The forest was silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirp of an insect.

Zhou Kai sat propped against a large tree, keeping a healthy distance from the bonfire.

Wu Hongxiao sat cross-legged between him and Du Chuyao like a diligent warden, though her expression was stiff with awkwardness.

Cough. Zhou Kai sighed internally, projecting his voice via Divine Sense. “Fellow Daoist Wu, trouble yourself to ask Fairy Du something for me. How much of her Mana has she recovered? Has she refined that damned Joyful Union poison yet?”

He had no choice but to communicate this way. A yellow Talisman was currently plastered to his chest, sealing his five senses. His world was pitch black, silent, and mute. He was sitting there like a clay statue.

If his Divine Sense wasn’t strong enough to force a transmission, he’d be completely isolated.

This hellish existence had been dragging on for three days.

Wu Hongxiao’s shoulders trembled slightly, startled by the sudden mental voice. She snuck a peek at Du Chuyao, who was meditating nearby with eyes closed. Seeing the faint, unnatural flush still lingering on her Senior Sister’s cheeks, she lowered her head and replied via transmission.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou… Senior Sister says not yet. The Joyful Union poison keeps burning away her Mana, making it incredibly difficult to expel. She has only recovered… about thirty or forty percent.”

Zhou Kai’s Divine Sense nearly short-circuited. If not for the Talisman, he would have rolled his eyes so hard they’d have shot into the stratosphere.

Still not refined? Only thirty percent Mana? It’s been three days!

For the past three days, whenever the poison in Du Chuyao’s body flared up beyond her control, she would walk over with an expressionless face, and then…

It was unbearable to recall. Truly unbearable.

Zhou Kai felt a phantom ache in his kidneys.

The worst part was that this “Dual Cultivation” wasn’t a consensual exchange of affection. It was purely Du Chuyao venting her heat, treating him like a human cooling pack. He didn’t even have the freedom to resist!

Du Chuyao had offered an explanation—relayed through Wu Hongxiao, of course:

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, you saved us. I, Du Chuyao, will engrave this kindness in my heart. As for… the other matter, it is my failing for falling into Wan Lang’s trap. Until I completely purge this poison, I must ask you not to leave, for safety’s sake.”

Translation: She refused to return to the Sect or Crouching Tiger City while looking like a walking aphrodisiac bomb.

Zhou Kai was a dignified, seven-foot-tall man! How could he endure such emasculating treatment? Although… well, the physical sensations weren’t the problem. The principle was!

“Fellow Daoist Wu, pass another message for me,” Zhou Kai transmitted, suppressing his gloom. “Tell Fairy Du that I want her to repay the life-saving debt right now! We settle the score, and I leave immediately. I’m not staying a second longer!”

Wu Hongxiao looked troubled, but under Zhou Kai’s mental pressure, she steeled herself and whispered the message to Du Chuyao.

A moment later, Zhou Kai felt the weight on his chest vanish.

The suffocating Talisman was peeled off.

Light flooded his vision. Sound rushed into his ears. The sweet taste of freedom nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Du Chuyao stood before him. Her expression was icy and detached, though she couldn’t quite hide the shame and annoyance flickering deep within her eyes. She had changed into a fresh, clean dress and re-tied her hair, but the stray strands at her temples and the exhaustion etched between her brows betrayed her struggle.

“Speak,” she said coldly.

Zhou Kai cracked his stiff neck, stretching his limbs. “Fairy Du is a straightforward person, so I won’t beat around the bush. I want three things in return for saving your life.”

Du Chuyao’s brows knitted slightly. “Three? You certainly don’t hold back.”

“Not at all,” Zhou Kai grinned shamelessly. “First, help me kill Yun Kang.”

Du Chuyao’s eyes instantly sharpened with killing intent.

“Yun Kang and Wan Lang colluded like wolves and jackals to trap me. Even if you didn’t ask, I would hunt them down and take their dog lives the moment I recover! This is a matter of my own vengeance, not a favor to you. Name something else.”

Zhou Kai wasn’t surprised. He nodded. “Fine. Then, second: I know the location of a Fated Chance. It might hold heavy treasures. I need Fairy Du to accompany me to explore it, relying on your constitution and strength.”

Du Chuyao nodded. “Acceptable. And the rest?”

Zhou Kai’s gaze turned serious. “I need to go to the Golden Copper Dock. I want Fairy Du to escort me and ensure my safety until we return to Crouching Tiger City.”

“Why go there?” she asked slowly.

“You only need to say yes or no. The reason is my own business.”

“Fine. I agree.” Du Chuyao answered with unexpected swiftness. “And the third item?”

“I haven’t thought of it yet,” Zhou Kai shrugged. “Consider it an IOU. When I need help, I’ll let you know.”

Du Chuyao stared at him for a long moment, calculating. Finally, she nodded. “As long as it doesn’t violate my principles or the Sect’s interests, I agree.”

“Deal,” Zhou Kai beamed. “Don’t worry, I’m a reasonable man.”

He pulled out the beast-skin map and spread it open, pointing to the marking he had obtained from the Chen family. He gave a brief explanation of the history.

Du Chuyao leaned in. Her faint, orchid-like body fragrance drifted into Zhou Kai’s nose, causing his mind to wander for a split second before he snapped back to reality.

Her red lips parted slightly. “Over the centuries, many Chen family cultivators went there to temper their bodies. If the Fated Chance hasn’t been taken, it should be powerful.”

She waved her hand. A brocade handkerchief embroidered with flowing clouds flew out from her sleeve. It expanded in the wind, growing to ten feet in width, hovering in mid-air like a magic carpet.

“Get on.” She leaped up lightly.

Zhou Kai and Wu Hongxiao exchanged a glance and followed. The handkerchief dipped slightly under their weight before stabilizing, turning into a streak of light that shot into the sky toward the map’s coordinates.

Half a day later, the handkerchief descended halfway up a rugged, steep mountain.

The area was desolate, littered with jagged rocks and sparse, dying vegetation.

Du Chuyao stood at the edge of the artifact, her Jade Soul Golden Pupils activating as she scanned the terrain below.

“There are indeed natural treasures here. However, the spiritual signature is weak. It’s likely nothing rare.”

Before her voice faded, she struck downwards with her palm.

Boom!

An invisible force slammed into the earth.

Soil exploded upwards as a ferocious centipede, thick as a water barrel and over thirty meters long, burst from the ground! Its carapace was a menacing mix of red and black, gleaming like armor, and its mandibles clacked with a threatening hiss.

“Rank Two Late-Stage Demon Beast—Black Armor Poison Centipede!” Wu Hongxiao gasped.

“Senior Sister, Fellow Daoist Zhou, leave this beast to me!”

Wu Hongxiao shouted, her spear trembling with eagerness. She needed to prove she wasn’t just dead weight. She charged.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Man and beast clashed in a blur of motion.

It took only the time to drink a cup of tea for the battle to end. With a sharp cry, Wu Hongxiao’s spear transformed into a cold star, piercing precisely into the weak point connecting the centipede’s head and carapace.

Pfft!

The Black Armor Poison Centipede let out a final, gurgling hiss and crashed to the ground. It twitched twice, then went still.

Wu Hongxiao skillfully harvested the Demon Core and valuable materials. Panting slightly, she looked up with a bright smile. “Senior Sister, it’s done!”

Du Chuyao nodded in approval. “The Fated Chance the Chen family spoke of is likely an abandoned cave dwelling on this slope. But…”

She turned her gaze toward the deeper earth, the golden light in her eyes swirling. “The real treasure isn’t on the surface. It’s buried deep underground.”

She formed a seal with her hands, chanting a low incantation.

Rumble…

The mountain rocks and soil parted as if manipulated by invisible giant hands. A dark, bottomless passage opened up, leading straight into the bowels of the earth.

Zhou Kai clicked his tongue. This level of earth manipulation was practically miraculous.

“Let’s go.”

Du Chuyao led the way into the darkness. Zhou Kai and Wu Hongxiao followed.

The passage wound downward for what felt like miles. Finally, a faint glimmer of light appeared ahead.

At the end of the tunnel, amidst piles of raw earth and stone, stood an irregular rock about waist-high. It pulsed with a soft, milky white light.

As soon as Zhou Kai approached, he felt a familiar resonance.

“This is… Spirit Rhyme?”

He was shocked. The energy contained in that white light was exactly the same as the Spirit Rhyme he had painstakingly absorbed in the Aurora Cave back at Yantian Peak!

However, the Spirit Rhyme emitting from this stone was pitifully weak—almost negligible. For a cultivator at the late Second Realm like him, it was practically useless.

Wu Hongxiao recognized it immediately. “It’s an Earth Crystal Stone! But the Spirit Rhyme inside is almost exhausted!”

“Spirit Rhyme can be stored in stones?” Zhou Kai asked. He had always thought it only existed as an environmental eruption.

“Spirit Rhyme is a form of Source Origin power found deep within the core of Spirit Qi,” Du Chuyao explained calmly. “Your Calamity Abyss Valley likely draws it out to temper disciples. This Earth Crystal Stone is simply a natural vessel where it accumulates.”

Wu Hongxiao chimed in, eager to be helpful. “Fellow Daoist Zhou, these stones are rare. They absorb ambient Spirit Qi and slowly convert it into Spirit Rhyme. Small Sects or families treat them as heirlooms to train their juniors. But without a Formation to accelerate it, the output is unstable. And the concentration… well, it caps out at the mid-Second Realm. It’s useless for us.”

Zhou Kai nodded, realization dawning on him.

No wonder! Back in the Aurora Cave, I never saw anyone above the mid-Second Realm. The Sect must have a massive Earth Crystal Stone deposit hidden down there!

This thing is trash for me, but for my Spirit Insects? It’s a gold mine for building their Dao Foundation!

Just as he was calculating how to move the stone, the atmosphere in the cave suddenly shifted.

Du Chuyao, who had been maintaining her icy demeanor, suddenly froze. Her porcelain face flushed a deep, violent crimson. Her breathing turned ragged and hot in an instant.

She looked up, and her golden pupils were swimming with the shimmering, spring-water ripples of lust.

The poison. It was back. And it was angry.

Wu Hongxiao’s face paled. Her eyes darted between the panting Du Chuyao and the frozen Zhou Kai.

“S-Senior Sister… Fellow Daoist Zhou… it’s… uh… it’s getting really stuffy in here!” Wu Hongxiao stammered, backing away. “I… I’m going to go get some fresh air outside! Take your time! No rush!”

She turned and fled, vanishing up the tunnel faster than she had fought the centipede. Her voice echoed back faintly: “Don’t worry about me!”

Zhou Kai: “…”

His mouth twitched violently.

Again?!

Before he could even voice his protest, a familiar yellow slip of paper slapped onto his chest with a crisp smack.

Darkness descended once more.