The snake meat and eggs were consumed as food, though Ye Wen carefully set aside the snake eggs to take back to his own room after dinner.

During the meal, Ye Wen kept his words brief. The unconcealed exhaustion etched on Xu Xian’s and Ning Ruxue’s faces signaled to him that this was not the right time for lengthy discussions. So, after they finished eating, everyone retired to their respective rooms to rest. Ye Wen merely offered, "Rest well; we'll talk more tomorrow," before sending his junior sister and junior brother off.

Back in his own quarters, unlike the others who were weary, Ye Wen glanced at the snake gall, hesitated for a moment, and then swallowed it whole. Simultaneously, he activated his Complete True Heart Sutra, slowly assimilating the heat radiating from the gall and gradually converting it into internal energy.

The effect of this gall was clearly far more potent than any he had consumed before. Ye Wen felt a wave of heat surge through him, as if he were trapped in a steamer. If it weren't for the fact that his entire body was only hot, not scalding, and there was no sign of paralysis, he might have suspected he had succumbed to that accursed Fire Toxin once again.

This time, however, he felt secure. With six Small Cold Fruits tucked securely in his embrace, Ye Wen wasn't afraid of being poisoned by fire. He reasoned that even if he were poisoned, he could rely on these few fruits to sustain him for a crucial period until he could reach the Cold Pool and neutralize the toxicity.

It must be said that sometimes ignorance is a form of bliss. If he had known that the most lethal aspect of the Fire Toxin was its ability to instantly damage the brain, rendering the victim unable to think clearly, perhaps he wouldn't have been so confident.

Fortunately, the snake gall contained only the essence of the Red-Lined Snake and no actual toxins. Thus, Ye Wen suffered no harm. Although he appeared to be steaming and drenched in sweat, he personally felt that with each surge of warmth, his internal body seemed to undergo a thorough cleansing.

When he finally regained his clarity, his clothes were already soaked through with sweat. Due to the extended duration, the garments, which had felt as if they were just pulled from hot water, were now cold to the touch. Ye Wen found the sticky sensation immensely uncomfortable.

"Looks like I won't be sleeping tonight then."

Glancing out the window, he noticed the sky was beginning to lighten faintly, suggesting it was already the pre-dawn hours. He was surprised it took such a long time of channeling his power to fully digest the snake gall. After his internal energy received another boost, he felt utterly refreshed, as if he had undergone a complete transformation.

To draw an analogy, it was like a completely exhausted person returning home, taking a deeply satisfying hot bath, and then finally settling into a dry, comfortable, large bed.

Touching the Small Cold Fruits in his embrace, Ye Wen felt that his internal mastery had progressed too much over these two days. He decided to temporarily set aside those remaining fruits. After all, when it came to internal energy, he had to be extremely cautious, as a moment of carelessness could lead to severe consequences. Having already gained considerable benefits, he felt he should not be overly greedy.

"Contentment brings lasting joy."

Taking a deep breath, Ye Wen took out the six Small Cold Fruits and placed them by the bedside. He then went into the partitioned area of his bedroom to wash himself and change into a fresh set of clothes. He intended to wait until dawn and then join his junior disciples for breakfast and morning exercises.

These recent cultivation sessions had not only failed to leave him tired but had instead left him invigorated. There was no need for him to deliberately return to bed and feign rest.

"If I have that time, I might as well practice my boxing forms or spar with my sword."

Although the sky was just beginning to show light, heading out to practice felt somewhat odd. To avoid being mistaken for eccentric, Ye Wen decided to occupy himself with something mundane to pass the remaining time.

Returning to sit on the couch, Ye Wen mentally calculated the days. He realized it had been over a month and a half since his last martial arts summoning. He had been so preoccupied with cultivation lately that he hadn't been as diligent about summoning secret manuals.

This was because, during that period, he noticed his existing martial arts had plateaued. While he had summoned many manuals, few were truly useful.

He had even summoned a set called the Songfeng Swordplay, which proved entirely useless. After flipping through it twice, he immediately decided to reserve it for outer sect disciples to practice.

This Qingcheng Sect sword technique was neither profound nor particularly powerful; it was just right for filling the gap in the outer sect's repertoire, which sorely lacked a decent sword form. After all, the outer sect couldn't rely solely on the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade for everything. In fact, Ye Wen had also hoped to find a suitable palm technique, and if he didn't find one suitable in the future, he would gradually open up the Mian Palm technique to outstanding outer sect disciples.

The last time he summoned, he obtained a sword move called Mount Tai Three Peaks, which heavily relied on internal energy. This move was somewhat similar to the Three Immortals Sword, as both involved three sequential strikes. However, unlike the Three Immortals Sword, which relied on intricate changes in posture and unpredictable attacks to seek victory, the destructive power of Mount Tai Three Peaks depended entirely on the user's level of internal energy cultivation.

It could be said to be an internal martial art; the stronger the user's internal cultivation, the greater the resulting destructive force. Ye Wen had practiced it before and found that to truly establish combat effectiveness and use it in actual fighting, his internal energy was still slightly insufficient. But now, after this recent stroke of fortune, practicing the move again should pose no problem.

At the same time, the technique of "One Sword Manifesting Three Pure Ones" should also be ready for true use. Of course, as a relatively advanced stage within the Quanzhen School's martial arts, Ye Wen was still only at the very entry level.

Calculating this, his cultivation had seen a significant leap. At the very least, there was a qualitative difference compared to his last summoning. If he were to summon now, he stood a good chance of obtaining an even higher-level martial art.

Furthermore, the timing was perfect, and Ye Wen had nothing pressing to do. What could be more worthwhile than summoning a secret manual?

No sooner thought than done. Sitting cross-legged, Ye Wen began to slowly mobilize the internal energy within his body. Moreover, since he had just finished a night of cultivation, the meridians in his body were completely unobstructed. Some meridians rarely circulated were not as congested as they usually were. Circulating internal energy now would maximize its efficacy.

By skipping the initial 'paving' stage, Ye Wen's current summoning was much smoother and more straightforward. He channeled the energy from his Dantian, guiding it along the now incredibly familiar meridian pathways. Feeling his significantly expanded internal energy being absorbed into the ring as if into a bottomless pit, Ye Wen sighed, "I finally understand the helplessness those masters felt when Young Master Duan drained their internal energy."

Because Ye Wen realized this process was almost beyond his control. Once the ring initiated the absorption of internal energy, the power within him would drain away ceaselessly like a bursting dam. Even if he wanted to stop it, it would take considerable effort to do so.

And during his struggle to resist, an untold amount of internal energy was inevitably lost.

Therefore, every time he summoned, Ye Wen’s internal energy would be entirely drained, leaving only a single wisp of True Qi in his Dantian—this was the only reason the ring hadn't crippled his internal cultivation. It was also fortunate that this wisp of True Qi never dissipated, allowing Ye Wen to rely on it to cultivate his internal mastery back to its former state.

Opening his eyes, Ye Wen felt his internal strength had once again been completely depleted. However, this time he noticed that the True Qi involved internally seemed slightly stronger than usual. But it was only a slight increase, so minor that Ye Wen almost suspected it was merely his imagination.

If the remaining wisp of True Qi before was the size of an eyelash, now it might be the size of an eyebrow. The change was genuinely negligible.

For some unknown reason, upon noticing this slight difference, Ye Wen suddenly had a feeling: if he could convert all the internal energy in his body into this specific kind of True Qi, he might become even stronger.

But quickly, his attention was seized by the booklet in his hands. After all, compared to these philosophical musings, he was more concerned about the quality of the manual summoned by exhausting all his internal energy. If it turned out to be something utterly disappointing, he would be depressed for the entire morning.

Fortunately, the ring was very obliging this time. Perhaps because his recent breakthrough was so pronounced, the ring felt 'satisfied' with its feast and delivered the exact type of manual he needed most right now: an internal cultivation technique.

Since experiencing these continuous fortuitous encounters, Ye Wen realized that the Quanzhen Heart Sutra was nearly perfected in his hands. It could be said that there was little room left for further fundamental cultivation within this specific manual. The only thing left to do was to rely on it to continuously nourish his meridians and slowly increase his internal energy.

At this juncture, Ye Wen intensely desired a higher-tier martial arts manual so that his pace of cultivation wouldn't slow down. Precisely at this moment, the ring graciously presented him with such a manual.

The Purple Mist Divine Art (Zixia Shen Gong).

This was the martial art Ye Wen obtained from this summoning, the signature divine art of the Huashan Sect from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

To be honest, the performance of this martial art in the original novel didn't live up to the title "Divine Art." Compared to the Purple Mist, other martial arts bearing the title "Divine Art" in Jin Yong's novels were practically game-breaking, BUG-level existences. Those who could cultivate them were invariably the protagonists of their respective books, and even supporting characters who practiced them were exceptional individuals.

Yet, only this Purple Mist Divine Art failed to embody the value implied by the name "Divine Art."

However, in Ye Wen's view, this divine art wasn't that poor; its tragedy lay in being practiced by the wrong person at the wrong time.

As the only character in the novel who mastered this divine art, Sect Leader Yue gave up further cultivation before even reaching the stage of perfection. Therefore, the lackluster portrayal of the Purple Mist Divine Art in the original text suggested that its mediocrity was less about the technique itself and more about the inadequacy of the person practicing it.

Now, this martial art had fallen into the hands of another person, and this person shared a similar external environment to the character in the original novel. If the divine art possessed a spirit, perhaps it would lament, "The ways of heaven are unjust."

P.S.: I had a detailed discussion with some friends today regarding the subsequent development of this book, resolving many detailed issues. I feel greatly satisfied, but this caused a delay in updates. Rest assured, there are still two chapters today.