7: Chapter 7 You promised to protect me, why did you kill him?

The suffocating sensation from his neck left Shen Xiao's mind blank for an instant, followed immediately by blood rushing to his head and a wave of darkness clouding his vision.

He instinctively wanted to struggle, but the figure sitting cross-legged outside the door like a grim reaper made him freeze instantly.

Cannot move!

If he made any significant noise and alerted Mo Feng, he would be facing a starving wolf in front and a mad tiger behind—a situation with ten deaths and no life!

This woman was insane!

Her power was clearly growing, so why did she still look like someone who had been stripped of everything?

Her cold fingernails had already pierced his skin, and warm blood trickled down the curve of his neck, bringing a sharp, stinging pain.

Xia Lengbai's face was pressed extremely close, her eyes—half cold, half fanatical—locked onto him, as if she wanted to suck his Soul out of this vessel entirely.

She wasn't demanding power... she was infatuated with the feeling of this power flowing out of him!

An absurd yet incredibly real thought exploded in Shen Xiao's mind.

Shen Xiao gave up all thoughts of resistance, letting himself be choked by her like a broken ragdoll.

He closed his eyes, sinking all his focus into the sea of violent cold marrow energy in his Dantian.

Carefully, he drew a wisp of Origin Qi, as thin as a spider's thread, from that surging iceberg.

This wisp of Qi was the most refined portion he had just cultivated, as clear as the most translucent glaze, containing not a single trace of Impurities.

He did not use this wisp of Qi to repair himself; instead, he reversed it through his Meridians, slowly sending it to his throat, where it was being gripped by Xia Lengbai.

The next second, he proactively passed this pure cold marrow Origin through the cold fingertips that were piercing his flesh.

It was like handing a piping hot meat bun to a beggar who had been starving for three days and three nights.

"...!"

Xia Lengbai's body trembled violently; it was a shudder that came from the depths of her Soul.

A force of ultimate purity and coldness surged through her fingertips and into her limbs and bones.

This power resonated perfectly with the Ice Soul Immortal Physique within her, instantly providing her parched Meridians with unparalleled nourishment.

That feeling was more comfortable and addictive than any Spirit Pill in the world!

The force gripping Shen Xiao's neck slackened subconsciously at this moment.

The murderous intent in her eyes faded like the tide, replaced by a confusion almost like that of a child, as well as an extreme infatuation with the source of this power.

She let go.

But she did not move away.

Instead, like iron filings firmly attracted to a magnet, she pressed even closer, almost resting the weight of half her body on Shen Xiao.

Her nose tip sniffed gently at his neck, as if confirming the source of the scent that made even her Soul tremble.

Opportunity!

Shen Xiao was ecstatic, but he dared not show it in the slightest. He took the opportunity to lower his voice, speaking rapidly, his voice sounding just the right amount of hoarse from the lack of oxygen:

"Cooperate if you want to live. That dog outside might rush in to silence us at any moment. Right now, we are grasshoppers tied to the same rope."

He made no mention of the plundering, using only the simplest and most direct shared crisis to bind them together.

"I will help you refine this power, and you will help me heal my injuries."

Shen Xiao's eyes shone brilliantly in the dim light, full of seduction.

"We will both achieve a Breakthrough, slaughter that dog outside, and then fight our way out of here!"

Xia Lengbai did not answer.

She merely raised her head and looked deeply at Shen Xiao with those eyes that had regained a hint of clarity.

That gaze was extremely complex—containing inquiry, vigilance, and a trace of reliance that she herself had not yet realized.

A moment later, she moved away from Shen Xiao silently, circled behind him, and sat down cross-legged.

Shen Xiao's heart tightened, thinking she was going back on her word.

However, the next moment, a pair of cold, soft palms pressed directly onto the gruesome wound on his back without the slightest hesitation.

"Hiss—!"

The excruciating pain from the wound being touched made Shen Xiao gasp.

What was this woman trying to do?

She had actually chosen the most direct, brutal, and efficient channel for power!

She wanted to use her own body as an energy relay station!

"Madwoman..."

Shen Xiao cursed inwardly, but he had no choice and could only go with the flow.

With a thought, he stopped suppressing the millennium cold marrow surging in his Dantian and instead actively guided that violent energy along a specific meridian route toward his back!

The moment that extreme cold energy made contact with Xia Lengbai's palms—

"Hum!"

An indescribable resonance erupted between the two!

Shen Xiao's Spiritual Root and Xia Lengbai's Ice Soul Immortal Physique were like long-lost brothers, embracing tightly at this moment!

The cold marrow energy, which previously required nine bulls and two tigers of effort for Shen Xiao to barely refine a wisp of, now saw its refining efficiency skyrocket by more than tenfold with Xia Lengbai as a "super catalyst"!

A torrent of pure energy started from Shen Xiao's back, surged into Xia Lengbai's body, was purified and resonated by her Ice Soul Immortal Physique, and then fed back into Shen Xiao's limbs and bones.

A bizarre yet highly efficient energy cycle was thus formed!

Shen Xiao only felt that his Meridians, which had been ruined and disguised by the "Breath-Concealing Pill," were now being repaired, widened, and reinforced at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wherever the cold air passed, it felt tingling and numb, so comfortable he almost groaned aloud.

And Xia Lengbai behind him received an even greater benefit.

This power, which was still slightly too violent for Shen Xiao, was the purest and most nourishing tonic for her.

She even gave up thinking, completely obeying her body's instincts, devouring this external pure energy to achieve a Breakthrough for her long-loosened cultivation Bottleneck!

Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Perfection...

Foundation Establishment Stage...

The Spiritual Qi in the stone room began to fluctuate violently, like boiling water.

Waves of pure ice-attribute spiritual power escaped uncontrollably, passing through the cracks in the Formation Plate and permeating the entire corridor.

This sign of a Breakthrough could no longer be concealed!

Outside the stone door.

Mo Feng, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes abruptly. A flash of vigilance crossed his face, followed immediately by being overwhelmed with ecstasy!

He clearly sensed that pure, ice-attribute Spiritual Qi fluctuation that was shocking to the core!

This... this was the sign of a Breakthrough!

Junior Sister Xia was truly about to break through!

And it was under his "protection"!

Shen Xiao's half-true, half-false explanation from earlier was now completely confirmed in Mo Feng's mind, and all his doubts vanished instantly.

A Personal Disciple in the Law Enforcement Hall dungeon was breaking through unexpectedly due to suppressing a strange treasure within a fellow disciple!

And he, Mo Feng, was the sole witness and guardian of this immense merit!

This merit was too great! Great enough for him to ignore any potential risks!

If the Sect Master knew about this, how would he reward him?

Mo Feng was trembling with excitement. He sprang up from the ground, his face no longer showing any greed or coldness, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and fanaticism.

Not only did he have no intention of investigating further, but he nervously took out several black Formation Flags from his Storage Pouch.

"Order!"

He let out a low shout, precisely striking the Formation Flags into the ground and walls around the stone door, chanting incantations as he formed hand seals.

Hum—

A thicker, earth-yellow light screen rose outside the black iron gate, completely wrapping the Earth-grade room and isolating all internal and external auras.

After doing all this, Mo Feng was still not at ease. Like a vicious dog guarding its food, he held his Dharma sword and scanned the empty, deep corridor with vigilance, determined to protect "Junior Sister Xia" inside to the end and not let anyone disturb her.

The violent Spiritual Qi inside the stone room and the dead silence of the protection outside formed an incredibly absurd scene.

Time flew by in this eerie atmosphere of two different worlds inside and outside.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

When the morning light of the third day first shone through the ventilation opening at the top of the dungeon, casting a faint spot of light, the boiling Spiritual Qi fluctuation in the stone room finally calmed down slowly.

"Creak—"

The heavy black iron gate opened slowly inward.

Mo Feng, who had been guarding the door with bloodshot eyes but high spirits, immediately welcomed them, his face filled with a smile so sycophantic it was almost distorted.

"Congratulations to Junior Sister Xia for your great progress in cultivation, and congratulations to Senior Brother Shen..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

A tiny, almost invisible ice crystal, carrying a faint, imperceptible sound of breaking air, was flicked from the fingertips of Xia Lengbai, who had just stepped out of the stone room.

Fast to the extreme!

The smile on Mo Feng's face froze instantly.

His pupils reflected Xia Lengbai's cold and beautiful face, his eyes still holding the ecstasy of seeking credit, as well as a trace of... total disbelief.

A streak of bright red slowly bloomed at the center of his forehead.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not utter a single word. His body fell straight backward.

His vitality was extinguished instantly.

Until he died, he could not understand why he, who was clearly a contributor, ended up with this outcome.

Shen Xiao, who was following behind, looked at this scene, completely stunned.

He had envisioned countless follow-up scenarios.

Either dealing with Mo Feng with empty words, using the secret of the "mastermind" as a bargaining chip, or even preparing to turn against him again.

But he never expected it would be like this.

Without a word, she killed him the moment she raised her hand.

This woman... was even more ruthless and unpredictable than he had imagined!

Xia Lengbai killed Mo Feng as if she had casually crushed an ant, without the slightest fluctuation on her face.

She slowly turned her head and looked at the stunned Shen Xiao.

The pale moonstone illuminated her face.

The corners of her mouth curved into an arc.

It was an incredibly pure, yet slightly pathological smile.

"You said you wanted to tell me a secret."

Her voice was as soft as a lover's whisper, echoing in the dead-silent corridor.

"But there are too many ears around."

"Now," her beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons, "only the two of us know this secret."