The situation had come abruptly and in haste.
Chen Yuyang only had time to put a mask on his own face—a mask capable of concealing his presence and altering his aura.
As for his body…
He simply let it remain exposed.
After all, if no one could see his face, no one would know who he was.
The key that allowed Chen Yuyang to pinpoint Gu Qiushui’s location and teleport to her directly from afar lay in the protective amulet he had given her before.
Once activated, the amulet would tear open space and instantly send his real body to the corresponding place.
The trigger for activation was Gu Qiushui facing mortal danger.
“It’s not going to be easy to explain this to Master…”
But seeing Gu Qiushui in such a state, Chen Yuyang was not at ease leaving her behind.
If he brought her back directly, there would be no way to explain it.
Suddenly, a thought came to Chen Yuyang.
“That’s right, I’m in the Golden Core Realm now… I can just barely use that Divine Power.”
For a cultivator, the foundation of their combat strength was the cultivation technique they practiced.
Different techniques carried different attributes and characteristics.
On the basis of a cultivation technique, one could develop various moves or activate magical artifacts, further amplifying their own combat power.
But besides techniques, artifacts, and moves, there also existed “Divine Powers.”
Divine Powers were means that could only be used after one gained further understanding of the laws of heaven and earth.
Unlike the methodical cultivation techniques, the patterned moves, or the clearly graded magical artifacts, Divine Powers varied greatly in strength and purpose.
Demonic beasts were naturally close to the world, making it easy for them to develop Divine Powers during their cultivation.
For humans, however, mastering a Divine Power was much more difficult.
To comprehend a Divine Power on one’s own, one generally needed to reach the Great Ascension Realm or higher.
A relatively easier method was to refine a demonic beast possessing a Divine Power; this way, there was a small chance to comprehend the beast’s ability.
However, Chen Yuyang had reached the Great Ascension Realm more than once—in fact, he’d even reached the half-step True Immortal Realm seven or eight times—so he had long since comprehended several Divine Powers.
But Divine Powers consumed a huge amount of energy, and some even inflicted side effects or damage upon the user.
Unless he had no other choice, Chen Yuyang was reluctant to use them.
But now was just such a time.
Swiftly, he set up a simple defensive array at the scene.
Then Chen Yuyang pressed his palms together and began chanting in a low voice.
Spiritual energy flowed, and intricate golden patterns began to surface on his body, swirling and shimmering.
These patterns were a certain embodiment of the laws of heaven and earth.
His black eyes closed tightly.
When he opened them again, he had already returned to his room in Ziyang Town.
[Divine Power—Shrinking the Ground Into Inches.]
A simple teleportation talisman could not cross such a vast distance, let alone leap between small worlds.
Unless one was a mighty cultivator at the Great Ascension Realm or above.
However, the Divine Power of Shrinking the Ground Into Inches had relatively fewer requirements.
Still, space-type Divine Powers demanded an extremely high level of comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth.
After confirming that Tai Lingxuan was not in the room, Chen Yuyang immediately took out spirit stones and set up a concealment array in his room.
The function of this array was simple: to warn him if anyone tried to enter.
That way, he could return at any time if needed, without worrying about being discovered by his master.
Just as he finished setting up the array and activated it, Chen Yuyang was about to go back to Gu Qiushui to arrange things more securely, when he suddenly sensed the array’s warning.
Someone was coming!
Chen Yuyang reacted quickly, flipping himself onto the bed, pulling the bedding over himself, steadying his breath, and pretending to be asleep.
He did wonder, though, why the pillow in his room felt a little damp and the bedding seemed to carry a strange fragrance.
Assuming it was due to moisture, and with his mind still preoccupied with Gu Qiushui, Chen Yuyang didn’t think much of it.
He simply rested his head and feigned sleep.
Outside, someone tapped gently on the door a few times.
When there was no response, Tai Lingxuan simply pushed the door open and entered.
But as soon as she stepped in, she noticed the young man already lying on the bed, eyes closed, seemingly in deep sleep.
“This child… He asked me to find a way to erase his soul mark, but he’s fallen asleep himself.”
Muttering to herself, Tai Lingxuan walked to the bedside and sat down.
Looking at the peaceful expression on the youth’s face, a smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of her mouth, tinged with a trace of tenderness.
“You poor child… You must be so tired.”
She reached out and gently caressed the boy’s cheek, her eyes full of affection.
“I’ve heard everything from Lingxi.”
“You found all those rare treasures, yet left nothing for yourself—instead, you had her bring them all to me…”
“You’re really foolish… Even if you couldn’t use them yourself, they could’ve been exchanged for plenty of spirit stones… And then there were all those spirit stones from before…”
“Ah, you child… You really should think more for yourself… I’m already at the Body Fusion Realm… If I truly needed spirit stones, as long as I was willing to put my pride aside, there are always ways…”
“Forget it… Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll just let you be.”
She talked to herself for a long time.
At last, Tai Lingxuan sighed and gazed at the sleeping youth, who hadn’t been disturbed by her presence at all…
After a while, Tai Lingxuan suddenly bent down and planted a gentle kiss on the youth’s lips.
Then, as if startled by her own actions, she quickly straightened up, raised her hand to cover her lips, and stared nervously at the youth.
Still, there was no movement or reaction.
He was truly sound asleep.
What had gotten into her, acting so impulsively all of a sudden…
Shaking her head, Tai Lingxuan forced herself not to dwell on it and quietly left the youth’s room.
The door softly closed.
Instantly, black eyes snapped open.
Sitting up, Chen Yuyang touched his lips.
So fragrant, so soft…
So this was what a kiss felt like.
Though it was just flesh touching flesh, in that moment, even he had felt as if a current had surged through his body.
“Master…”
With a helpless sigh and a shake of his head, Chen Yuyang pushed aside these thoughts.
He changed clothes, silently recited an incantation, and in the next instant, the youth arrived a thousand miles away, inside the Qianghuang Secret Realm.
At the moment, though Gu Qiushui had taken a healing pill, she had only just escaped death.
To fully recover, she needed to guide her breath and circulate her energy while the medicine was still working.
But she was unconscious, so Chen Yuyang could only help circulate her spiritual energy for her.
Carrying the girl, Chen Yuyang quickly found a secluded spot and settled her there.
Sending his spiritual sense into her body, he began to investigate her condition.
Her pulse was erratic and disordered, showing that the power of the Soul-Gathering and Flesh-Regenerating Pill was working inside her.
But lacking guidance, this surging medicinal force had nowhere to go.
If left unchecked, even if Gu Qiushui’s injuries were eventually healed, she would be left with hidden dangers.
To help her regulate her breath, it was necessary to extend his spiritual sense and perception further.
In that case, her clothing became an obstacle.
“My apologies…”
With a soft sigh, but no hesitation in his movements, the youth acted.
Flames danced.
Silently, the girl’s clothes burned to ash, revealing large expanses of skin—white as snow, smooth as jade.
However, at this moment, the skin that should have been flawless was marred by several dark red scars.
Some were battle wounds; others, injuries from forcibly channeling spiritual energy, harming her own body.
“Even her heart…”
Observing, the youth frowned deeply.
For a cultivator, the human body was no less than a small world.
Within this world, the five organs each played their role, and the heart was king among them, directly tied to a cultivator’s very foundation.
Her wounds were more troublesome—and more serious—than Chen Yuyang had expected.
Simple treatment would not be enough to mend the damage Gu Qiushui had done to her heart in battle.
If so, then he would need to use more advanced methods.
The heart belonged to fire, specifically yang fire.
His senior sister’s spiritual root was water, sourced in the kidneys; only by achieving “mutual harmony of water and fire” could things return to balance.
Now, with her kidney water unrestrained by heart fire, pure yin had flooded her dantian, threatening to overwhelm it.
If not checked soon, even if her life was spared, her spirit would shatter, her dantian destroyed, and she would never cultivate again.
Fortunately, what Chen Yuyang excelled at most was the supreme yang fire.
After assessing the situation, Chen Yuyang determined that the best approach was to support fire, supplement earth, suppress water, and soothe metal.
Of these, the most crucial was “supporting fire.”
After considering, Chen Yuyang decided to temper her heart much as he had once used the Primal Fire to refine his own body.
Only by strengthening her heart fire could he suppress the rampant kidney water.
Once heart fire blazed bright, the subsequent steps—supplementing earth, suppressing water, and soothing metal—would go much more smoothly.
With that decision, Chen Yuyang took out several incense burners, arranged them around the area, and lit Concentration Incense.
He then straightened Gu Qiushui’s body into a sitting posture and sat cross-legged before her, gathering his original force and conjuring flames.
But the fire in his hand was not the Primal Fire, but the Haoyang True Flame.
This wasn’t because he was holding back, but rather, after careful analysis, he believed Gu Qiushui could not withstand the Primal Fire’s pure yang force, so he opted for the slightly lesser Haoyang True Flame.
The Haoyang True Flame blazed fiercely.
Chen Yuyang focused his mind, compressing the flame to a pinpoint at his fingertip, then swiftly pressed it to Gu Qiushui’s chest.
In that instant, the girl’s delicate body trembled, her lips parted, and a soft moan escaped her unconsciously.
Suddenly, her previously weakly-beating heart began to pound violently.
A flush of crimson spread from her chest throughout her body, and a surge of heat burst forth from within her.
Chen Yuyang knew that the Haoyang True Flame was now working, flowing from her heart through her limbs and bones.
At that moment, Chen Yuyang hesitated briefly, his gaze pausing on the girl before him.
What a figure…
Though such thoughts crossed his mind, he was in no mood to appreciate them.
On the contrary, he only felt a touch of helplessness.
The next instant, his palm pressed against a full curve, fingers sinking gently.
Spiritual power surged, spiritual sense expanded.
The Haoyang True Flame running rampant inside Gu Qiushui began to mellow under his control.
This would be a long and enduring process.