81: Chapter 81 Novel Reality, Mid-Cave Heaven Stage

The bright moon hung high, shedding its clear radiance.

Ling Hao arrived at the Alchemy Pavilion door and pushed it open to enter.

Beside the Pill Furnace, a woman in a green dress was leaning limply. Her face was an unnatural pale green, her eyes were slightly closed, and her breathing was somewhat hurried, as if she were truly being invaded by cold qi.

Ling Hao's heart skipped a beat. This girl... couldn't actually have Cold Poison by such a coincidence, could she?

“Xiao Xue!”

He stepped forward in a few strides, his voice urgent. “How are you?”

“Revered Master... I...”

Qin Zhaoxue opened her eyes, her gaze hazy and her voice weak, looking every bit as if cold qi had entered her body.

Ling Hao didn't dare delay. He immediately leaned down, placed his fingers on her wrist pulse, and a wisp of gentle spiritual power quickly probed into her body.

A moment later, his tense expression gradually relaxed, and he withdrew his hand, caught between laughter and tears.

It turned out she had taken Cold Jade Poria Cream! This spiritual cream was cold in nature, and taking too much would indeed cause a pale complexion and surface chill, mimicking a Cold Poison outbreak, but in reality, it was no cause for concern.

Seeing the relaxation and helplessness on Ling Hao's face, Qin Zhaoxue's heart felt as sweet as honey, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled into a small arc.

This subtle change in expression naturally did not escape Ling Hao's eyes.

He was amused yet exasperated. This little lass was really getting addicted to acting? And he had thought she was just going through the motions?

Fine, you like to act? Then as your Revered Master, I'll play along for the full show!

Ling Hao's eyes darkened as he instantly entered his role, his face surfacing with the gravity and anxiety that Ling Han would have shown in the novel.

He scooped Qin Zhaoxue up in a horizontal carry, his movements urgent as he strode toward the Jade Platform in the depths of the Alchemy Pavilion, which was specifically used for healing.

The Jade Platform was currently shrouded in a warm white mist.

Placing her gently on the cold Jade Platform, the chill seemed to intensify. Ling Hao furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice:

“Xiao Xue, the Cold Poison in your body has erupted too violently, far exceeding my expectations! The Blazing Sun Snow-Melting Pill is the only Medicinal Pill that can save you, but there's simply no time to refine it now!”

Ling Hao leaned down with his hands braced on the edge of the Jade Platform, trapping Qin Zhaoxue between his arms. His burning breath fanned against the side of her cool neck, his eyes filled with struggle and sorrow:

“Your life force... is being rapidly swallowed by this cold qi! I... I absolutely cannot just watch you...”

“The only plan left is the method of Dual Cultivation. Using the Extreme Yang Qi of my Pure Yang Body to dispel the Cold Poison.”

Coincidentally, Ling Hao also possessed the Heavenly Sun Body, which could be considered a Pure Yang Body. This was a rebate from when he first took Qin Zhaoxue as his Disciple.

“Forgive my offense...”

Qin Zhaoxue's heart beat like a drum from this realistic 'performance' and the close-range burning breath, her cheeks turning even redder.

Following the script, she weakly reached out her cool fingers and lightly tugged at Ling Hao's sleeve, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, filled with endless bashfulness:

“If that is the case, Revered Master, please proceed... your Disciple... your Disciple...”

She couldn't go on, turning her face away in shame, her earlobes turning red as blood.

Ling Hao watched the girl in his arms and her hesitating manner, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

He took a deep breath, his voice husky and low: “Alright.”

Ling Hao reached out his hand toward the silk sash at Qin Zhaoxue's waist. When his fingertips touched her cool skin, he clearly felt her body tremble slightly.

Her garments were undone and shed piece by piece. When the green dress was peeled away, revealing the black silk threads clinging to her skin beneath, Ling Hao's movements noticeably paused, and his breathing grew heavy.

Black Stockings?!

This 'surprise' that was completely outside the script instantly ignited the suppressed fire in Ling Hao's eyes, making it a hundred times hotter than any 'Pure Yang Qi'!

He leaned down, his warm lips almost touching Qin Zhaoxue's sensitive earlobe, his voice carrying a hint of dangerous temptation and suppressed excitement:

“Xiao Xue... this ‘Cold Poison’ of yours... has certainly prepared... quite a few ‘surprises’ for your Revered Master...”

The spiritual mist on the Jade Platform was dense, like gauze and curtains, shrouding the figures of the two.

The hurried breathing and the subtle rustling of clothes were exceptionally clear in the depths of the Alchemy Pavilion.

“Xiao Xue...”

“Your ‘script’... should have reached this step...”

The figures moved slightly, and a suppressed whimper escaped, accompanied by the graceful arch of a neck.

Outside the spiritual mist, jade feet tensed, and that hint of black silk at the ankles flickered in and out of view, unconsciously entangling.

Ling Hao's kiss fell upon her sweat-dampened forehead.

“If it hurts... bite me.”

Qin Zhaoxue's eyes were teary as she shook her head hazily, proactively offering her soft lips and murmuring indistinctly:

“I want you... closer... even closer...”

An unknown amount of time passed, and the moonlight outside the Alchemy Pavilion seemed to have shifted.

A female Disciple on duty approached with a medicine basket, only to find the Alchemy Pavilion doors tightly shut, completely sealed by a shimmering layer of Restriction.

“Eh? Today isn't a day for the Alchemy Pavilion to be closed for meditation, is it?”

She murmured in confusion and eventually had no choice but to leave, puzzled.

On the Jade Platform, the intensity returned to calm, leaving only the thick spiritual mist to slowly settle.

Ling Hao used his outer robe to wrap the girl in his arms, who was now as limp as mud, leaving only her slightly red face and her waterfall-like black hair spread across the Jade Platform.

The delicate body under the robe was soft, with only faint breaths remaining. Ling Hao's broad palm pressed against Qin Zhaoxue's smooth back, slowly infusing gentle and peaceful spiritual power to help her regulate the churning vital energy in her body.

Qin Zhaoxue buried her burning cheek deep into the hollow of his neck, her voice husky and languid:

“Revered Master... the book... didn't write... that it would be... this teasing...”

Ling Hao chuckled, his thin lips punitively biting her sensitive earlobe:

“Then... next time you change the ‘script’?”

The girl in his arms gave a dissatisfied whimper:

“The Qin Zhaoxue in the book... wasn't... made to cry like this...”

Ling Hao's heart softened. He turned back and tenderly wiped away the tear stains from the corners of her eyes with his thumb:

“Alright, next time I'll have ‘Ling Han’... be gentler?”

Qin Zhaoxue raised her misty eyes and glared at him coquettishly, with a hint of grievance:

“You... are much fiercer... than him in the book...”

The smile in Ling Hao's eyes deepened. His palm slid down her waistline and gave a firm but gentle rub at the root of her sore thigh through the outer robe:

“If I weren't ‘fierce’... how could I thoroughly expel the ‘Cold Poison’ for you?”

Looking at his Disciple, who was like a delicate flower bud drenched by a sudden rainstorm, Ling Hao's heart felt tender, and he decided not to hide it anymore.

“Xiao Xue, actually, I...”

Before he could finish, Qin Zhaoxue burst into laughter and looked at him with watery eyes:

“Actually, Revered Master is also from over there, right?”

Ling Hao was slightly stunned, then he also laughed:

“It seems that word ‘Moe’ exposed me?”

Qin Zhaoxue playfully bit his shoulder: “It wasn't just ‘Moe’! There was also the ‘Geometric Symmetry Method’ you taught Senior Sister! And that time playing the flute under the moon...”

The more she spoke, the more embarrassed and annoyed she became, her pink fists lightly thumping his chest.

“Revered Master is so bad! You clearly knew everything, yet you kept making fun of me!”

She suddenly remembered something and smiled slyly, leaning close to Ling Hao's ear. Her breath was like orchids, her voice soft and alluring:

“It's just that I didn't expect Revered Master... to like Black Stockings so much? No wonder that time after I was injured by the Pill Furnace explosion, when Revered Master was helping me heal... your eyes were always glancing here...”

She suggestively rubbed her calf, which was wrapped in black silk, against him.

“Was it... then that you guessed it?”

Being exposed by her, Ling Hao showed a rare moment of embarrassment. He then straightened his face and made a move to tickle her:

“Alright, little lass, you're becoming lawless, aren't you? It seems I need to set you straight...”

As the two laughed and played, the distance between their hearts drew even closer.

In this moment of warmth, a series of cool female voices rang out in Ling Hao's mind.

“Ding! Detected that Qin Zhaoxue's loyalty has reached 100%, triggering a Heaven-Defying Fate Change! Heavenly Yin Physique has evolved into the Innate Heavenly Yin Dao Body, and the Earth-grade Spiritual Root has evolved into an Immortal-grade Spiritual Root!”

Ling Hao was overjoyed! He had been worried about Qin Zhaoxue's Cultivation speed after her Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, but now that both her Physique and Spiritual Root had evolved, there were no more worries!

“Ding! Grotto-Heaven evolution complete, successfully promoted to [Middle Stage]!”

“Ding! Grotto-Heaven spatial channel has stabilized. You can enter the Grotto-Heaven with your true body or Divine Thought at any time!”

Enter with his true body?!

After the Grotto-Heaven was promoted to the Middle Stage, he could actually enter with his physical body?

This was truly an unexpected joy!