The internal flow of energy within my body was stable enough; however, with my current physique, I had already tempered it to be no less than Innate. A little nurturing of the outer wheel, and I could attempt to merge with an Earth Vein. It seemed I would need to stay at Water Fairy Lake for a while longer.

Zong Shou glanced again at Little Gold wrapped around his arm, a smile playing on his lips.

This little fellow spent every day with him underwater, and while attached to him, it too was being refined by the power of the vortex. It had broken through to the Fourth Order a full month before he did.

Zong Shou withdrew his consciousness from his body and, with a casual gesture, retrieved his outer robe, slipping it on.

For anyone else, achieving the Innate Realm, extending life to two hundred years, and gaining a tenfold increase in strength would surely elicit uncontrollable joy.

But he had already experienced this process in his previous life; this was merely a repetition. Though he felt satisfaction, he could remain composed.

Gazing around again, he saw that the sky indicated it was past noon. Yet, the two sisters were still nowhere to be seen.

“Strange, it’s already lunchtime. Have those two sisters already left? Ye Feihan didn't let slip any hints yesterday either.”

The thought flashed through his mind, and Zong Shou felt a faint sense of regret and loss. Initially, when he first met the two girls, he was merely passing the time, approaching it with a laissez-faire attitude. But after chatting together for three full months, it would be a lie to say he hadn't developed some affection, though he hadn't dwelled on it too much. Zong Shou let out a brief sigh, packed his belongings, and headed toward the shore.

Having narrowly broken through to the Innate Realm today, he decided to grant himself a day off, planning to find Xue’er so they could celebrate properly and allow himself some relaxation.

The path of martial arts required both tension and release, a balance of work and rest. If the string was pulled too tight for too long, it would eventually snap.

Due to his severe injuries, he couldn't walk yet. Fortunately, he still had the Thunder Step Spirit Bones, which moved with a creaking sound, like a wooden automaton, propelling him toward the shore.

Just as he jumped onto the raft, Zong Shou’s heart stirred, and he looked toward the south. As a faint breeze brushed past, he faintly detected the sound of clashing and banging near his ear.

“Odd, the situation over there seems a bit off? Is that the sound of people fighting? Isn’t that direction where Feihan and Feishuang live? Could they still be there?”

Over the past few months, although Zong Shou hadn't asked proactively, he knew the situation of Ye Feihan and Ye Feishuang intimately. He knew these two girls were staying temporarily on a small island about thirty fan li from his Black Water Pool. They would take about a quarter of an hour by boat to reach him daily.

Looking down at the raft beneath him, Zong Shou hesitated. Going further south meant truly stepping into the warning perimeter of that giant Mosquito, where lives could easily be lost.

In truth, whether the Ye sisters lived or died had little to do with him. Perhaps they were simply so engrossed in practicing with their weapons that they had lost track of time.

A thread of True Essence propelled the raft forward. After only about ten fan zhang, Zong Shou sighed, shaking his head as he turned the raft around and abruptly accelerated.

“Zong Shou, Zong Shou, you truly love meddling too much! There are so many trivial matters in this world, can you manage them all? Why can’t you remember? You need to take this as a warning!”

Though he cursed himself aloud, Zong Shou’s eyes held a hint of excitement.

From the moment he broke open the Earth Gate and entered the Innate Realm, an irrepressible desire had simmered within him—a need to find an opponent, to test his blade, even if it meant finding just anyone to spar with.

He spoke of self-reflection, but his eyes betrayed little repentance. The urge to go and ascertain the situation came from his true heart, a genuine desire that needed no suppression.

When True Essence was channeled at full power, the raft shot forward, spraying water behind it, its speed instantly soaring. After traveling only about twenty li, he saw the water surface littered with ice shards and chunks, the temperature having plummeted to freezing point. Advancing another li, the raft could proceed no further; the water was thick with heavy, floating ice. A pale blue, misty vapor seemed to churn and roll within the water.

Zong Shou judged that if his assumption was correct, this must be the toxic cold exuded by that one cold Mosquito.

“Why choose to live here in Water Fairy Lake, of all places? Aren't they afraid of an accident? In this barren place devoid of flora, they’d be poisoned to death if not frozen first. No wonder those two sisters traveled so far to bathe in the Black Water Pool.”

Abandoning the raft, Zong Shou activated his Thunder Step Spirit Bones and leaped ashore, flying toward the deeper parts of the island.

To say the place was devoid of vegetation was a slight exaggeration. While there were no living things upon the floating ice, there were quite a few trees within the island.

However, after a single glance, Zong Shou’s brow furrowed deeply. The vegetation here consisted only of plants that grew in extremely cold regions or were highly poisonous. Several types were instantly lethal to ordinary people upon contact. Even the few common beasts occasionally sighted were the same—all possessing strange toxins.

That the Ye sisters could survive here so well was truly bizarre.

And after painstakingly making his way through the poisonous woods, he finally saw two familiar, graceful figures surrounded by several people in the center of a snowy clearing. Their delicate faces were all tinged with a pale, ashen white.

However, their protective measures were exceptionally strong. The two sat facing each other, each holding a crescent-shaped jade plate resembling a goyu suspended over their palms, rotating like a Taiji symbol. A powerful repulsive force pushed outward in all directions.

Ye Feishuang remained relatively calm, her lips slightly pursed as her eyes swept around, seemingly searching for a chance to live. Ye Feihan was completely bloodless, evidently driven to the brink of despair, her beautiful eyes flickering with the resolve of death.

Zong Shou had roughly anticipated the sisters' predicament. After taking a moment to admire the jade disks before the two women, he began carefully surveying their surroundings.

There were three assailants: a woman in her forties holding a long red whip; a man around fifty, bald save for a few strands of hair that stood erect and swaying, his face stern, his right arm severed at the root and fitted with an iron hook. These two were indeed both Innate masters, their auras only slightly less potent than Zong Yuan’s, comparable to ‘Blade of Mist’ Xie Jun or ‘Angry Sword’ Yun Tao.

The last person was a refined middle-aged man dressed as a Spirit Master, smiling with narrowed eyes at the two women, his gaze ardent. It wasn't lust that held his attention, but rather the items held by the two women.

“Heh heh! Your mother, the Realm Master, truly lives up to her moniker of ‘Treasure-laden’! Even with her Spirit Art only at the Spirit Nurturing Realm, she could bestow upon you two these Sixth-Order Spirit Artifacts, the Jade Yin-Yang Double Zithers, for protection. But today, I wonder just how long your meager soul power can sustain them!”

The speaker was the woman with the whip. Her long whip extended over forty zhang, coiling in the air around the space two zhang from the sisters, circling several times. It resembled a giant serpent tightly constricting its own body, constantly tightening the coils in an effort to crush the repulsive force generated by the Jade Yin-Yang Double Zithers.

However, halfway through the woman’s speech, a cracking sound reached their ears. Her expression instantly froze, and she looked behind her.

Then, they saw Zong Shou emerging with incredibly stiff movements from the toxic forest. He walked on the snow, leaving a deep pit with every step, slowly approaching from a hundred fan zhang away.

The middle-aged woman was initially startled, wondering why someone would venture to this place. A moment later, her expression relaxed into a faint sneer: “Where did this wild boy pop up from? Are you involved with these two girls? You have a handsome appearance, it’s a pity you don't cultivate the martial path; you don't possess a single trace of internal energy. All show and no substance, just a good-for-nothing bumpkin.”

Suddenly, her expression shifted, and she looked at the two sisters with a knowing smirk: “Rumor has it your mother, while perhaps not having three thousand male consorts, has certainly taken many intimate companions over the millennia. Perhaps you two sisters share that inclination? One man and two women—this brat certainly has the good fortune of beauty!”

Upon hearing this, Zong Shou’s expression became somewhat odd as he glanced down at himself. He had only digested about two-tenths of the Thunder Phoenix Essence so far. The Sealing Spirit Array he had carved onto his exterior naturally remained intact. Thus, even though he had reached the Innate Realm, not a flicker of internal energy escaped outward.

It was preferable not to reveal his true strength, but being seen as just another random grunt everywhere he went was hardly a pleasant feeling.

The Ye sisters also looked over. Hearing the woman’s words, their bodies trembled with rage. Ye Feihan was too distraught to argue back, shouting toward Zong Shou with desperate urgency, “Why are you here? Everyone here is a bad person; they will kill people! Hurry up and run! No, come over here quickly!”

Ye Feishuang remained silent, as the last shred of hope in her eyes completely vanished.

Zong Shou inwardly gave a wry smile. This young girl truly knew nothing of the world. Saying that openly was practically announcing to these three that he was deeply connected to them!

The middle-aged woman, as expected, showed great delight and signaled her companion. The hook-armed man immediately understood, his figure flickering, and he materialized behind Zong Shou, blocking his path.

Though he hadn't attacked, his face was filled with cold menace.

Ye Feishuang’s complexion instantly turned even paler: “Matriarch Hai, are you not afraid my uncle will arrive if you act here? Are you truly tired of living?”

“Your uncle? Humph, if he could arrive, I’d accept my fate! Do you think I don’t know his current situation? He absolutely cannot come! This is his last chance; if he misses it, he can only wait to die!”

The middle-aged woman let out a cold laugh and shot a vicious glance at Ye Feishuang’s waist: “Even if we have to settle accounts with him later, we don't fear it! We can just flee far away. To obtain your mother’s lifelong treasures, I’d be content even in death. Heh heh! Perhaps we will have the chance to ascend to the Heavenly Rank; then, what is there to fear? Ah Zhe, kill that brat!”

The hook-armed man immediately understood, killing intent flashing in his eyes. Just as he was about to swing his hook, a clear, sharp shout echoed from ahead.

“Do not kill him, I will come out myself. The three of you, you are nothing more than my subordinates! This is between us; do not involve him!”

Ye Feishuang suddenly stood up, and the hook-shaped jade zither before her gradually dimmed. Her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Zong Shou, holding a mixture of helpless apology and faint indignation, as if blaming Zong Shou for involving them when things were going smoothly.

Zong Shou smiled wryly and shrugged. Then, he abruptly drew his sword and swung it casually backward.

A burst of lightning exploded. The cold sword arc swept through the air like a crescent moon. When the sword light vanished, a human head was already tossed high into the air!