A Full Belly for One Was Not Enough

You Su sat cross-legged in the Xuanye Pool, the milky white liquid flowing up to his chest, and the rising Mystic Qi mist condensed into tiny ice crystals on his eyebrows and eyelashes.

Bai Ze lay behind him, her snowy tail unconsciously Earth Scroll his wrist, the downy hairs brushing against his pulse and causing a slight itch.

She rested her chin on his shoulder, her warm breath, mingled with the scent of pine needles, brushing against his ear. "What are you thinking about, brother?"

Unfortunately, the girl's subtle flirting did not sway You Su in the slightest. The young man sat calmly in the pond, his expression unchanged, like a virtuous monk who was detached from women.

However, the women close to You Su knew that even if everyone in the world went to practice Buddhism, You Su would definitely not sever his emotions and desires.

Thinking of rekindling their past romance, he was now immersed in his dream of his master's Mistress, enjoying the tranquil time spent with this gentle Fairy.

Bai Ze brought his face very close, and his warm breath made You Su's eyelashes flutter slightly.

The girl frowned slightly as she looked at the persistent smile on You Su for so long, she had always thought he was a bitter person. Most of the time, he always had a cold face, as if he were unapproachable. Although he would occasionally show a cheeky side, she could sense that there was always an unresolved sorrow in You Su 'You Su eyes. It was a worry about his situation and also a worry about the future.

But this sorrow vanished completely upon waking, as if something had made him forget it.

Thinking of this, his strong intuition grew even stronger—it must be related to his master's Mistress!

Bai Ze blinked, then his eyes suddenly lit up, clearly having already figured out a way to snatch You Su back from his 'Mistress'.

Suddenly, with a 'plop', Bai Ze plunged into the water like a carp entering the water.

Ripples spread across the pool. You Su was saying goodnight to his Mistress when he came to his senses and closed his eyes to look inward. The liquid-like Mystic Qi in his spiritual platform had condensed into a vortex. He could vaguely see the shackles of the Feather Transformation Realm hanging like thin ice on the dome. He could easily break through them by simply pointing an upward finger.

However, the higher the realm, the longer it takes to break through. Cultivating from the Spirit Platform to the Water Condensation stage involves turning the refined Mystic Qi into a liquid state, a process that took You Su many days. Cultivating from the Water Condensation stage to the Feather Transformation stage means being able to refine the liquid Mystic Qi back into a gaseous state, thus allowing it to be released outside the body.

Forming a pair of invisible wings is just one of the wonderful uses of releasing Mystic Qi, but the ability to fly is undoubtedly the most significant characteristic for judging whether a cultivator can release Mystic Qi.

You Su felt a sense of disbelief when he recalled it. It had only been a year since he left the Mandarin Sword Sect, yet he had already transformed from a young man who had just broken through to the Spirit Platform Realm into a True Immortal who was just one step away from flying and disappearing into the earth.

So many things have happened this year...

Just as he was feeling melancholy, You Su suddenly felt a tightness in his spine.

He opened his eyes in an instant, and all he could see was the dark seabed in the distance, the milky white pool below, and a wet, snowy tail floating with tiny silver lights.

"Bai Ze!!"

You Su Suqing shouted and suddenly pulled Bai Ze, who was buried underwater, up.

The liquid cascaded down her hair like silver silk woven from Moon Essence. The girl tilted her wet face up, and the milky white liquid meandered from her brow bone to her chin, condensing into a string of glistening beads. Water droplets hung on the tips of her curled eyelashes, and with each blink, they fell into her collarbone, splashing up tiny starlight.

He was undeniably beautiful, like a lotus emerging from water, yet the thick, white liquid added a unique allure to his appearance. Adding to this, Bai Ze's eyes were so innocent that even You Su, who had seen countless beauties, couldn't help but be captivated.

"Let go!" You Su's ears turned slightly red as she came to her senses, her voice filled with an unusual panic.

Why loosen it?

Bai Ze seemed completely clueless about the situation.

Seeing this tempting scene only fueled You Su's anger. Since repeated verbal reprimands had failed, he steeled himself and decided he had to teach this naughty cat a lesson.

"Eh??"

Before Bai Ze could react, she was already being carried on You Su's lap.

The chill of the Xuanye Ice Steps seeped into her skin, but could not extinguish the burning sensation emanating from her delicate area.

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the silent, dark seabed, mingled with a faint, plaintive moan.

"Do you even know you're wrong?!"

You Su's palm hovered above the scarlet finger marks, and the mist formed from the mysterious liquid flowed between his brows.

He showed no mercy in these blows; the slaps, delivered without even touching the fabric, even caused pain in his own hand.

Bai Ze bit her lip and turned back, her eyes already brimming with tears, her bright red face flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

"Where did I go wrong..." Bai Ze asked pitifully, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"Tell me what you did wrong?!" You Su slapped Bai Ze's mischievous little hand out of the water.

"I... I was washing your tail, sob sob..." Bai Ze wiped away the black liquid that had flowed into his eyes with his palm, as if wiping away tears he couldn't hold back. "You washed my tail, so of course I have to wash yours too. Returning a favor, isn't that what you taught me?"

You Su's Adam's apple bobbed; he truly didn't know how to explain this to Bai Ze.

He had also lost patience to continue explaining to Bai Ze. Bai Ze was a beast-turned-human, and it was in her nature to be close to those she was intimate with. His various attempts at education had failed to change this, which meant that education was insufficient to suppress her nature. Rather than continuing to believe in the idea of education for all, it was better to use harsh punishment to draw a line.

"I said no, and that's final! The first rule of conduct is that men and women shouldn't touch each other! If you cross that line again..." You Su raised her hand menacingly, "You know the consequences!"

Bai Ze quickly covered the burning, red spot and begged for mercy, "I won't do it again! I won't do it again! I'll never do it again!"

Out of the corner of his You Su caught a glimpse of Bai Ze's exposed, delicate area, and his pupils instantly contracted.

Once the pain in my palm subsided, all that remained was that fleeting, delicate sensation.

He quickly looked away, secretly regretting that he had hit the cat too hard. But then he thought, this silly cat, who always meant well but messed things up, was far more powerful than him at its peak, so what did he have to worry about?

"Go sit across from me, and don't bump into me again unless it's absolutely necessary."

After You Su calmed down, she dared not touch Bai Ze again, and only used words to drive him away.

"No!" Bai Ze puffed out her cheeks in refusal, but was intimidated by You Su's stern gaze.

With tears in her eyes and her tail between her legs, she sheepishly swam to the opposite edge of the ice, still Qi Ingestion and saying, "I hate you!"

You Su raised his eyebrows slightly, then raised his ruthless iron hand again, saying, "Say that again if you dare?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud 'whoosh' was heard.

You Su's pupils dilated suddenly, as if she had seen a white carp emerge from the water. She quickly turned her head away, angrily saying, "Didn't I say you weren't allowed to stand up?!"

"It hurts so much, how can I possibly sit down?!" Bai Ze stomped his foot angrily, but when he saw You Su's terrified expression as she tried to avoid him, a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

You Su was rendered speechless by this reply and had no choice but to turn around, facing the falling pearl and turning his back to the angry beauty.

"The family rules are strict, but they are meant to teach you a lesson. If it really hurts, then don't provoke me again next time, understand?" In the end, You Su couldn't be so strict with this girl, and her tone softened.

"But if I don't do it once, how will I know if it will anger you? If I do anger you, you should tell me it's a one-time thing. Why punish me so severely the first time? You clearly just want to..."

"So what if I want to bully you, you stupid cat?!" Any pity You Su felt earlier vanished instantly. She found this little girl utterly unreasonable. "Once you can beat me, you can bully me like that too!"

"Hmph! You just wait!" Bai Ze clenched her fists, baring her harmless little tiger teeth.

You Su ignored it and continued to recuperate, restoring her body to a peaceful state.

Bai Ze remained silent for a long time, seemingly sulking.

"Were you dreaming just now? Why did you have a smile on your face while you were sleeping?" Bai Ze asked softly, breaking the silence between them.

"Don't you hate me? Why are you talking to me?" You Su asked, her back to Bai Ze.

"I..." Bai Ze lowered his head slightly and mumbled, "I was just talking nonsense..."

You Su's lips curled up slightly, with a triumphant air about him. However, he would never tell Bai Ze that he was truly dreaming, and that it was a dream even more beautiful than a erotic dream.

"I am introspecting on my spiritual platform, attempting to Comprehending the Dao. My Condensing Water Realm is already complete, and I am about to break through."

After saying this, he caught a handful of the nectar dripping from the crack in the pearl, and looked at the mysterious liquid leaking through his fingers. "All of this is thanks to the help of this mysterious liquid."

"Really?! Then hurry up and break through! The more powerful you are, the better our chances of escaping will be!"

Bai Ze was about to leap up and pounce on You Su's back when You Su gave him a slightly turned look and stopped him, making him obediently squat down in the Xuan Pool.

"It's not that easy."

You Su raised her eyes and looked at the phosphorescent light floating in the darkness in the distance, feeling that it was like the flickering ghostly fire of the underworld.

"The higher the cultivation level of a human cultivator, the more difficult it is to break through. Breaking through to the Mystic Qi is still shallow, so it will probably take me even longer."

This place is fraught with danger. Although the giant creature's hunt for the giant Tridacna has caused chaos and terrified the evil spirits, this peace will not last long. If I break through, there will surely be extraordinary phenomena. I am a cultivator, Mystic Qi within me is far more tempting to the evil spirits than this pearl."

"What are you afraid of? I'll protect you!" Bai Ze patted his slightly heaving chest and volunteered.

"Silly cat," You Su chuckled, her tone dripping with affection. "You haven't fully recovered yet, so your priority should be nurturing yourself. As for whether I break through or not, it won't help us escape from here much. We can still defeat those we can't, and even with more wings, we still won't be able to defeat those we can't."

The scene of hunting giant giant Tridacna was so shocking that You Su could never forget the soul-stirring impact. Even knowing that he was the source of all evil, he still felt insignificant when he was actually there.

"That makes sense... but if you break through and keep soaking like that, won't you break yourself?" Bai Ze asked curiously.

Even beasts know the principle of moderation, You Su naturally understands it too. Logically speaking, even if one is reluctant to part with this pure Xuan liquid, one should not bathe in it again after the spiritual platform is full, otherwise it will only damage the meridians and bring no benefit.

But how could You Su so easily let go of such a tremendous gift? His mind was full, but others' was not.

Back when he was collecting 'interest' from Qianhua Venerable, he almost exploded and died because he absorbed far more Mystic Qi than his body could handle. At that time, he shared the excess Mystic Qi with the True God through the miraculous power of his retinue.

At this point, this method can naturally be used to extract more value from this precious pearl.

"It's not enough for just one person to be full; the whole family has to be fed too."

You Su smiled, closed his eyes, and sat cross-legged, his hands forming a lotus position.

Bai Ze was momentarily confused by these words. She never imagined that You Su possessed such Divine Ability, nor did she know that she was already a member of the 'family' he mentioned. However, You Su would certainly not do anything unnecessary to her.

"Did your family jump down too?"

"Cultivate diligently."

You Su flicked his finger, shooing away the girl who had quietly approached his ear again.

Bai Ze stuck out his tongue and retreated to his original position, watching the young man's focused meditation. He felt slightly annoyed that his curiosity had not been satisfied.

Her fingertips traced the spot where she had been punished by family rules, and the corners of her lips curled into a meaningful smile—the heat she had just felt in her palm was clearly more scorching than his.

Northern Ao Continent, Xuehu Port.

The north wind, carrying ice pellets, clattered against the wooden frame of the inn, making a soft, rustling sound.

The icicles hanging from the eaves, like inverted swords, gleamed with a cold, bluish light in the twilight.

Sparks flew from the furnace, casting shimmering light on two fox fur coats—one black, the other dark blue.

Ji Lingruo and Xue Ruo sat facing each other on either side of a sandalwood table. Their jade-like faces were like reflections in a mirror, even the worry and anxiety between their brows were perfectly visible.

Ji Lingruo's fingertips caressed the rim of the teacup, where a thin layer of frost had formed on the celadon edge.

Ji Xueruo closed her eyes and concentrated, with winding snake scale patterns faintly appearing at the corners of her eyes.

Both of them remained silent, yet everything seemed to be understood without being spoken.

They landed on the Northern Ao Continent yesterday, having traveled thousands of miles in search of a vague and uncertain possibility.

The younger sister couldn't hide her worry more. "It's freezing cold here... he really..."

As soon as they finished speaking, their expressions suddenly changed.

Two wisps of frost emanated from between their brows, and the candlelight in the warm pavilion dimmed abruptly, leaving only the clear glow of the icy lotus to illuminate their astonished faces.

"Lingruo, you too..."

"This is..." Ji Lingruo's eyes flashed with disbelief at first, then she suddenly stood up. "I know! This is Senior Brother passing on his skills to us! He really isn't dead!!"

As soon as she finished speaking, even Ji Xueruo, who was usually calm and composed, had a gleam in her eyes, as if all the hardships she had endured along the way had turned into refreshing rain that rejuvenated her.

"Mother! Aunt!"

The carved screen creaked as it was bumped, and just then, a tiny, snow-white figure wrapped in a red fox fur cloak rolled in.

The adorable little girl looked to be five or six years old, with an ice-carved peony tucked into her hair, and her bright eyes curved into crescent moons.

"See! I told you I could definitely find Daddy!"

The little girl smiled happily, completely forgetting that her mother had made her stand outside the screen as punishment.