"No, I really do like Brother Yang… It's just… three people together feels so embarrassing…" Ning Rongrong explained shyly.
Du Gu Yan's suggestion had clearly flustered her. Originally, she had planned to give herself to Xu Yang on their wedding night. But now that Du Gu Yan brought it up, she couldn't help but feel both tempted and excited.
As a little enchantress, she couldn't help but be drawn to the thrill.
"You don't have to be embarrassed. This day was bound to come eventually."
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out by their ears. The two girls turned around in shock—at some point, Xu Yang had already sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling as he scanned them from head to toe…
"Ahh!!" Ning Rongrong squealed.
Xu Yang chuckled, rubbing his ear. Then he leapt forward—and soon, the room was filled with soft, intoxicating sounds...
The next morning, Xu Yang gently kissed each of the two beauties beside him, then quietly got out of bed. He wasn't someone who would let himself be distracted by beauty. He knew very well what was most important right now.
He went straight to find Chen Xin. Even before getting close to the room, Xu Yang could feel a faint tingling across his skin—as if tiny needles were pricking him.
"Grandpa Sword's sword intent has gotten even stronger… Looks like that battle with Qian Daoliu really brought him significant gains."
What caused this sensation was Chen Xin's sword intent—an elevated state of spiritual force. The fact that it could pierce Xu Yang's senses like this meant that Chen Xin's spirit power was nearing the threshold of material manifestation.
Xu Yang smiled and pushed open the door. Inside, Chen Xin was seated cross-legged on a cushion, meditating, with the Seven Kill Sword resting across his knees. Strands of sword energy spiraled silently around him.
Sensing Xu Yang's arrival, Chen Xin slowly opened his eyes and said, "You little brat, your strength has grown again after your breakthrough. You can even sense my sword intent? Just how sensitive is your body now?"
Although Chen Xin's sword intent was approaching the tangible level, it wasn't quite there yet. Even Gu Rong hadn't noticed it before—but Xu Yang sensed it instantly.
Scratching his nose with a sheepish grin, Xu Yang replied, "Maybe my breakthrough was different from everyone else's?"
Chen Xin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. When do you plan on hunting that 200,000-year-old Golden Crow?"
Xu Yang's expression turned serious. "The sooner the better, Grandpa Sword. Right now, Spirit Hall is eyeing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect like a tiger stalking its prey. Even though we've adopted a 'retreat to advance' strategy, no one actually wants to give up our ancestral homeland."
Chen Xin nodded. "Alright. Let's inform Fengzhi and set off in secret. The sooner we finish the hunt, the sooner we can return."
The two went to inform Ning Fengzhi with a simple briefing, then immediately took to the skies, flying toward the South Sea atop sword light.
In the Eastern Palace.
"So… Xu Yang and Chen Xin left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and disappeared without a trace?" Qian Renxue frowned slightly as she read the intelligence report, her tone tinged with worry.
Noticing her expression, She Long—who had been standing guard—asked with concern, "Young Lady, is there something wrong with the report?"
Qian Renxue shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with the intel. The problem is Xu Yang. Grandfather wants me to find a way to draw Xu Yang into Spirit Hall. He believes it would be beneficial to my future cultivation. But I haven't even had the chance to speak to him. Every time I visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he's nowhere to be found."
"Our communication has been growing distant. We're no longer as close as we were when we were young. Especially these past few years—I've been burdened with state affairs as the Crown Prince, and he's always out cultivating. We've barely had a few proper conversations."
Although Xu Yang's charisma had only grown stronger with every meeting, they never exchanged more than a few words before going their separate ways. Even if she wanted to make an effort, she didn't know where to begin—and that was what frustrated her.
Hearing this, She Long fell silent. After seeing Xu Yang clash with Bibi Dong back in Spirit City, he had realized that even with his own strength, he probably wasn't Xu Yang's match anymore.
He wisely kept his mouth shut.
Qian Renxue glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to the report in her hand, sighing again and again.
In the sea region near where the Golden Crow is located, a small blue metal boat drifted atop the waves.
Inside, Xu Yang and Chen Xin were snoring away. After half a month of high-speed travel, their soul power wasn't too depleted—but their spiritual power was heavily exhausted.
If they wanted to hunt the Golden Crow, they had to be in peak condition. So rather than rushing in immediately, they had taken out a ship-type soul tool from their storage rings and were now resting inside to fully recover.
High above the island where the Golden Crow resided, Chen Xin and Xu Yang hovered in the sky.
They stared down at the giant Golden Crow perched in a nest atop the Fusang Tree. Chen Xin looked excited as he said, "Yang'er, ready?"
Xu Yang's eyes were full of confidence. "I've been ready. But Grandpa Sword, please try not to damage the Fusang Tree too much!"
Given his current strength, Xu Yang was confident he could take down the Golden Crow solo—but the risk was too high.
After all, his target was a 200,000-year-old beast-level Golden Crow, whose intelligence was no less than a human's. If forced into a corner, with the proud temperament of a divine bird, it might even self-detonate rather than be captured. That's why he had brought Chen Xin—to guarantee that the Golden Crow would have no way out and would obediently become a soul ring.
Chen Xin scoffed, "You've said that 800 times already!"
Before the words were fully out of his mouth, he had already turned into a streak of sword light, plunging downward. The Seven Kill Sword appeared in his hand, with nine soul rings inlaid along its blade. With a swing, he unleashed a devastating strike toward the twenty-meter-long Golden Crow.
A piercing blue sword aura tore through the air, reaching the creature's throat in the blink of an eye.
"Screech!!"
Just as the attack was about to land, the Golden Crow's eyes snapped open. With a sharp cry, it spread its massive wings—over fifty meters wide—and golden flames erupted from them. The burning wings clashed with the sword aura, sending countless golden feathers and embers flying.
The soul force shockwave turned nearby volcanic rock into dust. The entire island quaked violently.
Ripples of power spread outward from the center of the island, transforming into massive waves as they surged in all directions. Any ships nearby would have been instantly swallowed by the sea.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin