"Bai Jingjing! Save me!"
Seeing that his chastity was on the line, Pei Yuhang desperately cried out to his Sword Spirit, Bai Jingjing, for help.
But the answer he received was—
"I won't."
Bai Jingjing still wore a cold, icy poker face, but her bright eyes held the mocking glint of someone enjoying the show.
"According to our contract, I will only intervene when your life, or the lives of those around you, are threatened."
"But your life isn't in any danger right now~!
This Human Race woman's looks and figure are both Top Grade. Plus, her innate constitution, blessed with Natural Charm, is exceedingly rare even among the Fox Race... Performing the Dual Cultivation Method with a beauty like her just once would benefit both your body and your Cultivation. So why not enjoy it?"
Seeing Bai Jingjing's expression, clearly enjoying the spectacle, Pei Yuhang grew even more furious.
'That little brat really is useless. I can only rely on myself!'
Just as Shang Miaoyan was about to tear open his white robes, Pei Yuhang steeled his resolve and began to unleash the full force of the extreme Yang Fire within his body.
The temperature in the entire room skyrocketed. The frost that had condensed when Silence was drawn instantly melted into droplets of water, which then quickly evaporated.
A look of shock appeared on Shang Miaoyan's face as she watched the resolute Pei Yuhang. Her eyes turned scarlet, filled with madness.
"You're channeling Yang Fire to burn your own body?! Haha! Pei Yuhang, you'd threaten to kill yourself just to avoid dual cultivation with me!"
Shang Miaoyan let out a bitter laugh, then wrapped her hands around Pei Yuhang's neck. Her nails broke his skin, and crimson beads of blood trickled down her fair fingers.
"Why must you go this far?! We were so good together a hundred years ago, so happy...
Is it because of that crippled Dao Companion of yours? Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?! If I can't have you, I'll destroy you!"
Pei Yuhang looked at the scarlet fury in Shang Miaoyan's eyes. His own face, flushed red from the Yang Fire rampaging through his body, twisted into a disdainful sneer.
"The power... of pure love... You wouldn't understand..."
With that, he endured the agony of the Yang Fire immolating him from within, his determined gaze locked onto Shang Miaoyan.
He was making a bet—betting that Shang Miaoyan would back down when faced with his threat to kill himself.
Seconds ticked by. Shang Miaoyan remained in a suggestive position, straddling Pei Yuhang with her hands around his neck, their standoff continuing.
Gradually, the searing pain caused Pei Yuhang's consciousness to grow hazy. Tiny sparks began to seep from his skin, igniting the cotton fabric around him and allowing the flames to spread throughout the room...
Seeing Pei Yuhang's life force begin to fade away, bit by bit, Bai Jingjing finally realized she had taken things too far. She hurriedly prepared to wield Silence and rescue Pei Yuhang from beneath the Witch.
But just then, Shang Miaoyan, who had been choking Pei Yuhang, suddenly let go. Her body went limp, and she collapsed weakly onto him.
"You win."
Shang Miaoyan said, her voice hoarse.
Feeling the Cauldron Slave Mark on his forehead no longer controlling his body, Pei Yuhang didn't bother pushing away the beauty who felt as soft as jade against him. He closed his eyes and focused all his might on suppressing the rampaging Yang Fire and calming the chaotic Spiritual Qi within.
'It would be a cruel joke to drive Shang Miaoyan away only to die from self-immolation because I couldn't 'put out the fire' in time.'
Feeling the man beneath her burning like a furnace, Shang Miaoyan ultimately couldn't bear to let Pei Yuhang continue to suffer. She lifted his chin and kissed him.
Startled by the sudden ambush of a kiss, Pei Yuhang's eyes flew open.
But when he felt the Cold Primordial Qi being transferred to him through her lips, he realized Shang Miaoyan was helping him "put out the fire."
At this critical juncture, Pei Yuhang lacked the strength to push Shang Miaoyan away. He could only let the Witch kiss him deeply as she transferred cold Spiritual Qi into his body.
「Twenty minutes later.」
His complexion returned to normal, Pei Yuhang forcefully shoved the Witch off him, panting heavily.
As Shang Miaoyan's lips parted from his, they made a soft "POP~" sound. Pei Yuhang, thoroughly humiliated, covered his eyes with his arm, refusing to look at the Witch.
"Pfft~"
Seeing Pei Yuhang's staunchly virtuous act, Shang Miaoyan finally let out a laugh of exasperation.
She stood up, lifted her smooth, delicate foot, and placed it on Pei Yuhang's chest, which still held a residual, fiery warmth.
"Sword Immortal Pei, your 'virtue' is truly making Miaoyan see you in a new light," Shang Miaoyan said through gritted teeth.
"..."
When Pei Yuhang turned his head away from her, Shang Miaoyan deftly gripped his chin with her toes, forcing his head straight and making the Sword Immortal look directly into her eyes.
Pei Yuhang swatted her foot away in disgust, then said in a cold voice:
"Give up. I'm no longer the young Cauldron Slave you can manipulate. At worst, we'll perish together. It's nothing more than the death of my body and the dissipation of my Dao."
Shang Miaoyan narrowed her eyes, staring at Pei Yuhang's face in silence.
By now, the excitement of their reunion after a hundred years of separation had subsided, and she had recovered her senses.
Shang Miaoyan began to calmly consider how to bring this rebellious "little wolf pup" back to her side.
'Force him with the Demon-Planting Mark? But judging by what just happened, forcing the issue is impossible... '
'Brainwash his Divine Soul? Unacceptable... What she, Shang Miaoyan, wanted was a complete Pei Yuhang, not a soulless husk.'
To put it bluntly, she loved his stubborn, mule-like personality. From the first moment she saw him a hundred years ago, she had fallen in love. She loved his thirst for freedom, loved his resistance against her... She loved the sense of conquest and accomplishment that came from watching him resist her, his heart pining for his fiancée in the Mortal World, while his body was still forced to submit beneath her.
'If she could completely conquer a man like Pei Yuhang, to mold him, body and soul, into her own perfect shape...'
Shang Miaoyan believed she might even achieve Enlightenment Dao in a single stroke, forging a new path that no one in the ten-thousand-year history of the Yin Yang Sacred Land had ever trod.
What a pity she hadn't yet succeeded before that boy managed to escape!
'Wait... his fiancée...'
A smile touched Shang Miaoyan's lips. 'How could I have forgotten something so important?~'
A hundred years ago, Pei Yuhang had been just as defiant, willing to die rather than submit, until one time, in a fit of extreme anger, she happened to threaten his fiancée. Only then did the stubborn mule finally yield, obediently practicing the Dual Cultivation Method with her until she'd taken his virginity...
'The fiancée is gone now, but he has a Dao Companion~!'
'A crippled one, who failed at Crossing the Tribulation, no less!'
It was as if history were repeating itself.
Shang Miaoyan slowly lowered her head, her full red lips parting to release a demonic whisper.
"Sword Immortal Pei, after your Dao Companion became a cripple, her Dao Heart must be on the verge of shattering...
What do you think she would feel if she were to learn that her beloved man is merely a plaything for me, the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land, to enjoy day and night?"
"Righteous Fairies have such fragile, glass-like hearts that value purity above all else. This cruel truth would probably shatter your poor Dao Companion's Dao Heart completely, don't you think~!"
"Pei Yuhang, you wouldn't want your Dao Companion to find out about your unspeakable past, now would you?"