Chapter 1609: Unusual Feelings! Five Months!

Xu Jingming's heart stirred, and Lin Qianxue was no less affected.

This was the first time she had such intimate contact with a member of the opposite sex.

At this moment, her entire body was pressed tightly against Xu Jingming's broad back.

Through two layers of battle attire, she could clearly feel the firm, powerful contours of his back muscles.

And his steady, forceful heartbeat.

His warm body heat seeped through the fabric, making her cheeks slightly flush.

What unsettled her most was that her chest was pressed firmly against Xu Jingming's back.

With each breath, slight friction sent waves of tingling numbness through her.

It even made her somewhat intoxicated by it.

"What's wrong with me..."

Lin Qianxue whispered inwardly, a flicker of confusion passing through her pale golden eyes.

She had cultivated since childhood, her nature cold and detached.

She felt neither aversion nor affection toward the opposite sex.

Yet strangely, this time she felt no revulsion.

Instead, she felt an inexplicable sense of safety and dependence.

Even... she secretly liked the feeling of being so closely pressed against him.

At that moment, a warm, vast life energy surged through Xu Jingming's back and into her body.

Like a warm current, it flowed into her and slowly gathered toward her Life Core.

"Mmm~"

Because the contact area had increased, the energy transmitted this time was more than several times what it had been before!

The soothing sensation of her Life Core healing made Lin Qianxue's slender frame tremble.

She involuntarily let out a soft, bone-melting moan.

The sound was tender and alluring; even she herself blushed upon hearing it.

"Senior Sister, are you alright?"

How could Xu Jingming, already in a state of surging blood and qi, withstand such a sound?

He took a deep breath, calmed himself slightly, then asked.

"N-nothing."

Lin Qianxue quickly shook her head, her exquisite face flushed crimson.

She never imagined she could make such an embarrassing sound.

Fortunately, she was on his back—he couldn't see her.

"Good. Let's go."

Xu Jingming didn't dwell on it; after stabilizing his state,

the jet-black Thunder Wings behind him suddenly flared!

Boom—

Thunder cracked, and his entire body became a black lightning bolt tearing through the sky.

He shot toward the direction of the Starfall Divine Palace.

Although he carried someone on his back, it had no effect whatsoever on his flight efficiency.

The only drawback was he could no longer bend over freely.

After all, his back was pressed tightly against his senior sister's soft body.

The slight jolts and unavoidable friction during flight

periodically caused his blood and qi to surge.

But these were secondary concerns.

What truly excited him was the assistance of the Haili Insect Clan.

Five thousand insectoid creatures could easily locate nearby Starfall Beasts.

Although it required detours to hunt them down, it still caused his source-point harvest efficiency to skyrocket.

Thus, he carried Lin Qianxue on his back,

rushing toward the Starfall Divine Palace while killing as many alien races and Starfall Beasts as possible.

Five months passed in the blink of an eye.

At the edge of the Starfall Continent,

on a vast, boundless plain stood a divine palace too magnificent to be described in words.

The palace was entirely constructed from a silvery-gray material that was neither jade nor anything else.

It soared tens of thousands of meters high, as if connecting heaven and earth.

The palace walls shimmered with starlike radiance.

Countless ancient, intricate runes flickered in and out of view, exuding an supreme aura.

Merely gazing at it from afar made one's soul tremble, evoking a sense of insignificance like an ant.

This was the core treasure of the Starfall Secret Realm.

The Starfall Divine Palace!

At this moment,

on the vast plain before the palace, warriors from all races had gathered.

Humans, Beast Tribes, Demon Clan, Insect Clan, Mechanical Clan...

Everyone occupied different areas, clearly divided.

All maintained restraint, with no conflicts arising.

The Starfall Divine Palace has not yet opened; fighting now would be meaningless.

"Lin Yin, how come we Demon Clan have so few people left?!"

In the Demon Clan gathering zone, a demon with four wings sprouting from his back.

A terrifying demon, four meters tall, lowered his voice in rage, his crimson eyes fixed on the tall, purple-haired figure ahead.

He was one of the strongest among the Demon Clan entering the secret realm this time—Xue Yi.

There's nothing we can do; our Demon Clan is simply too few!

Other clans, now arrived near the Divine Palace, have as few as forty or fifty.

Some have nearly a hundred!

Only our Demon Clan has fewer than twenty!

"I don't know."

Lin Yin faced away from him, her voice cold as ice, too lazy to even turn her head.

She flew at full speed, arriving at the Starfall Divine Palace before Xu Jingming.

"You don't know?!"

Xue Yi's anger surged, his demonic aura churning:

"Five months ago,

you used your demonic seal to summon them!

Now our numbers are so low—and you say you don't know?"

"I summoned them and let them go; how was I supposed to know where they went?"

A flicker of impatience surfaced in Lin Yin's violet eyes.

To die at the Master's hands is their honor!

How dare this fool question me?

"You—!"

Xue Yi spread his four wings in fury, yet ultimately did not strike.

Lin Yin's strength rivals his own, and she is the Demon King's daughter, of noble status.

There are still members of other clans present; if I truly break with her, I gain nothing.

On the human side:

Luo Si and Yin Hongyu of the Godslayer Martial Temple.

And Brodie, along with other powerful special lifeforms, have already arrived.

Kela of the Winged Race stood quietly at the edge of the crowd, her six wings gently folded, expression calm.

Dengken scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of Xu Jingming.

He couldn't help but find it strange.

"Weird, why hasn't Brother Xu arrived yet?

With his strength, he shouldn't be this late..."

Just then—

Boom-crack!

At the horizon's end,

a jet-black Lei Guang tore through the sky, hurtling toward them at terrifying speed!

Where the Lei Guang passed, clouds shattered, and space subtly warped!

"This aura—so strong!"

"Which clan's powerhouse is this?"

"Hah! Our Demon Clan controls lightning—this must be one of ours!"

"..."

In an instant, all the powerhouse figures from the various clans turned their gazes toward it.

Merely the fact that the Lei Guang blocked spiritual detection proved the arrival was unquestionably a powerhouse!

Swish!

The Lei Guang shot across the plaza in an instant, then slowed and descended.

The jet-black lightning receded, revealing a tall, upright figure.

And on his back, he carried a stunningly beautiful woman!

The woman's black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her features cold and exquisitely exquisite.

Her straight, slender jade legs were tightly cradled by large hands, her entire body pressed intimately against the man's back.

It was Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue!

"What the hell?! It's Brother Xu!"

On the human side, Dengken's jaw nearly dropped, his eyes bulging like copper bells:

"They really are a couple!

Carrying her like that in broad daylight? That's too intense!"

"Tch, that woman Lin Qianxue.

Says she doesn't care, yet after just over half a year apart, she's already clinging to Xu Jingming!"

Nearby, Yin Hongyu let out a soft huff, her heart filled with envy.

Xu Jingming ignored the varied glances around him and landed slowly.

Lin Qianxue also released her legs at the right moment and leapt down lightly.

Only a faint, barely noticeable blush remained on her pale cheeks.

"Finally arrived—Starfall Divine Palace!"

Xu Jingming looked up at the vast, endless silver-gray divine palace and exhaled deeply.

Over these five months, he had traveled billions of miles to hunt Starfall Beasts.

Though he had wasted considerable time, the rewards were terrifying!

Just five days ago, he had gathered exactly 120 billion Source Points.

He directly upgraded the Source Core Secret Scripture to To Third Layer!

His Life Gene Multiplier surged from 745x to 965x!

He was now only 59x away from the cosmic-class perfect 1024x!

The explosive growth in Life Gene Multiplier brought a complete transformation.

Strength, speed, defense, soul intensity, primordial affinity...

Each attribute underwent a leap-like enhancement.

Though he had not yet tested it in the Virtual Universe,

Xu Jingming was confident that his current baseline combat power could sweep away all Fifth-Stage Immortal Gods!

If he unleashed his full power, he would even dare challenge a Sixth-Stage Immortal God!

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Xu Jingming's gaze shifted to a figure among the human team.

It was a winged woman with six wings.

Tall and graceful, with a holy aura—she was Kela, who had stabbed him in the back!

Xu Jingming's eyes slowly narrowed.

She still wasn't dead.

Wasn't this just handing him a chance for revenge?