Chapter 146: Departure
The poison spirit was merely a low-level spiritual entity, colorless and formless, similar to a simple soul body. After Yun Che forcibly drew it out using the Phoenix Flame, it began to burn within the enveloping flames… A fearsome poison spirit was enough to stump almost all divine physicians in the world, but under Yun Che's hands, it was dealt with in mere minutes. This should have been an exciting affair, but when Yun Che finally realized what his right hand had grasped, his heart turned ice-cold, and four words flashed through his mind…
Holy shit! I'm dead!
True to his expectations, the moment his palm covered her chest, the fairy's body stiffened. Her slightly closed eyes snapped open, and an icy murderous aura and vast profound energy erupted from her entire being in an instant.
With her Half-step King Xuan level of supreme profound strength, if she didn't allow it, there were very few people in the entire Cang Feng Empire capable of touching any part of her body. And from the moment she was born until now, like fresh snow falling from the sky before it could touch the ground, not a single part of her—not even the hem of her clothes—had ever been touched by any male. This was related to the profound art she cultivated, and even more so to her temperament. However, just now, she had also sensed the presence of the poison spirit within her profound veins. Her consciousness had been focused on tracking the poison spirit's movements, causing her vigilance toward Yun Che to momentarily lapse—and so Yun Che's hand ended up grabbing her chest… Oh no, that's wrong! It was a grab! And a very forceful grab at that!
Her profound energy field, mixed with rage and killing intent, exploded instinctively. But when the fairy's gaze fell upon the burning poison spirit, her heart suddenly softened, and she forcibly withdrew her profound energy field… However, Yun Che was too close to her, and the profound energy field released under such anger and murderous intent was not so easily fully recalled. A tiny fraction of its residual force still swept against Yun Che's body… Though it was less than one percent of her normal power, this was still terrifying strength from a peak Heavenly Xuan Realm Level 10, far beyond what Yun Che could withstand.
With a loud "bang," Yun Che was sent flying as if struck by a heavy hammer, his insides churning violently. He felt as though his body and all his organs had instantly burst apart, and then even his consciousness completely faded.
Bang! Bang!!
Yun Che's body hurtled backward like a cannonball, smashing through a wall, breaking a bowl-thick tree in the courtyard, and continuing for dozens of meters before crashing heavily into an ancient boulder. The boulder shattered into pieces, and Yun Che bounced onto the ground, blood gushing from every part of his body. Within moments, a large pool of blood had formed beneath him.
The Inner Palace disciples usually gathered inside the Profound Gathering Tower and enjoyed absolute freedom during the day, with no one overseeing them. Moreover, conflicts among disciples in the Inner Palace were common, and such sounds were taken as routine. Thus, despite the tremendous noise, not a single person came to investigate, nor did anyone even notice.
A white shadow flashed across dozens of meters in an instant, coming to a halt before Yun Che, who had already lost consciousness. The fairy's gaze was now incredibly complex. On her left chest, the sensation of his firm grab still lingered, filling her with shame and anger. But she knew very well that Yun Che had done it unintentionally, and the reason for such a grave mistake was to expel the terrifying poison spirit from her body.
Yet she instinctively released her profound energy field, directly killing the man who had just saved her… Though he had crossed her forbidden boundary, he had done so to save her.
A faint trace of guilt flickered in the fairy's beautiful eyes. She let out a soft sigh, raised her snow-white hand, and a series of dreamlike, beautiful ice blossoms drifted beneath her palm, falling toward Yun Che's body, intending to freeze it. But the moment the first ice blossom touched Yun Che's body, all the blossoms vanished instantly. A subtle ripple passed through the fairy's brow…
He's not dead!?
A mere True Xuan Realm Level 1 youth, struck by her energy field, was still alive—and his vital signs were not particularly weak. This surprised her greatly. With a flick of her right hand, a cold wind lifted Yun Che's body and brought it back into the room.
………………………………………………
When Yun Che regained consciousness, he felt his entire body immersed in a coldness. But this coldness did not discomfort him; instead, it brought a sense of comfort.
"Hmph, you're finally awake." Sensing his regained consciousness, Mo Li said unpleasantly, "If you hadn't cultivated the Great Dao Pagoda Art, you'd have been dead beyond dead by now."
Yun Che opened his eyes and immediately recalled what had happened before. A wave of emotion washed over him—but not about his narrow escape from death. Instead, he was thinking about the feel of that little fairy's chest… It was far, far too wonderful! To have gotten to grab it once at the cost of half a life—wasn't that actually a pretty good deal?
"You're awake!"
An icy voice came from nearby. Yun Che turned his head and saw Xiao Xiannü standing by the bed. The corners of his mouth twitched into a faint smile: "I didn't expect to still be alive."
"I too find it strange that you're still alive." The fairy's eyes were icy cold, like two blades of ice stabbing directly into Yun Che's eyes: "To survive the impact of my energy field. And with such severe injuries, I thought you'd be unconscious for at least half a month, yet you woke up after only three days. Even your wounds have healed by nearly half. Perhaps it's due to the Phoenix Flame's strong self-healing ability—your life is much tougher than I imagined."
Facing her cold stare, Yun Che gave a bitter smile: "What I did before… I really didn't mean it. I just wanted to grab the poison spirit. I didn't expect…"
"If it weren't because you were saving me, do you think you'd still be alive to speak with me now?" The fairy said coldly.
Yun Che shook his head and said: "I defiled Xiao Xiannü. Such punishment is well deserved."
"If you don't want to force me to kill you, then completely forget what happened three days ago and never mention it to anyone again!" The fairy's voice grew even colder, but lacked the bone-chilling killing intent. Several days had passed, and her desire to kill him had faded—otherwise, she wouldn't have let him live.
"I swear I will never speak of it to anyone." Yun Che vowed. He examined his body. Though he was wounded inside and out, there were no incurable injuries. With his medical skills, given enough time, he could heal completely. He also sensed the source of the cold aura enveloping him. Though cold, it contained an incredibly dense profound energy, protecting and repairing his internal organs without any gaps. During his days in a coma, his internal injuries had not worsened but had healed much faster than his external ones.
And she had stayed for three full days without leaving… Given her status, and facing someone who had defiled her, she could have simply abandoned him and left. But she hadn't. The only explanation was that beneath her ice-cold exterior, her heart might be just as cold, but she was by no means heartless.
"Xiao Xiannü, thank you. Not killing me is already a great kindness, and you've even treated me." Yun Che said weakly.
"Hmph, don't flatter yourself. I saved you only because I still need you to remove the Origin Ice Poison from my body."
The fairy turned her snow-veiled face away and said in a hard, cold tone.
"Actually, there's something I deceived you about." Yun Che said slowly: "Earlier, I said that neutralizing your poison would take about ten days. In truth, completely eliminating the poison from your body would take me only a few breaths. And I wanted to save you out of selfishness as well—because your profound strength is at the pinnacle, enough to look down upon the entire Cang Feng Empire. I hoped that by saving you, I'd make you owe me a favor… At the very least, it would give us ten days of interaction, creating a possible powerful ally for my future. Heh heh… It seems deceiving a girl, especially such a beautiful Xiao Xiannü, brings its own retribution."
Xiao Xiannü: "…"
After speaking, Yun Che raised his left hand, palm facing Xiao Xiannü, and barely managed to circulate his profound energy. Instantly, the purification power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl flowed through his profound energy and brushed over Xiao Xiannü's body… She frowned slightly but did not resist or block.
The purification power spread into Xiao Xiannü's body. Under Yun Che's guidance, in just a few breaths, it completely purified all the Origin Ice Poison within her, leaving not a trace. The origin poison of a Heavenly Xuan toxic beast was naturally terrifying, but before the Heavenly Poison Pearl—a supreme treasure of the Xuan heaven—such poison was like a single grain of sand before a glacier compared to the poison Mo Li had suffered. Even Mo Li's poison could be slowly purified by the Heavenly Poison Pearl, so this mere Origin Ice Poison was nothing.
"All done. The poison is completely resolved." Yun Che withdrew his hand and let out a light sigh, a hint of fatigue adding to his sickly complexion.
The potent poison within her body, which even her full profound strength had failed to dissolve, had vanished in an instant. Xiao Xiannü's usually emotionless, icy heart was stirred with shock. Her breadth of knowledge far surpassed most in the entire Cang Feng Empire. Yet she had never heard of any method that could dissolve such a venom in the blink of an eye, leaving not a trace. Even Gu Qiuhong, the foremost divine physician of the Cang Feng Empire, could never accomplish such a feat.
And this person was merely a youth who had just entered the True Xuan Realm!
If she hadn't experienced the poison herself and personally endured its effects, she would have found it utterly impossible to believe.
Finally seeing a flicker of emotion on Xiao Xiannü's face, Yun Che smiled somewhat proudly and said: "I have a special method for detoxification. I hope Xiao Xiannü will keep it a secret along with my Phoenix Flame. Otherwise, I will surely land myself in great trouble. But if Xiao Xiannü ever encounters another incurable poison in the future, you can always come to me. I will help you resolve it."
Xiao Xiannü's gaze grew complicated. She could no longer associate this youth lying severely wounded in bed with a mere True Xuan Realm disciple of the Cangfeng Mystic Palace. His ability to instantly recognize that she had been poisoned with Origin Ice Poison, his calm composure under her profound energy suppression, his eyes so deep that even she couldn't fathom them, and his power to banish a fearsome poison in a single motion—all these revealed his mystery and extraordinary nature.
And also—a faint, inexplicable sense of danger.
"Now that the poison in my body is resolved and your injuries are out of danger, there's no need for me to stay here."
With that, before Yun Che could react, ice spirits began to swirl around Xiao Xiannü's body. Her graceful figure slowly misted within the ice spirits and completely vanished before Yun Che's eyes.
"Hey! Xiao Xiannü…"
Yun Che quickly sat up, but before the words left his mouth, she was already gone. His voice faltered, turning into a few disappointed words: "You really… just left like that…"
Just then, a soft, cold voice drifted down from above: "Meet again in two months. Then, I will protect you for three months, as you wish."
The voice dissipated like clouds and smoke. Yun Che froze for a moment, then lay back down on the bed, letting out a comfortable and contented sigh. He closed his eyes and smiled faintly, murmuring softly to himself…
"She must be from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, right… And it's been almost a year since I parted from my wife Qingyue. I wonder how she's doing over there…"