On the last day of their sixth month in Netherworld Cave, Mu Ling'er still lay on the stone platform with her eyes closed, but the smile at the corners of her lips seemed a shade deeper than it had been half a year ago. Lin Shisan crouched beside the platform, gently dripped the last drop of Turbid Spirit Liquid between her brows, and pushed it in with spiritual power.
The instant the Turbid Spirit Liquid entered her skin, the silvery-white membrane of light around her dantian quivered slightly, then quickly settled again.
Gai Jiuyou's soul form slowly emerged from Mu Ling'er's body. Its dark red glow was twice as intense as it had been half a year ago, with fine golden light threads flowing around its edges. She hovered a foot above Mu Ling'er, lowered her head to look at the still body, then raised her eyes to Lin Shisan.
"It's almost time."
Lin Shisan stood up, sensing that the spinning Taiji Wheel in his dantian had grown more substantial and steady than it had been half a year ago. His cultivation at the yellow dragon seventh layer had been thoroughly consolidated. The hornless dragon true spirit lay coiled at the center of the Taiji Wheel. The small horn on its head had split into three prongs, and the golden patterns on its scales flowed of their own accord in the darkness.
"Are we leaving now?"
"Give her another three days."
Gai Jiuyou looked at Mu Ling'er, who seemed to be sleeping. Over the past year, she had hardly changed; she merely slept more peacefully. "Three days from now, that layer of the Heart-Guarding Seal will enter another dormant cycle. If we leave for a while then, she'll be able to hold on."
Zi Yuner had already walked over from