The very first sensation he registered was a faint ache throbbing in his right wrist. He lifted it into his line of sight; it had stopped bleeding and was already healing. Still, the lingering brownish-red mark was a shocking sight.

Zong Shou sighed inwardly. Drawing his own blood had become a habit. If not for his successful Marrow Refining cultivation, which kept his vital energy robust, he would have inevitably suffered the consequences of blood depletion.

The talisman ink used by Spirit Masters was best when utilizing one’s own vital blood, making it most potent. However, there were substitutes available. In fact, there were nearly ten known substances that performed even better.

It was just a pity that he didn't possess a single one of them.

Glancing out the window again, he knew instantly, without needing to check, that it was already noon on the second day.

And in the next instant, Zong Shou’s expression froze.

“This fluctuation of spiritual energy is strange. It seems someone nearby is cultivating, or perhaps using a Spirit Array. This location… it feels like it’s right next door?”

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow. The only person occupying the room adjacent to his was Xuanyuan Yiren. She had forcefully moved in a few days prior, disregarding his consent and depositing all her belongings inside.

He had almost forgotten about her, especially since she hadn't been around for the past several days.

“I wonder what kind of technique this girl cultivates. Is it the Fire Moon Nether Art, or the Yin Moon Fire Origin Manual? It’s so peculiar! Oh, right, I recall the Danquan Sect once secretly passed down an ultimate technique, the Profound Moon Wood Brilliance Art. They said it allowed for simultaneous cultivation of Spirit and Martial arts, achieving a seven-tenths success rate in alchemy with it. But wasn't that technique long proven flawed and abandoned by everyone?”

Zong Shou shook his head and stepped toward the door. However, just as he was about to cross the threshold, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a hole in the wall.

It was the very hole he had pierced through with his Thunder Fang Sword a few days ago. Although he had ordered the servants of the courtyard to clean up afterward, the breach in the wall had never been patched.

Struggling internally, Zong Shou hesitated for a moment. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he quietly approached the hole. He mentally pleaded, Forgive me, Miss Yiren; it’s not that I wish to peep at your cultivation, but I am concerned.

The power of the Profound Moon Wood Brilliance Art was formidable, undeniably so. However, in its later stages, it contained a catastrophic flaw.

More than a dozen of the Danquan Sect’s most talented disciples had perished because of it, falling short of the Immortal Martial Realm and leading directly to the sect’s subsequent decline—dropping from the seventh of the Nineteen Spirit Mansions to the fourteenth.

If he hadn't seen it, it wouldn't matter. If Xuanyuan Yiren had simply severed their engagement cleanly, he could have ignored the matter entirely.

But since she had come to him, he couldn't simply stand by. This woman, despite having her head filled with absurd notions of righteousness, insisted on upholding the engagement, which was frankly giving him a headache. Yet, deep down, he felt a touch of pleasure regarding Xuanyuan Yiren.

Forget this bloody era; even in the subsequent prosperous age established by the Divine Emperor, people valuing such moral integrity were rare. For a woman, it was even more exceptional.

He brought his eye close to the aperture and saw only a glimmer of spiritual light.

Near the wooden bed, a pill—half red and half green—was suspended in the air. This object was the one greedily absorbing immense celestial spiritual energy; it was the source of all the localized energy anomalies.

“So it's an external elixir. No wonder this girl broke through to the Xiantian Realm at sixteen! She seems to have even reached the Third Meridian of the Earth Wheel, slightly stronger than Zhao Yanran. How can there be so many geniuses in this world…”

Zong Shou muttered inwardly, but he could discern that Xuanyuan Yiren’s innate talent was indeed considerable—she was likely only half a step away from true Xiantian mastery.

The previous time he observed her, he only noted her surging Yang energy and undeniably solid foundation.

It wouldn't take long for her to stop relying on the external elixir’s aid. And this pill could eventually become one of her personal spirit artifacts.

However, upon scrutinizing the rhythm of respiration of the half-red, half-green pill, and the occasional spiritual patterns flashing across its surface, Zong Shou couldn't help but offer a wry smile.

“It really is the Profound Moon Wood Brilliance Art. Could this girl be one of those fallen geniuses from the Danquan Sect? This technique is clearly mastered to a degree, showing some achievement. This is genuinely troublesome!”

With a sigh, Zong Shou looked down toward the ground where a seated figure was positioned. Then, his entire body froze again, as if turned to stone.

It was a beautiful young girl, perhaps sixteen summers old, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Her body was fully developed; her skin was white as snow, even smoother and fairer than the most exquisite porcelain. The twin peaks on her chest were perfectly round and prominent, her waist slender as a willow branch, and beneath that, he could see the deep ravine between them. Her figure was even more stunning than his initial estimate.

Zong Shou felt his throat dry up and the blood in his lower abdomen boil. He wondered why Xuanyuan Yiren wasn’t wearing clothes while practicing.

Then he immediately recalled the nature of the Profound Moon Wood Brilliance Art: during practice, the flames surrounding the body were fiercely hot, capable of igniting anything. All clothing would naturally be incinerated.

Immediately following this realization, Xuanyuan Yiren seemed to sense something. She opened her eyes and