If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Mo Chengyue had no idea how long he had been "on duty" with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall.

It might take half an hour.

It could take even longer.

He didn't deliberately keep track of time.

The room was too quiet.

It was so quiet that he almost thought he had returned to that rented room from his past life.

Spending the weekend lazing in bed, not having to think about anything or do anything.

However, the rented room in my previous life didn't have any ancient formation murals.

There were also no two beautiful women soaking in the pool of resurrection.

There wasn't even a single twin-tailed little beast curled up in a corner snoring.

He was awakened by an extremely faint sound.

It's not a ripple in the pool.

It wasn't the humming of the formation.

It was a breath.

wrong.

It's the rhythm of breathing that's changed.

Yu Jianhuan's breathing.

The gentle, soft rhythm of sleep suddenly transformed into a shallow, rapid tempo.

Like someone rising layer by layer from a very deep dream.

Mo Chengyue's eyes snapped open behind the mask.

All weariness vanished.

He didn't move.

He simply used the Yin-Yang Qi Observation Technique to quietly lock down the Qi of the two people in the pool.

The newly formed rose-purple inner core in Yu Jianhuan's dantian trembled slightly.

The flow of spiritual energy suddenly accelerated by half a beat, then returned to normal.

It's as if the owner's consciousness is taking back control of the body.

Mo Chengyue slowly got up and walked to the edge of the pool.

Look down.

The pool water remained clear, its golden-white shimmering gently.

Yu Jianhuan floated on the water, her long hair spreading out like a wet, rose-purple flag.

Her eyelashes were trembling.

It's very light.

soon.

Then--

His eyes opened.

She had a pair of almond-shaped eyes with naturally upturned corners, and a beauty mark under her eye that resembled a grain of cinnabar.

The pupils were not fully focused, as if covered by a layer of mist.

Her gaze drifted upwards, blurry.

I saw the white marble dome.

I saw pale golden array patterns.

Then, I saw a bronze mask.

He was staring down at her.

Yu Jianhuan's brain has not yet fully recovered.

Her consciousness was like an old computer that had just been turned on, with slow memory access and lag.

The bronze mask in front of her seemed very familiar to her.

But I can't remember where I've seen it before.

Her lips moved, uttering a hoarse, almost inaudible syllable.

"……who?"

Mo Chengyue squatted by the pool, and the corner of his mouth twitched behind his mask.

"Hello, this is the VIP restoration center of the core area of ​​the ancient ruins."

"You are the second customer to experience our center."

"Your package has been used up. It includes the following items: full-body injury repair, not involving the inner core, skin rejuvenation, and a bonus breakthrough to the Core Formation stage."

Are you satisfied with this service?

Yu Jianhuan's pupils finally focused.

She stared at the bronze mask for two breaths.

Then, as if struck in the brainstem by something, all the memories rushed back like a tidal wave—

The Roc Clan.

Surround and kill.

She stood in front of him.

blood.

pain.

Then came darkness.

Endless darkness.

Her lips trembled slightly.

"ink……"

"Shhh."

Mo Chengyue raised a finger and pointed to the top of his head.

"Keep your voice down. There are over a dozen peak Core Formation stage experts fighting each other outside."

"Although the soundproofing in this room is top-notch, let's keep a low profile."

Yu Jianhuan was stunned for a moment.

Then she felt it.

Your body is immersed in water.

Warm water.

It carried a kind of inexplicable spiritual energy fluctuation.

as well as--

She looked down at herself.

The pool water was crystal clear.

It was so transparent it was outrageous.

The rose-purple battle robe she was wearing.

After the previous siege, freezing, and repair of the spirit pool by the Roc Clan.

It was so tattered that only a few thin strips of cloth remained.

It barely clung to my body.

What is being blocked?

Nothing was blocked.

Yu Jianhuan's face turned from pale to pink at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then from pink to bright red.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened instantly.

His mouth opened, and a scream almost escaped his lips—

But Mo Chengyue reacted even faster.

He reached out and pressed down, and a barrier of true energy sealed the sound wave that was about to explode from her mouth.

"Don't shout!"

His voice was very low, carrying a sense of helplessness from someone who had been through it all.

"If you scream now, those powerful figures outside will be able to reach this room within two breaths."

"Then the three of us will die together."

"Three?"

Yu Jianhuan's voice came out muffledly from behind the true essence barrier, with a tremor at the end.

It's not fear.

It was the prelude to becoming enraged.

"Who else?"

Mo Chengyue's gaze shifted slightly to the other side of the pool.

Yu Jianhuan turned her head in the direction of his gaze.

Then she saw it.

The other end of the pool.

A woman she knew.

It floats quietly half an inch below the water surface.

Her hair was as black as ink, her skin as white as snow, and her eyes and brows were cool and aloof.

Biyun Peak.

Su Qingying.

Yu Jianhuan was stunned.

She and Su Qingying weren't exactly close in the sect, but they definitely knew each other.

A genius sword cultivator from Biyun Peak, an ice queen in the Core Formation stage.

What is she doing here?

and--

Yu Jianhuan looked down at the last strip of cloth remaining on her body.

He looked up again and saw that Su Qingying also had very few pieces of clothing left on her body.

Two women.

A pool.

Almost snow-white.

There was also a masked man standing next to him.

A picture quickly formed in Yu Jianhuan's mind.

A picture that made her temples throb.

"Mo Chengyue".

Her voice was low, but every word dripped with poison.

"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation."

"Otherwise, I'll scream right now."

Mo Chengyue's lips twitched twice behind his mask.

"Calm down..."

"I am very calm."

Yu Jianhuan's phoenix eyes narrowed into slits.

"I just want to know."

"Why did I wake up in an unfamiliar pool?"

"He had no clothes on."

"There was another woman nearby who was also naked."

"And you stand by the pool watching."

"...If you tell me this is some new kind of dual cultivation method, I won't believe you for a second."

Mo Chengyue took a deep breath.

He found explaining this matter to be more difficult than infiltrating the palace.

To make a long story short...

He crouched down, lowered his voice, and spoke very quickly.

"You were severely injured by the Roc Clan at the entrance to the ruins."

"I froze you and stuffed you into my storage bag, then I fought my way here alone."

"This secret chamber contains a spirit pool that can bring the dead back to life."

"I put you in the water for a while, and you came back to life."

"And by the way, I also formed my Golden Core."

"Congratulations."

Yu Jianhuan opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

Core Formation?

She subconsciously probed inward with her divine sense.

Deep within the dantian.

A rose-purple inner core floated steadily in the core position.

The spiritual energy flowed smoothly like water, and the pill's walls were dense, indicating a newly formed pill that had just been broken through.

Yu Jianhuan was stunned.

She stared at the inner core for a full three breaths.

Then he slowly raised his head and looked at Mo Chengyue.

Danfeng's eyes were churning with extremely complex emotions.

There was shock.

There is a sense of bewilderment.

There's something else she's reluctant to admit.

"And what about her?"

Yu Jianhuan turned her head to look in Su Qingying's direction, her voice carrying a subtle hint of bitterness.

"Her condition is more serious than yours."

Mo Chengyue's tone became indifferent.

"The inner core is shattered, and the person is gone."

"But her natal spiritual weapon, the Azure Spirit Sword, has a blood pact that binds her soul."

"I threw the sword and the person into the pool together, and the inner core was repaired."

Yu Jianhuan took a moment to process what she had just heard.

"So you, all alone, led two dying women, fought your way from the entrance of the ruins to the core area."