Yun Qi flew forward, finding the underground cavern to be a complex network of tunnels that resembled a literal labyrinth.
After about fifteen minutes, the small green point in the distance continued to flicker like a star hanging at the edge of the sky, visible but seemingly unreachable.
Flying beside him, the System asked in confusion: “Master, why can we not get any closer?”
“There is likely an array here.”
Yun Qi had not expected anyone in this spiritually barren world to understand the art of Qimen Dunjia. He quickly extended his right hand, pressing two fingers together before his eyes as he chanted an incantation.
“In urgency follow the gods, in leisure follow the gates. Distinguish host from guest in movement and stillness. All that is seen is illusion. Break!”
The System gasped, covering its virtual mouth with tiny hands. After a long pause, the System muttered: “Master? Nothing happened.”
Yun Qi let out a soft snort and flicked the “Break the CP” System on its forehead with a slender finger.
“You are a piece of virtual data. Why are you acting cute?”
The System felt a bit guilty because it simply felt that Yun Qi liked that sort of thing.
Seeing it offer no answer, Yun Qi did not dwell on it. He continued flying forward. This time, as the green light approached rapidly, the scent of sulfur grew heavy and reached levels a mortal could not withstand.
Yun Qi’s brow furrowed slightly. He doubled his speed and instantly arrived at the source of the glow.
Before him was a natural hot spring. The yellowish water bubbled and churned, and the air was thick with powdered sulfur that was dense enough to rival a sandstorm. The green light emanated from the very center of the spring.
Such heavy sulfur would likely burn even me. That lackey of Wen Zui must have hidden something.
Yun Qi felt a surge of relief. Fortunately, he had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining after absorbing that previous pill. Otherwise, he would not have been able to use the Yuan-Locking Array, and this item would have been out of reach.
Breaking through Qi Refining requires ten times the spiritual energy spent from levels one to ten. This item was a godsend.
With a soft click, a pale blue light curtain enveloped Yun Qi. He flew to the center of the spring and finally saw the object clearly.
It was a celestial herb that resembled an orchid. Its stem was a vibrant, translucent green, and waves of dense spiritual power pulsed outward from it. Around it lay several sets of white bones belonging to mortals who had likely shared Yun Qi’s ambitions but lacked his power.
Yun Qi reached the center easily, but he soon discovered an unacceptable fact.
He grabbed the drifting, idle System and spoke with a hint of helplessness. “Little P, does everything in this world revolve around Wen Zui?”
“Of course! He is the Son of Fortune for this minor world. All resources, whether he sees them or not, are tailor-made for him as contingencies.”
Yun Qi gritted his teeth and sighed.
Despite being a plant, this thing was of a fire nature. With his current cultivation, forcing himself to swallow it would only result in a mutual defeat.
Without hesitating further, Yun Qi turned and flew back toward Wen Zui’s location in his mind.
After about ten minutes, he could faintly hear Wen Zui’s voice.
“Yun Qi, Yun, Yun Qi.” He was calling his name.
Wen Zui’s voice was naturally deep, but under the searing sulfur, it sounded as though every drop of moisture had been wrung out of him. It was hoarse and rough, like sandpaper rubbing against steel.
Almost instinctively, Yun Qi cast an invisibility spell on himself and stood silently beside Wen Zui.
He saw Wen Zui clutching the fake snake tightly to his chest, constantly calling his name while stumbling toward the green light. Due to the array, Wen Zui was walking in circles, yet he refused to give up. Even though his muscles were stiff with exhaustion, he moved on pure instinct.
Just as he was about to transform back into a snake, Yun Qi noticed Wen Zui lift the snake’s head, press his lips to its mouth, and blow air into it. He repeated this every few steps.
The System thought to itself: “Is he performing artificial respiration?”
Yun Qi felt a rare twinge of pain in his non-existent conscience. In a flash, he swapped places with the fake snake.
The dull eyes of the snake instantly regained their spirit. Wen Zui’s eyes widened in shock.
“You, cough, cough.”
“Do not speak. I am taking you with me.”
Through their contract, Yun Qi shared his vision with Wen Zui and secretly funneled spiritual energy into his feet. Within half an hour, he brought Wen Zui to the celestial herb.
Opening the Yuan-Locking Array again, Yun Qi felt a sweetness in his throat. He quietly swallowed the blood and picked Wen Zui up.
“There is something good here. Shall we take it together?” Yun Qi’s voice was soft. His expressive eyes locked onto Wen Zui’s like a whirlpool, capturing the lonely young man and drawing him into the storm at Yun Qi’s center.
“Okay.”
Wen Zui could not refuse him. No one could.
Yun Qi held Wen Zui and jumped directly into the center of the scalding spring. The green light from the herb flared brilliantly, so bright it brought tears to the eyes. The entire world seemed to turn into a sphere of emerald jade, encasing the two of them like an eggshell.
“Ungh.”
The moment the fresh little herb touched Wen Zui’s hand, it dissolved into pure spiritual energy and flooded into his body. Initially, it felt wonderful, but Wen Zui soon reached his limit.
His cultivation could not consume that much energy. He felt as though he were a flat balloon hooked up to an electric pump, ready to burst at any second.
“It hurts! Yun Qi!” Not knowing what to do, he instinctively relied on his master.
“The pain will end soon.”
Yun Qi pulled Wen Zui firmly into his arms, pressing their foreheads and noses together. The blue viper mark on the back of Wen Zui’s neck instantly grew hot. Waves of pure spiritual energy surged from Wen Zui into Yun Qi’s body like a dam bursting.
Yun Qi immediately focused his mind, beginning to refine the energy to strike the Foundation Establishment barrier.
Waves of green light washed through his meridians repeatedly. Before long, beads of sweat rolled down his fair face like pearls.
From top to bottom, his dormant meridians were activated, like a tree sinking its roots into the earth. The spiritual energy marched forward, breaking through every gate until it reached his dantian.
A wisp of purple Qi slowly condensed in his dantian. Yun Qi licked his lips in excitement, focusing entirely on his inner vision, unaware that his cultivation partner had lost his mind and begun tearing at his clothes.
“So hot, so hot.” It felt as though he were in a giant steamer. Wen Zui felt he was being cooked alive. He tugged at the collar of his hoodie, but because Yun Qi was holding him so tightly, he could not get it off.
Irritation tangled in his chest like a mess of thread. He tried to push away Yun Qi’s hands on his waist and neck, but they were as unyielding as reinforced concrete.
Wen Zui struggled to pull his head away, breaking their forehead contact.
The moment he moved, the array between them shifted. The endless spiritual energy, losing its exit, began to batter Wen Zui’s fragile, narrow meridians again. He instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
On Yun Qi’s side, his dantian was shrouded in purple mist, nearly ready to liquefy. However, as the flow of energy from Wen Zui suddenly dropped, his budding foundation shattered, turning back into mist.
His almond-shaped eyes, usually full of smiles, snapped open. His gaze was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice. Golden vertical snake pupils emerged, giving Wen Zui the bone-chilling sensation of being stared down by a powerful predator.
“I am taking it off.” Before Wen Zui could finish his sentence, his clothes were reduced to dust, drifting away in the hot spring water. This time, the hand behind his neck gripped him firmly, pressing him against Yun Qi’s shoulder. They were intertwined like vines, unable to move an inch.
Yun Qi tilted his head, his snow-white fangs extending to bite the skin behind Wen Zui’s ear, beginning to draw blood.
“No, it hurts.” Wen Zui gasped and struggled, but he soon lost consciousness, his mind suppressed by Yun Qi’s venom.
With his prey obediently subdued, Yun Qi closed his eyes and sank back into his dantian. He was now drawing energy not only through the viper mark but also doubling his intake through Wen Zui’s blood.
The dense mist condensed instantly. Drops of purple liquid, carrying immense pressure, began to fall. Before long, a small, translucent white jade plate formed in his dantian.
Three hours later, a palm-sized Purple Mansion had formed. This signaled his return to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Finally, I have returned to the most basic level of the cultivation world.
As his consciousness returned, he first neutralized the toxin controlling Wen Zui. He then guided the rampant spiritual energy within Wen Zui’s body to expand his narrow meridians.
For every inch he widened, the body could store more energy. Yun Qi controlled every fragment of power with gentle precision, ensuring Wen Zui felt no pain while wasting nothing.
The aching meridians were slowly repaired, and Wen Zui gradually opened his eyes.
They were a deep scarlet, with pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks—an eerie sight.
“Ah, I forgot my venom has an aphrodisiac side effect. What do you want to do, Ah Zui?”