Chapter 797

Hu Xiaotian had already grilled that big fish; looking up, he saw Huo Shengnan walking over from the riverbank, wearing a moon‑white long robe, black hair hanging over her shoulders—she apparently hadn't had time to bind her chest, the rising and falling of her peaks fully visible to his eyes. She wasn't wearing the mask, her long eyebrows like a painting, her beautiful eyes clear and bright, charm mixed with heroism, her lotus‑out‑of‑water appearance made Hu Xiaotian stare a bit dazed.

Huo Shengnan saw this guy staring straight at her, her pretty face involuntarily flushing, she snapped: "What are you looking at? What's there to see?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Good looking, you really aren't bad."

Huo Shengnan glared at him and said, "You don't need to tell me, I already know." Noticing Hu Xiaotian still staring at her chest, she instinctively sucked in her breasts: "Look again, and I'll gouge out those thieving eyes of yours."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Just curious—before you were an airport, how did you suddenly become Mount Everest?"

"What airport? What Everest?" Huo Shengnan heard it and was completely bewildered.

Hu Xiaotian pointed at his own chest: "It used to be flat, how did it suddenly get this big…" Before he finished speaking, a white flash flickered before his eyes—it was Huo Shengnan punching him in the eyes.

Hu Xiaotian was no longer the ignorant Wu Xia A Meng; he hurriedly leaned back, not expecting Huo Shengnan's move to be a feint—she tripped his foot and knocked him to the ground. Afraid the big fish would fall, Hu Xiaotian held up the wooden stick with both hands. Huo Shengnan snatched the grilled fish in one gulp, sniffed it, and said: "Really fragrant! I didn't expect your cooking to be not bad!"

Hu Xiaotian sat up laughing: "Of course, be careful it's too delicious. Don't swallow your fingers."

Huo Shengnan tore off a piece of fish meat and stuffed it into his mouth: "I don't believe I can't shut you up." Along the way they kept trading barbs, which actually added a lot of fun; being constantly together they naturally came to understand each other quite a bit. Huo Shengnan also knew that although Hu Xiaotian's mouth was a bit poor and his gaze a bit lecherous, in principle he could restrain himself, and although he often spoke with harassing, teasing words, they didn't sound offensive—just as he often boasted, he was flirtatious but not vulgar. Huo Shengnan didn't agree verbally, but in her heart she didn't categorize him as vulgar.

After filling their stomachs, the two sat side by side by the campfire; Huo Shengnan lifted her head to gaze at the stars. Unaware, she drifted off in a daze, while Hu Xiaotian didn't disturb her, resting his hands behind his head, crossing his legs, and humming a little tune contentedly.

Huo Shengnan asked: "What are you singing?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "Pop song!"

Huo Shengnan blinked her beautiful eyes: "I know it's a tune; I'm asking what tune you're singing—the name!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "The moon represents my heart!"

"Sing it loud. It sounds pretty good to listen to."

Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and said: "You ask how deep my love for you is, how many points I love you. The deeper my love, the truer my feeling, the moon represents my heart…"

Huo Shengnan heard it and her pretty face flushed; although the song was pleasant, its words hinted at ambiguity. She bit her lip to interrupt Hu Xiaotian and gave him an eight‑character evaluation: "Lascivious lyrics, wanton words—unbearable to the ear!"

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "No taste!"

Huo Shengnan said: "Can't be bothered with you!" She lifted the tent flap and ducked inside.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Wasn't it supposed to be you on watch tonight? Am I sleeping inside?"

Huo Shengnan said: "I changed my mind."

"Then let's sleep together!"

"If you dare come in, I'll chop you!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly outside and continued singing: "A gentle kiss. It has already moved my heart, a sweet romance, making me long for now, you ask…"

Inside the tent, Huo Shengnan listened to his low, soothing voice; the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled into a smile. She had thought everything was over, but when misfortune truly arrived she realized it wasn't that bad, and in Hu Xiaotian's gentle singing she drifted off to sleep in a daze.

Hu Xiaotian sat cross‑legged outside the tent and began to cultivate the Formless Divine Skill. On this journey it had become his daily required practice. Since the fierce battle in the Hongyan Tower secret chamber against the black‑white twin corpses, where he had nearly had his internal energy sucked away by the black corpse, Hu Xiaotian truly realized that there are always greater experts beyond, and heavens beyond heaven. In this world, if he wants to survive better, he must become stronger. The black corpse's attempt to drain his internal energy failed; instead he reversed the flow and absorbed most of that energy into himself. This foreign true Qi initially clashed and struggled inside his body, making Hu Xiaotian often feel panicked and his blood surge. He tried to resolve it with the Formless Divine Skill, making it his own.

Initially Li Yuncong taught him the basic exercises of the Formless Divine Skill precisely to help him dissolve the ten years of power that Quan De'an had injected into his body; the black corpse's internal energy was obviously far thicker and stronger than that ten‑year energy, yet under the effect of the Formless Divine Skill this foreign true Qi was quickly tamed.

Starlight fell on Hu Xiaotian's ** upper body; his bronzed skin reflected a deep gleam under the starlight, the campfire in front of his body emphasized the perfect outline of his muscles, his whole appearance was like a bronze casting. His breathing was long and slow, with each inhale and exhale he expelled stale qi from his body and drew in fresh air. He could clearly hear the gurgling of the small river, the splash of water striking sand and stones raising spray, the rustle of night wind through leaves moving the grass, even the sound of small grass pushing out of the soil to the surface, and the sound of flowers quietly blossoming under the starlight.

Light also became tangible and substantial in his perception, silently seeping through his skin pores into his body, into his dantian; within the Dantian Qi Sea it was like clouds rising and rosy clouds spreading, a blazing, eye‑catching red sun rose from the qi sea, clouds and mist swirling around the red sun, spinning faster and faster, as the clouds dissipated and the mist cleared, countless stars with comet tails seemed to appear around the red sun, revolving rapidly around it; the heat generated by this caused his Dantian Qi Sea to swell rapidly.

Hu Xiaotian's abdomen bulged outward as he directed the ever‑stronger internal breath from his Dantian Qi Sea into the meridians of his ** upper body; the meridians moved forward like serpents and worms, driving his surrounding skin to undulate in waves. His muscles began to faintly tremble, moving his bones and fascia, and the joints of his whole body emitted a crackling sound like firecrackers.

Huo Shengnan was also awakened by that sound, she lifted the tent flap, only then realizing the noise came from Hu Xiaotian's body. Although she had seen him practice many times on this journey, she had never witnessed such a phenomenon; perhaps Hu Xiaotian had reached a critical breakthrough point. Huo Shengnan knew that at such a moment outsiders must not disturb, so she dared not make a sound.

Hu Xiaotian felt the red sun in his Dantian Qi Sea grow brighter, shifting from red to yellow then to white; his lower abdomen felt as if it were about to ignite. The comets orbiting the red sun shattered in the scorching heat, turning into specks of light that then condensed into a mist of light, finally vanishing into nothing. At the same time, the unbearable burning sensation in his dantian began to flow with his internal breath into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Sweat drenched his whole body; he was like being steamed through in a steamer, white mist rising from head to toe.

Huo Shengnan had never seen such a strange phenomenon; she covered her cherry lips in alarm, fearful that even a slight sound might disturb Hu Xiaotian.

Feeling as if his whole body were about to burst into flames, Hu Xiaotian opened his eyes, stood up, and strode toward the small river, taking off his clothes as he ran. Huo Shengnan had been worriedly glancing at his movements, but she never expected him to strip so quickly—in an instant he was completely naked. Although his physique was indeed fine, being bare‑bottomed was still improper. Huo Shengnan felt both shy and anxious; she knew she shouldn't look, yet she couldn't help herself. Seeing this guy naked ** rush to the riverbank, he plunged in with a splash.

Huo Shengnan gazed from afar and saw a large sheet of white steam rising where Hu Xiaotian had fallen into the water, secretly wondering if he had gone berserk from cultivation. She stood before the tent, looking out, and after waiting a while with no sign of him surfacing, she began to worry.

After hesitating a moment, she finally made up her mind and walked toward the riverbank.

By then the night wind had dispersed the steam on the river surface, the ripples where Hu Xiaotian had jumped had settled, and in the darkness the river's depths were invisible; with her eyesight she could not find any trace of Hu Xiaotian. Huo Shengnan cried out: "Hu Xiaotian! Are you alright?"

At that moment Hu Xiaotian rose from the river; the water was not deep, just reaching the base of his thighs. This fellow had just managed to smooth his internal breath, his head still a bit dazed, he answered vaguely, then he heard Huo Shengnan let out a heart‑rending scream, after which she covered her face with both hands and shouted: "Get away!"

Hu Xiaotian was startled by her reaction, only then realizing he was stark naked—what a loss, letting her see everything bare. He hurriedly covered his privates and squatted in the river water: "Hey, it's you who should be leaving!"

Huo Shengnan was so ashamed she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into; she blamed her own curiosity—if it weren't for concern she wouldn't have dared come to the river to look for him. She turned and sprinted back toward the tent. Behind her, Hu Xiaotian shouted loudly: "Hey! Trouble you to bring my clothes over!"

Under the moonlight, a black mastiff slipped through the grass, gazing into the distance at the small river; its orchid‑colored eyes burst forth with a chilling, gloomy light. Seeing the ** bodied man walk onto the riverbank and put on his clothes, the mastiff silently turned and ran northwest for more than five li, entering a pine forest. Deep in the woods, four men and one woman sat around a fire drinking wine. In the center sat a bald man with a curly beard, his brow completely bare, a pair of deep brown eyes constantly flashing a beast‑like cunning. He seized a bloody lamb's hind leg, bit into it, and swallowed it mixed with blood. The short‑haired man beside him passed the wine jug; the bald man tipped his head back and took a big gulp of strong liquor, then said grimly, "Satisfying!"

Extra chapter three! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to come.)

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