"Su Xuan..."

The sight of Su Xuan's actions had already frightened Qi Li, and now she completely misunderstood his intentions.

In the face of death, does he want to... embrace me? she thought. Well... I suppose an embrace is fine!

Qi Li closed her eyes and opened her arms.

Images flashed through her mind. She imagined Yan Peng and the others discovering this place, only to find her and Su Xuan locked in an embrace in death...

Oh, how embarrassing!

But Su Xuan did not embrace her. Instead, he pushed her to the ground with one hand.

Does he want to embrace on the ground? That's even more embarrassing...

Although Qi Li couldn't see her own face, it was burning hot and obviously flushed beet red.

However, the events that followed made her suddenly realize what Su Xuan was truly planning.

"Come on!" Su Xuan shouted, not at Qi Li, but at the strange butterflies as he tore off his shirt. "All of you, come at me!"

My body has been enhanced twenty times by the system. I'm far beyond ordinary people; it seems even the experts of the mountain world can't compare. If I absorb these butterflies like they're Moon Profound Stones... if it works... then this will be an immense stroke of good fortune for me! The spiritual essence in these butterflies is countless times richer than in Moon Profound Stones. Won't my cultivation soar?

TAP. TAP.

A dozen or so butterflies flapped their wings and landed on Su Xuan, immediately trying to bite down.

Su Xuan instantly began circulating his cultivation technique to absorb them.

The butterflies froze, unable to bite. They were trapped by Su Xuan's technique, unable to fly away, forced to let him absorb them as if they were Moon Profound Stones.

"It really works!"

Sensing streams of pure Spiritual Energy flooding his body, Su Xuan grew excited and laughed aloud. "Keep coming! Don't be shy! Come and bite me! I taste delicious!"

"Su Xuan..."

Qi Li finally understood his intentions, and her eyes couldn't help but redden. He was sacrificing himself to save her, throwing his own body to the wolves!

How could she ever repay him?

As if provoked by Su Xuan's taunts, the butterflies all changed direction and swarmed toward him.

TAP. TAP.

One by one, the butterflies landed on Su Xuan. In the blink of an eye, his original appearance was completely obscured. He looked like a living sculpture pieced together from butterflies.

Then, Qi Li suddenly noticed something odd.

While a massive number of butterflies continued to flock to Su Xuan, others were losing their luster, falling from his body, and crumbling into piles of fine dust on the ground.

And the aura around Su Xuan was rising at a staggering rate.

Qi Li was now certain. Su Xuan was... cultivating!

A moment later, the fluctuations of Su Xuan's cultivation suddenly shifted, as if he had entered a new realm.

"He's already reached Late Earth Profound!" Qi Li exclaimed in amazement.

At this rate, Su Xuan would soon break through the Earth Profound Realm entirely and enter the Heaven Severing Realm.

As its name implied, Heaven Severing signified having the qualifications to contend with the heavens themselves. It was the true mark of entering the inner sanctum of cultivation. There were only a handful of Heaven Severing Realm experts in the entire Floating Cloud Sect.

This hurts a bit! Su Xuan muttered inwardly, surrounded by the butterflies.

The pain wasn't from their bites. It was coming from his meridians. Too much Spiritual Energy was flooding his body, and his meridians were starting to overload.

But it didn't matter. He had to continue.

Su Xuan forcefully controlled the Spiritual Energy, continuously guiding it toward his dantian. His cultivation continued to advance by leaps and bounds. It seemed the system had already eliminated all his bottlenecks, so when the time was right, he would break through to the next realm without any impediment.

Qi Li watched from the side, completely dumbfounded. The progress Su Xuan had made in such a short time was equal to what an ordinary cultivator might struggle to achieve in several years. For someone with less talent, it might even take ten or twenty years.

Furthermore, Su Xuan hadn't consumed a single elixir; he was just absorbing the butterflies. It cost him nothing. He had turned a deadly situation to his advantage, saving her while securing immense benefits for himself.

I'm so jealous! So envious! And... I wish him all the best!

As long as there were enough butterflies here, he could become one of the undisputed prodigies of the mountain world overnight.

But the danger was ever-present, like a shadow. One moment of carelessness, and he could explode and die.

CRACKLE!

After another moment, Su Xuan could hear a violent cracking sound from his meridians. They had reached their limit. His body began to tremble, as if it could no longer hold itself up.

He was sure that if just a few hundred more butterflies came at him, he would... burst.

Qi Li noticed this as well. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but tragically, there was nothing she could do to help. Su Xuan was like a beacon in the night, attracting every single butterfly. Not one paid any attention to her.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

The butterflies seemed confused. Why couldn't they kill this human? They began to emit strange, agitated noises, redoubling their efforts to tear him apart, as if they would never stop until he was dead.

BOOM!

Just as Su Xuan himself was beginning to feel true fear, a massive bang erupted from within his body.

His aura surged, growing several times stronger. His cultivation fluctuations shot straight into the Heaven Severing Realm.

He had advanced from the Earth Profound Realm to the Heaven Severing Realm.

His physique and spiritual consciousness were greatly enhanced as a result. His meridians, which had been on the verge of tearing apart, became much tougher and more resilient, able to withstand far greater pressure from the Spiritual Energy.

Thus, Su Xuan and the butterflies began a battle of endurance.

The butterflies were single-mindedly intent on biting him to death.

Su Xuan's stance was simple: if you dare to come, I dare to absorb you.

His cultivation never stopped progressing. He quickly consolidated his position in the Early Heaven Severing Stage and began advancing toward the Mid Heaven Severing Stage.

Qi Li was already speechless. Even if Su Xuan stopped his incredible cultivation right now, he would be a major figure the moment he left this place. He would be entitled to VIP treatment at either the Floating Cloud Sect or the Spirit-Taming Sect.

As time went on, the white mist in the air gradually thinned, and the number of butterflies dwindled. Beneath Su Xuan's feet, a mountain of butterfly dust had accumulated.

Qi Li couldn't help but think that if Su Xuan had been absorbing Moon Profound Stones instead of butterflies, not even a major sect would have the resources to provide him with so many at once. A smaller sect would have undoubtedly gone bankrupt in an instant.

Whew!

After a while longer, not a single butterfly remained on Su Xuan's body.

He let out a long breath, feeling refreshed and light as a feather. He felt as if a single leap could send him soaring into the clouds. As if he had just accomplished some trivial task, he picked his clothes up from the ground, put them on, and smiled. "Good, good. At least they didn't bite through my clothes!"

"Su Xuan..."

Qi Li, who had been crouched on the ground, finally scrambled to her feet. She spread her arms and threw herself at Su Xuan, hugging him tightly. She could only repeat his name, her voice choked with sobs.

"There, there. It's all right now," Su Xuan said, patting her back and comforting her as if she were a child.

TAP... TAP...

Suddenly, the sound of scattered footsteps echoed from the coffin chamber behind the antechamber.

It seemed something else was coming.

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