When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

The Jade Capital Pavilion is shrouded in deep fog at night, and the snow falls, making the night long and cold.

Yi Chen sat cross-legged in the center of the cold pool, his eyes slightly closed. The extreme cold energy slowly seeped into the depths of his meridians through the acupoints around his body, reinforcing the seal that had been maintained within his body for many years.

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the lunar eclipse, the feeling of the seal loosening has become increasingly apparent lately.

This is not a good sign.

Yi Chen was originally focused, but at this moment, Qiao Yu's scarlet eyes involuntarily appeared in his mind.

similar.

Ugly eyes, equally filthy blood.

If it weren't for their master's seal back then, he and Qiao Yu would be no different from any other half-demon in the world. Her madness and hatred, and her miserable end of being rejected by the world, were perhaps the path she was destined to take.

But then another voice echoed in my mind.

—Master, your eyes are so beautiful.

Suddenly, memories flooded back, and Yi Chen recalled the days when Master Zhiyue brought him back to the Taiyi Sect. At that time, his master stood before him as a child, sword in hand. He had thought that the female cultivator before him would end his wretched self with a single sword strike.

Unexpectedly, the other person simply took off their outer robe and threw it at his mud-covered body.

"Put this on. What kind of appearance do you look with barely any clothes on?" She sheathed her sword, took out a gourd of wine, took a sip, and tossed it to the little demon. "Warm yourself up. Do you have a name? If not, I'll give you one. From now on, you'll follow me."

This was undoubtedly a reckless decision. Yi Chen still doesn't understand why his master would be so soft-hearted, and why he would take in a half-demon and give him a place to stand.

But Master Zhiyue was always detached from worldly affairs, and since his master didn't say anything, he didn't ask either.

Yi Chen didn't feel much belonging to the term "fellow kind," and never considered himself to belong to either human or demon. He had simply followed his master's orders to cultivate the Dao until now, and in this world, he neither asked where he came from nor where he was going.

However, the leniency of the True Man of the Moon also occasionally made him wonder: Are half-demons truly unforgivable?

As his thoughts returned, Yi Chen's eyes darkened.

After an unknown amount of time, he withdrew from the icy pool and habitually sensed the location of the master-disciple contract.

How could we be so close?

Didn't they go down the mountain to gain experience?

Just as they were wondering, a streak of light suddenly appeared in the sky and fell straight towards the cold pool.

The outer perimeter of the icy pool was protected by a barrier personally set up by Yi Chen, strong enough to keep out any intruders below the Nascent Soul stage. Anyone who forced their way in would inevitably be injured by the rebound of spiritual energy. Seeing that Chu Xianlan showed no sign of stopping, Yi Chen didn't have time to think further and removed the barrier.

"thump--"

A figure descended from the sky, crashing straight into the water and shattering the tranquility. It embraced the pool intimately and remained submerged for a long time before failing to resurface.

The moonlight on the pond was shattered into pieces.

Yi Chen was startled and reached into the water, but his wrist was grabbed by a strong force.

The next moment, Chu Xianlan popped her head out of the water and wrapped her arms around Yi Chen's shoulders and back with such force that it was as if a drowning person had grabbed a lifeline. Then, she pressed her wet body against him.

The moment his gaze froze, Yi Chen's eyes widened in disbelief as an enlarged face loomed close before him.

Her lips were slightly parted, more rosy than usual, appearing excessively soft.

The lower lip was glistening with water droplets, giving the illusion that a light touch would leave a mark.

Yi Chen's breathing stopped.

He could almost feel the warmth emanating from his disciple's lips, gently spraying onto his own.

With his heart pounding, Yi Chen abruptly turned his face away, avoiding the dangerous distance.

too close.

I dare not imagine what would have happened if I hadn't dodged... It would have been... It would have been... It would have been... It would have been against all propriety.

What exactly is going on...?

Nonsense!

"Chu Li, let go." Yi Chen's Adam's apple bobbed, his tone carrying a hint of sternness.

The boy seemed oblivious to his reprimands, his restless head resting on Yi Chen's shoulder. Chu Xianlan murmured indistinctly, "What's this smell? It smells so good..."

Yi Chen was stunned for a moment.

Because he also smelled the so-called "fragrance".

—Extremely faint, very little, yet it truly emanated from the disciple.

The subtle threads, impossible to ignore, are like a silent invitation.

In the short time it took to catch his breath, the boy became restless again.

Like a little animal seeking its own flavor, he restlessly rubbed against the other person, greedily and eagerly inhaling their scent. Then, as if that wasn't enough, he stuck out his tongue and gave them a very light lick.

Yi Chen was startled.

Ice-elemental cultivators have difficulty perceiving cold, but this also makes them exceptionally sensitive to warmth.

This situation was far too inappropriate between a master and disciple. Yi Chen could no longer tolerate it and had to push the person away forcefully. Only then did he realize that his disciple's eyes had been tightly closed and his body was burning hot, like a blazing fire.

Not right.

...Has the Life-Binding Gu flared up?

According to Xie Qingying's previous statement, there was still a long time before the Gu worms would take effect, so how could Chu Xianlan...?

Where does that strange "fragrance" come from?

Since things have come to this, we might as well just knock him unconscious and calm him down first.

But the other party's current state... is no different from being unconscious. Being dizzy on top of dizzy won't do any good.

Suddenly, a tingling, itchy, stinging sensation came from my neck.

Chu Xianlan relentlessly pursued the comforting fragrance, no longer content with just smelling it, and instead brazenly bit his neck, leaving a row of conspicuous light red teeth marks.

A Nascent Soul cultivator is not a mortal and is not easily marked. However, due to his long-standing habit, Yi Chen did not deliberately maintain spiritual energy protection in front of his disciples and never thought that he would be taken advantage of at this time.

"..."

Yi Chen's blank brain seemed to snap for a moment.

The emotional ups and downs of the past few days, the embarrassment of being unconsciously provoked by his disciple, and the lingering alluring fragrance... all these things combined to stir up a storm in his heart, making it difficult to maintain a calm surface.

He grabbed Chu Xianlan's misbehaving hand, turned around, and easily pinned her against the stone wall.

The force was almost brutal.

"...Mmm."

Chu Xianlan was suppressed, as if she had suffered a great injustice. She made whimpering sounds in her throat, like a hungry puppy complaining about being starved. She looked pitiful and innocent, and she would only behave if she was wet and pressed against her master.

Yi Chen looked down at him, his deep pupils slowly narrowing.

The silent, cold pool is far removed from the outside world, as if everything in this world could be hidden within it.

The aroma was even sweeter now.

His gaze wavered for a moment, then the man lowered his head and leaned down to get close to the nape of the neck beneath the black hair.

Under the moonlight, his shadow was long and slanted, pitch black like a snake's shadow silently swimming across the water, completely covering the other person's back.

Following the scent, only a short distance remained.

The tip of his nose almost touched... touched...

In an instant, Yi Chen regained full consciousness, as if struck by lightning, and retreated with lightning speed!