Chapter 229: Chapter 182: The Wedding Rite, The Mystic Drum’s Divine Beat

The hazy glow that had enveloped the side hall suddenly rolled back, surging to wrap around Jiang Yi.

He let out a soft hiss, feeling his body sink slightly, and quickly propped himself up on the daybed with his palms.

"Don’t make a sound!"

A soft, delicate voice sounded in Jiang Yi’s ear. It lacked its usual composure and carried a faint hint of tension.

The Tai Yin aura immediately gushed forth like a spring, completely concealing the two figures.

CREAK. The heavy doors to the side hall were pushed open, and a young woman in green robes walked in.

She glanced around and saw that the hall was empty, save for a calico cat lounging lazily on the daybed.

"Where’s Young Master Jiang... Strange, I could have sworn I heard a noise just now."

Qiao Yu mumbled to herself as she walked to the daybed and gently poked the dozing True Master Xuanmiao with her finger.

"This side hall is so chilly. You should have found a more comfortable spot, Gui’er."

"Meow..."

True Master Xuanmiao’s eyelids drooped as it wondered inwardly, ’Why is Miss Xiaoqiao here?’

’Is she going to crash Xiao Jiang and Lady Xuan’nv’s wedding night?’

All sorts of wild thoughts flashed through its mind. Its round little head turned to one side for a look, and its amber eyes instantly widened.

’Where’s Xiao Jiang?’

True Master Xuanmiao was inherently difficult to deceive with Divine Techniques. If not for Lady Xuan’nv being a True Monarch, coupled with the Tai Yin’s proficiency at concealment, it wouldn’t have been fooled in the slightest.

Now, as if waking from a dream, it instantly sensed that something was wrong.

’What is that brilliant white light? It’s like hundreds, even thousands, of luminous pearls clustered together, emitting a pure, bright radiance.’

True Master Xuanmiao’s whiskers twitched. It could faintly make out two figures pressed tightly together... ’Could it be?’

"True Master, what are you looking at?"

Qiao Yu curiously followed the cat’s gaze, but the space before her was completely empty.

"MEOW!"

True Master Xuanmiao shuddered violently.

’I can’t let Miss Xiaoqiao notice anything is amiss!’

Thinking fast, it rolled onto its back, waving its short little limbs as if coquettishly asking for a belly rub.

Qiao Yu’s attention was indeed diverted. She couldn’t resist reaching out to gently rub its belly.

"No wonder Young Master Jiang likes carrying you with him every day."

She smiled faintly and turned to sit on the daybed.

True Master Xuanmiao’s limbs instantly went rigid, its entire body tensing up.

"Are you uncomfortable, True Master? Did I rub too hard?"

Confusion flickered in Qiao Yu’s eyes.

She had taken an elixir of immortality and was born with a Spiritual ability, which was why she could see True Master Xuanmiao.

She had also learned of its origins from her older sister. It was the Spirit Pet that followed the original Shao Yang, had lived for several thousand years, and was considered a senior veteran among those at the Foundation Establishment realm.

"MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!"

True Master Xuanmiao hugged Qiao Yu’s fair wrist, nuzzling against it, then leaped off the daybed and shot out of the hall like a wisp of smoke.

"Where are you going, True Master? Are you taking me to find Young Master Jiang...?"

Qiao Yu rose to follow, but as she reached the door, she glanced back at the empty daybed.

’Young Master Jiang doesn’t seem like the type to use incense. So why do I keep smelling a fragrance like osmanthus blossoms?’

The bright moonlight poured down like quicksilver, flooding over the gray flagstones and slowly streaming through the half-open door.

The hazy glow inside the side hall wavered a few times, and the pure, elegant figure seemed to pull away and depart.

Jiang Yi felt a pang of loss, as if he’d been freed from a tight embrace. His emotions were a tangled, complex mess. He knew that if he had a continuous supply of the Tai Yin aura to nourish him, breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer and beginning to condense his Innate Qi would be a simple matter.

Relying solely on his Dao Embryo to refine the qi from the Foundation Establishment Pill was simply too slow.

After a long moment, the hazy glow finally dissipated completely.

Jiang Yi looked down to see his robes were perfectly intact, not the least bit disheveled.

Aside from a few lingering traces of frosty moisture under the daybed, there was no other sign of anything out of the ordinary.

Truly, it was like a spring dream that leaves no trace.

’Gathering the purest Yin to merge with my true Yang... It’s added a marvelous new dimension to my cultivation.’

A thought stirred in Jiang Yi’s mind. He formed a hand seal, and True Qi surged from his Inner Mansion in response, transformed by his cultivation technique into Bingding Firelight.

He gently opened his mouth and exhaled. Several clusters of bright flames leaped out, transforming in succession into fire crows, fire sparrows, a Fire Phoenix, and a Fire Jiao...

’My True Qi actually has a hint of an "animating" property now. It can change according to my will, taking on a myriad of forms.’

Jiang Yi then drew a wisp of yang-aspected Spiritual Energy from the Foundation Establishment Pill suspended high within his Inner Mansion. He switched to a different hand seal and blew out a long, thin, continuous stream of light smoke.

In an instant, as if fanned by the wind, the True Qi flared dramatically. It transformed into a fire dragon seventy or eighty feet long, which coiled within the spacious side hall.

As the clusters of bright flames flickered, they gradually manifested antlers, scales and claws, and whiskers, finally forming a majestic and enormous flame dragon.

Jiang Yi flicked his finger twice. The flame dragon’s eyes began to blaze as it shook its head and swished its tail, appearing incredibly lifelike as it leaped and soared around the hall.

’If I were in Magical Combat, I could release forty-nine Bing Fire flame dragons in a single breath. Then, I could use Ding Fire to "dot their eyes," animating them. Even a master at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer would be in for a world of hurt.’

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. The Tai Yin aura had purified his Primordial Essence and strengthened his true Yang, which in turn had unexpectedly refined his Qi Cultivation techniques and added countless new and wondrous applications.

’If I refine the Red Sky Void True Qi to the second level, with my incomparably vast reserves of True Qi, I could definitely create another "Divine Fire Clone"!’

’It would be incredibly useful, whether for blocking a death blow from a Flying Sword or for defending against a sneak attack with a Magical Artifact!’

Jiang Yi’s mind raced, coming up with all sorts of fantastic ideas. The "animating" quality he had comprehended from absorbing the Tai Yin aura was truly profound beyond words.

He waved his sleeve, extinguishing the flame dragon he had condensed from True Qi, and sighed to himself.

’If I could properly test my skills in Magical Combat against a True Inheritance disciple from an Ancestral Sect, or an heir from a Direct Lineage of the Dao Race... I’m sure it would help me take the next step.’

He finally understood why the top talents from the Ancestral Sects and Grand Sects were so fond of organizing Dharma Assemblies to clash on the same stage.

Working in isolation could, at best, raise one’s Cultivation and accumulate Merit. But Daoist Skills and Daoist Techniques could only truly be tested and honed through sparring and exchange.