Ye Futian’s body had a dark color and was wrapped in the Will of Death. His eyes were tightly closed as if he was about to die any second.
“Ying Qing, this one is not fully transformed yet. The vice chief doesn’t have control over him either. Why are you bringing him?” a person looked at Ying Qing and asked. They picked up Ye Futian together days ago and recognized him easily.
“More or less, I suppose you can figure out what the young master is thinking about,” said Ying Qing.
“Sure thing, Goddess Xia is a gorgeous woman and a good match for the vice chief. Maybe she will be our mistress in the future,” someone playfully said. Of course, they would only gossip about the young master in private.
“The vice chief purposefully brought a corpse puppet to visit the Goddess. He probably wants her to learn how to refine corpse puppets. This one may be useful specifically because he is not fully transformed yet. Otherwise, all the corpse puppets are the same. What’s the purpose of doing this?” Ying Qing said.
Other people thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. Ying Qing had a point. That being so, they should bring Ye Futian along.
Right now, Ye Futian was faking his death. He sealed off all the energy inside of his body and let the Death Will surround him.
The servants brought the corpse puppets out of the cavern residence and arrived at Xia Qingyuan’s palace shortly after.
Because some of the corpse puppets belonged to other people, their owners also went to Xia Qingyuan’s palace to order the puppets to line up in front of Xia Qingyuan. Ye Futian was the only one who wasn’t controlled yet.
Xia Qingyuan’s heart was pounding violently the moment she saw Ye Futian. People in Senluo Manor didn’t know who Ye Futian was, but she certainly understood how marvelous Ye Futian was back in the Original Realm. The best cultivator in the Original Realm was treated so horribly here.
Xia Qingyuan could feel her heart aching. He must be suffering.
However, Xia Qingyuan still did her best to conceal her emotions.
“Isn’t he not refined yet?” Han Lin also noticed Ye Futian. He didn’t pay much attention to this random, dying man they picked up on the road that day. Since he had been devoted to Xia Qingyuan in recent days, he almost forgot about Ye Futian completely.
It only occurred to him now that he saw Ye Futian again.
“The Goddess wants to research the puppets. That’s why I brought him here too,” Ying Qing bowed and answered.
“Okay,” Han Lin nodded. Ying Qing’s idea was pretty good. Han Lin looked at Xia Qingyuan and said, “These are finished corpse puppets. This one is not fully refined yet and isn’t controlled by anyone for now.”
“Thank you very much.” Xia Qingyuan had a strong urge to kill Han Lin, but she made an effort to keep a tight rein on her feelings. All that had been achieved would be spoiled if her intention was detected.
She stared at the corpse puppets and occupied them with her divine consciousness as though she was studying them carefully.
“The Death Will seems so natural. This method of refining puppets is truly exquisite. I never heard about it even from my master,” Xia Qingyuan expressed her admiration. She surely knew that Han Lin intended to attract her with the method of refining puppets. By faking interest and singing praises, she let his guard slip.
As Xia Qingyuan expected, Han Lin grinned upon hearing her comment. “This is a secret method of Senluo Manor and is indeed remarkable. But your master is an extraordinary cultivator. Senluo Manor couldn’t possibly compare to him when it comes to cultivation method.”
Xia Qingyuan didn’t respond. She focused on studying the corpses puppets. Seeing how she ignored him, Han Lin said sensibly, “Why don’t you research on them for now? Please feel free to do whatever you want on these puppets.”
“Thank you.” Xia Qingyuan nodded at Han Lin despite her deep hatred toward him. She couldn’t wait for Han Lin to leave, but she restrained herself and didn’t act too eager. It took her great efforts not to kick him out immediately.
This was not the time to be careless.
Xia Qingyuan didn’t jump into action even after Han Lin was gone. She kept pretending to study these puppets studiously outside of the palace.
It was impossible to know how many people were watching her here in Senluo Manor. She had to extra careful.
Darkness settled in. Senluo Manor was especially gloomy due to the Death Will permeated the air.
Xia Qingyuan finally started to move. She sent the puppets into the palace and asked the Little Condor to bring Ye Futian into the inner courtyard, where she applied the sealing technique. She did the same thing every night for the following days. It was quite common for cultivators traveling outside to block the divine consciousness. No one became suspicious because of that.
Since the other puppets were controlled by the people of Senluo Manor, she wasn’t ready to act until now and still couldn’t make any move in front of them.
Ye Futian sensed Xia Qingyuan’s sealing technique and finally opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt much comfortable now that he got out of the matrix. He could recover from his injuries without spending all of his energy to resist the power of Death in the matrix.
Nevertheless, he still needed time. He was still extremely weak after his escape.
Ye Futian opened his eyes and saw Xia Qingyuan’s beautiful face.
Xia Qingyuan’s heart was aching while staring at Ye Futian. She felt powerless and useless as she couldn’t save him.
“I told you to go back to Emperor Xia’s Realm. Why would you risk your life to come here?” Ye Futian sighed softly. It was unbelievably dangerous for Xia Qingyuan and the Little Condor to go through the space crack and come to the Divine Prefecture. They might have gotten lost if not for the Little Condor’s ability to track him.
Even so, he was grateful that they came for him. Otherwise, he didn’t really know how to get out of here.
Xia Qingyuan looked at Ye Futian with a scowl on her face. He still behaved in this way, even under the current circumstances.
She squatted down and picked Ye Futian up. Ye Futian was surprised to see that Xia Qingyuan’s Life Spirit bloomed into a brilliant Lotus of Life. One by one, the petals sprouted and grew larger, and eventually enveloped the entire space. The remarkable energy of life was circling each petal.
Beyond that, Xia Qingyuan seemed to have an unlimited current of life, which flowed to Ye Futian in countless thin streams that connected them. Complemented by the dazzling divine light, she looked like a sacred Jiutian Goddess.
As their bodies intertwining perfectly, the Power of Life poured into Ye Futian from Xia Qingyuan and gradually neutralized the Power of Death in Ye Futian. At this moment, Ye Futian had nothing to hide from Xia Qingyuan as the Power of Life rushed into his limbs and organs.
The petals slowly closed and encased Ye Futian and Xia Qingyuan inside. It looked like a bright lamp in the darkness.
The Black Wind Condor watching nearby felt a little melancholy. They were doing it right in front of the condor in broad daylight… No, in the darkness. They really had no respect for the condor.
How could they?!
The Black Wind Condor turned around and walked out. It was not appropriate for him to watch.
He sighed with wonder at what was happening between Ye Futian and Xia Qingyuan.
Although he had been biased against Xia Qingyuan, he couldn’t help but exclaim.
The princess was a real woman!
The Black Wind Condor was on the lookout for them for several hours that night. Mixed feelings rushed through his mind.
Finally, the divine light faded, and the unblemished petals slowly retracted back into the lotus, which revealed Ye Futian and Xia Qingyuan inside.
Bashful and blushing, Xia Qingyuan seemed exceptionally lovely.
“Thank you,” Ye Futian said to Xia Qingyuan. He was a little lost upon seeing Xia Qingyuan’s flushed cheeks. Her long hair was loose, and her eyes were bewitching. She didn’t look like the princess she usually was.
Xia Qingyuan threw a glare at Ye Futian as if she was displeased by his response.
“How are you feeling?” Xia Qingyuan asked quietly. She didn’t notice that her voice was extra soft.
“I can circulate the energy inside of my body. Now I need some time to recover from my injuries,” said Ye Futian. He was completely free from the threat of the Will of the Death. With Xia Qingyuan’s help, he was in a much better state than when he first arrived at the Divine Prefecture.
All he needed to do now was to recuperate by himself.
“Okay.” Xia Qingyuan nodded and said, “Have a good rest.”
She shot a glance at Ye Futian and carried him into the room. When she walked out with a faint blush on her face, she noticed a pair of bright eyes peeking at her. Xia Qingyuan was startled, yet the Black Wind Condor had already turned his head away.
The condor didn’t see anything.
Xia Qingyuan walked toward the Black Wind Condor from behind. The condor could feel the hair standing on end on his neck. Women were truly fickle. How did they switch emotions so quickly?
He only sneaked a few peeks. It really wasn’t a big deal.
“Bring a puppet to me,” Xia Qingyuan ordered. She planned to destroy each puppet in the name of research. As a result, Ye Futian could disappear reasonably.
These puppets were not human anymore and were only used by the Senluo Manor to kill more people. Thus, Xia Qingyuan didn’t feel any moral burden at all. One by one, the Black Wind Condor brought in the puppets for Xia Qingyuan to clean up.
After everything was done, Xia Qingyuan returned to the room to rest. Ye Futian was still there, of course.
They had to share the room.
Ye Futian had no other choices.
Ye Futian felt much better the next morning. He was regaining his health at lightspeed and should be able to get back to normal in no time.
The important thing was to avoid detection.
Han Lin came to visit Xia Qingyuan again as usual. However, he didn’t get to see her for the first time since she came to Senluo Manor.
The Black Wind Condor met with Han Lin and told him that Xia Qingyuan gained some enlightenment from the day before and was cultivating in seclusion.
Han Lin was convinced by the scintillating divine light and the holy lotuses blooming and surrounding the palace Xia Qingyuan resided. He left a message and decided to drop by another day.
At this moment, Han Lin didn’t realize why Xia Qingyuan was cultivating in seclusion.
He already received the report that Xia Qingyuan destroyed all the puppets for research. Despite the hefty cost, he believed it was a worthy investment as long as he could win over Xia Qingyuan. What pleased him more was that Xia Qingyuan seemed to be gaining something from his efforts.
Everything appeared to be normal and reasonable.
Han Lin left with no hard feelings. Xia Qingyuan, on the other hand, started to cultivate in seclusion in Senluo Manor.
