Why is there a red mark on my neck? The elder stamped it to assert his sovereignty.

"Let's give it our all!"

He gritted his teeth and stuffed a handful of Qingxin pills into his mouth, chewing them like broad beans before swallowing them.

Under the cover of night, dragging his body, which could explode at any moment, he stealthily made his way towards Ice Soul Peak.

……

Ice Soul Peak, Secret Chamber.

The temperature here is at least 30 degrees Celsius lower than outside; it's practically a natural cold storage facility.

Thick frost covered the walls, and the ancient jade bed in the middle emitted visible white steam.

Leng Yuexin had already dismissed everyone around her. She was wearing only a thin silk gauze undergarment and sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed.

Her skin was as white as snow, her black hair flowed like a waterfall, and she was so beautiful that she seemed otherworldly, yet also so cold that one wanted to wear a down jacket.

"They're here."

She slowly opened her eyes.

As soon as Mo Chengyue stepped through the door, before he could even greet the elder with "Greetings," Leng Yuexin's usually calm phoenix eyes narrowed instantly.

boom!

The pressure from the Nascent Soul stage descended without warning, pinning Mo Chengyue firmly to the spot.

"On your body..."

Leng Yuexin walked barefoot off the cold jade bed, and with each step she took, the surrounding air seemed to freeze a little more.

Until she stood in front of Mo Chengyue, she stretched out her icy fingers and grabbed his pulse.

"How could it have such a nauseating smell?"

"Fiery, domineering, unreasonable..."

A dangerous glint flashed in her beautiful eyes, as if she were scrutinizing a cat that had been stealing fish.

"It's still a woman's sword aura."

Mo Chengyue felt a chill run down his spine, as if his wrist was about to be crushed.

"Elder, please listen to my excuse... no, my explanation! This is Senior Sister's special training..."

"Shut up."

Leng Yuexin didn't want to listen at all.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator who practices ice-based techniques, and also known for her mysophobia, she simply couldn't tolerate the fact that her personal "medicine residue" was tainted with the scent of another woman.

This is anger stemming from a perceived invasion of territory.

"It's filthy."

Leng Yuexin coldly uttered three words.

The next second, a vast, ocean-like surge of Yin cold energy forcefully rushed into Mo Chengyue's body through his wrist.

Since it's dirty, let's wash it clean. Wash it using the most forceful method possible!

Holy crap!

Mo Chengyue's eyes widened, and he almost died on the spot.

If Qin Wanzhuang's sword energy was like countless red-hot needles, then Leng Yuexin's chilling aura was like pouring a ton of liquid nitrogen into him!

Two diametrically opposed forces collided within the body. There was no reconciliation; it was a clash of titans!

crackling-

Mo Chengyue felt as if his meridians had become a battlefield, with magma churning on one side and glaciers collapsing on the other.

The intense, agonizing sensation of his internal organs being torn apart and then reassembled caused him to instantly lose control of his facial expressions.

It hurts! It hurts so much it feels like my soul is leaving my body!

The cold sweat that had just appeared was frozen into ice crystals, then evaporated into white steam by the heat. I felt like a smoking, chilled hairy crab.

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

Mo Chengyue inwardly wailed. These two ladies really didn't treat him like a human being!

One wants it grilled, the other wants it chilled—are they trying to turn it into a sashimi platter?!

Just as his consciousness was about to fade, the Yin-Yang Virtue Harmony Scripture deep within his dantian, which had been feigning death, suddenly began to operate wildly, like a cat smelling blood!

hum-

A black and white Tai Chi vortex instantly took shape.

The greatest truths are the simplest; yin and yang complement each other!

"A broader perspective!"

"As long as the explosion doesn't kill you, suck it in as much as you can!"

The ruthlessness of a corporate slave kicked in. Mo Chengyue gritted his teeth and, controlling the Tai Chi vortex, charged into the chaotic battlefield.

He was like a tightrope walker, carefully guiding Leng Yuexin's chilling aura to envelop and devour the 108 blazing sun sword energies.

Even though the process was so painful that he wanted to curse, he still held fast to his clear mind.

He even had time to mentally scoff, "Without middlemen taking a cut, I'm guaranteed to win this time!"

Gradually, the battlefield subsided.

Under the "biased" pull of the Tai Chi vortex, Qin Wanzhuang's domineering sword energy was worn down and melted into the vast cold air.

The two merged, transforming into an unprecedentedly warm and gentle current.

Wherever this warm current passed, the parched blood vessels instantly regained their vitality, becoming stronger and wider than before. It flowed downwards and into the dantian.

The bottleneck that was originally stuck at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage has actually loosened!

Leng Yuexin felt this change most keenly.

She originally only wanted to forcefully drive away that annoying anger.

Unexpectedly, as the strange vortex circulated, the cold air flowing back into her body carried a trace of pure yang energy that had been tempered to the extreme.

That warm feeling... is like being tucked into a warm quilt in the dead of winter.

Leng Yuexin's previously stiff body instantly went limp, and the intense pleasure that shot straight to the top of her head made her involuntarily let out a suppressed nasal sound.

"Um……"

The murderous intent in his eyes was gone, replaced by a hazy mist.

Once you've tasted the marrow, you'll crave more. The extreme enhancement brought about by this dual cultivation is something even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't withstand.

……

That night, the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the secret chamber of Ice Soul Peak lasted for a full two hours.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Mo Chengyue lay on the cold jade bed in a U-shape, like a salted fish that had been squeezed dry.

But his eyes shone like a 100-watt light bulb.

Peak of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment!

Moreover, it's the kind of thing where you take things one step at a time and have an incredibly solid foundation!

Those 108 blazing sun sword energies not only didn't cripple him, but instead became the ultimate fuel for tempering his physical body.

Right now, he felt like a piece of steel that had been tempered and refined through countless trials. Forget Qin Wanzhuang's tree branch, he'd dare to clash it with his chest even if it were an iron sword!

"I actually managed to exploit the bug."

Mo Chengyue grinned foolishly, feeling the power within him. This wasn't suffering; it was like a rocket-like power-up!

Thank you for the gift, senior! Thank you for the generous support, rich lady!

"Have you laughed enough?"

A cool, clear voice interrupted his daydreaming.

Leng Yuexin was already dressed in white, her appearance as pure as snow, and she had returned to her aloof and unapproachable Ice Fairy form.

However, a faint blush remained on her cheeks.

She walked to Mo Chengyue's side, looking down at him. Her eyes were complex, containing disdain, satisfaction, and even a hint of...possessiveness.

Suddenly, she bent down.

Without warning, cool lips pressed against the side of Mo Chengyue's neck and sucked hard.

"Hiss—" Mo Chengyue gasped in pain.

Leng Yuexin raised her head, looking at the clear red mark with satisfaction. She stretched out her finger and gently touched it, and a chilling aura instantly seeped into her skin and lay dormant.

"This is interest."

She stood up straight, her tone indifferent.

"Stay away from those shady women from now on. If I ever smell that fiery scent again... this chill will show you what it means to be chilled to the bone."

Mo Chengyue clutched his neck, his face filled with grief and indignation.

That's my senior colleague! She really did it for work! It's so hard being a working person these days!

"Get out." Leng Yuexin flicked her sleeve, and the door swung open with a bang. "Next time, it'll be the same time. Don't keep me waiting."

……

Early morning, at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

The morning mist had not yet dissipated on the back mountain of Qingquan Peak.

Qin Wanzhuang was still dressed in a neat and smart outfit, holding a withered branch that was thicker than yesterday.

Her expression was serious, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.

One hundred and eight blazing sun sword energies—even the most talented disciples would have to go through a lot to refine them overnight.

Can that junior brother who only knows how to slack off all day handle it?

Is it really going to be useless?

Just as they were wondering whether to go to the cave to collect the corpse, a figure strolled leisurely along the path in the distance, humming a little tune as he stepped through the morning dew.

Qin Wanzhuang's pupils contracted.

Mo Chengyue!

This guy didn't look listless at all; on the contrary, he was radiant and full of energy, even wearing that tattered Taoist robe with the confidence of someone walking a runway.

Good morning, senior sister!

Mo Chengyue walked up to him, gave a loud and energetic bow, and even did two chest-expanding exercises on the spot, his joints cracking loudly.

Qin Wanzhuang was stunned. She scanned with her divine sense—

No! Not a single one!

Those 108 bone-deep sword energies vanished completely! In fact, the boy's meridians were even wider and stronger than yesterday, faintly gleaming with a jade-like luster.

This is... a minor achievement in physical cultivation?

"you……"