Chapter 10:

Serpent's Kiss, Saintess Heart.

The morning sun painted the forest canopy in gold. Dew sparkled across spirit grass. Birds with qi-sensitive feathers chirped from jade-tipped branches. And nestled in the crook of Haaron's arm, Lian Rou stirred with a smile.

Not her usual smirk. Not a teasing grin.

A soft, genuine smile—her cheek against his chest, tails loosely coiled around both their bodies. Warm. Sated. Claimed.

She yawned, eyes fluttering open, voice still husky with sleep. "You didn't hold back last night…"

Haaron ran a hand through her hair. "You said you wanted to feel everything."

"You gave me more than that." Her fingers traced his bare chest, light and lingering. "You gave me a piece of you."

His hand caught her wrist. "Not a piece. Everything." His voice dropped. "You're mine, Lian. Emotionally. Spiritually. Completely."

Her breath hitched. She leaned up, brushing her lips against his neck. "Then let me show you I'm yours."

She straddled his lap, lips brushing his with teasing heat. "Or… do you not want your beast woken up yet?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You really want to poke the beast before breakfast?"

She ground her hips against him, biting her lip. "I'm starving."

He flipped her beneath him in a single fluid motion, pinning her wrists to the mossy ground. His body pressed between her legs.

"You woke it."

Her grin vanished into a gasp as he kissed her—deep, slow, and filled with possession. His mouth claimed hers while his hands traced every curve he'd memorized the night before. She whimpered when his fingers slid beneath her robe, teasing her warmth.

"I'll never share you," he murmured into her ear. "Not your moans. Not your breath. Not your heart."

"Then take it again," she whispered. "Take all of me."

They didn't rush.

This was worship.

His every movement was filled with intention—thrusts that sent pulses of spiritual energy through her meridians, hands that held her like she'd shatter, lips that kissed not just skin, but her soul.

She broke before him—again and again—crying his name as her qi danced with his. When they collapsed in a tangle of limbs and breath, her head against his chest, he kissed her temple and whispered, "Mine."

And for the first time, she said, "Yours."

At the southern stronghold of the Iron Wyrm Alliance, Gao Yun lay strapped to a spirit bed, wrapped in runes and humiliation.

"He used some kind of charm technique!" he spat. "That vixen beside him—she's no ordinary cultivator. Her illusions paralyzed my team. And then him—he just… smiled and broke me."

Elder Zhao raised an eyebrow. "You were in Mid Nascent Soul Realm, and he was…?"

"Core Formation!" Gao insisted. "But he fought like a monster! His qi was threefold—like he was drawing power from the women beside him!"

"A harem-linked cultivation system," muttered another elder. "Taboo. Dangerous."

Gao hissed. "He told me to rip my eyes out if I ever looked at her again. Then crushed me like I was a bug."

Zhao stood, face dark. "This can't go unanswered. Declare him rogue. Triple bounty if captured alive. And if not—bring his head."

Yue Shilan sat in lotus position, her eyes closed—but peace eluded her.

Her qi was unstable, because she felt it again.

Lian Rou's cries had echoed through the Sutra, vibrating into her own spiritual sea. The intimacy. The harmony. The way Haaron loved her.

And Shilan—once untouched, untouchable—shivered with need.

She pressed her hand to her chest, trembling.

I'm supposed to be above this…but she wasn't.

Every time Haaron's presence brushed her soul, her body responded. Her breath grew shallow. Her thighs pressed together. Her heart screamed his name.

I kissed him once… and I haven't stopped dreaming about it since.

She wanted him, not just his body, his gaze, his devotion, his possessiveness, and she hated that Lian Rou already had it.

A day later, Haaron stood with Lian Rou atop a broken ridge overlooking a ruined alchemical fortress. The air pulsed with toxic qi—pale green mist rolling over the hills like a creeping plague.

"Poison qi," Lian murmured. "Dense."

Haaron nodded. "Someone's still brewing." they descended.

Dozens of cultivators lay collapsed around the ruins, veins blackened, mouths foaming.

And in the center of the chaos—she stood.

A woman with venom in her blood and beauty that bit like a blade.

Torn leather clung to her shapely form, her chest rising with every controlled breath. Her lips were red as bloodroot, her eyes glowing green, hair wild and black like spilled ink.

She turned as they approached—her gaze locking with Haaron's.

Everything stopped. Their spiritual energy brushed,and she trembled. He felt it too, that instant connection. No games, just raw attraction.

She stalked toward him, past the corpses, past the poison.

"You…" she breathed. "I dreamed of your eyes."

He tilted his head. "Have we met?"

"No," she whispered, grabbing the front of his robe. "But I'm not letting you go."

She kissed him fiercely .

Her tongue forced into his mouth, hands clutching his hair, her qi wrapping around his throat like a serpent.

He responded immediately—pulling her closer, kissing her back with fire. Their lips clashed, devoured, danced.

When she finally pulled back, panting, pupils blown wide, she whispered, "Mei Lin. Rogue alchemist. Venom cultivator. Obsessed with you."

Lian Rou raised an eyebrow. "They're falling faster."

Mei Lin turned. "You must be his current woman."

Lian smirked. "One of them."

Mei Lin looked back at Haaron. "Then I'll be the one he poisons next."

Haaron just laughed. The Sutra pulsed,and a new node was born.