As their bodies gradually sank into the water, the icy spring rose along her ankles and waist, feeling like countless frozen needles piercing through her meridians—which were nearly at their breaking point from her recent transformation. Yet, paradoxically, the side of her body pressed against Cang Yaochen was as scalding as red-hot iron.
"Nngh..." A broken groan escaped the unconscious Cang Yaochen. The chill of the spring stung the arrow wound on his shoulder; the blood that had finally been stemmed began to spread once more through the emerald water like strands of eerie red silk, entangling their overlapping limbs.
Jiang Li felt her entire body go limp. Just as she attempted to let go, Cang Yaochen's eyes snapped open. Those peach-blossom eyes were now veiled with a layer of blurred mist. Instead of releasing her, he tightened his grip with renewed intensity, pressing her entire body flush against his bare chest without a single gap.
"Don't leave... Li'er, help me."
The man's voice was hoarse and thick, carrying a sense of command that bordered on a plea. He guided Jiang Li's blood-stained hand, forcibly pressing it over the bone-deep arrow wound on his left shoulder.
The moment Jiang Li's fingertips touched the blood-slicked arrowhead, the [Pain Symbiosis] erupted with its most violent impact. Jiang Li felt as if her own shoulder was being pierced by a glowing-hot iron rod. In the throes of extreme agony, the Turbid Qi within her body—driven by a primal instinct for self-preservation—turned into wisps of black mist, surging through her fingertips and into Cang Yaochen's wound.
The golden purification talismans attached to the arrowhead hissed as they were enveloped by the black mist, dissolving into faint trails of white smoke.
To her utter astonishment, Jiang Li realized that Cang Yaochen's charred wound, scorched by the talismans, was rapidly sprouting fresh pink flesh under the nourishment of her Turbid Qi.
"Look at that... Your body is far more honest than your mouth."
Cang Yaochen let out a satisfied sigh. He suddenly tightened his core, hoisting Jiang Li up in the water and forcing her to sit astride his waist. This predatory movement caused Jiang Li to gasp, but her cry was immediately smothered by his ensuing deep, blood-scented kiss.
Suddenly, Jiang Li felt the previously frantic Turbid Qi within her begin to collapse toward the center of her dantian. It felt as if an invisible, massive hand was kneading her soul, forging the scattered mist into a solid, physical core.
"Wake up! You can't do this!" Jiang Li struggled to maintain a sliver of clarity amidst the fierce kiss. But the current Cang Yaochen seemed deaf to her cries, acting as if he were violently fusing together two fractured jade talismans that had been searching for each other for eons. Not only was he not repelled by the Turbid Qi, but the Spirit Spring was also frantically mending his meridians and restoring his strength.
"Don't go." At that moment, the crimson glow in Cang Yaochen's eyes abruptly vanished. His body, previously scalding with desire, cooled instantly, settling into a deathly stillness.
[System Prompt: Eros-God (Eros-God) task achieved. Energy exhausted, entering hibernation. True Buddha persona is about to awaken.]
The man cast one final look at Jiang Li—a gaze carrying a chilling sense of absolute control and a trace of lingering attachment that even he hadn't noticed—before his head slumped to the side, falling into a deep, heavy slumber.
Jiang Li pushed him away as if struck by lightning and began to retch violently in the spring. The feeling of her body being forcibly marked filled her with a murderous intent so thick it was almost tangible. She scrambled ashore, hurriedly throwing on an outer robe, only to run straight into Lin Yuan, who was arriving with food.
"Junior Sister! You two!" Lin Yuan stood frozen.
He looked at Jiang Li's eyes, which now shimmered with a faint dark-gold light, and the tattered, menacing wings at her back—though partially retracted, they still radiated a terrifying pressure. A profound chill rose in his heart.
"Senior Brother," Jiang Li stepped forward. "If you truly consider me your Junior Sister, help me hide this secret. I don't want him to know!"
Under Jiang Li's ice-cold gaze, Lin Yuan finally succumbed. "I don't know what happened between you two, but if the Elders see you like this, there is no way you will be allowed to stay in the Sect."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. Could you help me find some scrolls regarding Turbid Qi and Pure Qi, as well as the divine records from ten thousand years ago?" Jiang Li said, shivering.
"Alright, I'll go look for them in a moment. Take the food first. Do you need me to help carry him back to the room?" Lin Yuan looked toward Cang Yaochen, who was leaning against the edge of the Spirit Spring.
"No need. Let him soak," Jiang Li said with a complicated expression.
Back in the room arranged for her, Jiang Li changed into clean clothes and began to sense the Turbid Qi within her body. Beside her, the Suanni beast had grown even more majestic due to her advancement.
The divine beast, wreathed in pale-white flames, lay beside her bed and sent a mocking thought into her consciousness.
"Tsk, tsk." The Suanni opened its massive golden eyes, its mouth curling into a human-like sneer. "Now that I'm awake more often, the shows are getting much more interesting."
The morning light filtered through the window, spilling onto the cold jade floor of the Hall.
Cang Yaochen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with a clear, compassionate holy light. He propped himself up, discovering that his shoulder had been wounded by an arrow, still faintly tainted with traces of Turbid Qi. Curiously, the backlash and shackles brought by the Kalpa Ashes had miraculously healed by more than half; his body was filled with a strange yet surging power.
"Li'er." He looked at Jiang Li, who was not far away flipping through a secret scroll with a cold gaze. His voice carried a hint of exhaustion and confusion. "Was it... you who saved me?"
Jiang Li closed the Ancient Divine Records in her hand and let out a cold laugh. She stood up. "Indeed. Haven't you noticed that even your clothes were changed by me?"
Cang Yaochen felt those words explode in his mind. His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his palm still retaining a faint, indelible trace of the girl's chilling aura.
"Has he appeared again?" He began to curl into a painful ball, letting the waters of the Spirit Spring submerge him once more...