Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 88 - 83: Qi Cultivation Level 9

For the next few months, the Ling Family’s upper echelon focused on internal development, paying little attention to the evolving situation outside.

Because the Mu Family’s upper echelon had to keep an eye on the Ling Family’s movements, they temporarily slowed their pace of external expansion, allowing the many smaller powers in the Feiyu Sea Region to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

In the Feiyu Sea Region of the past, all the major powers were at the Foundation Establishment Level. They formed alliances and counter-alliances, keeping each other in check, with no single faction possessing overwhelming power.

However, the situation had now changed dramatically. The Ling Family and the Mu Family had each produced a Golden Core Master, instantly becoming the most powerful families in the Feiyu Sea Region and gaining a crushing advantage over the other factions.

Whether these smaller factions liked it or not, they now had to consider picking a side and choosing one of the two great families to align with.

If they continued to put on airs and remain neutral, they would likely be the first to suffer, made an example of by the two great families.

For this reason, some Small Clans and Minor Sects had already begun sending Envoys to the Mu or Ling Family to pledge their allegiance, hoping to preserve their foundations in the upcoming power struggle.

Of course, this would be a lengthy process. Barring any unforeseen events, this standoff between the two powers could last for decades, or even a century, without significant change.

Amid this relative calm, Ling Changqing, now fully recovered, quietly emerged from his seclusion.

Longhuan Island, the family headquarters.

In a secret chamber, heavily protected by an Array Restriction, Tang Qiu Yao sat behind a desk, reviewing the ledgers of income and expenses from the past six months, her beautiful, dark eyes filled with concentration.

"...Senior Sister, have some tea!"

Not far away, Ling Changqing, as gentle and refined as jade with eyes as dark as lacquer, walked over carrying an Azure Jade Tea Bowl and gently placed it beside her hand.

Tang Qiu Yao responded with a gentle murmur, softly setting down the Jade Register in her hand. She picked up the tea bowl and took an elegant sip.

The peerless beauty’s dark hair was swept up in a high chignon, a Phoenix Wing Golden Hairpin shimmering brightly in the pearlescent light. She wore a complex and magnificent bright-yellow dress of floral brocade over a bright red, exquisitely embroidered bodice, which outlined the dazzling, snowy-white, and seemingly bottomless cleavage between her breasts.

Her skin was like snow, her face like jade, and her brows arched like distant mountains. Her graceful and serene features were as exquisite as a painting, and the undulating curves of her lithe, voluptuous body were like a magnificent, peerless scroll painting, making it impossible for Ling Changqing to look away.

He was a man of action, through and through. He immediately moved closer to Tang Qiu Yao’s side, wrapped an arm around her smooth, firm waist, and buried his face in her snowy bosom, inhaling her faint, alluring fragrance.

"What are you doing? You scoundrel!"

Tang Qiu Yao couldn’t help but chide him shyly, clouds of blush appearing on her gorgeous, jade-like face, her beauty captivating.

"I’m hungry..."

Ling Changqing mumbled, his words unclear. He reached a hand to his Senior Sister’s waist and deftly undid the intricate knot of her sash, then began to feast heartily, like the Heavenly Dog devouring the moon.

"You... you actually..."

Tang Qiu Yao leaned her voluptuous and alluring body back slightly, making it easier for the young man in her arms to be mischievous. Unprecedented, heart-pounding waves of tremors washed over her, and her Mind threatened to become lost in the sensation.

Under the bright, pearlescent light, the tassels of the magnificent Golden Hairpin in the peerless beauty’s lush, dark hair swayed gently, casting layers of enchanting shadows.

"...That’s enough!"

After an unknown amount of time, Tang Qiu Yao’s soft, breathless, and alluring voice sounded, tinged with a faint, languid charm.

Ling Changqing stopped, still wanting more. He reluctantly caressed his Senior Sister’s body; her fragrant, smooth, and supple skin had an astonishing elasticity that he could never get enough of.

"Still no?"

Watching Tang Qiu Yao straighten her dress, her beautiful face flushed red, Ling Changqing asked with a somewhat disappointed expression.

Given their relationship, they had done almost everything, but she was still guarding that final step. The peerless beauty steadfastly refused to yield.

Tang Qiu Yao shot him a coquettish glance and said softly, "Your Cultivation is still not high enough. You have to at least reach Foundation Establishment... to practice my Dual Cultivation Technique."

"Besides, your Senior Sister Qi Yue is still waiting. After... this... between us, have you thought about how you’re going to explain it to her?"

"Well..."

Ling Changqing thought for a moment, not seeing it as a problem. "Senior Sister Ling wouldn’t object, would she? She knows what I’m thinking better than anyone!"

"That may be so, but it’s still best to be clear about it!"

Tang Qiu Yao chided him with a gentle, coquettish expression, elegantly fastening the clasp of her Jade Belt before hugging and kissing him again.

"By the way, that Spirit Stone Raw Ore you brought back last time, you haven’t used it yet, have you?" Tang Qiu Yao asked.

Ling Changqing replied, "It’s all still here. What do you have in mind, Senior Sister?"

Uncut and unpolished Spirit Stone Raw Ore couldn’t be traded on the market, so Ling Changqing had been holding onto it, planning to find a suitable place to process it into standard-sized Spirit Stones in the future.

"Why don’t you trade it to me? I have processed ones for you here," Tang Qiu Yao said, taking out two large-capacity Storage Bracelets and giving them to him.

Ling Changqing took them and scanned them briefly, discovering they were already filled with Spirit Stones.

She explained that for the sake of secrecy, the Spirit Stone Raw Ore had been secretly processed by artisans within the family. Even the other high-ranking Elders of the Ling Family knew nothing about it.

"Alright, I’ll do as you say, Senior Sister," Ling Changqing said, handing all the Spirit Stone Storage Pouches he was carrying to Tang Qiu Yao.

After a pause, Ling Changqing asked curiously, "These Spirit Stones can’t go into the family’s public treasury, right? They must go into your private treasury, Senior Sister, managed through private accounts?"

"Of course," Tang Qiu Yao said. "This was a resource the three of us risked our lives to bring back. It has nothing to do with the family’s public treasury, so how it’s spent is entirely up to me."

Most of the resources in the private treasury were for Ling Qiyue’s Cultivation. After all, a Golden Core Master’s demand for Cultivation Resources would only become more and more outrageous.

Of course, Tang Qiu Yao and Ling Changqing also had their share. In Ling Qiyue’s eyes, the three of them were already Dao Companions who shared all fortunes and woes.

"Mm, that’s for the best!"

Ling Changqing had no objection to this. Besides, there was more than one spy lurking within the Ling Family, so this was also a necessary security measure.

"By the way, how far are you from the Qi Cultivation 9th Layer?" Tang Qiu Yao asked, turning her lovely head.

"Soon. With about three to six more months of accumulation, it should happen naturally!" Ling Changqing replied. With his current resources, there was really no bottleneck. He could advance as soon as he had accumulated enough.

"Then you should go into Cultivation in Seclusion first. There’s nothing that needs your attention right now anyway," Tang Qiu Yao said. She was thinking that once Ling Changqing’s Cultivation rose, the rate at which his own Luck and Fortune were consumed would decrease significantly. She wouldn’t have to worry so much every time he went out to sea.

"Well... alright." Ling Changqing pondered for a moment and realized it was the best option for now, so he nodded in agreement.

The two embraced and shared a few more tender moments before Ling Changqing reluctantly departed, returning to his Spirit Vein Cave Mansion to enter seclusion and break through to a new Realm.

「Three months passed quietly.」

In the Cultivation Chamber, Ling Changqing sat on his Cloud Bed, his entire body enveloped in a dark Spiritual Light. The aura of Profound Yin Water Essence he emanated was dense and pure.

After a long time, he slowly awakened from a state of deep enlightenment.

Within his sea of consciousness, a message imbued with profound Dao Rhyme silently appeared:

[Master of the Era Star Palace: Ling Changqing]

[Bone Age: 22]

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation 9th Layer]

[Destiny: 58+166]

[Blessed Fortune: 56+141]

[Physique: 26]

[Root Bone: 26]

[Comprehension: 30]

[Divine Soul: 73]

[Alchemy Dao: 1137/20000 (Rank One High Grade)]

[Primary Cultivation Technique: Profound Truth Black Water Scripture (3rd Floor) 12110/20000]

[Spirit Root: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, High Rank Character 6591/20000]

[Noble: Tang Qiu Yao/Ling Qiyue/Xue Qingtan]

[Noble: ?]

Becoming a Rank One High grade Alchemist was an expected result, and the third floor of the Profound Truth Black Water Scripture was also approaching Great Perfection.

During their last Alchemy session, Ling Qiyue had already given the middle part of the Profound Truth Black Water Scripture to Ling Changqing, who could begin its Cultivation as soon as he succeeded in his Foundation Establishment.

As for Divine Techniques like the Water Escape Technique, the Profound Ice Thunder Attracting Technique, the Water Spirit Shield, and Water Mirror Communication, he had already cultivated them to the absolute limit possible at his current Realm, with no room for further progress.

However, the growth and evolution of his Spirit Root Talent were a bit slow. He would have to wait until after Foundation Establishment at the very least to evolve it into an Earth Grade Spirit Root.

’I need to ask Senior Sister if she has any Cultivation Techniques and Divine Power Scriptures for Sword Cultivators or Body Cultivators. Or I could try to acquire some from elsewhere,’ Ling Changqing mused to himself. ’With my abundant Cultivation Resources, I can now consider a more perfect path of development.’