"Xiu Yuan?!" she cried out in alarm. Where had he been hiding all this time? "Let go! Get away from me!"
He couldn't be near her! His spiritual energy would be completely drained by her!
Lei Xiuyuan remained silent, his expression strangely intense as he stared at her blankly. The golden light around the two slender horns at his temples had grown so thick it seemed about to drip. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and bit down hard on her shoulder, making Li Fei jerk in pain.
His embrace was crushing—not the loving hold of a sweetheart, and his bite held no trace of flirtation. Most bizarrely, her Spirit Absorption seemed useless against him, as if hitting an iron wall. She couldn't siphon even the slightest bit of his spiritual energy.
Even more terrifying, she felt all her strength being drained away. Though endless spiritual energy was being madly absorbed by her, the hollow emptiness inside her grew heavier—the person before her was stealing her Source Spiritual Qi.
Losing control of the energy flow, the Horn of the Rhinoceros vanished abruptly. With a scream, she found herself plummeting downward in his arms.
Crashing through dense foliage, broken branches scratched countless bloody gashes across her face and body before they slammed violently onto the ground. Li Fei felt as if every bone in her body had shattered. Still, Lei Xiuyuan clung to her tightly, nearly suffocating her. Overwhelmed by indescribable pain, darkness swallowed her vision as she lost consciousness.
An immeasurable time later, Li Fei awoke feeling utterly exhausted, her body hollowed out and craving spiritual energy more desperately than ever. She could sense the surrounding energy thick and viscous, wrapping around her skin like warm, sticky water. Before fully regaining consciousness, her instincts had already driven her to greedily absorb it.
The unbearable thirst for spiritual energy gradually eased. Then, from afar came the thunderous sound of collapsing structures. Startled, Li Fei's eyes flew open to behold countless massive floating islands adorned with resplendent golden palaces—it was the White Edge Cliff at the heart of the Central Land. One by one, the magnificent halls crumbled as the massive loss of spiritual energy drained all vitality from the land. The Trial Grounds trembled with unstable energy, forcing the lurking Demonic Beasts to flee deeper in terror.
Someone held her gently from behind, her body curled against his chest, cheek pressed to his torso. The thick scents of blood and sweat filled her nose. It took Li Fei a moment to collect herself before she gasped, "Xiu Yuan! You just—"
She abruptly cut herself off. What had he just done? Tried to kill her? Stolen her Source Spiritual Qi? How could she even ask? Was the person holding her now Lei Xiuyuan, or a Yaksa driven mad by the curse? She had shed her mortal shell—the Graftwood Seed had fully manifested before him. What would he do? What would become of them? If he attacked, should she fight back?
Frozen in uncertainty, she listened to the familiar rhythm of Lei Xiuyuan's heartbeat. She remembered the numerous fatal wounds that had covered his chest and back earlier—now completely healed. Had absorbing Source Spiritual Qi done this?
Gathering her wits, Li Fei whispered hoarsely, "Who hurt you? Did you... did you kill anyone?"
After a long silence, Lei Xiuyuan suddenly chuckled darkly. "Yes. All of them."She jumped up as if startled, retreating several steps to stand at the cliff's edge, staring at him. Dark clouds gathered densely, the sky gloomy and overcast. He was covered in blood, his face no exception, even the two slender horns at his temples stained crimson. His golden, radiant eyes met hers with an inscrutable gaze—mocking her, perhaps, or mocking himself.
A sudden pang of sorrow struck Li Fei's heart. She was doubting him. She was actually doubting him.
"You shed your shell," Lei Xiuyuan said softly.
The moment she shed her shell, he had sensed it from thousands of miles away. Driven by instinct, he hadn't waited for his wounds to heal before following her scent all the way to Green Mound. What followed was like a nightmare. When he regained his senses, he found her on the brink of death, most of her bones shattered, her internal organs ruptured. Had it not been for her profound Source Spiritual Qi, she would have died before his eyes.
Li Fei nodded. She didn't know what to say—apologize? Just now, Lei Xiuyuan had treated her so harshly, yet he hadn't apologized. All apologies were merely to ease one's own conscience. They had already hurt each other; between them, apologies were paler than silence.
The Graftwood Seed could absorb spiritual energy, but it couldn't absorb that of a Yaksa. Instead, one's own Source Spiritual Qi would be stolen away. Yaksas were fierce beyond measure, yet their kind was cursed, driven to kill one another in their struggle for the Graftwood Seed. They were natural enemies, entangled from birth to death.
Once separated by vast distances, they had crossed endless seas, traversed the Heavenly Thunder Fire Sea. The Central Land was so vast, yet they had still met, still come together. Perhaps, as Ri Yan had said, it was truly fate?
After a long while, a light rain began to fall over the Trial Grounds, slowly washing away the blood that covered him. The bloody water meandered from beneath the tree to the cliff's edge, the grass along its path growing lush before swiftly withering away.
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly spoke: "Are you in pain or discomfort anywhere?"
Li Fei shook her head again, murmuring, "What about you? Are you alright now?"
"I won't die. Why did you shed your shell so suddenly? Who told you to recklessly leave the Sweet Splendor Realm?"
That familiar, brazen tone—it had been so long. Li Fei gave a bitter laugh. "You're the reckless one. You were the one who almost died, weren't you? Once I shed my shell, I'm invincible. You're still far from that."
Lei Xiuyuan frowned and clicked his tongue. "What if you had died?"
Li Fei frowned back. "Those Celestials couldn't kill me. But you almost did just now."
At her words, he fell silent. Li Fei suddenly realized that this offhand joke might not be a joke to him at all. She lowered her voice. "I was just teasing. Don't take it seriously."
Lei Xiuyuan replied softly, "Mm, I know."
But almost dying wasn't a joke. He couldn't not take it seriously. It was his doing. This time, she hadn't died, but perhaps next time, she might perish by his unwitting hand. He was a gleaming blade of cold steel, and she let it press against her heart, never knowing when it might pierce through and take her life.Lei Xiuyuan suddenly reached out and yanked her over. Li Fei's nose collided hard against his chest, causing her to yelp in pain. As she struggled to lift her head, she saw flickering golden lights in his eyes. After a long while, those turbulent, intense golden rays finally vanished into the depths of his dark pupils. His long lashes lowered, and at last, he moved—with half caution and what seemed like half reluctance and defiance—leaning down to plant an exceedingly light kiss on her cheek.
This wasn’t like his usual demeanor—neither intimate nor teasing, but rather as if he were both probing and guarding against something.
Li Fei shrank back, and he stopped.
He could no longer kiss her with single-minded devotion. Holding her like this couldn’t stop him from plundering her Source Spiritual Qi. As long as the Graftwood Seed existed, the Yaksa would never die, never lose.
But in truth, he had already lost—to that curse.
Lei Xiuyuan closed his eyes unwillingly. He didn’t want to lose, wouldn’t lose, couldn’t lose.
"Xiu Yuan?" Li Fei called softly.
He never answered, only held her tightly. The wind on the cliff was fierce, and the rain pelted down noisily. The storm raged, and she trembled—or perhaps it wasn’t her trembling. Wave after wave, her heart felt like it was sinking under the weight of it.
Suddenly, she laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around him in return. "What are you afraid of? I won’t die."
She stealthily raised a hand and grabbed the two horns at the sides of his head, even giving them a playful rub with her fingertips. Lei Xiuyuan’s arms abruptly tightened around her, nearly squeezing the breath out of her.
"Either retract them or let me keep playing. Your choice." Li Fei tilted her head back slightly, watching his face flush red and pale with malicious delight. This version of Lei Xiuyuan was a rare sight!
He looked furious, his expression stern as he glared at her fiercely.
Li Fei grinned back at him, unafraid and full of mischief. "Glaring won’t help."
He had always been the one teasing her before—now she’d finally turned the tables. She flicked the horns lightly, and Lei Xiuyuan shuddered. The slender horns vanished in an instant, as if conceding defeat. He pinched her cheek and said coldly, "Playing with fire?"
Li Fei laughed. "See? You took them back just fine. Not so hard, was it?"
Before she could finish, she felt herself being shoved hard against a tree. She gasped as Lei Xiuyuan’s lips, previously so cautious and restrained, now pressed down on hers without hesitation.
Perhaps both of them needed something more tangible—to adapt to these bodies that had shed their shells, to this relationship that had grown precarious as walking on thin ice.
By the time she came to her senses, the storm had passed. They were still sitting beneath the tree at the cliff’s edge, her curled up in his arms, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. He reeked of blood, sweat, and rain. Li Fei covered her nose and muttered, "You stink."
"Deal with it," he replied calmly.
He actually told her to deal with it... Li Fei reached up to touch his head again. During the most intense moments earlier, his horns had reappeared. She intended to tease him, but this time, her fingers only met damp hair. Lei Xiuyuan nipped her hand lightly. "Disappointed?"Li Fei let out a scoffing laugh and was about to speak when a rapid series of bell chimes suddenly rang out beside them. Lei Xiuyuan raised his hand, pinching a shimmering notification talisman between his fingers. The glow instantly faded and the sound ceased. Without a word, he unfolded the message, glanced at the writing, and slowly furrowed his brows.
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