188: Chapter 188 Master, you're awake?

Anyone who caught a glimpse of such eyes would likely find their thoughts wandering and their soul enchanted.

Nangong Zili blinked, her consciousness still somewhat blurry.

She felt herself pressing against something warm... what was it?

Beneath her was soft grass, but behind her was a broad and solid chest,

which was rising and falling rhythmically.

Someone was holding her.

This realization cleared her mind for a moment.

Then, she felt it—

A sensation she had never experienced before came from deep within her lower abdomen.

It was a strange, indescribable feeling.

There was some pain, as if something was moving in and out of her Dantian, stirring her long-dormant Spiritual Qi;

yet within that pain, there was a trace of... an inexplicable pleasure.

That pleasure was like a feather brushing against the tip of her heart, or like someone gently scratching an itch within her Meridians,

impossible to catch yet impossible to avoid, leaving her with no choice but to grit her teeth and endure, waiting for the wave of numbness to pass.

But that numbness came wave after wave, spreading from her Dantian to her entire body, making her so weak she didn't even have the strength to lift a hand.

Nangong Zili's breathing gradually became rapid.

She looked down

and saw a slender, powerful hand pressed against her lower abdomen.

And the other hand...

Nangong Zili's gaze shifted downward, and she saw that hand reaching around from behind, firmly grasping her chest—

Her face instantly turned bright red.

What are you doing!

Nangong Zili wanted to question him loudly, but when the words reached her lips, they turned into a soft—

"What... what are you... doing..."

That voice was hoarse and soft, carrying the laziness of someone who had just woken up, along with a hint of uncontrollable trembling.

The end of her sentence rose slightly, sounding less like a question and more like she was acting spoiled; instead of being intimidating, it...

Instead, it was even more soul-stirring.

Nangong Zili herself was startled by the sound.

She wanted to sit up, but found her body as soft as water, lacking even the strength to lift an arm.

She could only lean limply in the other person's embrace, letting those two hands work their mischief on her body.

Crimson flooded her face, spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, and then down her slender neck into her collar.

Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, spreading over the shoulder of the person behind her and hanging down to hide half of her burning cheek.

Nangong Zili's breathing grew more hurried, her chest heaving violently, causing the place where she was being held to tremble slightly.

Her consciousness was gradually clearing, but her body refused to obey her commands.

She remembered—

That day, she had fled from the Immortal City with her disciple Ling Xiaotang, only to be pursued and cornered by Bai Qingyi of the Qingshui Sword Sect and a group of Core Formation Cultivators.

She had exhausted all her strength, using her last bit of Spiritual Qi to activate a thousand-mile escape talisman...

And then?

And then she remembered nothing.

When she woke up again, she was in this state.

A surge of fear rose in Nangong Zili's heart.

She didn't know where she was, she didn't know who this man holding her was,

and she certainly didn't know... what she had experienced during the days she was unconscious.

She tried to mobilize the Spiritual Qi in her body, but found her Dantian completely empty.

Although that Core, which had been on the verge of shattering, was slightly better than before she passed out,

it remained dim and lusterless, unable to function at all.

She wanted to struggle, but the waves of numbness coming from deep within her Dantian made it so she couldn't even move a finger.

"Who... just who... are you..."

Nangong Zili used all her strength to squeeze out a sentence.

Her voice was still soft, trembling, breathless, and filled with a charm she hadn't even noticed.

Leaning in the other's embrace, she could clearly feel the warmth of the chest behind her,

the heat from the hand pressed against her lower abdomen,

and she could feel the hand holding her chest... tighten slightly.

"Mm—!"

An uncontrollable muffled groan escaped from between her teeth.

Nangong Zili's eyes instantly reddened.

It wasn't pain.

It was grievance.

She was the grand Spider Gu Envoy of the Five Gu Sect, a Core Formation Stage Cultivator who had dominated the Southern Border for decades; when had she ever been...

...bullied like this?

Yet she didn't have even the slightest strength to resist.

She could only lean limply in a stranger's arms, at his mercy.

Nangong Zili bit her lower lip, and a layer of mist appeared in her soul-stirring peach-blossom eyes.

At this moment, Ye Changge, who was buried in his hard work, naturally didn't hear the faint whimper from the person in his arms.

All his attention was focused on his palms.

His left hand was pressed against her Dantian at her lower abdomen, while his right hand held the softness of her chest. The Yin Yang Creation Art within him was running at full power, and the Yin-Yang Qi transformed into two trickles, flowing into Nangong Zili's body from these two points.

His brow furrowed slightly.

This woman's body was ten times worse than Xiao Caiyue's.

The Core in her Dantian was nearly shattered, her Meridians were extensively ruptured, and at least three different types of foreign Spiritual Qi were rampaging inside her—

There was the peerlessly sharp Sword Intent of the Qingshui Sword Sect, the suppressing power of the city's Grand Array, and the backlash from when she activated her Escape Secret Art.

These three forces were intertwined, turning her insides into a complete mess.

Had she not been a Core Formation Cultivator with a deep Foundation, an ordinary person would have likely suffered from severed Meridians and Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering long ago.

Ye Changge's Yin-Yang Qi slowly circulated through her body, smoothing out the chaotic Spiritual Qi while nourishing her ruptured Meridians.

This was an extremely delicate task that allowed for no distraction.

He only felt that the woman's physical reactions were a bit strange today—

Her breathing frequency had increased, her heartbeat was much faster than before, and her body trembled slightly from time to time.

Through the palm pressed against her lower abdomen, he could clearly feel her abdominal muscles tightening, relaxing, and tightening again...

"Hmm... today's reaction is indeed stronger than before."

Ye Changge muttered to himself, not thinking much of it.

He simply thought that perhaps the Yin-Yang Qi had penetrated deeper into her Dantian, reaching a more deep-seated issue and triggering a physical instinct.

He even slightly increased the speed of the Spiritual Qi delivery,

wanting to strike while the iron was hot and disperse the mass of tangled foreign Spiritual Qi in her Dantian in one go.

Little did he know that his action of speeding up almost caused the newly awakened Nangong Zili to gnash her teeth in frustration.

Ling Xiaotang squatted to the side, her chin in her hands, watching the "treatment" scene with boredom.

She had been watching for three days.

From her initial panic and blushing to her later habituation and numbness, she could now watch Senior Ye holding her Revered Master to "heal her injuries" without batting an eye,

and she had even learned to hand over towels and fresh water at the appropriate times.

It had to be said that human adaptability was truly strong.