Once Li Fuxi was safely aboard the flying vessel, Zhang Xian finally let his guard down. The cost of the battle hit him instantly; blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and his head throbbed with a white-hot, excruciating pain. He had been running on pure willpower while facing Jian Chen.

Using the Void Breaking Shuttle to teleport Liu Qingxuan had exacted a heavy toll on his vital essence. His cultivation had plummeted back to the third level of Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual roots were severely damaged.

As his puppet clone collapsed onto the deck, Zhang Xian’s true body rushed forward to support Li Fuxi. The moment he touched her, he was startled by the frightening heat radiating from her skin.

“Get away from me,” Li Fuxi murmured. Her voice was sweet and cloying, a stark contrast to her usual icy tone. She tried to push him away, but her limbs were leaden. Instead of resisting, her arms betrayed her, wrapping uncontrollably around his neck.

A dizzying, alluring fragrance filled his lungs. Zhang Xian turned his head sharply toward Yun Shang. “How do we resolve the effects of this Joy Formation?”

He had already ordered other puppet maids to tend to Liu Qingxuan. Through their vision, he could see her face was flushed a deep crimson, her breathing rapid and shallow. Her condition was just as dire.

“To the hot spring room, immediately!” Yun Shang commanded, trailing close behind him. “We must lower her temperature first. Master Fuxi must remain conscious. I will then use spiritual energy as a medium to transfer the Joy Passion Poison into my own body. As a puppet, I am immune to its effects.”

As he carried her the short distance, Zhang Xian felt the soft, scalding weight in his arms. The scent of the poison emanating from her was so potent that the corners of his own eyes began to redden. He struggled to maintain his composure.

Thank goodness I used a puppet for the battle, he thought. If I had been down there in person, I would have lost my mind and been running around naked by now.

He lowered Li Fuxi into the pool, but she was already slipping into unconsciousness. He nudged her shoulder, but she only clung to him mindlessly, whispering into his ear, “Go away… go away…”

“She won’t wake up! What now?”

Yun Shang sat behind Li Fuxi and calmly removed the woman’s outer robe. Zhang Xian froze, momentarily speechless at the sight.

The puppet pressed her palms against Li Fuxi’s back, near her heart, and surged her spiritual energy. Threads of biting cold air immediately began to seep into the water.

“It is not enough; she must be awake,” Yun Shang stated with the flat, analytical tone of a machine.

Looking at Li Fuxi’s delicate, pained face, Zhang Xian felt his resolve crumbling. A traitorous thought crossed his mind: Should I just handle this myself? I could claim it was for detoxification.

Damn it! What am I thinking? he cursed inwardly. The poison is getting to me too. Li Fuxi had reached a high level in the Nine Turns Jade Condensation Sutra; losing her virginity now would ruin her cultivation. Beyond that, Zhang Xian had no doubt she would kill him the moment she recovered.

He took a deep breath, forcing his pulse to slow. He steeled his heart and delivered a sharp slap to her cheek. However, his instincts took over at the last millisecond, and he pulled ninety percent of the force. It ended up feeling more like a tender caress.

Her skin was hot and incredibly smooth, but she remained unresponsive.

“I can’t do it,” Zhang Xian muttered. “Should I just use a sword?”

“Move,” Yun Shang said.

Without hesitation, the puppet formed her hand into a finger-sword and condensed a sharp spike of ice, driving it directly into Li Fuxi’s shoulder.

“Holy crap!” Zhang Xian’s eyelids twitched. The ruthlessness of an emotionless construct was truly terrifying.

The shock worked. “Mmm!” Li Fuxi cried out in pain, her eyes fluttering open. The cold from the ice spike considerately staunched the bleeding even as she woke.

She looked at Zhang Xian with dazed, unfocused eyes, then surged forward and kissed him. Zhang Xian was shoved back by the force of her embrace. Peach-flavored, was his only coherent thought before a sharp pain flared on his lip—she had bitten him hard enough to draw blood.

“Get out!”

A sliver of her reason had returned. She tried to push him away, but her arms only held him tighter.

“Get out! I beg you!” Her voice broke into a sob.

Zhang Xian forcibly broke her embrace. Her face was a mask of dazed desire, but clear tears were streaming down her face. He looked at Yun Shang, who gave a slight nod.

“It is ready,” the puppet confirmed.

Zhang Xian placed two Heaven-Seizing Heart-Mending Lotus Seeds and two Immortal Ascension Pills on the jade platform. Without a word, he turned and retreated from the room.

He hurried to a nearby cultivation chamber where Liu Qingxuan was being kept. Her condition had reached a breaking point; pink flames were beginning to scorch the floorboards around her, and the air was thick with a hazy, rose-colored dust.

“Is there a way to handle this?” Zhang Xian held his breath, calling out to the puppet maid standing guard.

“Yes,” the maid replied. Since Yun Shang controlled all puppets on the ship, she was effectively speaking through this one as well.

“There’s a way for this too?” Zhang Xian asked, amazed by the depth of the knowledge Sister Zhiyin had programmed into her creations.

“The poison she inhaled is lighter,” the maid explained. “However, I cannot focus on two souls at once. I am currently occupied with Master Fuxi. You must set up a Taiyi Spirit-Clearing Array here.”

“This array will cause the clear qi to rise and the turbid thoughts to sink. It will stall the poison’s corrosion until I have finished with Master Fuxi and can free my hands to resolve this.”

“There won’t be any side effects?” Zhang Xian asked, still feeling uneasy.

“Rest assured,” the maid replied firmly.