Three days later, Du Yanran reappeared before Chang Le, her face glowing with vitality. She wore a radiant smile as she spoke.
"Chang Zhēnjūn, my old wounds have been healed. Many thanks for the pill you gave me."
"That's good to hear. Yanran, you look much more spirited like this—much more charming."
Du Yanran playfully acted shy and linked her arm with his, cooing.
"Zhēnjūn, if you keep praising me like that, I might get embarrassed. You'll have to dote on me more now."
Though both harbored ulterior motives, they appeared perfectly harmonious. That very night, they took the Yin-Yang Pill and began dual cultivation.
Three days earlier, Chang Le had arranged for someone to watch Du Yanran in secret. She had appeared entirely focused on healing, so he had someone deliver a pill specifically for treating sword qi injuries. Du Yanran took it without suspicion, which put Chang Le at ease.
To be safe, he personally investigated the authenticity and effects of the pill, and the results matched what she had reported.
The Yin-Yang Pill was a secret concoction of the Yin-Yang Gate. Along with the pill, he had also received a message: once the effects activated, the stronger cultivator could absorb the weaker one's cultivation base directly, without resistance, and merge it into their own.
Stroking his chin, Chang Le had his doubts. He didn't believe Du Yanran would give up her cultivation so easily, so he took precautions. Before they began, he sealed her spiritual power.
"Zhēnjūn, what are you doing? I already said I'd help you increase your cultivation. Why are you...?"
"My sweet Yanran, I'll be blunt with you. I don't need your help to grow stronger—I want all of your cultivation for myself."
Du Yanran collapsed onto the bed, sliding back slowly until she hit the wall.
"Hmph! So you had impure intentions from the moment you saved me. You bastard. Using me, then tossing me aside."
Chang Le grabbed her jaw, forcing a crimson pill into her mouth. It melted instantly and became a warm current that flowed down her throat. Within moments, it began to take effect.
Du Yanran's cheeks flushed red, her eyes grew dazed, and she slowly removed her robes, revealing her elegant figure.
Seeing this, Chang Le knew the medicine had taken hold. He took his own black pill without hesitation, undressed, and lunged toward her. He bit down on her neck and began to savor the taste.
Du Yanran was seething. Her eyes glowed red, a dark aura thickening around her forehead. A hundred different brutal ways to kill him flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, Chang Le's body froze. He collapsed on top of her, paralyzed.
Du Yanran shoved him aside with force, letting him slump against the wall. From the magnolia pendant she had hidden, she pulled out a small dagger and methodically severed the tendons in his hands and feet.
Forming a hand seal, she pressed her palms to his dantian and began drawing out his cultivation. As his power drained, Chang Le rapidly aged, his hair turning white, skin sagging, age spots blooming across his body.
He glared at her in fury, but his Yuányīng didn't even have time to flee before Du Yanran absorbed it completely.
Rather than use the cultivation to break through immediately, Du Yanran directed all the stolen power into the red pill she had taken. That pill would refine and nourish the cultivation, converting it into spiritual energy her body could safely absorb.
It was a rare and precious pill. She had only one pair of them, saved for emergencies. That she used it now proved how much she loathed him.
As Chang Le hovered near death, she retrieved the black pill from his body and shoved another pill roughly into his mouth. Then she calmly redressed and tidied her appearance.
Turning, she pulled the storage ring from his withered fingers, retrieved her own storage bangle, and secured it back onto her wrist. She walked to the bookcase by the wall, drew out a key from Chang Le's storage ring, and opened the secret compartment behind the shelves.
On the bed, Chang Le howled silently and writhed in agony. Regret filled his heart—he had saved a venomous snake.
Du Yanran swept every last treasure from his personal vault before returning to the bedroom. Standing before his broken figure, she said coldly:
"You saved my life. I was willing to repay that debt. Through dual cultivation, I could have helped you strengthen your base. But you wanted to take everything I had for yourself, use me as a stepping stone. Did you think I wouldn't fight back?"
"You... you…"
"Why wasn't I affected by the seal? Simple. I waited for the drug to kick in and then took a Fuling Pill to restore my spiritual power. And you want to know why you're like this now?"
She flashed him a dazzling, seductive smile, then drew her spirit sword and carved a shallow line across his chest.
"Didn't you always say my perfume smelled amazing? You smelled it so much, it built up in your system. Tonight, I used extra—combined with the black pill you took, it created a wonderful reaction."
With another laugh, she slashed his face.
"Dual cultivation isn't just about the pleasures of the flesh. I absorbed every last bit of your power, didn't I?"
To Chang Le, Du Yanran's once-beautiful face now appeared monstrous, terrifying.
She sealed him with a hand seal, bound him tight, then gagged him.
Before leaving, she changed her appearance, masked her aura, and quietly departed from the "Tianya Haijiao" branch. She went straight to the Qianwen Pavilion and sold them the location and internal layout of the branch.
Then, using a teleportation array, she left Tiannan City. After several transfers, she reached the outskirts of Lingyun City. Instead of returning to Fan Jian'an right away, she entered the Yunling Mountains and found a secluded place to break through to Nascent Soul.
This was her third time attempting the Nascent Soul tribulation. As the lightning fell from the sky, Du Yanran stood firm, surrounded by spiritual tools that withstood each bolt. She successfully condensed her Nascent Soul.
Only after that did she return to Lingyun City to find Fan Jian'an.
Meanwhile, it took less than half a day for news of the Tianya Haijiao branch to leak. Enemies seized the opportunity and razed the entire Tiannan City branch. Only one person who had been out on a mission survived.
That person, quick-witted, rushed the news back to headquarters. The leader was enraged. Since Tianya Haijiao's founding, they had never suffered such a loss.
The leader summoned all members back from their scattered posts and began investigating who had dared provoke them.
Du Yanran's carefree days lasted only a year before Tianya Haijiao tracked her down. Fan Jian'an refused to protect her, simply gave her a storage ring and sent her away.
Helpless, Du Yanran had to disguise herself again and go on the run.
When Tianya Haijiao wanted someone dead, they would pursue them to the ends of the earth. For the next five years, Du Yanran lived in hiding. Thankfully, her magnolia pendant helped her evade two assassination attempts. Now, she had been forced to take refuge in the vast Cangmang Mountains.
Jian Dan held a jade slip in her hand, unmoved by Du Yanran's plight.
She had brought this upon herself. If she hadn't schemed against Cao Chenfeng, she could've easily used the resources she gained in the Chengli Secret Realm to break through and progress further.
But her twisted path and ruthless ambition made her no different from a demon cultivator.
Of course, the heart demon Jian Dan planted in her back in Huanle City had likely played its part too.
Taking a sip of bodhi tea, Jian Dan sat quietly as Yue Liang, tail gently swaying, asked softly:
"Zhūnzhǔ, do you still have to teach tomorrow at Heavenly Sword Peak?"