Chapter 213: I Was Blessed With This Mouth?

Zu'an glanced at Ji Xiaoxi, who was sleeping nearby. Unwilling to leave her alone, he went over to wake her. But as he approached, he heard her quiet, rhythmic breathing, indicating she was fast asleep. Unable to bring himself to disturb her, he gently picked her up.

"Mmm~" Ji Xiaoxi seemed to sense something in her sleep. She stirred with a soft murmur, then twisted her body, finding a more comfortable position, and snuggled her face tightly against his chest. Watching her sleep like a kitten, Zu'an's mood gradually calmed.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying arrived at the small river. Seeing the crystal-clear water, she was delighted. She turned to say something to Zu'an but found him holding Ji Xiaoxi with a doting expression. Her mood instantly grew a little annoyed, and her voice rose a few decibels: "Stand guard for me. Don't let anyone come near."

"Don't worry," Zu'an replied. "If anyone else comes, I'd be the one at a disadvantage, so why would I allow it?"

Qiao Xueying thought to herself, *I'm clearly the one at a disadvantage, what does it have to do with you?* Then she added, "Also, you are not allowed to peek, or I'll gouge out your eyes!"

"That's going too far," Zu'an retorted with a smirk. "Not to mention the bond we forged when facing life and death, but even before, I've seen everything on you, what I should and shouldn't have seen. Looking again now won't make you lose a piece of flesh."

"You!" Qiao Xueying was furious, her beautiful hair growing long in the wind.Rage points from Qiao Xueying +404!

Zu'an was startled. "Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive! I won't look, I won't look. Anyway, you have neither breasts nor butt." This woman had quite a temper. She was already so carelessly using her abilities despite having only just recovered, not fearing worsening her injuries.

Qiao Xueying felt a surge of irritation, wishing she could bite him hard. But seeing his lazy demeanor and remembering he was always like that, she secretly huffed and couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore. With a flick of her wrist, a curtain of water rose behind her. Only then did she undress and slowly wade into the small river. She couldn't swim, so she stayed close to the bank. Fortunately, the river wasn't very deep, and a great weight was slowly lifted from her heart.

Zu'an, meanwhile, looked around to see if any perverts were approaching. However, the students from Brightmoon Academy had already left, so there wasn't a soul in sight. Relieved, he pretended to casually glance towards the river. Unfortunately, there was no "silken skin bathed in warm spring water" as he imagined. What met his eyes was a veil of mist, exactly like when Ji Xiaoxi bathed in the river—she was using her primordial energy to manipulate the river water to create a screen around herself.

"Who is she hiding from?!" Zu'an grumbled, turning his head back in annoyance. Sitting there bored, he faintly heard the sound of water from nearby, and his mind involuntarily conjured up certain images. According to the tropes in novels from his past life, at this moment, a venomous snake or something similar should appear, bite her in a sensitive spot, and he could then not only heroically save her but also take the opportunity to suck out the venom. Which novel was that from? He couldn't remember.

Zu'an was chuckling foolishly when he suddenly heard a gasp from the riverside.

"Ah~"

It was Qiao Xueying's voice.

"Oh my, it can't be that coincidental, can it?" Zu'an quickly looked in the direction of the sound, and then he felt momentarily dizzy. He saw Qiao Xueying suddenly leap out of the water and into mid-air. There was no longer any mist concealing her, revealing her dazzlingly white body, truly with shoulders like carved jade, a slender waist, and a graceful, alluring posture. However, what was most striking was her skin tone, like the finest mutton-fat jade. Due to the water droplets clinging to her body, reflecting the sunlight, she emanated a shimmering, translucent glow that was dazzling to behold.

Just then, a gigantic python, glowing red all over, also leaped out of the water, raising its millstone-sized head and striking at Qiao Xueying. At this moment, Zu'an's mind was racing with a thousand expletives. *Why is my mouth acting like a prophecy?* Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly drew his Tai'a Sword and rushed to save her.

Qiao Xueying lightly tapped her toes, shifting several feet sideways to narrowly dodge the fatal strike. Then, with a flick of her finger, two embroidery needles shot out, striking the great snake directly in the eyes. The giant snake immediately let out a mournful hiss, then abruptly spat out a cloud of pink mist from its mouth.

Qiao Xueying was already severely wounded and weakened. Her swift dodge and counterattack just now had exhausted all her strength. She wanted to avoid it but was a fraction too slow and was hit by the pink mist. Even though she held her breath, she still felt a wave of dizziness, lost control of her body, and fell from mid-air.

"Oh no!" There were many jagged rocks by the river. Falling like this, even if she wasn't impaled by a sharp edge, she would easily be disfigured. Unfortunately, her primordial energy seemed sealed, completely unusable, and she could only watch helplessly as she drew closer to the ground.

Just then, she felt herself fall into a warm, strong embrace, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear: "Xue'er, are you alright?"

Qiao Xueying shook her head. "Be careful, this is a Crimson-Scaled Python, a Grade Four fierce beast. Its strength is ordinary, but its venomous gas is very troublesome."

Zu'an secretly clicked his tongue. In his previous life's understanding, pythons were non-venomous, weren't they? But in this world of cultivation, anything was possible. Watching him charge out with his sword, Qiao Xueying suddenly realized that when she said the Crimson-Scaled Python's strength was "ordinary," she meant it in relation to a Grade Five cultivator. If she weren't severely wounded and weakened now, killing such a Grade Four fierce beast wouldn't be difficult. But Zu'an's cultivation level was too low; this giant python was still too dangerous for him. She wanted to help but felt weak and aching all over, unable to muster any strength. She knew this was due to the python's strange venom. At once, she felt both embarrassed and annoyed, only able to watch Zu'an's figure with worry.

At this moment, the giant python thrashed continuously in the water. Clearly, its blindness caused it extreme pain and fury. Zu'an, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to charge at its abdomen with his sword. As the saying goes, "strike a snake at its seven-inch mark." No matter how powerful this snake was, it wouldn't survive if the Tai'a Sword pierced its vital spot, right?

Who knew that halfway through his charge, his heart skipped a beat? He had subconsciously used the Sunflower Phantom again, but his body had already reverted to its masculine form. As a result, his vital energy suddenly surged, and his movement was halted for a moment. In that instant, the giant python's tail swept horizontally towards him. For snakes, eyes weren't entirely necessary to perceive their surroundings. Zu'an quickly held his sword horizontally in front of him. He felt an immense force, sending him flying backward, landing dozens of feet away.

"A'Zu, are you alright?" Qiao Xueying asked, her face filled with worry. Such immense force would be unbearable not just for a Grade Three martial artist but even for a Grade Four cultivator. After all, it was common knowledge that fierce beasts of the same rank were stronger than human cultivators. However, the imagined scene of broken bones did not occur. Zu'an simply got up from the ground, looking completely unharmed.

Not only was Qiao Xueying surprised, but Zu'an himself was also puzzled. Logically, he shouldn't have been able to withstand such force, yet he found his strength was several times greater than before. He quickly checked the magical arrays within his body and was astonished to find that the seventh and eighth arrays were completely filled! He knew that previously, only the first six arrays were filled, and each subsequent array required more primordial energy fruits. The sixth array required 610 primordial energy fruits, the seventh required 987, and the eighth even more, at 1597! Filling the previous arrays had been exhausting. The primordial energy fruits needed for the seventh array alone were almost equal to the sum of the first six, let alone the eighth.

When did these get filled? He thought back and suddenly recalled how, to save Qiao Xueying, Mi Li had beaten him to the brink of death countless times. He had stubbornly persevered by relying on the "Rich Lady's Pleasure Ball," sustaining more severe injuries than ever before. He couldn't even remember how many times he had risen from a pool of blood. It must have been then, constantly getting severely wounded, wounded again, and wounded yet again, that the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* had activated its "upgrade by taking hits" effect.

That woman Mi Li truly hits like a truck! Even now, just thinking about it made him shudder. Fortunately, the "Rich Lady's Pleasure Ball" had sustained him, but unfortunately, its last use was now gone. What would he do if he encountered such situations again in the future?

At that moment, the Crimson-Scaled Python lunged towards him again. This time, Zu'an didn't use the "Sunflower Phantom" but instead purely relied on his physical strength to leap sideways and dodge. His speed surprised him. Even though he was now Grade Three, Eight Stages, this speed and strength were too exaggerated, almost comparable to Grade Five. What was going on?

"Idiot," Mi Li's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. "The *Primordial Chaos Scripture* not only accelerates your recovery but also tempers your body, granting you a significant power boost. You have been completely reborn, and both your strength and speed far surpass ordinary people. Combined with the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* you're cultivating, the effects of these two divine arts amplify each other. Your current strength and speed cannot be measured by conventional ranks. You're roughly equivalent to a peak Grade Four cultivator, and you might not even be at a disadvantage against some weaker Grade Fives."

"You're awake?" Zu'an was both surprised and delighted. Given her extremely high cultivation, her judgment would naturally be accurate. He knew that previously, he had to enter a severely wounded state to trigger the berserk function of the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* to barely reach this level. Now, he could achieve it effortlessly in his normal state.

"Hmph, feeling that you were in danger, how could I possibly sleep? I certainly don't want to die for no reason. I thought you had encountered some ancient millennium-old monster, but it turns out a mere trashy little snake reduced you to this state." Mi Li's voice was full of disdain.

"Little snake?" Zu'an looked at the python's waist, thicker than a water bucket, a speechless expression on his face. But then he thought, a Grade Four fierce beast indeed wouldn't be worth her notice at her level.

Just then, the Crimson-Scaled Python lunged again. Zu'an had now gradually adapted to his body's new strength. Seizing an opportunity, he summoned the Mortal Dagger and plunged it into the python. Black runes spread out from the wound, and the Crimson-Scaled Python shuddered, then collapsed heavily to the ground, utterly lifeless.

"Your dagger is quite interesting," Mi Li remarked with a surprised "Oh?" "I'll take a closer look when I have time later. I'm going back to sleep now. To be woken by such a petty creature, hmph!" Her voice quickly faded. Zu'an secretly grumbled to himself: this woman was truly elusive; sometimes he couldn't tell if she was genuinely asleep or just pretending.

However, he had no time for such thoughts now and quickly dashed towards Qiao Xueying. Seeing him kill the giant python, Qiao Xueying breathed a sigh of relief. She could no longer stand and softly collapsed, falling right into his arms.

"Clothes... put them on me." Whether from shyness or some other reason, Qiao Xueying's skin, which had been like mutton-fat jade, was now flushed crimson, as if smeared with rose petal juice.

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Thanks to readers like Sancai Milin for the tips. He claims to be a man, so why does everyone in the group call him "Sancai Rich Lady"?