"Ah! Let go, let go! Are you trying to murder your own husband?!"
Ya Fei had her pearly teeth firmly clamped onto Chen Mo's shoulder, but he didn't feel any pain.
His physical body had already reached an exceptional level of toughness, giving him an immense threshold for pain. On top of that, he was wearing the Divine Scale Heart Armor, which had fused into his body.
Any one of these factors alone could break Ya Fei's teeth if he activated them.
Though Chen Mo didn't feel the pain, he still cried out dramatically.
Just one word: playful.
Ya Fei finally released her bite only after leaving a deep imprint on his shoulder.
"Hmph! Now you know what pain feels like! Serves you right for not cherishing me earlier."
Her delicate brows were furrowed as she picked up the embroidered handkerchief she had laid beneath her. Folding it carefully, she placed it into her storage ring.
Chen Mo gently took her wrist, smiling faintly. It seemed like all women had this kind of sentimentality.
Even his queen had her treasured keepsakes now.
Then he said,
"Baby, check your cultivation."
"Hm?"
Ya Fei blinked, puzzled. She activated the Golden Spirit Heart Manual that Chen Mo had given her and focused inward for a moment. A few breaths later, she cried out in shock,
"Six-star Dou Zhe?! How… how did that happen?!"
She was completely stunned.
She had been at the five-star Dou Zhe level before, yet after this act of intimacy, she had suddenly advanced a full star.
Ya Fei lifted her gaze and looked at Chen Mo with disbelief in her eyes.
Chen Mo chuckled and explained to her the Azure Dragon Yin-Yang Art and the special effects of the Yin-Yang Dual Essence Jade.
His own strength had also improved—besides the rewards from the system, his cultivation had advanced to six-star Dou Ling and was showing signs of a breakthrough toward seven stars.
However, due to his higher cultivation realm, the improvement wasn't as dramatic as Ya Fei's.
With a casual flick of his hand, the extinguished candles in the room reignited.
Having tasted the sweetness of the experience, Chen Mo rolled over and once again pinned Ya Fei beneath him.
"Baby, want to break through to seven-star Dou Zhe?"
Ya Fei bit her lip and suddenly shoved him away.
"You really are a brute! No sense of restraint!"
She pouted angrily, but her voice was soft and lacked any real strength.
Chen Mo playfully pinched the tip of her nose. He had only been joking, yet she reacted with such fluster. Gently cupping her cheeks, he gazed at her tenderly.
Bathed in candlelight, Ya Fei's delicate face, as flawless as mutton-fat jade, had taken on a soft rosy hue. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with emotion, exuding a natural allure—like a seductive little fox spirit.
Yet within those eyes was also a hint of shyness deeper than any virtuous maiden, afraid that the man she loved might think her unrestrained or improper. Even her usual charming demeanor had dulled a bit, her teasing smiles replaced with a graceful restraint.
Her slightly pouting red lips gave her an unexpectedly noble and refined air.
Perhaps feeling his gaze linger too long, or maybe out of fear he'd get carried away again, Ya Fei huffed softly and began searching around the bed for her clothes.
But no matter how much she searched, she couldn't find her undergarment.
"Give it back," she said, wrapping herself in a blanket and holding out her hand toward Chen Mo.
"What?" Chen Mo feigned innocence.
"You—you're still pretending?"
"Pretending what? Go on, tell me." Chen Mo grinned, teasing like a mischievous husband.
"You…" Ya Fei glared at him, though without any real menace, then slipped into her red qipao, got off the bed, and made her way toward the door.
Chen Mo noticed her walking with a bit of a limp.
"Baby, where are you going?" he asked, getting dressed and about to follow her.
"Bath. Don't follow me. I really can't take anymore," Ya Fei said, her voice soft and pitiful as she turned to glance back at him.
"…Am I really that terrifying?" Chen Mo scratched his head in confusion.
Ya Fei snorted and walked out of the room.
"Wait a sec," Chen Mo called out. He summoned Mo Yan, instructing her to transform into a human form and go assist Ya Fei with bathing.
When Ya Fei first saw Mo Yan, she was startled, but after Chen Mo explained things in detail and reassured her, she slowly accepted the presence of the demon maid.
Once Ya Fei had left, Chen Mo reached beneath the pillow and pulled out a red peach-blossom embroidered undergarment, still carrying Ya Fei's lingering scent.
He then retrieved a small wooden box from his storage ring. Opening it revealed two other similar garments. Carefully, he placed Ya Fei's piece inside, shut the box, and stowed it away again.
Outside, the night had fully descended.
In the Imperial Palace
"Your Highness, we've confirmed it. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King landed at the Miteer Estate."
A black-armored soldier knelt before Princess Yao Ye, respectfully reporting,
"Two people descended from its back—one was Ya Fei of the Miteer family, the other was that nineteen-year-old Tier-3 Alchemist who caused quite the commotion last time in the capital. His name is Chen Mo. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King is apparently his mount."
"…Chen Mo."
Yao Ye, dressed in a flowing golden robe that highlighted her graceful curves, slowly walked to the window and gazed out at the pitch-black night beyond the palace walls.
"Have you identified the one who killed my great-grandfather?"
"We only know he was a handsome young man in white robes. His name remains unknown, but Lord Reiner and the Pill King should recognize him on sight."
"A white-robed youth…"
Yao Ye clenched her five slender fingers tightly. Then, as if remembering something, she murmured,
"When Chen Mo caused trouble at the Miteer Auction House, wasn't there a mysterious snake-woman by his side?"
The soldier nodded thoughtfully.
"Sect Master Yun was present at the time and speculated that the mysterious woman might have been Queen Medusa."
"Queen Medusa… Chen Mo…"
Yao Ye whispered their names. Then she issued a command:
"Keep investigating."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
After the soldier left, Yao Ye stretched her hand out the window, as though trying to grasp the shrouded night. She let out a long sigh, her voice sorrowful and laced with melancholy.
"Grandfather Jiao is gone too. The war… is nearing its end."
Back in the bedroom, wrapped in his blanket, Chen Mo's consciousness was immersed in his system interface.
"What the heck? Sixty-five affection points and no reward?!"
[System only grants rewards based on affection gained after a Goddess is bound.]
"So you're telling me… since I hadn't bound Yun Yun before, those sixty-five affection points don't count for anything?!"
Chen Mo's face twisted in frustration.
The system remained silent—clearly, that was confirmation.
"Damn it!"
Chen Mo cursed under his breath, close to tears.
But thinking back on those few days spent cohabiting in that cave with Yun Yun, earning sixty-five affection points that easily wasn't so bad either…
He turned to check his newly earned reward—Blazing Flame: Heaven-Burning Formation Diagram.
It was a palm-sized array diagram, its material unknown. At the center was a distinct flame symbol.
According to the system's description, this formation diagram actually housed an entire world.
Its activation depended on fire energy. The greater and more powerful the fire used, the more devastating its effects.
The best part?
It didn't consume any Dou Qi to use.
****
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