Before Ye Ran even reached the mountainside, she spotted Lu Li.
He seemed to be waiting for her deliberately. Before she could get close, he went to her and pulled her into his arms.
“Junior sister, why are you here?”
Lu Li’s tone was completely natural, as if he had done nothing and hadn’t tried to avoid her.
But Ye Ran wasn’t so easily fooled. She swatted away his hand as it reached for her head.
“Senior brother, don’t play dumb.”
“How am I playing dumb?”
Lu Li smirked, looking perfectly innocent.
But Ye Ran grabbed his hand, pushed up his sleeve, and exposed the wound on his wrist.
“What were you doing just now? Why were you drawing a formation with your blood?”
Though drawing formations with blood offerings was common in the cultivation world, the blood Lu Li had used was clearly mixed with the Blazing Spirit. Ye Ran had seen his face turn pale, and even now, his lips hadn’t regained their color.
Her instincts told her that what he had done was very dangerous.
“Don’t worry, junior sister. I was just repairing the formations on the mountain to prevent Lingxu from finding us.”
Lu Li pulled his hand away and patted her head soothingly.
But the concern in Ye Ran’s eyes didn’t fade. “Really? Then why did fixing the formation weaken you?”
“Reinforcing the formation required a secret technique. It naturally takes a toll on the body. A little rest will fix it.”
Lu Li spoke as if it were trivial, but Ye Ran remained skeptical.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. If junior sister doesn’t believe me, you can check for yourself.”
Ye Ran didn’t notice the shift in Lu Li’s eyes. Hearing his words, she eagerly asked, “How?”
The next instant, Lu Li tightened his arms around her, trapping her against him, and leaned close to her ear.
“Go back and check slowly. I’ll prove to you that my body is fine.”
His suggestive tone finally made her realize what he meant.
She couldn’t believe that while she was worrying about him, he had the nerve to joke like this.
But it did show that he wasn’t seriously hurt—otherwise, he wouldn’t be in the mood for romance.
“No need to check. I believe you, senior brother.”
Seeing his eagerness, Ye Ran pushed him away.
But the action made a look of disappointment cross his face. “Are you sure, junior sister? What if I’m lying to you?”
As if trying to make her suspicious, he coughed twice.
But Ye Ran was now well-versed in Lu Li’s tricks. She knew that the weaker he acted, the less was actually wrong.
He had fooled her the same way before. This time, she refused to fall for it.
Still, seeing him staring at her, she stepped forward, grabbed his collar, forced him to lean down, and placed her other hand in a decisive position.
“If you’re lying to me, senior brother, I’ll uproot the problem completely.”
As she spoke, she tightened her grip. Lu Li’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and a pained expression crossed his face.
“Ease up, junior sister. I still want you to harvest from me.”
At that, her grip did loosen.
Though dual cultivation left her exhausted, ever since she could harvest from Lu Li, waking up to see her cultivation grow made it all worthwhile.
In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him. She let go.
“I’ll let you off this once. But in the future, if you’re planning something, you have to tell me in advance. No hiding things from me.”
Her hand still held his collar, and her expression was fierce.
But Lu Li simply took her hand, freed his collar from her grasp, and kissed her fingers.
“Yes, master.”
He deliberately lowered his voice. It reached Ye Ran’s ears, making them tingle—as if he were whispering right beside her.
Then he kissed another finger, seeming determined to kiss every last one.
The tingling sensation became impossible to ignore. Ye Ran quickly pulled her hand back, grabbed his wrist, and turned to lead him away.
“It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”
“Is junior sister tired?”
They had barely taken a few steps when Lu Li stopped.
“No, I just woke up. I’m still wide awake.”
Ye Ran didn’t know why he asked, but she shook her head under his gaze.
The moment she answered, Lu Li took her hand and led her in another direction.
“Then I’ll take you somewhere, junior sister.”
“Alright.”
Not feeling sleepy and having nothing better to do back at the cave, Ye Ran quickened her pace to match his.
Lu Li led her all the way up to the mountaintop.
The view was expansive. The sunset painted the horizon even more clearly.
The spiritual energy here was also rich. The moment Ye Ran stepped onto the peak, she felt refreshed.
“Senior brother, why did you bring me here?”
She closed her eyes to savor the energy, then turned to look at him.
“This is where I used to meditate.”
He sat down and pulled her beside him.
Spiritual energy rushed toward them, enveloping them in a pale green glow.
“A single day of cultivation here equals ten elsewhere. Would junior sister like to try?”
Ye Ran was surprised.
She had thought he brought her to see the view. She hadn’t expected him to want to cultivate together.
But feeling the energy growing even denser, she grew eager.
“Alright.”
“Close your eyes, junior sister. I’ll teach you how to circulate the technique.”
Lu Li took both her hands, interlacing their fingers. The moment she closed her eyes, he sent his spiritual energy into her, guiding her absorption.
Under his guidance, the flow was remarkably smooth.
She had never experienced this before.
Due to her constitution, her spiritual energy had always moved sluggishly. Absorbing too much too quickly would backfire.
But now, that worry was gone.
No matter how much she absorbed, as long as it entered her body, it flowed smoothly and was fully absorbed by her dantian.
The sensation thrilled her.
As Lu Li slowly withdrew his energy, Ye Ran began circulating on her own.
Miraculously, following the path he had shown, she felt no obstruction.
Her dantian grew fuller. Eager for more, she sped up the circulation, hoping to fill her dantian completely and break through.
But haste made waste. Though absorption was fast, breaking through was still difficult.
She lost track of how much she had absorbed. Her dantian remained unfilled.
Just as she began to tire, her hands were grasped. The circulation of her spiritual energy halted. Then, Lu Li’s voice sounded in her ear.
“No need to rush, junior sister. Rest for a while.”
Hearing his voice, Ye Ran slowly opened her eyes.
The sunset was long gone. The sky had darkened completely, with only a full moon hanging above them.
She had been cultivating for that long.
Though she understood the value of moderation, the feeling of her spiritual energy flowing smoothly was intoxicating. She couldn’t help wanting to continue.
“I’m close to a breakthrough. I want to do it tonight.”
She prepared to resume circulation, but Lu Li held her hands fast.
Only when she looked at him did he speak.
“I have a way for junior sister to break through without cultivating.”
“What way?”
Excited, Ye Ran leaned closer. Lu Li didn’t answer. He simply pulled her into his arms.
The moment she looked up, she met his blazing eyes. She no longer needed an answer.
The offer was tempting. But they had already done this last night. Doing it again tonight felt too frequent. She hesitated.
“But senior brother, I harvested from you last night. Can you withstand another round tonight?”
She meant it as concern. But in Lu Li’s ears, it made his face darken. His arms around her tightened.
“Does junior sister think I can’t?”
His low voice made her realize how poorly her words had sounded. She quickly shook her head, trying to fix it.
“Of course not! I’m just worried about your health, senior brother.”
But the moment she spoke, she realized her explanation only made it worse.
Seeing Lu Li’s face grow even darker, she gave up on words. She simply pushed him down.
“Let’s do it. Let’s dual cultivate.”
Without waiting for his reply, she lowered her head and bit his lip.
Her boldness surprised him. But the moment she slipped her tongue into his mouth, his face cleared.
He tightened his arms and curled his tongue around hers, leaving her no escape.
Though the kiss had begun with Ye Ran, Lu Li quickly took control.
He gave her no chance to catch her breath, constantly drawing her into his mouth.
Her thoughts grew hazy, but she didn’t forget to harvest. The moment Lu Li tightened his hold on her waist, she instinctively began circulating the technique.
And this time, Lu Li was extravagantly generous. He poured his cultivation into her without reserve.
Before long, Ye Ran broke through. But Lu Li continued, as if he wanted to give her everything.
When he showed no sign of stopping, Ye Ran halted the technique herself and pushed at him.
“Senior brother, that’s enough.”
“Not yet.”
He silenced her with a kiss and continued pouring his cultivation into her, forcing her to circulate.
A faint unease crept into Ye Ran’s mind.
She felt Lu Li was desperately trying to raise her cultivation.
It made her uneasy—as if he were planning something.
But whenever she tried to think clearly, Lu Li only intensified his efforts, leaving her unable to focus.
By the time he finally carried her back to the cave, she was too exhausted to stay awake. The unease had been forgotten.
Leave a Reply