"..." "Mu Kong, you... you dare strike me?" "You damned bastard!

One day, I will repay the humiliation you inflicted upon me a hundredfold!" "..." "Ow, Mu Kong, stop!" "Don't hit my face! I won't dare again, sob..." "..." After a long while, the furious curses had devolved into whimpering pleas for mercy.

In the courtyard, the long-haired girl who had just scaled the wall was flattened against the gap in the door, her rear elevated, her slender waist arched, constantly peering inside, her dark, sharp eyes betraying an unconcealable excitement. "Creak!" The door suddenly pulled open, revealing Nie Kong’s silhouette standing before the long-haired girl.

Looking at her freshly lifted, pretty face, he laughed teasingly, "Is it a good view?" "It’s a great view!" The long-haired girl cheered, shaking her small fists, looking eager to jump in, then, with a sudden familiarity, added, "I heard that guy call you Mu Kong? Mu Kong, how is he now?

He’s lying on the ground, not moving—you didn't beat him to death, did you?" "How could I? Didn't you hear him say I was his cousin?

Why would I kill my own cousin? I was just teaching him a lesson.

By the way, do you need something?" Looking at this exceedingly curious long-haired girl, Nie Kong couldn't help but chuckle. He had noticed her trailing him since she arrived but had ignored her, never expecting the girl to be so bold.

If he hadn't opened the door, she might have already forced her way inside. "Of course, I do.

You saved me from a tight spot, and I haven't thanked you yet." The long-haired girl beamed, clearly agitated, her bright black eyes blinking rapidly as they fixed on Nie Kong. Her gaze was clear and pure, like two pools of pristine spring water, brimming with unspoken feeling.

"No need..." Bang! Nie Kong slammed the door shut.

If they were outside the Yin Ruins, hearing such a delicate and beautiful girl offer thanks, Nie Kong might have entertained some banter. But after spending so many days here, Nie Kong was extremely wary of the women in this place; it was best to keep his distance unless absolutely necessary.

"Eh?" The long-haired girl was stunned by Nie Kong’s abrupt door-closing. After a moment of surprise, a brilliant gleam flashed in her watery, beautiful eyes.

She rolled her eyes, then subtly raised her delicate eyebrows, a sly smile touching the corner of her lips. She raised her small hand and began pounding vigorously on the door in successive knocks.

"Something else?" After a considerable pause, Nie Kong opened the door again, frowning slightly. The long-haired girl put on a stern expression and huffed, "Mu Kong, I am a person who always settles debts of kindness and enmity clearly.

Since you helped me just now, if I don't thank you properly, I'll feel uneasy. You look very unfamiliar, so you must be new to Yin Yue City.

How about this: tomorrow, I’ll take you for a proper tour of Yin Yue City. There isn’t a place here I don't know.

Just name it, and I can take you to see it." Offering favors unsolicited must mean she had an ulterior motive. Furthermore, the rescue just now wasn't worth such persistent attention.

This girl following him all the way here suggested she wanted something else. Thinking this, Nie Kong let out a slight, cold laugh: "Little sister, I want to visit the Great Evolution Palace.

Can you take me in?" "Of course..." The long-haired girl waved her hand dismissively, but then she seemed to recall something, a faint blush rising on her pretty face. She awkwardly continued her original thought, "I can't!

Mu Kong, the Great Evolution Palace is where the Azure Robe Sect resides! How could an ordinary person get in?" Although the girl’s expression was somewhat strange, her answer was exactly what Nie Kong expected.

He teased her, "If the Great Evolution Palace is out, how about the Wood Spirit Palace?" "Uh, that..." The blush on the long-haired girl's cheeks deepened, making her look exquisitely ripe. "Little sister, it's almost dark.

You should hurry home; don't waste time here," Nie Kong laughed heartily, backing up a few steps. The door slammed shut once more, cutting off the long-haired girl's view, his movements seeming almost urgent, as if he feared she might continue to pester him.

This long-haired girl was Mu Qingying. Before leaving her sleeping quarters, she had told Mu Nianzhue she was just coming here to look around.

But upon reaching this Yue Moon Tower, she changed her mind, only to be shut out twice. Looking at the closed door, Mu Qingying didn't feel annoyed; instead, an irrepressible smile played on her lips.

"He deliberately used the Great Evolution Palace and the Wood Spirit Palace, two forbidden areas, to test me. A young man like him—there’s probably only one in the entire Yin Ruins.

Hmph, Mu Kong, if you aren't my husband, who will be?" Mu Qingying's eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons. After glancing at the room, she smiled sweetly and walked to the foot of the courtyard wall.

With a light push from her feet, her body vaulted over the high wall, her long hair flowing behind her as she quickly vanished into the distance... Hearing the footsteps outside gradually fade, Nie Kong let out a silent breath of relief.

It was undeniable that the long-haired girl was stunningly beautiful. Since arriving on the Tian Ling Continent, Nie Kong had seen many beauties, and the girl’s looks were certainly among the top three.

Even here in the Yin Ruins, teeming with beauties, she was peerless, transcendentally lovely, and capable of stirring the heart—much like Mu Feihe, whom Nie Kong had just brutally beaten again. However, Nie Kong was different from Mu Feihe; he was now almost completely immune to female beauty, especially that of the women in the Yin Ruins!

It was a relief the girl left on her own accord, otherwise, Nie Kong would have had another headache to deal with. At this moment, Mu Feihe’s face had swelled up into another pig’s head.

Taking advantage of the moment Nie Kong opened the door, he crawled onto a chair, making constant groaning sounds, staring at Nie Kong with venomous eyes. Nie Kong merely glanced at him and paid him no further mind, seating himself cross-legged on the bed and settling his spirit to begin his cultivation.

There was still a month until Princess Qingying’s "Heart Canon" ceremony. Nie Kong planned to use this final period to focus intensely on his practice, striving to transform the "Spring and Autumn Life Spirit Art" into the true "Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art." If the cultivation technique could be perfected, Nie Kong’s strength could be exerted far more effectively.

"Boom!" The Divine Spirit Aperture vibrated violently, and the six pairs of small apertures within it continued to spin. Vast amounts of spiritual energy surged in and out, forming a bizarre shape within the Divine Spirit Aperture.

Attracted by the fluctuation of this aperture, abundant vibrant green Wood Spirit energy elements and vital life force enveloped Nie Kong. One positive and one negative...

one Yin... one Yang...

One... Life...

One... Death...

These words flashed repeatedly in his mind. Unconsciously, Nie Kong's spirit became completely absorbed in the Divine Spirit Aperture, meticulously observing the transformations in the aperture, the spiritual energy elements, the spiritual energy, and the vital life force.

He continuously derived possibilities in his mind, then tested them based on his deductions. Time flowed rapidly.

The last sliver of light vanished from the heavens and earth, and darkness enveloped the entire Yin Ruins. After an unknown duration, the eastern sky faintly showed the pale white of dawn, yet Nie Kong remained motionless, seated in the room.

The Wood Spirit energy elements and life force continued to converge on Nie Kong’s body from all directions, forming an increasingly deep, emerald-green vortex before him. One night passed, and Mu Feihe finally awoke.

Seeing the thick, tangible green cocoon, Mu Feihe froze, his eyes wide with astonishment. The Half-Spirit race members of the Yin Ruins could also absorb spiritual energy elements for cultivation.

Due to inheriting the bloodline of the "Ancestor Heaven Divine Luo Tree," quite a few clansmen possessed wood-attribute constitutions. For reasons unknown, these individuals cultivated their Heart Images at a remarkable speed, far surpassing other clansmen.

However, when it came to cultivating spiritual energy, their speed was the slowest. Even those with Void Spirit level or higher wood attributes would struggle to gather such immense Wood Spirit energy elements around themselves as Nie Kong was doing.

After staring blankly for a long time, Mu Feihe awoke as if from a dream. He glared hatefully at the green cocoon, then shook his groggy head and walked toward the door.

Just as he reached for the handle, Mu Feihe seemed to remember something. He tiptoed back to Nie Kong, quietly picked up a nearby stool, a sinister grin spreading across his swollen face.

"Nie Kong, you bastard, you dared to hit me! Your retribution has arrived." As he spoke, the stool in Mu Feihe's hand smashed down fiercely toward Nie Kong.

"An!" The stool hit the vortex dead center, but with a whoosh, it was repelled and slammed heavily onto Mu Feihe’s lower abdomen. One of the stool legs, however, angled sharply and pierced directly between Mu Feihe’s legs.

With a sharp yelp, Mu Feihe clutched the area beneath his abdomen with both hands, hopping and jumping like a shrimp violently flopping out of water—utterly comical. At this moment, Mu Feihe's complexion was spectacularly vivid, shifting from white to red, from red to blue, and from blue back to white.

After a long while, the chameleon-like Mu Feihe finally regained his breath, glaring sideways at Nie Kong through gritted teeth. Then, behaving like a woman newly acquainted with intimacy, he walked out of the room with a swaying gait, clamping his legs together, emitting only a whistling sound through his teeth as he went.

His face was beyond description. Although Mu Feihe left Nie Kong’s courtyard, he did not step foot outside the Yue Moon Tower for the rest of the day.

It wasn't that he didn't want to; it was that he couldn't bear the shame... The red sun rose and set, and darkness was about to fall over the Yin Ruins.

Nie Kong, still encased in the green cocoon, showed no movement, but the green aura surrounding him had intensified slightly. The entire room was filled with a dazzling green radiance, a magnificent glow penetrating the window, making it impossible to look directly at.

Suddenly, a figure clad in pink vaulted lightly over the courtyard wall and landed softly in the yard. It was a girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen, with exquisitely delicate features, rosy cheeks, hair as smooth as flowing clouds, and a perfectly proportioned figure—it was Mu Qingying, who had sneaked out of the Great Evolution Palace again.

"Such dense Wood Spirit energy elements!" Mu Qingying whispered when she approached the window for a closer look. Then, she broke into a wide smile, her lips moving slightly as she mumbled something under her breath.

Her figure retreated lightly, and moments later, she vaulted back over the courtyard wall, disappearing like a streak of pink flowing light into the dim twilight. Nie Kong seemed utterly oblivious to the activity outside.

Time slipped by quietly... "Two days"...

"Three days"... "Five days"...

"Ten days"... "Eighteen days"...

P.S.: I managed to type three thousand characters after a full day on the road, feeling groggy. I’ll make up for the deficit tomorrow; I truly can’t today, I keep dozing off.

Apologies to everyone~...