A long time passed. When Luo Xiu regained consciousness and groggily opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful face hovering right in front of his own.

It was Xia Chan's face.

With her eyes closed, her long, curled eyelashes would occasionally tremble gently, like the shy antennae of an insect.

The warm, soft sensation from his lips, along with the sweet fragrance, made Luo Xiu instantly aware of his current situation. He remained silent, his eyes slowly looking downward.

As expected. Just as I thought, Xia Chan's lips are pressed against my own.

A sweet scent, like a liquid yet also like a gas, flowed into his mouth. After entering his stomach, it wandered through his meridians and nourished his limbs and bones, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

After a while, Xia Chan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Fearing she would discover he was awake, Luo Xiu hastily closed his eyes.

But she noticed anyway.

She shoved Luo Xiu away, stood up quickly, and turned to the side. Her cheeks were red as she said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I only did this to save your life and heal your wounds. It means nothing else."

Luo Xiu rubbed his still-aching chest and sat up with difficulty, only then realizing he was in the spatial interior of the Little Pouch.

"What... did you just feed me? My injuries feel much better."

Then, Little Pouch's voice echoed from The Void. "Tsk! I'm telling you, Bro, our sister-in-law truly loves you. She even gave you her Fire Dragon Blood Essence!"

Xia Chan gritted her teeth and said coldly, "No one will think you're a mute if you keep your mouth shut!"

Little Pouch quickly changed the subject. "But seriously, Bro, you're really tough. You survived the Vermilion Bird's final blow. Anyone else would have died for sure, even with the Fire Dragon Blood Essence."

Luo Xiu couldn't help but recall what happened before he lost consciousness, a surge of lingering fear washing over him. He had really thought he was going to die there.

He looked at Xia Chan gratefully. "Miss Chu, thank you."

He knew exactly how precious Fire Dragon Blood Essence was. He just never expected Xia Chan would be willing to give it to him.

Xia Chan's face was expressionless, her demeanor cool. "You saved me too. We're even."

Little Pouch laughed. "You've already kissed! You're family now, so why bother with 'yours' and 'mine'? Talking like that just creates distance, ha."

At those words, Xia Chan clenched her fists, veins popping on her forehead as she silently vowed to one day tear this detestable tower apart.

Luo Xiu rubbed his nose, chuckled awkwardly, and asked, "So, is that fire chicken dead?"

"Of course," Little Pouch said. "Dead as can be!"

"Speaking of which, we're lucky that fire chicken chose to be reborn from its ashes after you killed it the first time, Bro. Otherwise, we wouldn't have reaped such a rich harvest."

"Hehe, Bro, just look behind you."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu turned around, and his eyes lit up.

The huge corpse of the Vermilion Bird was suspended in The Void by chains of light, its severed head dangling beside it.

Little Pouch exclaimed excitedly, "Bro, how should we divide the loot? This Vermilion Bird is a treasure trove from head to toe! I can hardly wait!"

Luo Xiu took a deep breath and said, "I'll take the inner core. And if there's a Ling Bone, it's mine as well."

Then Xia Chan, who was standing to the side, spoke up. "I helped too. The Vermilion Bird Precious Blood is mine, and I want all the Vermilion Bird Feathers."

Little Pouch sounded quite dejected. "What? So I only get to eat some bird meat?"

Luo Xiu raised an eyebrow. "If you refine and absorb the Vermilion Bird Precious Meat, that doesn't sound too unfair to you, does it? Right, remember to leave me a leg. Oh, and also a rib from the Vermilion Bird."

"Whoa, Bro... do you have to be so heartless? There are only two legs, and you're taking one!"

Xia Chan asked curiously, "What do you want the Vermilion Bird rib for?"

Luo Xiu replied, "To make a fishing rod."

Xia Chan's expression turned strange. "That might be the most expensive fishing rod in the world."

"..."

Amidst the bickering, the two of them and the tower began to divide the spoils.

Naturally, the laborious task of dissection fell to Luo Xiu, the man of the group.

First, bleed the corpse while collecting the blood, then pluck the feathers, and finally, cut open its belly...

The entire process took several hours.

In the end, Luo Xiu got what he wanted: the Vermilion Bird Inner Elixir and the Vermilion Bird Spiritual Bones, plus a rib and a leg. Satisfied, he went to the topmost level of the tower's inner space to begin comprehending the piece of Vermilion Bird Spiritual Bone.

Xia Chan wasn't idle either. She must have learned some secret technique from Xue Xiao, as she managed to refine the several large barrels of Vermilion Bird Precious Blood into two Blood Elements.

"Chen Shuisheng!"

After refining the Blood Elements, Xia Chan immediately sought out Luo Xiu.

"What is it?"

Xia Chan tossed one of the Blood Elements to him. "There was more Vermilion Bird Precious Blood than I expected, so I refined two Blood Elements. Here, you take one."

Luo Xiu looked at the hot, glowing, blood-red pearl in his hand, feeling quite surprised.

A Vermilion Bird Blood Element... it's not the slightest bit inferior to the Vermilion Bird Inner Elixir. And this girl was actually willing to give it to me?

"I've already got the inner core and the Ling Bone. You should keep this Blood Element."

Hearing this, Xia Chan's eyebrows furrowed. "Just take it. A man shouldn't fuss so much."

After speaking, she turned and left, as if afraid Luo Xiu would return the Blood Element to her.

Luo Xiu sighed silently. Thinking back to how Xia Chan had used her Fire Dragon Blood Essence to heal him, he felt a pang of guilt. Not wanting to be indebted to her, he took out the Vermilion Bird Inner Elixir and tossed it to her.

"Here, take this inner core. I cultivate the Aura of the Dead, so this inner core isn't very useful to me."

"..."

「In the blink of an eye.」

Two days passed. As soon as Luo Xiu finished his closed-door cultivation, he immediately left the tower's inner space. Upon emerging, he discovered that Zhu Meique's palace was still burning—a sea of flames that resembled Hell.

Xia Chan walked up behind him and asked with concern, "How is your recovery?"

Luo Xiu smiled faintly. "Thanks to your Vermilion Bird Blood Element, I've almost fully recovered."

After absorbing the Vermilion Bird Blood Element, not only had his injuries healed and his expended Essence Blood been replenished, but the Blood Element's force had even broken through one of the Blood Ban Seals. With only six remaining, this was an unexpected gain.

And with one Blood Ban Seal lifted, Luo Xiu could now exhibit the strength of the Great Perfection of the Void Refinement Realm.

He didn't know how strong he would become if he managed to break all six remaining seals.

He studied Xia Chan and suddenly noticed something. He smiled, "It seems you've also improved considerably."

Xia Chan nodded lightly.

After absorbing the Vermilion Bird Blood Element, she had reached the Great Perfection of the Core Formation Realm, just a small step away from entering the Nascent Soul Realm. Her constitution had also been greatly strengthened.

It was just a pity there wasn't enough time. Otherwise, if she had absorbed the Vermilion Bird Inner Elixir, she might have had a chance to reach the Void Refinement Realm.

"By the way, Chen Shuisheng, did you comprehend anything from that piece of Vermilion Bird Spiritual Bone?"

Luo Xiu smiled mysteriously and didn't hide anything. "You might not believe this... I comprehended the Heavenly Vermilion Sword of Ten Thousand Prisons."

Hearing this, Xia Chan's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's an innate Divine Ability of the Vermilion Bird clan. You really... comprehended it?"

Luo Xiu smiled. "Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

Xia Chan looked at him as though he were a monster, feeling as if she were in a dream.

"Divine Skills are the key to the Great Dao. So many people spend their entire lives without obtaining a single one, yet here you are with two."

"..."

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