The change in the green-gowned beauty's demeanor made Zheng Xingfan even more certain that this woman was not as frigid as she appeared on the surface, aligning with the information he had gathered. The fire in his chest burned even hotter.
"Then there's no need to rush back. The men below have already been deployed. Going back now would just mean finding a place to sit cross-legged and meditate..."
"Senior Brother Zheng, you... what are you... what... not here... you can't... mmmph..."
The green-gowned beauty's voice suddenly became flustered. But before she could finish her sentence, her mouth seemed to be muffled by something, and she could only let out a series of indistinct sounds.
Next, Li Yan heard a series of heavy pants reach his ears...
Li Yan was dumbfounded. He was a young man now and knew of such matters, but just a moment ago, the woman had said, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child?" Now, so quickly, it seemed she was only putting up a token resistance.
In fact, it wasn't just Li Yan; even Zheng Xingfan inside the cave had only acted on a surge of lust. Seeing the woman's snow-white body, faintly visible in the night, swaying right before his eyes... he had long since lost control. Overwhelmed by emotion, he had stepped forward and grabbed her jade-like hand. The panic in her eyes and her startled fright, like a scared little rabbit, sent his blood rushing. He immediately pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. The woman began to struggle, but the force of her resistance was far weaker than Zheng Xingfan had anticipated, so frail and powerless.
His passion flared even higher, and he forgot everything. With a wave of his right hand, several formation flags shot out from his sleeve, isolating the inside of the cave from the outside. And so, Li Yan could no longer hear the sounds from within.
Li Yan sat on the ground, his mind still stuck on the previous question. Although the events he heard seemed to have unfolded in a logical sequence, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Neither he nor Zheng Xingfan knew that this woman cultivated the "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art," which had long since vanished from this world.
This art was a top-tier dual cultivation method for absorbing Yang to supplement Yin. Whether engaging with a man or a woman, a cultivator of this art could absorb the essence of their partner.
That was why, when facing Su Hong, who was a virgin, she had even wanted to absorb Su Hong's pure Yin Yuan Qi.
She had joined the Red Chan Sect with this art already in her possession. In the entire sect, only she and her two disciples cultivated this technique.
Even "Fairy Red Candle" was ignorant of this art, which was why even Venerable Wan did not dare to casually engage with her.
Under such circumstances, although the green-gowned beauty did not dare to actively absorb Venerable Wan's essence Yang, the "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art" in her body would operate on its own.
However, Venerable Wan, confident that his realm and spirit power were far superior to hers, had still coupled with her several times. Yet, he still needed to constantly lock down his primordial Yang.
As a result, the pleasure was halved. And for the sake of carnal pleasure, Venerable Wan's primordial Yang would always be somewhat damaged.
Therefore, Venerable Wan later visited the Red Chan Sect mostly to see "Fairy Red Candle" and rarely touched her again.
But from another perspective, a woman who cultivated the "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art" was extremely skilled in the arts of the bedchamber. Whenever Venerable Wan thought of it, the memories were endlessly tantalizing, and for a time, he was unwilling to truly give her up.
Occasionally, he would still seek her out, but this was undoubtedly like drinking poison to quench thirst. Each time he returned, Venerable Wan had to undergo a period of cultivation to recover the lost primordial Yang.
Gradually, Venerable Wan began to keep a respectful distance from her. This, in turn, became unbearable for the woman herself.
Before the Demon Clan's invasion, everything was fine. The woman could go out and hunt for her targets, and while gathering intelligence, she could absorb Yang to supplement her Yin, allowing her cultivation to advance continuously.
But since Venerable Wan had stepped out from behind the scenes and the war between the Demon Clan and human cultivators had officially begun, her opportunities to go out had become scarce.
As a result, her cultivation could no longer progress as easily as before.
For the past few months, she had often been vexed by this matter. As for Zheng Xingfan, she had long seen that he possessed not only lust but also the guts to act on it, unlike others who only dared to harbor filthy thoughts in secret.
So, with a little manipulation, she made Zheng Xingfan lose his mind over her. After a few rounds, he was no longer willing to wait and had asked her out today to lay his cards on the table.
When it came to amorous affairs, even though Zheng Xingfan considered himself an old hand in the field of romance, he was simply no match for the green-gowned beauty.
She hadn't expected Zheng Xingfan to actually have a powerful backer. She had known that Venerable Wan was aware of her cultivation method, so he had turned a blind eye in the past.
Now that everyone else feared Venerable Wan and dared not approach her, this Zheng Xingfan, courting death, had come to her. The woman was merely satisfying her own needs; as for Zheng Xingfan's fate, she couldn't care less.
So, when Zheng Xingfan took the initiative to pull her, she was already feigning resistance while secretly welcoming it.
Li Yan knew a little about such seductive union arts, but he had never specifically studied them, so he couldn't react in time.
Not to mention the lust-addled Zheng Xingfan, who could only think with a certain part of his anatomy.
'Hehehe, truly a pair of adulterers. Count yourselves lucky, otherwise I might have tried to set up an ambush...'
Li Yan thought helplessly, letting out a soft chuckle. If not for the need to conceal his presence and the mission at hand, he would have been tempted to plot against this pair.
Fortunately, the two, fearing discovery, had set up a defensive formation, so he didn't have to listen to their indecent noises.
He also confirmed one thing: the Demonic General in the nameless valley rarely appeared in this vicinity and likely wouldn't even scan this area with his Divine Sense. Otherwise, this couple wouldn't dare to be so audacious.
However, just as he was about to settle down and wait again, a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind.
Li Yan was momentarily stunned by his own idea. Then, his eyes slowly narrowed, and he sat there as still as a thousand-year-old rock in the pitch-black night.
...
"That boy hasn't moved for nearly an hour. Is he too busy peeping at an erotic scene to remember his mission?" Behind Windy Cool Mountain, Xiao Yaoyuan's resonant voice rang out again, filled with dissatisfaction and a hint of mockery.
Since that afternoon, this little Foundation Establishment cultivator had been moving in a stop-and-go fashion. For these old monsters who could sit in meditation for decades or centuries, this was nothing to be anxious about.
As night fell, Li Yan arrived at a steep peak and, as expected, stopped again. But then, the situation took an unexpected turn.
The middle-aged female Nascent Soul cultivator beside them also looked at Mo Qing with a faint, knowing smile.
"Fellow Daoists, why feign ignorance? Li Yan's presence is so stable. Does he look like someone watching a live tryst? He's merely observing, just as before!"
Mo Qing said dismissively. Although he had only scanned Li Yan's whereabouts a few times that afternoon, he had already taken a liking to Dacen's grand-disciple.
He felt that Li Yan's stealth technique was truly marvelous.
'It should be a high-grade, mid-tier technique. This boy must have gained significant benefits during his last training trip to the north.'
He and Dacen had been in the same sect for nearly a thousand years; he knew exactly what cultivation methods Dacen's lineage possessed.
Moreover, what satisfied him even more about Li Yan was that, judging from his actions along the way, this young Foundation Establishment disciple had an exceptionally steady and meticulous temperament.
'No wonder he was able to thwart the Demon Clan's scheme at the Xuanqing Temple back then. And no wonder Wei Zhongran was willing to spare no expense to have me protect him.'
Thinking this, Mo Qing felt that interfering in Windy Cool Mountain's affairs for this boy's sake was not entirely out of the question. If such a talent was allowed to mature, he would surely become a great pillar of the Malevolent Spirit Sect in the future.
"He's been waiting for a very long time. Is he unwilling to proceed? Is it time for us to make our move?" Xiao Yaoyuan asked. He felt that Li Yan should at least get within a hundred li, so that after they lured the enemy away, he could complete his infiltration at the fastest possible speed.
After all, even if the enemy Nascent Soul cultivator left, there were still a hundred enemies there. Li Yan needed to familiarize himself with the environment beforehand.
Although he wouldn't mind casually killing those people to clear the way for Li Yan, doing so would certainly cause the enemy to redeploy their forces, and the intelligence they had gathered would change drastically. This was a factor they had to consider.
The best outcome would be for them to go over and subdue the Demonic General in a single, decisive strike. Otherwise, if they were to put on a show, they had to make it convincing. They had to make the enemy believe that in their haste to pursue and seize the treasure, they truly had no time to bother with the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cannon fodder.
"Let's wait and see. If he still hasn't made a move by midnight, then we'll act. He has already done his best to get as close to the valley as possible."
"Otherwise, if we push him too far and something goes wrong, we'll have to rely on our own brute force for everything that follows."
Mo Qing didn't think it was a good idea for Li Yan to advance any further. On the contrary, he felt that this distance was already quite reasonable.
...
In the cave on the steep peak, although it was as dark as ink, it didn't affect a cultivator's vision in the slightest.
Here, a live erotic scene was unfolding.
White robes, green gauze, and other garments were scattered on the ground. Two pale, naked bodies were intertwined, appearing in every corner of the cave.
The scent of lovemaking filled the entire space. Amidst the rising and falling rhythm of heavy breathing and moans, the beautiful woman was currently propping herself against the cave wall with her fair, jade-like hands.
As she leaned forward, her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, many strands brushing against her white shoulders.
Her seductive eyes were glazed over, and she bit her red lips tightly, letting out inexplicable whimpers.
Suddenly, Zheng Xingfan, who had been excitedly moving behind her, collapsed heavily onto her smooth, satin-like back.
With that, all movement ceased. This left the woman, her face flushed and in the throes of ecstasy, momentarily unable to react.
After another two breaths, when the expected continuation still hadn't come, she couldn't help but turn her head in dissatisfaction while still bracing herself against the wall.
But the sight that met her eyes in the next instant was like a basin of icy water poured over her head. She felt a chill run through her entire body, and all her desire vanished in a flash.
Half of Zheng Xingfan's body was lying on her back, his hands hanging limply, his head pressed tightly against her.
What plunged her into an icy abyss was the sight of a gray-robed man standing at the cave entrance not far away, a faint smile on his face. In his hand, he held a square of pristine white silk, creating an unspeakably bizarre scene.
Although the woman was promiscuous, being stared at like a monkey in a show left her both ashamed and furious. But the man had appeared without a sound; neither of them had noticed anything. For a moment, she didn't even have time to release her Divine Sense.
She abruptly straightened up, flinging the lifeless Zheng Xingfan to the ground. With a wave of her hand, the green gauze on the floor flew towards her as she shouted.
"Who are—"
But before she could get the word "you" out, she felt a sharp pain in her Dantian's Purple Mansion, and her body's spirit power was instantly drained.
Then, the woman's body went limp and she collapsed. The green gauze that had just begun to float up fell powerlessly back to its original place...