"I...."

Upon hearing such beguiling words, Wu Yu was dumbstruck.

He wanted to unleash a barrage of vulgarities piling at the back of his throat.

He had no prior relations with this 1,000-year fox demon; this was their first formal encounter. He also knew that the fox demon had planned to invade his beloved Heavenly Sword Sect together with the other groups. In a shocking turn of events, he had ended up in this palanquin hearing that her true motive was to steal his heart!

How incogitable!

Wu Yu was momentarily stunned.

Wu Yu felt his guard slipping as his emotions began to run wild. He frantically focused on Visualizing the Inner Ape, even going so far as to begin chanting the Inner Vajra Buddha Sutra in a bid to resist Ninth Spirit's fatal allure. The pain caused from reciting the Inner Vajra Buddha Sutra worked like a charm, snapping him out of his daze.

On this front, the Inner Vajra Buddha was more effective than Visualizing the Inner Ape.

Wu Yu heaved a sigh of relief knowing that he had finally found a counter to the fox demon's seduction.

Casting his eyelids open, he found himself in the Ninth Spirit's tender embrace. In truth, the Inner Vajra Buddha Sutra continued to grind away at his body, causing an immeasurable pain that he could only grit his teeth and endure.

"Wu Yu, do you fancy the way I look?" Ninth Spirit widened her large, ethereal pupils as she stared at Wu Yu, giggling. Her visage was like that of a blooming flower.

Regretfully, Wu Yu was in a world of pain as errant flashes of yellow light escaped from within his body, the shining gold characters once again surfacing on his skin.

Mustering his strength, he replied, "You are truly bewitching, but you are a thousand years my senior, please stop joking with me."

If Wu Yu did not fear for his life, he would have called her an old demon hag in a heartbeat.

And she was really an old demon hag.

"Hehe, Wu Yu is hung up about Jiu Er's age difference, but to Jiu Er, age is nothing as long as both of us love each other. Furthermore, Jiu Er's future is boundless; a thousand years counts for nothing… I am still in my youth!" Ninth Spirit coyly whined.

"I..." Wu Yu was at a loss for words.

"It would be best if you stated your true intentions. I am but a minor character, there is no way you have fallen for me. You must be seeking to use me elsewhere if I am not mistaken."

Ninth Spirit looked hurt as she bit on her ruby lips. "Jiu Er swears that she has no ulterior motives, all Jiu Er wishes is for Wu Yu to love her."

Any stranger would take pity upon seeing her wronged expression, but Wu Yu understood how terrifying she could be. The more pitiful she looked, the more he restrained himself with the Inner Vajra Buddha Sutra.

"After this is all over, Jiu Er will accompany Wu Yu to see the marvels and wonders of the boundless Dong Sheng Divine Continent. As we spend more time with each other, there will definitely be a day where Wu Yu truly falls in love with Jiu Er. At that time, Jiu Er promises to bequeath her most treasured possession to Wu Yu."

Her lackadaisical way of thinking was no different to that of a pubescent teenage girl.

"Alright then."

Wu Yu could only lower his head in acceptance. It seemed like she did not deign to speak the truth.

Since it was such, Wu Yu decided to beat her at her own game. He thought to himself, "She said earlier that she wants me to naturally fall in love with her, so I will never allow that to happen. Once she gets anxious, she will reveal her true colors."

From the Ninth Spirit's words, he could deduce that she would not let him leave.

It was possible that he would forever be imprisoned within this palanquin.

"Wu Yu, would you be willing to give Jiu Er a chance?" Ninth Spirit stared at Wu Yu with a deeply loving expression, one could not tell if she was faking it.

Realizing that he had almost been mesmerized by her eyes and fallen into her control, he responded with a tinge of anger, "Sure, I will give you a chance. Are you sure you want me to love you? If it is so, I want you to immediately cease the attack on the Bipo Mountain Range and assist my master in defeating Jiang Xie and the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts instead. If you promise me this, I will go with you willingly."

The impending disaster about to befall the Bipo Mountain Range was Wu Yu's foremost concern.

It was difficult to ascertain the Ninth Spirit's expression as she replied, "That will not be possible. I cannot mislead all the brothers and sisters that have followed me for my own personal matters. This is Jiu Er's personal code which cannot be broken for you."

Wu Yu laughed coldly. "If you destroy the Heavenly Sword Sect, you will only succeed in making me hate you. Will you be satisfied with that?"

The Ninth Spirit retreated a few steps. She finally looked like she was struggling with an inner turmoil.

"Once I am done with the Heavenly Sword Sect and we leave, you will forget about this entire situation. There will be no further discussion on this matter."

Saying thus, she shoved Wu Yu out of the room, sulking as she closed the door behind her. Wu Yu was left standing in a pile of goose down in the middle of the outer chamber.

The entire world seemed to have gone deafeningly silent.

However, Wu Yu estimated that the tripartite coalition was already en route to the Bipo Mountain Range, he just did not know their numbers.

"This is very strange."

Ever since he had entered the palanquin, everything had seemed like a dream sequence. First, he had almost succumbed to the fatal attraction of the seductive demon. Who would've thought that the Ninth Spirit would be the one stopping Wu Yu from advancing further, even telling him that her aim was to make him fall in love with her….

He was thoroughly baffled.

It seemed that the Ninth Spirit was not in a good mood and would no longer consort with him.

"Forget it, getting the Ninth Spirit to halt the assault on the Bipo Mountain Range is a lost cause. It’s better not to dwell on it."

This was unrealistic.

"At the very least, that piece of trash, Jiang Ding, is in Master's grasp."

It could be considered a significant blow to the military capabilities of the coalition.

The only thing that Wu Yu could do now was cultivate!

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the room strewn with goose feathers, jumping straight into the Inner Vajra Buddha Sutra.

This form of immortality art required a strong will and resolute spirit to successfully master. Fortunately, Wu Yu possessed both in spades, and this near death experience had only served to strengthen them.

A great number of Vajra sigils raged within his anatomy.

Wu Yu gradually forgot about the world around him as he entered the realm of cultivation. The golden characters around his body repeatedly damaged and repaired his flesh and bones.

Time flowed by.

What he did not notice was the pair of exquisite eyes watching him from the windowpane of the inner room.

"So it seems that his Pure Yang Body was not innately present, but slowly crafted from this dao technique. However, it appears that this method produces a Pure Yang Body even mightier than normal."

Wu Yu was in the dark about the Ninth Spirit's intentions.

He doubled down on cultivating. In truth, his Inner Vajra Buddha was almost two zhang tall before he had left the Heavenly Sword Sect.

After the previous fierce encounter, his mind was now firm and focused, and there was nothing between him and his training. He began to chant faster and faster as his mental endurance became stronger and stronger!

Absolute determination!

Raging persistence!

Bang, bang, bang!

Within his body, the Vajra characters hammered down like a storm, but Wu Yu resisted almost all of them.

Sometimes, during cultivation, an epiphany was critical.

But there were other times when great fortitude was paramount.

Finally, after relentless training, the Inner Vajra Buddha hidden within Wu Yu's body was now two zhang tall!

Success!

The second tier!

Bang!

The Inner Vajra Buddha materialized outside his body. The golden buddha figure was as tall as the chamber, and its majestic, imposing aura was astonishing even to the Ninth Spirit.

"How amazing..." Ninth Spirit saw that Wu Yu seemed even more dignified now.

"To gain a regular Pure Yang Body, one must first reach the level of Jindan. But with his extraordinary foundation, even at his current fourth tier of Qi Condensation, it can be estimated that he will be able to reach this goal when he is at the eighth or even seventh tier. And when the time comes..."

Ninth Spirit was eager for Wu Yu to grow even stronger.

As a matter of fact, Wu Yu had not stopped growing in the slightest.

After successfully obtaining the two-zhang-tall Inner Vajra Buddha, he fished out more Spirit Concentration Pills and began condensing qi.

As his body was now hardier and more resilient, absorbing Spirit Concentration Pills was now easier and quicker. It could be said that a large proportion of his current spiritual power came from Spirit Concentration Pills. The further forging and compacting of his spiritual power by the Great Way of Immortality Art meant that his spiritual power eclipsed that of those at his level. Otherwise, he could not always solely rely on Spirit Concentration Pills.

With the Inner Vajra Buddha at the second tier, his physical prowess now exceeded 30,000 warhorses. Based on brute force alone, Wu Yu had not seen anyone that was his equal. Even the Thunder Seabird would be quashed by Wu Yu if they were to compete with physical abilities alone.

Thus, he was able to consume the Spirit Concentration Pills as if they were peanuts.

Wu Yu's objective now was to open up the fifth spiritual source, the Sea of Breath Meridian.

The Sea of Breath Meridian, also known as the Dantian, was located three inches below the navel. This was the most important acupoint to martial cultivators, and it was said that the basis of reaching the Jindan Realm was dependent on the Sea of Breath Meridian.

The tremendous power of such a number of Spirit Concentration Pills was nothing to scoff at, but in front of the Inner Vajra Buddha, this power was easily controlled.

Without pause, Wu Yu continued refining Spirit Concentration Pills. The spiritual power within him swelled and whirled, condensing in a vortex at the meridian. With enough Spirit Concentration Pills, there was no doubt that Wu Yu would be able to condense the next spiritual source immediately and enter the fifth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm.

In terms of spiritual power, he would be on par with Su Yanli.

Time passed, and his spiritual power surged as the spiritual source neared completion.

The Ninth Spirit was closely observing everything, and her gaze towards Wu Yu became filled with a mix of wonderment and caution as time went by.

However, what she was truly thinking remained unknown.

"How unfortunate." Wu Yu had spent all the Spirit Concentration Pills he had on the Sea of Breath Meridian, but he was short of about two Spirit Concentration Pills to fully complete the fifth spiritual source. He would be able to lay down immortal roots once this was achieved.

If only he had not given Qing Mang the two Spirit Concentration Pills then...

Based on this fact, if he were to rely on regular cultivation, it would take Wu Yu roughly half a month longer to thoroughly materialize the fifth spiritual source.

And this was the critical period where he needed power the most.

Suddenly sensing a presence behind him, Wu Yu swiveled his head to find the bewitching beauty that was the Ninth Spirit standing behind him. He was caught unprepared and had not put up any defenses, causing him to momentarily lose himself to her entrancing allure.

The Ninth Spirit's hips swayed as she came closer. Wu Yu could not pry his eyes away from her captivating curves, and a burning desire to ensnare this woman within his embrace blossomed in the depths of his heart.

"What are you staring at? How loathsome!" giggled Ninth Spirit shyly. She seemed to leave something in Wu Yu's hands before departing abruptly.

Wu Yu's lustful eyes traced the outline of her svelte posterior as she disappeared into the mist of the inner room. The doors closed and locked shut behind her.

“Eh!"

As soon as the doors were closed, Wu Yu snapped out of the spell.

"That Ninth Spirit!" Wu Yu exclaimed haughtily, chiding himself for once again falling for her charms.

He was a moment away from pouncing and pinning her to the ground to be ravaged thoroughly.

There was something in his hand.

Glancing down, he saw that there were Spirit Concentration Pills.

"Use them without restraint, I have as many Spirit Concentration Pills as you could ever want."

The beguiling voice wafted out from within the room.

......