From the tone Xia Kong used as he slowly spoke about Ya Fei, Xiao Yi Xian had already formed an impression, privately suspecting that an ambiguous entanglement lay between them.
But she also knew perfectly well that she had no way to demand that Xia Kong cut ties with Ya Fei. It simply was not realistic. She had come into his life later and had only spent three or four days with him, whereas Ya Fei had been with him for an entire year and had helped him immensely.
She needed Xia Kong's support, and to him, she was an enormous burden, a bringer of calamity. What right did she have to persuade him to give up Ya Fei and be with her alone? Besides, if Xia Kong could readily abandon Ya Fei, who had helped him so much, for her sake, then perhaps one day he would abandon her just as readily for another woman. Thus, the thought only flashed through her mind before she discarded it completely.
In truth, if she could not accept this, her only choice would be to leave quietly. Yet as she gradually fell for him, that was the very thing she could never bring herself to do.
So she could only keep deceiving herself: at least for now, she was the only one by Xia Kong's side.
With these thoughts circling in her heart, Xiao Yi Xian cherished their time alone together all the more, clinging to Xia Kong almost every moment. Even at night, she seldom returned to her own room anymore. The second bedroom in the wooden house they had worked so hard to build gradually became little more than a decoration.
Xia Kong, on the other hand, had none of these worries.
After thoroughly mastering the Purple Cloud Wings, his ability to preserve his own life soared. He no longer devoted himself solely to practicing Dou Techniques behind closed doors. He frequently ventured into the areas around Mountain Valley to search for magical beasts, battling all kinds of them to hone his combat experience and improve his proficiency with his Dou Techniques through actual fighting.
Time hurried by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Xia Kong's cultivation advanced in triumphant strides. He smoothly passed through Six-Star Dou Shi and firmly entered the realm of Seven-Star Dou Shi.
Apart from his soaring cultivation, his progress with his Dou Techniques was equally impressive. He had brought both the High Yellow-Tier Dou Technique, Scorching Wood Palm, and the intermediate Black Tier movement Dou Technique, Green Leaf Wandering Steps, to Great Completion. At Great Completion, Scorching Wood Palm unleashed terrifying destructive power. The damage it inflicted across the surrounding terrain was even greater than that of the High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique, Blossom Sword Cluster, which remained at Proficiency.
Green Leaf Wandering Steps at Great Completion was even more wondrous. Even against diving strikes and wind blades from Blue Eagle, whose strength likewise rivaled a Dou Shi's and whose specialty was speed, Xia Kong could rely on his footwork to evade the attacks with ease.
However, he had not ventured deep into the heart of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He had encountered very few third-tier magical beasts that month-only two at the early third tier, neither of which could put him under enough pressure.
Without powerful foes to pressure him, and without genuine battles of life and death, he had few opportunities to use his strongest Dou Technique, Blossom Sword Cluster. Lacking the tempering of actual combat, he found it difficult to uncover flaws in how he used the technique, so his proficiency naturally improved very slowly.
As Xia Kong's cultivation and Dou Techniques advanced by leaps and bounds, Xiao Yi Xian, who spent every day and night with him, did not stand still either. Her cultivation soared straight upward.
The steady supply of spiritual plants from Xia Kong laid an exceptionally solid foundation for her cultivation, while her Woeful Poison Body could inherently devour poison to boost her strength. The many poisonous ingredients they had obtained from the ancient cave abode came in handy.
Each time she swallowed poison and waited two or three days for the poisonous energy in her body to be fully digested, Xiao Yi Xian's cultivation surged. Over that entire month, perhaps only one or two stars of her advancement had truly come from circulating her cultivation method and absorbing Dou Qi herself.
In just one month, she shot all the way from One-Star Dou Zhe to Nine-Star Dou Zhe.
Even Xia Kong secretly clicked his tongue at such a cultivation speed. He could not help marveling that the Woeful Poison Body truly lived up to its reputation. Raising her cultivation really was as simple as eating and drinking.
By a careful count, Xia Kong had hunted no fewer than a hundred magical beasts over that month. Yet his total haul amounted to only ten first-tier magic cores, twenty-four second-tier magic cores, and one third-tier magic core.
Within the Farm Space, magic cores could be exchanged for sacred water: a first-tier magic core yielded one drop, a second-tier core yielded ten, and a third-tier core yielded fifty.
Converted in full, they amounted to exactly three hundred drops of sacred water, just enough to ripen an entire batch of thirty level-three crops.
Once he finished harvesting his third batch of level-three crops since arriving at Mountain Valley, Xia Kong could sow again, water them with sacred water, and complete another cycle of accelerated ripening and harvesting.
But now that his farmland had expanded to thirty plots, manually harvesting, sowing, watering with sacred water, harvesting again, and sowing again took more than two hours for the full process. Repeating it over and over was genuinely draining.
Xia Kong did not want to keep shouldering this tedious work alone.
He had long wanted to reveal the secret of the Farm Space to those closest to him.
The main reason he had not told Ya Fei back then was that she had always had plans of her own. Like a capable wife, she would manage Xia Kong's vast household and assets for him, but she would not follow him as he wandered from place to place.
Xia Kong had also tested things with Xiao Yi Xian before, but they had only just met at the time. Deep misunderstandings and resentment stood between them, and she was wary of him in many ways, so he had not succeeded in bringing her into the Farm Space.
Now, after spending so much time together day and night, they had experienced almost everything they should and should not have, apart from the final step of the bridal chamber and wedding candles. Xia Kong had long since stopped treating Xiao Yi Xian as an outsider. He made up his mind to bring her into the Farm Space and have her help him manage and run this unique realm.
With his mind made up, Xia Kong hesitated no further. He lowered his head and gently kissed Xiao Yi Xian's smooth forehead.
"Xian'er, can you trust me completely and keep an enormous secret for me?"
"Hmph, I've already agreed to marry you, and you're still saying things like that." Xiao Yi Xian lifted her chin slightly, her tone carrying a touch of coy pride, but her feelings were already perfectly clear.
"That was thoughtless of me." Xia Kong chuckled, then turned solemn again. "But this secret has tremendous consequences. Once it gets out, there may no longer be a place for the two of us anywhere on this continent."
"Ah-"
Xiao Yi Xian could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
She had long known that Xia Kong harbored countless secrets, but she had never imagined the consequences could be so severe. The little spark of curiosity she had once felt about uncovering those secrets was instantly smothered by heavy concern.
"If it's that dangerous, then... then perhaps you shouldn't tell me after all." Thoughtful and sensitive, Xiao Yi Xian considered Xia Kong's interests at every turn.
"No. This is something you ought to know. Besides, I need your help."
Xiao Yi Xian raised her gaze to him, her eyes clear and resolute. "All right. I promise I'll keep this secret safe, even if-"
Before she could utter the rest of that determined vow, Xia Kong leaned down slightly and gently sealed her lips with his, keeping her from speaking those ill-omened words.
"Of course I trust you. Even if the secret really does get out someday, things won't be nearly as hopeless as you imagine. Close your eyes. Next comes the moment to witness a miracle."
Xiao Yi Xian closed her eyes as instructed.
With a thought, Xia Kong brought her straight into the Farm Space without the slightest resistance.
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