Life in the Palace of Gathering Elegance had always been quiet.
Or rather, the whole of [Fengdu] had never known a lively moment.
Ever since ascending the Eighteen Levels terrace, Jiang Yi had been like an unfavored "consort" kept in the inner court, gradually cast aside and forgotten entirely.
Neither the plump girl Gui'er nor the green-robed maiden Xiao Qiao had visited.
The only ones he saw each day were the two gatekeeping ghosts responsible for his meals and daily needs.
Jiang Yi himself, however, was perfectly content. He felt neither stifled nor bored; on the contrary, he delighted in it.
This was precisely the "freedom to cultivate" he had once dreamed of: he could set aside all distractions, immerse himself completely in accumulating cultivation and comprehending his Dao Inheritance, and savor the endless pleasures within.
Inside a side chamber.
Seated cross-legged on the couch, Jiang Yi circulated his cultivation through a full circuit. His fleshly body, known as the furnace cauldron, trembled incessantly, giving off a string of faint cracks.
Great masses of dense, thick fire-cloud radiance and Qi flowed slowly with the rhythm of his breathing.
His Black Shadow Robe billowed and rustled like waves rising and receding.
Wisps of waterlike flame streamed from his seven facial apertures, gathering into clusters of concentrated brilliance.
At this moment, Jiang Yi no longer had his former effeminate appearance, his face pale as paper. His flesh gleamed with a soft luster, like an exquisite jade statue fired in an imperial kiln.
"A golden body and jade substance, the Dao Embryo at great mastery."
Jiang Yi opened his eyes. His Divine Sense within the Origin Gate stirred slightly, and his Qi abruptly drew inward.
"Refining fire until it flows like water! This Refining the Numinous Radiance Sun Lord Divine Art has made