Translator: CinderTL
More than ten days later, Song Wen lay half-reclined on the stone bed, his right hand supporting his weak, aching lower back. A hint of unconcealed exhaustion lingered in his eyes.
Beside him, Qi Luo's face flushed crimson, her eyes still brimming with lingering passion. She rose from the bed and began to dress.
"Only with you can I truly find satisfaction," she said. "Hong Zhe's cultivation of the Corpse Path Art has ruined his body. He always rushes things."
Song Wen turned to look at her. "Qi Luo, why are you dressing? Are you leaving?"
"I've been away for too long," Qi Luo replied. "If I don't return soon, Hong Zhe will grow suspicious."
Song Wen sighed inwardly, but outwardly he let out a wistful sigh, his face filled with melancholy. "Meeting is difficult, parting even harder. When will we meet again?"
Qi Luo paused in her dressing, turning to look at him.
"Meeting is difficult, parting even harder! These words perfectly describe our situation. But don't worry too much. When the opportunity arises, I'll come see you again."
As she spoke, her eyes curved into crescent moons, and a radiant, flirtatious smile bloomed on her face.
"This clandestine feeling is truly thrilling," Song Wen said, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"If I ever advance to the Void Refinement Stage, I'll meet you openly and honorably," Song Wen declared, his expression tinged with resentment.
"Then I'll wait for you," Qi Luo replied with a smile.
As she spoke, she had already dressed.
A storage pouch suddenly appeared before her.
"What you wanted is here. I'm leaving now. Until next time."
Qi Luo tossed the storage pouch to Song Wen and turned to dart out of the cave.
Only after Qi Luo had vanished into the distance did Song Wen extend his divine sense into the storage pouch.
Confirming that the five Jade Yin Stones and thirteen Silver Horn Flowers were indeed present, Song Wen sat up.
His brow furrowed as he reached back to touch his lower back.
"Even a void refinement cultivator is still mortal flesh and blood. Fatigue is inevitable," he mused, retrieving a medicinal pill and swallowing it.
He quickly dressed, then gathered all the items from the cave, including the formation flags used to set up the concealment formation, before leaving the underwater cavern.
Song Wen ascended to the lake's surface, recalled the four Gu insects he had stationed as sentries, and soared away.
After circling around to ensure no one was following him, he flew toward the Withered Desolation Marsh.
When he returned to his cultivation cave on Wu Yuan Island, Ye Bing was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the cave's depths, her eyes slightly closed. Her right hand was raised, index finger extended, tracing a pattern in the air.
Spiritual light shimmered at her fingertip, sketching an arcane rune in mid-air.
The rune was ephemeral; the moment Ye Bing's finger paused, it would dissipate.
Song Wen immediately recognized it as the Minor Teleportation Talisman.
Clearly, Ye Bing hadn't yet mastered the talisman's creation and was merely practicing its formation in the air to grasp the drawing method.
Ye Bing had already sensed Song Wen's return. After completing a rune, she opened her eyes and turned to look at him.
"How goes the collection of spiritual materials for the Earth Evasion Talisman?"
Song Wen approached Ye Bing and sat down beside her.
A faint smile played on his lips as he reached into his robe and produced a storage pouch, offering it to her.
"Immortal Maiden, please examine this."
Ye Bing accepted the pouch with suspicion, probing it with her divine sense.
In an instant, her face lit up with surprise, her eyes flickering with disbelief.
Having crafted Earth Evasion Talismans multiple times, she knew firsthand how rare these spiritual materials were.
"You've only been gone for half a month. How did you gather twenty sets of these materials?"
"Though my journey was brief, it was fraught with peril. I was fortunate to gather these Spirit Herbs," Song Wen replied calmly, though a hint of exhaustion lingered in his voice.
Ye Bing's gaze shifted from the storage pouch to Song Wen's face.
"Gou Jun, while treasures are important, your safety is paramount."
Song Wen replied, "Thank you for your concern, Immortal Maiden. However, before departing, I promised you I would bring back the materials for the Earth Evasion Talisman. I couldn't break my word."
Ye Bing said, "Gou Jun, I used to think you were just a silver-tongued charmer. I never imagined you had such integrity. You've truly impressed me."
Song Wen's expression remained composed. "Immortal Maiden, you flatter me. People are different, and I treat them accordingly. Since you've shown me sincerity, I naturally reciprocate in kind."
A flicker of emotion crossed Ye Bing's eyes as she stared at Song Wen, momentarily speechless.
"Immortal Maiden..."
Song Wen had just begun to speak when he suddenly saw her crimson lips part abruptly.
"Mmm..."
Ye Bing leaned in, pressing her body against Song Wen's.
The two tumbled to the ground.
Lying on the hard earth, Song Wen felt a sudden weakness in his lower back.
Barely managing to escape Ye Bing's lips, he quickly protested, "Immortal Maiden, didn't you say we should treat each other as fellow daoists?"
"We cultivators have no need for such formalities," Ye Bing replied, tearing at Song Wen's robes while shattering her own. "We follow our hearts."
Song Wen sighed inwardly, resigning himself to his fate.
Several days later, Ye Bing, now properly dressed, had resumed her usual detached and aloof demeanor.
"Sharing a room might disrupt our cultivation," she said. "I plan to carve out a secluded chamber where I can focus on drawing talismans."
Song Wen seemed distracted. His lower back no longer ached from weakness but throbbed with a dull, swollen pain.
"Do as you wish, Immortal Maiden. I need to venture out to gather spiritual materials for refining mystic treasures."
"Then be cautious," Ye Bing warned. "Though you've reached the Void Refinement Stage, you're not without enemies in the Qicang Domain."
Song Wen nodded and flew out of the cultivation cave.
After leaving Wu Yuan Island, Song Wen paused mid-air, pondered briefly, and then headed toward Ice Ling Island, where Ye Bing had once resided.
He sought a secluded place to refine the Blood Sea Seal, and Ice Ling Island seemed ideal.
However, as he approached the island's former location, he found only murky, foul-smelling water where the island had once stood.
Song Wen wasn't surprised.
Years ago, when Du'e failed to capture him and Ye Bing, he had vented his rage on Ice Ling Island, destroying it completely. This outcome was entirely predictable.
Fortunately, the earth veins deep beneath the surface remained intact, and the area was still rich in Spiritual Qi.
Song Wen dove into the underwater silt and carved out a cultivation cave, a hundred zhang in size, deep beneath the original island.
His most powerful defensive and concealment formations—the Nine Heavens Return to Origin Formation and the Heavenly Mechanism Concealment Formation—were still on Wu Yuan Island. He had no choice but to deploy the Five Elements Concealment Formation and the Stellar Cycle Formation, formations he hadn't used in years.
Song Wen retrieved a meditation cushion and sat cross-legged at the center of the cave.
A grain-sized drop of blood essence emerged from between his eyebrows, flowing continuously like a crimson thread.
Guided by his spiritual power, the thread of blood essence danced nimbly through the air, weaving and intertwining like embroidery thread in the hands of a celestial weaver, gradually forming an intricate pattern.
As the blood essence drained, Song Wen's face grew increasingly pale.
He flipped his hand and produced a jade bottle. The bottle floated upward, hovering above his head.
The bottle tilted, and scarlet blood flowed out, dripping into Song Wen's wide-open mouth.
Instantly, his complexion returned to normal.
(End of the Chapter)