The boudoir was silent, save for the sound of heartbeats. Moonlight lifted the window curtains, illuminating the large-headed doll standing by the bedside, making its head gleam brightly.

"......"

A long silence ensued.

The cold beauty felt the embrace around her growing warmer.

The warm man felt the soft, fragrant jade in his arms growing colder.

At the same time, a thought surfaced in both their minds.

This is bad.

The path seems... to be veering further off course...

Now, even if they tried to stop, it was already too late...

Ying Bing's eyes trembled slightly, like autumn waters beginning to thaw. No matter how expressionless her face usually was, it was now inevitably tinged with a deep blush.

"I'll make it quick."

She meant to neutralize both the yin and yang energies.

"Mmm..."

Li Mo nodded instinctively.

Then he felt the yang energy within him begin to flow slowly.

Amidst the interplay of yin and yang, a wisp of 'energy,' almost imperceptible, emerged.

This energy was unlike any true essence or internal breath he had encountered before—simple yet seemingly eternal and indestructible.

The yin and yang energies cycled endlessly, ever-changing, but once this 'energy' appeared, it became the center around which they revolved.

The efficiency of their dual cultivation suddenly improved significantly.

"Haah..."

Li Mo finally relaxed a little, lowering his gaze to look at her from this new perspective.

The ice block lay in his arms—she wasn't heavy at all. On the contrary, she was light as a feather. Was a fairy's body made of moonlight?

Her eyes were closed now, her trembling eyelashes sparkling like starlight, her delicate hands gripping his shoulders tightly.

Who said the moon couldn't be held? Then what was he embracing right now?

To be honest.

If not for the very real sensation of her cool skin against his, Li Mo might have thought this was a dream—and even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn't have dared imagine something this beautiful.

Initially, his investment in the ice block had been purely for the rewards.

Not that the ice block wasn't good.

On the contrary, the ordinary Li Mo of his past life thought she was too good.

A red destiny, a future protagonist who would make the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths bow before her.

As a mere bystander, Li Mo considered it a rare privilege just to maintain a pure investor-investee relationship.

But later...

"Li... Li Mo, stop overthinking."

"Huh? I wasn't..."

"But there's something... poking me..."

"You know I've been learning weapon forging lately, hammering metal all day. It's only natural I carry a hammer treasure with me, right?"

Li Mo nearly lost his composure after saying that. What kind of nonsense was he spouting?

But the usually strict ice block actually nodded, though her expression grew even more complicated.

Time passed slowly.

It felt like an eternity, yet Li Mo also felt it flew by. The yang energy he'd accumulated from forging was depleted in just this short while.

Even if that energy was divine, couldn't it at least put up a bit more of a fight?

A moment later, Ying Bing's voice sounded:

"Get up."

"Oh, right."

Li Mo wasn't sure if she meant she was getting up or telling him to rise.

The ice block was still lying on top of him.

"Li Mo, wait—"

The mentally exhausted Li Mo suddenly sat bolt upright, as if jolted back to life.

Then, seeing Ying Bing about to slip to the floor, he swiftly reached out and caught her.

"!"

"Huh?"

Li Mo froze—could the sensation get even better?

"Let go..."

Ying Bing glared at his neck, as if she wanted to bite it right then and there.

Her tone was still cool and detached, but now there was a hint of fierceness. So Li Mo released her and put his shirt back on.

By the time he'd fastened his Pure Yang robe, Ying Bing had already returned to bed, leaving him only a cold silhouette of her back.

"I'm heading back."

"......"

The Frost Fairy said nothing, as if she'd fallen asleep.

Could she also use his secret technique—falling asleep in three seconds?

The boudoir was utterly silent. Li Mo couldn't just stand there any longer. Even if he had questions, he had to suppress them. He certainly couldn't crawl into her bed and whisper them in her ear.

So he hunched over and crept out of the boudoir like a guilty dog.

Snap—

The sound of the door closing echoed.

On the bed, the seemingly aloof Frost Fairy seemed to shrink, curling into herself.

Suddenly remembering something, she kicked the large-headed doll by the bed with her snow-white foot, sending it tumbling to the floor.

......

The door across the way closed as well.

Li Mo lay on his bed, his mind blank. He didn't even dare sleep on his stomach.

Hadn't all the yang energy been refined and converted into the power of soul intent in his acupoints?

Why was he still... two heads and one big?

Was it because he excelled at showing off, making Little Li want to flaunt himself too...

Wait, Little Li, what are you thinking!

Is this the kind of thought a righteous gentleman should have?

You used to be so sunny and cheerful—you weren't like this before!

"Return to the small world..."

With a shift in vision, Li Mo's consciousness rapidly descended.

.....

That night.

Princess Little Jiang hugged a peachwood branch, pondering how to deal with the giant crimson dragon today as she walked toward the Yin-Yang training ground.

Suddenly, she froze.

"I'm ready~ I'm ready~"

"Let's go catch jellyfish together!"

At that moment, in front of the Yin-Yang training ground, a strange yellow square and an equally odd pink star were talking.

Yes, a yellow square wearing a shirt and tie and a pink star wanting to catch jellyfish—this was just too bizarre.

And the Heavenly Venerable Teacher stood before this strange scene, watching intently.

"Teacher... what... what is this?"

"They are creatures of the sea, long vanished from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

"Oh..."

In the past, the teacher had also shown her vivid images, like the Celestial Court of old.

Were these perhaps another type of demonic creature lost to the river of time?

"Teacher, why are you watching them?"

"This is a memory from my childhood, a past I can never return to."

The Heavenly Venerable Teacher's voice was heavy with nostalgia as he gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle:

"Seeing them reminds me of my innocent, untainted self... But I truly can never go back. Now, even Sandy seems charming..."

"Teacher's tone today... sounds so profound... and he looks a little tired too."

Jiang Chulong tilted her head in confusion.

"Alright, let's begin today's lesson!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the Heavenly Venerable made the scene vanish.

He turned around, a crimson dragon projection coiling in the air behind him, its blazing gaze fixed on the young girl clutching her sword.

"How is your Dragon-Slaying Sword Art progressing?"

"I've... mastered about thirty percent. It's at the minor achievement stage."

"Good. Let's see how much you can truly wield—whether you can slay this crimson dragon!"