Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 55

“I didn’t know if you could survive then. Perhaps, I saw no hope for your survival. But the moment your mother decided to conceive you, we had already prepared to give everything we had,” Auntie Hua whispered softly to Shen Lezhi, lowering her gaze.

“The disaster I accidentally caused also affected your later life. Your mother exhausted her vital essence just to buy you time, so that I could find a slim chance for your survival,” Auntie Hua’s expression was incredibly mournful when she said this. She briefly looked up, her eyes gazing into the distance, as if remembering the person who had departed.

Shen Lezhi knew Auntie Hua hadn’t finished, so she didn’t interrupt, only listening as Auntie Hua sighed and continued, “So I performed a forbidden technique, extracting your soul from your body. But I couldn’t control this spell. I didn’t know where your soul would drift, or if it would even find a suitable vessel and ultimately disappear completely.”

“But this was the only chance of survival I could think of at the time, however slim.”

“This is also why I left a wisp of spiritual consciousness to guard this place as the array eye, waiting for the Linglong Heart to grow—it was the condition given to me by the owners of those memories, who lent me their last residual power.”

Auntie Hua didn’t know if this forbidden technique would succeed, but she had no other choice.

Shen Lezhi was the last bloodline of the Divine Wood Clan. She could only pray that her kin in the heavens would protect her.

This process was not complicated. Perhaps it was truly as Auntie Hua said: the ancestors of the Divine Wood Clan truly guarded Shen Lezhi from above, allowing her soul to go to another world, and after dying there, return to her own body.

So who was the original heroine in this body?

The Sect Master brought the original heroine back. Did she tamper with something?

Auntie Hua had no way of knowing these later events. At that time, she was already dead, with only a wisp of spiritual consciousness remaining as the array eye in the forbidden area.

Shen Lezhi remained silent after hearing this, offering no response.

She didn’t know how to respond, nor did she want to.

Her life in the modern era was fulfilling. Although her relationship with her parents was distant, her grandmother always loved her, her teacher helped her, and she had great colleagues.

Life had always been ordinary yet beautiful.

Her short life in the modern world hadn’t endured too many hardships. That was her homeland.

Shen Lezhi lowered her eyes, a chill spreading in her heart.

She would not admit that her grandmother might not be her biological relative. In her eyes, no amount of truth or words could outweigh the genuine feelings she had personally experienced.

She shook her head, and under Auntie Hua’s gaze, she retreated in resistance.

She only took two steps back, but Auntie Hua’s eyes suddenly reddened.

Shen Lezhi saw it and couldn’t bear it. After hearing Auntie Hua’s account, she understood that they had sacrificed too much, even their lives, to keep Shen Lezhi alive.

But Shen Lezhi bit her lip, a sharp ache recurring in her heart. She couldn’t persuade herself to change her mind at this moment.

Her last bit of kindness was to keep her mouth tightly shut, preventing the thoughts in her heart from escaping and hurting the woman before her again.

“I apologize for telling you something useless.” But Shen Lezhi’s subconscious action still hurt Auntie Hua. She understood Shen Lezhi’s inability to accept, so she was unwilling to criticize the other party. She merely turned around to conceal her pain.

But it was truly difficult for her to control her emotions. After saying those words to Shen Lezhi, she immediately turned and left, returning to the small wooden house alone.

Shen Lezhi was utterly confused at this point. She had always firmly believed that the modern world was her home, and she had no sense of belonging here.

She had finally, after great difficulty, found a person she cared for here, yet someone told her that the homeland she thought was hers wasn’t her home.

Shen Lezhi vaguely sought out Wang Xi. The other party’s figure standing not far away was clearly visible in Shen Lezhi’s eyes.

She took a deep breath and quickly walked to Wang Xi’s side, reaching out to hug the other person tightly.

Wang Xi was not surprised by her sudden embrace. When Shen Lezhi approached, her expression was unconcealed, filled with sorrow and confusion.

Wang Xi hugged her back, as if silently offering Shen Lezhi comfort.

Shen Lezhi inhaled the cold fragrance on her body, and then, infected by the icy temperature of Wang Xi’s fingertips, her restless heart slowly calmed down.

She wanted Wang Xi to invade her spiritual consciousness, just as Wang Xi had investigated her when she first came to this world.

Wang Xi had investigated her several times but never found anything unusual. Was it because Wang Xi hadn’t checked very carefully, or because her soul and this body had merged too perfectly?

Was she, as Auntie Hua said, the owner of this body?

Shen Lezhi took a deep breath, buried her face in Wang Xi’s neck, and then suddenly didn’t want to investigate further.

Her answer in her heart wouldn’t change because of this. Why should she unnecessarily trouble herself?

“I told you I’m not from here.” Shen Lezhi spoke very softly, but Wang Xi, who was so close to her, could hear clearly.

Shen Lezhi wanted to tell Wang Xi about her true life, trying her best to make it easier for Wang Xi to understand.

But it didn’t matter if the other party couldn’t understand things from the modern world. Shen Lezhi just wanted Wang Xi to know the homeland she longed for and where her roots truly lay.

She spoke for a long time, intermittently. She didn’t finish in one day. Occasionally, when something came to mind, she would suddenly start talking about it.

It might be amusing anecdotes from her childhood, the small flowers her grandmother planted in the yard, or the care her teacher and colleagues gave her after she entered the research institute.

Sometimes, she would sit with Wang Xi to meditate, and she insisted that Wang Xi select an empty plot of land to build a small wooden house as well.

It was very far from Auntie Hua’s small wooden house. Shen Lezhi truly didn’t want their intimate moments to be completely exposed like before.

It was stimulating, but she was genuinely embarrassed.

Shen Lezhi told Wang Xi her entire life in the modern world. When she was finally finished, she gazed into Wang Xi’s eyes and saw a trace of warmth lingering there just for her.

Wang Xi’s expression hadn’t changed much while listening to her talk about these things, but the warmth that involuntarily showed through still seared Shen Lezhi’s heart.

Shen Lezhi paused, realizing she had nothing left to say. She sighed softly in resignation, then leaned in and kissed Wang Xi’s lips.

Shen Lezhi lightly bit Wang Xi’s lip. The first bite felt like eating an ice cube. She didn’t go deep, only biting it, gently grinding her teeth on it.

Her actions were both provocative and innocent, making Wang Xi’s heart itch, yet leaving her helpless for a moment.

Wang Xi merely casually chased Crying Soul Thread out of the house, but she did not stop Shen Lezhi’s slow and gentle movements.

Shen Lezhi only glanced at the abandoned Crying Soul Thread outside the door and didn’t utter a word to stop it. She shifted her gaze back, focusing only on Wang Xi’s lips.

Crying Soul Thread felt utterly wronged. It extended its vine to climb up by itself and went crying to Auntie Hua.

This wasn’t the first time. Since its Master got involved with this Great Demon, she threw it out every day. At first, the Master would try to save face with a couple of sentences, but now she didn’t even look at it!

Crying Soul Thread cursed the Great Demon Wang Xi in its heart, but Auntie Hua said they shouldn’t be disturbed at this time, so Crying Soul Thread could only grumble behind their backs, completely helpless.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Shen Lezhi held Wang Xi’s lip, and seeing Wang Xi didn’t resist, and that the aloofness in her eyes hadn’t changed, she paused slightly. She merely stayed close to Wang Xi’s lips without leaving, then lightly moved her lips and asked, “Shizun, when do you plan to leave this place?”

They both knew they would leave here sooner or later. Even if they wanted to stay here forever, the Sect Master wouldn’t allow it.

Auntie Hua’s array was not unbreakable. In the past, the Sect Master didn’t know why Auntie Hua sealed the forbidden area. After trying to break the array without success, she didn’t pay much attention to it, as Wang Xi was still within the Jadefrost Sect.

But now, she had watched the Linglong Heart run into the forbidden area and had completely broken ties with Wang Xi, fully exposing her intentions. It was impossible for her to ignore the forbidden area’s array any longer.

Sooner or later, the array would be broken, and they couldn’t just stay here and wait for death.

Wang Xi heard Shen Lezhi’s words, contemplated for a moment before replying, “Those memories have given me the answer: when my cultivation is strong enough to break this array.”

Powerful enough to the point where even the array eye couldn’t suppress her cultivation. Judging by the terrifying growth rate of the Linglong Heart in this lifetime, perhaps at that time, no one would truly be able to threaten Wang Xi anymore.

Shen Lezhi pressed her hand to her chest, where half of the Linglong Heart was beating. She lowered her head, not letting Wang Xi see her expression.

If, if she returned this half of the Linglong Heart to the other party, wouldn’t Wang Xi achieve twice the result with half the effort?

She had prepared for death but suddenly felt a bit reluctant.

Humans are greedy. When she couldn’t find Wang Xi, Shen Lezhi only wanted the other party to be safe; after finding Wang Xi and engaging in true intimacy, she now hoped to keep everything she currently possessed.

Her silence made Wang Xi notice something amiss. Wang Xi thought Shen Lezhi was afraid she would go to any lengths, even death, for revenge.

But Wang Xi had already changed her mind when Shen Lezhi came chasing after her.

So, she actively moved away from Shen Lezhi a little, raised her hand to cup the other party’s face. Her frost-snow eyes were like the white of the sky, deeply falling into Shen Lezhi’s eyes.

“I swear to the heavens, no matter what, I will definitely survive.” A speck of golden light gathered between Wang Xi’s eyebrows as she said this. This was a cultivator’s oath. “After the great revenge is exacted, I will become your Dao Companion, never to be separated for eternity.”

As Wang Xi’s words fell, the golden light converged before Shen Lezhi’s eyes, finally completely submerging into Wang Xi’s mind.

In the cultivation world, there were no casual promises. All vows were subject to the laws of the Heavenly Dao, and no one could violate them.

Shen Lezhi hadn’t expected the other party to make such a vow, and her heart trembled even more when she heard Wang Xi say she wanted to become her Dao Companion.

She tightly pursed her lips, feeling guilty for having wanted to abandon the other party. She naturally thought that achieving Wang Xi’s revenge through her own death was the true end for Wang Xi.

A complete Linglong Heart would no longer have to suffer repeatedly, but this easy path was not what Wang Xi desired.

“Okay,” Shen Lezhi accepted the other party’s words.

She leaned her forehead against Wang Xi’s, and golden light flashed between her eyebrows too, planting the oath.

They would both live, wait to become Dao Companions, and from then on, share life and death.

Wang Xi received her response but did not release Shen Lezhi. Instead, she hugged her tighter, her eyes clear like melting snow.

She whispered softly, a murmuring sound that only Shen Lezhi, who was so close, could hear: “Do you know that Dual Cultivation with a shared heart is the fastest way to advance cultivation?”

Shen Lezhi certainly didn’t know. She had never heard of such a thing. Besides, they had undergone Dual Cultivation so many times, so why hadn’t her cultivation recovered to its previous level?

Shen Lezhi felt that Wang Xi must be lying to her.

This person simply wanted to be intimate with her.

Shen Lezhi didn’t stop her. Was she any different?

However…

Shen Lezhi didn’t stop Wang Xi’s spiritual consciousness from suddenly invading her spiritual platform, but she raised her hand to block Wang Xi’s lips and teeth as the latter leaned in to press them against hers.

Under Wang Xi’s confusion, Shen Lezhi took out a pill from her storage ring and held it to the former’s mouth.

“This is a pill made from the juice of the Joyful Smile Flower and the Pure Void Spirit Leaf. I’ve always wanted to try its effect. Shizun, please take it.”

Her eyes were clear when she said this. If Wang Xi didn’t happen to know the effects of these two spiritual plants, she would almost think she was talking about some kind of Spirit Replenishing Pill.

The juice of the Joyful Smile Flower causes intense lust. A person who does not resist will completely sink into desire because of it.

The Pure Void Spirit Leaf can temporarily disperse a cultivator’s surrounding spiritual power, making them utterly defenseless.

Wang Xi truly couldn’t imagine why Shen Lezhi refined such a pill. If Reverend Hundred Herbs knew, he would probably be furious and scold her for her crooked ways.

However, Wang Xi only lowered her eyes to look at the expectant gaze Shen Lezhi offered with a smile, and she opened her mouth without concern to swallow the small pill.

After swallowing it, she no longer cared if Shen Lezhi was ready and embraced the latter’s soft waist, kissing her lips.

Wang Xi was still so domineering. Her spiritual consciousness invaded very quickly, knowing exactly where the other party’s weak point was in the spiritual platform. She only needed to hook that spot, and Shen Lezhi would uncontrollably cling to her in passion.

But today was slightly different. Her body was hotter than before, and her scent on Shen Lezhi was sweeter than ever.

Even Wang Xi herself could smell the thick sweetness, making her momentarily doubt if this was her own scent.

Shen Lezhi was restrained by her, tilting her neck slightly, enduring her aggression. In this vulnerable appearance, Wang Xi actually saw a strong possessiveness in her eyes.

Wang Xi had always known that Shen Lezhi was not weak, not in terms of the strength of her cultivation, but her will and character.

Most of the time, Shen Lezhi appeared compliant and gentle on the surface, but in reality, she disliked others going against her ideas.

If she was unwilling, she would become even sharper and more radical when others were forceful, without the slightest possibility of retreat.

She wasn’t so sharp about intimacy with Wang Xi that she needed to distinguish a winner, but at this moment, she wanted to see Wang Xi fall into desire, wanted to take control of Wang Xi, just as the other party controlled her.

She was addicted to the extreme pleasure Wang Xi brought her, and she equally loved the vulnerable expression Wang Xi had shown before.

She wanted to see Wang Xi lose control.

Lose control to the point of screaming her name, lose control to the point of sobbing uncontrollably in a blank world, just like herself.

She also knew Wang Xi wouldn’t refuse. That pill didn’t need her to trick her; Wang Xi would obediently swallow it.

Shen Lezhi endured Wang Xi’s increasingly fierce kissing. She had already noticed the other party’s breathing becoming more rapid than usual.

That sound was already accompanied by a slight tremor, contained between their lips and teeth, and was all swallowed by Shen Lezhi.

It would be soon.

Shen Lezhi thought to herself.

Wang Xi’s body, pressed close to hers, was already trembling. The spiritual consciousness invading her spiritual platform was already too chaotic to withstand a single blow.

As the spiritual power around Wang Xi began to dissipate, Shen Lezhi finally seized the initiative.

But she wasn’t in a hurry to reverse their positions. Instead, she followed the strength of Wang Xi’s embrace and lay down on the chair.

Her tongue was still intertwined with Wang Xi’s. She tilted her head back, holding the other party’s tongue in her mouth.

Wang Xi’s eyes were already misty. The gaze meeting Shen Lezhi’s was wrapped in a bewildered, helpless desire.

Shen Lezhi rarely saw her like this. Her heart pounded violently with excitement.

She reached out and tightly hugged Wang Xi. Even though the other party was trembling non-stop, and even though she herself was struggling a little under the intensity of their passionate kissing, Shen Lezhi still refused to let go, refusing to let Wang Xi leave.

“Shizun, Wang Xi.” Shen Lezhi called her, her voice becoming seductive and tender.

Wang Xi only felt the spiritual power on her body slowly dissipating. Her mind was occupied by the lust controlled by the Joyful Smile Flower.

She knew the effect of the Joyful Smile Flower. The more she yearned for the person before her, the more she would sink, the more out of control she would become.

But the Joyful Smile Flower is easy to clear out for someone with a clear mind. For Wang Xi, she only needed to circulate spiritual power through her meridians for one cycle, and the Joyful Smile Flower would be completely expelled.

Perhaps to prevent her from proactively expelling the Joyful Smile Flower, Shen Lezhi also made her take the Pure Void Spirit Leaf.

But Shen Lezhi didn’t know that this spiritual plant had little effect on her, who possessed the Linglong Heart. The slow dissipation of spiritual power couldn’t even keep up with the normal recovery speed of the Linglong Heart.

But Wang Xi was currently enduring the urge to expel the Joyful Smile Flower from her body.

She allowed herself to lose control over Shen Lezhi, letting the desire of the Joyful Smile Flower occupy her thoughts.

She felt a higher body temperature than ever before and saw Shen Lezhi’s deliberately seductive expression.

Wang Xi closed her eyes, already feeling unable to breathe normally.

It wasn’t because of excitement. It was because Shen Lezhi deliberately controlled the surrounding water spirits, plundering the air she needed to breathe.

She could naturally hold her breath, but Shen Lezhi bit her tongue and murmured vaguely, “Don’t resist, Shizun.”

Wang Xi naturally did not resist. She only trembled, allowing the sensation of suffocation to wash over her repeatedly.

When she finally couldn’t bear it, Shen Lezhi pulled her to sit on the latter’s lap.

Her hands weakly grasped the arms of the wooden chair, barely supporting her body. The spiritual power that couldn’t be completely dispersed was tempting Wang Xi to break through the current discomfort and suffocation.

To break all restraints and possess the person before her.

But Wang Xi was unwilling.

Her loss of control was being pulled back by her rationality. She wanted to control herself not to proactively dispel the Joyful Smile Flower’s effect, and not to use spiritual power to relieve the sensation of suffocation.

She tormented herself this way simply because Shen Lezhi, beneath her, wore such a look of pure joy.

She only needed to watch to feel such happiness too.

But Shen Lezhi wouldn’t let Wang Xi off easily today. Shen Lezhi supported the icy person who was swaying precariously on her lap. The other party’s clear, cold face, now stained with crimson, was exquisitely beautiful at this moment.

Shen Lezhi had seen it many times, but this time was the most agitated and uncontrollable Wang Xi had ever been.

Was it the effect of the Joyful Smile Flower, or did the other party also prefer to be tormented this way?

Shen Lezhi didn’t delve into it. She raised her hand and unbuttoned Wang Xi’s robe, revealing some of the snow-white skin underneath.

Wang Xi was already forced to silence by the sensation of suffocation, and even her gaze began to scatter.

She involuntarily tilted her head back, veins bulging in her neck from straining too hard. Her whole body was shaking, trembling violently and non-stop.

She was powerless to stop Shen Lezhi from undoing her robe until Shen Lezhi withdrew the water spirits, returning her the right to breathe.

Wang Xi desperately gasped for air, her body hunched. Even at the moment when she was about to lose control, she still suppressed her instinct to use spiritual power.

Even after catching her breath, Wang Xi didn’t fare any better. Shen Lezhi leaned in close, biting her neck, tasting that spot over and over again.

The effect of the Joyful Smile Flower had reached its peak at this moment. Wang Xi felt her whole body sinking into a frenzy of desire, but Shen Lezhi did nothing else besides lightly biting her neck.

This bone-aching itch was about to drive her mad.

Yet, Shen Lezhi, despite moaning softly like her, refused to show her any pity.

Wang Xi felt she was better off during the moments of desperate suffocation just now. At least then there was only the pain of being unable to breathe, not like this moment, where her body and mind itched to the extreme, every inch of her body feeling as painful and unbearable as being slowly sliced apart.

“Lezhi…” Wang Xi called out Shen Lezhi’s name. She didn’t want to endure this torment anymore. She didn’t understand why Shen Lezhi only kissed her but refused to touch anywhere else.

“Immortal Venerable, slow down,” Shen Lezhi only replied with these words.

She didn’t understand how the other party wanted her to slow down?

She hadn’t done anything yet. Nothing had been touched.

Her eyes were full of hazy desire. Where was the aloof and arrogant appearance of the Moonlit Immortal Venerable?

Wang Xi couldn’t bear it and pulled Shen Lezhi’s hand downwards, begging the other party to touch her. She had lost the restraint she usually maintained.

But Shen Lezhi met Wang Xi’s eyes and still shook her head, refusing to touch Wang Xi. She said, “Not enough. It’s still not enough, Immortal Venerable.”

What wasn’t enough?

What else was not enough?

Wang Xi was shaking uncontrollably, her eyes turning scarlet from Shen Lezhi’s provocation.

The corners of her eyes were crimson, and a tear drop hung there, about to fall, but not yet descending.