On the summit of Pill God Peak, within Elder Danqiong’s residence.
“Elder, how is Mu Yao?”
After Mu Fan and Lu Xueqing carried Shen Muyao into the healing chamber, Lu Xueqing anxiously turned to Elder Danqiong, who stood nearby.
“Quiet!”
Elder Danqiong’s expression was grave as she looked at Shen Muyao, whose body was now an abnormal shade of crimson.
She gestured for the two of them to remain silent.
Then, Elder Danqiong extended a hand.
Spiritual Qi extended from her fingertips like silken threads before sinking into Shen Muyao’s body.
“Nngh!”
Sensing the intrusion of foreign Spiritual Qi, the Phoenix True Flame within Shen Muyao grew even more rampant, relentlessly battering her consciousness.
A moment later, Elder Danqiong withdrew her hand, her expression grim.
She let out a long sigh.
“The Phoenix True Flame inside Mu Yao has erupted completely.
There’s nothing I can do.”
“What!”
Hearing this, Lu Xueqing cried out in shock, all traces of her usual cold pride gone.
“What about the Liangyi Heart Cleaning Pill?
Elder Danqiong!
Does even the Liangyi Heart Cleaning Pill not work?”
Lu Xueqing frantically grabbed Elder Danqiong’s arm, her eyes filled with desperate hope.
“Its effect would be negligible.
The Liangyi Heart Cleaning Pill only worked before because the Phoenix True Flame hadn’t fully erupted.
Mu Yao was able to stay conscious and, with the pill’s power, just barely resist the flame’s corrosion.
But…”
Elder Danqiong shook her head, her eyes filled with helplessness.
“You’ve seen Mu Yao’s condition for yourself.
Even I am powerless to help.”
“That can’t be!
Elder Danqiong!
You must have a way, right?
Your skill in the Alchemy Dao is unparalleled in the entire Taiqing Sect!
I’m begging you, you have to find a way to save Mu Yao!
If even you give up, then Mu Yao…”
Lu Xueqing didn’t dare to let her thoughts continue down that path, the sorrow in her eyes completely unconcealed.
“I watched Mu Yao grow up.
If there were really a way, how could I just stand by and do nothing?”
Watching from the side, Mu Fan saw the genuine sorrow in their eyes and couldn’t help but be moved.
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
‘Phoenix True Flame?’
‘The legendary flame of ultimate yang… Perhaps…’
Mu Fan’s expression turned thoughtful.
He thought of the Luohou Essence Blood lying dormant within him.
‘I wonder if I can use its extreme yin energy to forcefully suppress the Phoenix True Flame.’
‘If it works, I might even be able to use the Phoenix True Flame’s extreme yang energy to refine more of the Essence Blood!’
‘More importantly, the eruption of the Phoenix True Flame in Shen Muyao’s body might genuinely be my fault.
I can’t just stand by and do nothing!’
At this thought, Mu Fan stopped hesitating.
“Maybe I can give it a try.”
“You?
Do you know anything about the Alchemy Dao?”
Hearing this, Elder Danqiong’s gaze turned slightly scrutinizing as she sized up Mu Fan.
“I don’t know anything about the Alchemy Dao, but I have a way to temporarily suppress the Phoenix True Flame!”
Despite Elder Danqiong’s skepticism, Mu Fan remained remarkably composed.
“Just you?”
Lu Xueqing, who was standing nearby, shot Mu Fan a look of disgust.
It was as if all her pent-up frustration had found an outlet.
“Elder Danqiong is an expert at the Half-step Dao Yi Realm and even she wouldn’t dare make such a claim.
Where do you get the nerve?
From your third-level Spirit Absorption Realm cultivation?”
At these words, Elder Danqiong’s gaze grew even more skeptical.
“Let him… try!”
Before Mu Fan could explain, Shen Muyao suddenly regained a sliver of consciousness.
Her voice was still faint and weak, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt a flicker of trust in him.
“Mu Yao, but he—!”
Lu Xueqing was about to protest, but when she met Shen Muyao’s eyes and considered her current condition, she could only nod in resignation.
“You’d better not have any funny ideas, or I swear I won’t let you off!”
Lu Xueqing stared intently at Mu Fan, as if trying to read his true intentions on his face.
“Why don’t you two step outside and wait?”
Mu Fan seemed unfazed by the threat.
He simply looked at the two of them and spoke.
“Let’s go.
We’ll give the young man some space.”
Lu Xueqing started to object, but Elder Danqiong cut her off, pulling the reluctant young woman out of the room.
“Elder, how could you let that waste be alone with Mu Yao?”
Outside the room, Lu Xueqing’s face was a mask of worry.
She kept glancing back toward the door.
“That young man has his secrets, and he doesn’t want us to know them.
Since that’s the case, we’ll just have to watch closely and see if he can truly stabilize Mu Yao’s condition.”
Elder Danqiong offered a small smile.
Though his cultivation was low, he didn’t seem like a despicable person.
“Besides, I’m right here.
If there’s any unusual activity in the room, I’ll intervene at the first sign of it.”
Elder Danqiong reassuringly patted Lu Xueqing’s hand as she spoke.
Inside the room, Mu Fan looked at Shen Muyao lying on the soft couch.
‘My apologies,’ he thought, before reaching out and placing his hand over her lower abdomen.
“Ngh?”
Feeling the coolness spreading from her lower abdomen, Shen Muyao let out a soft moan.
Her watery eyes fluttered open and landed on Mu Fan.
“Don’t move.
This is the only way I can even hope to suppress the Phoenix True Flame!”
Shen Muyao was just about to stop Mu Fan when she heard him speak.
‘This had better be all it is!’
Shen Muyao thought to herself, ‘If he dares try anything else, I’ll drag him down with me, even if it costs me my life!’
Seeing that Shen Muyao had finally settled down, Mu Fan began to circulate the bone-chilling Demonic Qi within his body.
The Demonic Qi flowed from his palm and into her Dantian.
The moment the Demonic Qi entered her, Shen Muyao couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The fire blazing within her eyes seemed to burn even brighter.
SHHHHK!
A powerful suction suddenly erupted from Mu Fan’s palm, drawing the Phoenix True Flame toward his body.
At that moment, deep within Mu Fan’s Dantian, the once-dormant Luohou Essence Blood began to stir, releasing fine threads of energy that once again set about tempering his physical body.
And just as Mu Fan had predicted, the bone-chilling Demonic Qi—which he had previously been unable to absorb any more of—could now be absorbed once again, albeit with some difficulty, thanks to the aid of the Phoenix True Flame.
As Mu Fan continued to release the Demonic Qi, the searing heat that threatened to incinerate Shen Muyao’s body slowly receded.
In its place came an indescribable, pleasurable sensation that made her tremble from head to toe.
Shen Muyao couldn’t help but let her eyes drift shut, completely surrendering to the exquisite pleasure, a feeling so intense it was as if she were hovering between life and death.
Yet, just as this sensation—one she would be too ashamed to ever speak of—was about to reach its zenith, Mu Fan abruptly pulled his hand away.
The intoxicating feeling vanished along with his touch.
“Hm?”
A look of displeasure crossed Shen Muyao’s face as she turned to Mu Fan, ready to demand why he had suddenly stopped.
But when she saw his current state, she froze.