Ten thousand miles high in the sky.
Luo Xiu, in free fall, struggled to open his eyes but could only see a vast expanse of white.
At this moment, he had fallen into the cloud layer.
Without spiritual power to protect him, his clothes began to burn from the high-speed friction with the air.
Suddenly, he felt a flash of brightness before him as the view opened up, revealing a vast blue ocean below. He couldn't help but heave a long sigh, feeling it was a blessing in disguise.
"This Lei Luan still has some conscience, knowing the contract spirit time is about to end, yet it put all its effort into sending us above the ocean."
"If I fall into the ocean, it's better than landing on solid ground."
"But this contract spirit time really ends at such an inopportune moment."
Thinking about what was to come, Luo Xiu couldn't help but feel distressed.
Falling into the ocean like this would still hurt.
Yet he understood Lei Luan; the duration of the Spirit Pact Talisman depended on Lin Xiyue's own state.
At that time, Lin Xiyue was gravely injured, nearly exhausted, yet she still managed to maintain the contract spirit time for three whole hours, surely using all her strength.
Thinking of this, Luo Xiu suddenly felt a bit distressed for the strong-willed girl.
...
As they got closer to the ocean's surface, Luo Xiu finally mobilized his last thread of spiritual power, adjusted his position, and glided over to embrace Lin Xiyue.
At this moment, Lin Xiyue was unconscious due to exhaustion.
Moreover, her clothes had been incinerated, leaving her bare.
Luo Xiu held Lin Xiyue tightly against him, wrapping his last bit of spiritual power around her body, then closed his eyes and powerlessly fell toward the sea.
...
...
A long time later.
Lin Xiyue dragged the unconscious Luo Xiu, struggling to crawl onto the beach.
The scorching sun cast a golden glow over the entire beach, the millennia-untapped gold sands polished smooth by the waves, revealing themselves under the sunlight.
On the beach.
Lin Xiyue let go of Luo Xiu, then weakly lay down on the sand, using the back of her hand to shield her eyes, her slightly parted lips releasing rapid breaths.
Her disheveled long hair, tangled with sand, lay sprawled on the beach, at that moment resembling a stranded mermaid, letting the waves wash over her body.
After a long while, Lin Xiyue managed to regain some strength, propping herself up, glancing to the side, and blushing red.
Not far beside her, Luo Xiu lay on the beach, completely naked.
With just one look, Lin Xiyue saw that terrifying Giant Python in slumber!
"That's... This is too astonishing."
She swallowed hard, couldn't resist taking a few more glances, then pretended nothing had happened and averted her gaze.
But the shocking sight kept lingering in her mind, causing her whole body to heat up, and the Nine Yin Power she had been suppressing started to stir again.
For a moment, she even had the urge to throw herself at Luo Xiu.
But in the end, she remained rational.
She then realized that she too was without a stitch of clothing, letting out a startled cry, hurriedly retrieving clothes from her Storage Magical Treasure to dress herself in.
After a moment.
Now in a white dress, Lin Xiyue heaved a sigh of relief, looked at Luo Xiu next to her, and murmured, "For the many times you've saved me, I'll help you this once."
"..."
Time slowly passed by.
When Luo Xiu awoke amidst the jostle, he found himself on Lin Xiyue's back.
Lin Xiyue carried him, trudging laboriously through the dense forest.
Luo Xiu's lips curled into a sly smile, rubbing his face against Lin Xiyue's neck like a pig rooting cabbage.
At the same time, he tightened his hold around Lin Xiyue, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, pretending to snore.
If he could, he'd want to stay like this forever.
As Lin Xiyue journeyed forward, she felt the unusual sensation on her back, her delicate body shivering slightly, growing tense.
The warm breath on her neck caused her earlobes to redden gradually.
"Are you awake?"
Lin Xiyue suddenly asked.
But Luo Xiu continued to feign sleep.
Lin Xiyue gritted her teeth and suddenly, with a burst of strength, shook Luo Xiu off her back.
Luo Xiu landed on the ground with a thud, letting out a shriek: "What are you doing—ow!"
Lin Xiyue turned around, her face frosty, and looked at him, "Did you sleep well?"
Luo Xiu chuckled awkwardly, scratched his head, and changed the topic, "By the way, where is this place?"
"I don't know."
Luo Xiu got up from the ground, looking at her with an inexplicable expression, "You bought this planet yourself, and you don't know where it is?"
Lin Xiyue walked forward indifferently, "I've only been to this Luo Star once, and that time I was viewing it from a flying boat in the sky, never came down to walk around."
Luo Xiu followed her closely, asking, "Why call it Luo Star?"
"It's none of your business."
"Alright then." Luo Xiu shrugged, then asked, "Why am I wearing women's clothes?"
Lin Xiyue: "I couldn't just let you be naked and carry you."
"Did you change me yourself?"
"It's best for you to forget about it."
Luo Xiu scratched his head, puzzled, "What are you talking about? Forget what? I don't understand at all?"
Lin Xiyue smiled and said no more.
After a while, Luo Xiu asked again, "Where are we heading next?"
Lin Xiyue said, "I've determined the general direction; if we keep moving ahead, we should find the teleportation array."
As she spoke, she suddenly stopped, looked around, and then strode toward a patch of grass on the left.
Luo Xiu followed closely, asking, "What is it?"
Lin Xiyue squatted in front of the grass, smiling, "There's a Millennium Mysterious Ginseng here."
Luo Xiu stood next to her, his gaze inadvertently drifting toward her neckline, casually saying, "This ravine... is quite deep."
"What did you say?"
"Uh... I meant this ginseng is growing quite deep in the soil, yeah, ginseng."
Lin Xiyue lifted a delicate hand, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "To avoid damage and loss of potency, it requires a special method to dig it out."
Luo Xiu praised, "Miss Lin sure knows a lot."
He realized that Lin Xiyue was completely different from before.
The current Lin Xiyue seemed capable of handling anything.
Then, Lin Xiyue skillfully excavated the Millennium Mysterious Ginseng from the soil, saying, "I read a lot of medical books when I was back home, and even learned some alchemy."
Luo Xiu was amazed, "So impressive?"
Lin Xiyue suddenly looked up at him, her gaze becoming sharp, "Have you seen enough?"
At her words, Luo Xiu's heart skipped a beat, not expecting her to notice his sneaky glances, but he maintained a calm expression and seriously said, "I was thinking, at this pace, who knows when we'll reach our destination."
"My suggestion is, for now, let's find a place to heal."
Lin Xiyue snorted coldly, "My Divine Sense detected a canyon ahead; we'll find medicine for healing there."
"Alright, I'll follow your lead."
Luo Xiu smiled, suddenly moving to the side, casually pulling out a piece of grass, then returned to Lin Xiyue's side.
What seemed like an ordinary weed transformed into a brilliant red flower once plucked.
Lin Xiyue's beautiful eyes widened, "Is this... the Flower of Nothingness?"
Luo Xiu laughed, "Consider it a gift for you."
Lin Xiyue was incredulous, knowing the value of the "Flower of Nothingness", she asked, "How did you find it?"
Luo Xiu shrugged, "Well, I am a Venerable One after all."
Lin Xiyue hastily reached out to take the Flower of Nothingness, as if afraid Luo Xiu would change his mind, her face glowing with animation, "Thank you for the flower."
Luo Xiu generously waved his hand, "Why thank me? I intend to charge for it."
At his words, Lin Xiyue's smile froze, angrily retorting, "How could you be like this? You just said it was a gift."
"You must know this flower is not an ordinary item; it can't simply be given away."
"Speak then, how much?"
Luo Xiu thought for a moment, "Five hundred and twenty pieces of Spirit Jade."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiyue looked at him as if he were a fool, "So cheap?"
Considering the value of this Flower of Nothingness, five hundred and twenty pieces of Spirit Jade wouldn't buy even a petal.
"How is that any different from giving it to me?"
Luo Xiu laughed heartily, "A good flower matches a fine lady, it's just a token between us."
Lin Xiyue nodded, "In return for the flower, I'll find some medicine and concoct a pill to heal you later."
"..."