The Capital, Underground Palace beneath the Ye Family Estate.
With the resuscitation of the spiritual vein, the entire underground palace was shrouded in a faint, milky-white spiritual mist, resembling a celestial paradise.
When Ye Qingyun led Ye Qingcheng and Qin Wan'er into this space, all three were struck speechless by the scene before them. Ye Qingcheng, in particular, was astounded; she had lived in the Ye family for twenty years and never dreamed that such an earth-shattering cultivation relic lay hidden beneath her own home.
"This... is this a Spirit Gathering Array? And a Spirit Spring?" Ye Qingcheng felt the active spiritual energy in the air. The Ice Profound True Qi within her body began to circulate automatically, several times faster than usual.
Shan Hu sat cross-legged beside the dried-up Spirit Spring eye (which now held a shallow pool of spiritual liquid), his expression calm.
"Ye Qingcheng, Qin Wan'er, enter the array."
Shan Hu's voice echoed through the empty palace.
The two women exchanged a glance. Qin Wan'er's eyes held unreserved trust as she walked straight to Shan Hu's left and sat down. Ye Qingcheng, though still feeling a bit awkward, gritted her teeth and sat on Shan Hu's right, sensing the immense benefit this place held for her cultivation.
"Sink your Qi to the Dantian, guard your original mind."
Shan Hu raised both hands, placing them against the backs of the two women.
"Rise!"
With a soft command, the Foundation Establishment True Essence within Shan Hu surged out like a river bursting its banks, instantly taking control of the ancient Spirit Gathering Array. The formation hummed, and the trace of origin power just recovered in the underground spiritual vein was forcibly extracted, transforming into two torrents of pure spiritual energy that injected into the two women respectively.
"Ngh!"
Ye Qingcheng let out a muffled groan. She felt a domineering stream of heat rush into her meridians—it was Shan Hu's True Essence. This heat rampaged through her body, and wherever it passed, the toxic residues accumulated from the forced consumption of Foundation Establishment Pills were instantly disintegrated and evaporated like snow meeting boiling water.
Severe pain was accompanied by an indescribable sense of relief.
"Endure it," Shan Hu's voice rang in her ear. "This is scraping the poison from your bones. Once the toxins are gone, your Ice Profound Spirit Body will fully awaken."
Meanwhile, Qin Wan'er experienced a different scene.
Her Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Sutra, guided by Shan Hu, frantically devoured the surrounding spiritual energy. Simultaneously, the pure medicinal power forced out of Ye Qingcheng's body (the unabsorbed essence of the Foundation Establishment Pills) was transformed by Shan Hu into a stream of supreme Yin energy, which was then transferred into Qin Wan'er.
This was what Shan Hu called "Dual Cultivation"—the strong leading the weak, fighting poison with poison, and the mutual complement of Yin and Yang.
Time ticked by.
Ye Qingcheng's face gradually turned from pale to rosy. A layer of black, greasy filth seeped out of her pores—the pill poison accumulated over years. As she exhaled a final breath of turbid air, she felt her body become lighter than ever before. The bottleneck of the Mid-Innate Stage, which had been stagnant, suddenly loosened!
"Break!"
Shan Hu slammed his palm against the center of Ye Qingcheng's back.
Boom!
A crisp sound echoed from within Ye Qingcheng. Her aura surged instantly, shattering the shackles of the Mid-Innate Stage and stepping directly into the Late Innate Stage! Moreover, her foundation was incredibly solid, with no hidden dangers remaining!
On the other side, Qin Wan'er benefited even more. Irrigated by both the spiritual vein and Ye Qingcheng's surplus medicinal power, her cultivation soared like a rocket, jumping straight from the Early Qi Condensation Stage to the Peak of the Mid-Qi Condensation Stage!
After a long while, Shan Hu withdrew his power.
"It is done."
He stood up, looking at the two women whose auras had completely transformed, and nodded with satisfaction.
Ye Qingcheng opened her eyes, feeling the surging power within her. Her gaze toward Shan Hu changed completely. The previous humiliation and unwillingness had now transformed into deep reverence and a trace of complex emotion.
"Thank you... Mr. Shan, for the grace of rebirth." Ye Qingcheng bowed her head, speaking with genuine sincerity.
Meanwhile, The Western Outskirts of the Capital.
A black sedan with out-of-town license plates slowly drove into the Chen Family Private Sanatorium.
The doors opened, and first, two pale, lifeless boys stepped out. Then, an old man wearing a dark red Tang suit, rolling two human-skull walnuts in his hand, stepped down.
The old man was tall but extremely gaunt, his skin clinging to his bones like dried parchment. His eye sockets were deep, flickering with a ghostly green light.
Chen Tiannan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately rushed forward and knelt on the ground: "Disciple pays respects to Master! Welcome, Ancestor Blood Corpse, out of seclusion!"
This person was Chen Tiannan's master, a giant of the Evil Dao, Ancestor Blood Corpse. He had lived in seclusion in Xiangxi refining corpses for years. His strength had long reached the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, and his poison techniques were unpredictable and treacherous.
Ancestor Blood Corpse ignored Chen Tiannan. Instead, he abruptly turned his head, looking toward the center of the Capital, his nose twitching slightly.
"Such rich spiritual energy fluctuations... Although masked by an array, this scent cannot hide from my nose."
Greed blazed in Ancestor Blood Corpse's eyes. His lips split into a terrifying grin, revealing a mouthful of pitch-black sharp teeth.
"That is the scent of an Earth Vein Spiritual Spring... right in that direction!" His withered finger pointed toward the location of the Ye Family Ancient Estate.
"Master is wise! That is exactly the Ye family!" Chen Tiannan hurriedly said. "That brat named Shan Hu is at the Ye family, and he injured your grand-disciples!"
"Shan Hu?" Ancestor Blood Corpse sneered, the skull walnuts in his hand cracking under his grip.
"Daring to touch my people and snatch the spiritual vein I've set my eyes on? Tonight, this Ancestor will peel that brat's skin off and make it into a cloak for my Indestructible Bone!"
"Pass the order. Release all my 'babies' kept in the back mountain. Tonight, I will wash the Ye family in blood!"
With Ancestor Blood Corpse's command, the iron gates of the sanatorium's back mountain were thrown open.
"Roar—!"
A series of spine-chilling roars erupted. Dozens of Blood Corpses, covered in red hair and possessing immense strength, rushed out into the night like wild beasts, charging madly toward the Capital.
The night of the Capital was about to be dyed red.