Ronghua took out an alchemy furnace. Xia Pumo sized it up and felt strange. It was so unadorned as its body was wholly black, except for its simply decorated mouth. Was it forged randomly?

“Miss Ronghua, is this…” He was embarra.s.sed to ask.

“What's wrong?” Ronghua glanced up and asked in a bad mood.

Murong Zhe hid Xia Pumo behind and stared at Ronghua, “Don't scare my sweetheart!”

“…” Ronghua choked.

Xia Pumo did not know what to say as well.

Ronghua did not want to give even a glance at them anymore, so she began to focus on alchemy.

She directly threw a golden bodhi fruit into the furnace and added other herbs. When she was sure that all the needed materials were put inside, she turned around and found they were looking at her with stunning faces.

She was confused, “What's wrong with you? Why do you look so surprised?”

Murong Zhe swallowed, “Did you always do alchemy like this?”

Ronghua responded affirmatively, “Yes, of course!”

Murong Zhe hugged Xia Pumo and moved backward, “Fine. Call us when you are done!”

Ronghua could know what they were going to do for sure without looking back. How insatiable these guys were!

It was not silent inside the alchemy furnace, and the noise made Ronghua feel whiny. Although this place was just an illusion, it also brought uncomfortable feelings to people. Shortly afterward, pleasant but faint scent leaked out from the furnace. Alchemy should be successful. She opened the furnace and saw a lucid golden pill lying in the bottom. Ronghua took it out. The medicine was round as a ball and s.h.i.+ning like gold under the light. The pattern of the golden-snake herb could be seen on the surface, covering the whole pill gorgeously. Inside, it was the bodhi fruit after refining.

Ronghua looked at it, speechlessly, “Why did it look like this?”

She cleaned up the alchemy furnace and stepped towards the direction where Xia Pumo and Murong Zhe had left.

They were on a branch of a tree. Xia Pumo was sitting upright, while Murong Zhe was lying on him and saying lover's prattle. She swore that she didn't mean to eavesdrop.

Murong Zhe pressed against Xia Pumo and caressed his jaw.

Murong Zhe said, “Every word you've said to me is kept in my mind.”

Xia Pumo, “…”

Murong Zhe continued, “You are such a perfect man that no drawbacks can be found on you. You know, I enjoyed exploring your shortcomings at that time.”

Xia Pumo, “…”

Murong Zhe added, “I had even selfishly thought of making you degenerate into a demon like me.”

Xia Pumo, “…”

Murong Zhe held Xia Pumo's head, making him look straight into his eyes, and said each word firmly, “I love you, and I'm not joking. I do not care if the love deviated from common sense. I just want to be with you, happily and freely. The thing I've always been longing for is to wake up in your arms every morning. I swear you are the only one I love. Please do not ignore me and make me feel that you are angry with me, OK? Do not sacrifice yourself to save me. Otherwise, even if I became alive, I would not continue to live in this world alone by taking advantage of your life.”

In the beginning, Ronghua was nearly asleep, but when she heard Murong Zhe's deepest confession of love, it was like something bombed in her head. Her head was aching seriously, and she had to slap at it to relieve her pain. Some unknown memories suddenly popped up in her head.

“What if I disappeared someday?”

“What else can I do? Of course, I will go and find you!”

“What if you could not find me?”

“I will! I will find you!”

“Oh, I don't believe it. Would you really seek for me if I left?”

“…Why will you be missing?”

“Because someone may take me away!”

“Then they won't take you until they kill me.”

After a while, the pain was gone, and the memories stopped springing up. Ronghua lay on the ground with tears somehow dropping. She did not know where the memories came from, but her head ached whenever she thought about them. Never mind. She would find out the truth one day.

Ronghua continued walking towards them and interrupted Murong Zhe's confession. Murong Zhe was very annoyed as if he could swallow her the next second, and his eyes could nearly spray the fire.

“This is the second time you disturb me.”

Ronghua ignored him and showed them the pill. Xia Pumo glanced at it, shocked, and rose to his feet abruptly, regardless of Murong Zhe's mood.

“Miss Ronghua, you did complete the alchemy.” His voice and hands were all trembling, and he was aghast when he took over the drug and saw how it looked like, “It's the G.o.d-cla.s.s elixir!”

Murong Zhe was also astonished by what he said, “Impossible!”

He came closer and leaned on Xia Pumo's shoulder, staring at it, “Ronghua, are you really an ordinary being?”

Ronghua was nervous about his question and afraid that he had figured out her difference.

“You are really…really marvelous!”

“Huh? What?” Ronghua was confused. It seemed that he did not mean what she suspected.

“Nothing!” Murong Zhe pinched Xia Pumo secretly, and the latter understood immediately.

They no longer halted. Xia Pumo sat down and wanted to take the pill at once, preparing to transit his spiritual power to Murong Zhe.

Ronghua stopped him, “Are you sure that you can bear the effect as eating it directly?”

Murong Zhe grabbed away the elixir rapidly after he understood her words. They had been so careless and forgot that such an elixir might make an ordinary person explode to death due to its great power.

“You were so reckless just now!” He blamed Xia Pumo and pinched his face. If Ronghua had not reminded them in time, Xia Pumo might have died.

Xia Pumo had always ignored Murong Zhe's anger, but this time, he promised with a smile, “I'll be careful next time!”

Then Murong Zhe's rage went away.

Ronghua took back the elixir, reckoned for a while, and came up with an idea, “I can take it and transit the power to you.”

“No way!”

“No way!”

They rejected simultaneously, but for totally different reasons.

Xia Pumo concerned that the elixir would hurt Ronghua for the same cause. Her a.s.sistance was based on their symbiotic relations.h.i.+p, and she had done much more than he could expect. How could he bother her more?

However, Murong Zhe was disappointed about her partic.i.p.ation in this. He seldom got the chance to stay with his love closely, and she would ruin this.

Ronghua studied them carefully and reconsidered for some time, “Or else you take the elixir, and I guard here to help you transit the extra spiritual powers. OK?”

Xia Pumo asked seriously, “How?”

“Generally speaking, you can transfer the power to him when you take it, but your body is not strong enough to absorb all the spiritual power inside, and he refused me to do this instead. Then the last way is that you take the elixir, and I will absorb the remaining power, which is more than you could bear.” Ronghua answered.

Xia Pumo agreed, “I think this could work. Let's try it!”

He took back the elixir and ate it, then sat cross-legged.

It functioned as soon as it arrived at his stomach, and Xia Pumo began to fidget. As expected, its power was incredible, and his body could not accommodate all. Shortly afterward, strings of sweats shed from his head; his body s.h.i.+vered; his face turned pale. Murong Zhe cried anxiously.

“Hurry up! Do what you said! Mo has reached his limit.” He would not have to suffer this if it were not for his sake.

However, Ronghua was not worried at all, “Don't panic. It just starts. Take your time.”

Murong Zhe was stimulated by her words and slowly queried, “What did you say?”

Regardless of his rage, Ronghua turned to him and sneered, “Do you really believe it's the fruit of a bodhi tree?”

“What do you mean?” Murong Zhe had an ominous feeling.

“Wasn't the golden pill made from the bodhi fruit?”

Ronghua snorted, “Do you really think so?”

Murong Zhe recalled what had happened just now. Ronghua seized the elixir and started the conversation. They thought she was to help and trusted her, but in fact, she used that time to draw their attention and change the elixir to hurt them.

“Ronghua, how dare you harm Mo!” He rushed to her indignantly, despite his weak soul. A ball of black smoke appeared in his hand and was tossed to her.

Ronghua was quite confident and did not take his attack seriously at all. She lifted her hand, and then he was frozen by a slight wave of her hand. With a push, his soul was in Xia Pumo's body. Murong Zhe was totally stunned by the whole process. He did not know why he could not move and was placed into Xia Pumo's body by her.

“Have a good sleep!” Ronghua whispered

In fact, Ronghua was also a vengeful one. Since Xia Pumo dared to use her, he must get prepared for retribution.

After settling that case, Ronghua turned around gracefully, taking out her fan and scrutinizing it, but she was saying something irrelevant.

“Now that you have been here, why not come out and say h.e.l.lo?”

A gust of wind blew past her dress, and someone suddenly stood behind her.

He was in a black robe. Half of his hair was crowned, and the rest was floating the air. The icy and arrogant eyes buried his killing mood deeply. Cold air always surrounded him.

“Long time no see, King of Death.”

She turned to look at him. Having a face that even women would be jealous of but an evil smile accompanied, he always made others feel dangerous but can't help getting closer. He was born to kill.

“Are you recruiting followers again?” He sneered, seeming to be familiar with this.

Ronghua asked, “Do you think it is like recruiting?”

Hearing that, he did not reply but flapped at Xia Pumo straightly. Ronghua blocked it with the fan in a hurry and expelled him out of her defense area.

Then she returned the fan to cover half of her face, “What were you doing? A sneak attack?”

He stood there with his hands behind. There were some unknown emotions in his eyes when he was watching her. Then he lowered eyelids and smiled, “Just test his importance to you.”

Ronghua eyed him warily and wondered his purpose of being here. If he came for the incident last time, they should have been in the battle rather than talking. He looked calm, but his hands were backed behind. It did not like his typical style. Maybe he had known Lingxi's affair and found she had come in this place as well. He would not believe that the main palace really had the thing to find her. Otherwise, he should have known something about her in the past many years.

“Did you…see her?” Weilian asked abruptly. Ronghua thought for a moment and realized he was asking about Lingxi.

Lingxi got into this place covertly. Although Weilian was angry and bothered, she was his dear daughter, and he could not imagine anything bad happening to her. Perhaps he would make a huge mess in the human world if she were hurt.

“No, I didn't,” Ronghua replied leisurely, but the fan was still not put away.

“Really?” He was unbelieving, but there's nothing to prove. He was not willing to come here, but Lingxi was a naughty kid who dared to come here alone. When he got the message, she had already entered.

Therefore, he had no choice but to follow. As soon as he got into this place, he began to feel uncomfortable. This mysterious territory was rather weird, where people were split up when they entered. He had searched for long, but n.o.body was seen. There was a sudden sound of thunder. He thought it should be someone upgrading or fighting that could result in the ninefold purple thunder in a mysterious territory.

But when he came over, he found that it resulted from Ronghua's alchemy. When that elixir was taken out, he saw it was just the same as the one made by Lingran in the past. Thus, Lingran might have learned alchemy from G.o.ds as well.

Ronghua realized his unbelief, so she put down her fan and smiled in a more convincing way, “You must have experienced the weirdness of this place. I was swirled in here too. Before entering, I did saw her, but the child was too pawky. She went here along with a beastman and did not notice me at all!”

The King of Death observed each detail when she spoke. She was so good at pretending and being rhetoric. He had been fooled by her trick last time. Otherwise, she could not stand here alive. He would forgive her trick owing to her words since he was seeking for Lingxi, or he would make her regret what she had done to him.

“That man.” Weilian pointed at Xia Pumo. Ronghua knew that he meant the former conflict about the elixir. The golden bodhi fruit could not appear at this place, where the demon power was everywhere, and all the monsters were influenced, becoming more and more tyrannical. That two-headed python was not an exception. It might have eaten some unripe fruits containing the demon power.

“He's mine.” Ronghua blocked Weilian's way to them.

He withdrew his finger. “Don't forget who I am.”

Ronghua responded to his provocation, “You can try.”