Ye Tai changed the fatigued and soundly sleeping Bing'er into a set of ceremonial robes and laid her gently upon a sheet of snow-white demon fox pelt. He glanced at the disheveled interior, waved a hand, and a surge of mana completely purged the spiritual fire energy and medicinal residues from the cultivation chamber, replacing them with the new, gentle fragrance of an aromatic incense.

He then left the chamber, retracting the shape-shifting Skeleton Demon outside into his Spirit Beast Pouch. Seeing that no one had come to disturb the peace, he instructed Bai Xiu'er to cultivate the Strength Cultivator secret arts on her own before returning to the inner chamber. He settled into meditation, cultivating the Zuo Wang Jing technique while keeping watch until Huangfu Bing'er awoke.

"Husband..."

Only after half a day did Huangfu Bing'er finally stir, uttering a soft call.

Ye Qin immediately opened his eyes from his meditative state, looking at her with concern. "Bing'er, how do you feel?"

"Nothing unusual. I'll try circulating my technique!"

As Huangfu Bing'er rose, she settled into a cross-legged posture, silently cycling the Ice Fire Art within her.

Most cultivators can only accurately gauge their Spirit Root potential points when they are newly born, when the spiritual energy is pure. After cultivation in later life, the powerful interference of the internal mana makes accurate detection impossible.

However, an increase in potential points can still be inferred through the cultivation of techniques. Because, for a fixed Spirit Root, the vital essence generated with every cycle of a technique is constant. If one potential point in the Spirit Root increases, the vital essence produced will increase by that slight amount.

"There's a tiny bit more vital energy than before. And," as she circulated her technique, the ice and fire magics were exceptionally balanced, flowing much more smoothly and perfectly!"

Huangfu Bing'er meditated, running her technique for half an hour, a look of pleasant surprise spreading across her face. She finally confirmed it—her vital essence had indeed increased by a small amount compared to before.

This added fraction of Spirit Root potential, and the resulting surplus vital energy, seemed minuscule, but it was constantly contributing to the vital energy gained from technique cultivation, the control over external spiritual energy, the speed of spell mastery, and the power of the spells themselves.

Over time, this accrued vital energy would culminate in an astonishing total benefit.

Most importantly, both her Ice and Fire Spirit Roots were at forty-nine points. When circulating the Ice Fire Condensing Heart Art, she no longer had to worry about deviations leading to Qi deviation and demonic possession.

Only then did Ye Qin finally set his heart at ease.

A thought suddenly striking him, he took out the jade bottle still containing the Medicine Spirit from his storage pouch. "Bing'er, there is still one Medicine Spirit here. Consume it and see what kind of Medicine Spirit it is."

Huangfu Bing'er hummed softly, opened the jade bottle, and a small cluster of Medicine Spirit floated out.

It darted about in the air, flickering erratically, its movements incredibly strange and unpredictable.

She wove her hands, channeling mana into a net to capture the small cluster of Medicine Spirit, then peered at it with a touch of curiosity.

Medicine Spirits born from the essence of high-grade spirit herbs possess mystical attributes. To consume a Medicine Spirit is, to some extent, to plunder the spirit's capabilities for one's own use.

After consuming this small cluster of Medicine Spirit essence, Huangfu Bing'er immediately began circulating her technique. Almost instantaneously, that tiny cluster exploded within her. A strange sensation rapidly spread throughout her entire body, accompanied by a torrent of spell insights flooding into her mind.

This peculiar transformation arrived swiftly and departed just as fast.

"What is it?"

Ye Qin could not discern any anomaly within Bing'er's body.

"Something strange happened; I suddenly comprehended an earth-elemental spell... I'll try it."

Huangfu Bing'er looked puzzled. She channeled her hands to perform the newly comprehended spell formula, and suddenly vanished from her spot, instantly flickering away.

At that exact moment, she reappeared in the opposite corner of the cultivation room.

"Void Rend Flash!"

Seeing this, Ye Qin couldn't help but be startled.

This was clearly the Wind Elemental spell, Void Rend Flash.

For Wind Elemental cultivators, Void Rend Flash was an escape technique only comprehensible upon mastering higher-tier spells—the ability to instantly teleport a short spatial distance when unimpeded.

It was a technique for short-range evasion, considered the strongest dodge in combat.

This wind-elemental instant movement spell was extremely useful, whether for launching surprise attacks on an opponent or evading their assaults.

Ye Qin's understanding of Void Rend Flash stemmed entirely from an encounter with a Bat King Demon long ago.

However, throughout his cultivation in the East Sea Immortal Realm thus far, Ye Qin had never seen any cultivator employ Void Rend Flash. Even when battling Du Qingliang, a Golden Core cultivator hailed as a Wind Elemental genius from the Shang Tang Palace, he had not witnessed Du Qingliang use this wind spell.

It was unclear whether Du Qingliang was intentionally concealing his ability or if he simply hadn't comprehended this high-tier spell. Then again, Du Qingliang had only just entered the first or second layer of the Golden Core stage back then, so it was highly probable he hadn't grasped it.

In reality, advancing spell mastery was extremely difficult; cultivators who dedicated purely to spell practice were rare in the cultivation world.

This was because spells offered no shortcuts, nor any supposed sudden enlightenment.

One had to repeatedly cast the spell over and over to gain application experience. This process rapidly depleted one's internal mana, necessitating the use of spirit stones, or even more costly spirit wine, for replenishment. Year after year, over decades or centuries, practice made perfect, and only then could a spell reach great mastery.

The progression from low-tier to mid-tier, and then to high-tier spells, consumed immense effort, time, and wealth. Every day required an expenditure of spirit stones—though perhaps not a large amount individually, the constant drain became unsustainable over time. This often left pure spell cultivators with insufficient financial resources to acquire top-tier artifacts.

The most crucial point was that the effect of spells was not always pronounced. The combat power of a pure spell cultivator was not necessarily superior to that of a cultivator relying on artifacts. The only true advantage for spell cultivators was that, since they didn't prioritize artifacts, they were unconcerned by artifact damage. Their combat strength remained stable. Conversely, cultivators who relied heavily on artifacts would suffer an immediate, significant drop in power if their artifacts were damaged, making them unable to compete with pure spell cultivators. Combat effectiveness was largely tied to the quality of one's artifacts and magical treasures.

Precisely because spell cultivation was so arduous and results so slow to manifest, cultivators reaching the high-tier spell level were uncommon. A large proportion of Golden Core cultivators with Wind Spirit Roots could not even execute a high-tier spell like Void Rend Flash. Only those at the Nascent Soul stage had managed to elevate their spell mastery to such heights.

Ye Qin was a Five-Element Spirit Root cultivator, capable of practicing spells across all five elements. However, he rarely focused on them; his spells in all five elements were not particularly strong. His ascent in strength relied mainly on using vast quantities of spirit pills to rapidly boost his cultivation level. Facing lower-level cultivators with superior cultivation provided an overwhelming advantage, augmented by powerful artifacts sufficient to contend with peers of the same stage.

Huangfu Bing'er was extremely excited, constantly executing Void Rend Flash within the cultivation chamber.

"This chamber is too small; I can only flash about twenty feet, not reaching the maximum range yet. Let's go find a stretch of ocean and truly test the power of Void Rend Flash!" she declared.

"Agreed!"

The heavy weight lifted from Ye Qin's mind; having gained such significant insight, his spirits were soaring.

The two then left Linhai City.

Ye Qin piloted the Dark Cloud Barrier dozens of miles out to sea, finding a sparsely populated area of ocean east of the city before hovering in place.

Huangfu Bing'er began to execute Void Rend Flash with full effort. In an instant, the flash propelled her a full seven hundred feet. She followed with successive flashes; merely ten rapid displacements carried her fifty miles away.

"Void Rend Flash... is it the late-stage Minor Divine Ability level?"

Ye Qin could only stare dumbfounded at the sight. In just two moments, she had covered ten miles. Then, with two more instantaneous flashes, she returned to Ye Qin's side, appearing perfectly composed.

"High-tier Void Rend Flash allows teleportation between thirty and seventy feet. Minor Divine Ability-tier Void Rend Flash covers three hundred to seven hundred feet. The version I obtained can tear through seven hundred feet of void, making it late-stage Minor Divine Ability level. Of course, casting this spell consumes mana extremely fiercely; just a few uses depleted nearly half my mana. Fewer than ten casts will completely exhaust my spiritual energy."

Even the usually composed Huangfu Bing'er found her excitement and elation hard to describe. "It's a pity I don't have a Wind Spirit Root. Even though I gained a wind spell from the Medicine Spirit, I cannot continue to cultivate and improve it; it will probably remain at this power level forever."

"The greatest utility of Void Rend Flash isn't long-distance flight, but combat. When used offensively, a seven-hundred-foot teleportation strike lands instantly, instilling terror. When used for evasion, the direction of the flash is utterly unpredictable, leaving no trace. In a fierce battle, the enemy cannot track your trajectory, and even controlling flying swords or artifacts to attack cannot correct direction fast enough for pursuit! Such a spell, even if used only once, poses a fatal threat, let alone being able to cast it nearly ten times. Cultivators' evasive movements rely on boosting their own speed over short distances, and they leave traceable paths, incomparable to Void Rend Flash. Furthermore, once one breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage and mana greatly increases, Void Rend Flash might even enable long-distance flight," Ye Qin chuckled.

"Let's try some sparring. Previously, I was weaker than you and avoided fighting, but now we can test who is stronger!" Huangfu Bing'er smiled slyly, summoning the Rock Fire Butterfly Wings. The brilliantly glowing wings fluttered softly, making her appear even more ethereal and incomparably beautiful.

Though the Rock Fire Butterfly Wings were merely a top-tier fire-elemental flying artifact, with average flight speed, their advantage lay in their extreme agility and subtle shifts, and they could slightly amplify fire-elemental spell power. This artifact wasn't suited for long-distance travel; she usually used another top-tier fire flying sword. With her sharp intellect, Huangfu Bing'er immediately realized that combining the nimble Rock Fire Butterfly Wings with the newly acquired Void Rend Flash would maximize its potential power.

"Alright!" Ye Qin laughed, then summoned his five flying swords, arranging them into the formidable Great Five Elements Sword Array around his body. The five swords positioned themselves at five points, rotating rapidly, ensuring dense defense at every angle.

As soon as the Great Five Elements Sword Array manifested, Ye Qin’s expression turned cautious and serious. Given Bing'er’s combined powers—the intensely aggressive Ice and Fire dual swords, plus the newly acquired Minor Divine Ability instant movement—he had to be extremely wary, daring not to be careless in the slightest.

Huangfu Bing'er fluttered her butterfly wings, circling Ye Qin's position within a thousand-foot radius, carefully searching for weaknesses. A thousand feet was enough distance to maintain safety while retaining the ability to launch a surprise attack via Void Rend Flash at any moment. Although she possessed the flash ability for offense, Ye Qin's Great Five Elements Sword Array boasted formidable defense, not easily broken.

"Be careful!" Seeing the stalemate, Ye Qin let out a sharp shout, simultaneously guiding his sword art to launch a probing attack—a streak of golden light shot towards Huangfu Bing'er, while a gap appeared in the Great Five Elements Sword Array.

However, even with Ye Qin launching merely a probing move, the next second made him break out in a cold sweat. Seeing Ye Qin’s flying sword attack approach from a thousand feet away, Huangfu Bing'er flapped her Rock Fire Butterfly Wings and instantly vanished from her original spot.

In an instant, an extremely dangerous aura materialized to Ye Qin's left flank, followed by a cold gleam of light surging towards the exposed weak point in the Great Five Elements Sword Array.

Ye Qin’s heart jolted. Without hesitation, he commanded the golden sword he had just shot out to forcefully bend mid-air, returning to seal the breach in the formation.

The Great Five Elements Sword Array closed once more, the five sword lights clashing—Clang! The sharp, cold streak of the sword attack was repelled.

Ye Qin looked to his left. Behind Huangfu Bing'er, her butterfly wings stirring, sixteen Ice Soul Primordial Spirit Minor Swords orbited her exquisite body as she smiled at him knowingly.

The shock Ye Qin felt was inexpressible. This round of offense and defense was merely a probe. Yet, even so, after only one flash from Bing'er, he was forced into a purely defensive posture, unable to press his attack. Otherwise, given the power of Bing'er's Void Rend Flash and the speed of her surprise attack, it would have been virtually impossible to block. In actual combat, a minor error could prove fatal. In a real fight, such a wind-elemental Minor Divine Ability instant movement technique was terrifying, rivaling the concealed assault power of his Heaven One Stygian Water Sword.

Thinking this, Ye Qin couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. Relying only on the Great Five Elements Sword Array for defense, while safe, made it utterly impossible to successfully strike Bing'er. Moreover, in such a standoff, he not only had to exert mental energy for both offense and defense but also reserve nearly half his divine sense just to track Bing'er's position after a Void Rend Flash, bracing for an unexpected strike.

Over the next half hour, Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er exchanged blows several more times over the ocean surface. The final outcome was that unless he deployed his highly stealthy Heaven One Stygian Water Sword, concealing its presence so Bing'er couldn't locate it—thereby forcing her to retreat in alarm—he could not truly threaten her. But the moment Ye Qin concealed the sword's essence, Bing'er recognized the sword's danger, immediately grew alert, and retreated far back to form a tight sword array defense against a potential sneak attack. Ye Qin also dared not rashly attack with his other swords for fear of exposing a flaw, allowing Bing'er to instantly bypass his defenses with a flash.

Both knew the trump cards of the other's offense and defense. This kind of sparring required extreme caution but made true, meaningful engagement difficult. Huangfu Bing'er's only weakness was the massive mana consumption required for a single Void Rend Flash. If several consecutive flashes failed to result in a successful surprise attack, she would be weakened significantly due to the depleted mana.

If this were a fight to the death, Ye Qin would likely win in the end, relying on the Great Five Elements Sword Array, but this felt utterly boring.

"Let's return to the city. We've tested the power of Void Rend Flash sufficiently. To determine a winner would probably take several days," Ye Qin said with a wry smile, frustrated by his inability to land a blow.

Although this bout yielded no clear victor, the fact that Bing'er could force him into a purely defensive posture meant her combat strength was at the pinnacle among late-stage Golden Core cultivators.