The room fell into a tranquil, dusky dimness. Halos of Dao force rippled and drifted, casting a soft glow that draped gently over two flawless bodies like a veil of moonlight.
One was unyielding and robust, carved in defined lines like a towering tree reaching into the sky. The other was radiant and fair, supple as water, like a sea serpent of the deep. The serpent wound around the mighty tree, coiling upward, while the halos radiated by their Dao force rose and fell like an undulating ocean.
Those slender legs, lightly trembling fingers, and porcelain feet rubbing slowly against his skin—appearing delicate enough to break at a touch—bore not a trace of sharp edge, yet were razor-sharp in every facet.
Wei Yuan gazed at the woman whose hair cascaded loose and free. Unable to resist stroking her temples, he suddenly remarked, "You look wonderful with your hair down!"
Zhang Sheng smiled faintly. "When do I not look wonderful?"
Yet she made no move to bind her long tresses, leaving them draped loosely over herself like a robe of satin. This satin gleamed faintly like obsidian, concealing yet intensely alluring.
Wei Yuan always felt that at times like this, she seemed an entirely different person from his everyday teacher. A thought abruptly crossed his mind: did this mean he was enjoying the blessings of having two wives in a single person?
"Why are you so bold and brazen today? It isn't even dark yet!"
Wei Yuan gave a chuckling grin. "Carrying on in broad dayl—er, that only shows how our kind of cultivator defies the heavens!"
Zhang Sheng poked him with a fingertip and snapped in mild exasperation, "I say you're just lecherous!"
Wei Yuan shifted slightly and asked, "There's something I've always wanted to ask, but never dared. Can I ask now?"
"Ask."
"Back when you lost all your Dao force and fell into the hands of those refugees... they didn't do anything to you, did they?"
Zhang Sheng's eyes widened, about to flare in anger, when her body suddenly tensed. Her head tilted back, her slender snow-white neck stretching taut. Exhaling a breath of scorching heat, she bit her lower lip, her gaze instantly turning hazy.
Her fingers snapped into a sword-hand. Zhang Sheng slashed across Wei Yuan's flesh, her sword qi striking showers of sparks, and gritted her teeth. "How can I speak when you do that? Don't move!"
"All right."
...
Half an hour later, Zhang Sheng's complexion was soft and moist, as though dipped in honey, shimmering with residual desire. Tucking back her long hair, she said, "Back then, I occupied a male vessel..."
"A man is even more dangerous!"
Zhang Sheng gritted her teeth again. "Shut up!"
Seeing sword qi gleam at her fingertips once more, Wei Yuan obediently shut his mouth. His true dragon was exhausted and could bear no rough handling right now; he could not afford to let her find it.
Zhang Sheng continued, "My Dao force was sealed, but my sword intent remained within me; ordinary mortals wouldn't dare lay a finger on me. If things truly came down to the wire, at worst I would have abandoned my sword-nurturing efforts and burst straight out of that shell. And if all else failed, I have a sect. With a primordial spirit distress signal, your grandmaster would have arrived within half a day."
Only then did Wei Yuan feel relieved.
Zhang Sheng rose, calmly tied up her long hair, and leisurely draped her robes about her. "Enough foolery. It's time for you to see to proper business. That extraterrestrial fiend is no great matter; face it with a steady heart. The worst possible outcome is merely the fiend destroying the world. When that day comes, your teacher will keep you company on the road to the Yellow Springs."
Wei Yuan gently embraced her from behind, burying his face in her hair. "...I truly was a little frightened."
Zhang Sheng patted Wei Yuan's hand. "Encounter a problem, solve the problem. That is all there is to worldly affairs."
"Mm, I hear and obey." Wei Yuan's spirits lifted—and so did his body.
Zhang Sheng turned her head, gently nuzzling Wei Yuan's cheek, then suddenly bit down on his ear. Using sword qi vibrating in her throat, she spoke, "If we keep fooling around like this, three days and three nights won't be enough. Go get to work!"
Wei Yuan nodded hurriedly and let go, rising to his feet before Zhang Sheng finally released her bite.
Wei Yuan had initially thought his physical body was tough enough that she could bite however she liked, but he had not anticipated that her snow-white teeth were laced with chilling sword qi. If she truly bit through, his ear would be gone.
Dressing himself, Wei Yuan stepped out; indeed, far too many matters awaited him. He headed straight for the Hall of Merits, intending to search for materials concerning the Heavenly Abyss.
Although the first Human Sovereign and the immortals had jointly cast a heaven-and-earth restriction, the Palace of Grand Beginning had seen many immortals through the generations. Among them were plenty of rebellious, intrepid explorers who surely studied the Heavenly Abyss in secret.
Once research bore fruit, lacking anyone to share it with halved its value. Thus, those immortals must have devised all manner of ways to tuck their writings into the Hall of Merits, hoping kindred spirits in later generations might read them.
By now, the Hall of Merits was ten times larger than before, exuding remarkable grandeur. The restriction Ji Liuli had laid at the hall doors back then had long since expired. As for Qingming today, even if Huixin were to visit, she could no longer enter and leave at will; one slight misstep would alert Wei Yuan.
The instant Wei Yuan passed through the hall doors, space shifted, and he collided head-on with a petite figure, nearly bouncing right back out of the hall.
Without asking, Wei Yuan knew that on such a narrow path, only Feng Tingyu could bounce him away like that. At that moment, Feng Tingyu had only taken half a step back, her eyes wide as she stared at Wei Yuan with an expression of sheer disbelief.
"What is it?" Wei Yuan asked, baffled. It was just a bump—what was the big deal? Even if they stabbed each other with blades, neither would easily get hurt.
Feng Tingyu's nose twitched, and her expression turned solemn. "The scent of heat! What were you just doing, and with whom?"
*Seems today isn't a good day for research...* Wei Yuan thought, his figure flashing as he vanished from the spot.
Feng Tingyu cried urgently, "Don't run off! Explain yourself first!"
Having finally shaken off Feng Tingyu, Wei Yuan found a scenic spot with clear waters and lush hills within Qingming, settling down against a large boulder. Before him ran a small brook, its waters sparkling finely beneath the sunlight as though countless crushed diamonds danced in the current.
Just one year ago, when this land was first incorporated into Qingming, the brook was still murky green, with patches of black floating past from time to time. That was a type of aquatic insect unique to the Wu domain; when gathering in swarms, they formed dark streaks upon the water's surface. Many fish and shrimp in the Wu domain fed on them.
Now, a year had passed, and the world had been transformed. Qingming's boundary already lay two hundred li away, and this area had become clear and pristine. Plump fish occasionally leapt from the stream, scattering droplets like flying pearls.
Gazing upon this scenery, Wei Yuan's heart gradually settled. He knew his efforts had been worthwhile; the mountains and rivers before him were proof of the fruit he had borne.
More than three years had passed since he came down from the mountain. Qingming had grown from a shattered land into fertile territory capable of supporting over twenty million people, giving rise to thousands of Dao Foundation cultivators. That was the meaning of it all.
Truth be told, with an extraterrestrial fiend looming overhead, Wei Yuan was genuinely terrified. Over the past days, he had relied on intense work and somewhat unrestrained conduct to numb himself.
Zhang Sheng's words had finally steadied him. At worst, the world would be destroyed, and they would simply enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan opened the dossier on fiends provided by Hongye, reading carefully and considering countermeasures. Avatars of extraterrestrial fiends took all manner of bizarre forms and came in varying numbers, their cultivation ranging from the late dharma idol realm to the perfected Scenery Command realm.
Although the extraterrestrial fiend Wei Yuan had dredged up was merely a juvenile, its nature seemed exceptionally peculiar. Its true form possessed the might of the perfected Scenery Command realm; back then, Shu Li had only managed to suppress it with Hongye's aid.
During the Heavenly Abyss surge nineteen years ago, this extraterrestrial fiend produced twenty-two avatars in total—one at the perfected dharma idol realm, and the rest at the late dharma idol realm. In that battle, Shu Li was pushed to his absolute limit, detonating three avatars in succession just to hold off the assault.
According to Hongye's deductions, the next Heavenly Abyss surge would occur in ninety years, which would bring a great catastrophe to the entire Native Realm.
Ninety years seemed like a long time, but in truth, it was right upon them.
Wei Yuan stood up. From this vantage point, he could look out over Ding'an City in the distance. Ding'an City had now become a formidable metropolis, the upper ramparts gleaming with cold silver light. Along the upper rim of the city walls hung a ring of steel armor plates, resembling a ribbon of silver light beneath the sun.
At that moment, Wei Yuan felt a stirring in his heart: Bao Yun was calling him through the Dao Foundation warrior he had left in Ding'an City. A moment later, Wei Yuan appeared by her side.
When Bao Yun first saw him, her face beamed radiant as blooming spring flowers. But suddenly her expression darkened, and she let out a huff, refusing to speak.
Wei Yuan was bewildered by her sudden shift and hurriedly asked what was wrong.
Bao Yun sighed softly. "I thought you were too busy lately, which was why you didn't come to see me. Who would have guessed that being busy meant you were busy being intimate with someone else? In your heart, am I just someone you flirt with and cast aside into a corner?"
"How could that be?" Wei Yuan hurried to explain. "I just discovered a Heavenly Abyss fiend in the Nether Cold Realm, and these past days I've been busy dealing with it..."
Seeing the blank look on Bao Yun's face, Wei Yuan only then remembered that she could not hear words like 'Heavenly Abyss fiend'.
Bao Yun let out a melancholic sigh. "Now you won't even bother to think up a proper excuse. You truly don't care anymore."
Helpless, Wei Yuan said, "Wait for me in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. I'll take you somewhere."
Moments later, Wei Yuan took Bao Yun into the Nether Cold Realm and proceeded through the teleportation array to the lair of the juvenile Heavenly Abyss fiend. Seeing an extraterrestrial fiend for the first time, Bao Yun was utterly shocked, instinctively covering her mouth.
Wei Yuan observed her discreetly and was surprised to find that Bao Yun's Dao force drained extraordinarily slowly. Being here was equivalent to drawing close to the Heavenly Abyss; the strength of each person's primordial spirit and cultivation was immediately laid bare, discernible by the rate at which their Dao force slipped away.
Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu were quite formidable. In comparison, Xu Henshui perhaps had too many stray thoughts, leaving his primordial spirit far weaker than theirs. Old Daoist Chuhe's primordial spirit was unexpectedly strong, for reasons unknown.
Zhang Sheng, naturally, went without saying. Her primordial spirit had transformed entirely into an immortal sword composed of hundreds of miniature swords, leaking virtually no Dao force.
Seeing that Bao Yun adapted surprisingly well to this place, Wei Yuan relaxed.
However, she was not yet a dharma idol cultivator. After only a few glances, her head spun and her vision blurred, the result of a vast gulf in status. If this juvenile fiend were fully grown, a single glance would have transformed Bao Yun into a monster on the spot.
Seeing Bao Yun about to collapse, Wei Yuan hurriedly caught her, escorted her back to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and then returned to Qingming for her to rest.
Back in Qingming, Bao Yun rolled up from the bed, pale-faced. She moved to the bedside and dry-heaved a few times before finally feeling a bit better.
Wei Yuan said, "You see? I really was busy."
Bao Yun beckoned to him. "Come here. I have something to tell you."
Wei Yuan leaned forward. Bao Yun leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Next time you fool around, don't forget to wipe away the bite mark on your ear..."
Wei Yuan jumped in shock. Before he could react, Bao Yun bit fiercely into his ear!
She put every ounce of strength into this bite. Wei Yuan let out a shrill scream as if undergoing some ancient torture, and blood welled out between Bao Yun's teeth.
Wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, she snapped viciously, "That'll teach you to fool around!"
Seeing her mouth covered in blood, Wei Yuan could no longer keep pretending to be in agony. Unable to find a kerchief in his haste, he tore a sleeve from his inner robe and handed it to her to wipe the blood. Bao Yun did not take it; instead, she pulled at Wei Yuan's lapel and planted a bloody lip imprint directly onto his collar.
Having finally vented her fury, Bao Yun relaxed, and Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to get away.
After leaving the room, Wei Yuan quietly slipped back to his residence and changed into fresh clothes, thinking to himself that while sword qi wounds were difficult to mend, wasn't changing clothes easy enough?
Meanwhile, Bao Yun sat alone in her room, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
She naturally knew changing clothes was the simplest thing in the world. It was only the difficult things she could not bring herself to do.
Chapter 643