The moon hung bright in the sky.
The owner of this room was soone with a keen sense of aesthetics, having poured considerable effort into its furnishings.
Yet, they likely never dread in their wildest fantasies that this very room would one day be cleaned by the hands of the Phoenix Heavenly Empress (from her past life)!
At this mont.
Ying Bing held a broom, sweeping the floor with ticulous care.
Even the pair of well-polished walnuts in the box on the table—having been rubbed smooth over many years—were wiped spotless by her cloth, infused with true essence.
"This feeling is..."
"Actions guided by the heart, thoughts flowing unimpeded?"
Sensing the circulation of runic energy within the miniature figure in her dantian, her second aperture gradually filled.
Ying Bing set aside the broom and cloth, opening the window.
A cool breeze carried the moonlight, and the courtyard lay silent.
Gazing at the moon, her eyes reflected its glow like a tranquil spring under the night sky.
Observing the divine was a ans to temper the spirit and refine the soul, yet the true foundation of spiritual strength lay in the power of one’s state of mind.
Now, she could face all things with serene composure.
Just as she prepared to cultivate—
The System chid with a notification:
[Ding!]
[Countdown to the next ranking comparison: Eight days.]
"Eight days..."
Ying Bing’s eyes lowered slightly.
To go with the flow was one thing.
But the desire to claim the top rank was also a deeply rooted aspiration within her.
Yet, no matter the outco, she could now accept it with equanimity.
[Alert!]
[The penalty for the next loss is: Requesting the victor to caress you (covering at least 80% of your body).]
Ying Bing’s eyelid twitched imperceptibly.
......
In another room.
Li Mo tossed and turned in bed, utterly unable to sleep. Recalling the ice block’s behavior today, he realized it scread one word:
"Weird!"
Or rather, three words:
"Sothing’s off!"
Since when did the ice block care about others?
Heck, she even initiated dual cultivation!
Gaining enlightennt in swordsmanship shouldn’t have suddenly changed her personality like this...
Unless... it was so kind of deathbed kindness!
Was sothing about to happen to him?
After racking his brain to no avail, Li Mo decided to distract himself by opening so rewards.
Just to be safe.
First, he pulled up his own information.
[Na: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: Xuanpin Immortal Body.]
[Realm: First Aperture of Divine Observation (on the verge of breakthrough).]
[Fate: ???]
[Evaluation: Possessing an immortal physique, his destiny is shrouded in chaos, rendering the future unknowable.]
[Recent Events: At Hengyun Sword City, comprehended the ‘Immortal Spirit Stone,’ mastering a complete divine hamr technique and earning the title of Cloudrealm Sword Immortal (I dare call you Sword Immortal—do you dare answer?).]
"..."
Ignoring the System’s inexplicable cheekiness, Li Mo sighed softly.
It was a pity he still couldn’t discern his own fate.
His recent events log also didn’t ntion anything about imminent happenings.
[You have multiple unclaid investnt returns. Claim now?]
"Claim."
Li Mo murmured inwardly.
[Congratulations, Host. Your investnt in Dong Chang'an spared him from harm during the Rain Pavilion’s ambush.]
[Reward: 3,000 taels of gold.]
[Congratulations, Host. Your investnt in Lu Mo spared him from harm during the Rain Pavilion’s ambush.]
[Reward: Three-Revolving Vitality Grass.]
......
A flood of rewards followed.
This batch was far more extensive—and dazzling—than the last.
After all, his previous efforts had only involved guiding others, whereas this ti, he’d saved lives.
Thus, as long as the recipients didn’t possess white-tier fate, the rewards were all decent.
Li Mo sorted them out as usual.
Sigh.
Counting gold and stacking it into piles was such a tedious chore.
And those rare treasures and heavenly materials—why were there so many? So he didn’t even recognize, and reading their descriptions alone was exhausting.
A rough estimate put the value of the Treasure Pavilion at about one one-hundred-and-fiftieth of a "Li."
And that wasn’t all!
"The juiciest reward—the ice block’s—is still unopened!"
Young Li stared at the unclaid reward, falling into deep thought.
Could her odd behavior be related to this pending investnt return?
They’d only dual cultivated once...
Getting rewards for dual cultivation made sense, but her suddenly gaining enlightennt mid-session was downright baffling.
"Claim."
Shaking his head, Li Mo decided to claim it first.
[Investnt Return: 《Supre Clarity Golden Elixir Scripture》]
[《Supre Clarity Golden Elixir Scripture》]: "A treatise on external alchemy and tallurgical arts, encompassing breath control and unity with the Dao. Profound and abstruse, it embodies the fundantal principles of external elixir refinent."
"Alchemy?"
From the na alone, Li Mo had assud it would be similar to the 《Zhou Heavenly Starry Sky Mystic Elixir Scripture》...
Well.
It wasn’t purely an alchemy manual, though that was part of it.
Beyond refining external elixirs, it also detailed thods to control them.
"One Mystic Elixir Scripture, one Divine Elixir Scripture."
"Could these two synergize sohow...?"
Li Mo recalled the divine technique he’d acquired earlier that day.
《Heaven-Overturning, Earth-Upending Mortal-Slaying Hamr》 comprised three forms.
The first form required at least seven mystic elixirs within the body, arranged like the Big Dipper, to summon the power of falling stars.
Including his sword pellet, he was still four elixirs short.
Cultivating them himself would take who knew how long.
This was the drawback of the 《Zhou Heavenly Starry Sky Mystic Elixir Scripture》—it demanded an excessive amount of ti.
"But what if I refine external elixirs?"
The young genius’s mind whirred into action.
He rembered Elder Xue had attempted sothing similar. Though the experint had t setbacks, it ultimately...
...succeeded on him and Senior Brother Xiaobao.
Was it possible...
...the issue lay in the elixirs themselves?
If he used the 《Supre Clarity Golden Elixir Scripture》 to refine elixirs, could they mimic Senior Brother Xiaobao’s condition, allowing him to replicate Elder Xue’s theory?
Li Mo’s thoughts spiraled outward, conjuring countless possibilities.
Yet, in the end, he shook his head slightly.
"A sha Elder Xue isn’t in Cloudrealm."
"Otherwise, I could’ve asked him directly..."
Having a divine technique but being unable to wield it was frustrating.
Li Mo preferred to integrate it into his arsenal as quickly as possible, making it his trump card.
After so preliminary study—
Well.
This external alchemy art was also directly imprinted into his mind.
Just pondering it for a while left him dizzy, his spirit strained to the limit.
"Almost midnight."
Li Mo glanced at the moon hanging high outside his window.
Stepping out of his room, he approached the ice block’s door.
Just as he raised his hand to knock—
Snap.
The door swung open.
Their eyes t.
......
P.S.: Noted the guest appearances in the comnts, folks! Will pick a few to include later, though no promises on how serious their roles will be...
Moving tomorrow, dear readers—gotta wake up early to write. Mwah!
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