25: The powerful Lu Yu!

"Sister Leng, stop forcing yourself."

Lu Yu interrupted her, his tone calm yet brooks no argument.

"If the poison in your body isn't completely cleared, the next time it acts up, I'm afraid it won't be as simple as lying down and breaking out in a cold sweat. I originally thought the last cleansing would last for a while, but it seems this nine nether profound dark balefulness is even more insidious than I imagined. Only a few deep-seated areas were left uncleaned before, but now it has actually counterattacked to such a scale."

"Sister Leng, if we don't properly clear and unblock it now, when the time comes, let alone setting a trap to catch the mole, whether you can even hold on yourself will be a problem."

Leng Qingshuang bit her lower lip and turned her face away.

She knew that what Lu Yu said was the truth.

These past few days, the weakened poison root had instead become like an infuriated venomous snake, its backlash growing increasingly severe. It eroded her Meridians and Origin day and night, forcing her to divert most of her mind and spiritual power to suppress it.

She even felt powerless when handling daily Sect affairs; this feeling of weakness and lack of control made her both angry and helpless.

"I... This Seat has my own ways."

She spoke stubbornly, but her voice lacked confidence.

"Your way is to just endure it?"

Lu Yu sighed and sat down by the couch.

This action caused Leng Qingshuang's body to tense up instantly, and she subconsciously shrank back.

"Sovereign, the big picture is more important. If you, the pillar of support, fall, the sky of the Canglan Sacred Sect will truly change. Tang Zhen's side is probably looking forward to something happening to you."

He brought up the big picture again.

This reason never failed, always hitting where Leng Qingshuang cared most.

Leng Qingshuang remained silent, her chest heaving slightly.

Reason told her that Lu Yu was right; his Nine Yang Haori Body was currently the most effective, and possibly the only, method to restrain that nine nether profound dark balefulness.

Although the process of the previous two "treatments" was... hard to speak of, the effects were real.

But... at the thought of having that most private and shameful contact again with this man, whose identity was awkward yet who appeared at her most vulnerable moments time and again...

Her heart was like a cold pond into which a giant rock had been thrown, setting off massive waves; the sense of shame almost drowned her.

"I..."

She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Refuse?

With what could she refuse?

She knew her own physical condition well.

Accept?

The dignity of being the Sovereign and the ethical shackles of being an elder and teacher made it difficult for her to take that step.

Lu Yu saw her struggle and knew that just reasoning wouldn't work anymore.

He steeled his heart and decided to add some "intense material."

He suddenly reached out and grabbed her cold, slightly trembling wrist resting outside the brocade quilt.

"You!"

Leng Qingshuang tried to pull back as if struck by lightning, but he held her firmly.

The warm sensation from his palm formed a sharp contrast with the icy cold in her body, causing her weak body to tremble slightly.

That familiar warm current that could alleviate pain seemed to be stirring again.

Lu Yu looked into her dodging eyes, his voice lowering with a strange, seductive power.

"Sister Leng, we've already had two experiences of Dual Cultivation before. Have you forgotten what happened? I am a resolute man. Since you have already practiced Dual Cultivation with me twice, you are my woman. I cannot simply sit by and do nothing for my own woman!"

"Could it be that Sister Leng would rather die from the poison and have the Sect fall into the hands of villains than temporarily set aside those pointless... reservations?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "reservations" lightly, with a hint of subtle teasing, yet under the righteous pretexts of "healing" and "the Sect," it was hard to refute.

Looking at Leng Qingshuang lying on the couch with a weak and delicate complexion and a somewhat relaxed expression, her originally resistant look gradually softened, and she became somewhat silent.

Lu Yu suddenly leaned over, getting close to her ear, his warm breath brushing over her sensitive earlobe, and said in an even lower, huskier voice.

"Sister Leng, I actually know that last time, you weren't... as resistant as you claimed. In your heart, you were actually enjoying the pleasure."

Boom!

Leng Qingshuang felt a surge of blood rush to her head; her cheeks, ears, and neck instantly turned beet red!

This bastard, what is he saying?!

Overcome with shame and anger, she wanted to scold him and push him away.

But under his close breath and those provocative words, her body uncontrollably softened slightly. The impulse within her, longing to be soothed by that extreme Yang power and to dispel the pain, became exceptionally clear at this moment!

"You... You are impudent!"

She finally squeezed out a few words, her voice carrying a slight tremor she hadn't even noticed herself.

"Then let it be that I am impudent."

Lu Yu gave her no more chance to hesitate. He knew that for a woman who was tough on the outside but already wavering on the inside, sometimes a bit of rogue action was needed to break the final barrier.

He applied a bit of force with his hand, pulling her slightly toward him, while his other hand gently brushed away the strands of hair on her forehead soaked with cold sweat.

This action carried a dominant strength that brooked no argument, yet strangely, it wasn't repulsive.

Leng Qingshuang froze, her ice-blue eyes wide open, looking at his face so close at hand, seeing the unmistakable determination and... a well-hidden trace of concern in his eyes.

All the struggles, shame, and ethical shackles seemed to be shattered at this moment by those eyes and the surging pain and longing within her.

As if resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently like a broken butterfly in the wind.

There was no nod, no words, only her tense body slowly and very stiffly releasing its last bit of resistance.

A silent acquiescence.

Lu Yu hesitated no longer.

He knew that for her, every second of hesitation was a torment.

He climbed onto the couch; his movements weren't rough, but they carried a force that could not be refused.

The plain white gauze curtains were quietly brushed down, obscuring the light and shadows on the couch and cutting off the night and faint light from outside.

The light from the night-luminescent pearls filtered through the gauze curtains, becoming hazy and ambiguous.

The rustling sound of fabric rubbing came from the couch, as piece after piece of clothing was thrown out from behind the charming bed curtains, piling up on the floor.

A moment later, it was interspersed with one or two faint sounds, desperately suppressed yet still leaking from the throat, like the whimpering of a kitten.

At first, it was the testing and collision of ice and fire.

Leng Qingshuang's body was as stiff as ice, while Lu Yu's palms were as hot as fire.

But when that pure and vast Nine Yang Haori power, with a more majestic and gentler permeability than the previous two times, slowly flowed into her bone-chilling Meridians eroded by the insidious poison...

Extreme pain and an indescribable sense of relief, like parched land welcoming sweet rain, swept through her senses simultaneously.

"Mm..."

She finally couldn't help but let out a very soft groan, a mix of pain and relief, and her clenched teeth loosened slightly.

Lu Yu was fully focused, guiding his own spiritual power to blend with the remaining Profound Yin Origin in her body. Like the most patient craftsman, he bit by bit stripped and refined those grayish-black poisonous balefulnesses that had penetrated deep into her bones.

This process was deeper than the first two times, and also more... intimate.