Master Chen Xi’s delicate features still bore faint traces of lingering passion, lending her an allure that was every bit as captivating as the Myriad Snake Queen’s.
Facing the “disciple’s daughter-in-law’s” pointed question, she replied without haste:
“The Great Crimson Heaven Flame is Zhen’er’s third Extreme Flame that he refined. The Three Extreme Flames mark a major hurdle. When they converge inside the body, they clash violently with one another, driving the cultivator into a berserk state. That’s why Zhen’er lost control just now and assaulted This Seat.”
Who didn’t know Yan Zhen had gone berserk earlier? the Myriad Snake Queen thought. The real question was why Master Chen Xi hadn’t fought back.
“With your power, you could have suppressed him easily, couldn’t you?”
Master Chen Xi shook her head.
“This berserk episode is both a trial and a golden opportunity for Zhen’er. If he can push through it, his strength will soar to an entirely new level.”
The Myriad Snake Queen fell silent. In her previous life, after Yan Zhen had ravished her for a full day and night, Master Chen Xi had given her the very same explanation.
The tempering from the Gold-Silver Fire, the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame, and the Great Crimson Heaven Flame had elevated Yan Zhen’s mystic power, divine soul, and body realm all at once. It was this berserk state alone that purged the hidden dangers born from his overly rapid breakthroughs. No matter what, Master Chen Xi refused to intervene and suppress him.
She simply hadn’t anticipated that Yan Zhen’s berserk fury would unleash not only primal combat instincts but also raw, carnal lust—especially from a young man who’d always been so abstinent.
By now, though, Yan Zhen had long been “awakened” by Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue. In his berserk state, those conquest-driven urges and domineering impulses naturally surged forth, targeting the closest person at hand: Master Chen Xi.
Master Chen Xi had simply gone with the flow, letting him vent his desires.
It all made perfect sense.
And yet, the Myriad Snake Queen couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
Why not just spar with him instead of letting him take her like that?
As the world spirit of the Fire Refining Starry Sky, Master Chen Xi shouldn’t have been suppressed by the power Yan Zhen had borrowed from this realm, should she?
Had she simply taken pity on his agonized expression?
The Myriad Snake Queen knew the master-disciple bond between them ran deep, but this deep? It bordered on the absurd.
“Doesn’t it bother Master Chen Xi at all? For something like that to happen with your own disciple…”
Master Chen Xi detected the resentment laced through She Ji’s words and replied coolly:
“This Seat has been trapped in the Fire Refining Starry Sky for countless years, long since abandoning any hope of escape. Worldly morals and ethics mean nothing to This Seat. My one and only goal now is to raise Zhen’er into a true powerhouse, and for that, This Seat will pay any price—including this half-human, half-spirit shell of a body.”
—That’s not what you said in our previous life!
The Myriad Snake Queen itched to fire back, but what would be the point? The past was the past; this was the present.
It was much like how Yan Zhen and Yun Xiu had never consummated their relationship in that previous life, yet here he was, light-years ahead of her now. If she dallied any longer, he’d probably have a child born before Yan’er.
“But if Master Chen Xi does this, won’t Yan Zhen be wracked with guilt when he wakes up?”
“His mind was in chaos; he won’t remember it clearly. As long as you and I stick to the same story—that he was trapped in a nightmare—we’ll be fine.”
—Is this really okay?
A strange discomfort twisted in the Myriad Snake Queen’s chest.
Yan Zhen wasn’t an idiot. If he ever pieced together the truth, disaster would follow!
In the previous life, after he’d violated her, he’d vowed to come marry her. This time around, it was Master Chen Xi’s turn—did that mean he’d marry Master Chen Xi instead?
The thought jolted the Myriad Snake Queen. Unbidden, a vivid image bloomed in her mind: Master Chen Xi, along with her and Zi Xunyi, stripped utterly bare and kneeling before Yan Zhen. Their breasts cupped in offering, tongues extended in shameless plea for his pleasure.
She shook her head sharply, banishing the lewd reverie.
—This wasn’t the time for such fantasies. Far more pressing matters demanded her attention.
“…So, is Yan Zhen out of danger now?”
The Myriad Snake Queen sensed her phrasing was imprecise and tried again:
“What I mean is, will he go berserk like that again anytime soon?”
“Yes,” Master Chen Xi said firmly. “This Seat lacks a yin-chill constitution, so all I could do was let Zhen’er vent. I can’t truly calm the agitation of the Three Extreme Flames.”
What was more, Master Chen Xi’s primordial yin was far too potent for Yan Zhen to absorb. If she’d offered it up willingly, it might have overwhelmed and shattered him instead.
Calming—or rather, appeasing—the Three Extreme Flames’ turmoil to a level Yan Zhen could endure didn’t mean crushing them into total submission. That would rob him of the growth benefits. In essence, raw power wasn’t the priority; endurance that matched Yan Zhen’s own was what mattered most.
Take Jiu Youyue, for instance. She shared the same yin-chill body type, but their dual cultivation had only scratched the surface. She’d stabilized his mystic power and called it a win, when in truth she was miles short of the mark—it demanded a full day and night of unrelenting effort!
Chen Xi had no designs on stealing the role for herself. Ultimately, the Myriad Snake Queen would be the one to aid Yan Zhen, and even in the previous life, Chen Xi’s hands-off approach had factored that in.
At these words, fresh hope kindled in the Myriad Snake Queen’s heart:
“So, it really does take someone with a yin-chill constitution to help him properly?”
Master Chen Xi inclined her head in gentle assent:
“Precisely. Among us, only you and Jiu Youyue possess that trait. You are Zhen’er’s future wife, after all, so This Seat would much prefer you take the lead. It would fulfill Yan’er’s wish into the bargain. That said, if it’s truly too much for you, This Seat won’t press. Jiu Youyue shares an intimate bond with Zhen’er; she’d never refuse.”
“I’m more than willing!” the Myriad Snake Queen blurted out. “Yan’er said it seemed like I conceived her right around now, so… whether it’s for her sake or for Yan Zhen’s, I—cough—I consider it my solemn duty.”
The words tumbled out ever more awkwardly, making it sound as if she were desperate to bed Yan Zhen and conceive on the spot.
And truthfully, that feverish longing burned at the core of her thoughts. Still, in front of an elder she held in such reverence, shouldn’t she have couched it more delicately~?
“It’s good that you accept,” Master Chen Xi said with a faint smile. “One caution, though: Zhen’er grows exceedingly ferocious in his berserk state. You alone might prove unequal to the task. Perhaps enlist Jiu Youyue’s aid to share the load.”
A flush crept over the Myriad Snake Queen’s cheeks, tinting them a delicate pink.
She recalled the previous life: Yan Zhen, lost to his berserk rage, filling every orifice—front, back, and mouth—until it all overflowed. And Master Chen Xi had watched her every humiliating moment from start to finish.
Though in fairness, she’d just witnessed Master Chen Xi’s own moment of vulnerability. Call it even.
“I’ll think it over.”
“Zhen’er will be fine for the time being—no need for concern,” Master Chen Xi said. “Head out first and join Jiu Youyue and Yun Xiu in mopping up the Demon Domain intruders.”
Something in her tone prompted an instinctive response from the Myriad Snake Queen:
“Disciple’s wife understands.”
She regretted the words the instant they left her lips.
They weren’t even married yet, and here she was, eagerly claiming the title of “disciple’s wife.” How forward—
Master Chen Xi’s lips quirked upward ever so slightly:
“Go.”
Face burning with embarrassment, the Myriad Snake Queen departed the Fire Refining Starry Sky. She channeled that mortification into blazing fury, directing it at Infant Spirit and Mang Huang.
As the Myriad Snake Queen’s figure faded from view atop the altar, Master Chen Xi exhaled a soft, fragrant breath.
—Finally, that was dealt with.
She hadn’t expected She Ji to recover so quickly—likely thanks to her prior experience with evolution, which had smoothed the process.
Equally unforeseen was the sheer ferocity of her precious disciple. She’d assumed she could handle him, but he’d nearly broken her~
—All those stolen indulgences might have caught up with her at last.
Master Chen Xi reached out, gently caressing her disciple’s face. She let out a silent sigh.
