They returned to the small courtyard within the capital.
After closing the door, Ning Xian laid down a simple restriction barrier to isolate their presence.
On the surface, she remained as cold and calm as ever.
However, she knew all too well that the battle just now was far from as easy as it appeared.
Fortunately, the opponent was merely an elder who had recently entered the Transformation Realm and had been far too overconfident.
Only through her seamless coordination with Fang Xuan, coupled with the unreasonable ferocity of the black sword, were they able to snatch victory from the jaws of danger.
But... it wasn't enough.
It was nowhere near enough.
Leaving the Qingyun Sect did not represent an end; on the contrary, it was only the beginning.
The Transformation Realm was merely the true starting point of the long road of cultivation.
And what she had to face...
Was far more terrifying than a single Transformation Realm cultivator.
Reincarnation... fate...
A deep sense of exhaustion, along with a flicker of resentment, flashed through Ning Xian’s cold eyes.
No matter how many times she started over, no matter how she struggled, there always seemed to be invisible chains of fate dragging her back to a predetermined trajectory.
In every life, new variables would arise, preventing her from completing her arrangements.
It was as if the entire world were her enemy, intent on crushing her completely.
Each of her lives had been very short—a few days, a few months.
The longest had been no more than a year or two.
She had tried, she had resisted, and she had even become stronger at any cost, yet the outcome always seemed to be in vain.
Every time she woke up within the cycle, the situation she faced became more difficult, the enemies stronger, and the traps more meticulous.
This life was especially terrible.
While at the Qingyun Sect, an extra restriction had appeared, and she had happened to wake up right after her spirit bone was extracted, during her weakest moment.
It was truly the direst of straits.
At that time, she had even thought to herself...
'Let this life be over. If I die, then I die.'
She would simply wait for the next awakening, whenever and however it might happen.
After all... she was used to loneliness, used to repeating despair over and over again within the darkness.
But... he came.
This junior brother named Fang Xuan was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, changing everything.
Pills, the restoration of her spirit bone, and a further epiphany in sword intent.
Things had become unexpectedly smooth.
That feeling made it seem as if her countless previous futile struggles in the darkness of reincarnation were all just for the sake of... waiting for his arrival.
This thought always made her heart tremble slightly.
That strange, burning emotion began to spread through her cold chest once again...
She didn't want to die.
She didn't want to sink back into that boundless darkness, waiting for the next slim hope of awakening... reincarnation.
And even more so... she didn't want to lose sight of him.
Even if... he would be there in the next life, he would certainly not be the him of this world.
She only wanted the junior brother of this world... Fang Xuan.
.......
However, Junior Brother surely knew nothing of this.
And she wouldn't tell him.
She would carry those heavy, suffocating memories of reincarnation on her own.
......
On the other side, Fang Xuan was secretly eating buns again.
Milk-flavored ones; they were quite good.
He could give them a top-tier rating.
While eating in secret, his mind wasn't idle either.
He’d had a suspicion before, and the more he thought about it now, the more likely it seemed.
He hadn't actually finished the original novel; he only remembered the general tropes of the female lead being abused early on, followed by her villainous revenge in the later stages, refining myriad lands and ascending to the higher realms.
But many cultivation novels, as they reached the late stages, saw power levels explode, frequently involving the laws of time and reincarnation.
Immortal Venerables would hold a Spring and Autumn Cicada in their hands to reverse the flow of time.
So, his own Senior Sister... as a powerhouse who would eventually refine all living beings and ascend, having something like a 'Spring and Autumn Sword Intent'...
Seemed... quite reasonable, actually?
.........
Well... it was possible that when he transmigrated, the plot had already jumped to the late endgame.
So Senior Sister’s current state was like a max-level boss opening a new account, but then getting nerfed by the version update.
Fang Xuan stroked his chin, feeling like he had discovered a key detail.
Thinking about it this way made many details make sense.
Why the plot progressed so quickly, why the secret realm trial was so treacherous, why Transformation Realm enemies appeared at the drop of a hat...
So he wasn't here to play a romance simulation about saving a fragile senior sister.
He was here to play support, helping a max-level reborn boss speedrun a nightmare dungeon.
However, there was a practical problem at hand: their strength was completely insufficient.
Today, a single early-stage Transformation Realm cultivator showed up, and they barely scraped by thanks to Senior Sister’s burst and the unique traits of the black sword, coupled with the enemy's underestimation.
If a middle or late-stage Transformation Realm cultivator showed up next time, or a whole group of them...
He and Senior Sister, with their small frames, would likely be torn apart.
They had to increase their strength quickly.
He still had to lure Senior Sister into dual cultivation.
......
At the same time, Ning Xian was adjusting her breathing to recover her spiritual energy.
Her strength was insufficient, and there were too many hidden dangers.
She had to resolve every potential threat completely.
This had to be her final life...
And to increase her strength rapidly... then she could only...
She could only coax Junior Brother into dual cultivation.
......
Fang Xuan had just finished eating his buns, feeling most of his spiritual energy restored.
However, that little thought of 'luring Senior Sister into dual cultivation' grew stronger and stronger in his mind.
He looked at Ning Xian, who sat opposite him with her eyes closed, adjusting her breath.
She had already removed her long dress, leaving only her plain white inner robes.
The moonlight filtered through the window frames, spilling over her and outlining her cold, otherworldly silhouette.
Her long lashes were like feathers, and the bridge of her nose was elegant and straight.
Her lips were slightly pale due to the battle and exertion just now, giving her a fragile, delicate beauty.
...And then there were those exquisite curves, and those jade-like...
.....
Fang Xuan’s throat moved as he felt a bit of dryness in his mouth.
Cough, cough...
He cleared his throat. "Senior Sister..."
At almost the exact same time, Ning Xian also happened to open her eyes and softly called out, "Junior Brother..."
Both spoke at the same time, and both stopped simultaneously.
Their gazes met in the air.
Fang Xuan saw a rare trace of fluster flash through Ning Xian’s cold eyes.
The air was silent for a moment, feeling a bit awkward.
"Ahem..." Ning Xian was the first to look away. Her earlobes began to heat up uncontrollably as she struggled to keep her voice sounding as calm as usual.
"Jun... Junior Brother, you should rest early. Today's exertion was great; you need to recover properly."
'No, that's too direct; it will scare him.'
'I have to take it slow.'
'I absolutely cannot let it slip, otherwise, if Junior Brother finds out I'm coaxing him... to perform such intimate acts every day...'
'He will surely think I'm a Joyous Union enchantress who covets his primordial yang.'
'But... there is no other way now. I can only see how long I can keep the pretense up.'
......
When Fang Xuan heard this, he was worried.
If Senior Sister was sending him off to sleep, wouldn't his dual cultivation plan fall through?
This wouldn't do; he had to create an opportunity.
He immediately knit his brows slightly, a look of weakness and discomfort appearing on his face as he forced himself to speak. "Cough, cough... Senior Sister, I'm fine. It's just that from the battle just now, my spiritual energy is over-exhausted."
"My yang qi is fluctuating, and now I feel like I can't quite suppress it..."
Hearing this, Ning Xian’s heart skipped a beat.
She fought to suppress the heat rising in her face, trying her best to put on the serious and earnest expression of a physician.
Only her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her earlobes were completely red.
"Has such a thing happened?"
Ning Xian stood up and walked to the front of Fang Xuan, looking at him quite urgently.
"Matters of cultivation concern your foundation; you cannot be careless. Quick... let Senior Sister see."
As she spoke, she reached out her hand to take Fang Xuan's pulse.
'I can't let it slip.'
'I absolutely cannot let Junior Brother see that I've been planning this for a long time.'
'I must make him feel that this is just Senior Sister's concern and responsibility for her junior brother, helping him resolve a... small problem in his cultivation.'
Ning Xian cheered herself on in her heart, trying to maintain that serious, cold facade.
Only the crimson blush spreading from her earlobes to her neck, even showing signs of invading her face, made all these efforts seem exceptionally... cute and blatantly obvious.
Fang Xuan obediently extended his left wrist.
'Um... Senior Sister, at least use some spiritual energy to investigate.'
'We aren't mortals; we don't need traditional pulse-taking...'
He wanted to be more direct, but Senior Sister was too thin-skinned. He estimated that if he had just opened his mouth, she would be so embarrassed her legs would go weak.
Then she would just go 'ah, ah, ah' and wouldn't be able to speak clearly.
.......
"Jun... Junior Brother, your yang qi is rising. Senior Sister will help you channel it first. Don't... don't overthink it. Doing... these things... is... is all very normal."
"Alright, Senior Sister."
"Mm, just... just listen to Senior Sister in a moment."
Rate on N.U.
