Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Yan Zhen’s expression shifted slightly, his eyes widening in a touch of panic. He wondered how many times this had happened now.
Mentor Yu Xuan, who had been rocking happily atop him like a child on a pony, quickly sensed her lover’s unease. Still drowsy with pleasure, she followed his gaze and spotted a spatial rift slowly sealing shut.
Mentor Yu Xuan’s heart jolted, her desire scattering by more than half. She immediately stopped her twisting motions, rubbed her eyes vigorously, and wondered if she was seeing things.
“Yan Zhen, did you see that? It looked like the Supreme was just here—the space even cracked open…”
Yan Zhen broke into a light sweat. To spare Mentor Yu Xuan any embarrassment, he lied:
“Must’ve been a trick of the eye, Mentor. Yu Shizun’s in seclusion; she wouldn’t drop by out of nowhere. Probably just Long Ying messing around with spatial power.”
“Is that right?”
“That’s what I figure.” Yan Zhen sat up and planted a kiss on Mentor Yu Xuan’s lips, his hand gently caressing the sweat-slicked expanse of her snowy skin. “Getting tired, Mentor? Want me to take the lead?”
Mentor Yu Xuan looped her lotus-like arms around the back of Yan Zhen’s neck, arching her chest to press intimately against him. With a coquettish pout, she said:
“No way—we agreed I’d be on top. You just lie back and behave.”
“Better if we stay sitting. I want to kiss my Mentor.”
“Mm… it’s you getting kissed…”
The pair quickly regained their composure and resumed their passionate tryst.
At the Rain Master Mansion.
Yu Shizun withdrew to her seclusion chamber, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh that fluttered her veil.
Every time she took the initiative to seek out Yan Zhen, she walked in on him and Xuan’er in the throes of passion. This made three times now, and it felt downright bizarre.
The key was that Yan Zhen had noticed every single time. Would he start thinking she was doing it on purpose?
With anyone else, the Yu Shizun wouldn’t give a second thought to their opinions. But Yan Zhen was different—he was Lady Chen Xi’s one and only direct disciple.
If he mentioned this to Lady Chen Xi, her standing in Lady Chen Xi’s eyes would surely take a nosedive.
“Should I explain things to him?”
Yu Shizun hesitated.
In the previous two instances, Yan Zhen hadn’t said a word—not even to Xuan’er. Clearly, he wanted to avoid awkwardness on both sides. If she went out of her way to explain now, it would shatter that unspoken agreement.
Better to let it be.
“I’ll just be more careful next time.”
After a moment’s thought, the Yu Shizun flicked her finger, conjuring a shimmering mirror to glimpse Yan Zhen’s current state. She reconsidered and waved her sleeve, dispersing it. Such prying wasn’t wise.
With the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame in his possession, Yan Zhen’s spiritual power was formidable. He’d detect any such surveillance in an instant, making the embarrassment even worse.
“Right—a Messaging Talisman, or even a mental transmission.”
She could contact him first, confirm it was a good time, then visit. No more untimely interruptions.
Relieved by the idea, the Yu Shizun resolved to give him a holy land Messaging Talisman later.
Roughly an hour passed. Judging that they’d likely wrapped up, the Yu Shizun set out once more. This time, rather than heading straight for the bedroom, she appeared in the living room.
The living room stood empty. Yu Shizun approached the bedroom door, noting it was unlocked but sealed with a Mystic Power Restriction.
A fire-attuned one, unmistakably Yan Zhen’s handiwork—both for security and soundproofing.
Yu Shizun paused, then extended a slender jade finger and touched the door.
The Mystic Power Restriction shattered without a sound, and the slightly ajar door cracked open further. She couldn’t glimpse the bed, but faint noises carried through.
No sign of Xuan’er’s moans and gasps, though their breathing was still ragged. They must have only just finished.
Such youthful vigor—but she hoped it wouldn’t hinder his cultivation.
It wasn’t uncommon for the young and unrestrained to deplete their vitality, slowing their progress.
Of course, with Lady Chen Xi overseeing him, that wasn’t her concern.
Yan Zhen’s cultivation foundation remained impressively solid, even after the explosive power gain from refining the Extreme Flame. He’d need time to fully attune and master it.
Evidently, his talents extended to the bedchamber as well, drawing so many admirers.
Unbidden, the Yu Shizun recalled the Family Head Yu Lu’s decision. She shook her head and departed once more.
Tonight was off the table.
Inside the bedroom, Yan Zhen lay on the bed with Mentor Yu Xuan sprawled across his chest, her expression dazed. His hands tenderly roamed between her silky tresses and the smooth curve of her snowy back, though his eyes fixed on the door.
He had sensed the Mystic Power Restriction break the moment it happened. At first, he thought it was Long Ying stirring and calling him back to bed. But no—it was the Yu Shizun!
She had masked her presence expertly, but the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame he’d laid as a trap caught her aura when she breached the seal.
Yan Zhen felt a jolt of surprise. Yu Shizun had come back—and was eavesdropping from outside? What kind of odd twist was this?
After so many coincidences, it was only natural he’d start reading into it.
Hold on—did she need him for something urgent?
A sudden realization struck Yan Zhen. Yu Shizun, cultivating the Timely Rain Scripture, suffered from the same affliction. And as an adopted daughter of the Yu Family without their bloodline, her condition might be even graver.
Had something gone wrong?
Yan Zhen weighed his options briefly, then decided to check on her at her cave mansion.
He rolled over carefully, settling Mentor Yu Xuan comfortably, then withdrew slowly.
Mentor Yu Xuan let out a soft whimper, her legs twitching as her eyes fluttered open. Reluctantly, she murmured:
“Are you leaving already, Yan Zhen?”
Gazing at his alluring beauty of a mentor, Yan Zhen swallowed hard, tamped down his lingering desire, and kissed her cheek.
“Something just came to mind. I’ll be back once it’s sorted.”
Mentor Yu Xuan nodded.
“Come back soon, then. I want to hold you while I sleep.”
Yan Zhen gave a faint smile, traced a Water Symbol in the air to cleanse himself of traces, then slipped into his robes and shoes before leaving Mentor Yu Xuan’s room.
He passed through the stone door to his own quarters, entered the bedroom, and found Long Ying sleeping peacefully on the bed.
Yan Zhen tucked the covers around her, slipped out quietly, and made for the Yu Shizun’s Rain Master Mansion.
Rain God Peak was an Inverted Peak, though its summit wasn’t perfectly level.
Yan Zhen and the others’ residences lay midway up the slope; a brief climb brought him to the Rain Master Mansion, not far at all.
At the cave mansion’s entrance, Yan Zhen eyed the firmly shut gates, noting a talisman pattern device beside them like a doorbell.
He pressed his palm to it, channeling Mystic Power to activate it. His image promptly appeared on the surface.
Too advanced.
He blinked and ventured:
“Yu Shizun, it’s Yan Zhen. I need to speak with you.”
Moments later, the gates parted on their own, and the Yu Shizun’s voice drifted out:
“Come in.”
Yan Zhen stepped inside as the gates sealed behind him.
He traversed a brightly lit corridor into a vast cavern that resembled a true cave heaven paradise: lush with flowers and greenery, mists of clouds drifting lazily, walls studded with gleaming crystals.
The centerpiece was a serene lake, dominated by a colossal tree piercing the cavern ceiling at its heart. A door was carved into the trunk—the Yu Shizun’s seclusion spot.
It matched the descriptions in the records to a tee, yet seeing it firsthand filled him with wonder. Rumor had it she’d remodeled the place herself.
Whoosh.
Yu Shizun’s figure darted from the inner chamber in the trunk, alighting by the lakeside. Towering over Yan Zhen, she asked amiably:
“What brings you to This Seat?”
