Chapter 1366: Serpent's Body As A Curtain, Red Mist As A Blanket

The black flames continued to burn in the interior of the cauldron. The strong corruption brought about a huge wave of negative emotions that constantly buffeted the serpent coiled up in the center. The serpent's scales were gradually being shattered, and the tyrannical black flames brought about indescribable pain.

However, Li Lingjing's transformed body only contracted slightly as she silently endured the pain.

After all, this sort of torment didn't mean much to her. Conversely, she was able to maintain a calm expression whilst filtering all of the negative emotions, only letting lust through. The area enclosed by her body had transformed into a sealed space.

Dark red energy filtered through, forming a mist. Its appearance caused many whispers to sound out. The mist represented the emotion of lust, and it very gradually took the shape of a faint, graceful figure. The mist continued to intensify, and Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were breathing it in.

Lust itself was not inherently destructive as an emotion. In addition, they were both immersed in their breakthrough, so it was able to infiltrate their bodies stealthily. In the beginning, this emotion wasn't capable of influencing the duo by much. However, as time passed, it accumulated and swelled within them.

At this point, Li Luo, who was completely immersed in the surging resonant power in his body, suddenly felt an inexplicable heat rising within the depths of his heart. This sensation was particularly intense, and it had awakened him from his deep, meditative state almost immediately. He hurriedly inspected his body and could sense a dark red aura that had permeated throughout him. He was horrified.

"Negative emotions?"

He couldn't understand how he had been affected. Without hesitation, he activated the Auric Halo's Acquired Resonance Flame and used it to quickly incinerate the mist. However, he realized that the heat within him had not dissipated. He then understood that all of the negative emotion's aura had infiltrated every inch of his body and merged into his flesh and blood.

His heart sank. It would be quite time-consuming and troublesome to get rid of all of it, and what he lacked now was time.

"Just what sort of negative emotion is this? It's entered my body and yet the Auric Halo didn't warn me of it?"

The heat that was affecting Li Luo gradually intensified, which made his breathing heavier. It was impossible to continue with his breakthrough in this state.

At this point, Li Lingjing's voice was transmitted to his ear. "Li Luo, don't reject it."

Li Luo’s eyes widened as he was startled by the extremely dense, dark-red mist before him. He raised his head and asked hurriedly, "Cousin Lingjing, what is going on?"

Li Lingjing hissed as her voice was transmitted over. "My barrier has been eroded by the black flames. I am unable to block all of the negative emotions, and can only selectively choose some of the weaker negative emotions to allow through."

"What sort of negative emotion is this, then?" Li Luo looked at the large amount of dark red mist with a strange expression.

"Lust." Li Lingjing's simple answer caused Li Luo's face to twitch. The heat in his heart seemed to have intensified upon hearing her answer. His mouth became dry and he began to heave more heavily. As he endured the fluctuations in his mood, he gave a bitter smile.

"I can't make a breakthrough in this state."

"There is no need to worry. Lust is the easiest emotion to deal with," Li Lingjing responded.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Li Luo hurriedly asked.

Li Lingjing's gaze shone as she lightly replied, "You just need to find someone of the opposite sex."

Li Luo was dumbfounded and his temples began to throb. He blurted out, "How is this easy to resolve? Where am I going to find someone at this time..."

When those words came out, he came to a realization as he glanced at Jiang Qing'e.

He now understood what Li Lingjing was getting at.

At this point, she casually replied, "Aren't you two lawfully engaged to each other? This is just something that will happen sooner or later. It is the easiest way to get through this predicament. Of course, this isn't an ideal location, but what has to be done, has to be done. There's no need to worry about it."

Li Luo stared at Jiang Qing'e, and his words seemed to be caught in his throat. His expression was aroused as well. It was indeed a complicated emotion to be feeling at this point in time. Wouldn't Jiang Qing'e beat him to death if he dared to try? Just what sort of situation had Lingjing thrown him into? Li Luo's head hurt. However, the situation was urgent and he couldn't afford to be delayed any longer.

Li Lingjing, seeing Li Luo lost in confusion, then piped up. "If you can't decide, why not ask her?"

Li Luo was slightly taken aback as his gaze pierced through the flowing, dark-red mist and he looked at Jiang Qing'e. He suddenly realized that her flawless, jade-like face had a rarely-seen tinge of redness. Even her long eyelashes seemed to be trembling, as if she was holding something back. She might already have been awoken from her cultivation state but was simply feigning otherwise.

More importantly, she seemed to have heard every word they had said.

Li Luo felt a little awkward as he thickened his skin and said, "Sister Qing'e."

After being called out to, Jiang Qing'e's fists clenched even more tightly. She suppressed the raging emotions of embarrassment and fury in her heart as she opened her eyes.

Her calm, crystalline, golden eyes were filled with a look of shyness at this point.

This was something Li Luo had never seen before.

A shy Jiang Qing'e.

Her gaze was focused on Li Luo as she exclaimed, "Look at the situation you've forced us into!"

Li Luo felt a little helpless. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

Jiang Qing'e was truthfully embarrassed that Li Lingjing had exposed her and forced her to endure this situation. Was she hoping that Li Luo would be able to make a decision by asking her instead of being entangled in possibilities? Perhaps she truly felt sorry for him. Even before Li Luo had awakened, Jiang Qing'e had already sensed that something wasn't right with her body. She had circulated light resonant power around her body in an attempt to completely purge it. However, the negative emotion had already entered her flesh and blood and she couldn't accomplish this task in a short amount of time. It was then that she heard Li Luo and Li Lingjing's conversation. In this situation, even the usually calm Jiang Qing'e would find it hard to remain stoic.

"What should we do, Sister Qing'e?" Li Luo gave a simple smile.

Jiang Qing'e's fair and beautiful cheeks were still red, giving off a heart-stopping brilliance. Her eyes wandered as she said, "Why don't we try and purge the negative emotions together, much like the venomous curse?"

"Perhaps by the time we're done, Qin Lian will have already opened up the cauldron," Li Lingjing's indifferently said.

Li Luo scratched his head. "That might be true, but we still have time to give it a try."

However, Jiang Qing'e took in two deep breaths as she tried her best to suppress the stray emotions within her, allowing her to regain a part of her usual, collected self. She understood that they didn't have much time. That said, she didn't want to reveal such a defeated and timid look before Li Lingjing.

She was, after all, House Luolan's young mistress.

If push came to shove, she wouldn't reject taking such actions though.

Thus, she bit her lip and stretched out her slender hand, tightly grabbing onto Li Luo as she looked at him with both a hint of bravery and shyness. Li Luo's heart skipped a beat as the heat in his heart blazed. He knew what Jiang Qing'e was getting at.

He then gulped hard and asked, "Sister Qing'e, have you made your decision? This isn't the best place... there's still someone else here..."

Li Lingjing retorted, "I'm neither human nor a devil—only a shred of humanity remains within me. You can assume I'm no different from a rock."

Who would believe those callous words!

Jiang Qing'e gritted her teeth. The only reason why she was feeling a little embarrassed and furious was because Li Lingjing, an outsider, was here! Just thinking about how ridiculous this entire thing was caused her scalp to turn a little numb despite her usual personality.

That said, what choice did they have?

With a thought, Jiang Qing'e tightly gripped Li Luo's hand. Her golden eyes were filled with a watery light, increasing her charm even more.

The Sacred Crown of Thorns was put away and her long hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, falling to her waist.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's gazes intertwined. Both of them could see the strong affection they had for each other in their eyes. They had grown up together since young and had experienced countless things together. There was no need to say more about the emotions they had for each other. Perhaps if Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan hadn’t disappeared all those years ago, they might already have become a couple in more than name.

Jiang Qing'e approached him until her red lips pressed against his ear, calling out to him gently, "Li Luo."

Li Luo stretched his hand out and grasped her slender waist. He could feel how hot her delicate body was, and when their bodies pressed together, it felt as though a volcano was erupting. It was then that Li Luo squashed down the bestial desires in his heart with utmost determination as he smelled the fragrance of the beauty in his arms. "I'm sorry, Sister Qing'e."

He understood that Jiang Qing'e wanted them to reach this point naturally after a grand ceremony, not in this rush of a situation.

However, for the sake of their lives, she was willing to let go and endure it all. Smooth, brilliant hair hung from Jiang Qing'e's porcelain-like face. This slightly messy appearance gave her a sense of softness that Li Luo had never seen before.

Perhaps it was because of the lust coursing through them that Jiang Qing'e seemed very emotional at this time.

She lightly shook her head and said, "Actually, this is one part of the reward I was planning to give you when you reached the Duke Stage."

She nestled her head into Li Luo's neck.

"A reward." These words were like a fuse, directly igniting the heat in Li Luo's heart. At this moment, he could no longer bear it.

With a low roar, he leaned over and their bodies intertwined. Thus...

With the serpent's body as a curtain and the red mist as a blanket, the two joined bodies. Right above them, a pair of snake eyes watched the scene quietly, flickering occasionally.

An unknown amount of time passed as the mist continued to flow. At this point, a mysterious, golden light was reflected in Li Lingjing's eyes. Within the light was a vast, golden wheel flowing with dazzling divine light. An indescribable radiance bloomed and an incomprehensible aura was emitted. In fact, even her stagnant state of mind came to life at this point. Her distant memories suddenly awakened, and she saw the image of that noble girl from Western City who once walked with high spirits and a sword across her back.

Her cold, snake eyes turned moist unknowingly. The divine radiance then spread and her serpentine body turned into falling azure rain.

The black flames within the onyx cauldron showed signs of extinguishing under the light.

All of the corruption and negative emotions also vanished.

The black serpent was being transformed by the light, but it was not erased, instead turning into an azure tide that flowed within the cauldron. Tiny waves that resembled Li Lingjing's eyes were stirred within the tide. As the tide flowed quietly, it caressed the two tightly intertwined people in the water. It seemed that all three of them had miraculously changed.