“No.” Han Lie shook his head, his gaze steady.

“Is that so?” Ye Qingxuan’s beautiful eyes narrowed dangerously, a flicker of challenge igniting within them.

“Sect Leader, do not be impatient. I have not finished speaking.” Han Lie’s expression turned solemn, though a devilish glint remained in his eyes. “I believe your assessment was inaccurate. You must add the word ‘extremely’ to truly capture your current magnificence.”

“Hahahaha!”

Ye Qingxuan threw her head back, her laughter ringing like silver bells before she suddenly swooped down. Her lips crushed against his, greedy and demanding, siphoning the Pure Yang energy from his breath.

The atmosphere in the chamber ignited instantly. What followed was not gentle lovemaking, but a fierce battle for dominance, with Ye Qingxuan leading the charge.

The dynamic had shifted. Ye Qingxuan could feel the difference viscerally. Now that Han Lie had ascended to the Nascent Soul stage, his Pure Yang energy was denser, purer, and vastly more potent.

As their energies clashed and mingled—Yin and Yang harmonizing in a chaotic dance—she felt her own cultivation surging upward at a terrifying speed.

Han Lie felt it too. This was a collision of tides, a storm that raged for nearly half a month without ceasing.

When the storm finally broke, Ye Qingxuan was not only satisfied in body and mind, but her aura was also roiling with power. The signs were unmistakable; she was on the verge of another breakthrough.

It had only been a decade since she reached the Void Refining stage. To leap from the early stage to the mid-stage in such a short span was unheard of.

Under normal circumstances, even the most peerless geniuses of the Tianyuan Continent would require centuries to bridge such a gap. Those with lesser fortune might toil for a millennium.

It was a testament to the terrifying authority of the Yin Yang Demonic Art. When two practitioners of opposite genders engaged in dual cultivation, the results were not merely additive—they were exponential.

“Enough. We shall end the session here. If there are no other matters, you may leave.”

Ye Qingxuan stood, draping a robe of translucent purple gauze over her form. It floated around her like mist, accentuating her noble bearing. She began to bind her cascading raven hair, her movements graceful and precise.

Sunlight fractured through the window lattice, illuminating the proud, curvaceous silhouette hidden beneath the sheer purple fabric.

Combined with the domestic intimacy of her tying her hair, she exuded an aura of regal allure that was almost suffocating. She was a queen in her private chambers, devastatingly beautiful.

Han Lie knew every inch of that body. He had mapped it thoroughly over the last fortnight. Yet, this half-concealed, hazy mystery struck a chord of primal desire that nakedness could not achieve.

He rose from the bed, stepping forward to circle his arms around her slender, willow-like waist from behind.

“What are you doing?” Ye Qingxuan paused, her hands still in her hair.

Han Lie leaned in, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, drunk on her unique, intoxicating fragrance.

“Nothing,” he murmured against her skin. “I just find the Sect Leader too tempting. I couldn’t help myself.”

Ye Qingxuan’s delicate body trembled in his arms.

“Enough! This Palace Mistress must enter seclusion immediately.” She frowned slightly, her voice regaining its command as she halted his wandering hands.

Han Lie let out a dry, knowing chuckle and nodded. He knew when to push and when to retreat.

“Hmph. Your energy is truly vigorous,” she scolded, though without heat. “I will let it pass this time. Next time, This Palace Mistress will accompany you until the very end.”

With such a promise, what more could Han Lie say?

He dressed and prepared to leave, but paused at the door. “Sect Leader, there is one matter I must report.”

“Speak. Be brief.”

“I may need to leave the sect for a period of time in a few days. I am informing you now.”

“Noted.”

Han Lie blinked, momentarily stunned. “Sect Leader… you aren’t going to ask where I am going? Or what I intend to do?”

Ye Qingxuan glanced at him, her expression calm. “What is there to ask? When has This Palace Mistress ever restricted your freedom? If you wish to become a true powerhouse, wandering the world is an indispensable step.”

She turned to face him fully, her eyes profound. “To remain in the sect forever is to be no different than a flower in a greenhouse. If you do not broaden your horizons, how can you expect to broaden your Dao Heart?”

“The Sect Leader speaks with great wisdom,” Han Lie laughed. “Then, Sect Leader, you must have traveled the entirety of the Tianyuan Continent in your youth?”

“Not quite,” she replied. “There are still many places on this continent that This Palace Mistress has yet to reach.”

“Is that so… Do you plan to venture out again in the future?”

“To reach the higher peaks, it is inevitable. But the time is not yet right.”

“Then this Senior ventures to ask,” Han Lie pressed, “when is this ‘time’ you speak of?”

Ye Qingxuan did not answer directly. Instead, a faint smile played on her lips. “Why? Do you wish to roam the Tianyuan Continent alongside This Palace Mistress?”

“As expected of the Sect Leader. Nothing escapes your eyes,” Han Lie admitted bluntly.

“Hmph. With your current cultivation, you are still too green. Come speak to me when you have caught up.”

“Understood! I will cultivate with double the effort to catch up to you as soon as possible.”

“That is a matter for many years from now. Withdraw.”

Ye Qingxuan offered no rebuttal as he left. She knew the truth: possessing the Pure Yang Sacred Body, Han Lie would catch up to her eventually.

And that day might not be as distant as he thought.

At his current terrifying pace, she estimated it would take him perhaps two or three hundred years to equal, or even surpass, her. Until then, she had to ensure she did not stagnate. She refused to be left behind.

Han Lie stepped out of the Violet Heaven Palace and exhaled.

After an absence of five years, he returned to his humble wooden shack.

Everything remained exactly as he had left it, frozen in time, save for the thick layer of grey dust that coated every surface.

With a strange sense of leisure, Han Lie began to clean. He swept the floor and wiped the table, his movements slow and deliberate.

Sitting in the small space again, now radiating the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, his state of mind was entirely different.

Years ago, he had lived here because he had no choice—a servant living under another’s roof, confined to ten square meters. Now, the shack was a monument to his past. It held the weight of nostalgia and the memory of his beginning.

“What are you daydreaming about? I’m starving, meow! Feed me!”

Han Lie’s sentimental moment was shattered by a demanding voice.

“Eat, eat, eat! I hope you burst!”

Han Lie rolled his eyes and dumped five hundred Spirit Stones onto the floor, burying the small creature in a glowing pile of wealth.

Gulu gulu!

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Zi inhaled the entire mound of stones. She let out a satisfied belch, her belly round.

“I’m going to sleep now. Do not disturb me, meow!”

With a kick of her legs, she scurried into the shadows beneath Han Lie’s bed.

Han Lie peered underneath. He watched her steady breathing and noted the black flames that licked at her fur. A fourth tail had sprouted from her backside, waving lazily.

She was evolving. By his estimate, this slumber would push her to the perfection of the Golden Core stage.

“Perfect. This Senior will go for a stroll.”

With Xiao Zi in seclusion, Han Lie found himself with a rare moment of absolute freedom.

He had roughly half a month before his appointed meeting with Xiao Yuruo. He rubbed his chin, a plan forming in his mind.

He decided to pay a visit to the Spirit Treasure Hall. It was time to invite Xiao Qingge out. Perhaps, if the mood struck, he would finally see if he could devour that innocent little fruit clean.