Chapter 126: Ravage

Guo Xiaojing felt truly blessed in the arms of the man she loved. She had experienced this feeling many times, yet she never tired of it. The despondency and pain she had felt moments ago faded significantly, and a smile blossomed on her face.

"Senior Brother Huiyuan," she whispered, "I love you so much. As long as you are with me, I fear nothing."

Huiyuan abruptly shoved Guo Xiaojing away, his expression twisting into a savage, hideously ugly mask. "You have actually defiled yourself! Did I not tell you that I had already contacted the Lich King? He would have found a way to detoxify you!"

"Forgive me, Senior Brother Huiyuan. I truly did not want to lose you. If I died, I would never see you again. I could not die, so I had to resort to this desperate measure. You know as well as I do that the 'Lust-Inducing Poison' of the Six Desires Sect requires the victim to engage in intercourse within three days, or they will perish, beyond any hope of salvation. Moreover, the partner must be a practitioner of the Six Desires Demonic Arts for both to survive; otherwise, the partner would be poisoned to death as well. I truly could not take your first time, for that would have caused you to die of the poison," Guo Xiaojing explained desperately.

Huiyuan’s eyes turned blood-red, revealing his dark, true nature. He struck Guo Xiaojing across the face with a fierce slap.

Caught off guard while still basking in her perceived happiness, Guo Xiaojing was knocked to the ground. Her face burned with stinging pain, and she was stunned. It was the first time he had ever struck her, and the blow was so heavy that blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Pointing a long, slender finger at her, Huiyuan cursed in a rage, "You tramp, Guo Xiaojing! For a thousand years, the Vermilion Bird imperial family has poured vast resources and effort into cultivating you into a Nascent Transformation stage cultivator, all so you could remain pure until I reached the peak of the late Nascent Transformation stage. I intended to dual-cultivate with you and use your primordial yin energy to break through the barrier and ascend to the Spirit Refining stage! Yet, you gave your first time to another and cuckolded me? Had I known, I would have raped you myself before heading to the Lustful Demon Cave!"

Huiyuan’s words were like a steel blade, stabbing deeply into her heart and twisting. The man she loved most had been feigning everything. All the sweet nothings and vows of eternal love were merely deceptive bait; what he truly desired was her primordial yin to fuel his own advancement. She had been nothing more than a pawn in his cultivation.

Hateful of her own blind devotion to this "true love," Guo Xiaojing closed her eyes. She no longer had the courage to look at this beast in human skin. "So, in your eyes, I, Guo Xiaojing, was merely a stepping stone to the Spirit Refining stage. Huiyuan, I will call you Senior Brother one last time. Kill me! Do not leave me in such agony—I cannot accept this reality!"

Huiyuan suddenly raised his palm, where the Southern Violet Flames flickered and surged. Images of the thousand years they had spent together—the tender moments and shared joys—flashed through his mind. With a final, heart-wrenching roar of "Ah—!" he transformed into a streak of red light and tore through the sky, moving with such alarming speed that he was little more than a fading crimson line.

Guo Xiaojing opened her tear-reddened eyes and stared in the direction he had vanished. She tried to console herself, thinking, *Perhaps Senior Brother Huiyuan only said those things to spite me. I will follow him and demand an explanation.*

With that, she took flight, piercing the air in pursuit.

***

After Huiyuan had traveled a hundred miles, a beautiful woman in black appeared before him. She was stunningly seductive, her long hair flowing in the wind. Her thin black attire only added to her allure, and most striking of all were her long, taut, and shapely legs, which would make any man’s gaze linger. Her natural, bewitching charm was enough to stir any heart.

She intercepted Huiyuan, threw herself into his arms, and they descended into the dense forest atop a mountain peak.

Leaning against a towering tree, she wrapped her arms around Huiyuan’s neck, her alluring eyes locking onto his. "Senior Brother Huiyuan, did you find a way to break the 'Lust-Inducing Poison' on Senior Sister Guo Xiaojing? This poison cannot last more than three days, and today is already the fifth."

Huiyuan’s handsome face twisted in fury. "Why ask when you already know?"

The woman laughed, saying, "Senior Sister must have used that method to detoxify herself. One cannot blame her, though; she only ended up in that state because she was looking for you. It is just her bad luck to have encountered that super-pervert from the Six Desires Sect!"

"Xie Fangyun, say one more word, and see if I don’t kill you!" Huiyuan felt that Xie Fangyun was mocking him, a direct challenge to the dignity of the Vermilion Bird imperial family. His large hand clamped tightly around her neck, ready to snap her delicate throat at any moment.

Xie Fangyun said calmly, "Senior Brother, I know you prefer virgins. I am a virgin, and I am right here in front of you. Why won't you take me?"

Huiyuan loosened his grip, laughing as if he had heard a hilarious joke. He pointed at her nose and retorted, "You, a virgin? If you are a virgin, then every woman in the world must be one!"

Xie Fangyun pouted. "Why is it that you men can have three wives and four concubines, while we women must be faithful to one? I refuse to accept such injustice. Look at how many men crawl at my feet like dogs, licking my toes. Are they not more base than any woman?"

Huiyuan, the first prince of the Vermilion Bird royal family, valued only power and authority. He could not tolerate a woman insulting men as dogs in his presence. Rage boiled over instantly.

His pressure surged into the sky. He grabbed Xie Fangyun by the shoulders, slammed her against the tree, and ripped away her skirt with his other hand. He drove into her fiercely, thrusting with wild, savage violence, devoid of any tenderness or pity, seeking only to vent his raw, primal lust.

Xie Fangyun let out a scream of unbearable pain.

***

"Let us see if you are truly a virgin," Huiyuan said coldly. "Not all men are as base as you think. Others may fear your poisonous sting, but I, Huiyuan, do not. I will make you understand what a true imperial man is!"

At that moment, a pale red streak of light stopped in the sky above. The person within witnessed the unsightly scene below. *Is this the noble, righteous Senior Brother Huiyuan I loved so deeply? It seems he has been deceiving me all along. Men truly are all the same.*

It was Guo Xiaojing. At this moment, her heart shattered completely. Having no more tears to shed, she coughed up a spray of blood and fled into the distance.

Huiyuan suddenly stopped his movements, looking up to see the streak of light vanishing. He muttered, "Guo Xiaojing? Was that Guo Xiaojing?"

He shoved Xie Fangyun aside, bewildered and distraught. "What have I done? Why am I like this?"

Xie Fangyun elegantly smoothed her rumpled skirt. "Senior Brother, I finally understand. Even if I possess your body, I will never have your heart. Your heart is forever occupied by Guo Xiaojing. Even if her body is no longer clean like mine, you still cannot forget her. You did this specifically to let her see, to provoke her, to punish her. You achieved your goal—why are you not happy? I was merely a tool for you to take revenge on Guo Xiaojing. How am I inferior to her in any way?"

Huiyuan’s eyes were filled with confusion. He thought, *Why does my heart ache so much after taking revenge on her and watching her leave while vomiting blood? There are many ways to reach the Spirit Refining stage; why did I have to be so obsessed with that? Besides, this was not her fault—it was the Six Desires Sect. You old scoundrel, I will surely kill you!*

A look of contemptuous scorn appeared on Xie Fangyun's face. "If you cannot bear to let her go, then chase after her. Being a virgin means nothing. Love is felt with the heart, not through carnal pleasure. Some people, once missed, are missed for a lifetime."

"Thank you," Huiyuan finally uttered. He soared into the sky, his speed burning the air and leaving a long trail of pressure in his wake.

Xie Fangyun clutched her lower abdomen, her eyes turning sharp and cold. "Imperial power is nothing but a load of crap. Everyone has a weakness. One day, Huiyuan, you will kneel at my feet like a dog. Hahahahahaha..."