Yan Zhen was about to follow the Beautiful Female Master’s instructions—infuse the Mystic Artifact Embryo with Gold-Silver Fire and detonate it to injure the Tier 4 Mystic Beast and escape—but Yi Xian’er unleashed her Fiend Body’s power. She surged to near Mystic King level, and together they slew the Fire Slave.
That excessive use triggered her Fiend Body’s eruption the night before the full moon, wildly out of control. It nearly killed Yan Zhen, forcing her to leave before he found the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame.
Now reborn, Yi Xian’er wouldn’t lose control again.
A Tier 4 Mystic Beast was tough, but any power below Mystic King she could handle.
So this time, she could stay with him until he found the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame.
The thought filled Yi Xian’er with joy.
Inside the tent, she patted Yan Zhen’s shoulder and said,
“We should find the last Evil Fire Brand tomorrow.”
Yan Zhen looked at her silently for a long moment before replying,
“I hope so.”
“Rest early. We head out at first light!” Yi Xian’er pulled him down to lie with her, snuggling into his arms with a coquettish plea. “Hold me while we sleep tonight.”
Yan Zhen stroked her hair tenderly and nodded with a smile.
Such a gentle expression caught Yi Xian’er off guard, making her shy.
“What’s wrong, Yan Zhen?”
“Nothing. Let’s sleep.” Yan Zhen murmured, “Actually, I really like holding you like this. A girl’s body is all soft and smooth and pale everywhere. It’s more comfortable than any blanket. Plus, you smell amazing.”
“Then why’d you refuse before when I asked you to hold me?”
“…I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold back.”
Mmm~ Yi Xian’er seemed delighted with that answer. Biting her lip, she said,
“If you can’t hold back, it’s fine. If you really want to, you can… have my back.”
“!!!”
—Don’t say tempting things like that right now!
Yan Zhen nearly lost control and shot her an exasperated look.
“I’m not that desperate yet.”
“So does just sucking on them satisfy you?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Want to suck on them now?”
“No need.”
“Really?”
“Go to sleep already.”
“Hee hee. You can sneak a nibble after I fall asleep~”
“…”
“Yan Zhen.”
“What?”
Smack. Her lips brushed his lightly.
“Good night kiss~”
“…”
Yan Zhen thought for a moment, then kissed her cheek.
“Good night.”
Yi Xian’er’s heart melted with sweetness. She nestled into his arms and closed her eyes.
The tent grew quiet, but Yan Zhen didn’t sleep. He focused his mind, preparing to ward off the Baleful Qi leaking from her body.
At the hour of the rat, Yi Xian’er slept deeply. Gray-black Baleful Qi slipped from her control, emanating from her skin and crashing into Yan Zhen, who held her close.
Even with Gold-Silver Fire, he was nearly frozen stiff.
The Baleful Qi’s intensity neared Mystic General level, while his Gold-Silver Fire’s peak was only Mystic Master.
Fortunately, this was just uncontrolled “leakage”—potent but sparse. Yan Zhen could barely hold on.
In the script, when Yi Xian’er’s Fiend Body fully erupted, her power hit High-Star Mystic King, nearing Mystic Lord. If he hadn’t fled fast and gotten the Beautiful Female Master’s help, he’d have died.
“…”
—So cold! Can I really endure this?
Nearly half an hour in, and Yi Xian’er’s Baleful Qi showed no sign of stopping. Yan Zhen’s Mystic Power was nearly depleted, his lips turning purple from the cold.
He hurriedly popped a handful of Mystic Power-restoring pills into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he focused on circulating his power, generating more heat to dispel the yin chill.
Where their bodies touched, sweat soaked everything—drying only to soak again.
An hour passed. Yan Zhen’s head swam with dizziness, exhaustion creeping over him. The mystic power within his body could no longer keep pace, and his temperature dropped bit by bit. He felt like a beggar lost in a frozen wilderness, on the verge of freezing to death at any moment.
“Why hasn’t it stopped? Right—there’s still the phosphorus fire!”
Phosphorus fire was yin in nature as well and could absorb yin baleful qi.
Yan Zhen released phosphorus fire from the Fire Refining Starry Sky, letting it soak up the baleful qi that filled the tent. Only then did he manage to relax a little.
As the baleful qi diminished, Yan Zhen’s body temperature slowly rose, and the shivering eased from his limbs.
However, the unfamiliar aura of the phosphorus fire instinctively put Yi Xian’er on alert, and she slowly stirred awake.
Sensing the baleful qi lingering in the tent, along with Yan Zhen’s pallid face and purple lips, Yi Xian’er instantly understood what had happened.
Her internal baleful qi had leaked out unconsciously while she slept!
Once awake, Yi Xian’er stopped emitting any more baleful qi. Instead, she inhaled sharply and swallowed every last trace of it from the tent.
“Yan Zhen, are you okay?”
Yan Zhen also casually withdrew the phosphorus fire, smiling and shaking his head.
Yi Xian’er quickly sat up, putting some distance between herself and Yan Zhen as she wrapped the blanket fully around him.
Seeing his haggard state filled her with guilt.
“I’m sorry, Yan Zhen. I had no idea this would happen… This isn’t the first time, is it? You woke up late before because you were warming me up, right? Why didn’t you say something sooner, you idiot?”
A flicker of fear crossed Yi Xian’er’s face.
In her previous life, her Fiend Body had nearly killed Yan Zhen when it went berserk. That was her worst nightmare.
After her rebirth, she had vowed never to lose control in front of him again. Yet she hadn’t anticipated that her baleful qi would leak out while she was unconscious.
Right—she remembered how, right after becoming the Thousand Fiend Queen, this had happened even when she slept alone in the Deep Palace. The entire palace would turn into a frigid wasteland, so cold that the maids could barely approach her.
She had overcome the flaw later on, so she had subconsciously put it out of her mind.
—I really am such an idiot!
“Yan Zhen, I…”
“Don’t worry, Xian’er. I’m fine.” Yan Zhen gave her a smile. “If you feel bad about it, then lie back down and let me hold you. It’ll be even warmer sharing body heat like that.”
Yi Xian’er’s eyes reddened.
“You… you’re still willing to hold me?”
“There’s no baleful qi on you now, is there?” Yan Zhen took hold of Yi Xian’er’s hand. “Without that getting in the way, you’re nothing but a soft, tender, and sweet-smelling body pillow. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle that?”
“Yan Zhen…”
Yi Xian’er’s heart trembled. She bit her lip, then slipped out of her clothes, baring her flawless body. With that, she dove under the blanket, hugging Yan Zhen from the side. Not only did her arms wrap around him—her legs entwined with his as well—and her rosy little mouth captured his chilled earlobe.
The sensitive spot sent Yan Zhen flushing bright red in an instant. Heat flooded through his body, in every sense of the word.
“N-No need to go that far!”
Yi Xian’er released his earlobe, her voice thick with emotion.
“I’m already yours. This is nothing at all.”
“Xian’er, don’t talk nonsense.”
“Even if you won’t admit it, I’m yours.” Yi Xian’er said stubbornly. “I was before, I am now, and I’ll always be… I love you, Yan Zhen. I love you so much—from my past life into this one, loving you more every day… You’re my everything, the reason I live. Nothing matters more than you.”
The girl’s impassioned confession spilled out in a tumbled rush, each word striking deep into the young man’s heart.
