.
It was only recently, with Junior Sister Ye's cultivation path on the verge of collapse, that he had no other choice but to swallow his pride and beg Senior Sister Lu for help.
It was a shameless act, but Pei Yuhang had no other choice.
Now, Senior Sister Lu was suddenly making a move on him...
Pei Yuhang took a deep breath. Touching the Engagement Ring Junior Sister Ye had given him, he suppressed his unease and said:
"If there's anything you need, Senior Sister, as long as it's something I can help with, I will do my absolute best!"
"After all, I've always seen you, Senior Sister, as one of my most respected elders, just like Master!"
When Lu Ruoxi heard Pei Yuhang's last sentence, her gentle expression turned cold.
It was as if a sudden downpour had broken through a clear summer sky.
She leaned in close to Pei Yuhang, her red lips brushing against his ear as she breathed out a stream of moist, hot, sweet air that tugged at his heart like the tender, soft hands of a baby.
"Are you using our old Master to admonish me, Junior Brother?
"You want my help, but you don't want to make me happy... You're really quite selfish, Junior Brother.
"Do you think I'm just a tool you can pick up and use at will?"
Pei Yuhang caught the rich, floral scent of elixirs wafting from Senior Sister Lu's body. He subconsciously swallowed, his gaze flickering away.
He had never thought of her that way, but his current actions were exactly as she had described...
"That's not what I meant."
"Then you're willing to help me with my cultivation~"
"You'll have to tell me specifically how I can help you with your cultivation, Senior Sister.
"If you're just missing a key ingredient for an Elixir, then even if it's the Great Demon Core from the depths of the North Sea, or a Heaven and Earth Lingzhi from the Celestial Mountain to the south, I would risk my life to get it for you."
Pei Yuhang said, steadying his mind, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
"Is that so? Your promise is very touching, Junior Brother... but I don't need any of that. As a Great Alchemist, there are plenty of powerful Cultivators who would love for me to owe them a favor."
"What you're offering holds no attraction for me."
Pei Yuhang fell silent. With his current Early-stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, he truly had nothing to offer that could interest Senior Sister Lu.
If his cultivation hadn't fallen, if he were still at the Divinity Transformation stage, perhaps there might have been a chance...
"I understand, Senior Sister. It was presumptuous of me to disturb you so suddenly. I'll take my leave..."
A soft, pink fingertip, fragrant with the scent of elixirs, suddenly reached out and pressed against Pei Yuhang's lips, stopping the words he was about to say.
"In such a hurry to leave, Junior Brother? Aren't you going to listen to my request? You don't need to go to the North Sea or South Mountain. It's very simple... In fact, you can fulfill it right here."
Lu Ruoxi said with a grin, her words suggesting she already had Pei Yuhang wrapped around her finger.
"The things that are free are always the most expensive... What you want, Senior Sister, I may not be able to afford." A sad look appeared in Pei Yuhang's eyes.
"You haven't even heard what it is, Junior Brother. How do you know you can't afford it?"
"You don't need to say it, Senior Sister." Pei Yuhang's fingers, tracing his Engagement Ring, turned white.
"Is it that you don't want to hear it... or that you don't dare to?"
"..."
"Junior Brother, your constitution is the supreme Giant Sun Saint Body. The Innate Giant Yang Divine Fire it contains is so powerful that you have to constantly cultivate a Cold Attribute Heart Method just to suppress it."
"But besides calming your heart with the Heart Method, Yin Yang Sympathy to vent the Evil Yang Fire is absolutely essential."
"Junior Sister Ye is gravely injured now. I imagine it's been a long time since you've engaged in Yin Yang Sympathy, right? After all, in her current state, she can't possibly handle the Giant Sun's..."
Lu Ruoxi watched Pei Yuhang's expression grow more and more pained, but she had no intention of stopping.
Her fingers traced circles on Pei Yuhang's chest as she continued slowly:
"Junior Brother Pei, the Giant Sun Saint Body requires you to vent the Evil Yang Fire daily to avoid the agony of being immolated from within. Otherwise, it will give rise to a Heart Demon in your Dao Heart... You must have been suffering for quite some time, haven't you?"
"Coincidentally, I am at a critical juncture in breaking through a bottleneck and need the assistance of the most potent Yang Fire.
"Perhaps we could... exchange experiences and complement each other's Great Dao Cultivation!"
Pei Yuhang's expression changed drastically at her words.
"Senior Sister, please forgive me, but I cannot obey!"
Faced with his beautiful senior sister's seemingly tempting proposal, Pei Yuhang refused decisively without a shred of hesitation.
After speaking, the famous male Sword Immortal of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect turned to leave.
Just then, Lu Ruoxi suddenly manipulated her Spiritual Qi, causing a Jiezhi Storage Ring to hover in front of Pei Yuhang.
"There are fifty thousand Spirit Stones in here, equivalent to a month's worth of provisions for your Cold Palace Sword Mansion. Consider it a personal gift from me."
"Don't worry, you don't have to give me anything in return for this little bit of money, Junior Brother."
"..."
Pei Yuhang was silent for a moment. Faced with his desperate reality, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to refuse the money. He accepted the Jiezhi Storage Ring.
The Jiezhi Storage Ring felt cool and smooth to the touch, but to him, it burned like a hot coal.
Seeing Pei Yuhang accept the Jiezhi Storage Ring, Lu Ruoxi nodded in satisfaction.
'A junior brother who wants to refuse but doesn't dare to speak up is surprisingly cute~!'
Lu Ruoxi watched Pei Yuhang's straight, sword-like back, suppressed the impulse in her heart, and continued,
"Junior Brother, I'll give you some time to think it over... Believe me, in this entire Xuanyuan Dao Sect, I am the only one who truly wants to help you.
Relying on this little bit of money won't solve the root of the problem. You borrowed from me today, but in a couple of days, will you have to go borrow from the Third Junior Sister?
And after her, will you have to go beg some other Elder?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just let me take care of all of Junior Sister Ye's matters for you, once and for all...
"You really should think about it, Junior Brother~!"