283: Chapter 283 The Ultimate Harmony of Music and Music

Having lost her visual perception, the spacious and luxurious cabin in Gong Yu's world shrank until only the three-foot-wide zither table beneath her and the man pressing down on her remained.

The slight chill of the wood grain crawled up her spine, only to be completely dissipated in the next instant by Xu Chen's burning body temperature.

Xu Chen's fingertips traveled down her slender, fragile neck; every lingering touch ignited a cluster of difficult-to-extinguish flames upon that snow-white skin.

“Are you afraid?”

Xu Chen lowered his head, his scorching breath spraying entirely onto Gong Yu's crystal-clear earlobe.

Gong Yu's shoulders shrank back slightly, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the zither table until her knuckles turned pale.

She couldn't see Xu Chen's face, but she could clearly hear the steady, powerful heartbeat in his chest. That sound was like a war drum, striking heavily into the depths of her Divine Soul one beat at a time, drowning out the howling of the Void Realm turbulence outside.

“I'm not afraid.”

Gong Yu tilted her long, fragile neck back. Tears overflowing from the corners of her eyes slid down her cheeks and splashed onto the cold zither table, making tiny splintering sounds.

She released her grip on the edge of the wooden table and tentatively reached upward in the darkness, eventually relying on instinct to cling to Xu Chen's broad, solid shoulders.

Xu Chen gave a soft chuckle and lowered his head to kiss away the tear stains at the corners of her eyes.

A wisp of gentle and pure Saint Origin followed the contact of their skin, slowly crossing into Gong Yu's Meridians like a spring breeze transforming into rain, silently protecting her heart's pulse and soothing the tremors and pain of her first time receiving favor.

The night wind penetrated the gaps in the flying boat's glass windows, blowing across the ancient zither at the corner of the table.

The 'Luo Yan' ancient zither placed to the side seemed to sense its master's current turbulent emotions. Its taut strings, without anyone plucking them, emitted a low and heavy resonance.

Zheng...

This faint sound of the zither was infinitely amplified in the quiet night.

Gong Yu bit her lower lip hard, trying to block those shameful soft moans in her throat, but the throbbing from the depths of her Soul ultimately caused her defenses to crumble completely.

Delicate cries intertwined with the humming of the ancient zither, composing the most primitive and moving heavenly music within this narrow space.

The room was filled with an enchanting atmosphere, a scene of boundless spring beauty.

The night grew darker, and the galaxy of stars faded deep into the cloud layers.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Gong Yu was like a kitten drained of all its strength, slumped softly in Xu Chen's arms.

Her cheeks, which were originally as pale as paper, were now dyed with a moving blush. Under the nourishment of the Hehuan Imperial Scripture, her Dragon Transformation Realm cultivation was not only completely stabilized but even showed signs of touching the barrier of a Half-step Great Power.

On the zither table, spots of fallen red were like proud plum blossoms blooming in the snow, imprinted among the hard wood grain, eye-catching and beautiful.

Xu Chen pulled over a large, moon-white robe and wrapped the delicate body in his arms tightly.

He picked Gong Yu up by the waist, left the messy zither table, and turned to walk toward the soft, large bed covered in spirit fox fur deep in the cabin.

After settling Gong Yu on the couch, Xu Chen reached out to brush away the sweat-soaked black hair clinging to her forehead.

Gong Yu was exhausted to the extreme, yet those clear eyes still struggled to stay open, as if she wanted to carve Xu Chen's silhouette deep into her mind through the endless darkness.

“Sleep, we will be home tomorrow.”

Xu Chen's voice was very soft as his fingers infused a wisp of gentle spiritual power into her back.

Feeling this familiar warm current, Gong Yu let down all her defenses and fell into a deep sleep leaning against Xu Chen's arm, a peaceful smile still hanging on the corner of her mouth.

Looking at the young woman's tranquil sleeping face, Xu Chen straightened up.

At this moment.

The silent System panel emerged out of thin air before his eyes, emitting a faint, ghostly blue light.

【Ding...】

【Successfully conquered target: Gong Yu】

【Detected target special Physique: Seven Orifices Exquisite Zither Heart】

【Extracting target's Physique Origin feedback...】

【Critical Hit Reward being distributed...】

【Obtained: Lucid Zither Heart (Host's Comprehension Ability skyrockets significantly; perception and deconstruction abilities regarding Heavenly Laws doubled).】

The cold text gradually dissipated in his vision, turning into a wisp of brilliant golden light that shot straight into Xu Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

Boom.

Xu Chen felt a wave of clarity in his mind, as if a door sealed for eternity had been pushed open.

He turned his head and looked at this cabin again.

The surrounding Void Realm Laws that were originally obscure and difficult to understand, the complex defensive inscriptions on the flying boat's grand Formation, and even the trajectory of the wind blowing through the window gaps—in his eyes, they all turned into clear, detailed blueprints.

He didn't even need to consciously operate his Divine Sense to see through several minor flaws in this Great Emperor-grade flying boat's Formation at a glance.

This was the terrifying boost to Comprehension Ability brought by the Seven Orifices Exquisite Zither Heart.

In the past, Xu Chen mostly relied on the brute force of the Hongmeng Creation Origin Body and the Cultivation Techniques rewarded by the System to crush his enemies. Now, with the assistance of this 'Lucid Zither Heart,' his understanding of Divine Abilities and techniques would reach a horrifying level unprecedented in history.