Drinking a mouthful of wine, Zhou Yan felt as though his entire being was set ablaze. Not only did the extreme fatigue vanish, but his body seemed filled with explosive energy, and his spirit became suddenly elated. He almost couldn't resist the urge to jump into the void again to practice his Xingyi Dragon Form Swordsmanship.
This fiery energy seemed to burn with life's potential, granting unimaginable strength to those who had lost their power.
Zhou Yan didn't know what kind of wine this was, but he estimated that this wine, which continuously extracted potential, surely had significant side effects...
Perhaps only someone like his father would constantly rely on such wine to stimulate his strength and then proceed with engraving...
Taking advantage of this special energy and his now-clear mind, Zhou Yan once again used the same process to heal the woman.
This time, perhaps because he used a High Grade Spiritual Crystal, the woman's breath stabilized from a previously weak state and then gradually recovered.
Throughout this process, Zhou Yan didn't feel anything unusual himself. Initially cautious about the wine, he gradually grew accustomed after drinking five pots without any abnormalities.
Each pot of wine contained spatial characteristics, with nearly eight pounds of wine inside.
After drinking five pots in succession, Zhou Yan found himself growing fond of the intensely spicy and pungent taste of this wine.
After five pots, Zhou Yan sensed that although he remained clear-headed, his body seemed to have reached a limit. It seemed that drinking more or continuing to harness energy wouldn't lead to any good results.
With such inexplicable thoughts, he did attempt to harness energy once more. Subsequently, a feeling of blood stagnation and bodily tremors arose naturally. The previously unfelt body seemed to manifest various discordant sensations.
He then ceased his unique healing process, exhaling deeply and releasing his hands.
At this moment, the purple-clothed woman, seated in meditation, appeared much more flushed, exuding a spirited radiance, completely dispelling her earlier ashen pallor.
Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing this scene calmed him considerably, knowing this woman had apparently stabilized for the moment, allowing him some peace of mind.
As Zhou Yan pondered this, he stood up.
Suddenly, a dizzying sensation rapidly overwhelmed him. This swift impact struck him like a thunderbolt, causing him to collapse.
Falling directly forward, he landed unceremoniously on top of the purple-clothed woman.
…
"Mm—"
With a soft exclamation, a pair of slightly closed eyes struggled open. She experienced some difficulty pushing away the oppressive weight on her. However, when her hand touched the object pressing upon her, she paused slightly, and then took a closer look…
"You, you—"
Her delicate face changed drastically, and instinctively, she struck the young man lying on her, sending him flying. She didn't even check her own body as her dainty hand grasped the void. A silver longsword instantly fell into her grasp.
The silver longsword chirped happily, bouncing like a joyful child.
Meanwhile, the young man she had pushed away, twirling twice in midair, woke from what seemed like a pleasant dream. He nearly lost his balance, staggering back several steps, and looked at her with an innocent, bewildered expression.
Such a look truly angered the purple-clothed girl.
"You—you dare to insult me while I was grievously wounded. You, you scoundrel, I will kill you!"
The woman's face was exceedingly pale. Her soreness and injuries had not yet fully healed. Thus, she hadn't thoroughly understood her situation.
Holding her sword, the silver longsword, like a streak of silver light, aimed straight for Zhou Yan's neck.
This time, it seemed she genuinely intended to kill.
Zhou Yan was still somewhat baffled, unsure of what had happened. He wondered if he had unconsciously insulted this woman during a blackout, but it didn't seem so? He had no recollection?
Before he could think further, he felt the sword's light approaching. The woman's strength was formidable. Once she acted, it was like a giant mountain suddenly crashing down. That one sword move was too fast for him to react.
Zhou Yan's heart couldn't help but skip a beat, but he didn't panic. He instantly activated his Broken Worry Sword, ready to unleash the Sword Soul Illusion, hoping to stake it all.
Just at that moment, as the silver longsword approached him, it suddenly halted and emitted a soft halo, like a girl coquettishly expressing gratitude.
Zhou Yan was stunned, and the purple-clothed woman stood in shock, her eyes fixated.
"Silver Snow, you you you—"
She was dumbfounded. After saying a few words, she couldn't speak.
Her slender brows knitted slightly as if in disbelief, seemingly communicating with the sword in doubt. Subsequently, her expression became rather uncertain.
"Shameless!"
She first shouted angrily, her face reddened, then turned pale. Clearly, Zhou Yan's actions on her chest were partially 'seen' by her.
Her expression then grew complex, as if the entire series of events had unfolded before her.
Finally, her gaze turned melancholic. As she looked at Zhou Yan, her expression became difficult to decipher, filled with extreme complexity.
"This…this lovely lady, I think there's some misunderstanding between us. This time, your situation was actually quite dangerous…"
Zhou Yan offered an awkward smile. If no one knew what he had done, he could shamelessly deny that he had thoroughly fondled the other's soft chest... But that sword was quite strange, seemingly capable of recording everything. Zhou Yan couldn't be sure this was the case, but it seemed likely the woman knew.
"Did you use your Qi Column to refine Spirit Crystals to heal me?"
The woman didn't respond to Zhou Yan's words but sighed and asked.
"Uh…"
Zhou Yan hesitated slightly but didn't deny it.
"You used twenty Mid-grade Spirit Crystals and eight High Grade Spirit Crystals! And drank the 'Fiery Flame Sword Heart Wine'?"
The woman's expression turned even more complicated, looking at Zhou Yan with deep guilt in her eyes.
This gaze made Zhou Yan's heart skip, and his expression also grew heavier: "The crystals, yes, but the wine, I don't know what it was or its purpose... But after drinking it, I had the energy to refine the Top-grade Crystal Stone to heal you."
Zhou Yan spoke honestly, without ulterior motives.
Seeing the woman's expression filled him with foreboding—had he committed something horrible?
"Sigh... so it's as I thought. With your realm and capability, forcibly refining High Grade Spirit Crystals is a pain akin to soul tearing… Though you treated me disrespectfully earlier, deserving to be cut down, the pain you endured for me… even dying ten times over wouldn't make up for it.
To save me, you even destroyed your own Qi Column... I'm sorry."
This woman's sorrowful words left Zhou Yan dumbfounded—refining High Grade Spirit Crystals? Pain akin to soul tearing? How come he didn't know? Drinking Fiery Flame Sword Heart Wine, had his power been wasted away? Why did he feel like his strength was subtly approaching a breakthrough in Sword Qi Realm?
Qi Column destroyed? The Qi Column was still spinning, seemingly fortified!
Zhou Yan felt profoundly perplexed, but he didn't explain.
Then, the woman suddenly appeared beside him, startling Zhou Yan. The way she moved without a trace was virtually ghost-like!
As he thought this, the woman had already grabbed his hand. A surge of energy flowed over, and after a moment, she seemed unable to sense his internal state, her expression growing more melancholic and uncomfortable.
Such a guilt-ridden and troubled expression was truly… unsettlingly perplexing.
"Your potential, indeed… the Qi Column is also gone… I'm sorry…"
The woman bowed deeply. From her posture, Zhou Yan caught a glimpse of a faint white ravine, which sparked a vague warmth in him, though he quickly concealed it.
"It's not related to you; my situation isn't as dire as you think. Meeting you by chance, you never struck to kill, which is a mercy. And for mentioning the Bixue Palace Master, it seems you're familiar with her too.
I owe her a great debt, so helping you this time was merely a small effort on my part. I'm not as noble as you perceive me.
At a point of exhaustion, I even considered abandoning. So, there's no need for apologies."
Zhou Yan spoke earnestly.
While the lady misunderstood and felt indebted... Although such a result was quite favorable, Zhou Yan didn't want to deceive such an innocent woman excessively.
In this convoluted world, finding such a woman was rare indeed.
"You... what is your name?"
The woman sighed deeply and asked gently, her eyes holding a strange sense of hope.
"My name is Zhou Yan, and yours?" Zhou Yan looked at this beautiful, gentle woman with some inexplicable confusion yet subconsciously replied.
As he uttered these words, the woman's expression shifted dramatically, mingling emotions that could not be clearly parsed into joy, anger, melancholy, or sorrow.
"Zhou Yan… Zhou Yan… Sigh, I never thought... never expected… Perhaps from the moment with the Fiery Flame Sword Heart Wine, I should have realized… Sigh… I… I made a grave mistake…"
The woman sighed bitterly, with a wry smile and a sigh.