Chapter 45: Physique Talent

A moment's thought, and Xu Yuan instantly grasped Su Jinxuan's intention.

This woman—she actually still intended to flee.

Xu Yuan realized he had significantly overestimated Su Jinxuan's resolve.

Her warning was merely a warning—no desire to fight to the death.

As long as Su Jinxuan alerted the shadow stationed outside, she would be dead in an instant. Therefore, she carefully regulated her strength, drawing away his spirit essence until he fell into unconsciousness.

Only then would she have a chance to escape alive.

Unfortunately, this woman was too arrogant.

No—this wasn't arrogance at all. It was merely a misjudgment caused by a disparity in information.

After all, in the entire world, no one else knew how many times he had nearly died, how close he had come to the edge of oblivion.

With this realization, Xu Yuan's mind eased slightly.

Su Jinxuan immediately poured every ounce of strength into the situation. If Ying'er hadn't arrived in time, he might truly have faced a threat to his life.

As it stands now...

Hah.

Still, the spores' suction speed was clearly outpacing Xu Yuan's absorption. After all, once Xu Yuan swallowed them, he still needed time to refine and assimilate them. These spore particles, however, merely required unrelenting suction before exploding.

Time passed, second by second.

Inside the bedclothes, a man and a woman lay entwined, like a newly wedded couple sleeping in quiet intimacy.

Su Jinxuan rested her head against the man's chest, her eyes half-closed, her pale, weakened complexion barely concealed.

In just half a minute, her depletion had already surpassed the cumulative exhaustion of the past few days.

Yet...

Su Jinxuan gazed at the man beneath her, his eyes closed in sleep, his lips gently pressed together.

...But fortunately, Xu Xuchuan had finally begun to slip into unconsciousness. She could now clearly sense that his consumption had slowed to an almost imperceptible pace.

Just a little more, just a little further...

As soon as this man fully collapsed into unconsciousness, she would have a chance to slip away.

Spore particles burst in waves, then surged anew.

Yet what broke Su Jinxuan's heart was that half of the intent soul within his inner realm had already been drained, and yet the man beneath her still hadn't fallen into unconsciousness. His consumption had not ceased at all.

One hour.

Two hours.

At last, the man beneath her halted his consumption entirely.

This development lit a flicker of hope in Su Jinxuan's eyes. She immediately halted the spore particles, preparing to verify whether he had truly fallen into unconsciousness.

But at this moment,

she suddenly saw the man beneath her open his eyes.

"........" Su Jinxuan.

They were so close,

his eyes long and narrow, fixed upon hers with a cold gleam.

Su Jinxuan's breath caught.

A flicker of panic, like a drop of water falling into still water, rippled outward, spreading like a slow tide.

Why... why could this man remain conscious until now?

The question arose, yet no one would ever answer it for her.

The woman before her was visibly weakening, and Xu Yuan no longer concealed his state, pretending to be unconscious. The secret technique began to run at full force again.

"No... don't..."

Su Jinxuan's originally alluring and seductive voice now carried a tremor of panic and pleading, her instinct prompting her to rise and flee.

Xu Yuan simply grasped her wrist firmly.

"Let... let go of me."

"......"

Xu Yuan did indeed release her, because the ant-like spores clinging to his intent soul began to pulse and reassert control over his body.

Yet as soon as he let go, Su Jinxuan, who had tried to sit up, remained motionless—just staring blankly upon his chest.

Where... where could she possibly go now?

Xu Changtian was not unconscious; there were powerful guardians outside. How could she escape? Where could she go?

No path above, no entrance below.

Despair.

Time passed, second by second.

With his body once again under control, Xu Yuan ceased to attend to the outside world and focused solely on devouring and refining. As he continued, he noticed that the insect-like spore particles clinging to the periphery of his intent soul began to fall away—first hundreds, then thousands, and finally, in vast numbers, all of them detached and drifted downward.

Within the span of a cup of tea’s worth of time, the surface of his intent soul was entirely free of any foreign matter.

As control of his body returned, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The woman upon his body had her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed with a sickly redness, her lips stained with blood, her beauty twisted into something feral and seductive.

Su Junxuan had fainted.

Xu Yuan’s expression remained calm as he rose slowly, gently pushing Su Junxuan’s body aside.

"Yinger, come out."

"........" No one answered him.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and barked:

"Get the hell out here! Didn't you see that this woman had me under her complete control for five whole days?!"

"........"

The window swung open without a sound, and Yinger appeared noiselessly inside Su Jinxuan's wing room.

Yinger was still clad in that same skin-tight black attire, standing before the bed as her gaze swept across Su Jinxuan lying beside Xu Yuan. After a brief silence, her voice rose, detached and raspy:

"Third Young Master, she possesses no cultivation."

Xu Yuan drew in a sharp breath, preparing to seize this opportunity to give Yinger a proper piece of his mind, but before the words could leave his mouth,

"...It is a mind-soul."

A soft, male voice suddenly echoed beside Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan turned his gaze, and there, appearing at just one meter beside him, stood a man with a delicate, shadowed face, now closed-eyed, sensing something.

His brow furrowed instinctively.

In memory, this man had appeared alongside Ying in the chamber.

Yet before he spoke, Xu Yuan had completely failed to notice the presence of this figure.

As if,

his arrival here was nothing short of inevitable.

Rewriting perception...

Xu Yuan's gaze hardened, fixed upon the man.

Si Ziyu slowly opened his eyes, bowed slightly to Xu Yuan, and said:

"Si Zi Yu, I bow to the Third Prince."

"Hmm." Xu Yuan nodded.

Si Zi Yu glanced sideways at the shadow across from him:

"The Third Prince was indeed attacked, and there remains a trace of spiritual essence here."

Upon hearing this, the shadow's eyes flickered for a moment, hesitating slightly before speaking:

"I examined this woman, and she is not one of the spiritual practitioners."

Si Zi Yu nodded:

"Yes, this woman is merely an ordinary person."

Their conversation caused Xu Yuan's brow to gradually furrow.

Ordinary person?

If it weren't for his innate spirit body, he would have already been brainwashed into just another dog of Su Jinxuan by now.

Could that even be called an ordinary person?

As the words hung in the air, silence fell briefly within the chamber.

"Tap, tap, tap—"

Amidst the stillness,

the door was gently knocked upon, and Zhou Chen's voice drifted slowly from outside:

"Ah, without intention spirit or source qi—just a matter of body constitution and innate talent. What's there to guess about?"

As he spoke, he pushed open the door.

Standing there, he still held a woman who was unconscious in his arms.

He stepped inside, carelessly tossed her onto the floor.

Xu Yuan's gaze swept over, recognizing the other party as Yueniang, the madam of this Zuixian Brothel.

As if noticing Xu Yuan's gaze, Zhou Chen smiled and bowed to him, saying:

"Third Young Master, I figured you would surely have me seize this woman afterward, so I brought her to you ahead of time. I hope you will forgive my slight delay."

At those words, Xu Yuan pondered briefly, realizing that Zhou Chen was already preparing to move against that Mr. Qin, and nodded slightly:

"Thoughtful of you."

"It is the Third Young Master who is wise."

"......" Xu Yuan.

Clearing his throat, Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"Cough, all right, Mr. Zhou, what did you mean by the physical constitution and talent you mentioned just now?"

Zhou Chen hesitated for a moment, his expression turning solemn, and said:

"Third Prince,

"Do you remember the six-transcendent, seven-life python you and Ran Qingmo killed together?"

Xu Yuan's eyelids twitched: "Hmm... I do remember."

"The seven shed skins of that seven-life python are its innate traits."

Pausing, Zhou Chen glanced at the woman lying unconscious on the bed, and spoke softly: "These innate traits apply equally to humans, regardless of cultivation level—just as your innate Dao body functions: even before reaching any rank, your intent soul can detach itself."