The stars turned above, the moon fell and the sun rose—faint light streaked across the eastern sky.
In a spacious room, behind the draped curtains of the inner chamber, Chen Mo opened his eyes.
Beside him, Ya Fei lay in his arms, still fast asleep, her body wrapped around him like an octopus.
Even in slumber, her delicate brows were gently furrowed, as if lingering pain remained. Her face, mature and alluring, was simply breathtaking.
Thinking back to how, during the second half of the night, Ya Fei insisted on taking the initiative, a small smirk curled the corner of Chen Mo's lips.
So clumsy, yet still insists on taking the lead.
He raised his right hand in front of him and clenched it. A surge of powerful Dou Qi flowed through his body.
"Seven-Star Dou Ling, huh…"
"I wonder what kind of power I can unleash if I activate the Human Emperor Bloodline and combine it with the second stage of the Great Sage Art..."
As that thought flashed through his mind, Chen Mo suddenly remembered something. He reached out, twirling a lock of Ya Fei's soft red hair, and gently brushed it across her cheek.
Ya Fei instinctively raised her hand to brush it away, murmuring sleepily,
"Your Majesty… don't tease me… I really can't anymore…"
"…"
"You little vixen. That whole 'Your Majesty, your humble concubine this, your humble concubine that'—you've gotten awfully good at it." Chen Mo clearly had something on his mind, but seeing how exhausted she looked, he didn't have the heart to wake her.
Several hours later.
By noon, when Ya Fei was still fast asleep, Chen Mo finally lost his patience. He raised his hand and delivered a loud smack to her plump rear.
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed.
Ya Fei yelped in pain and immediately shot up, eyes blazing.
Her charming, almond-shaped eyes glared daggers at Chen Mo.
"Are you looking for death?!"
Chen Mo: "…"
"Bold of you." He grinned, then slapped her again.
"Alright, that's it! I'm gonna kill you!"
Ya Fei snapped, completely losing it. She was sleeping peacefully, only to be rudely awakened—and then hit again while expressing her outrage?
There was no way she was letting that slide.
And then... she was pinned.
Chen Mo quickly restrained her wrists and turned her around to face away from him—just in case she tried to bite.
"All right, little troublemaker, I've got something serious to talk about," he said.
No longer teasing her, he gently held her soft, curvy body and began soothing her.
His hands were practically magical. It didn't take long before Ya Fei surrendered, her long lashes fluttering slightly as she said coolly,
"What is it?"
Still a little pouty.
"Does the Mittel Clan have any spies at the front lines?" Chen Mo asked as he released her wrists.
Ya Fei nodded, "Yes. Why?"
"I want you to keep an eye on the situation and report anything to me. If you can find news about Queen Medusa, even better."
"Oh? Worried about her, are you?" Ya Fei asked, jealousy glimmering in her eyes as she flipped over to face him.
Chen Mo nodded.
After all, Han Feng was still out there, silent for nearly five months now. No way was that guy actually scared.
In the original story, Han Feng could summon several Dou Zong-level experts.
He couldn't be underestimated.
With Queen Medusa caught up in the war, she likely wouldn't have time to deal with Han Feng either.
That's why Chen Mo wanted up-to-date intelligence. If something happened, he could step in and help.
With his current strength, he could definitely make a difference.
"Oh…" Ya Fei responded flatly, clearly less than thrilled.
"Don't just 'oh' me, I'm being serious."
"I know." She huffed a little louder, clearly displeased. He was holding her, and still thinking about another woman. Of course she was a little annoyed.
In the following days, Chen Mo and Ya Fei spent most of their time entangled together.
It wasn't until he gathered all the ingredients for the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Three-Mark Purity Pill that he finally paused the flirting and started refining pills in their room.
If Fa Ma were here, he'd be utterly shocked.
The Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill was a peak Tier-4 medicinal pill.
Even a standard Tier-4 alchemist would struggle to successfully refine it.
Not to mention—Chen Mo was only a Tier-3 alchemist!
Its effects were remarkable. Besides helping a cultivator advance by one star, more importantly, it could be taken twice at the same level without causing excessive resistance.
Of course, it was only effective for Da Dou Shi cultivators.
As for the Three-Mark Purity Pill, it was even more demanding.
This pill had three grades: One-Mark, Two-Mark, and Three-Mark.
To refine a Three-Mark version, one needed three different types of flames. And not just possessing them—the ability to switch between the flames seamlessly, with complete mastery, was essential.
Otherwise, the failure rate was astronomical.
Because of this, even most Tier-4, Tier-5, and Tier-6 alchemists could only produce up to the Two-Mark version.
The One-Mark and Two-Mark grades didn't require special flames, but the Three-Mark did.
The pill's effects were incredible. Even the Two-Mark variant had a chance of boosting a Da Dou Shi by one star.
The Three-Mark version could temporarily raise a Da Dou Shi by three stars.
And it also worked on Dou Ling cultivators.
Chen Mo had already taken one before, and although he'd developed some resistance, he could still take a second. That meant even a successful pill would now only boost him by one star temporarily.
Meanwhile...
A piece of explosive news spread throughout the imperial capital.
The front lines had lost.
The empire had sued for peace with the Snake-People Tribe.
They agreed to cede the Empire's northwest and northeast provinces, along with the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The moment this was announced, the capital erupted into chaos.
Handing over those three territories meant half the Jia Ma Empire was now in the hands of the Snake-People.
The Empire was, in essence, already finished.
Riots broke out across the capital on an unprecedented scale. Even the usually dormant royal family had to dispatch troops to suppress the unrest.
At that moment, Nalan Jie, who had been recovering at home from poisoning, heard the news…
And the poison in his body fully erupted.
The backlash overwhelmed him.
Though he was a Dou Wang, the outbreak of poison brought him to his knees. Now the entire Nalan Clan was in chaos, frantically searching for an alchemist to help.
Within the Royal Palace
In the study...
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of bright red blood splattered across the memorial scrolls on the table as Princess Yao Ye paled.
"Princess! Are you all right?!"
A kneeling soldier nearby looked panicked and unsure what to do.
"I'm fine," she said coldly. "But it's clear now—Yunlan Sect is openly rebelling. They deliberately delayed informing me of such a major matter, and even went ahead with it before I could approve."
Yao Ye's face was icy, her long, slender fingers clenched into trembling fists.
A moment later, she asked,
"What about Chen Mo? Is it confirmed that he's the human who appeared in the Snake-People Palace?"
"Reporting, Your Highness—Lord Yan Shi and Lord Lei Na left the capital without notice. Because of that, we haven't been able to—"
BOOM!
Hearing this, Yao Ye trembled violently, her body swaying before she slumped back, looking completely devastated.
It was over. Completely over.
The deaths of her great-grandfather and the royal guardian magical beast…
Had left the imperial family so weak they couldn't even control their Dou Wang-level protectors anymore.
****
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