Chapter 523 524: Breaking Through the Mental Defense

"Sorry," Chen Dong said, a bit embarrassed.

He had just gained a wealth of insight into thunder-elemental techniques, so his control wasn't yet precise down to the finest detail. Minor deviations were inevitable.

Yun Mengshang turned her head away. Seeing from his expression that he wasn't doing it on purpose, she had no choice but to bear it.

"Ngh… mmm… ah…"

The alternating sensations of tingling numbness and sharp pain made it impossible for Yun Mengshang, who couldn't coalesce her Demonic Power, to keep from making a sound, even while biting her lip.

For the first time, Chen Dong's hands trembled slightly as he tended to his 'patient'; he found it hard to continue. If not for the full month of amorous intimacy they had shared, he wouldn't be in this state.

Chen Dong's state of mind was already in turmoil. Hearing those sounds and seeing the graceful curve of her back before him, he felt himself losing control.

It took a full two hours for Chen Dong to finally dissipate all the Yin Thunder from Yun Mengshang's back.

By now, Yun Mengshang's skin was flushed, and her Demonic Power had begun to recover. She stood up and kicked Chen Dong to the ground.

Lust flickered in her azure eyes.

"This is all your fault!"

With a playful pout, she pinned Chen Dong beneath her.

Chen Dong feebly protested, "But we're out in the middle of nowhere…"

"I'm of the Demon Race; making the sky our canopy and the earth our bed is perfectly normal for us. Besides, the Heaven-locking Array is still up. No one will find us!"

Passion bloomed in the wilderness…

Several hours later, Chen Dong was dressed while Yun Mengshang sat cross-legged beside him, beginning a new round of comprehension on the nature of emotion. Now that they had completely turned against the Demon Race, she couldn't afford to miss a single opportunity.

What was the meaning of love? After everything that had happened, Yun Mengshang no longer saw Chen Dong as the insignificant Little Demon she could have killed with a wave of her hand.

Was it guilt? Melancholy? Gratitude? It was none of those. It was a sense of closeness. He had thought of her in a moment of crisis, had stood before her to protect her. Only now did Yun Mengshang admit to herself that she saw Chen Dong as she would a trusted member of her own kin.

Yet it was this very closeness that allowed Chen Dong's image to etch a fine crack in the walls around her heart. At long last, Yun Mengshang could experience a sliver of what it meant to feel true emotion.

It wasn't an impulse, but rather this new feeling that had spurred her into action.

As if parting the clouds to reveal the bright moon, a sweet smile touched Yun Mengshang's lips.

"I think I can finally comprehend emotion now!" Yun Mengshang said, opening her eyes.

Joy surged in Chen Dong's heart. He asked hurriedly, "Really?"

Yun Mengshang nodded eagerly. At that moment, she was like a child, bursting with joy and eager to share her happiness with Chen Dong.

Chen Dong lunged forward and kissed her again. Yun Mengshang's eyes flew open wide. 'Again!?'

But then, she felt a massive influx of comprehension regarding the Path of Red Dust, which included insights into the depths of love and passion…

She then closed her eyes to savor the sensation.

To be able to comprehend the way of emotion in this manner was nothing short of heaven-defying. From just a single stirred thread of feeling, Yun Mengshang felt as though her capacity for love was boundless.

It was a timeless moment. Yun Mengshang's spiritual soul approached a state of perfection, its existence affirmed within the Celestial Dao. In the language of the Dao, if the Nascent Soul Stage was merely the birth of an infant upon the endless path of cultivation, then what Yun Mengshang was experiencing now was the granting of a soul to that infant—a soul capable of comprehending the Dao.

This was the very key to the Divinity Transformation Stage: the spiritual soul growing mature enough to receive the baptism of the Great Dao.

Yun Mengshang reluctantly pushed Chen Dong away. If she wished, she could sever her emotions right now and achieve Divinity Transformation. But her heart told her she wasn't ready to let go; she still felt a lingering attachment…

Wiping the corner of her mouth, Yun Mengshang lowered her head and asked, "Who are you, really? That gourd, that unfathomably profound Yuqing Immortal Technique, and this Divine Technique that allows one to directly gain comprehension… You can't possibly be just an ordinary Golden Core member of the Demon Race!"

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. "Who I am isn't important right now. After all that, were you able to comprehend a Divine Technique?"

'This exchange had cost him two-thirds of the Red Dust Dao Light Pillar in his sea of consciousness. And that was for his Path of Red Dust, the one that glowed brightest. His month of bliss with Yun Mengshang had added a significant amount to it. If he had used it to replenish his energy from the last encounter with Zisang Jin's Dao-rhythm, he could have done so more than twenty times over. But to help Yun Mengshang comprehend emotion, it had all been spent in a single go.'

'He only asked because there was still some of the Red Dust Dao Light Pillar left. Otherwise, he would have been out of options, left to slowly romance Yun Mengshang. But given her personality, a month certainly wouldn't have been enough.'

'Fortunately, the Demon Race's intervention had also helped Yun Mengshang lower a sliver of her defenses. Otherwise, Chen Dong would have been in a real bind. He might have even ended up falling in love with her himself, while she still saw him as a mere plaything.'

Yun Mengshang, her head still bowed, said, "I think I can."

But her voice held none of the joy one would expect from comprehending a Divine Technique; instead, it was laced with a hint of disappointment.

"Then let's get going. Breaking the Tier Five Heaven-Locking Array will take some effort, and we need to arrange our defenses against the Demon Race as soon as possible. It'll be disastrous if they launch a surprise attack. Oh, right, I can get the Profound Origin Purple Fern for you, too. How long will the Second Elder's injuries take to heal…?"

Chen Dong laid out his plans, and Yun Mengshang listened in silence.

Suddenly, Yun Mengshang asked, "Why are you being so good to me?"

The question stunned Chen Dong.

"I… I…"

With a guilty conscience, he didn't know what to say. He looked into Yun Mengshang's stunningly beautiful azure eyes, and the confession of his original motives caught in his throat, unable to escape.

"I'll tell you later," he finally said. "Let's get out of here first!"

'Chen Dong knew that the moment he explained everything would also be the moment he would have to leave. And in his flustered heart, he too felt a sense of attachment…'

At his words, Yun Mengshang lowered her head. Her bangs fell forward, obscuring her expression from his view.

'He probably has his own agenda… Maybe… maybe that's for the best.'