Yu Yi climbed back to the mountaintop, panting heavily, and burst into the forging platform. What she saw was this scene:
Xue Chenjing's clothes had been burned to ashes when he jumped into the furnace. His hair tie had also burned off, leaving him completely naked as he lay in the semi-transparent tentacle nest.
When clothed, he looked slender, but in reality his muscles were taut, with defined contours visible on his chest and abdomen.
Due to the lingering heat, his entire body was flushed a rosy red, covered in glistening fluid. His long black hair was strewn messily over the writhing tentacles.
The occasional flash of snake-like golden scales on the tentacles' backs reflected in his eyes, creating a startling glimmer in those weary orbs.
Yu Yi never imagined she would witness such a vividly sensual scene.
Every aspect exuded an inhuman strangeness, yet it was pleasing to the eye. Her pupils trembled slightly as her gaze honestly traveled downward, causing her to draw in a soft breath.
She thought she might not forget this for a long time.
If the book ended with her having a happy ending with this little monster, it would likely be because she was seduced by his body.
After all, food and sex are human nature.
"You dare come back," Xue Chenjing said, somehow producing a set of robes from nowhere.
In the blink of an eye, he was fully dressed, his eye-catching body now tightly wrapped in indigo robes. He pulled out a hair tie and bound his long hair again.
The system's delighted voice suddenly interjected, "Master, the female lead's favorability towards you has returned! It's back! It's finally crawled back up to 6%!! Quick, put in some effort - don't put your clothes back on!"
Yu Yi's spirits lifted as she came back to her senses.
Just then, a tentacle suddenly shot out swiftly, wrapping around her waist and skillfully dragging her into the fleshy nest.
Yu Yi was forcefully restrained, falling uncontrollably into his embrace. A slender hand slid between her fingers, gripping her delicate wrist.
That palm, originally cold and clammy, now held a hint of warmth.
Xue Chenjing's lips curled into a smile. At close range, his face, beautiful to the extreme, was fully reflected in Yu Yi's pupils.
Seeing this, the system felt deeply gratified.
However, in the next moment, the curve of Xue Chenjing's smile continued to widen from both corners of his mouth, eventually stretching to his ears.
In an instant, this face that had been alluring turned grotesquely terrifying.
Like the slit-mouthed woman from a horror movie.
He opened that mouth that had almost split his entire face, the neat teeth inside making a clicking sound.
Under Yu Yi's surprised gaze, they rapidly transformed into sharp fangs like those of a wild beast, dripping with silvery saliva, becoming a veritable bloody maw as he fiercely bit down towards her right hand.
This bite would immediately cripple her.
The system, watching its host who was still trying to add insult to injury, cried out, "Master, what are you doing?!"
Xue Chenjing inwardly sneered. Six percent - who cared about such a miserly bit of goodwill?
He had had enough of her repeated taunting!
The system was about to go crazy. Given the host's actions, the fact that there was still 6% favorability was already a blessing from the female lead that should be gratefully accepted. Yet the host didn't know to cherish it.
Have you forgotten how pathetically you begged for favorability before?
"Do you still want to complete the conquest or not? Favorability is something that accumulates through moments of heartfelt connection, like piling stones to build a mountain or small streams converging into rivers and seas. Every emotional fluctuation of the female lead is immediately torn apart by you - how can favorability accumulate like this?!"
If it had hands, it would have beat the host's dog head in frustration by now.
Amidst the system's clamorous screaming, Yu Yi's heart raced wildly as her fingers blurred into motion, forming a sword seal.
Just as Xue Chenjing's fangs closed, a green sword light burst from her fingertips.
The sword light clashed with the sharp fangs, sending out sparks and a piercing sound.
Both of them let out muffled groans of pain simultaneously. Yu Yi was violently flung out by the tentacle wrapped around her waist, clutching her hand which now bore a bloody red bite mark.
Xue Chenjing covered his mouth with both hands, hunched over and trembling. He turned his head to spit out a mouthful of blood, in which lay several knocked-out teeth.
Seeing him with a jaw full of blood, Yu Yi felt a sense of balance in her heart. Serves him right.
Immediately, a mass of black mist rose from the ground. From within the mist, a pair of claws emerged, scrabbling at the blood Xue Chenjing had spat out. The finger bones transformed into sharp daggers, scooping up both the blood and bits of stone, cradling them preciously as they retreated back into the black mist.
Yu Yi: "..."
Xue Chenjing ignored the bone demon's actions. He was so angry that tears welled up in his eyes as he glared at Yu Yi.
Only after a new set of teeth had grown from his tightly pressed lips did he viciously wipe the corner of his mouth and spit, "Pah, tastes awful."
And it broke his teeth too.
Yu Yi's gaze moved from the hole in the ground back to Xue Chenjing.
She keenly noticed the tentacles wrapped around his waist, poking their heads out curiously. The tentacle was semi-transparent with a faint pink hue, and its tip was clearly missing a piece - the part she had bitten off.
After all that, it turned out Xue Chenjing was just getting revenge on her.
"I bit your tentacle, so even if you want revenge, you should bite my foot," Yu Yi said, provocatively raising her foot at him.
Xue Chenjing glanced at her mud-covered shoe sole with disgust.
After this interruption, Yu Yi momentarily forgot to remind him that two cultivators from the Lishan Sword Sect were heading this way.
By the time she remembered to say something, Pei Jingchao and his companion had already arrived outside the forging platform.
Their silhouettes flashed behind the open door, and Pei Jingchao's sword energy, red as fire, swept in first, slashing towards the interior of the forging platform.
"Those who trespass in the Mount Li Forbidden Area shall die!" Pei Jingchao's cold, sharp voice rolled in along with the sword energy.
The sword pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator condensed into a giant blade pressing down on the forging platform. The energy bursting from the blade transformed into countless small swords, slashing down with a whoosh.
Yu Yi was immobilized by the sword pressure, the Green Bamboo Sword's light barely managing to protect her body, contending with the red small swords slashing down.
The impact made her chest resonate again, and the mouthful of blood she had been holding back in her throat could no longer be contained, dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Xue Chenjing's situation was not much better. He had shed his previous lazy, pleasure-seeking demeanor, his eyes narrowed slightly, his aura tense.
The two cultivators outside were at the Nascent Soul level. This first sword strike alone was almost too much for the two inside to handle.
Xue Chenjing's physical body was weak, his own strength even less than Yu Yi's, far from being able to face off directly against Nascent Soul sword cultivators.
The tentacles quickly writhed to form a wall, blocking the giant sword shadow overhead. The snake-like scales on the tentacles' backs rippled with layers of golden light under the sword pressure.
Xue Chenjing was forced by the sword pressure to bend his knees inch by inch, almost kneeling on the ground.
He pinched his fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall. The blood droplet quickly formed a palm-sized formation on the ground.
The formation lines flickered, and a black shadow struggled to squeeze out of the palm-sized formation, rapidly expanding into a huge, muscular wild bull.
As soon as it appeared, it occupied nearly half the space of the forging platform. When it raised its head to charge upwards, its hooves shattered the ground of the forging platform.
The tentacles piled overhead quickly retracted, and the sword shadow instantly pressed down, colliding with the curved bull horns.
Yu Yi heard a cracking sound, like porcelain shattering, and the sword pressure enveloping her suddenly lightened.
The wild bull scattered the red sword energy, pawed at the ground with its hooves, and charged out with a rumble, directly smashing down the narrow doorway in the surrounding wall.
The man and woman outside were revealed. Yao Yuxiu exclaimed in surprise, "How could the forging platform be broken so easily?"
Pei Jingchao's sword shadow had been shattered, and he had already estimated the unusual strength of this demonic creature. He readied another sword stance, his expression solemn as he said, "Junior Sister, let's coordinate."
Yao Yuxiu nodded, raising her sword in unison with him. They held their swords, one red and one white, using the Mount Li Dual Sword Technique.
The two sword blades crossed, their red and white sword lights intersecting to form a cross, enlarging into a shadow that pressed against the wild bull's massive horns.
The two people and the bull were temporarily locked in a stalemate.
The entire forging platform was shaking violently, deep cracks appearing in the ground, on the verge of collapse.
Amidst the earth-shaking tremors and chaotic sword energy, Yu Yi stumbled towards a gap that had been shaken open in the right wall, hoping to escape in the chaos.
Little did she know that someone else had the same idea.
Xue Chenjing didn't want to directly confront Pei Jingchao and his companion at the moment, exposing his identity. He planned to use the wild bull to keep them occupied while he circled around to the back of the forging platform, seeking a path to leave through the back of the mountain.
They collided at the breach simultaneously. Xue Chenjing's lips were still stained with blood as he coldly glanced at her. He pressed his hand on her shoulder, forcefully pushing her back while grunting three words: "Don't block me." He then vaulted over the gap ahead of her.
The system shouted indignantly in Xue Chenjing's ear: "Master, can't you show some gentlemanly manners?! You should protect the female lead and let her escape first!"
The wild bull, unable to break through the cross-shaped sword energy pressing on its horns, let out an angry bellow and stomped its hooves forcefully.
The quenching platform, having already lost its true fire, couldn't withstand such turmoil and collapsed even more severely.
Xue Chenjing was struck on the head by a falling brick, letting out a pained groan and cursing, "Stupid bull."
Yu Yi burst into laughter with a "pfft," taking pleasure in his misfortune. The system also chimed in with a sarcastic remark, "See? That's karma for you."
Xue Chenjing: "..."
Pei Jingchao noticed the commotion from the corner of his eye. Through the cracked wall, he saw a familiar face, or more precisely, a pair of familiar eyes.
At that time, he had been gravely injured and near death, drifting in and out of consciousness. His eyes were filled with blood - both his enemies' and his own.
His vision wasn't clear then; he could only vaguely make out the contours of a woman's face. She bent down, weaving nearby vines into a raft, using all her strength to lift him onto it.
How could a slender young woman possibly lift a grown man? She pushed and shoved, taking quite some time and accidentally bumping his wounds. He had already passed out but was awakened by the pain.
Pei Jingchao, breathing heavily, struggled to prop himself up and managed to say, "Thank you, miss. I can manage from here."
He crawled onto the raft on his own, and as the young woman reached out to help him, she accidentally slipped and fell to the ground. The strength in his arm suddenly gave way, and he collapsed powerlessly on top of her.
In that fleeting moment of closeness, he clearly saw her eyes - bright and clear, like the purest spring in the world. His reflection fell into her eyes, as if even his blood-stained body could be cleansed in that gaze.
He was in such a wretched state then, yet she still looked up at him with admiration and timidly called him, "Immortal Lord."
At that moment, his heart pounded violently, but before he could say anything, his vision went black, and he fainted.
When he regained consciousness, his nose and mouth were filled with the fishy smell of wet soil - he had been buried in a grave.
It was Pei Jingchao's contracted spirit beast that found him by following the scent of blood, dug him out of the grave, and carried him back to the sect, saving his life.
After recovering from his injuries, Pei Jingchao went back to search the area, only to find the remains of a long-burned mountain village dwelling.
As Pei Jingchao climbed to his current position, he had encountered many outstanding women of various styles.
Some were cold and otherworldly, some gentle and graceful, or even slightly spoiled and willful like his junior sister - all of them exquisitely beautiful.
Such an ordinary mortal girl shouldn't have been worth his remembrance.
Yet Pei Jingchao couldn't forget those eyes, often recalling that moment of heart-fluttering without warning.
He had never experienced such a feeling before.
So he remembered that fleeting surge of emotion for a long time, and he remembered those eyes that stirred his heart for just as long.
If he had found her then, he probably wouldn't have remembered for so long, but he couldn't find her.
The unattainable made him yearn even more, almost to the point of lovesickness.
Pei Jingchao never expected to see her again in this day and age.
He was distracted by those eyes, causing his sword momentum to weaken. The bull demon's magical energy immediately surged, instantly suppressing the two layers of sword light.
The magical beast roared angrily, stomping its hooves forcefully, causing another round of rumbling collapse in the quenching platform.
Yao Yuxiu noticed his distraction and, struggling to hold her sword, followed his slightly stunned gaze to see the female figure revealed through the cracked bricks and stones.
Jealousy immediately surged in her heart, and she called out to him angrily, "Senior Brother!"
At the same time, she unexpectedly twisted her wrist, causing her blade to scrape against Pei Jingchao's Fierce Rainbow Sword, creating a clear, resonant sword chime.
A sword light like a white silk ribbon vertically cleaved through the crack in the wall, slashing directly towards Yu Yi.
Pei Jingchao hurriedly regained his senses, running his fingers along his sword. Fresh blood stained a red line on the sharp blade, and the crimson sword light suddenly brightened, hastily chasing after the white light.
Yu Yi had already gripped her Green Bamboo Sword, holding it in front of her for defense. As she watched the white and red sword lights howling towards her, the sharp sword wind of the Nascent Soul cultivators shattered her defense before the sword light even reached her.
However, just as the two sword lights were about to strike her, they suddenly intertwined. The fierce white light was shredded by the red sword energy and abruptly dissipated.
A remnant of the red sword energy brushed across her cheek like a gentle spring breeze, sweeping past the corner of her eye and stirring her sideburns. It was so tender it bordered on affectionate, not harming her in the slightest.
Yu Yi looked up in surprise through the dissipating red sword energy, her gaze meeting Pei Jingchao's from across the space.
The system was nearly driven mad. Damn it, look at the original male lead, and then look at this useless current male lead!
What sin had it committed to be mistakenly bound to him?
It felt that in the novel "After Transmigrating, I Got a Happy Ending with the Villain," if the female lead hadn't been bound to a system and forced to pursue the villain, Xue Chenjing would really have a hard time finding a wife.
Moreover, the original male lead wasn't just an ordinary supporting character. If one were to delve deeper, the content of "Jingchao" was actually the most fundamental and underlying plot of this world!
And in the plot of "Jingchao," Yu Yi and Pei Jingchao were the real couple, the original main characters. Its master could only be considered a third wheel who cut in.
The system developed a strong sense of crisis and reminded, "Master, please turn back and look at your wife. Someone is trying to steal her away."
Xue Chenjing turned his head back from outside the wall, his gaze quickly sweeping over Pei Jingchao and Yu Yi.
The corner of his mouth curved up slightly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he squeezed out a drop of blood and flicked it in front of the wild bull.
The bull's straight pupils were immediately filled with that drop of blood, its eyes turning completely red. Its magical power surged violently as it charged forward.
As it bit the blood drop, it also rammed into the distracted Nascent Soul sword cultivator and the enraged one, sending them both flying back into the chaotic sword energy aurora in mid-air, temporarily disappearing from sight.
Xue Chenjing leaned against the wall, reaching in from outside to grip Yu Yi's chin and turn her face towards him. His gaze swept over her up and down as he praised, "I didn't expect you could use your feminine charms."
The system: ...
It's hopeless, this male lead is beyond saving. Just destroy everything.
