Chapter Fifty-Three: My Name is Nangong Li

When the faint light of dawn touched the dwelling of the champion of the primordial forest in Shennongjia, Xiaoli finally awoke. The moment she opened her eyes, she discovered, to her shock, that she was lying naked in someone else’s bed.

Fortunately, the turbulent demon power from before had calmed, and her strength had stabilized at level seventy-eight, the Imperial Yuan stage. Though demon power differed slightly from the Yuan energy cultivated by humans, their essence was connected. But there was no time to ponder these things now. Wrapped in the quilt, she turned to see Huafeng beside her, quietly guiding his Yuan energy in cultivation. With a hint of reproach in her tone, she said,

“Huafeng! What is going on? Can you explain to me why I’m lying in your bed—and why I’ve lost my virginity!”

Her cheeks flushed crimson, like ripe apples, the color spreading all the way to her ears. Her shy appearance was undeniably charming.

“Well, you should ask yourself, Sister Xiaoli. Rest assured, I’ll take responsibility for you. Though the whole thing is a blur to me; I barely remember anything,” Huafeng withdrew the deliberately guided circulation of Yuan energy, letting the power of the Taiji Diagram guide his inner pill through his body as he focused on answering Xiaoli’s questions, despite the awkwardness.

“You make it sound so simple! Tell me everything you know, all of it!” Xiaoli’s tone grew serious as she recalled something.

“Sister Xiaoli, don’t get agitated. Listen to me. Here’s how it happened: I was cultivating in my room when I heard you knocking at the door, saying you needed my help. When I asked, your eyes suddenly glowed with a pink light. It startled me. You told me you needed the pure Yang Yuan energy from my unique constitution to balance the extreme Yin and cold demon power in your body, and then…”

“And then, what?” Xiaoli remembered up to this point, but her memory seemed to break off afterwards.

“Then, you seemed to become a different person and took control of me. I really tried to resist! But you were so much stronger than I was. I could only feel your Imperial Yuan-level pressure. I don’t know exactly what your strength is, but it felt even superior to Senior Yinglong, whom I once met.

Under such overwhelming power, I was helpless. Gradually, your demon power took over my body, my consciousness faded, and when I awoke, things were as they are now. After recovering some Yuan energy, I hurried to the bedside to focus on cultivation. Strangely, I advanced two levels. Now I’m at level forty-eight, the Royal Yuan stage,” Huafeng said, looking utterly resigned.

“Even so, you’ve taken my virginity. According to the rules of our Heavenly Fox clan, I can only have one partner in my lifetime. Unless he dies, I must stay with him. But, for human-fox unions, the elders of the demon clan will test your strength. If you’re too weak, to prevent our offspring from being powerless, they’ll kill you without mercy!” Xiaoli confided earnestly.

“What? Kill me… outright?!” Are all demons so unreasonable? Huafeng was stunned.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Even if they notice changes in the soul crystal recording my demon power, it’ll take them at least a year to cross the barrier between the human and demon realms and find us. In that year, you must train hard with me. I promise you’ll at least reach the peak of the Royal Yuan stage. I have some rare treasures here, you can use them all! I won’t let the old, decrepit elders kill my first man with a single strike,” Xiaoli finished, suddenly noticing the scattered denim jacket, jeans, and underwear on the floor, picturing how intense last night had been.

It was a pity she had fallen asleep. Wait, why was it a pity? She’d clearly suffered a loss—her first time, gone without feeling a thing.

“Well then, close your eyes and turn away. I’ll get dressed and come find you later. The farm disciples will bring you breakfast soon, and I don’t want them seeing us like this.”

“All right, as you wish,” Huafeng said, obediently closing his eyes and turning his back to her.

Xiaoli beckoned lightly, and her clothes flew to her side. She dressed quickly, stepped off the bed, lifted the barrier, and prepared to leave, avoiding looking at Huafeng.

Hearing the sound, Huafeng opened his eyes and asked, “What’s your full name?”

“Nangong Li,” Xiaoli paused, replied, and continued on. She lived just next door and returned to her own room in a few steps.

The moment she shut the door, Xiaoli shed all pretense, lying on her bed in girlish reverie. So, this is how she left singlehood behind? Sigh! What kind of child would a human and a Heavenly Fox have? Would it resemble her more, or him? Would she get pregnant this time? Ugh… Why was her mind full of such nonsense? Xiaoli scratched her hair and pounded the bed in exasperation.

Huafeng heard some movement and, though he didn’t understand, he knew the days ahead would not be easy.

He couldn’t fathom why elders of every race loved to test people. The Farm Elder Council had tried to prevent him from passing their trial, even coercing a vice hall master to attempt his assassination. Now, it was even more direct—if he was too weak, he’d be killed on the spot! Surely the Heavenly Fox clan couldn’t be so unreasonable? Oh, Yunmeng, what should he do? With so many troubles entwined, the most urgent task was to reach the peak of the Royal Yuan stage, to prepare for the elders’ scrutiny.

Huafeng cleared his mind, opened the door, and instructed the disciples waiting for orders to send a double portion of breakfast for him. He needed to eat more to ensure he had enough energy for the challenges ahead. Even if eating more didn’t really help, it was what he believed.