At this moment, the beautiful mentor was lying sideways on the soft couch, seemingly drunk, her delicate face flushed, and her eyes glistening like autumn water, beautiful beyond compare.

Qin Yu, how could he be fooled by her words?

"Are you trying to call Sister over, Mentor?"

As he spoke, he pretended to push open the window, as if to call Zhao Mengli over.

Yin Qinghe panicked instantly. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

If Zhao Mengli saw her in such a disheveled state, and moreover, in the same room with Qin Yu.

How could she explain herself as a mentor?!

Thus, she instinctively sat up and reached out to stop Qin Yu, only to find her hands clasped instead.

"You... let go!" Yin Qinghe said angrily and shyly.

Not only did Qin Yu not let go, he actually moved closer and asked, "Mentor, don’t you want to improve your root bone?"

"Improve the root bone?"

Who among the cultivators in the world doesn’t want that?!

Yin Qinghe was certainly no exception.

But she quickly realized something because Zhao Mengli had once told her how to improve the root bone.

It must...

Just thinking about that matter made goosebumps visibly appear on her arms and neck.

No!

No way!

She absolutely couldn’t do something that would betray Li’Er.

A blush of unnatural red appeared on her beautiful face as she widened her eyes and quickly reprimanded, "I am your mentor!"

"But."

"Disciple just wants to repay Mentor for your teaching and guidance."

Yin Qinghe was stunned silent.

Shameless!

To say such things as repayment.

"Does Mentor not believe in disciple’s ability?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about."

Seeing Qin Yu become more and more outrageous with his words, Yin Qinghe fiercely broke free from his grasp and urged, "Quickly, leave, I need to rest."

"Oh."

Qin Yu’s gaze fell on the soft couch, as Mentor shifted slightly, some things that were originally concealed became visible.

He reached out, his finger tracing over the couch, then kindly handed it to her, asking with a touch of curiosity, "Mentor, what is this?"

Bang!...

Yin Qinghe felt as though her head exploded, her eyes suddenly widened.

Discovered?!

Discovered by her disciple!

"This... this is just..."

She stuttered, trying to force an explanation, but then noticed the subtle curve at Qin Yu’s mouth.

Her mind immediately surged with a thought...

He knows!

And he seems to have always known?!

Yin Qinghe didn’t know how he knew, but at this moment, her embarrassment turned to anger.

Damn it!

He purposefully watched her make a fool of herself!

"Rebellious disciple!"

She finally shouted out the words that had been buried in her heart for a long time, and directly suppressed this rebellious disciple who dared to challenge her mentor’s authority onto the soft couch.

Forget it.

Now, Danxin Herb Hall indeed needs an alchemist to oversee.

For Qin Yu and Zhao Mengli to grow, they need several more years, possibly even longer.

She alone really couldn’t hold up.

Just...

Once.

Just once should be alright.

And as long as Li’Er and the others don’t know, it can be treated as if nothing happened.

"Rip——!"

With the sound of fabric tearing, she ripped this rebellious disciple’s clothes into shreds.

However, when the torn fabric slowly fell and the truth was revealed, Yin Qinghe’s eyes suddenly widened, full of incredulity.

So... terrifying!

Amidst the shock, she saw that rebellious disciple seemed somewhat smug, and in her anger, she ignored everything and directly suppressed him.

But Qin Yu, possessing a divine body, was far from as simple as his surface appearance of Qi Refining Fourth Layer!

"Mm...!"

A faint, thread-like, yet pain-laden groan slipped from the lips of the beautiful mentor, like a candle flickering in the night breeze, weak and heart-wrenching.

Her Dai Mei furrowed tightly at that moment, forming a deep "几" character as if gathering all her woes into that small area.

Her peach blossom eyes, filled with autumn water, glimmered with rippling light, like flood flows soon to breach the banks, hovering upon her cheeks, ultimately transforming into a gloss of crystalline droplets, quietly vanishing into the air.

The scene was heartbreaking in its beauty.

...

"Buzz!..."

Suddenly a flame ignited, for unknown reasons, stronger than ever before.

Sparks scattered and interwove into threads of red, entwining the two together.

...

Lin Xian City.

Deep within the City Lord’s Mansion, a tranquil courtyard lay hidden.

The courtyard was previously kept for a major figure descending from the Immortal Sect, although no one had resided there.

But now it seemed someone was living within the courtyard.

Inside a side room, candlelight flickered, casting light on a serene and holy silhouette.

Cyan Mountain Sect’s Saintess, Su Xiyue, sat cross-legged upon a cushion, her eyes closed in deep concentration, surrounded by a faint spiritual aura, as though merging with the world itself.

She hadn’t returned to the Immortal Sect since that day.

This descent was meant to resolve issues with the Ruins Rift, and now, since the Rift still remained, if she returned with injuries...

Some people would likely take advantage of her weakness.

She was unwilling to surrender handles to others.

This time, her injuries were severe enough to be alarming, close to the brink of despair.

The backlash from the forbidden technique was like a beast tearing through her, damaging not only her meridians but also littering her Dantian Sea with visible cracks.

That unknown black qi continued to erode her flesh and spiritual qi, growing stronger in the process and worsening the injuries.

Moreover, there were lingering wounds from Leng Ruyu.

Su Xiyue hadn’t turned on Qin Yu back then, thinking that without Qin Yu hiding her, she might not have survived.

Days passed.

Through the cleansing heat, those black qi stains had already turned into smoke, and her injuries were healing.

Even the Purple Fire left by Leng Ruyu was extinguished by the heat.

The only thing was the extremely slow healing of the injuries to the meridians and Dantian.

The injuries were indeed severe!

For a normal cultivator, injury to the Dantian generally meant near total ruin, possibly falling to the rank of a mortal.

Damages to the Dantian and meridians are unlike bodily wounds.

Like a complete piece of porcelain, once there’s a crack, it will only expand over time; even with utmost efforts to repair, it can’t return to its original state.

That was indeed Su Xiyue’s situation.

Even if she returned to Cyan Mountain Sect, using vast resources to stabilize the injuries, her future achievements at the Golden Core stage would likely be limited.

After all, the hidden danger remains.

Without resources, let alone achieving the Golden Core, the worsening injuries might even drop her realm further.

But now.

Without returning to the Immortal Sect or tapping its resources, the injuries on her meridians and Dantian not only were halted in their progression but were gradually healing.

The healing was just slow.

And the reason for the slowness...

Is naturally due to the lack of warm current!