King Chong was suspicious of this secret technique.

After all, Luo Qingyang used this secret technique before, and yet Chen Mo still shot him to death with an arrow.

There were several Upper-Grade Martial Artists back then, but now, King Chong knew only he and Lu Sheng were Upper-Grade Martial Artists, and no more.

This made it difficult for King Chong not to feel worried.

"Of course, there's more," Lu Sheng smiled slightly, keeping a secret, and said, "Prince, you'll know when the time comes. Let me assure you, the final victor will definitely be us."

Seeing Lu Sheng, even at this time, still keeping secrets from him, King Chong felt quite angry, flung his sleeves, and turned to leave, leaving behind a sentence before he left: "I hope that when Chen Army reaches the gates, Chancellor Lu can still remain so calm."

Lu Sheng watched King Chong's departing figure, a shadow flashing in his eyes.

Not long after King Chong left, a figure appeared in front of Lu Sheng.

This person was Xu Zheng, the Supervisor of the Astronomical Bureau.

"Chancellor Lu," Xu Zheng cupped his hands towards Lu Sheng.

"Lord Xu, how's the preparation for the Soul Devouring Array?" Lu Sheng, with his hands behind his back, pondered and said.

"Reporting to Chancellor Lu, the preparations are already complete, but four hundred years ago, the Grand Ancestor Emperor exhausted the Earth's Dragon Vein Qi of Luonan with the Soul Devouring Array. It was only by the time of Emperor Jing that Luonan recovered, but the core dragon was gone. Solely relying on Luonan's innate Spiritual Qi, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to break through using the Soul Devouring Array, Chancellor Lu.

Moreover, the Soul Devouring Array is against the heavens. Once activated, all of Luonan's innate Spiritual Qi will deplete, vegetation will not grow, and Luonan's people by then..."

"Enough," Lu Sheng interrupted Xu Zheng, frowning. These words had been repeated by Xu Zheng many times already. He then said, "Back when the Grand Ancestor Emperor used Luonan to break through, didn't the people of Luonan still praise him later on? Why can't I do the same?"

"Is this the same..."

Xu Zheng thought to himself, back then the Grand Ancestor Emperor used the Soul Devouring Array to break through First Grade because the foundation was unstable during the early days of the nation. The northern grassland barbarians seized the opportunity to invade with large armies, and without doing so, the nation might have been destroyed.

But you, Chancellor Lu, are doing it entirely for personal ambition.

Of course, he did not dare to speak these words out loud.

Lu Sheng said, "Lord Xu, I remember you mentioned before, there is another way to compensate for the lack of Earth's Dragon Vein Qi, what is it?"

"The innate Spiritual Qi originating from within martial artists, especially from Divine Power Realm Martial Artists, is the best. If enough martial artists' innate Spiritual Qi can be absorbed, it might compensate for the lack of Earth's Dragon Vein Qi. However, martial artists whose innate Spiritual Qi is completely drained by the Soul Devouring Array will be harmed at the core, unable to advance for life." Xu Zheng thought for a moment and said solemnly.

Lu Sheng frowned.

Xu Zheng continued, "But clearly, Luonan's martial artists do not meet this quantity. Additionally, the Soul Devouring Array requires a condition to absorb the innate Spiritual Qi from martial artists, which is that the martial artist has to be releasing their innate Spiritual Qi. If the martial artist does not use their innate Spiritual Qi, the Soul Devouring Array is very difficult to forcibly extract it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng pondered for a moment and then said, "What if the martial artist releases their innate Spiritual Qi first, then senses something and retracts it, can the Soul Devouring Array still extract it?"

"Yes. Once released, it can be captured by the Soul Devouring Array, and even if it is retracted later, it can still be forcibly absorbed. However, this must be at the center of the array; if at the edge, the effect is not as notable. And to completely absorb it, some time is needed. If during this time the martial artist retreats from the center of the array, the effect will not be significant," Xu Zheng said.

After all, martial artists are human, they can move, unlike the Earth's Dragon Vein Qi, there are too many uncontrollable factors.

Lu Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, then he murmured, "Not in Luonan, but Chen Army has..."

...

Chongzhou.

Chongzhou City.

New Year's Eve.

Prince Chong fled Chongzhou, so naturally, the Prince's Mansion was taken over by Chen Mo as a temporary resting place.

Going out to lead troops to battle, most family members are not around, so the New Year's Eve dinner wasn't grand, just a simple meal with plenty of wine.

Chen Mo together with Yue Ruyan, Xia Zhining, and the soldiers below, stayed in the barracks for a while, drank some wine with them, chatted for a while, drew some plans, and only after the atmosphere became lively did he return to Prince Chong's Mansion.

"I'm going to take a bath, I'm covered in the smell of alcohol and sweat." Xia Zhining distanced herself from Chen Mo as soon as she entered the gate, like guarding against a thief.

Chen Mo nodded. The mix of alcohol and sweat indeed created a rather unpleasant odor.

After Xia Zhining left, Yue Ruyan also said she wanted to bathe, but was grabbed by Chen Mo: "Let's bathe together, save some water."

Being forcefully pulled by Chen Mo, and unable to resist him, Yue Ruyan had no choice but to yield.

Initially, she thought the bath wouldn't be pleasant.

But during the bath, Chen Mo didn't hassle her; he instead attentively helped her cleanse her body.

This made her look back in confusion at Chen Mo.

"What's wrong?" Chen Mo, rubbing her back, saw her turn her head and then lifted her arm to wash her underarm.

Yue Ruyan had no armpit hair; Chen Mo had once asked if she dealt with it herself, and she said she was naturally hairless.

Naturally, she also didn't have any body odor.

Chen Mo liked to kiss a lot.

Yue Ruyan's skin was wheat-colored, but her underarm was white.

"No...nothing?" Yue Ruyan didn't say it out loud; after all, saying it would just be an invitation for him to hassle her, right?

"Alright, your back is all clean. Turn around, help me wash too," Chen Mo said.

What Yue Ruyan didn't know was that Chen Mo wasn't hassling her right now, simply because he was holding back for something bigger.

Just like some people want to save the delicious food for last.

After bathing, Yue Ruyan wiped off the water droplets and lay down on the bed without dressing, back facing Chen Mo.

Yue Ruyan, as a military person and a Divine Power Realm Martial Artist, doesn't lack exercise, which makes her hips not large but particularly perky, with long legs showcasing beautiful muscle curves on both thighs and calves.

Chen Mo suddenly noticed that compared to when they first shared a room, Yue Ruyan seemed fuller, with a hint of mature charm.

Of course, that's his contribution.

Chen Mo walked towards the bed.

Yue Ruyan was prepared, and when she heard footsteps approaching, directly arched up.

But what awaited her was not the imagined large hand on her hips, nor being embraced warmly, but being wrapped in the quilt, then hoisted up, head facing Chen Mo's back, hair draped.

Yue Ruyan looked at Chen Mo's heels: "What... are you doing? Put me down quickly!"

Though she wasn't as shy as other women, she couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

Especially now, as she saw Chen Mo carrying her towards the door.

Then they walked out of the courtyard.

Passed through a long corridor.

Arrived at Xia Zhining's courtyard and raised a hand to push open Xia Zhining's room door.

But it didn't open, obviously bolted from inside.

Inside, Xia Zhining was soaking in a bathtub behind a screen, in a somewhat indecent bathing posture, as she raised one jade-like leg, rested it on the edge, hands behind her head, eyes half-closed.

Though indecent, it was certainly comfortable.

Hearing the door being pushed, Xia Zhining suddenly opened her eyes and hurriedly reached for the clothes on the screen: "Who is it?"

After King Chong escaped, the mansion didn't retain any maids, none stayed, all left or fled.

Up till now, the mansion had only hired a few cooks, yet no maids or others.

And in this backyard, only four people lived; her, Yue Ruyan, Chen Mo, Nalan Yiren.

The cold wind outside was strong, she hadn't heard Chen Mo's footsteps.

Unavoidably, she felt a bit scared.

The next second, the room door directly opened with a voice: "Who else but me?"

Such a small bolt couldn't stop Chen Mo.

When Chen Mo closed the room door, carrying Yue Ruyan behind the screen, Xia Zhining had just emerged from the tub, hurriedly dressing.

Chen Mo, carrying the "worm-like" Yue Ruyan with one hand, passed by the tub and scooped Xia Zhining up, clamping her under the arm, heading towards the bed.

The two women stared at each other in astonishment.

Yue Ruyan's delicate cheeks turned slightly red. When she was in Jiangnan, she tried dual... with Xiao Yunxi, but hadn't been with Xia Zhining. She quickly turned her head.

Xia Zhining's face flushed with embarrassment, yet unable to hide her anger: "You scoundrel, you want to cause trouble again."

Saying this, she began to hit Chen Mo.

But she was thrown onto the bed by Chen Mo anyway.

"It's New Year's, how could I let you sleep alone, and in this cold winter, no one's warming your bed, you wouldn't fall asleep," Chen Mo said, placing Yue Ruyan beside Xia Zhining.

"Nonsense, I sleep better alone without you," Xia Zhining glared at Chen Mo, raising her hand slightly.

Chen Mo grabbed her raised hand and said to Yue Ruyan, "Ruyan, wait a while, let me handle this stubborn little troublemaker first; if you go first, she'd have to wait."

After all, Yue Ruyan's combat prowess was much stronger than Xia Zhining's.

Yue Ruyan said nothing, her entire self wriggling like a worm in the quilt, her head shrinking inside.

"What stubbornness, you're the stubborn one, don't touch me..."

Before Xia Zhining finished speaking, her body was slightly pressed down, that scoundrel hugging her and kissed.

Chen Mo held Xia Zhining and kissed for a while.

Xia Zhining's body began to respond willingly, hands wrapping around Chen Mo's neck.

Chen Mo then moved down to kiss Xia Zhining's collarbone, fragrant shoulder.

Xia Zhining hadn't dressed when scooped up by Chen Mo, her clothes dropped onto the floor, and her body still had water droplets, wet.

But Chen Mo didn't mind at all.

Xia Zhining likely dripped perfume into the bath water, as after emerging, her body emitted a rich fragrance.

He kissed Xia Zhining's collarbone, continuously moving down, like a months-old baby relying on instinct to seek food when hungry.

Then Xia Zhining's hands around Chen Mo's neck turned into hugging Chen Mo's head, softly breathing.

Beside them, Yue Ruyan heard those rustling sounds and somehow twisted into a worm herself.