Chapter 175: Illusion

The massage went as usual. Little Aunt's technique was superb and was paired with meticulously prepared medicinal concoctions. Li Xiaofei felt like he was immersed in both ice and fire. Cold hands and scorching medicine alternated as they worked on his body.

As usual, the starforce qi within Li Xiaofei, under Little Aunt's delicate fingers, flowed through various acupoints all over his body.

"The path of the eight meridians." He carefully discerned.

Each meridian had acupoints. When Little Aunt's fingers passed over an acupoint, she would apply more pressure. It seemed as if she wanted to knead the force of her finger, the medicinal energy, and starforce together.

Unconsciously, Li Xiaofei felt that burning, painful desire rise within him again. It was like a fire fueled by oil as it burned more intensely. The more he tried to suppress it, the harder it was to endure.

Something is wrong!

Li Xiaofei started to feel alarmed. This wasn't the first time. Recently, this desire was only growing more intense as his cultivation level increased. Even five hundred years ago, he had never encountered such a situation.

After the massage, Little Aunt covered Li Xiaofei's entire body with a dark green herbal paste and then wrapped him up in bandages like a mummy.

"Rest for a day," Little Aunt said tiredly as she got up and left.

Li Xiaofei lay quietly on the bed. The scorching herbs felt like burning fire ants as they seeped through his skin pores and burrowed into his flesh. He silently practiced the True Dragon Breathing Technique.

This time, the herbal paste had a potent effect as they wildly stimulated Li Xiaofei's body. It quickly brought him into a state of total immersion. He soon lost track of the passage of time.

The starforce qi within him began to circulate automatically along the route of Little Aunt's massage. The golden dragon's light and shadow finally moved smoothly within his body as it started to speed up.

A mysterious power nourished Li Xiaofei's flesh as his physique continued to strengthen. It seemed to be more than mere cultivation. It felt like a purification. It was as if he was a caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon, preparing for the final transformation into a butterfly. It was profound and enigmatic.

Li Xiaofei was completely immersed in it. He started to hallucinate in his hazy state as he felt a pair of cold hands peel off the scabbed herbal paste. He could feel his exposed skin being brushed by the cold air, which ignited the desire that Li Xiaofei had been suppressing. The pair of cold hands gently caressed his abs. There seemed to be a sigh in the air.

Instinctively, Li Xiaofei reached out and tightly embraced the person beside him. He vaguely heard a gasp near his ear. The voice was as melodious as a lark in a secluded valley. Li Xiaofei's arms encircled a warm, soft body.

His mind remained muddled and his eyes couldn't open. He was in an exceedingly strange condition. He felt like he was trapped in a deep nightmare, where his mind was somewhat clear, but his body wasn't fully under his control.

Li Xiaofei tried to push the woman in his arms away, but she pressed closer. The sensation of her skin was so clear. Her small hands gently stroked his chest.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he suddenly sat up. Li Xiaofei panted like a drowning man who had suddenly found fresh air. He quickly scanned the surroundings, but there was no one else in the room besides himself. There were no traces on the bed either.

Was everything just an illusion?

Li Xiaofei thought incredulously.

No, it wasn't a dream because I smelled a faint fragrance lingering in the air. This sweet scent seemed familiar.

But Li Xiaofei couldn't recall where exactly he had smelled it. Had someone really been here just now, and then...

Could it have been Little Aunt?

Li Xiaofei fell into deep thought. He couldn't be certain. He quickly dressed and got out of bed. His body felt more invigorated than ever before, as if he were a fully charged battery.

"Hmm?"

Li Xiaofei was surprised. His previously uncontrollable desire, which had been burning like wildfire within him, had completely subsided. The abnormal state of his body had disappeared. Instead, the starforce qi within him was unprecedentedly powerful and stable, as if it had undergone some indescribable transformation.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Yin and Yang in harmony?

Li Xiaofei felt a familiar sensation. This was the state he experienced five hundred years ago after intimate encounters with his girlfriend. However, back then, his cultivation had been too weak. Even with extensive experience, the feeling of Yin and Yang harmonizing after following the Su Nu Pian from the Huangdi Neijing was not as pronounced as it was today.

Could I have wronged that old master?

Li Xiaofei reflected. After all, that master had taught him the modified version of the Su Nu Pian from the Huangdi Neijing. Yet, he had driven the master away because he didn't praise his innate talent like the other one hundred and eight masters did.

Simultaneously, another question arose in Li Xiaofei's mind.

If he... Just hypothetically, if he consistently used this method of balancing Yin and Yang for cultivation, would the effects be better?

After all, today's strange experience had left Li Xiaofei feeling better than ever. His starforce qi had clearly improved in essence.

If my future cultivation would always result in that strange, restless desire, would I need to solve it in this way every time? It seems like I need to find a girlfriend.

Li Xiaofei's mind was in turmoil. He used to think that women only sapped his heroic spirit. Shopping together, creating a sense of ceremony, giving gifts, and so on, were time-consuming and costly. He believed that time and money were better spent on cultivation. But now...

Li Xiaofei got dressed and stepped outside his room. It was already the next morning. Little Aunt and Li Jie were having breakfast in the living room.

"Brother, come have breakfast. I made it," Li Jie said, quickly setting the table.

Li Xiaofei sat down to eat while observing Little Aunt. He noticed that her expression was normal, with no signs of change. Li Xiaofei wanted to ask about what had happened, but he was too embarrassed to bring it up.

So, he ate quietly. While he was eating, Li Xiaofei opened his light core and browsed the news. He was surprised when he didn’t find any reports of wild killings online. However, another piece of information caught his attention.