With a mere thought from Nie Kong, a wisp of fragrance immediately seeped out of the Ling Shen Acupoint, instantly propelled into the medicine cauldron by the little fellow's innate medicinal power. Nie Kong's palm jolted, and the flames surrounding the cauldron began to undulate toward the center. Under the pressure of the heat, that thread of fragrance gradually permeated the mass of white medicinal power.

The internal state of the medicinal power became perfectly clear in his mind as Nie Kong’s spirit became entirely immersed within it.

The moment the fragrance merged with the medicinal power, a faint, almost imperceptible black vapor could be vaguely seen emanating outward, only to be completely dissolved by the fierce internal flame of the cauldron. Subsequently, a peculiar change manifested at the core of that mass of medicinal power, where specks of green began to spontaneously generate, growing ever denser.

That green essence contained robust vitality, yet it was not purely vital energy. The most miraculous aspect was that Nie Kong sensed an aura within it strikingly similar to the power of the Dark Origin.

"This is also an Origin Power!"

Nie Kong immediately reached a conclusion, "And it is the Origin Power of Wood!" That patch of green expanded rapidly, until it occupied nearly half the volume of the entire medicinal mass. A moment later, the heat withdrew, and Nie Kong impatiently flipped open the cauldron lid, scooping the surging medicinal power into his palm.

Though the surface of this medicinal mass remained pristine white, a fundamental transformation had occurred within.

"Ah-ya-ya!"

Joyful cries echoed from the Ling Shen Acupoint, displaying an intense craving for this medicinal power—a craving utterly simple in its demand: Eat!

"Xiang Xiang, it's for you."

Nie Kong willed it, and the little fellow's innate medicinal power eagerly rushed forward, enveloping the medicinal power in his palm. In just over ten seconds, the entire mass was absorbed by the little one. Nie Kong quickly quieted his senses and soon discovered that the little fellow seemed to have advanced a small step further, and the stored fragrance had also increased.

Most significantly, the amount of increased fragrance far exceeded the amount just consumed—by more than double! Nie Kong promptly switched to another medicinal herb to continue the experiment, and the results were precisely the same as before.

"Good!"

Nie Kong could not suppress his excitement and clapped his hands loudly.

With this, Nie Kong finally set a nagging worry aside. The Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi he cultivated, while closest to the Origin of Heaven and Earth, was merely a fusion of the extreme spiritual energies of life and death, not a genuine Origin Power. Therefore, while it was useful to the little fellow, it made advancement exceedingly difficult.

Now, by utilizing the little fellow's own fragrance, he could refine medicinal power imbued with the Wood Origin Power. This meant that as long as he could find herbs to refine, he could quickly help the little one ascend to the Seventh Tier.

Of course, high-grade spiritual medicines would also work, but their refinement was troublesome, and the resulting Origin Power generally would not exceed what was gained from refining medicinal essences individually.

What Nie Kong needed to do now was continually refine precious medicinal herbs. Precious herbs contained less inherent death qi, and the Wood Origin Power derived from refining them would be greater. For Nie Kong at this juncture, accelerating Xiang Xiang's progression through the tiers was a matter of equal importance to establishing his own faction.

Fortunately, today’s experiment finally offered Nie Kong a glimpse of hope.

For the entire remainder of the day, Nie Kong worked tirelessly condensing medicinal essences, and the precious herbs in his Pet Backpack rapidly diminished.

By the afternoon, all the medicinal herbs containing the least death qi, save for a small portion Nie Kong held back as backup, had been refined into medicinal power and given to the little fellow. Subsequently, Nie Kong began selecting those herbs with more pronounced death qi. The baseline for refining these herbs was crucial: the fragrance consumed by Xiang Xiang had to remain balanced with the fragrance generated when consuming the resultant medicinal power. Only this way could the process be sustained; otherwise, it would be akin to draining a pond to catch fish.

Throughout the day, Nie Kong could clearly sense the little fellow's continuous progress through its joyful cries.

As evening approached, Nie Kong finally stopped. At this point, the little one was poised right on the brink of advancement; finding a medicinal power potent enough would immediately send it into hibernation. Alas, the only natural herb remaining in Nie Kong’s Pet Backpack that met its requirements was the "Fire Tree Silver Flower."

Even if Nie Kong were willing to let the little fellow consume this rare elixir, he would be reluctant to part with it.

"After settling the Dragon Island matters, I'll search in Ling Yu City or Yin Ruins. The Butterfly Secret Realm is another option too," Nie Kong mused, a faint smile touching his lips as he walked away from the flower thicket toward his room. By his estimation, one or two primary ingredients from an Eighth-Grade spiritual medicine like the "Green Shadow Pill Pearl," which could boost cultivation, should suffice.

Upon entering the main hall, dinner had already been prepared, delivered only recently by the two young girls, Long Ping and Long Ting, and still steaming hot. Time quietly slipped by, and when Nie Kong finished bathing and sat cross-legged on his bed preparing to cultivate, the door swung open, and a white silhouette flashed in like a phantom.

It was Long Mei Xian. Having rested for the entire day, she appeared energetic and radiant, though her expression remained as cool and detached as ever.

"Long Mei Xian, you dare to come here?" Recalling the events of the previous night, Nie Kong’s face instantly darkened.

"Why would I not dare to come?" Long Mei Xian sneered.

"You..."

Seeing Long Mei Xian’s air of righteous indignation, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a surge of exasperated anger. But before he could finish his thought, that intensely familiar desire suddenly erupted within him, like a bursting tidal wave, utterly impossible to suppress. In an instant, nearly every cell in his body vibrated with excitement.

It was the "Dragon Mate Love Seal" again!

"Damn it, showing up again!" Nie Kong was nearly driven mad. What was this Long Mei Xian trying to pull off, staging this trick again tonight?

"If it's borrowing seed, how can one success rate be enough in a single attempt?"

A faint blush surfaced on Long Mei Xian's delicate features as she sneered. Without waiting for Nie Kong to act, she lunged forward, her voluptuous and alluring form pressing down upon Nie Kong...

It was almost a replay of the previous encounter—another fierce battle that twisted and turned—even the details of Long Mei Xian departing in the dead of night and being replaced by Tai Yan at dawn mirrored the first time exactly. The only difference was that Long Mei Xian's performance this time was comparatively lackluster; she was defeated after only three rounds.

When Long Ping and Long Ting brought breakfast, Nie Kong, as usual, inquired about Long Xue Chan's condition. Learning that she was still sleeping in, he felt a measure of relief.

In truth, Nie Kong could more or less guess the real reason why the sisters had slept in for two consecutive days. Their mental connection was exceptionally acute, coupled with their close proximity in the Dragon Valley region. Since he had engaged in fierce battles with Long Mei Xian for two nights, it was surprising if Long Xue Chan could even sleep at all.

By mid-morning, the sky was overcast with thick clouds.

Nie Kong leaned back on the lounge chair at the center of the flower thicket, his mood as gloomy as the current weather, having lost all interest in studying medicines. Despite the extreme pleasure he derived from the encounters over the last two days, the oppression in his heart only grew heavier.

If it had been just a single instance, Nie Kong might have been able to tolerate it, but being ensnared by Long Mei Xian’s machinations twice in a row left him deeply frustrated.

"I absolutely must curb her arrogance!"

Nie Kong took a deep breath, almost spitting the words out through gritted teeth.