An intimate moment

"You..."

As Yun Mo's clothes burst apart and he collapsed into her arms just like that, the worry on Wen Qingxuan's face froze. His distinctive scent washed over her, sending heat rising through her lovely face, as though the drunken blush from that time had returned. Her former pride was nowhere to be seen.

"Bastard!"

Her legs went weak, leaving her no choice but to sit back down with the stark-naked Yun Mo in her arms. Then, with a trembling hand, she touched his forehead and used her newly advanced Divine Soul to carefully examine his condition.

Fortunately, it was just as he had said. He had merely fallen unconscious from excessive exhaustion.

But while Wen Qingxuan held Yun Mo, unsure what to do, the space within the jade disc began to tremble faintly. A purple halo enveloped them, as though it was about to carry them both out of this place.

Her eyes shifted. Biting her lip, she brought Yun Mo to the pool and lifted his hand, on which he wore the Storage Ring he usually used.

Fortunately, the pool had brought about a fundamental transformation in her. Besides changing her foundations and innate talent, it had also strengthened her Divine Soul. Though it had only taken a brief moment, her Divine Soul had reached an extraordinarily formidable level.

Breaking through the restriction on Yun Mo's Storage Ring would take no more than an instant.

"Crack..."

Wen Qingxuan sent her consciousness into the Storage Ring and took out a robe. In a fluster, she dressed him in it, then quietly waited for the jade disc to send them out of this space.

"What are those mountains of books? They seem to be full of pictures. Spirit Arts?"

Time passed, and Yun Mo slowly awoke on a bed after several days of unconsciousness.

This was probably the last safe haven on the Spirit Road, a courtyard jointly established by the Five Great Academies where those who emerged from the Central Divine Temple could rest and recuperate. It was also where they waited for Spiritual Energy Empowerment.

Yun Mo opened his eyes and slowly recalled what had happened before.

He vaguely remembered collapsing into Wen Qingxuan's arms after exhausting the power of his Divine Soul. In that case, she must have brought him here.

"But where is this?" Yun Mo asked, his voice dry.

He was still somewhat dizzy. Even the act of sitting up made his Divine Soul feel as though it was being pricked by needles.

"This is a courtyard the Five Great Academies prepared especially for us. It's a place to rest before the empowerment," Wen Qingxuan said coolly from beside him.

"A place to rest?" Yun Mo turned toward Wen Qingxuan, who was wearing a red dress. But in the next instant, it was his turn to freeze.

Wen Qingxuan sat by the window with an illustrated book in her hands, silently turning its pages. Several more volumes lay beneath the window beside her, their pages fluttering in the breeze.

At the sight of those familiar covers, Yun Mo swallowed involuntarily.

He discovered that the Storage Ring on his hand was gone. What was more, he was certain those illustrated books had come from it. He had paid a hefty sum on the black market to commission someone to draw them according to his ideas.

"Ahem... I think what you're holding came from my Storage Ring. Could you give it back first? I'm keeping it for Qing He."

"I asked Qing He. He said he hadn't left anything in your Storage Ring." Wen Qingxuan turned toward him with a strange smile on her face, along with a barely perceptible blush.

"You asked Qing He..."

At that moment, Yun Mo felt as though a thunderbolt had struck from a clear sky. Even the needle-like pain vanished instantly.

"To think Captain Yun Mo had such refined leisure pursuits. The pictures and text in here truly broadened my horizons. Indeed, you can't judge a person by their looks, just as you can't measure the sea with a dipper. Perhaps I should tell the others about these things so we can discuss them?"

"Don't! Actually, my old man told me to buy them. He's read them too..."

But when he noticed Wen Qingxuan's aura turning icy, Yun Mo immediately shut his mouth. Resigned to his fate, he could only fall back onto the bed and try to pass out again.

Seeing that he was all right, Wen Qingxuan inwardly breathed a long sigh of relief. With a soft huff, she tossed the books and Storage Ring back to him, regaining her usual composure.

Bang.

Only after the door closed did Yun Mo open his eyes again.

His expression was bitter. After this, his carefully maintained image was probably ruined beyond repair.

"I really lost my mind this time. I'd already thought about getting rid of these things. Why did I keep them?"

"..."

"But that jade disc I found in the temple really did save my life."

Yun Mo stroked his forehead. The jade disc now floated within it, and even the Mark's towering hatred seemed to have been suppressed a little. With Ziwei the Great's Emperor's Seal protecting his mind, he finally had a sliver of security.

"The Extraterritorial Evil Clan..."

He thought of that sinister presence from before. Fortunately, he was currently on the Spirit Road. Fortunately, his cultivation had not broken through. And fortunately, he had encountered the Ziwei Emperor's Seal before the empowerment.

Otherwise, he was almost certain he would have lost himself and joined the Evil Clan, becoming a tool they had left behind in the Great Thousand World.

"But the Evil Clan's Mark will still interfere with me from time to time. If the balance of power is upset and the Mark erupts again, I'll probably still be in serious trouble in an instant. Seeking a breakthrough is the best solution. I must find a way to reach the Endless Fire Domain or the Martial Realm afterward. This thorn has to be pulled out.

"As for the Ziwei Emperor Art, it truly lives up to being a divine ability created by an ancient great emperor. Its power is terrifying. Unfortunately, the jade disc only contains one of its forms."

From the imprint the jade disc had passed on to him, Yun Mo could see that each form of the Ziwei Emperor Art-Investigating Things, Extending Knowledge, Making the Will Sincere, Mind Rectification, Cultivating the Self, and Bringing Peace to All Under Heaven-held its own unique mysteries.

Mind Rectification could actually gather a grand and majestic force, wielding supreme imperial might to attack others.

Moreover, once cultivated to its utmost limit, unleashing that single form could grant his Divine Soul a terrifying boost for a short time, with power specifically suited to suppressing evil.

"According to the information in the jade disc, Ziwei the Great left behind an inheritance. The Emperor's Seal is one part, and the Emperor's Palace is another. The Ziwei Emperor Body is also in that palace... heh, forget it. I won't think about that for now. It's far beyond my reach."

Yun Mo shook his head, rubbed his forehead, and got up to tidy the room.

Without his noticing, ever since the Evil Clan's Mark had been planted in him on the Spirit Road, the urgency in Yun Mo's heart had grown stronger and stronger. His former desire to coast through life had long since been cast away completely. If he still wanted to coast now, what awaited him would probably be becoming a member of the Evil Clan and being

utterly destroyed by the people of the Great Thousand World.

When he stepped outside, the first people he saw were Wen Qingxuan and the others sitting in the courtyard. Even Wu Ling and Qing He had returned to the Spirit Road's final resting place during this time.

"Captain Yun Mo, you certainly took your time. Sister Qingxuan told us you were awake, yet you only came out now," Wu Yingying said from beside the stone table, her clenched fists relaxing.

"Yun Mo, are you all right?" Qing He and Wu Ling also asked.

Seeing their expressions, Yun Mo smiled. "I'm fine. I just exhausted myself."

"What kind of Divine Art did you obtain? How could it drain your Divine Soul to that extent?"

"Sister Qingxuan even had to bring him here in the end. Could Captain Yun Mo really have obtained something incredible?"

"...Yes, yes, I obtained an ancient great emperor's treasure."

Yun Mo rolled his eyes. He turned to glance at Wen Qingxuan, who was also sitting beside the stone table, and steeled himself to nod. All he received in return was an enigmatic half-smile that made the corner of his eye twitch.