"How did you do that?" Yun Yun hurried over to Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu stared blankly at her, as if he hadn't quite reacted.
If he remembered correctly, this seemed to be the first time Yun Yun had spoken to him of her own accord during this period.
"I asked you a question." Yun Yun's brows rose sharply.
"Xiao Yu, Sister Yun Zhi asked you something. Hurry up and answer her."
Xiao Yi Xian gently tapped Xiao Yu's arm with her jade-like hand and gave him a pointed look.
Coming back to himself, Xiao Yu said, "You want to know? I can tell you, but I have a condition."
"What condition?" Yun Yun asked at once.
The ability to condense Dou Qi into liquid, if it could be put to use by the Misty Cloud Sect, would greatly benefit the sect. When her teacher emerged from seclusion and saw it, she would surely be delighted.
I have to find a way to get it!
"I'll tell you later." The words had been on the tip of Xiao Yu's tongue, but he suddenly swallowed them back. His eyes shifted as an idea seemed to occur to him.
Yun Yun had been watching Xiao Yu closely and noticed the change in his expression. She wondered what his condition would be. No matter what, she had to get her hands on this method.
The group didn't linger in the cultivation room.
After giving the women a few instructions, Xiao Yu led them out.
As they had agreed, Xiao Yi Xian would temporarily be in charge of looking after the place from then on.
Of the four women, Xiao Yi Xian was the strongest.
Night fell.
Firelight glimmered from a room.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
A sudden bout of retching was followed by a cold voice. "Xiao Yu, if what you said was a lie after humiliating me like this, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Xiao Yu looked down at Yun Yun's cool, clear eyes. He reached out, took her chin, and pulled her up from the floor.
"Don't forget the condition you agreed to. Cooperate properly."
Wiping away the traces at the corner of Yun Yun's mouth with a handkerchief, Xiao Yu pressed her against him and smiled.
Xiao Yu hadn't expected an array to interest Yun Yun so much that she would agree to cooperate willingly.
This was a very good sign!
After their lovemaking, Xiao Yu held her limp body in his arms and lightly tapped her forehead with a fingertip.
A faint light flickered.
The flush still lingered on Yun Yun's fair face. Suddenly, her beautiful eyes flew open, and her small mouth fell agape.
A series of new insights filled her mind—knowledge she had never encountered in decades of cultivation.
The Misty Cloud Sect had a protective array, too, but it was merely an inheritance left by its ancestors. Much of it had been lost over the years.
The inheritance Xiao Yu had obtained, however, was completely different.
It was a treasure trove!
As part of their bargain, Xiao Yu had taught her some of the array knowledge, most of it related to the Heavenly Star Qi Gathering Array.
With this information, Yun Yun understood even more clearly just how powerful the place she had seen that day was.
"If this array were used to gather Qi at full strength, the increase in cultivation speed would probably be even more terrifying than the Qi Refining Tower at Jia Nan Academy."
Yun Yun could barely contain her excitement.
Jia Nan Academy had become so famous and carved out a territory in the Black-Corner Region, drawing countless students, in part because of the Burning Sky Qi Refining Tower.
The tower was known as a cheat that accelerated cultivation, helping those below Dou Wang improve their cultivation speed.
If the Misty Cloud Sect could set up such an array, then in a few years, it might be able to compete with Jia Nan Academy.
Yun Yun was secretly astonished. After all, this array had no such restrictions. Even Dou Zong and Dou Venerable cultivators would benefit from training inside it.
"Since I've already given myself to him, I can't let this loss be for nothing!"
Yun Yun turned her head and gazed at Xiao Yu, who had fallen into a deep, even sleep. Her eyes suddenly filled with resolve and hope.
Before this, she had been desperate to find a chance to kill this man.
Now, a new thought had suddenly taken root.
All the hardship I've endured and all the trials I've suffered have to bring me something in return. Even if it's not for myself, I have to live on for the sake of my sect's strength. I'll get my hands on this array and break free of him!
The next day.
Xiao Yu woke from his dream and looked at Yun Yun, sleeping obediently in his arms. It still felt a little unreal.
Compared with Xiao Yi Xian, Yun Yun had resisted far more fiercely, even with her strength completely sealed.
He hadn't expected her to agree to every demand he made the day before.
"So the Misty Cloud Sect is the soft spot in your heart. I understand now."
Xiao Yu thought to himself, got dressed, and left the room.
After a simple breakfast, Xiao Yu went to the back mountain.
"Stones containing elemental power... They must be formed by the workings of heaven and earth. Fire-element stones should be easiest to find near Heavenly Flames or beneath magma. As for water and wood elements... I don't have any leads at the moment. Perhaps they'll be easier to gather in the Central Plains."
A translucent figure floated in midair. He furrowed his brow in thought, then slowly spoke.
Xiao Yu sat cross-legged opposite him.
When it came to breadth of knowledge, the first person Xiao Yu thought of was Yao Chen. He had lived for many years, and as an alchemist who had to gather ingredients, he must have traveled to many places.
At first, Xiao Yu had simply listed the names of the materials needed to construct a spatial Teleportation Array.
But the names used in the array inheritance might not be the ones used nowadays, so he explained the specific function of each material one by one.
Yao Chen understood this time, but he was at a loss as to where they could be found.
Seeing Xiao Yu fall silent, Yao Chen said, "If you're worried about being unfamiliar with the Central Plains, there's no need. I traveled across the continent in my day and made many friends. I may not have many sworn brothers, but I have a few. If you can help me contact them, finding those stones will be easy."
"Oh? You still have friends in the Central Plains?" Xiao Yu asked with a knowing smile.
He probably just wants to get me to gather stones for him. What he really wants is to escape.
Yao Chen looked perfectly composed. "Of course. Your strength is weak right now, but with this fellow by your side, you can stay safe in the Central Plains as long as you're careful."
He pointed at the Amethyst Winged Lion King, who was lying nearby.
A Tier 6 Magical Beast might not amount to much in the Central Plains, but it wasn't something people could afford to overlook, either.
With a Magical Beast accompanying him, Xiao Yu should be able to find Wind Venerable without much trouble.
Once I find my old friends, my situation will be far better than it is in this brat's hands.
"I'm not going. The Central Plains are too far away, and I can't bear to leave my wife and child."
Xiao Yu shook his head and ignored Yao Chen's attempts to persuade him.
Yao Chen could no longer keep up his air of composure. He continued talking about the spirit stones, and eventually even started making things up, with such a convincing air that his stories sounded entirely credible.
If Xiao Yu hadn't known that Yao Chen had left himself a way out in the Central Plains, he might really have been tempted.
After all, building a Teleportation Array was something he cared quite a bit about at the moment.
"Master."
At that moment, the Amethyst Winged Lion King, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.
Its eyes, faintly glowing with purple light, took on a thoughtful look. "That Water Spirit Stone you mentioned... There seems to be something similar in one place in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, but I'm not entirely sure."
As soon as it finished speaking, Yao Chen immediately and firmly contradicted it.
"Xiao Yu, don't listen to a Magical Beast spouting nonsense. It's probably barely ever left the Magical Beast Mountain Range. How could it possibly recognize the spirit stones you're talking about?"
Before you continue