Enduring humiliation for three years, seizing the elixir, the treasure, and the holy maiden.

I just can't live without Su Chen...

Who am I...?

A lowly slave being auctioned off.

In the end, she only deserves to be Su Chen's sex slave.

After all, how could she possibly be worthy of Su Chen?

Ever since the incident with the Obscure Moon Demon Sect.

I no longer have the right to do so.

Even so, I couldn't suppress that thought.

Oh.

How despicable.

So what if you're lowly?

Wang Mei rested her forehead on Su Chen's knee.

"Owner."

"I don't want to remove the slave mark."

Su Chen frowned.

These words came out of nowhere.

"What's the point of keeping that slave mark?"

He pulled his foot away from her hand a little.

"Isn't it good to regain one's freedom?"

"Why should you be subject to my control?"

"The world is vast, and you have now broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. In your early years, you were a prodigy of your sect."

"The road ahead is still very long."

"On the path to immortality, how can you walk with someone else's rope tied around your neck?"

Wang Mei didn't look up.

"But Master."

Her voice sounded muffled.

"If this slave seal is removed."

"From now on, won't my master and I be like strangers?"

Su Chen shook his head.

"I will not restrict your freedom."

"The phrase 'as if we were strangers' is too harsh."

"The Great Way is without emotion."

"But cultivators are not stones after all."

"If you're willing, we can address each other as friends from now on."

"I'll pave the way for you in Luoyan City, and no one will dare to come to your door again."

Wang Mei then raised her head.

Her eyes were red.

"But Master."

"If I don't speak up today, I'm afraid I'll never have another chance."

The little hand was still resting on Su Chen's foot.

His body trembled...

"My feelings for you, my master, go beyond those of a benefactor."

I like you.

"You should know this!!!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

A small clump of ash from the incense burner was blown away by the wind that seeped in through the window cracks.

Su Chen wasn't surprised.

He hasn't been blind all these years.

The matter of the Heaven-Mending Pill, that trip to the black market, and that girl on the top floor of Qinghuan Pavilion who was fed a love potion.

He could see through their thoughts.

It's just that being able to see it and being able to take it on are two different things.

Now I have Wang Yuyan, Lin Wanwan, and Li Tianqi by my side.

The Holy Maiden Bai Luwei of Xueyuan Pavilion is a recent phenomenon, occurring only a few months ago.

On the path of cultivation, there is inherently little time to devote to romantic love.

He spent most of his life seeking opportunities, breaking through barriers, and fighting tooth and nail with others.

"I won't hide it from you."

Su Chen leaned forward a little.

"I cannot give you an answer."

"At least for the next few hundred years, I won't have the time or energy for this."

Wang Mei smiled.

That slight smile lingered on the corners of his still-damp eyes, looking somewhat forced.

"It's alright."

Even so.

"I'm willing too."

"Why bother?"

Su Chen sighed.

"With your talent, your cultivation, and your appearance..."

"From now on, countless people across the Xuanhuang Continent will be lining up to wait for your approval."

Why waste your time here?

Wang Mei really couldn't care less at this moment.

He had been guarding this shop for three years, driving away people from the Nascent Soul stage to the Deity Transformation stage, all waiting for this day.

If we swallow our words today, then these three years of waiting will have been in vain.

She stood up abruptly and wrapped her arms around Su Chen's neck.

He was so bold that even he was startled.

When her warm little mouth touched him, her burned shoulder was pressed against Su Chen's chest.

A pair of jade-like feet peeked out from under her skirt and playfully hooked their arms around Su Chen's calves a couple of times.

Su Chen's hand was originally meant to push her away.

Halfway through, that desire to conquer resurfaced.

That's it.

As soon as the dual cultivation technique was activated, the spiritual energy in the room flowed into the two people's spiritual apertures.

The sunlight slanting in through the window crack was disturbed and flickered.

The soft couch began to rock.

The incense burner on the table was moved half an inch to the side, but it still didn't fall off.

Su Chen is currently at the Refinement of Emptiness cultivation level.

When that spiritual energy entered her body, Wang Mei felt as if someone had lifted her up from below, as if she had just broken through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

The primordial spirit condenses into reality inch by inch.

Immediately following was a tingling sensation that shot from the sacrum and coccyx all the way to the top of the head.

She was half-conscious, with only a few intermittent sounds coming from her throat.

Right in that moment.

Su Chen channeled his spiritual energy into her primordial spirit, pinpointing the black pattern coiled at the deepest part of her body.

A touch.

The slave seal that had been carved for three years has been dispelled.

It was scattered cleanly, leaving not a trace.

Wang Mei didn't notice at all at that time.

...

The sun moved from one end of the window to the other, finally setting behind the wall.

The soft couch fell silent.

Wang Mei lay slumped in Su Chen's arms, too lazy to even move a finger.

The Taoist robe was draped over the edge of the couch, and the burn on his shoulder had been smoothed out by spiritual power.

"Owner."

She buried her face in Su Chen's chest.

"I wish things could stay like this forever."

"Don't."

Su Chen closed his eyes.

"Then I'd be completely drained by you."

Wang Mei smiled.

Halfway through her laughter, she realized that the heavy feeling that had been weighing on her soul had disappeared.

The slave seal is gone.

She was stunned for a long time, but didn't ask.

What good would asking do?

Anyway, the person is still here.

...

Su Chen got up before dark.

He took a piece of wood from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

The piece of wood was no more than the length of a palm, and its entire body was bluish-black. At the break, there were concentric rings of grooves that wound inwards, and a little moisture seeped into the grooves.

Wang Mei was originally a pill cultivator from a certain sect, and she recognized him at a glance.

Spirit wood.

Even a low-grade of this thing can draw out the medicinal properties of a top-grade elixir. If used for refining artifacts, it would be enough to form the core of a high-grade magic weapon.

It's possible that only three pieces of this material will emerge from the entire Xuanhuang Continent in a year.

"This is for you."

Su Chen straightened his sleeves.

"Your alchemy skills have improved considerably in the past few years."

"Here you go, you might find it useful."

Wang Mei held the piece of wood, her fingers gripping it tightly.

"Master, are you leaving already?"

"There's still a lot going on in Luoyan City."

Su Chen walked to the curtain and glanced back at her.

"I will come to see you in the future."

When the bamboo curtain was lowered, Wang Mei was still kneeling on the couch.

She rubbed the piece of spirit wood against her face.

The wood is cold.

...

In Xueyuan Pavilion, the sun rarely shines for more than a few days a year.

The second floor of the attic.

A pair of delicate feet emerged from the soft cushion.

Bai Luwei is in an unusually good mood today.

She wore a soft, moon-white dress that hugged her figure.

I rested my chin on the windowsill, gazing at the layer of mist on the lake.

Su Chen has returned to the Xuanhuang Continent.

This wasn't something she guessed herself.

The news of the battle at the Nightless City three days ago traveled along the teleportation arrays of several continents all the way to Xuanhuang.

A century has passed from foundation building to refining emptiness.

A Mahayana cultivator personally descended to the mortal realm.

Either of these two rumors, if they were to spread, would be enough to keep the entire cultivation world talking for thirty years.

Now, all the storytellers in the Dan City teahouse of Luoyan City have changed their scripts.

Bai Luwei wasn't listening to those things.

When Su Chen parted ways with me at Xueyuan Pavilion back then, he made it very clear.

Once he reaches the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he will formally become her Daoist partner.

...