My Xianxia Harem Life-Chapter 168 Bachelor

Jade hesitated for a heartbeat, her fingers curling into the fabric of her robe as her thoughts raced. Was she really going to go through with this?

Her heart thudded in her chest like a warning bell—but she pushed the doubt aside. She had come this far. Turning back now would only make things worse.

She took a deep breath, gathered her resolve, and stepped forward.

One look at Riley's face told her she wasn't wrong.

He stood tall with the natural confidence of someone who knew his strength. Broad-shouldered, sharp-jawed, and impossibly handsome, Riley wasn't just a man—he was a force.

But more than his looks or presence, it was the rumors that had drawn Jade to him.

Whispers had long circulated through the sect—about his monstrous cultivation speed, his terrifying comprehension, and most of all, that he had already entered the Void Tribulation Realm.

If that was true, then Riley wasn't just powerful—he was on the cusp of godhood.

All he would have to do was say the word, and women—young, old, noble or common—would come willingly, eager to share a night with him. That was the allure of power in this world.

It bent people, especially women, like reeds in the wind.

And it wasn't just hearsay. Jade had seen the women who followed him.

Each of them was breathtakingly beautiful, but more than that, their cultivation levels were beyond anything Jade had encountered in this life.

Their strength, their auras—it was the kind that made other cultivators shrink away in awe.

If those women served Riley willingly, then maybe the rumors weren't just exaggerations. Maybe they were true.

Still, there was one way to be sure. And so, she asked.

"Elder Riley," she began, her voice steady despite the nervous flutter in her stomach. "Are you already in the Void Tribulation Realm?"

Riley turned to look at her fully. There was no change in his expression, no surprise, no hesitation. Just calm, measured certainty.

"I am," he replied simply.

Jade swallowed. That confirmed it.

Riley had no need to lie. A man like him didn't gain anything from false humility. In fact, his cultivation base would soon place him in a realm where influence and status came as naturally as breathing.

He would get everything he wanted—resources, respect… and people.

"I see," Jade said softly, lowering her gaze for a moment. "Then… I wanted to ask if you could help me."

Riley raised an eyebrow, mildly curious. "Help you with what?"

Jade met his eyes again. "I've been stuck. At the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. I've done everything—cultivation pills, spiritual herbs, long meditation—but I can't seem to break through. No matter what I try, it's like there's a wall I can't cross."

Her voice didn't waver, but Riley could hear the frustration beneath it. This wasn't a made-up excuse. She was telling the truth.

"That's strange," he said, eyes narrowing slightly. "With your talent, you should have reached the Golden Core Realm by now. Something's holding you back. Tell me more."

"Thank you, Elder Riley." She gave a small bow before continuing. "It started a few years ago. Every time I try to cultivate, I feel this intense pain in my chest. Like something's being blocked or torn. I can't explain it. I've seen physicians, healers… but no one can find the source."

She hesitated, then added, "It's hard to explain. Maybe it'll be clearer if I show you."

Without waiting for permission, Jade walked over to the edge of the bed in the room, her steps slow and deliberate. Riley followed, curiosity piqued. There was something more to this—something she wasn't saying outright.

But what happened next still caught him by surprise.

Jade sat down on the bed, facing him, then slowly began to loosen the front of her robe.

"I thought… maybe if you saw the area where the pain flares up," she said, her voice quieter now, "you might be able to sense something that others couldn't."

Her robe slipped slightly off one shoulder, exposing a hint of pale, flawless skin. Her hand lingered near the sash at her waist, hesitant, waiting—perhaps for a reaction, or maybe for a word of consent.

Riley's gaze remained steady, unreadable. His years of cultivation had taught him discipline, patience, and restraint. But even so, Jade could feel the shift in the air between them—an almost imperceptible change.

Whether he would touch her, help her, or both—only time would tell.

The robes slipped from Jade's shoulders and pooled at her waist like water spilling from a tipped vessel. In that quiet moment, time seemed to hold its breath.

Riley's eyes traced the contours of her form—smooth, flawless skin kissed by sunlight filtering through the window, and the full, supple curves of her chest that rose and fell with each breath she took.

It was the kind of sight that could drive a man to madness. And Riley, for all his cultivation and discipline, was still a man.

Even his normally steady heart skipped a beat.

He wasn't made of stone. Especially not when the woman before him looked like a goddess carved from silk and temptation.

His fingers twitched slightly with restrained desire, and for a fleeting second, thoughts more fitting of a man in bed than a cultivator in meditation flickered across his mind.

He was about to speak—perhaps to offer a compliment, or something laced with teasing warmth or subtle hunger.

But Jade cut off any chance for that.

Without a word, she sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes. Her expression turned solemn, serious. The mood shifted like clouds parting for rain. She wasn't trying to tempt him—at least not entirely. She was here for help.

Riley swallowed whatever words he'd been about to say and stepped back, refocusing his mind.

Ding!

A soft, bell-like hum rang in the air as spiritual essence surged toward Jade. Threads of glowing energy encircled her body, spiraling like a galaxy of color and power.

The air grew denser, saturated with the sweet scent of spiritual herbs and feminine warmth.

Riley's eyes narrowed. He watched with the focus of a surgeon as the essence followed the pathways of her meridians.

At first, all was calm. The essence flowed smoothly through her arms and legs, coiling gently up her spine like ivy climbing a tree.

But then—

"Ahhhh..."

Jade gasped, her back arching slightly. The sound that left her lips wasn't soft or seductive—it was raw, filled with pain.

The energy faltered. Riley watched it twist violently as it reached her chest, right near the heart meridian. It was like watching a river slam into a boulder and burst into angry, chaotic streams.

The flow of spiritual essence scattered, turned wild, and lashed out at her insides with reckless fury.

And then he understood. The problem wasn't her talent—it was this. A blockage, a disturbance in the very center of her being. Something that couldn't be solved with pills or persistence.

Something dangerous.

She gritted her teeth and tried again.

"No," Riley muttered to himself. "Don't—"

But Jade wasn't listening. Her eyes squeezed shut with determination. Her fingers curled tightly into her knees, knuckles pale. She was a woman who had endured pain, faced hardship—and refused to bow to either. Even now, her instinct was to push forward, to fight through it.

Hak!

But pain doesn't yield to willpower alone.

Blood splattered the floor. Bright red. Alarming. Her body trembled, lips losing their color.

Riley moved instantly. His figure blurred as he stepped to the bed, the pressure of his presence erasing the spilled blood in a puff of steam. His aura alone was enough to distort the air around him.

"Stop, Jade. You're hurting yourself," he said, his voice low but firm. "You can't cultivate like this. Not in your condition."

She opened her eyes slowly, barely able to hold them open, her breathing ragged. "I… I thought I could push through. I've been trying for years. If I stop now, I…"

"You'll destroy your foundation," Riley interrupted, kneeling beside her. "Or worse—your life."

She flinched at the final word, but didn't protest. Not this time.

"Let me help you," Riley said again, his voice softer now. "You came to me for a reason, didn't you? So let me do what I'm good at."

A pause. Then, with visible effort, Jade gave a tiny nod.

Riley raised his hand and let a soft golden light blossom from his palm. His fingers hovered just above her chest, careful not to touch yet, feeling out the subtle energy fluctuations within her body.

His brows furrowed.

There it was again—that chaotic twist near the heart. A tangle of spiritual backlash, like knotted silk threads refusing to be unraveled.

"I'll need to examine the area more closely," he said, looking into her eyes. "I won't go too far unless you allow it. But this... it won't be easy."

Jade swallowed hard. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "I trust you, Elder Riley."

And that was all he needed to hear.

He placed both hands gently on her shoulders, channeling his spiritual sense deeper into her body. The bed creaked slightly beneath their weight, but neither of them noticed.

The air grew warmer, charged with tension—both from the treatment and from something far less clinical lingering between them.

Riley exhaled slowly. "Let's begin."