Zhao Changkong's footsteps vanished at the far end of the corridor.
The room was still as a pool of dead water, disturbed only by the faint rustle of curtains in the wind.
Lin Changqing sat at the table a while longer, watching the last of the tea in his cup slowly cool.
The noise outside the window continued.
It merely sounded farther away than before, as though heard through a veil of gauze.
"Wanqing is still cultivating in there. I should get back to it too."
With a thought, he vanished from where he sat once more.
Inside the Realm Origin Pearl, the starlight was unchanged.
The Spirit Spring murmured without pause, and immortal spiritual energy hung so thick in the air it seemed impossible to disperse.
Lin Changqing appeared on Lakeheart Island, his feet settling onto the soft grass.
Su Wanqing still sat cross-legged in her usual spot.
Spiritual light flowed around her, and her breathing was slow and steady.
A few more of the Top-grade Immortal Crystals floating before her were gone. Most of those that remained had dimmed, their essence evidently almost entirely absorbed.
Lin Changqing took a few steps closer and stopped about three feet from her.
As though sensing him, Su Wanqing slowly opened her eyes.
A glimmer flashed through them and vanished. When her gaze settled on Lin Changqing, it brightened with delight.
"Husband, you're here."
She was about to ask him something, but Lin Changqing moved first.
With a thought, he took the hundred and five pills from his storage space and set them floating between them.
Jade bottles of every size lined up neatly, giving off spiritual light in many colors.
Their medicinal fragrances mingled, from mid-grade True Tier to low-grade Heaven Tier, forming a rich vapor that seemed almost solid.
Carrying