Under the firelight, the palm shimmered like jade.

Jiang Ning: "..."

"Is your current power necessary?" Jiang Ning said.

"How is it not necessary!" Lin Qingyi spoke, then continued, "Now that I’m bearing the Taiyin heritage, my body is as cold as bone. Don’t believe me? Feel it."

After speaking, she grabbed Jiang Ning’s right hand with both hands.

Instantly.

Jiang Ning felt ice coldness clinging to his palm and the back of his hand.

"See? Very cold, right!" Seeing Jiang Ning’s astonished face, Lin Qingyi said.

"Wasn’t it harmonized with Yin and Yang initially?" Jiang Ning said.

"Because you’re too weak!" Lin Qingyi said.

Jiang Ning nodded, "It’s your Yang that is too weak."

Jiang Ning: "..."

"You’ve been provoking me all along!" Jiang Ning said again.

"I’m just stating facts!" Lin Qingyi immediately raised her chin, her face full of pride.

"If you keep provoking me, I won’t be polite!" Jiang Ning threatened.

"How impolite? I may not be weaker than you now!" Lin Qingyi said nonchalantly.

Then she stretched out her slender index finger toward Jiang Ning and shook it left and right.

Instantly.

Jiang Ning grabbed her shoulders.

She had become visibly thinner compared to before.

Then a twist, Lin Qingyi immediately turned in front of him.

"Slap——"

A crisp slapping sound rang out.

Lin Qingyi took two steps forward, then turned to look at Jiang Ning, covering her rear with her right hand, her brows furrowed.

"You hit me?!!"

"I reminded you!" Jiang Ning said calmly, his face serene.

Seeing Jiang Ning’s calm demeanor, Lin Qingyi ground her teeth like she was sharpening a knife.

Then she reached into her collar, then placed it on her shoulder, and pulled downwards, revealing skin under the charcoal fire casting a jade-like glow.

Thud——

As some weighty clothing fell to the floor, Jiang Ning’s gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Her entire body white as jade, no blemishes could be seen, no flaws detected.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Ning said.

"I want to prove what I said was true!" Lin Qingyi said.

With that, she stepped forward two steps, reaching out and removing Jiang Ning’s shirt.

...

That night, the bright moon was veiled by clouds, the night sky as dark as ink.

...

The next day.

Jiang Ning opened his eyes, only to find that the figure beside him had disappeared, leaving only a messy room behind.

Thinking about the night before, he couldn’t help but suspect whether it was an illusion.

Yet, the lingering fragrance left by the woman beside him told him that it wasn’t an illusion but a reality that had occurred.

"She left so quickly!" he sighed softly, already understanding the reason.

Lin Qingyi was the Princess Consort Qi.

Then, he got dressed, got out of bed, and walked to the window.

The snow in the courtyard hadn’t melted, but a row of shallow footprints extended from the door to the courtyard wall, then vanished without a trace.

He raised his head to look above.

Above the National Master Mansion, the aura of the array still cloaked the surroundings.

"She’s indeed hard to catch now!" Thoughts flashed through his mind.

He recalled how he had tossed her around last night.

Even in such a situation, Lin Qingyi could wake up and leave without him noticing, leaving only a faint fragrance in the house.

His eyes shimmered with silver, the strength and techniques Lin Qingyi demonstrated far exceeded his prior estimations.

Transforming into moonlight, ignoring the array’s methods, it was no longer in the scope of ordinary martial arts or Taoist skills.

To him, it seemed closer to the ancient legends of the Moonlight Great Thousand Escape Skill.

Inside her, that profound, cold bone-piercing power of Taiyin, though deliberately restrained, still made his Divine Soul quiver when their skin touched, and their breaths mingled.

At this moment, he gently closed his eyes, introspecting himself.

He immediately sensed his entire being flowing smoothly, clear and bright, as if both inside and out had been cleansed thoroughly.

The Divine Soul became exceptionally light, the Spirit Platform empty and clear, with no burden on his body, and the exhaustion from within completely dissipated.

"Solitary Yin cannot grow, solitary Yang cannot give birth! It seems the harmonization of Yin and Yang indeed has truth!" He gently opened his eyes, a thoughtful expression appearing.

The night of indulgence and release had removed all the accumulated negative states from these past days.

"Perhaps, this is also a solution!" He pondered suddenly.

Then he thought of Lin Qingyi.

He was no longer the rash young boy he once was, nor a headless fly.

Long ago, he had investigated all about Lin Qingyi.

The identity of Princess Consort Qi was merely the surface revelation.

In its depths, the Old Prince had taken a fancy to something Lin Qingyi possessed.

As for why she was allowed to roam freely outside all these years.

He knew it was not possible that the Old Prince had lost control over Lin Qingyi; more probable was, it was the Old Prince’s composure and confidence.

Along with his insight into the tides of fortune.

After meeting Lin Qingyi again last night, he immediately understood more.

Taiyin heritage, Moon Palace Goddess heritage.

Lin Qingyi now had already steered towards another path in destiny.

The intimacy of last night allowed him to feel some changes inside and out of Lin Qingyi.

He took a deep breath of the icy air, suppressing the cluttered thoughts in his heart.

Regardless of Lin Qingyi’s true purpose in coming here, enhancing one’s strength remains fundamental.

Only by reaching the First Grade Mixed Element Realm, becoming one’s own universe, and having the Essence, Qi, and Spirit circulate endlessly, can one have enough confidence to face unknown changes, and possibly... lend her a hand.

The two instances of intimacy had changed his attitude towards Lin Qingyi compared to before.

[Skill]: Spirit Platform Cave Illumination True Self Method (Second Limit Breaking 10227/30000)

"Time is even more pressing."

Jiang Ning glanced at his panel, then closed it.

Then he walked towards the courtyard, opened the door, the outside was cloudy.

Visibility was extremely poor.

But in the distance, the sky had already started to turn with hazy twilight.

The weather was exceptionally cold, accompanied by a chilling wind that penetrated to the bone.

Then, he cleared a space, and immediately shut his eyes.

As his thoughts flowed, he instantly arrived at his Inner Realm.

In the Inner Realm, the silver moon hung high, its clear brilliance illuminating.

A figure was sitting cross-legged beneath the moon, spine straight, starry eyes, it was a manifestation of a spiritual body.

Above the head, the phantom silver Divine Flower swayed slightly, and its scattered brilliance seemed more condensed than before, integrating with the Spirit Platform moonlight, making the entire space pristine and clear.

It appeared more real.

Simultaneously, a sun slowly rose in the east.

Sun and moon met, clearer than ever.

Then, with a flick of his thoughts, the visualization took form.

No more complicated scenes of creating heaven and earth, only self-contemplation, contemplation of the true self within.

Extreme focus and purity made his cultivation efficiency rise instantly.

Whirl, whirl, whirl——

The sound of waves of the river of time was distinctly audible, as if leading somewhere outside the Inner Realm.

Countless fragmented pure white light points, seemingly drawn by some force, advanced one after another toward him, merging into his body.

Every fusion brought a burst of cooling and fulfillment feeling from the core of life.

[Spirit Platform Cave Illumination True Self Method Experience Value +259]

[Spirit Platform Cave Illumination True Self Method Experience Value +262]

[Spirit Platform Cave Illumination True Self Method Experience Value +260]

[...]

Within the Inner Realm, unaware of the time passing.

But now, there’s no longer the previous illusory feeling, his heart stable, tranquil like a still well, quietly sensing the flow of time.

Sensing each drop of True Spirit integration, sensing the enhancement of the core, sensing the strengthening of the true self.

After a long while.

Unaware of age.

But his heart remains stable, without the slightest ripple, nor even a hint of impatience.

"Yin and Yang aiding each other does have its uses." He garnered insight silently in his heart but no longer distracted, completely immersed in this efficient and alluring state of cultivation.

In the Inner Realm, the concept of time becomes blurred. Perhaps a moment, perhaps ages. Only the steady and rapid growth of experience value, and the elevation and consolidation of the Divine Soul, become the sole markers.

Long after.

He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of weariness flashing through his eyes, returning from the Inner Realm to reality.

Though it seemed ages had passed in the Inner Realm, the external world had barely changed.

The heavens remained chaotic, the distant sky still only faintly glowing.

[Skill]: Spirit Platform Cave Illumination True Self Method (Second Limit Breaking 13167/30000)

"Gained nearly three thousand points!"

Seeing the change on the panel, his lips curved slightly upwards, then he closed the panel.