Chapter 540: Yu Die, Cold Spring, Feng Ziming
Huala Huala—
A pool of cold spring lay still within a sealed stone room. The four-sided stone walls were adorned with frost like glazed glass, all because of the pure water element spiritual energy within the water.
“Sneaking attack, huh?!”
“Gulp gulp—woo ah—!”
“Hitting me, huh?!”
“Woo—gulp gulp…”
“Upper cut, huh?!”
Xiao Tian lay on the edge of the stone pool, which was paved with pebbles. Xue E stood beside it, one hand gripping its scruff like a bully oppressing the weak. With every curse, she shoved Xiao Tian’s head into the pool, choking it.
Although spirit artifacts didn’t need to breathe like humans, it was still quite uncomfortable for the abundant water spiritual energy from the spiritual spring to rush into its nasal cavity.
“Gulp gulp gulp gulp…”
Xiao Tian desperately flailed its hands, struggling, but it was lying down while Xue E was standing. Xue E stepped on the back of its head, pressing it into the water until it bubbled. A short while later, it felt its consciousness fading and slumped onto the edge of the pool, motionless.
“Hmph!”
Seeing the silly golden creature choked into unconsciousness by spiritual energy, Xue E still seemed unsatisfied. She kicked its backside, sending it flying into the cold spring. Then, she crossed her arms, looked around, hesitated for a moment, took a few steps back, and with a forward leap and a swan dive, landed in the pool.
Plop~~
“Hoo haa~~ Water spiritual energy…”
Xue E poked her head out, pursed her lips, and looked at the silly golden creature floating on the water’s surface beside her. She decided to ignore it and began to swim on her back. However, before she could enjoy her swim, she heard two sets of footsteps approaching from the entrance of the stone room.
The wooden door at the entrance of the stone room was pulled open, scaring Xue E into immediately retracting her head underwater. She even pulled Xiao Tian with her, hiding both of them beneath the water.
Ye Anping, clad in a bath towel, glanced at the cold air emanating from the spring in the stone room. He inexplicably recalled the time when he and his junior sister had persistently cultivated by soaking in ice water for the first time.
He had a water and wood dual spiritual root, and his junior sister had a pure water extreme spiritual root. Because the Hundred Lotus Sect didn’t have spiritual springs, he, in order to quickly forge his body and cultivate Qi, specifically waited for the coldest part of winter. He took Pei Lianxue, who was only five years old, to the frozen lake behind the Hundred Lotus Sect. He used a pickaxe to chisel an opening and, holding his junior sister, they jumped in together.
He thought they should be fine since they had already forged their bodies. But in the end, they were frozen stiff and couldn’t climb out. They were almost frozen solid, on the verge of reincarnation. It was only when Xiao Die discovered they were missing and brought her father over that they were pulled out. Since that incident, he and his junior sister took turns soaking in ice pools, one waiting above while the other soaked below, to prevent being frozen and unable to escape.
Ye Anping shook his head helplessly, dispelling the memory. He walked to the edge of the pool, squatted down, and reached out to touch the cold spring water. Then, he removed his bath towel, took a deep breath, and walked into the cold pool that could freeze a living being into an ice block in an instant.
“Hoo…”
Splash— Splashing—
His well-defined eight-pack abs parted the spiritual energy on the water’s surface. Ye Anping adjusted for a moment before immersing his entire body in the pool water. Leaning against the edge, he completely cleared his mind, quietly letting the water spiritual energy from the pool slowly seep into his Qi Sea through his skin, and exhaled a puff of white mist with satisfaction:
“Haa~~~”
However, perhaps it was because he was finally idle, or because he was rarely relaxed. After cultivating for a while, he couldn’t help but recall the silver-haired beauty he had seen earlier. When he saw her, his heart had remained calm. But somehow, as he recalled Feng Yu Die’s figure now…
In that steaming wood element spiritual spring, her long silver hair cascaded down, the ends slightly curled and floating on the water, surrounded by white mist, appearing and disappearing… Her small belly, still firm despite eating greasy roasted chicken daily, and her jade-white shoulders… And her perfectly shaped navel, like a full moon…
*Slap*—
Thinking of this, Ye Anping suddenly realized his thoughts were problematic. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead, suppressing a wave of heat. He then showed a wry smile and, through the dense spiritual mist on the water’s surface, exchanged a glance with his clone.
“Hehe…”
Ye Anping couldn’t help but ask himself, “Am I perhaps lusting after Feng Yu Die’s body?”
“Perhaps I really am… Alas—” And it’s probably not just lusting for her body…
Ye Anping couldn’t help but recall that ever since he met Feng Yu Die, over these many years of traveling together, he only now realized that perhaps from the very beginning, he had been protecting Feng Yu Die without his own awareness. When Feng Yu Die was gravely injured by Wu You, although he only thought that he couldn’t let Feng Yu Die die and thus brought her back to the Hundred Lotus Sect. But in reality, perhaps from that moment on, he had inadvertently fallen under Feng Yu Die’s spell. Later, when he and Feng Yu Die went to rescue Yun Jiujiu and Yun Yiyi at the Sword Sect, and he used the Water Spirit Pearl to bomb the Dan furnace, he also instinctively shielded Feng Yu Die with his body… In the Hantian Kingdom in the Northern Region, when that person named Jiang Mojiao’s Nascent Soul exploded, he involuntarily caught Feng Yu Die in mid-air and was buried in the mountains with her… Why, when Feng Yu Die possessed the Spring aspect spiritual energy, did he go to such lengths each time, using his own body to protect someone who would absolutely be fine? Come to think of it, it seems that every time he was severely injured, it was most likely for the sake of shielding Feng Yu Die from something…
“Mm…”
Could it be that the dog-like Heavenly Dao wanted him to protect Feng Yu Die, this Heavenly Pivot? Speaking of which, what exactly were the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Demon in this world?
While Ye Anping was lost in thought, suddenly, not far in front of him, a burst of bubbles appeared.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle…
Xue E, underwater, seemed to have lost her grip, and Xiao Tian directly floated out of the water. Seeing Xiao Tian’s seemingly oblivious state, Ye Anping was stunned. He held his breath and quickly submerged his head into the water. Although the water surface was covered by a thick layer of spiritual mist, the underwater was crystal clear. Xue E, pinching her nose, had a look of terror, as if she had seen a “golden-purple pillar supporting the sea.” She remained motionless in the water for a long time until her eyes met Ye Anping’s as he submerged. Instantly, she couldn’t hold it in and choked, her cheeks puffing out, air escaping her mouth. She struggled and surfaced.
“Haa!! Cough cough cough—”
“… …”
Ye Anping looked speechless. He looked down and was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t even felt the golden-purple pillar supporting the sea himself, how could… He ignored it, brought his head out of the water, narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at the coughing Xue E for a moment, and asked, “When did you two get here?”
“Ah…” Xue E shriveled her neck, her face flushed red. “We’ve been here all along, yes…” Xue E seemed to want to look down again, her gaze drifting to the area below her, which earned a look of disgust from Ye Anping. He retorted, “Why are you, a spirit artifact of the Tian Mo Book Scroll, blushing? It’s not like you haven’t seen it before…”
“But I didn’t see it that clearly! The last time you were dual cultivating with Ming Xin, I honestly stayed outside.”
“Then you must have seen it often when you were in the Tian Mo Sect?”
“Even so, not as… ” Xue E pursed her lips. Like a shy young girl, she hesitated for a moment and then asked curiously, “Can I touch it?”
“? No.”
“Oh… Then I’ll record it in the Tian Mo Book Scroll…” Without another word, Xue E took out the Tian Mo Book Scroll from under her skirt. But before she could write, Ye Anping snatched the Tian Mo Book Scroll away, threw it aside, and glared at it:
“… …”
Receiving his gaze, Xue E gradually came to her senses. She patted her cheeks, nodded, and replied, “Ah, I… I was just startled. Hehe~”
“… …”
Ye Anping looked speechless and sighed. He glanced at Xiao Tian, who was about to float away, and scooped it up, placing it on his shoulder. He then relaxed again.
“If you want to take a bath, do so peacefully. Otherwise, get out.”
“Oh~ Okay…” Xue E licked her lips and slowly swam to Ye Anping’s shoulder, tossing Xiao Tian ashore and obediently leaning against the pebbles by the pool to enjoy her bath.
Ye Anping glanced at them, paid them no mind, and closed his eyes again, recalling his golden-purple pillar that was now supporting the sea. He seemed to have been thinking about Feng Yu Die just now… Speaking of which, when they were on the Immortal Ship, Xiao Yunluo had brought Feng Yu Die to him with ill intentions… With nothing much to do for the past ten-odd days, perhaps he should go ask her later…
“Hoo…”
Ye Anping let out a long sigh, deciding against it. It was better to let nature take its course. Moreover, Gu Ming Xin was also here, and she would definitely come to snatch some “meat” when the time came. He would wait until the matter with the Tian Mo Sect was resolved and they returned to the Hundred Lotus Sect. Then, he would take Feng Yu Die to Grand Void True Person’s grave and respond to her confession back then… Speaking of which, Feng Yu Die was the one who mentioned those red-crowned cranes delivering babies in the past. Perhaps he could borrow his father’s eighty-eight thousand cranes later to make a grand gesture? He wondered if Yu Die would like it…
Thinking about this, Ye Anping inexplicably felt like a young boy falling in love for the first time, and a hint of self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.
“Forget it… I’ll think about it later.” He cleared his mind again, rested the back of his head on the pebbles behind him, closed his eyes, and stopped thinking about it. He once again calmed himself down and let the spiritual energy in the pool water wash over his meridians.
Drip— Drip—
The stone room fell silent. The mist from the cold spring rose to the stalactites above, condensing into water droplets that slowly dripped back into the pool.
Creak—
A while later, the sound of a bolt being scraped echoed, and the wooden door of the stone room seemed to be pulled open. Then, with a patter of footsteps, coming from far and near, stopping behind Ye Anping. Hearing the commotion, Ye Anping instinctively guessed it was likely that Gu Ming Xin. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up behind him. What greeted his eyes was a figure clad in snow-white.
Feng Yu Die, holding the bath towel wrapped around her with both hands, stood behind him with a blushing face. Seeing him open his eyes and look at her, her gaze became erratic, shifting to the side: “Young Master Ye, that, well… can I join you for a soak? Hehe…”
Looking at Feng Yu Die’s shy voice, Ye Anping, for some reason, felt his toes curl and was unsure how to respond. He subconsciously nodded: “Ah… yes.”
Seeing Ye Anping agree, Feng Yu Die narrowed her eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and smiled happily. She walked to the side and tentatively dipped her toes into the water.
Splash—
The water element spiritual spring was inherently extremely cold. Even for Feng Yu Die, it was bound to be painfully cold to enter. However, Feng Yu Die pursed her lips, glanced at Ye Anping beside her, then took a deep breath and decisively slid into the water from the edge of the pool. Shivering, she leaned against Ye Anping’s shoulder and looked away.
Through their contact at the shoulders, Ye Anping could feel her trembling. He felt a little helpless and reached out to grab Xue E, who was sitting on his shoulder, and tossed her aside, saying, “Most cultivators aren’t used to water element spiritual springs. If you feel cold, you can go to the next room…”
“It’s fine, I’ll get used to it. Hehe…”
“Ah… yes.”
Ye Anping felt inexplicably awkward. After responding, he calmed his thoughts. He silently recited the decision he had just made:
—I’ll talk about it when we get back to the Western Regions…
—I’ll talk about it when we get back to the Western Regions…
—I’ll wait…
“Young Master Ye.” Feng Yu Die turned her head to look at Ye Anping and said, “Your face is red… Hee hee—”
“Is it?”
Feng Yu Die tilted her head, tied her silver hair behind her into a bun, and asked softly, “Could it be that Young Master Ye is shy? Hehe…”
Ye Anping was speechless and averted his gaze:
“… … Yes, you could say that.”
“Then… do you want to dual cultivate with me?”
“… …”
Drip— Drip—
After this question, the stone room fell silent again, with only the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling. Feng Yu Die waited for a long time but didn’t receive Ye Anping’s nod. She felt quite awkward and was about to change the subject, saying, “Speaking of which, Young Master Ye, you… Huh?!” However, before she could finish, Ye Anping took a deep breath, directly grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms, proactively kissing her lips.
—Wait until we get back to the Western Regions…
—I can’t wait!!
Although Feng Yu Die was startled, she quickly understood that this was “foreplay” as described in Senior Sister Xiao’s book, and she completely relaxed. However, the kiss wasn’t long. Just as Feng Yu Die closed her eyes, they reluctantly separated. Ye Anping let out a soft breath, embraced her waist, and picked her up, placing her on the edge of the pool. He looked up and asked, “Yu Die… I was thinking of taking you to Grand Void True Person’s grave after the matter with the Tian Mo Sect is resolved, and then we can talk.”
“Mm?”
Feng Yu Die seemed to not understand. She hesitantly reached out, cupped Ye Anping’s face, and asked, “Young Master Ye wants to dual cultivate at my Master’s grave?”
“? No…”
Feng Yu Die giggled with a flushed face and asked, “How about now? I want to dual cultivate with you right now!!”
Looking at her flushed little face, Ye Anping was silent for a moment, then leaned forward, closed his eyes, and gently kissed her flawless navel.
“Aiya, Young Master Ye… it tickles so much!”
“Just call me Anping. Call me Anping…”
“Mm~ Anping, mm… Woo—”
Ye Anping relaxed, allowing Feng Yu Die to hold his head and wrap her legs around his neck. He then closed his eyes and savored the sweetness at his lips… Subsequently, a soft moan escaped her throat, echoing in the silent stone room, accompanied by some splashing sounds, creating ripples in the calm cold spring.
Xiao Tian, lying on the shore, also groggily woke up. Hearing the movement behind him, it looked back, and its eyes widened. It subconsciously felt like it was hallucinating.
“Ah?!!”
*Bang*—
As soon as it uttered the first word, Xue E’s wooden sword followed closely behind, hitting the back of its head, knocking it out cold. The entwined couple, interrupted by Xiao Tian, stopped their movements and turned their heads to look.
“Young Master Ye… Anping…”
“Hook your neck around me, I’ll carry you back to the room…”
“Okay~~ Ehehehe…”
… …
