Chapter 2679: Chapter 2679
"Don’t open your eyes yet. Take more time to consolidate and let your spirit rest!"
Ye Liuyun immediately sent a mental message to Liu Yunyao, urging her to stabilize her condition a while longer.
Obediently, Liu Yunyao continued meditating with her eyes closed, following his instructions.
Seeing this, Ye Liuyun couldn’t help but chuckle. "I meant for your spirit not to open the newly refined Crimson Pupils, not for your physical eyes to stay shut! You really are something else, aren’t you?"
For Ye Liuyun, separating spirit from body was effortless. But for Liu Yunyao, who had never practiced it before, the task proved difficult.
She tried opening her physical eyes, but the Crimson Pupils within her spirit reflexively followed suit. Left with no choice, she kept them closed. She wanted to ask Ye Liuyun for guidance but hesitated to speak.
"You can talk now—it won’t interfere," Ye Liuyun said, noticing her struggle and guessing her thoughts.
"But whenever I try to open my eyes, the Crimson Pupils I just refined in my spirit open as well," Liu Yunyao finally voiced her concern.
"Then practice separating the control of your spirit and body," Ye Liuyun replied, withdrawing his Golden Pupils and shifting his attention away. The refinement was complete; all that remained was consolidation. Even if Liu Yunyao accidentally opened the Crimson Pupils now, it wouldn’t cause any harm.
Liu Yunyao continued her attempts, but the moment her eyelids fluttered halfway open, a beam of crimson light shot from her consciousness—straight toward Ye Liuyun.
Only those with eyes capable of perceiving spiritual energy, like Ye Liuyun’s Golden Pupils or Liu Yunyao’s newly refined ones, could see this light.
Fortunately, the Divine Decree within Ye Liuyun’s consciousness instantly radiated a golden glow, intercepting the crimson beam.
"Ah!"
Liu Yunyao gasped in alarm, realizing the light had struck Ye Liuyun, and immediately squeezed her eyes shut again.
Her startled cry sent Hongling and the others rushing in, fearing something had gone wrong.
"Are you okay? I didn’t mean to! Are you hurt?" Liu Yunyao kept her eyes tightly shut, frozen in place as she anxiously asked Ye Liuyun.
"Honestly, you’re unbelievable!" Ye Liuyun sighed. "You really are something else. Lucky it was me—if it were anyone else, that blast would’ve shattered their soul on the spot!"
"I really didn’t mean to! I lost control just now. Are you hurt?" Liu Yunyao’s voice grew even more frantic.
Ye Liuyun waved it off. "I’m fine. If I were hurt, would I still be talking to you? Keep practicing. Don’t open your eyes until you’ve mastered controlling those crimson pupils, or you might actually kill someone next time."
"Tell your maids to step back too, so they don’t get caught in the crossfire. They were already startled when you screamed earlier."
Hongling and the others had their swords drawn, pointed at Ye Liuyun, but now they finally understood—it was the princess who had cried out during her training, not Ye Liuyun posing any threat. Slowly, they lowered their weapons.
"All of you, leave! I just refined the crimson pupils and lost control for a moment. I’m fine, don’t worry. Mr. Ye won’t harm me!" Liu Yunyao quickly reassured her attendants, dismissing them.
Once they were gone, she turned back to Ye Liuyun, concern still etched on her face. "You’re really unharmed?"
"Oh, I’m hurt alright. You obliterated one of my souls—better compensate me with ten sources of primordial energy!" he teased.
Only then did Liu Yunyao realize he was truly unscathed.
"You’re joking now? You scared me half to death earlier!" she scolded, her voice laced with relief.
"Whose fault is that? If it were anyone else, they’d be a goner after that blast of yours," Ye Liuyun said seriously.
He then offered some advice: "I suggest you practice separating control between your physical eyes and your soul gaze first. Keep the soul gaze closed for now. I’ll take you out to hunt a few beasts—get a feel for your power before trying again."
"Alright! I’ll trouble you once more then," Liu Yunyao agreed.
"No trouble at all. Just throw in one more source of primordial energy as payment!" Ye Liuyun laughed.
"How dare you ask me for the Origin Power after nearly getting me killed?" Liu Yunyao shot back at Ye Liuyun with an accusing glare.
"Wait a minute—shouldn’t you be thanking me for saving you instead of blaming me? You’re the one who lost focus and almost suffered a qi deviation! If I hadn’t intervened, your soul would’ve scattered to the winds!" Ye Liuyun crossed his arms, his voice rising in indignation.
"If you hadn’t caused trouble in the first place, why would I have needed saving?" Liu Yunyao retorted, her cheeks flushing with anger.
"Hold on, you’d better explain that accusation. How exactly did I cause trouble?" Ye Liuyun frowned, genuinely perplexed.
"You... you were peeping at me! That’s what distracted me!" The words tumbled out before she could stop them, and immediately her face burned crimson with embarrassment.
"That’s ridiculous! I was observing your consciousness sea the entire time—I never even glanced at your physical form!" Ye Liuyun’s eyes widened in protest, his honor at stake. "This is about my integrity—I won’t let that slide!"
"Well... it still felt like you were looking! I could sense it—you... you saw everything!" Liu Yunyao stammered, her voice growing smaller.
"I—" Ye Liuyun opened his mouth to argue, then paused. Realization dawned—with her current spiritual awareness, she likely couldn’t distinguish between his gaze on her consciousness versus her body.
"Enough arguing," he said decisively. "Your soul perception isn’t strong enough to tell the difference. Let me show you—pay close attention."
With that, he activated his Golden Pupils again, directing his vision toward her consciousness sea.
"There! That’s exactly what I felt before! You’re doing it again!" Liu Yunyao immediately recoiled, waving her hands frantically. "Stop looking!"
"This is me observing your soul. Nothing to do with your physical body! Here—let me prove it." Without hesitation, he shifted his Golden Pupils’ focus to her actual form.
This time, Ye Liuyun truly saw through her completely—every curve, every contour laid bare before his gaze.
Liu Yunyao stiffened as an entirely new sensation washed over her—a vulnerable, exposed feeling as if her clothes had dissolved into thin air. The difference from the earlier soul-perception was unmistakable.
"Now this is me observing your physical form. See the difference?" Ye Liuyun finally averted his eyes, letting her process the revelation.
"You’re right, it’s different!" Liu Yunyao admitted.
But then it hit her—Ye Liuyun had actually seen her naked. Her face instantly flushed crimson.
"Exactly! So don’t go accusing me. I wasn’t peeping at you before—I was watching you refine that Crimson Eye. Not the dirty thoughts you had in mind!" Ye Liuyun finally let out a sigh of relief, glad to have cleared things up.
"You... you... you really saw me just now!" Liu Yunyao stammered, her voice trembling.
"Well... I had to explain myself, didn’t I? Otherwise, you’d keep thinking I’m some kind of pervert..." Ye Liuyun tried to justify, but his words trailed off as realization dawned on him.
"Wait... I really did see her, didn’t I? Damn, what now?" He had been so focused on defending himself that it hadn’t fully registered. Normally, using his Golden Eye on others never stirred any improper thoughts—it was just routine, nothing more.
But Liu Yunyao would never see it that way. She was a princess, after all. Now that she’d been seen completely exposed, there was no easy way out of this.
