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Qin Shu tried to use her spiritual energy to slow her descent, but it was futile.

Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, quickly merging with the icy lake water.

This giant snake! What kind of grudge does it have against her to want her life like this?!

Xie Shiyuan tossed Qin Shu into the lake and didn't think much when she didn't surface for a long while.

However, after a while, he suddenly noticed the weakening aura in the lake. Something wasn't right.

Qin Shu felt her hand brush against something cold and hard. In the next moment, her slender waist was lifted up.

Using all her strength, she barely managed to open her eyes and look back, only to come face to face with the snake's head flicking its tongue. Her consciousness gave way entirely, and she fainted.

Xie Shiyuan had never imagined someone could drown. His kind was naturally drawn to water. He had learned to swim right after birth and spent much of his childhood submerged in water.

It was also the water that had allowed him to escape enemies countless times as a child.

Half of his body transformed back into human form as he used his tail to lift Qin Shu, letting the water drain from her chest.

Seeing that she still showed no response, Xie Shiyuan frowned deeper.

He was a venomous serpent, skilled in killing, not healing. This little one had a frail constitution to begin with—if she couldn't hold on...

Xie Shiyuan's expression darkened. His thin lips pressed together as he debated whether she was even worth saving.

The people who died at his hands were countless; why would he care about one more?

But as his gaze fell on the small, frail figure draped over his tail, he changed his mind.

He passed a sliver of spiritual energy into Qin Shu's body to protect her heart and carried her back to his lair, laying her on the stone bed. He then spat out a gold-green core.

If one looked closely, the core's surface bore faint cracks.

With a wave of his hand, he suspended the core above Qin Shu. Glowing with golden light, it enveloped her in a dreamlike haze.

In her daze, Qin Shu felt like she had returned to her mother's womb. Warmth surrounded her as an unknown force poured into her body, and she instinctively rolled over in comfort...

Xie Shiyuan was channeling his core's energy to smooth her spiritual flow. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he looked toward the stone bed.

There he saw his core drawn to her lips by some unknown force. Her mouth opened, and she swallowed it.

Xie Shiyuan's face darkened. He immediately gripped her neck.

Out of the goodness of his heart, he saved her life, yet she tried to devour his core! Humans truly were deceitful, even at such a young age!

In her dream, Qin Shu felt as though her neck was being strangled by an umbilical cord. It was unbearably uncomfortable, and she instinctively tried to tear away the constraint.

In her struggle, the core lodged in her throat slid down completely.

Xie Shiyuan was stunned. Though his core was damaged, it wasn't something a mere third-stage Qi Refining cultivator could swallow. The violent energy within would soon tear through her meridians and dantian...

Moving quickly, he picked her up and pressed his fingers three inches below her navel, trying to expel the core.

But after several attempts, he failed. Qin Shu suddenly coughed and opened her eyes, only to find herself suspended in the air, held by the giant snake.

When her gaze met Xie Shiyuan's, she noticed a faint trace of resentment in his eyes. His face now bore a few dark patterns that hadn't been there before.

Qin Shu struggled to get down. When Xie Shiyuan released his grip, she fell to the ground.

"You're insane! Throwing me into the cold lake! I can't swim; you nearly killed me!" Qin Shu propped herself up with her hands, barely standing as she vented her frustration.

Watching her lively demeanor, Xie Shiyuan realized all his previous fears were unfounded. His core was now nestled in her dantian.

Suppressing the urge to cut her open and retrieve his core, Xie Shiyuan said coldly, "You swallowed my core."

Qin Shu froze mid-sentence. She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What...what?" she stammered in disbelief.

Xie Shiyuan repeated, "You swallowed my core."

Suddenly, she understood the faint resentment she had seen in his expression. How could she have swallowed his core without even realizing it?

Xie Shiyuan, noticing her contemplative look, slowly continued, "I saved you, purged the fire poison from your meridians, pulled you out of the lake, and even used my core to heal you. And yet, you repaid my kindness by devouring it. Humans truly are treacherous. Since that's the case, I can't let you live."

His right hand remained behind his back as his left hand lifted into the air, conjuring a golden-green mist in his palm.

The surrounding air seemed to warp as if reality itself was fragmenting. Qin Shu's heart sank. She had no doubt that this mist could erase her existence without leaving a trace.

Sweat dripped down her forehead as her mind raced. She quickly said, "Serpent! Killing me is one thing, but don't harm your core!"

Xie Shiyuan grinned, showing his sharp, white teeth, sending chills down her spine.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll be careful."

Qin Shu paled further. Why had she swallowed his core? And why didn't she feel anything?

Hadn't he said that swallowing a beast's core would lead to death by explosion? So why...

Qin Shu panicked. Who could remain calm with a time bomb in their stomach, especially when someone else was trying to kill them?

Instinctively, she focused on the golden core in her dantian. It floated there, surrounded by her faint purple spiritual energy.

Under the spiritual energy's wash, the cracks on the core seemed to be mending. Meanwhile, her spiritual energy was depleting rapidly, and her cultivation level was on the verge of dropping.

She was stunned and looked up at Xie Shiyuan, gritting her teeth. "You beasts are the deceitful ones! You're using me to repair your core! If you want to kill me, just do it! Stop making excuses!"

Though she feared death, she knew she had to provoke him, or she'd surely die.

Xie Shiyuan frowned. "What did you say?"

Holding her chin high, Qin Shu said indignantly, "You placed your core in my dantian to use my spiritual energy for its repair! It's almost fixed now, but I can't even maintain my third-stage Qi Refining!"

Using his divine sense, Xie Shiyuan probed her condition and discovered she was indeed in poor shape. The fire poison in her meridians hadn't been fully expelled, and his core, like a bottomless pit, was greedily consuming her spiritual energy. Her recently achieved third-stage Qi Refining level was barely holding on.