Over the past few days, Chi Muyao had strolled around Xi Huai's place whenever he had spare time. 

He knew, due to reading the original novel, that Xi Huai exclusively occupied a mountain, but he didn't expect said mountain to be this big. 

He travelled around the mountain with his quick movement technique, but it was hard to traverse the entire mountain in a moment. At first, he thought the mountain was only the size of a city.

Now it seemed like he had underestimated the Qing Ze Sect. As expected of the number one sect of the Demonic Faction, they were formidable.

This mountain was peculiar in that the entire thing was suspended in the air. The only way out was through a stone staircase.

Looking off the edges, the other peaks seemed to be buried in the clouds. It was like the peaks were breaking through the sky, while he resided in the Heavenly Palace.

Upstream of the cliffside waterfall, the fish swimming there seemed to have no natural predators judging by how fat they all were. They created quite a splash after leaping out of the water, sending droplets flying everywhere.

If he wanted to leave this mountain, he had to use an artefact. However, his flying artefact was too slow so he would be caught in no time.

And the flying artefact Xi Huai commissioned for him would only be done half a year later. He was actually looking forward to it already.

Thinking about it carefully, that cloud seemed to be quite suitable for escape, especially from the Qing Ze Sect. People on the ground would probably dismiss it as a cloud while it was in use. After all, this was a cloudy mountain range.

After strolling around for two days, he knew it would be quite difficult to escape from Xi Huai.

He began to study the Huanwu Jade—perhaps he could disguise himself and sneak out.

While he was sitting in the cultivation room trying to figure out how to incorporate the Huanwu Jade into his illusions, Xi Huai walked in with some more pastries.

He jumped and quickly asked, "Didn't I tell you to not come in whenever you want?"

"I knocked."

"I didn't hear it..."

"You were concentrating too hard."

Chi Muyao did have the problem of forgetting to eat or sleep when studying things. He would also often ignore knocking or other noises.

It was also due to this problem that he transmigrated.

Xi Huai picked up the Huanwu Jade he was studying to take a look. "With this kind of thing, can you He Huan Sect disciples change your appearance?"

"..." Can I talk about this with you? Am I not studying how to use this to hide from you right now?

Xi Huai set it back down after a glance. He picked up a piece of pastry and brought it to Chi Muyao's mouth. "Taste this. It's the one the Palace Master is most protective of."

He opened his mouth and took a bite, agreeing, "It's tasty." 

Xi Huai took a bite from the pastry he sampled. "It's so-so. Too sweet." 

"Um...I'm almost healed. I want to go back and plant the Yixian Grass." He quietly put the Huanwu Jade back into his Qiankun bag as he raised the matter of leaving.

He would try being polite first. What if Xi Huai was willing to let him go?

Xi Huai sat directly on the table and continued to eat pastries. "You should cultivate for a while before leaving. Otherwise, your cultivation will be too stagnant when you come back and your body will be easily overwhelmed."

"No need! I want to go back now."

"Then let's cultivate now. Two separate cultivation sessions will be easier to absorb." 

"N-n-no!" Chi Muyao got up quickly. "There's no day like today. I'll go back to the He Huan Sect today."

Saying that, he got up to leave. Xi Huai wrapped an arm around his waist and corralled him back into his arms.

Xi Huai looked at him and said, "Do you know about ‘Poxiao Stones’?" 

Chi Muyao's expression collapsed immediately after hearing that.

Poxiao Stones were the direct counter of Huanwu Jade.

With Poxiao Stones, any illusion combined with Huanwu Jade would be discovered.

Xi Huai smiled and continued. "When I heard you wanted to buy Huanwu Jade, I immediately bought Poxiao Stones. That's why I'm not afraid of you studying these things." 

Chi Muyao shoved Xi Huai. "You can't keep holding me like this. I want to go back to the He Huan Sect! Is this how you treat your saviour? You're repaying kindness with spite."

"I just want to help you consolidate your cultivation. Your current cultivation is too unstable to attempt breaking through to the Golden Core stage. You need to cultivate for a while. I'll let you go back and plant Yixian Grass when your cultivation is stabilised. Then after you come back I'll help you stabilise it some more. It will be better if you enter seclusion when your cultivation is at mid-Foundation Building stage. I know I can't keep you here forever because that will make you unhappy. When you're unhappy, I'm even less happy."

"No need—"

"Grandpa Jiu, let me repay my debt of gratitude."

He could feel his brain swelling up every time Xi Huai called him Grandpa Jiu. 

This won't do, this won't do...

How could someone of your stature refer to me this way?

While he was stunned, Xi Huai forcefully pulled him closer to himself until he was almost against Xi Huai's chest.

Next, Xi Huai used a kiss to send Chi Muyao's refusal back down his throat and into his stomach.

Chi Muyao tried pulling his clothes off his shoulder to get him to back off, but Xi Huai simply lifted Chi Muyao into his arms and carried him from the cultivation room into the bedroom.

He gently set Chi Muyao on the bed before leaning over...

* * *

Chi Muyao felt dizzy. 

He opened his eyes and looked around. Xi Huai was sitting by the bed, meditating. If his top wasn't bare, it would've been like nothing had happened.

The He Huan Sect's cultivation method could circulate in the body, helping the recovery. It would also prevent their bodies from breaking down due to excessive indulgence in dual cultivation.

They were like a field that simply couldn't be farmed wrong.

Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the He Huan Sect disciples were, they would still be afraid of an overly enthusiastic furnace. 

He thought that Xi Huai would let him go after doing it once, then he could leave after absorbing the essence. 

But Xi Huai didn't stop there. He said the percentage absorbed after one time was too little. It was better to absorb the results of multiple sessions.

He probably had been fucked stupid, for he actually cultivated for more than ten days with Xi Huai. If he hadn't been too tired and fallen asleep, Xi Huai wouldn't have let him go.

Xi Huai was truly the number one villain in the book.

The Hui Dragon Flames in his body could provide him with a continuous stream of strength. His kidneys were different from ordinary people. Why else would his endurance be so good?

Xi Huai had completely sated his cravings. There was no part of Chi Muyao's body left untouched now.

Chi Muyao rolled over and propped himself up on an elbow, wanting to meditate and absorb the essence. After he got up, he found that he only had the top part of the He Huan Sect's uniform on. Meditating like this was really somewhat...indecent.

He quickly tidied himself up and looked around for the rest of his clothes. "Xi Huai, where are my pants?"

"In the cave residence." Xi Huai opened his eyes and answered.

He approached Xi Huai and searched inside his Myriad Treasure Bell to no avail. So he got off the bed, tying his belt while looking around. There was still no sign of his pants. 

Xi Huai followed behind him. A smile appeared on his face as he watched Chi Muyao rifling around.

In the later stages of cave life, Chi Muyao basically gave up on wearing pants. He went about his day with only the top half of his sect uniform. When Xi Huai's spiritual energy had been sealed and he couldn't see Chi Muyao, he had fantasized about it many times. Now he could finally look his fill.

The He Huan Sect's light pink long shirt would flutter as he walked. You could vaguely see at times two pale legs peeking out beneath, along with slender ankles and bare feet. It actually looked rather harmonious.

Perhaps due to the movement technique honed by the He Huan Sect for many years, Chi Muyao's steps were light and silent. Especially when he walked fast.

Three thousand strands of blue-black silk scattered onto his shoulders like a waterfall. The peach blossom mask obscured half his face, paired with a pink shirt and snow-white long legs… 

Xi Huai savoured this picture for a long time.

When he saw Chi Muyao find his pants under the futon, he was almost disappointed for a moment.

Chi Muyao quickly dressed himself. Afraid Xi Huai would carry him off to cultivate again, he hurried to the cultivation room and sat cross legged on the lotus seat made from Spirit Assembling Jade. His hands were on his knees as he made the lotus hand sign.

He had absorbed quite a bit of essence from Xi Huai these days. It would take a while to process all of it.

Cultivating this time was not the same as in the cave.

In the cave, Xi Huai's spiritual energy had been sealed. He could only absorb a portion of his spiritual energy, even using the absorption method of the He Huan Sect. 

The situation was completely different now. Not only was Xi Huai's cultivation no longer sealed, he had reached the Golden Core stage.

In addition to the abundance of spiritual energy in the cave residence, there was also the help of Spirit Assembling Jade and other artefacts. All in all, Chi Muyao's cultivation advanced quite a bit.

He had lost track of time by the time he opened his eyes again.

It had been more than two years since he left the He Huan Sect. His previous advancements in cultivation and the consolidation this time meant his cultivation had finally reached mid-Foundation Building stage.

This gave him some joy. After all, reaching this stage with his mediocre aptitude was already like a dream.

He never thought he could actually do it.

Although the process was somewhat...indescribable.

Xi Huai seemed to have been paying attention to his side with his divine sense, for he came strolling in as soon as Chi Muyao concluded his meditation and sat by his side. Pulling his hand over, he slowly delivered spiritual energy into his body to help Chi Muyao consolidate his cultivation.

After advancing a stage successfully, if there was someone with higher cultivation around who could help him consolidate his cultivation, he could make more gains and advance a bit further.

After Chi Muyao's cultivation was completely stabilised, Xi Huai let go and said, "You rest in the room for a while. I'll get you something to eat. What do you want?"

"I want to go back—"

"En, en. I know you want to go plant Yixian Grass. I'll give you a flying artefact tomorrow and you can go back by yourself."

“Really?”

"Really. Like I said, I just wanted to help you consolidate your cultivation, not force you to stay."

Chi Muyao very happily ordered a few things before going to rest in the bedroom.

Xi Huai personally went to the Logistics Hall. When he brought everything back, Chi Muyao was already asleep on the bed.

Instead of disturbing Chi Muyao, he set the food aside and sat beside him, reaching out to take Chi Muyao's hand.

He had never been good-tempered, but all the gentleness in his life was given to Chi Muyao. 

To him, Chi Muyao was an existence that calmed him. When he was with Chi Muyao, his emotions would become regulated, like a little beast that had been sapped of unruliness.

Later in the evening, the candlelight swayed.

In the orange light, Chi Muyao slept very deeply. He must've been tired out from cultivating.

Xi Huai quietly activated a spell. A red line was formed from his pinky finger. It gradually elongated, tying itself to Chi Muyao's pinky after a few twists and turns.

This red line was called the Cultivation Partner Knot in the cultivation world. A cultivator could only tie themselves to one person their entire life. If the two of them break things off later, the Cultivation Partner Knot could never be tied again.

He gave the only time in his life to Chi Muyao.

There used to be a faint smile on Xi Huai's face, but it faded when he looked closer at the thread beside Chi Muyao's pinky.

The Cultivation Partner Knot didn't succeed in binding to Chi Muyao's finger. It was hovering around the digit. The end of the line near Chi Muyao was still pure white.

He looked at the red line on his finger, and then at the white line near Chi Muyao. His heart tightened a little.

If the two people's feelings were mutual, the Cultivation Partner Knot would successfully tie and both ends would be red.

However, if one party didn't like the other, the Cultivation Partner Knot's colour would gradually fade until it became white. In a way, the Cultivation Partner Knot was also an artefact that could detect feelings.

Just like now, Xi Huai could finally be sure that Chi Muyao didn't like him. If he liked him even a little bit, his end wouldn't be pure white...

The only thing he could take solace in was that Chi Muyao didn't actually hate him.

He quietly looked at the Cultivation Partner Knot, then at the sleeping Chi Muyao.

The light in his eyes dimmed and faded.

Chi Muyao slept very soundly that night.

Xi Huai remained by his side, stupefied and still. So it turned out that this 'relationship' was nothing but his wishful thinking. What he thought was heartfelt love was just a flash of his overthinking.