But strangely, this aura was unfamiliar. It definitely didn’t belong to Jun Yao.
’What’s going on?’
’Didn’t Fu Yuan and Ming Ye say that Nuannuan was abducted by that bastard Jun Yao? So why is the aura on her all wrong?’
A flash of doubt quickly passed through Si Xie’s eyes.
Jiang Yunnuan looked at him, her expression serious as she asked, "If I couldn’t resist temptation and did... that kind of thing with an outsider, would you be disgusted with ?"
"Of course not!"
Si Xie answered without hesitation, his voice firm.
’How could I ever be disgusted with her?’
’I’d just be jealous and heartbroken, that’s all.’
"I’m sorry, Nuannuan. I shouldn’t have brought this up and upset you."
He hugged her, his voice soft as he apologized.
Jiang Yunnuan rested against his chest and said softly, "I’m not upset. You were just worried about . You didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t need to apologize."
"As long as you’re not upset..."
He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Fu Yuan ca out of the cave.
Si Xie imdiately turned to look at him. Fu Yuan pressed his lips together and slowly shook his head.
Inside the cave, there was no one, only a lingering, intimate aura. The person had left at so unknown ti, yet he hadn’t sensed a thing.
’It seems that person’s Realm is in no way inferior to mine.’
’They must have obtained a heaven-defying opportunity during their disappearance. Otherwise, their Cultivation could never have advanced by such leaps and bounds.’
Seeing this, a flash of disappointnt crossed Si Xie’s eyes.
’I was hoping we could use Fu Yuan’s new Half-step Ultimate Venerable Cultivation to challenge that bastard who took Nuannuan. But damn, he ran off fast!’
"I’m so sorry, Nuannuan. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have insisted on keeping you at the bottom of the sea during my advancent. It’s because of that you had to go through this. Go ahead and yell at ..."
Fu Yuan walked over, took one of her hands, and apologized, his gentle eyes filled with guilt.
’I was truly terrified!’
’I can’t even imagine what state she’d be in right now if it wasn’t Jun Yao who took her, but so strange Beastman, or a savage, frenzied mber of the Sea Clan.’
’But Jun Yao is so domineering and possessive of her. After finally getting a chance to abduct her, why would he let her go so easily?’
’What on earth is going on?’
"It was an accident. You can’t be blad. You never expected sothing like this to happen. Besides, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I? Don’t bla yourself so much."
Jiang Yunnuan shook her head and cupped his face to comfort him.
’He set up a Barrier before he started his advancent. That’s enough to show he had my safety in mind and took action to protect .’
’It’s just that no plan is foolproof, and the enemy was one step ahead. How can he be blad for that?’
"By the way, were you disturbed during your advancent? Did you succeed?"
’My mory went completely blank after I sent that ssage to Si Xie. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in that cave. I have no idea what happened in between.’
"The Barrier was shattered, and I was severely injured and fell unconscious..."
He had barely started speaking when he was interrupted.
Jiang Yunnuan grabbed both of his arms, her face filled with worry and concern.
"What? Your advancent was interrupted? How are you now? Did your Realm drop? Are your injuries serious?"
Being interrupted during advancent could, at best, result in damage to one’s ridians and internal organs. At worst, one’s Realm could fall, the inner core could be damaged, and their Cultivation would stagnate, making future breakthroughs impossible.
The consequences were so severe, it was no wonder she was so anxious.
Seeing her so concerned for Fu Yuan, Si Xie couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, his voice tinged with sourness.
"He lost you, and you’re not even blaming him. Why are you so worried about him? He’s fine. He doesn’t need your concern."
"Yes, that’s right. Nuannuan, don’t worry. I wasn’t finished speaking."
Fu Yuan smiled and continued, "After I fell unconscious, the Heart of the Ocean didn’t stay idle. It fused with on its own, not only healing my injuries but also helping successfully advance."
"That’s great!"
Hearing that he had successfully advanced, Jiang Yunnuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nuannuan, aren’t you curious what my Realm is now?"
"Tch. Such a show-off. What’s there to show off about!"
Before Jiang Yunnuan could even react to those words, Si Xie cut in. He jeered with seeming disdain, but his voice was even more sour than before.
Jiang Yunnuan ignored him and looked at Fu Yuan. "What Realm is it?"
"Half-step Ultimate Venerable!"
He gave a slight smile, looking to be in an excellent mood. Jiang Yunnuan was stunned, her eyes widening in shock.
"What? Half-step Ultimate Venerable? Weren’t you at the Second Rank of the Returning Origin Stage before you advanced? How could you jump all the way to Half-step Ultimate Venerable in one go? Isn’t that a bit too fast? Will there be any side effects?"
"No. This isn’t even that fast. The strength of my body and inner core is still insufficient, so I haven’t completely refined the Power of the Sea yet. If I were to refine it completely, I imagine surpassing the Ultimate Venerable Stage wouldn’t be a problem."
Half-step Ultimate Venerable wasn’t the limit of the Power of the Sea, but the limit of his current body and inner core.
Given ti, he would likely be able to catch up to Yan Chen.
"That’s good. Wow, this opportunity is truly heaven-defying! Fu Yuan, this trip wasn’t a waste."
Powerful Cultivation was truly therapeutic. Jiang Yunnuan’s troubled and gloomy mood instantly brightened, and all her worries were pushed to the back of her mind.
"Yeah, it wasn’t a waste. So what should we do next?"
"We’ve successfully gotten Ming Ye out. It’s ti for us to wrap things up and head back to Central City."
’That puppet can only last three or four days, tops. By my count, ti’s about up. We’ll have a problem on our hands if we don’t head back soon.’
"Okay."
After they left, a tall, slender figure erged from the forest.
The man stood behind a large tree, watching the direction they had disappeared in without blinking.
A long while later, he retracted his gaze and pulled a piece of thin fabric from his pocket. He clutched it in his palm as if it were a priceless treasure. The fabric was saturated with her scent.
"Jiang Yunnuan, wait for . It won’t be long before I appear before you, openly and honorably..."
*
「Central City, Fifth Star Zone.」
By the ti they returned to the villa, the sky had already darkened.
Jiang Yunnuan put away the puppet, rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, and wearily went upstairs to take a shower.
Si Xie subconsciously started to follow her, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the man beside him.
’No way. If I just follow her, that bastard will definitely try to sabotage . If I want to hold Nuannuan in my arms tonight, I’ll have to deal with this guy first.’
So, he stopped in his tracks and turned to warn Fu Yuan.
"Nuannuan spent a night with you at the bottom of the sea, and then you lost her for another night. Add in the penalty, and she’s mine for the next three days. You’re not allowed to touch her. Now, I’m going to take a shower with her, and you’re not allowed to co upstairs."
"I seem to recall you once said we should allocate ti based on Cultivation. Now that I’m a Half-step Ultimate Venerable, I think we should renegotiate the allocation issue."
Fu Yuan looked at him with a half-smile, his eyes filled with ill intent.
Si Xie shivered, suddenly feeling like he had just dug his own grave.
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