Chu Chuyan gave a little whimper at the abrupt kiss. She instinctively raised her hands to push Zu An away, but after a slight moment of hesitation, she let her hands fall back down. Seeing that she wasn’t resisting him, Zu An moved on to undo her clothes, causing them to slip off her body and onto the floor. This made her heart thump even faster.

Am I really going to give my body over to him?

From a young age, she had always been the pride of the Chu clan. Her beauty and her top-notch cultivation talent made her the center of attention no matter where she went. Many men viewed her as their dream lover, but none had dared to approach her, considering themselves unworthy of her. Instead, they buried their desires in the depths of their hearts.

Of course, there was also no lack of outstanding men expressing their affections for her, but none of them were able to stir her feelings.

The man of her dreams was a true hero, someone who could kindle admiration in her, but at the same time dote on her and love her… 

However, she was simply so outstanding that few could match her, even considering those from a generation above her. Because of this, she assumed that the man of her dreams didn’t exist in real life, and so she relied on novels in order to fulfill her fantasy.

However, the more outstanding the protagonists of those novels were, the more closed her heart became in real life. In the end, she became more and more disillusioned with the men she met in reality.

This was one of the reasons why she had no qualms about settling for a renowned wastrel in Brightmoon City as her husband. In her eyes, all men were the same.

While she viewed Zu An as a shield necessary for the Chu clan’s extenuating circumstances, she was willing to accept him as a companion or a friend, considering that they were going to spend decades living together. However, she never thought that a day would come where she would end up viewing Zu An as a real man, let alone a romantic interest.

Far too many things had happened on this journey into the dungeon. She could still clearly recall how Zu An insisted on staying with her despite the dangers they were facing, holding onto her tighter than ever while fending off their enemies… 

While she was still deep in thought, she was unaware of just what fatal charm her bare skin posed towards the man standing right before her. When she finally became aware of the heavy masculine presence in front of her, her heart suddenly began beating quickly.

And when Zu An finally overcame her final hurdle, she felt the barrier that had been encasing her heart all this while shattering. 

As she kept her eyes fixed on the man in front of her, two streams of tears flowed out from the corners of her eyes. She had no idea why she was tearing up, but she seemed to have lost all control over her own body.

… 

Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying was sitting right outside the barrier Mi Li had constructed, a blank look on her face.

She had hidden one other fact from Zu An. Half Life’s Fate was a secret art which few people of her race were able to use, and most of them would never use it in their entire lifetime. If they ever used it, they would only use it on their life partners. Such had been the way since ancient times.

“I’ve really made a huge loss this time!” Qiao Xueying cursed, biting her lips and kicking out grumpily at a little rock in front of her. She never ever thought that she would end up using this skill on another woman’s husband. This made her incredibly exasperated.

The knowledge that the two of them were consummating their marriage just a few meters away from her sharpened her irritation, causing her to kick out at the rocks in front of her with increasingly greater force, which chewed holes in the wall opposite her.

… 

It took a while for Chu Chuyan’s cold expression to gradually mellow down. Her tears had already dried up, but her eyes were still glistening as beautifully as ever. She felt a hint of strength returning back to her limbs.

The final shreds of her modesty made her instinctively push against the man pressing down on her, but she still wasn’t strong enough to push him away.

Never in her entire life had she ever felt so helpless. Under normal circumstances, all she needed was a single finger to hold Zu An down, yet the tables were well and truly turned on her today. Hmph! Once I recover my strength, I’ll show him what true strength is!

Barely after this thought surfaced in her mind, though, it was dispersed by a powerful thrust from Zu An.

Her cheeks burned hotly as her initial resistance gradually turned into subconscious compliance… 

Some time later, she suddenly heard Mi Li’s in her ears. “Guard your spirit. From this point onward, circulate the ki in your body using the formula I imparted to you earlier. Make sure that you assimilate his precious blood essence entirely.”

Chu Chuyan’s body shuddered and her skin reddened further. She’s been looking at us all along?

Shame and awkwardness swiftly engulfed her mind, leaving her on the verge of losing her awareness.

“Don’t lose concentration right now!” commanded Mi Li.

Chu Chuyan was, after all, an incredibly talented cultivator. She was blessed with decisiveness and sharp judgment. She knew that it would be a terrible shame if she were to lose this precious opportunity merely because of her embarrassment.

So, she began circulating her ki around herself using the formula imparted to her, directing Zu An’s blood essence toward her injured ki meridians to repair them. Unfortunately, every time she reached a critical period, a sudden thrust from Zu An would shatter her composure, undoing her efforts.

Annoyed by this, she wanted to tell Zu An to cut it out, but her embarrassment made it hard for her to broach the topic, leaving her with no choice but to bear with it in silence.

In truth, she was misunderstanding Zu An’s intentions as well. He wasn’t purposely trying to be forceful; on the contrary, he was trying to repair her collapsed ki meridians as carefully as possible. Unfortunately, he wasn’t yet able to properly control his strength, as he hadn’t gotten used to his newly-enhanced body. On top of that, Chu Chuyan had never been through such an experience before, and she was incredibly sensitive. 

Chu Chuyan kept trying to circulate her ki in accordance with the formula, but for some reason, she started to feel her consciousness slipping away… 

At the same time, Zu An suddenly noticed something and quickly glanced to the side, only to see Mi Li standing there. Alarmed, he quickly grabbed the clothes on the ground to cover the two of them before asking, “Big sis empress, what are you doing? While I don’t particularly mind it, Chuyan might get embarrassed…”

“Don’t worry, she can’t see me,” replied Mi Li.

Zu An was stunned. He quickly lowered his gaze, only to see Chu Chuyan’s eyes glazed over with confusion. Confounded, he asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just have some things I need to talk to you about,” replied Mi Li.

Zu An scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Can we do this another time? It feels rather offensive to you to have a conversation at a time like this.”

Mi Li ignored his words and said, “I’m here to bid farewell to you.”

“Bid farewell to me?” You’re leaving?” asked Zu An anxiously.

“You’ve rescued me from within the seal, and in return, I helped you save your little wife. Since we’ve both fulfilled our ends of the bargain, there’s no reason for me to remain here anymore,” replied Mi Li.

“But I’ll miss you if you suddenly leave like that,” said Zu An. He was still basking in delight at how things were finally working out, after all of the hardships he had been through, and the news of Mi Li’s impending departure made him feel a little empty inside.

Is this what they call ‘camaraderie forged in times of hardship’? Gah! Who am I lying to? It’s just because she’s pretty, that’s all. 

Zu An shot a glance at Chu Chuyan, and he suddenly felt slightly disgusted at himself for letting his thoughts wander at a time like this.

You philanderer!

“You’ll miss me?” An enigmatic smile surfaced on Mi Li’s lips. “Perhaps it won’t be too long before the two of us cross paths again.”

Zu An sighed softly and said, “You’re someone who stands above others, possessing strong cultivation and a lofty status. While the Qin Dynasty might have fallen, the two of us clearly live in different worlds. A starving camel is still bound to be bigger than a horse. I doubt that we’ll have a chance to meet one another after this parting.”

“A starving camel is still bound to be bigger than a horse? Those words sound oddly jarring to me,” Mi Li said with a snort. “It’s too early for you to start missing me now. Perhaps, at our next meeting, you’d rather that we’d never met one another at all.”

“How could that be? No man wouldn’t be delighted to meet with the gorgeous big sis empress, unless he isn’t a man at all!” said Zu An resolutely.

A rare chuckle escaped Mi Li, and she remarked, “I hope that you’ll remember your words!”

With that, her image vanished. 

Her sudden departure left Zu An feeling a little empty, but he quickly snapped out of his daze and continued to use the Primordial Origin Sutra to heal Chu Chuyan’s injuries. 

Meanwhile, Mi Li reappeared back outside the ki barrier that she had constructed. She raised her hands and saw that a red teardrop had appeared on her left palm as well. From it, a red thread extended all the way down to her elbow and beyond.

She knew deep down that the red threads had already woven their way through her limbs and bones, criss-crossing her entire body. It was just moments away from reaching her heart.

“It looks like Zhang Han really wasn’t lying. The ‘Red Tears of Lady Xiang’ do have the prowess to poison even an Earth Immortal to death!” Mi Li’s eyebrows arched in hatred. “Ying Zheng, it seems you wouldn’t let me go, even after your death!”

Conflict flickered across Mi Li’s eyes. She exhaled deeply before murmuring, “I guess I have no choice.”

Black spirals began to swirl in her eyes, and a transparent figure drifted out from her body. Had someone been watching all this unfold, they would have noticed that this transparent figure looked identical to Mi Li.

This transparent figure drifted upwards for a little while before turning around to gaze at the body on the ground. She could see the red threads fully covering her body. An instant later, the body suddenly crumbled into dust, and a gust of wind scattered it away.

As it watched this scene, the transparent figure sighed softly. “Ying Zheng, I’ve gritted my teeth, waiting for thousands of years for this day. Yet, as soon as I was freed from my restraints, I still found myself done in by you. However, do you really think that this little thing is enough to end my life?”

With a wave of her hand, she tossed aside a helmet she had casually picked up, before swiftly darting through the ki barrier and into Chu Chuyan’s body.

The pupils within Chu Chuyan’s dazed eyes gradually twisted into black spirals, similar to the ones that had appeared in Mi Li’s eyes earlier. However, Zu An was momentarily distracted by the helmet, and failed to notice it. By the time his gaze returned to his lover, everything had already reverted back to normal.

Seeing his lover staring at him, Zu An gently wiped off the beads of sweat on her forehead and said gently, “That scared me. I thought that Mi Li returned.”

‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly and said, “Do you detest her that much? That’s not what you said earlier.”

Zu An shook his head and said, “I don’t detest her. She’s simply far too powerful. On top of that, she’s already been sealed away for several thousand years. Heaven knows whether she’s a human being or a ghost.”

‘Chu Chuyan’ slowly raised her hands and wrapped it around his neck. Her fingernails began extending eerily before finally stopping right behind his heart. “So, do you think she’s a human or a ghost?”