"Wh-what?" I was just processing the content of the window that had popped in front of my eyes before I felt the ground beneath me start to glow faintly.

GASP!

Yue's sharp intake of breath cut through the hazy afterglow like a blade, her bronze body stiffening against mine as we leaned against the ancient tree.

Her ass still clenched faintly around my spent cock, warm cum trickling out in lazy drops, but her green eyes were no longer hazy with pleasure—they were wide with alarm, darting toward the forest's edge.

"T-Tianlong... look," she whispered, her voice hoarse from moaning, one hand instinctively reaching for her bow even as her small breasts heaved with residual tremors.

I followed her gaze, pulling out of her with a wet schlorp that made her whine softly, cum leaking freely from her stretched asshole now, dripping down her toned thighs in thick, creamy trails.

But the sight ahead erased any lingering lust.

Mei staggered out from the treeline, her curvy form trembling as though every step drained the last of her strength. Her palms pressed desperately over her mouth, but scarlet streaks were already seeping from her nose and ears, running down her cheeks and staining her skin as her body convulsed with each breath.

"Hic... sob... s-sorry..." The sounds came out broken, wet, choked by both blood and tears—pitiful hiccups tangled with deep, wrenching sobs that shook her to her core. "H-husband... I... hic... I can't... sob..."

Both Yue and I turned fully, our mouths parting in shock.

"Mei—" I started, but Yue was already moving, her warrior instincts kicking in despite the awkwardness.

She winced as she straightened, cum still leaking down her thighs, and shot me a quick, hurried glance. "Tianlong... order the palace. I need... clothes. Now!"

I nodded, snapping my fingers without hesitation.

The Pleasure Palace materialized in a shimmer of golden light. Yue darted inside and I swiftly vanished, arriving, catching Mei before she could hit the ground, holding her as I said, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Before I looked toward the content of the system window that had popped a moment ago, but this time after a sound came throwing everything into chaos.

BOOM!

A massive blast shook the entire mountain range, miles of earth trembling as if the world itself had been struck.

Dust clouds billowed upward, and my eyes snapped toward the direction of the Immortal Palace—far in the distance, but close enough for the shockwave to ripple through the air like a tidal wave.

My eyes were instantly drawn to that red screen that had popped a moment ago:

[System Alert: Massive Energy Surge Detected - Immortal Sect Origin Point]

[Analysis: Draconic Spiritual Vine destabilization initiated. Estimated time to catastrophic detonation: 72 hours]

[Warning: Blast radius: 1,000 miles. Projected casualties: 15 million (including all Immortal Sect personnel)]

[Opportunity: Intervention possible. Recommend immediate action to neutralize or harness vine energy]

The crimson warning blazed across my vision like a brand, but all I could focus on was Mei's trembling form in my arms. Her usually vibrant nature affinity felt... diminished. Wrong. Like someone had drained the life from a blooming garden.

"Mei, wake up," I said urgently, shaking her gently as blood continued to seep from her nose. Her dark eyes fluttered open, unfocused and pained.

"H-husband... I... the trees... they were screaming..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the distant rumbling from the Immortal Sect's direction.

I instantly felt how her nature affinity had decreased—what should have been a vibrant, living aura around her was now barely a flicker. My enhanced senses could barely detect the qi that had once made flowers bloom with her every breath.

"System," I growled internally, "what the hell is happening to her?"

[Analysis Complete: Host's bonded partner Mei Ling expended 78% of her nature affinity to create emergency stabilization barriers around the Draconic Spiritual Vine's corruption field]

[Effect: Temporary severe depletion of elemental essence. Recovery time: 6-8 days under normal circumstances]

[Warning: Stabilization is failing. Vine corruption expanding beyond containment]

"How is this possible?" I demanded, my voice tight with barely controlled fury. "Is that vine that strong that it could drain my wife like this?"

[System Response: Anomaly detected in Draconic Spiritual Vine composition. Original spiritual essence has been corrupted by foreign demonic Qi injection. Corruption appears to be deliberate sabotage designed to accelerate destructive resonance]

My jaw clenched so hard I heard my teeth grind. The pieces clicked together with sickening clarity—the timing, the corruption, the way this disaster coincided perfectly with Lily's schemes.

"I will kill you, Lily," I snarled, rage boiling in my veins like molten qi.

That manipulative bitch had poisoned the vine, turned what should have been a gradual depletion into a weapon of mass destruction.

She was willing to murder fifteen million people just to cover her tracks and eliminate anyone who might threaten her plans.

Before I could channel my fury into something more productive, two delicate hands suddenly appeared on Mei's chest, glowing with soft pink radiance.

My eyes lifted and saw her—pink hair that seemed to catch and hold light like spun starfire, eyes the color of cherry blossoms in spring, skin that had an almost translucent quality with a gentle flutter of ethereal glow around her petite form.

She was small, maybe five feet tall, with a figure that suggested femininity without being overtly sexual—more like living artwork than flesh and blood.

A beautiful spirit.

Truly beautiful, in the way that natural wonders were beautiful—untouched by mortal desires or corruption.

"I can sense she is important to you, My Emperor," the spirit said in a voice like silver bells, soft and melodious. "Let me help."

Pink energy began flowing from her hands into Mei's chest, and I watched in amazement as color slowly returned to my wife's cheeks.

"What are you doing? Why are you—" I started, but before I could finish, a status window materialized in front of me.

[Entity Analysis Complete]

[Name: Fragment of Celestial Soul - Origin: Upper Realm]

[Classification: Purified Spirit Essence]

[Cultivation: Equivalent to Peak Nascent Soul (Specialized in Life Force Manipulation)]

[Loyalty: 100% to Host]

[Bond Status: WIFE (Automatic Recognition)]

[Special Traits: Self-Sacrificing Nature, Pure Yin Essence, Immortal Soul Fragment]

"What?" I said aloud, staring at the impossible information. "What are you even saying? How is this possible?"

But the severity of Mei's condition outweighed my curiosity about this mysterious spirit's identity.

My enhanced senses were screaming warnings—she was transmitting her actual life force into Mei, not just qi, but the fundamental energy that kept her existence stable.

I grabbed the spirit's wrist, feeling it tremble under my touch like captured moonlight. She looked back at me with those cherry blossom eyes, so pure and trusting it made my chest ache.

Maybe it was due to her nature colliding with my lust, which was already vanished due to the warning from the system, but I was thinking with clarity mixed with urgency.

"Why are you killing yourself?" I demanded, my voice rougher than I intended.

She blinked, tilting her head with innocent confusion. "But this one is important to you. I should save her, right?"

"Not at the cost of your own life!" I snapped. "Are you insane? Don't harm yourself like this!"

The spirit's expression grew thoughtful, as if she'd never considered her own existence valuable. "But I don't have any identity, so it doesn't matter. And we don't even know each other."

"That's exactly why!" I replied, exasperated by her logic. "We don't know each other, so don't sacrifice your life force for us! Aren't you a spirit? A natural spirit?"

Before she could answer, understanding dawned. Of course—the pure aura, the selfless nature, the way she seemed to exist in harmony with the world around her.

"Yes, you must be. What else could you be? How else could there be such a pure spirit existing in this corrupted world?"

I snapped my fingers, opening the Pleasure Palace around us. The familiar silk-draped chambers materialized, and I gently placed Mei on the massive bed, her breathing already steadying as the spirit's energy worked through her system.

"Keep Mei safe," I told the pink-haired spirit firmly. "I'll be back soon."

I turned toward Yue, who had emerged from the palace's changing area in fresh robes, her bronze face still flushed but alert and ready for action. She stared at the glowing woman with obvious confusion.

"Let's go now," I said urgently. The vine was going to detonate in less than three days, and I needed to understand exactly what Lily had done to it—and how to stop it.

Yue nodded without question, grabbing her bow. "Where are we heading?"

"To clean up another one of that bitch's messes," I growled, the palace collapsing back into bracelet form as we prepared to face whatever catastrophe awaited us at the Immortal Sect.

Behind us, I could only hope that the mysterious spirit would keep her word, especially given the system's confirmation for her 100% loyalty and how her presence could save Mei—and that I'd return in time to figure out why the system had labeled her as my wife when I'd never seen her before in my life.

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