Inside the room, Yan Ruyu lay motionless on the bed, her shredded pink dress covering her most intimate area. Yet every inch of snow-white skin exposed beyond the hem of the skirt was incredibly alluring.
Though this delicate body had long been drenched in sweat and devoured by someone's lips, those perfect curves, dotted with traces of moisture, only appeared more seductive and enchanting.
But the Yan Ruyu of this moment lay there like a lifeless fish, completely still, with only the faint rise and fall of her chest betraying that she was still breathing.
Tears hung in her eyes, her face ashen, as though the most important thing in her life had been snatched away. She had sunk into an unprecedented gloom, as if her very existence had reached its end.
As for Bai Xi, though she too lay naked, she was unconscious in the corner. Chu Feng had not touched her — because he had been consumed by rage, and his sole aim was to do the exact opposite of what they wanted.
Bai Xi wanted to sleep with Chu Feng, so he flatly refused her. Yan Ruyu did not want to lie with a man, so he insisted on doing exactly that. This was the price they paid for setting him up.
Chu Feng was dressing himself, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and a satisfied smile on his face. Though it had been anger, revenge that drove him to pin the great beauty Yan Ruyu beneath him, he had to admit she was a temptress. Her perfect figure rivaled Su Rou's, and she had given him a wonderful experience.
Especially the faint stain of blood on the sheets — it told Chu Feng that Yan Ruyu had not been putting on an act. She had truly guarded her chastity. At the very least, she really had been a virgin.
"Mmm~" Suddenly, Yan Ruyu's body trembled. She curled into a ball, fists clenched tight, her face twisted in agony, as though she were enduring some unbearable torment.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Chu Feng frowned deeply. Extending his Mental Power to sense her condition, he discovered that changes were occurring inside Yan Ruyu's body. A strange energy was surging within her, spreading, consuming every inch of her skin.
"Aaah~~~"
At that very moment, Yan Ruyu let out a piercing scream. Layer upon layer of blue aura spilled from within her body, swirling around her as her form was slowly lifted into the air, hovering in midair.
"This aura... it's so bizarre. Is there something inside her too?" Chu Feng was stunned, staring wide-eyed at the scene before him.
What shocked him even more was that Yan Ruyu's aura was rapidly intensifying — not her cultivation level, but her combat power, escalating to a truly terrifying degree in the blink of an eye.
But that wasn't all. What truly astonished Chu Feng was the transformation of Yan Ruyu's body. On her once snow-white skin, layer upon layer of blue substance was emerging.
The substance glowed faintly, resembling tiny pieces of armor. But the well-traveled Chu Feng recognized it at a glance — it was no armor. It was scales. Blue fish scales were growing across Yan Ruyu's body, wrapping around her like a suit of plate.
"Chu Feng, if I don't die, I will make you pay with your life."
Suddenly, Yan Ruyu turned her face toward him. In that instant, Chu Feng could see that her once galaxy-like beautiful eyes had been replaced by two beams of crimson light — hideous and terrifying. Those were no longer human eyes; they belonged to something demonic.
"Whoosh!"
With that, Yan Ruyu snatched up Bai Xi's clothes and threw them on, then shot out of the room like a streak of light. A thunderous boom echoed as her aura vanished beyond the range of Chu Feng's senses.
"What just happened? How could her power have increased to this extent?" Chu Feng rushed out of the room only to find that the barrier he had set up around the palace had been blasted to smithereens.
Though shocked, Chu Feng didn't hesitate. He launched himself into the air, activating the Void Flight Technique, and chased after the direction Yan Ruyu had fled.
At first, thanks to the power of the Void Flight Technique, Chu Feng was able to keep pace with her. But for reasons he couldn't fathom, Yan Ruyu's speed only increased. Once the two of them left Lingyun Sect and entered a stretch of forest, Chu Feng was left far behind, unable to so much as catch a glimpse of her.
"How is this possible? She was only at the Xuan Martial Fifth Stage. How could she completely outrun me in speed?" Chu Feng hovered in the sky, staring in the direction Yan Ruyu had disappeared, his eyes filled with shock.
"Chu Feng, looks like you've made a powerful enemy this time." Suddenly, Eggy spoke up after a long silence.
"Eggy, what do you mean? Don't tell me that Yan Ruyu also has a special physique? Is she a God-Blessed Divine Body too?"
It suddenly dawned on Chu Feng. Yan Ruyu's transformation just now had defied all logic — she had matched his combat power, even rivaling that mysterious girl in purple from before. It was impossible not to associate her with those God-Blessed Divine Bodies that possessed extraordinary abilities and terrifying strength.
"No. Based on her behavior before, the changes in her body just now, and the last thing she said to you before leaving, I've determined that she is not a God-Blessed Divine Body. She has cultivated some kind of forbidden mystic art."
"Forbidden mystic art?" It was the first time Chu Feng had heard this term.
"That's right. A forbidden mystic art is different from ordinary demonic techniques. It is a terrifying art that only top-tier powerhouses can create."
"This kind of art can grant extraordinary power to those with mediocre talent, but cultivating it requires extreme caution. The slightest misstep will render all prior efforts meaningless and endanger one's life."
"Because this type of technique should never have existed in the first place. It violates the laws of martial cultivation between heaven and earth. It breaks the rules, and therefore it will inevitably invite punishment. That is why those who cultivate such arts undergo certain physical transformations — and that is precisely why they are called forbidden mystic arts."
"In principle, even if such arts did exist, they shouldn't have been accessible to someone like Yan Ruyu. But ever since the Imperial Tomb and the Asura Ghost Tower were discovered here, I'm no longer particularly surprised to see forbidden mystic arts appearing on the Nine Provinces Continent."
"The Nine Provinces Continent may be a gathering place for trash now, but in the past, many formidable figures must have walked its soil — and some formidable beings must have passed through as well. The treasures those great figures left behind still linger here, and those with great fortune can find them."
"Since you were able to discover the Imperial Tomb and obtain the White Tiger Killing Art, it stands to reason that Yan Ruyu could have found her own hidden treasure and obtained a forbidden mystic art."
"However, the creators of such forbidden mystic arts are never good people. They are typically bloodthirsty demon lords. It seems this Nine Provinces Continent was once anything but a peaceful land." Eggy explained her analysis in detail, her gaze drifting into contemplation, as though she were picturing what the Nine Provinces Continent must have looked like in ages past.
P.S.: Two consecutive days of heavy output are starting to take a toll on my body.