A short while later, Chen Xuan dispersed the remnants of the Yin-Yang Prison and stored away the Soul Formation zombie.

Fortunately, the Death-Binding Ring possessed an internal space of its own. Not only could it house the corpse, but the environment within was exceptionally suited for nourishing refined corpses.

Even if the zombie never consumed another drop of flesh or blood, the ring’s interior would slowly restore its strength over time.

Although the time required would be measured in centuries, its effect was already astonishing.

Once he finished dealing with the two treasures, Chen Xuan didn’t linger near the underground cavern any longer.

He carefully erased every trace of his presence, destroying anything that might reveal his involvement.

Only then did he rise into the air and head toward their temporary camp.

--

The moment Chen Xuan arrived, he noticed that Su Tianyi was sitting in the same spot where he had left her.

Had it not been for her clean robes and refreshed appearance, he might have thought she had remained there the entire time.

As he saw her, Su Tianyi naturally saw him as well.

A faint flush briefly crossed her face before vanishing so quickly that Chen Xuan failed to capture him.

Lifting her chin, she looked at him with contempt.

"So you’ve finally returned. What did you find?" she asked.

Before Chen Xuan could answer, she waved dismissively.

"Actually, forget it. You, demonic cultivators, are all the same. You won’t say the truth either way. Who knows? You might even use the information to trick me."

A mocking smile appeared on her lips.

"Do you have any food? You should understand my condition better than anyone."

She weakly raised her hands. The meaning behind her words was obvious:

At the moment, she was little different from a mortal. Without food, she would not last long.

Unfortunately for her, Chen Xuan ignored her.

He sat down several feet away, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Yin-Yang Technique. At the same time, a portion of his consciousness remained connected to the zombie through the Death-Binding Ring.

He wished to use this time to grow familiar with its power.

Yet peace proved difficult to maintain.

Every few moments, an irritating voice sounded from nearby.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me? If you wanted me dead, you should’ve already killed me."

"Since you saved me, you have the responsibility to keep me alive."

"Or are you busy deciding which city to massacre next? I can smell countless souls on you. Are you from the Myriad Souls Sect?"

She received no response.

Yet even as minutes passed under such a phenomenon, she showed no signs of stopping.

Rather than discouraging her, his silence only seemed to embolden her. Eventually, Su Tianyi stood up and walked over.

She sighed.

"We’re alone in the middle of this forest, and my cultivation is completely sealed. Even if you wanted to do something inappropriate to me at the moment, I couldn’t resist."

She nudged his shoulder.

As she received no answer, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

"Could it be that you are more interested in men instead? That would explain why you didn’t react after seeing me naked—"

Halfway through these words, Chen Xuan could no longer hold back. He abruptly opened his eyes and glared at her.

"Enough," he said coldly, and his aura surged.

A wave of pressure descended upon her.

Su Tianyi had no power to resist. Her knees buckled, and she crashed to the ground.

Yet just as Chen Xuan believed that this was enough to teach her a lesson and she would finally shut up, Su Tianyi let out a cold laugh.

"Hehe. Did I strike a nerve? Maybe there’s some truth to it after all—"

Smack!

Before she could finish, Chen Xuan’s palm struck her cheek.

A sharp sting spread across her face. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

The next moment, her body shot out like a cannonball, rolling across the ground several times before coming to a stop.

"You—you actually dare to hit me?" she scowled, scrambling to her feet and charging at him.

At the moment, her strength was no different from that of an ordinary person. Yet she rushed toward a Nascent Soul cultivator without the slightest fear.

She used her hands as claws, planning to tear Chen Xuan’s face off.

But before she could succeed...

Smack!

Another slap landed on the other side of her face, sending her flying.

"You think you’re impressive just because you can bully a weak woman like me? Let me show you—"

Smack!

"Hah! Who do you think you—" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Again and again, Su Tianyi was sent tumbling through the clearing.

Red handprints gradually appeared across both cheeks as her eyes became misty with tears.

Yet she stubbornly refused to give up.

Each time she was knocked away, she climbed back to her feet and charged again, as though determined to take a back out of him.

Her provocations grew increasingly relentless in the meantime.

Chen Xuan’s expression slowly turned strange.

When Su Tianyi first started doing this, he had assumed she was deliberately provoking him in hopes that he would lose control and kill her.

Given her reckless persistence, the theory seemed reasonable.

But as time passed, he began to notice something odd.

Looking at Su Tianyi’s wobbly knees and the unusual brightness in her eyes, he strongly suspected that her motives were not as pure as he originally thought.

Especially when he stopped responding and simply stared at her, that suspicion was immediately confirmed.

"You! Why are you not hitting me?!"

Su Tianyi grabbed the front of his robes and shook them.

Her cheeks were bright red, though it was impossible to say whether his was from anger or something else.

"Hmph! Have you run out of strength?"

"I knew it. Men are all the same."

As she spoke, her face practically screaming, "I look down on you, come and hit me if you have the guts".