Chapter 44: Golden Ring, Red Pattern

The moonlight was tranquil, shining upon the shallow inlet. Pale blue Spirit Lotuses were in full bloom, casting fantastical shadows at the bottom of the pool.

Sang Ying took deep breaths for a long time, finally calming down a bit, feeling that the cultivation wasn’t as painful anymore.

She slowly released his finger from her bite, leaving clear tooth marks on the pale white knuckle.

Tears still glistened at the corners of her eyes. She fluttered her lashes and heard the young man’s words, still dazed and not fully comprehending, when her hand was grasped by his.

She looked up blankly, meeting his molten gold vertical pupils, startling for a moment before realizing after a few seconds that they were his eyes.

Her hand was guided to cover her own lower abdomen, palm pressed against the skin, feeling a slightly rounded curve.

…I am yours now.

Sang Ying belatedly realized what his words meant, her ears instantly flushing red. This dragon really…!

But she was genuinely curious—was this really the method of Dual Cultivation?

It seemed just like what she had seen in cultivation manuals—truly all consumed, and the attracted fire element spiritual power was exceptionally abundant. She felt so full.

The Dragon Tail’s jade-green scales were smooth and beautiful, but the Golden Binding Ring at the tip of the tail had vanished, now hanging loosely around the girl’s pale wrist.

Thinking of this, Sang Ying found it incredible. The dragon tail she had seen before, aside from its color, didn’t look cute at all. How on earth had it been consumed?

Sang Ying couldn’t see it, but as her fingers lightly brushed over, she could feel a strong presence even through the skin—impossible to ignore. Curious, she gently pressed her lower abdomen.

A muffled groan suddenly fell from above, and the young man’s fingers tightened around her hand.

“Don’t move recklessly.”

Sang Ying felt somewhat displeased and looked up. “You were the one who pulled my hand here. Besides, I’m touching my own stomach. What does it have to do with you?”

Seeing that she had stopped crying and even had the mood to bicker with him, the young man brought her hand to his lips for a light kiss. “How does Junior Sister feel? Does it still hurt?”

Sang Ying blinked. At the beginning of the cultivation, it had been very painful, but perhaps because he had studied and improved, it wasn’t as painful as last time. It seemed she wasn’t injured either, and by now, it didn’t hurt anymore.

It just felt strange—the cool Dragon Tail wrapped around her leg, while another dragon tail was completely consumed. She felt it was difficult to even move slightly, as if pinned in place.

Wrapped in the scent of White Sandalwood, only the surrounding dense fire element spiritual power continuously surged toward her.

So this was Dual Cultivation… Sang Ying understood. If it was just like this, it wasn’t difficult at all.

The dragon tail remained still where it was. After adjusting to its presence, Sang Ying even found it somewhat well-behaved.

She sniffled, her voice muffled and soft with a nasal tone from crying earlier, and reached out for him to hold her. “I want to sit up. You’re pressing on me.”

“Are you sure, Junior Sister?”

What was there to be unsure about? Sang Ying nodded matter-of-factly and hummed lightly. “Back on Minghua Mountain, when you were the junior senior brother, you outranked me—fine. But now, during cultivation, why should you be on top? Hurry up, help me sit up.”

Xie Lingyu glanced at her lightly, saying nothing, and lifted her by the waist, settling her in his lap.

As soon as he released his hold, before the girl could steady herself in her seated position, she suddenly whimpered, her fingers digging into his shoulder, the corners of her eyes turning red.

He kindly reached out to steady her. Sang Ying took a moment to recover, then lifted her eyes. “Bad dragon, what mischief are you up to now? That hurt so much just now.”

Xie Lingyu chuckled softly. “Little sister, you haven’t even finished your meal yet and you’re already trying to take charge? And you blame me for being mischievous?”

Sang Ying was taken aback. Not finished? But she was already so full.

As if sensing her confusion, the young man took her hand and guided it over, placing it on his dragon tail.

Sang Ying indeed felt her fingers touch a section of the dragon tail—empty, with some Lotus Dew still clinging to it, proving his words were true.

Sang Ying stiffened, her small face paling once more. She clutched his hair helplessly, murmuring softly, “Xie Lingyu… I really can’t eat anymore.”

Xie Lingyu gently kissed the corner of her lips, soothing her. “Mm, we’ll stop here for today.”

Hearing this, Sang Ying finally relaxed. She settled into a comfortable position in his arms, absorbing the rich fire element spiritual power around her.

Lazy as a dozing cat, she closed her eyes and rested like this for a while. Suddenly, the young man nibbled her earlobe. “Little sister, you took the initiative but did nothing with it, just focused on sleeping?”

Sang Ying lifted her eyelids and touched her full dantian, satisfied. “Xie Lingyu, let’s end today’s cultivation here. I feel I’ve absorbed enough elemental spiritual power.”

The young man suddenly pinched her cheek, his voice low and somewhat gloomy. “Little sister, you’re already thinking of ending before we’ve even begun?”

Sang Ying was truly bewildered now, looking up in shock. “Cultivation hasn’t started yet? Then what were we doing all this time?”

“All that was just preparation to help you accept me. Now…”

Cool fingers gripped her waist and lifted her. He cupped her face and kissed her forcefully.

“Mm!”

Sang Ying was left speechless by the kiss, her eyelashes trembling.

Just when she had grown accustomed, everything now spiraled completely beyond her control. Her fingers tightened around his arm, nails digging in until they turned white.

The rich scent of White Sandalwood enveloped her. In the reflection of her eyes, now misted with a hazy fog, he kissed her leisurely. “This is the real cultivation, little sister.”

“Xie Lingyu…”

Her voice faltered slightly. “That cultivation manual only said to consume it, didn’t it? What are you doing now?”

The young man chuckled softly by her ear, continuing to kiss her unhurriedly as he replied, “Little sister, you’re still as unwilling to read lengthy texts as before, only looking at the pictures. You always need someone to read them to you.”

As he kissed her, he whispered the textual parts of the book into her ear.

Though he spoke so close, Sang Ying couldn’t make out a word. All she heard was the sound of water elemental spiritual power fluctuating, attracting even more fire elemental spiritual power. Water and fire merged, indistinguishable from one another.

The Qinglong swam through the vast Water Lotus Pond it had formed, its dragon tail stirring layers of waves in the pool. The scent of Lotus Dew grew increasingly rich in the air, blending ever closer with the fragrance of White Sandalwood.

The water elemental spiritual power surged so powerfully that dark clouds gathered.

Outside the Bamboo Courtyard, rain began to fall, pattering into the pond and striking the Spirit Lotuses within, leaving them swaying precariously.

Sang Ying had no experience with kissing, let alone such an intense one. Sitting in his embrace now, she couldn’t bear his fervent kisses at all. She wanted to stop him but couldn’t hold back. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she grabbed his arm, trying to make him stop.

But he kissed her fiercely, giving her no chance to speak. Her voice caught intermittently in her throat.

Even as he kissed her, he didn’t forget to cultivate, guiding two completely different types of spiritual power to merge, permeating her meridians and every part of her body.

After what felt like an eternity, Sang Ying suddenly bit his shoulder, her eyelashes trembling helplessly.

Her originally clear and beautiful amber eyes grew unfocused, dazed, as if she had lost her way. Her nails left several marks on his arm.

After she bit his dragon tail hard, the young man finally paused his cultivation, breathing heavily. His palm gently massaged her slightly trembling dantian, helping her ease the discomfort from the cultivation process.

Sang Ying rested for a moment before opening her eyes. Her eyelashes fluttered as she belatedly realized what had just happened. Her ears flushed red as she raised her hand to hit him. “Bad dragon! I wanted to speak earlier, but you just wouldn’t let me.”

The young man held her waist, his golden-flecked eyes reflecting the red gauze and moonlight behind her. He simply looked at her and chuckled softly, “I didn’t cover your mouth, little sister. How could I have stopped you from speaking?”

Sang Ying felt both embarrassed and annoyed. It was true he hadn’t covered her mouth, but he had been kissing her the whole time, leaving her no opportunity to speak.

She buried her head against his shoulder and grumbled, “Even if… even if the book said to do it this way, couldn’t you have kissed me more gently?”

“If I were truly fierce,” Xie Lingyu took her hand and placed it on his dragon tail, now coated with lotus dew, “little sister would have already finished by now.”

Sang Ying’s face flushed red as she let out a soft huff. “Alright, now that we’ve finished cultivating, I want to sleep.”

As she tried to slip out of his embrace, a cool dragon tail coiled around her. He pulled her back into his arms, his voice low. “How does little sister know we’ve finished cultivating?”

Sang Ying was taken aback. She raised her hand, gesturing vaguely, unsure how to describe what she had just felt. After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, “Didn’t you stop?”

She poked his shoulder and huffed, “Don’t even think about going back on your word. You said once, so it’s just once.”

“This is just a break for little sister.”

He took her hand and held it up between them, his thumb tracing the golden ring around her slender, pale wrist, turning it once to show her its flawless, translucent purity.

Sang Ying’s eyes widened. Did this mean they hadn’t even completed one round of cultivation?!

Before she could say anything more, the young man tightened his grip on her waist and kissed her again. Soon, a thick layer of mist gathered in Sang Ying’s eyes.

Once again, Sang Ying couldn’t speak.

The surrounding fire element spiritual power grew dense, drawn in by the water attribute spiritual power and converging into her body. She couldn’t absorb so much spiritual power on her own, so the young man helped her refine it before introducing new spiritual power, repeating the cycle over and over.

Another half-hour of cultivation passed. Her cultivation base rose from the third layer of Foundation Establishment to the fourth, though Sang Ying was unaware of this. All she knew was that she felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and she had no strength left.

Moreover, she felt incredibly thirsty. Tears fell in drops, and her throat grew hoarse from crying.

In her dazed state, she felt her chin being gently tilted, and warm tea was brought to her lips, moistening them slightly.

“Open your mouth.”

Sang Ying obediently opened her mouth and drank the water from his hand, finally feeling a bit better, but her mind was completely muddled from the kisses. She blinked, looking like a wronged little kitten, and whimpered, “The wound… hurts…”

It had been two hours already. Her body had always been delicate, and even though he had been very careful, she was still a little injured.

Xie Lingyu lifted her up, took out the prepared Immortal Spirit Ointment, dipped his fingertip into it, and applied it to her wound. He then scooped out a bit more and pushed it inside.

The ointment felt cool on the wound, and the pain subsided. Just as Sang Ying was about to relax, the dragon tail coiled around her again, and she immediately grabbed his arm.

“I… I don’t want to kiss anymore.”

Why did he keep kissing her endlessly!

The young man gently nibbled her earlobe and coaxed in a low voice, “But doesn’t baby like it too?”

Sang Ying’s mind was still not fully clear. She blinked dazedly, and hearing him call her that, she melted helplessly again. She let out a soft whimper and fell silent.

Seeing that she truly had no strength left, the young man shifted her position, took the pillow she liked most from beside them, and placed it behind her waist.

The fire element spiritual power cultivated was dense and abundant. After who knows how long, Sang Ying was fully satisfied, with only a tiny bit of spiritual power left needed to break through. But the young man stopped.

She half-opened her hazy eyes and called out, “Xie Lingyu…”

But the young man cupped her small face, his eyes dark and brooding, and asked unhurriedly, “Why does Junior Sister know so much about Xu Baishen?”

Sang Ying’s mind was a jumbled mess. She didn’t pay attention to his words at all, just clutched his hand like a lost kitten, flustered and pleading, “Xie Lingyu, hurry up…”

This time, however, the young man loosened the dragon tail and pulled back.

The fire element spiritual power completely withdrew from her side, leaving her feeling cold and neglected. Sang Ying was almost frantic. She was so close to breaking through. She opened her eyes to look for him, her voice trembling with tears, “Wah… Xie Lingyu…”

The young man let her throw herself into his embrace, lifted her small face to meet her confused and desperate eyes, and continued asking, “How does Junior Sister know that Xu Baishen has a scar on his back, along with two small moles?”

Sang Ying tried to process his words, struggling to think. Xu Baishen, scar… she couldn’t make sense of it at all. She began to sob, “I don’t know… I had Lengmian gather information… He wanted to compete with me for the sect, so I…”

Tears hung from the corners of her reddened eyes as she clutched him tightly. “Xie Lingyu, wah… I hate…”

The familiar complaint was left unfinished this time as the young man kissed her lips, pressing down heavily.

The dragon tail coiled around her once more, and dense fire element spiritual power surged in, completely overwhelming her. Satisfied at last, Sang Ying broke through the final barrier. Her beautiful amber eyes lost focus, and her consciousness blurred into a haze.

After that, she had little awareness of what happened next. Having broken through too many cultivation levels, her divine sense was utterly exhausted. She only faintly sensed that the sky outside seemed to be growing light.

The young man pressed against her lips, feeding her mouthful after mouthful of the rich White Sandalwood Dew.

“Wah…” Sang Ying regained a sliver of consciousness and pushed against him weakly, trying to break free. But the dragon tail held her tightly, and even when she could drink no more, it didn’t stop. Her little belly swelled until it was round and full.

Hazy sunlight filtered through the red gauze curtains.

The young man pulled her into his embrace, kissed her small face, and lifted her slender, pale wrist, presenting it to her like a treasure. His voice was lazy and husky.

“Junior Sister, look.”

Through the hazy light, Sang Ying groggily opened her eyes and saw a rich, eerie red pattern slowly emerging on the golden ring.