Chapter 2375: The Aloof Sword Cultivator and His Natal Sword Spirit 19

Deep within Seclusion Cliff, the stone gate shut out the sun and moon.

Xie Qingmo sat cross-legged on the Cold Jade Platform, spiritual energy surging around him like boiling.

The barrier of the Golden Core stage was like a red-hot branding iron laid across his meridians, each impact bringing tearing agony.

Spiritual Power rampaged wildly inside his body, at times like scorching magma, burning his five viscera and six bowels.

At times it was like a reverse flow of freezing ice, immobilizing his limbs and bones.

His mind teetered on the brink amidst the extreme pain and raging surge of power; his consciousness was like a lone boat in a storm, on the verge of capsizing.

"Ugh..." a suppressed groan escaped from between his clenched teeth.

Xie Qingmo opened his eyes; his usually clear and cold pupils were now filled with chaotic bloodshot veins, veins bulging at his temples, sweat soaking through his white inner robe, clinging tightly to his scorching skin.

An indescribable heat burst from deep within his dantian, instantly sweeping over his whole body, as if every inch of flesh and blood were burning.

Even someone as composed as Xie Qingmo could hardly bear it now.

Unable to remain seated, he staggered to his feet, relying on the last thread of clarity, and stumbled toward the ice spring in the corner of his cave dwelling, drawn from the cold vein at the mountain's peak.

The icy spring water carried a bone‑piercing chill, yet it attracted him, who was nearly overwhelmed, like sweet rain.

Splash.

The bone‑piercing chill instantly enveloped his whole body, making Xie Qingmo shudder all over.

Yet the deep‑seated heat did not subside; ice and fire waged a frenzied battle inside him, causing him to painfully curl up, his fair skin taking on a shocking flush as it soaked in the spring water.

His consciousness blurred in the extreme torment.

Jin Chen, who had been sleeping deeply in the sword, sensed it and appeared in an instant.

"Xie Qingmo?"

Xie Qingmo instinctively sank deeper into the water, leaving only his slightly parted lips struggling to breathe at the surface, each exhalation scorching hot.

Just as his consciousness was about to be consumed by the burning, a cool embrace pressed against his back.

Jin Chen had already appeared in the icy spring water at some point.

His dark robes spread and floated in the water like black lotuses, layer upon layer, obscuring what lay beneath.

He wrapped his arms around Xie Qingmo's scorching waist from behind, firmly imprisoning him against his own cool chest.

"Xie Qingmo." Jin Chen's voice rang in Xie Qingmo's dazed, burning ears. "What's wrong?"

"... So hot, Jin Chen, I'm so hot."

The sudden chill enveloping his whole body was like a spring in the desert, instantly soothing the most violent heat.

Xie Qingmo, like a dying fish that had found water, let out a satisfied yet painful sigh; his body lost all strength to resist, and he instinctively sank deeper into the cool embrace behind him, pressing his scorching back tightly against Jin Chen's cool chest to draw in the chill.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you."

Xie Qingmo tilted his head slightly; wet strands of hair clung to his flushed neck, his voice fragmented and dazed from the burn, like sleep‑talking.

"Why… are you so cold?"

Jin Chen's breath hitched slightly.

He lowered his head, his lips lightly brushing Xie Qingmo's scorching ear, feeling the faint tremor.

The hand around his waist did not loosen; the other hand slipped quietly into the water, tracing upward along Xie Qingmo's tense waistline, fingertips gliding over the slight undulation of the spinal hollow caused by the heat.

"Xie Qingmo, hold on tighter." Jin Chen's voice dropped lower, husky and alluring, his breath blowing onto the sensitive skin behind Xie Qingmo's ear.

The extreme cold brought a hint of clarity.

In Xie Qingmo's muddled eyes, a flash of struggle and panic appeared; he instinctively lifted his weak, limp hand to push against the chest pressed against his back.

"Jin Chen…… no…… not……"

He realized the situation was extremely dangerous.

"It's too late." Jin Chen said.

He tightened his arms around the scorching body in his embrace, his long, nimble fingertips slowly hooking the already‑soaked, limp sash at Xie Qingmo's waist.

"Good……" Jin Chen's lips pressed again against the ear flushed red, "Let me help you."

The sash was gently pulled open, the smooth fabric drifting apart silently in the water.

The icy spring water instantly enveloped more of his scorching skin without hindrance, making Xie Qingmo shudder violently again.

His mind was in turmoil, his emotions tangled.

The icy spring water, his scorching body, the cool embrace at his back, and the fingertip that kindled fire all over him.

All his senses were pulled to the extreme.

The last vestige of Xie Qingmo's clarity wavered; he unconsciously tilted his head back, exposing his fragile Adam's apple, and let out a broken moan tinged with sobs.

He seemed to be trying to grasp something for support, his fingers fumbling along the edge of the cold stone wall.

Yet that wandering hand seized his wrist, which he had tried to brace against the wall, and pulled his hand away from the stone.

In Xie Qingmo's hazy vision and muddled consciousness, he felt his faintly trembling fingertips being gently enclosed.

……

Water splashed, he sank beneath the icy spring; the gentleman's defenses fell, utterly swallowed by the surging waves.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 37!】

——

Cold mountain spring water droplets slid down the hem of his soaked white robe, seeping into the bluestone at the shore and leaving dark stains.

Xie Qingmo sat with his back to the spring eye, his face bearing a pallor from the violent surge of spiritual power, which made the lingering flush at the corners of his eyes all the more conspicuous.

He lowered his eyes, allowing the person behind him to act.

Jin Chen half‑knelt behind him, lowering his head to tie the plain sash around his waist.

As he tied it, he murmured softly, "Good Xie Qingmo, don't be angry…… I really am helping you—look, aren't you feeling better now?"

The violent Spiritual Power within Xie Qingmo did indeed calm under guidance, and his late Golden Core stage became firmly stabilized.

Xie Qingmo didn't speak, his jawline tightened slightly, and the red mark on his neck that someone had deliberately sucked and bitten began to faintly heat up.

He raised a hand to rub his throbbing temple, forcibly suppressing the tumultuous complex emotions welling up in his chest.

Annoyed, helpless, but ultimately unable to really scold him.

Xie Qingmo wearily opened his mouth, "…You go back into the sword first."

"No." Jin Chen immediately refused, the hand that had fastened his belt wrapping around Xie Qingmo's waist, his chin resting on Xie Qingmo's shoulder.

"I want to stay with you."

"Jin Chen." Xie Qingmo's voice sank.

Jin Chen lifted his head, turned his face to look at Xie Qingmo's cold, hard profile, "You're angry with me."

Xie Qingmo's Adam's apple rolled once, he avoided his gaze, his voice a little dry and hoarse.

"I didn't mean for you to… help like that."

Xie Qingmo was really annoyed.

Jin Chen: "……"

He was just angry.

"I won't help, you'll burn yourself out." Jin Chen said sternly, after a cold snort full of dissatisfaction, a flash of mystic light—his figure vanished instantly, leaving only the Chen Sword lying quietly on the bluestone beside Xie Qingmo.

Xie Qingmo stared at the empty space beside him, his tense shoulders barely perceptibly slackening, he relaxed deeply and silently.

He straightened his slightly open collar, his fingertip unintentionally touching that ambiguous red mark on his neck, and his motion jerked to a halt.

Uncontrollably, chaotic images of the spring water flashed through his mind, along with the suffocating sensation of having his lips and teeth forcibly seized.

His ears instantly burned red.

Jin Chen really… was too reckless.

He forced himself to collect his thoughts, sat cross‑legged, and tried to enter a state of breath regulation.