16: Sister Leng, your poison is deeply ingrained; it cannot be touched without this method!

Lu Yu steeled his heart, knowing he could no longer hesitate.

He took a step forward. His hand, which had originally only been holding her wrist, gently slid up her slightly cool forearm, while his other hand softly and tenderly supported her waist, which was trembling slightly due to weakness and an indescribable tension.

"You..."

Leng Qingshuang suddenly snapped her eyes open. Her ice-blue eyes were shimmering with moisture, and her body jerked as if a flood had overturned!

Shame and anger?

Panic?

Helplessness?

These emotions were all intertwined, along with a hidden throb that she hadn't even noticed herself.

She wanted to scold him, to push him away, but the state within her body—which had reached a delicate balance due to outside intervention but remained precarious—made her not dare to move recklessly.

But whether it was because of this precarious state, or because she was reluctant to push him away at this time, Leng Qingshuang couldn't even tell herself!

"Sister Leng, the poison is deeply rooted; only this method can reach it!"

Lu Yu looked into her eyes, his gaze honest and firm, even though his own heart was beating incredibly fast.

"Please... trust me once."

His palms were warm, the heat clearly transferring over, forming a sharp contrast with the icy cold inside her, bringing waves of tremors that left her flustered.

Trust him?

Things had come to this; did she have any other choice?

The Sect's overall situation, her own injuries, and... that complex feeling about this special connection at the bottom of her heart, which she didn't even want to look into, were all pushing her toward that step.

She closed her eyes again, her long eyelashes drooping, casting a small shadow under her eyelids.

This time, she didn't try to break free or speak out in opposition; instead, her originally stiff body slowly and very slightly leaned a little closer toward Lu Yu.

It was a silent signal, carrying a desperate sense of shame and a do-or-die determination.

Lu Yu hesitated no longer.

He lowered his head, and his lips gently pressed against her cold and soft lips, their breaths instantly mingling.

A purer, more majestic Hao Yang Origin Power was no longer just passed through physical contact, but through this intimate mouth-to-mouth method, delivered without reservation.

"Wu..."

Leng Qingshuang's entire body shook violently, and a sob-like whimper escaped her throat.

It was as if something she had held onto for over three thousand years had shattered at this moment.

An unprecedentedly strange touch and a scorching aura completely submerged her.

Immediately after, a more surging and powerful Hao Yang power, like a flood breaking through a dam, accompanied this most direct communication, forcefully yet gently breaking into the deepest parts of her body, accurately finding the icy poison root entangled with her Origin!

Ice and fire, Yin and Yang, reached an unprecedentedly intense collision and fusion at this moment!

Leng Qingshuang felt as if her consciousness had been tossed into the clouds, only to fall into lava the next moment.

Extreme pain intertwined with an indescribable feeling of rejuvenation, like a withered tree meeting spring, making her Divine Soul tremble.

She instinctively wanted to grab something, her fingers unconsciously clutching Lu Yu's back, holding on tightly until her knuckles turned white.

Lu Yu wasn't feeling well either.

Guiding and refining such a deep-seated poison root was a huge drain and impact on him, and at the same time, he felt bursts of scratching pain on his back.

But he could clearly feel that under the burning and washing of that extreme Yang power, the stubborn poison root was loosening bit by bit, being stripped away and purified!

And the pure Mystic Yin Origin within Leng Qingshuang's body, after breaking free from the poison root's erosion and suppression, actually began to produce a mysterious complementarity and resonance with his Hao Yang power, feeding back to him, replenishing his consumed spiritual energy, and even showing a faint trend of improvement!

This was no longer just healing and expelling poison, but a deep-level fusion and complementarity of spiritual energy through Dual Cultivation of their Origins!

...An unknown amount of time passed; perhaps it was only a moment, or perhaps it was as long as a century.

The violently conflicting spiritual energy fluctuations inside the pavilion gradually subsided, leaving only the sound of their intertwined, slightly heavy breathing.

Leng Qingshuang leaned weakly in Lu Yu's arms, her strength seemingly drained, unable to move even her fingertips.

A soul-stirring crimson had dyed her face, neck, and even the little bit of exposed skin. Her ice-blue eyes were misty with a dense haze as she stared blankly at Lu Yu's face, which was close at hand and also covered in sweat.

The icy, sharp pain that had tortured her for years had mostly dissipated, leaving only a warm, comfortable, and lazy feeling, as if she were soaking in a hot spring.

And an unprecedented sense of lightness, with her spiritual energy being full and transparent.

The poison root entangled with her Origin, though not completely uprooted, had been greatly weakened and imprisoned, with no possibility of recurring in the short term.

The price was... she was nestling in the arms of this man, who was supposed to be her Disciple's fiancé, in an almost intimate posture. The scorching touch seemed to remain on her lips, and the spiritual energy flowing in her body was mixed with the other's masculine aura.

Shame, annoyance, confusion, and a hint of... exhaustion like surviving a disaster and a hidden throb churned in her heart.

Lu Yu gently released her and helped her sit on the nearby Jade Couch.

His own consumption was also massive; his face was pale, but his eyes were bright.

"Sister Leng, how do you feel?"

Leng Qingshuang turned her face away, not daring to look at him. Her voice was as low as a mosquito's buzz and still carried a hint of lingering hoarseness.

"Much... much better."

After a pause, she added another extremely vague sentence.

"Don't get the wrong idea!"

Lu Yu looked at her appearance, which was completely different from her usual cold majesty, rarely showing the shy manner of a young woman. His heart softened for some reason, and a strange emotion quietly sprouted.

He gave a light cough.

"Sister Leng still needs to rest for a few days to stabilize the results of this poison expulsion. As for Tang Wu and the Nine Nether Palace matter..."

At the mention of serious business, Leng Qingshuang quickly regained her composure. Although the blush on her face didn't fade for a while, her eyes became clear and sharp again.

"This seat has its own plans. This time... thank you."

She thanked him again, much more clearly and solemnly this time, though she seemed a bit tsundere.

"This matter... do not mention it to a third person, especially Qingxue!"

"This Junior understands."

Lu Yu nodded. If Luo Qingxue found out about this, he really wouldn't know how to handle it.

"You may leave."

Leng Qingshuang waved her hand, returning to her cold appearance, but the lingering spring-like air at the corners of her eyes and her slightly messy hair betrayed the abnormality of just now.

"Sister Leng, this time was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. To completely eradicate the nine nether profound dark balefulness in your body, you'll need several more treatment sessions later."

Leng Qingshuang's cheeks flushed red, and she didn't speak. She felt that she wouldn't be able to maintain the cold majesty unique to a Holy Lord in front of Lu Yu anymore!

Lu Yu gave her a deep look, said nothing more, turned around, and quietly left Tingtao Pavilion.

Silence returned to the pavilion.

Leng Qingshuang sat alone on the Jade Couch for a long time without moving.

She reached out a finger and gently touched her own lips. Her eyes were complex and hard to read, eventually turning into a long, helpless sigh that dissipated into the cool light of the Night Pearls.

Outside the window, the sea of clouds continued to surge, but it seemed something had quietly changed.