Only by the next morning did Su Chan slowly awaken. She stretched languidly, opened her eyes, and saw Li Yundong drifting in and out of sleep, his head nodding lower and lower. Just as it reached its nadir, he suddenly jolted back up, startling himself awake.

Seeing Su Chan, Li Yundong, with dark circles under his eyes, spoke exhaustedly, "Thank the heavens, you're finally awake? Hurry down, my entire body is stiff!"

Su Chan quickly scrambled up and began kneading Li Yundong’s back and shoulders in a placating manner: "You worked so hard, you worked so hard! When are we leaving to look at apartments?"

Li Yundong waved a hand, planting his face into the **, burying his head under the pillow: "Don't bother me. Even if the sky is falling, let me sleep for a bit more!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he began to snore.

Su Chan was quite puzzled, muttering to herself: Logically speaking, someone like Li Yundong, possessing the Golden Core Yuan Qi, shouldn't be this exhausted even if he hadn't slept all night.

But how could she know that Li Yundong had spent the entire night wrestling with his own desires? All his vital essence, blood, and spirit had been focused in one area—he had been tense all night. Which man could endure that?

Su Chan tilted her head, pondering for a while without finding an answer, so she simply headed into the washroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

After tidying herself up, the young girl knelt by the bedside, staring blankly at Li Yundong. After fifteen minutes of bored sitting, she finally couldn't bear it any longer. She reached out and nudged Li Yundong: "Okay, okay, you’ve slept enough, wake up, let’s go see houses, let’s go find our new home!"

Li Yundong wailed, "Oh my gods, I just managed to fall asleep! Just let me sleep a little longer."

Su Chan relentlessly nudged him, as if pushing a small boat on the sea: "No, no, how long is 'a little while'?"

Li Yundong grumbled, "A little while is a little while."

Su Chan pouted: "No way! The sun is already high in the sky!" She then reached out and pinched Li Yundong's nose, giggling delightedly.

Li Yundong finally couldn't take it anymore. He sat up clutching his head, feeling unsteady: "Are you trying to cause a fatality? You wicked girl!"

Su Chan kept holding his nose and said, "It's now Mao Shi (5-7 AM). The sun is rising, illuminating the earth, the best time to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and you're here indulging in laziness!"

Since Su Chan had resolved to begin cultivating Li Yundong, she consciously took on the role of monitoring his practice.

However, Li Yundong had no idea about Su Chan's grand ambitions; he only wanted a little more sleep. He mumbled hazily, "What absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth... I'd rather absorb Yin to supplement Yang!"

The little fox’s cheeks flushed red, and she slapped Li Yundong: "Hurry up and get up!"

But Li Yundong was now snoring like a dead pig, absolutely refusing to stir.

The little fox sighed helplessly, her eyes rolling as she plucked a hair, about a finger-length long. She channeled her energy, and the strand instantly snapped taut, becoming as sharp as a needle.

Su Chan aimed just below the Baihui acupoint on the top of Li Yundong's head and pierced downwards!

The Baihui point, the convergence of all acupoints, is precisely where Yang energy gathers and is best for regulating vital energy. With this single prick, Li Yundong let out a resounding yelp and sprang up from the **, clutching the crown of his head, glaring at Su Chan: "Are you trying to murder me for my fortune?"

Su Chan giggled, taking Li Yundong’s hand: "There, there, you’re awake now?"

In the movie The Message (Feng Sheng), when the old ghost was tormented nearly to death by Old Sixth, even being stabbed in the head revived him instantly. How much more so for Li Yundong, who was merely drowsy?

With the prick to his Baihui point, Li Yundong's internal Yuan Qi was instantly mobilized; he felt as if he had been given an amphetamine. How could he still be sleepy?

He wiped his face and realized he was indeed wide awake. He sighed resignedly, "Fine, fine, I yield to you. I'll wash my face and brush my teeth, and then we’ll head out!"

Su Chan, however, grabbed Li Yundong, refusing to let him go. Instead, she yanked open the window curtains, letting the sunlight flood the room, and then pulled Li Yundong down to sit cross-legged on the carpet: "Sit here first. I'll give you a massage."

The mere thought of Su Chan's massage techniques brought a cheerful relaxation to Li Yundong, and he closed his eyes contentedly.

This time, Su Chan employed the technique she had used on him before: "Butterfly Plucking a Hundred Flowers."

In Su Chan’s view, the best time for Li Yundong’s cultivation was the ‘Zi Shi’ (23:00 to 01:00) of the twelve divisions of the day.

This period marked the gradual fading of Yin energy and the nascent growth of Yang energy. In the Inner Elixir Sect's Lesser and Greater Heavenly Circulation techniques, Zi Shi is also called the Winter Solstice, signifying the opportune moment to ignite the internal 'fire.'

Su Chan clearly remembered reading in the cultivation classic Lei Jing Tu Yi that she had once memorized: "Zi is the beginning of Yang’s birth."

For a beginner cultivator like Li Yundong, cultivating during Zi Shi—which corresponds to the Winter Solstice period—was critically important.

Cultivation at this time yielded twice the result for half the effort. An ordinary practitioner who circulated their energy for just one or two hours during this time would feel energized and tireless for the entire day; this was the reason.

If one could develop the habit of automatic cultivation during this window, their cultivation level could ascend further, reaching the state described in the Huan Dan Fu Ming Pian: "Alchemy requires no search for the Winter Solstice; one Yang is born within the body."

This meant that a person at this level no longer needed to intentionally cultivate during Zi Shi. They possessed the purest primordial Yang energy from heaven and earth, allowing them to cultivate whenever they desired.

This state signified that a person’s Lesser Heavenly Circulation practice had fundamentally taken root, enabling them to enter the deeper realm of Greater Heavenly Circulation practice.

The human body possesses the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. The Lesser Circulation focused on the Ren and Du Meridians, while the Greater Circulation involved cultivating the remaining six—the Chong, Dai, Yin Wei, Yang Wei, Yin Qiao, and Yang Qiao Meridians—along with the Twelve Primary Meridians such as the Foot Taiyin Kidney Meridian.

In other words, by cultivating these meridians, one could master two essential skills: the ability to consciously gather vital energy, termed "Qi Condensation" (Qì Níng), and the ability to use that energy at will, termed "Freedom" (Zì Rú).

Once the three tasks of "Meridian Expansion," "Qi Condensation," and "Freedom" were complete, it would signal Li Yundong's breakthrough from the intermediate stage of the "Qi Refining" second heaven, allowing him to advance toward the higher realms.

Su Chan used her massage technique to mobilize Li Yundong's vital energy. Although it wasn't Zi Shi, Mao Shi was the period when heaven and earth's Yang energy held the most vitality, so it was a decent substitute.

Li Yundong felt the sensation throughout his body was different from the last time. Previously, he had only felt comfort limited to his skin, flesh, and channels.

But this time, Li Yundong felt his lower abdomen’s Dantian burning as if with fire, and his kidneys felt like boiling water churning within, as if soup was being brewed. Though his eyes were closed, he could distinctly sense a blinding golden light before them—a light that wasn't entering from outside but seemed to be erupting from his own eyes!

Not only that, but Li Yundong also heard a rushing sound behind his ears, like wind brewing, and waves of cries resembling the screech of a vulture emanating from the back of his skull. Waves of surging energy continuously rushed from his Dantian toward the top of his head. With every surge, his sinuses contracted in a distinct rhythm.

Li Yundong was lost in ecstasy, feeling utterly blissful, yet Su Chan was so tense she dared not blink. She moved swiftly back and forth in front of and behind Li Yundong, her fingers darting rapidly across his vital points on the front, back, hands, and feet. Her five fingers flew like a butterfly weaving through flowers, moving so fast they almost became afterimages.

This was the precise moment Li Yundong’s potent Golden Core Yuan Qi was breaking through the Ren and Du Meridians, attempting to surge into the other channels.

The gap between the Lesser and Greater Circulations is often razor-thin. Many Qi cultivators get stuck at this juncture, able only to circulate energy through the Ren and Du Meridians, unable to guide it into the Chong, Dai, Foot Taiyin Kidney, or other channels, thus capping their potential as mere "Qigong Masters" for life.

Su Chan, relying on her massage skills and Li Yundong's incomparably powerful Golden Core Yuan Qi, intended to force his progress—to violently break through the Lesser Circulation barrier and enter the Greater Circulation cultivation.

But no one anticipated what happened next. Just as the massive surge of energy within Li Yundong accumulated at the crown of his head, like water dammed up before a flood ready to burst into other channels, a series of insistent knocks suddenly sounded at the door. Immediately following, a woman’s voice called out, "Housekeeping!"

This sound startled Su Chan into a momentary lapse, and the entire cultivation process instantly failed. The majestic vital energy Li Yundong had amassed overhead, losing Su Chan’s guidance, paused only briefly before immediately receding the way it came, vanishing completely in an instant.

However, this process of energy backlash still delivered an extremely intense jolt. Li Yundong’s body shook, and he let out a long, resonant groan of sigh.

To the hotel attendant outside, this sound was indistinguishable from the moan a man makes at climax during lovemaking.

The attendant’s cheeks instantly flushed red. She muttered a curse under her breath, "Shameless! In the morning!" She then moved to the next room and knocked: "Housekeeping."

Su Chan, of course, knew nothing of this. Pouting, profoundly displeased that her cultivation had been interrupted at such a critical juncture, causing the breakthrough to fail, she thought bitterly, "If this were Zi Shi, first, no one would have disturbed us, and second, the Yuan Qi mobilized within Li Yundong would have been stronger and purer, and breaking through the barrier would have taken less time!"

Thinking of this, Su Chan recalled a saying her master had taught her: "Cultivation must begin early!"

This 'early' wasn't just about age; it was about the time of day!

A day’s plan is laid out in the morning! Truly an irrefutable maxim!

Li Yundong finally regained his senses and sighed contentedly, "Ah, if money really couldn't be earned, with your massage skills, you wouldn't starve in the future!"

Su Chan laughed and scolded, "So unambitious! Hurry, hurry, let's go look at apartments!"

Su Chan had now truly grasped the hardship of lacking a stable residence.

For a cultivator to proceed smoothly, five prerequisites must be met: Dharma, Wealth, Companion, Land, and Artifact!

With the help of his Human Yuan Golden Core and her own assistance, the prerequisite of Dharma—the cultivation path itself—was not an issue for Li Yundong. As for Wealth, he currently seemed capable of handling it. Companion—she and Li Yundong had essentially become Dao Companions, so this point was also settled. Artifact—cultivators often relied on magical tools in combat; lacking one was like a soldier without a weapon.

But Land—this was the next thing Li Yundong and Su Chan needed to resolve: the issue of their dwelling.

How could a cultivator manage without a proper place for practice?

Li Yundong, unable to resist Su Chan's urging, had already recovered his spirit. He cheerfully waved a hand, "Alright, let’s go look at houses!"