Chapter 229 - 228: Cultivation World: His Good Disciple Actually...

A soft sound echoed from within the Alchemy Furnace, signaling that Wen Yan’s elixir was complete.

With no time to clean up, Wen Yan snatched the still-warm elixir and ran toward Chu Liangyu.

By now, the potion’s effects had taken hold, and Chu Liangyu had lost all conscious control.

As soon as Wen Yan approached, she felt a wave of refreshing coolness, like an oasis in the desert.

Before the elixir even reached her lips, Chu Liangyu lunged for the source of that coolness. She ducked her head and pressed her lips to Wen Yan’s.

Already drained of Spiritual Power and Divine Sense from the difficult Alchemy, his reactions were sluggish. Chu Liangyu’s pounce caught him completely off guard.

The moment her lips met his, he froze. His mind went completely blank.

The elixir in his hand fell to the ground, but Wen Yan was so disoriented by the sudden turn of events that he didn’t even notice.

A moment later, he came to his senses and blinked, his eyes filled with bewildered helplessness.

But she seemed to have lost all reason to the potion’s effects. Acting on pure instinct, she tried to part his lips with her tongue. Wen Yan’s eyes widened in shock.

’I kind of like this...’ A part of him relished the feeling, but his conscience screamed that it was wrong. He couldn’t take advantage of her.

Wen Yan placed his hands on Chu Liangyu’s shoulders, about to push her away, but in the next instant, the weight on top of him vanished.

"Th-thank you, fellow cultivator."

An unnatural smile tugged at Wen Yan’s lips. He averted his gaze, taking a long moment before pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Oh, right—the elixir!"

Wen Yan frantically searched for the elixir, but Li Jingxuan merely shot him a cold glare before shoving a different elixir into Chu Liangyu’s mouth.

Li Jingxuan had separated them by yanking Chu Liangyu up by the back of her collar.

He was much taller than her to begin with, so holding her like that was as effortless as lifting a kitten.

But recalling the scene from moments ago, his mood soured. ’I feel like killing someone.’

Fortunately, he had finished his battle quickly and rushed over the moment he sensed something was amiss. A glimpse of the fallen elixir told him everything he needed to know.

’Even though my disciple was the one who forced the kiss,’ he thought, ’she’s still a woman. She’s the one who stands to lose the most.’

Overcome with emotion, Li Jingxuan hadn’t bothered to wipe the sand off the elixir before shoving it into her mouth.

"PFFT, PFFT, PFFT..."

Sure enough, Chu Liangyu’s next words were, "Who shoved sand in my mouth?"

Wen Yan’s eyes lit up with joy seeing her recover. He quickly explained on Li Jingxuan’s behalf, "The elixir fell in the sand, and he was in a hurry, so..."

Chu Liangyu, who had no memory of the preceding events, replied instinctively, "Thank you."

Wen Yan shook his head and gestured toward Li Jingxuan. "It was this fellow cultivator who reacted quickly and gave you the elixir just in time."

"Oh, right. You must have helped me because of my promise. Here, take this Token. Whenever you need Alchemy services, just bring this with you."

Li Jingxuan didn’t even glance at the Token, and the atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

Chu Liangyu turned to meet Li Jingxuan’s deep, intense gaze and instinctively called out, "Master."

"Come back to the Demon Realm with me."

Li Jingxuan stared at her for a long moment before saying this. Then, without warning, he turned and started walking in the direction of the Demon Realm.

Chu Liangyu didn’t follow. Instead, she started walking in the opposite direction—toward the Beast Realm.

Wen Yan stood awkwardly to the side, his eyes darting between the two. He had a gut feeling their relationship was complicated.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow Chu Liangyu.

"Fellow cultivator, I still don’t know your name. Would you mind telling me?"

Chu Liangyu nodded. After a slight hesitation, she said, "Chu Liangyu."

A trace of confusion flickered across Wen Yan’s smiling face. It felt as if something had grazed his heart, leaving a dull, stifling ache.

Perhaps influenced by this sudden feeling, his tone grew somber. "Have we met before?"

He wasn’t asking on a whim. He was remembering the complex emotions in Chu Liangyu’s eyes when they had first met.

It was like she was looking at an old acquaintance, but there seemed to be something else mixed in as well.

Faced with his question, Chu Liangyu didn’t know how to respond. So, she chose to remain silent.

The sound of their conversation reached Li Jingxuan’s ears. He had already taken several steps before he realized Chu Liangyu hadn’t followed him.

He looked back and saw the two of them walking in the exact opposite direction.

"Well, well. Looks like your little disciple has grown up. She isn’t clinging to you anymore. Don’t tell me she’s found someone else she likes?"

The voice of his Heart Demon echoed in his mind. This time, Li Jingxuan didn’t suppress it.

For some reason, ever since he saw his little disciple forcibly kissing someone else, his heart had been in turmoil.

’I’m actually angry... No, I’m jealous. And deep down, I feel some other impulse stirring...’

’Normally, my little disciple would have obeyed me without question. But this time... this time is completely different.’

’Even the way she looked at me just now had changed. The fiery passion was gone, replaced by a faint distance and a subtle hint of resistance.’

’She’s actually resisting me. But... why?’

’Could it be true, what my Heart Demon said? That she doesn’t love me anymore, that she’s finally let go of her feelings for me?’

Suddenly, Li Jingxuan reached up and touched his chest. ’It... hurts a little.’

His eyelids drooped. A moment later, he raised his head and looked in the direction Chu Liangyu had gone. His feet started moving, following her against his will.

A sandstorm began to brew, the swirling yellow dust blurring the three figures, yet their footsteps never faltered.

"Fellow Daoist Chu," Wen Yan said, "it looks like you’re heading toward the Sealed Lands. Do you have important business there?"

A Cultivator’s hearing is extraordinary. Despite the howling wind, Chu Liangyu could still hear Wen Yan’s words clearly.

"I need to go to the Beast Realm. There’s something I’m looking for there."

Wen Yan had a sudden realization. ’So that’s why she told me to flee in this direction. She was heading for the Beast Realm all along.’

"I’ve heard the Beast Realm is fraught with danger. Shouldn’t you... make more preparations before you enter?"

Cultivators often hunt demon beasts for cultivation resources. In turn, demon beasts show no mercy to Cultivators, often devouring their flesh and blood to increase their own cultivation.

Five hundred years ago, a beast tide ravaged the Cultivation World. They paid a terrible price to drive the demon beasts to the northernmost reaches of the world and seal them away with a powerful Array.

Over time, the seal has gradually weakened, and now, many demon beasts manage to escape.

To prevent the Beast Realm’s power from growing unchecked and to stop another beast tide from threatening the Cultivation World, Cultivators regularly enter the realm to cull demon beasts and reinforce the seal.

The Beast Realm is as full of opportunities as it is of dangers. But it’s considered a good outcome if four out of every ten people who enter make it back out alive.

And those who survive are all Cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage. Chu Liangyu is only in the Golden Core Stage. For her to go in would be an act of gross overconfidence.