The night was as dark as ink.
Su Xuanxuan sat alone before the window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the Time-Peering Orb in her sleeve.
As her Divine Sense perceived Chu Yuan meditating to restore his energy within the Gu Manor, her restlessness from the day began to soothe.
Only when the child was under her surveillance did she feel at ease.
However, after only a short while, she sensed something:
Chu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and sighed heavily.
Just a moment ago, Chu Yuan had heard a Sound Transmission from Ji Xuanyuan:
-Young Master Yuan, how is your recovery going? It is almost time!
The Crown Prince’s tone was filled with playfulness and impatience, like a lecher anticipating a moment of passion with a top courtesan.
Chu Yuan subconsciously declined:
-Your Highness, I am physically unwell. May I rest for a few more days?
Rest for a few days?
Upon hearing this, Ji Xuanyuan felt a pang of pity:
‘That is right!’
‘My Junior Brother has been completely drained by me, he should indeed be allowed to rest.’
‘But if he rests, what will become of my cultivation?’
‘I am training so hard precisely to keep him from getting involved in the affairs of the Demon Path Alliance.’
‘Exactly! I cannot let him rest!!!’
‘It is enough for Junior Brother to just lie down under my watchful eye!’
Though she thought this, she was actually trapped in the pleasure of her rapidly rising cultivation:
-Do not make excuses, Young Master Yuan. The Soul Covenant clearly states that you must assist me in my affairs. Do you intend to break our agreement?
As soon as the words fell, Chu Yuan felt a slight burning pain in his soul and cursed inwardly:
‘It is all my fault for being too hasty back then!’
‘Unless this woman intends to threaten my life, there is no way I can refuse!’
Chu Yuan sighed helplessly:
-I understand! I am coming over now.
After finishing, he consumed a Medicine Pill and set off.
Seeing his pale complexion, Su Xuanxuan, who was peeking from the shadows, knew clearly:
The child had not fully recovered at all!
Yet, even so, Chu Yuan stood up from the bed and walked out the door, trembling.
Su Xuanxuan suddenly became tense:
‘What is Yuan’er going to do?’
With that thought, she tracked his path with her Divine Sense as he navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the Gu Manor, eventually arriving at the West Courtyard.
That was the courtyard where the Crown Prince was staying.
The restlessness Su Xuanxuan had just managed to soothe now surged like boiling water:
‘What is that woman trying to do to my Yuan’er?’
‘Could it be that because the Crown Prince suddenly came to Xuanji City, Yuan’er’s Love Tribulation has been triggered early?’
Although she had heard about the situation here from Chu Yunlan, seeing it unfold in reality left Su Xuanxuan feeling uneasy.
Especially since the events currently transpiring were not included in the prophecies of the Time-Peering Orb.
Since acquiring the artifact, she had never been so passive.
For the moment, Su Xuanxuan could only watch and wait to see how things would develop.
Before long, Chu Yuan had arrived before the Crown Prince’s bedroom, bowing his hands:
“Your Highness, I have arrived.”
Inside the room, Ji Xuanyuan was already waiting:
“Come in!”
Hearing this, the female guards maintained their solemn expressions, though they seemed a bit odd, and opened the door for him.
As they followed Chu Yuan inside, they closed the door again, and the head guard activated a Magic Formation to shield the room from all external detection.
To this, Su Xuanxuan used a small trick and bypassed the formation with ease.
Compared to the strange Dharma Garment worn by Chu Yuan, this formation was merely child’s play.
Focusing her Divine Sense into a thin line, she easily probed into the tightly sealed bedroom.
In the next instant, Su Xuanxuan froze.
Inside, the candles flickered.
Her Yuan’er, the child she had watched grow up, was lying on the bed, looking entirely unwilling.
Then, the red-haired Crown Prince sat cross-legged upon the bed and closed her eyes to begin circulating her energy.
The complexion of Yuan’er beneath her, which had just begun to turn rosy, paled once again.
As the Crown Prince circulated her cultivation technique, his aura became unstable, and he let out low groans from time to time:
“Uh… ah… ugh…”
Because of the Dharma Garment, Su Xuanxuan could not detect the internal state of Chu Yuan’s body, but she could perceive—
Spiritual energy was continuously pouring into the Crown Prince from beneath her.
The efficiency of this absorption was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could achieve. Even a cultivator seated upon a top-tier Gathering Spirit Array would pale in comparison.
Su Xuanxuan clicked her tongue in amazement:
‘What… what kind of technique is this?’
‘Could it be the legendary Imperial World-Ordering Script of the Immortal Dynasty?’
‘No! Although that is a top-tier technique, it does not explain this speed of absorption.’
‘Is it because of my Yuan’er?’
‘Yuan’er’s Taixu Bloodline does not have the effect of assisting others in their cultivation, does it?’
‘Furthermore, his bloodline has not even been activated yet!’
‘Could it be because of the Crown Prince’s technique?’
‘If so, what kind of technique is it?’
Living for over 1,000 years, Su Xuanxuan had seen countless cultivation methods, but she had never seen a person used as a meditation cushion.
With every breath Ji Xuanyuan took, a portion of her own Yuan’er’s spiritual energy flowed away.
The speed of the loss was not fast, but it was dense and continuous, like a fine needle pricking a blood vessel; the blood would not gush out, but it would drain away, drop by drop.
Sensing Yuan’er’s increasingly pale face and his slightly trembling body, Su Xuanxuan gritted her teeth even harder:
‘How is this any different from being a furnace!’
‘He is my Holy Son!’
‘The future Taixu Sacred Lord who will shake the Realm of True Emotions!’
‘That bitch! How! Dares! She!!!’
Su Xuanxuan’s breathing grew heavy.
Closing her eyes, she remembered Yuan’er as a small child.
He was a tiny ball, curled up in her arms, sleeping soundly.
Looking down at him, she felt there was no child in this world more adorable.
At that time, she thought, this is my child; I will protect him for the rest of his life.
Later, as he grew a bit older, he began to learn the sword.
She would often disguise herself as his foster mother, teaching him how to hold the blade hand-in-hand.
When he first held the sword, he couldn’t keep his grip, and the hilt knocked against his forehead, leaving a large bump that looked painful.
She felt such immense pity that she held his small face in her hands, nearly bursting into tears.
Yet he just grinned, showing the spot where a milk tooth was missing, and said softly:
“Mom, it doesn’t hurt.”
At that time, she thought:
‘How could this child be so sensible?’
‘Sensible to the point of being heartbreaking.’
As he grew older, he became extremely close to the girl from the Gu family.
She held no regard for the daughter of that minor family.
In order to make Yuan’er seal his heart and forget love, Su Xuanxuan had secretly commanded demonic beasts to surround and attack his foster parents.
Saying she killed those foster parents was not wrong!
However, for a cultivator, death is never the end.
Some experts could possess others after their physical bodies perished, and that was even more true for normal cultivators.
To compensate for those foster parents, she found two wealthy families for their souls to transmigrate into, both with excellent Spirit Roots.
As long as they did not court death, they would surely become well-known figures in their respective regions in the future.
After his foster parents died, Yuan’er had indeed sealed his heart.
Yet, the attentiveness of the Gu family heiress had only brought the two childhood sweethearts closer together.
Although she was annoyed, seeing his resolve grow stronger, she could only let it be for now.
After all, as a child grows, they must walk their own path.
But she never expected that this path would lead to this point today.
The future Holy Son had actually become consumable material for an Immortal Dynasty Crown Prince, drained night after night.
Her Yuan’er! The uncut jade she had cultivated with such care! Being trampled upon like this???
Had she known it would come to this, Su Xuanxuan would never have let the child leave the Taixu Sacred Realm to face these wolves and tigers alone.
She opened her eyes abruptly:
‘No!’
‘I must do something!’
‘I cannot let Yuan’er be drained by that wicked woman anymore!’
Moonlight poured in from the window, landing on her face and illuminating her bewitching features in perfect detail.
Her jade hands tightened around the Time-Peering Orb in her sleeve, the red sphere’s smooth surface reflecting her ferocious expression.
As her thoughts raced, she quickly sent out an order:
-Chu Zhenshan! Where are you right now? Get over here immediately!!!