Chapter 55

"Delicious……" she sighed contentedly, her eating speed

Especially the food made from ingredients they personally planted and freshly harvested, that sense of achievement and satisfaction makes even simple dishes especially precious and delicious.

"Good ingredients." Li Qingxuan watched her eat with relish, the smile at the corner of his mouth never fading, "It's all thanks to you."

Li Feifei sipped the soup in small mouthfuls while feeling her stamina and Spiritual Power slowly recover.

Although the Sea of Consciousness was not as parched as after using her ability, it was still empty, like a lake drained of water, slowly refilling by its own spring and external nourishment.

Especially the last time she used "Accelerated Growth" to cover the entire wheat field, although it felt okay at the time, the afterward feedback showed a consumption far greater than she had anticipated.

"After Spirit Enhancement, there are more places where it needs to be used." She swallowed the food in her mouth, looking uncertainly at Li Qingxuan, "Now I can tend to both the wheat and vegetable areas at the same time."

Li Qingxuan nodded, his expression turning more serious: "You can shorten the maturation period by ten days at once, cover a larger area, and naturally need more Spiritual Power. In the future you must precisely control the range—how do you feel your Spiritual Power recovery speed is now?"

Li Feifei closed her eyes and carefully sensed the state of her Sea of Consciousness; the trickle-like recovery of Spiritual Power, though slow, was indeed steadily increasing.

"It's much faster than yesterday," she said, opening her eyes with a gleam of delight, "and…… the Sea of Consciousness seems to have really become 'larger'; although it's still empty now, it feels like it can hold more 'water'."

"It seems the five Bodhi Fruits have had a very noticeable effect, not only raising your Attributes but also strengthening your Spirit Source."

A flash of appreciation crossed Li Qingxuan's eyes: "This is a fundamental enhancement, its value far surpassing mere Attribute Points. Take it slow, adapt to it, master it."

"Mm!" Li Feifei nodded firmly, her confidence returning somewhat.

She looked at the little food left on the plate, her appetite seeming to improve with her lifted spirits, and she picked up a piece of carrot and put it in her mouth.

Li Qingxuan waited until she had almost finished eating, then softly asked: "How is your body… still feeling uncomfortable?"

Li Feifei's hand holding the spoon paused, the flush that had just faded from her face creeping back up.

She lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, somewhat shyly saying: "Still… still okay… just… I feel like I have no strength…"

She felt embarrassed to mention the soreness in her private parts; the previous "intense battle" had been so immersive and self-forgetting, the excitement and joy from her ability's enhancement mixing with the immense satisfaction of the bountiful harvest, plus Li Qingxuan's irresistible dominance, causing her to lose herself completely, almost forgetting the passage of time.

Only now, looking back, did she realize how "indulgent" and absorbed she had been.

Li Qingxuan saw her drooping neck and flushed ears, naturally understanding what her "still okay" meant.

He reached out, his warm, dry palm gently covering the back of her hand resting on the blanket, slowly clasping it, silently conveying comfort and apology.

"It's my fault." His voice low, "I couldn't control myself."

Seeing her radiant and confident on the field ridges, her self-assurance shining from her newfound strength, and then later, during their intimacy, her wholehearted trust and reliance on him, his prideful self-control completely collapsed.

Li Feifei felt the warmth and strength in his palm; the shyness and complaint in her heart vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle warmth.

She returned his grip lightly with her other hand, shook her head, lifted her eyes to meet his, tears glimmering in the depths: "No… I… I…" The rest of her words were too shy to speak, but her upturned lips and the emotion in her eyes said it all.

Li Qingxuan's heart gave a jolt; her bashful yet timid, affection-filled gaze set his heart ablaze.

He took a deep breath, restraining himself, suppressing the surging urge again; the most important thing now was to let her rest properly.

He released her hand, picked up the water cup beside him and handed it to her: "Drink some water. After eating, just rest well, don't think about anything—recovery is most important."

"Mm." Li Feifei took the cup, sipping the warm water in small mouthfuls; her fatigue, nourished by the food and water, and under her lover's gentle gaze, seemed to be smoothed away bit by bit.

She watched Li Qingxuan tidy up the empty plates and take them out to wash.

"You should rest early too, Brother Qingxuan." She watched him sit back on the bedside, unable to help saying it, knowing he had surely expended considerable stamina as well.

"I'll watch you sleep." Li Qingxuan gently tucked the blanket's corner for her, "After you fall asleep, I'll go handle some matters."

The faint light of the fortress core system illuminated his sharply defined side profile, making him appear focused and reliable.

Li Feifei looked at him, her heart filled with an unprecedented sense of security and happiness.

She obediently closed her eyes, relaxed her body, and immersed herself completely in the soft bedding and the safe harbor wrapped in his aura.

Her consciousness gradually blurred, the corner of her mouth still bearing a faint smile of satisfaction and reassurance.

Inside the fortress all was tranquil, only the two of them breathing lightly, intertwined, and outside the window that patch of wheat field silently gathering strength in the stillness, waiting to be stimulated again tomorrow, vibrant with life.

The hope of the bountiful harvest and the warm current of emotion, in the core fortress of this ice-sealed world, flowed and spread silently.

After Li Feifei fell asleep, Li Qingxuan finished constructing the gate, came onto the city wall, and peered downward.

Outside the fortress, the bleak moonlight barely penetrated the thick cloud cover; the surroundings were eerily still, only the wind whimpering over the frozen ground not far away, like the whispers of departed souls.

In that lifeless silver-white expanse, the ground at the base of the city wall, deliberately cleared as a buffer zone and observation strip, showed something unusual.

Li Qingxuan's gaze instantly sharpened like a hawk's, focusing his vision to examine closely.

He saw that near the fortress's foundation, in the area of deepest shadow, the originally flat ground had at some point quietly risen into winding, knotted protrusions, like the underground veins of some colossal creature writhing beneath.

These protrusions bore an unsettling deep purple, faintly visible at the edge of the moonlight, exuding a chilling, malevolent aura.

Li Qingxuan keenly detected an extremely faint but continuous "shushing" sound.

That sound was not wind-blown snow particles; it resembled the repeated scraping and grating of a sharp hard object against the hard frozen ground, or perhaps countless fine, barbed vines silently extending, entwining, and tightening.

The sound came in fits and starts, as if from deep underground, carrying an eerie vitality, forming a stark contrast to the vibrant green world he and Feifei had jointly created beneath his feet within the fortress.

Gazing at these purplish veins that had silently emerged, exuding an ominous aura, and at the bone‑chilling grinding sound rising from the earth…

"Could this be Shadowy Thorns?" Li Qingxuan said, looking at the sight before him.

(PS: Please show your support for free; it will motivate the author to write more.)