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Rong Shang did not answer Qingxuan's question.

But Qingxuan guessed something. With a man's eyes, even if Rong Shang hid it deeply, he would still notice and catch the unintentional revelations.

The Heavenly Lord intended to marry her, but he didn't think the man had any romantic feelings for Yan Zhu. Instead, Rong Shang...

A sigh was heard in the evening breeze.

——

Yan Zhu dreamed that her cultivation had greatly increased and she could defeat the enemy with one move without switching to the second form. Just as she was feeling proud of herself, Qingxuan stabbed her with a sword from behind without her knowing.

"God damn it!"

She woke up suddenly, patted her chest to calm her pounding heart: "It was a dream, it was a dream."

"What dream?"

A clear male voice came from outside the house. It was Qingxuan.

Yan Zhu then remembered that he had been practicing in the middle of the night. Suddenly, without any reason, his limbs felt tired and his head felt dizzy.

"What time is it?"

Qingxuan's broad figure was reflected by the moonlight on the door, and he swayed slightly: "Hai Shi, come out."

Wujiu transmitted the message: Master, he has been standing for a long time. It seems that if the master does not practice today, he can stand all night.

Yanzhu was annoyed, but she also knew that men were always what they said. Although he seemed docile, he was actually very paranoid. She could only force herself to get out of bed despite her sleepiness.

"Bang—"

The sound of the door opening was particularly loud in the quiet midnight.

Yan Zhu yawned as she opened the door, tears welling up in her eyes. She half-opened her eyes and looked up at the energetic person, wondering, "Aren't you sleepy?"

Qingxuan's eyes were bright, like the bright moon hanging high behind him. His voice was cold and solemn: "Practice has always been like this. You need to get used to it."

"?" Yan Zhu frowned.

Qingxuan explained: "At night, the moonlight is bright and the turbid energy of heaven and earth is concentrated, which is just right for your turbid cultivation constitution."

Yan Zhu complained inwardly: My life is so hard, I can’t get used to it.

She nodded gloomily: "Where are we going to practice?"

"Come with me."

Wrapped in Qingxuan's slightly cool palm, Yanzhu became a little more awake.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them arrived at the upper reaches of a stream and waterfall in the back mountain of Lonely Land. The sound of water below them slowly became music, and the fireflies on the ground were shining in harmony with the stars in the sky. In the silent forest night, except for a little bit of coolness, everything was just right and harmonious.

Yanzhu's sleepiness was blown away a little by the night wind, and then he followed Qingxuan to the ancient tree. He turned up his sleeves, a flash of light passed by, and two stone benches appeared on the ground. He spoke concisely.

"Meditate."

Yan Zhu dragged her sleepy steps and sat cross-legged, waiting for the next instruction. For a long while, there was no movement from the other party.

She raised her eyelids towards Qingxuan.

Under the man's sword-like eyebrows, a pair of peach blossom eyes were slightly raised, staring at her intently. His thin lips were light in color, and seemed to blend in with the cool night.

Under the other person's unblinking gaze, Yan Zhu felt less sleepy. "Why don't you start?"

Qingxuan raised his eyebrows and said in a slightly cold voice: "Are you anxious?"

Yan Zhu rolled her eyes and uttered as few words as possible: "Finish early, go to bed early, and start quickly."

Qingxuan walked to another stone bench with his hands behind his back. After brushing off the nonexistent dust, he spoke: "One yin, one yang, one spirit, one turbidity, all are Tao."

"All things are born and continue to grow. Even if they have no roots or stems, no leaves or withering, they are still the Tao."

"Since ancient times, for thousands of years, spiritual cultivation has been the foundation, giving rise to the three paths of gods, demons, and monsters, including the paths of swords, talismans, and formations, and also the path of ruthlessness."

“The Great Dao encompasses everything and shines like countless stars. Only when you find a path that suits you can you cultivate it.”

Yanzhu didn't say anything, but stared at Qingxuan's slightly sharp face without blinking. The latter coughed, and she came back to her senses.

"I know, I'm not following the path of turbid qi, the wild path of turbid cultivation, am I not?"

She withdrew her gaze, touched her nose and smiled awkwardly at Qingxuan.

Qingxuan seemed to have the ability to read minds: "What are you thinking about?"

Seeing the man speak, Yan Zhu asked directly, "According to the rules of Broken Mirror, if I live, you must die. Why then?"

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand why the man risked his life to save her.

Qingxuan glanced at Yanzhu, closed his eyes and meditated: "No reason, you also know that my spiritual spring is pure. If you don't protect it, I will not be able to escape the disaster when the turbid energy is rampant in the future."

Obviously, Yan Zhu was misled: "Did you foresee the turbid energy wreaking havoc in the future? The six realms?"

Qingxuan hummed, "Now that the spiritual energy is thin, the turbid energy is rising. The balance of life and death in the six realms is broken, and it's only a matter of time before the turbid energy surges."

Yan Zhu suddenly understood: "So that's how it is."

She said that no one would risk their life to save others for no reason.

Qingxuan sighed softly: "Focus, today's training is just the beginning. If you don't take it seriously, then... don't sleep tonight. Anyway, I'm used to practicing at night, so it won't be a problem."

The man's voice turned cold, and every smile in his eyes was threatening.

After saying that, Yan Zhu opened her eyes wide and looked at the man solemnly, her eyes firm and shining: "Thank you for your hard work, please."

Qing Xuan then continued, "No matter what path you take, it's a journey of overcoming obstacles and seeking your true self. You need to have both fears and fearlessness in your heart. When necessary, you must find a breakthrough in a narrow opportunity. The path of cultivation emphasizes both speed and slowness, with nature being the most important."

Yan Zhu nodded thoughtfully and said solemnly: "I've made a note of it."

A smile appeared on Qingxuan's tightly pursed lips. "That's great. Now that your eight extraordinary meridians are open, although you have mastered the Qi training and foundation building, you still need to use your life force to nourish the meridians like a spring, stabilize the foundation, and facilitate the formation of the elixir in the future."

"Follow me."

The man spread his hands naturally, moving them up and down. A lilac-purple spiritual light emanated from his palms. "Why are you looking at me? Concentrate your mind on the Qi and Qi, focusing on the harmony of all things, and rotate back and forth at your Dantian."

“Remember, it’s a steady rotation that never tires of you, and you should gain new insights with each rotation.”

Yanzhu bit her lip, lowered her eyes, and did as she was told.

Then a wisp of black spiritual power appeared between his palms. His hands moved slowly, and the spiritual power flowed through the twenty-seven air currents, which are the eight extraordinary meridians.

Yan Zhu frowned slightly and pursed her lips.

Qingxuan said, "Your innate spiritual power counteracts your original spiritual energy. Now that they collide, there's a difference in priority. It will be a little painful, so just bear with it."

Yan Zhu closed her eyes, and while urging her innate spiritual power to irrigate her meridians amidst the numerous spiritual obstacles, she endured the pain and couldn't help but grit her teeth and complain, "This is not just a little pain, it's life-threatening, okay?"

The pain spread from the spiritual spring in her dantian to her limbs and bones, becoming more and more intense. She was sweating all over, and the cold mountain wind blew mercilessly, causing waves of stinging in her pores.

Yanzhu's long black hair clung to her snow-white neck, and her thin shoulders trembled slightly.

Qingxuan frowned and waved his hand. The spirit shield instantly blocked the cold wind for the two of them. He gathered the spirit from his palm and threw it to a distance not too far in front of Yanzhu, emitting heat.

Although Yanzhu closed her eyes, she could easily feel a faint light in front of her, and it was warm and gentle, like the warm sun in the cold winter.

An hour later, the forest was deeper and the dew was heavier at midnight. The chirping of insects rose and fell, interweaving with the sound of the waterfall.

After Qingxuan realized that the person beside him had left, he slowly opened his eyes and suddenly bumped into a face. Their eyes met, less than a finger's distance apart.

At some point, Yan Zhu was leaning over and looking at him, her red lips slightly raised and her eyebrows frivolous.

Qingxuan raised his eyes slightly, his eyes darkened, and he asked, "Why did you change your form?"

After she finished speaking, Yan Zhu closed the distance between them again. Her voice was as soft as a orchid, and her voice was full of dominance: "I can cut it if I want."

The two of them breathed in mingled, and Yan Zhu's fairer-skinned hand slowly rested on the man's back. Regardless of the latter's stiff body, she playfully picked up the meticulously crafted green hairband with bamboo patterns and slowly wrapped it around her fingertips.

Qingxuan's eyes were calm, without a trace of ripples: "What are you doing, God? Practice."

Yan Zhu pretended not to hear him. She sniffed slightly, even going a step further, leaning in closer to inhale the cold, snowy scent of pine trees on the man's body. She replied calmly, "What can a weak woman like me, who hasn't even reached the core of the elixir, do to a high-level Divine Lord like you?"

Her tone rose slightly at the end of her words, with a hint of yin and yang.

Qingxuan's calm expression finally rippled, and he suddenly smiled briefly: "How could the God Lord hold such a grudge?"

Yan Zhu nodded generously, her brows furrowed against the man's. "Only villains and women are hard to raise. So what if I hold a grudge?"

"I certainly shouldn't have concealed my cultivation level. My original form has forgiven me, which means Yanzhu believes in me."

Qingxuan knew that even if he could pass the original form, he still had to explain to the second form.

"You are good at understanding people's hearts."

Yan Zhu's fingers were slender and well-proportioned. Her fingertips were slightly cool, and they brushed lightly across the man's tense Adam's apple as if unintentionally.

Qingxuan's Adam's apple tightened.

"Your Majesty, washing your hands and making soup three times a day is indeed hard work, but I will forgive you this time... and this will not happen again."

Yan Zhu raised her voice slightly with a mischievous smile, then she straightened up and smiled like a flower in the moonlight.

When it fell into Qingxuan's eyes, there was a touch of beauty, even more beautiful than the moonlight. The man looked up at the woman and said, "Thank you, God."

Yan Zhu waved her hand, then turned around and looked at the waterfall in the mountains. There was a complicated look in her eyes, and black light was flowing.

"The universe is tranquil, the turbid energy is refined and sinks, and only appears to the surface when it is at its most yin. Although it is not as powerful as the spiritual energy, it also has vitality. If the six realms did not interfere with the natural order and disrupt the balance of life and death, the turbid energy would not rise and invade the six realms."

Yan Zhu spread out his palms and slowly absorbed the turbid air into the eight extraordinary meridians. The bone-gnawing pain from before was gone, only a slight stinging pain.

She smiled, "I have to thank you, Lord God. I think it won't be long before I can switch forms freely, instead of relying on vials of turbid air for stimulation."

Qingxuan stood up and walked behind the woman, following her gaze: "Congratulations, God, you have a high level of understanding."

After finishing her words, Yan Zhu turned to look at Qing Xuan, her eyes filled with surprise. "This is the first time in my life that someone has said that I have a high level of understanding. I remember when I was born with a special spirit, besides my mother, Jin Huang comforted me, saying that everyone is different. If you focus on yourself and figure out what you want to do, one day, iron rod will become a needle, and water dripping will wear away stone."

Qingxuan lowered his eyes and said, "No wonder you and Jinhuang are so familiar with each other. It turns out you have known each other for a long time and have similar aspirations."

Yan Zhu raised her wrist, revealing a piece of snow-white skin. Her bare hands boldly and slowly traced Qingxuan's eyebrows. The fingertips felt a rough texture, and then slowly moved down to the tall nose bridge, touching a delicate area.

"Your peach blossom eyes are really beautiful."

"In the Broken Mirror, you sacrificed your life in exchange for mine. How about I give myself in return?"

Yanzhu's fingertips slowly moved down with a playful gaze, locking onto the man's face. Just as they were about to touch his thin lips, she was stopped by the man's warm big hand.

Qingxuan's smile gradually faded: "It's not that great, it's better for the Divine Lord to form the elixir as soon as possible and cultivate to a higher level."

Yan Zhu looked reluctant when it came to cultivation. So she gently exerted force on her wrist and freed her bare hands from Qing Xuan's shackles. At the same time, she turned around and snorted, "Just as boring."

Unexpectedly, as soon as his wrists were freed from the restraints, they were grasped tightly again in mid-air by a force the next second, as if he was at the gate of the Nine-Layered Temple.

At the same time, Qingxuan's laughter came from behind: "Same? I didn't know there was someone else around the God?"

Although Yan Zhu had her back to the man, she knew that he must have a gloomy expression on his face at the moment.

She snorted lightly and said without turning her head: "Why should I tell you."

She then tried to pull her hand away, but found her struggle was in vain, as the man's restraints prevented her from escaping.

Yanzhu turned around and met Qingxuan's gaze. The man had a smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes, which looked a little sinister.

"Your Majesty, please don't overdo it. The agreement between you and me is the most important thing." Yan Zhu reminded with a smile.

Qingxuan's lips curled slightly: "The original form of the God doesn't seem to take the agreement seriously, and even wants to drive me away."

Yan Zhu looked like she was in control and smiled, "Are you feeling wronged? My original form is lazy and self-satisfied, enjoying life in the moment, so naturally I don't care about any agreements.

But I am different. If there is anything in the world that is unchanging and long-lasting, one of them is agreement. At the very least, it can defeat so-called love. "

Qingxuan was silent for a moment: "Indeed, the Divine Master is very insightful."

Yan Zhu smiled and said, "Every failure is a learning experience. Falling in the same place once is enough. Or, Lord God, do you want to talk about something else?"

She looked into the man's calm eyes and smiled.

The man said after a while, "Your Excellency is joking. My goal is the same as yours."

Yan Zhu: "That's better."

The man glanced sideways at the woman's hand on his shoulder, his lips curled slightly: "Then what does the God intend now?"

Yan Zhu curved her lips, her eyes shone with a thousand moonlights: "Your Majesty is as pure and elegant as jade, it's hard not to be moved."