Content fidelity note: The Chinese original contains sexualized descriptions of characters who appear underage. The English preserves their actions and the narrative context but presents those descriptions non-graphically.
Behind Immortals’ Tower lay an elegant courtyard containing another building where the guests stayed.
The waiter led the four to a small three-story building. The Heaven-class rooms occupied the top floor.
Yun Lie received two room tokens and handed one to the twins. “You two will share a room. Ziqing will stay with me.”
Xu Ziqing had often meditated in the same room as his senior brother and saw nothing unusual in this. He merely reminded the twins, “If anything happens, crush this talisman and I’ll come.” He handed one of them a spiritual talisman.
Then everyone retired to their rooms without lingering.
Immortals’ Tower was no ordinary establishment. Every Heaven-class room was protected by a powerful formation; intruders could not easily break in. Only someone carrying the appropriate room token could come and go freely.
Yun Lie tossed the token toward the door. Several rings of ripples moved across it, and the entrance opened.
Xu Ziqing went inside with him. As soon as the token was retrieved, the door seemed to seal itself again.
The room was spacious and elegantly furnished.
Unlike ordinary inns, it offered not only a tall bed for sleeping but also two cushioned couches, each furnished with a meditation cushion.
Xu Ziqing sat on one to test it and found that pure spiritual energy flowed from the cushion, as though it were connected to a spiritual vein. Such ingenious provisions explained the high prices at Immortals’ Tower. The establishment truly gave its guests their money’s worth.
Instead of meditating as he usually did, Yun Lie walked toward a side door.
Curious, Xu Ziqing followed. He had barely lifted the curtain when warm air brushed his face.
It was a bathing room.
A pool several feet across filled the chamber, with white mist curling above its surface. Even a breath of the vapor left him refreshed.
From the scent, he realized this was a medicinal spring. He did not know which alchemist had devised its formula, but the result seemed genuinely effective.
Yun Lie began removing his outer robe.
Xu Ziqing felt suddenly awkward. For a moment he could not decide whether to leave or remain.
Seeing that he had not moved, Yun Lie said, “This spring will benefit both of us. Come and soak in it.”
Watching his senior brother undress, Xu Ziqing retreated half a step. Memories of what had happened in the inheritance grounds flashed through his mind, leaving him flustered.
After drawing a breath, however, he could not bring himself to refuse this chance to be near Yun Lie. He began removing his own outer clothing.
He simply did not understand. His senior brother plainly remembered what had happened in the demonic land. How could he remain so utterly composed?
Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly. Perhaps his senior brother’s heart was pure, while his own secret desires made him imagine complications where there were none.
Soon both wore only their undergarments. Yun Lie walked straight into the pool and sat properly, the water reaching his chest.
Xu Ziqing followed and settled obediently opposite him.
Several feet of water separated them.
In the white mist, Yun Lie’s features looked a little less severe, though he remained strikingly cold and handsome.
Xu Ziqing steadied himself and managed a faint smile.
They had been martial brothers for many years and shared a deep affection, but this was the first time they had bathed in the same pool.
Yun Lie did not close his eyes to rest. He looked at Xu Ziqing, and his gaze softened a little.
Xu Ziqing said with a smile, “This really is a wonderful place.”
“The spring has abundant vitality,” Yun Lie replied. “It’s useful for old hidden injuries. Your cultivation method shares certain properties with it, so you should contemplate it carefully.”
Xu Ziqing nodded and circulated his cultivation method in the water. A trace of vitality entered through the pores of his skin and became a warm current traveling throughout his body. Wherever it passed, weariness disappeared, and his previously depleted true essence slowly recovered.
He was astonished.
The spring’s medicinal power was impressive. It stimulated his flesh, blood, and meridians, and even replenished the spirit a little. The effect was subtle, but a different formula or stronger mixture could surely accomplish more. Someone with a stubborn injury would notice its benefits after bathing here, perhaps seek out the owner for more information, and thereby give the establishment another profitable line of business.
As Yun Lie had said, the vitality within the spring resembled wood-element energy. Much of its power must come from spiritual plants, so this was hardly surprising. What truly interested Xu Ziqing was the way the various energies blended together.
The wood-element energies of the medicinal herbs had been combined in precisely suitable proportions. They did not interfere with one another. Instead, they enhanced each other’s effects.
The more plants Xu Ziqing incorporated into his dantian, the more diverse its wood energy became. With Essence of Yi-Wood as his foundation, he had no fear of impurities interfering with cultivation. Yet his plant-based attacks remained somewhat disjointed. Each plant tended to act separately, controlled only through Rong Jin’s suppression, and their coordination was never quite as smooth as he wished.
What if he could arrange their energies to restrain and harmonize with one another? Then their combined abilities might become far more effective.
As soon as the thought formed, understanding stirred in his mind.
The Myriad Woods Harmonizing with the Heart Art appeared to him, a derivative chapter of the Myriad Woods Seed-Heart Great Art. It coordinated the wood qi of myriad plants, linking them through consciousness under the command of the natal Wood. Since the cultivator was master of the natal Wood, all the plants would respond to a single command, becoming far easier to control.
Having obtained this new insight, Xu Ziqing opened his eyes. “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Yun Lie had seen him begin to contemplate, then watched a green glow emerge upon his face. Knowing he was gaining insight, Yun Lie had quietly guarded him.
Now that Xu Ziqing had opened his eyes, he said, “No need to thank me.”
After most of the spring’s medicinal properties had been absorbed, Yun Lie stood.
He was tall and lean, with well-developed muscles beneath very fair skin. Water rolled from his body in shining droplets. Few people dared look directly at him because his aura was so cold, and therefore few ever saw him in such an unguarded moment. Xu Ziqing could not help admiring him, thinking that years of constant sword practice had made his senior brother’s physique as solid as tempered steel. His own body could hardly compare.
Since Yun Lie had acquired an immortal-demonic body, its physical strength had surpassed that of other Golden Core cultivators. Each further breakthrough would increase that strength tremendously. His meridians had become broader and tougher than before, and the amount of spiritual energy carried in his flesh and blood was much greater.
His special constitution possessed other benefits, but these remained to be discovered. An immortal-demonic body was so rare that one might not appear in a hundred thousand years. Records said only that its bearers became world-shaking experts; the full extent of its advantages had not been preserved.
While Xu Ziqing was lost in thought, Yun Lie had already stepped out of the water. His damp undergarments clung to his body, making the lines of his figure still more apparent.
Xu Ziqing remembered the proprieties and lowered his eyes, his cheeks warming.
Spiritual light circulated around Yun Lie, instantly drying him.
Seeing Xu Ziqing still seated in the pool, he said, “The medicine has been exhausted. Staying longer will do no good.”
Only then did Xu Ziqing collect himself and emerge, blushing slightly.
His own build was different from Yun Lie’s. He was slender and well proportioned, with fair skin bearing a gentle radiance characteristic of a wood cultivator. Life force seemed to glow from within his body, vibrant but never turbulent.
Yun Lie glanced at him without averting his eyes.
Xu Ziqing, on the other hand, became still more embarrassed. His senior brother’s gaze was as familiar as ever, yet for some reason it made him unusually self-conscious.
Fortunately Yun Lie did not stare. He retrieved a long robe from his storage bracelet and dressed, returning to his habitual plain white clothing.
Xu Ziqing hastily dried himself with true essence, brought out a green robe, and dressed as well.
They returned to the main room, one following the other.
Xu Ziqing had shared quarters with his senior brother before. Until the bath, he had not thought anything of it. Now an awkwardness seemed to linger.
He knew it arose from his own feelings and his tendency to read too much into his senior brother’s behavior. Yet he could not stop, and his thoughts became tangled.
The very atmosphere of the room seemed different from usual.
As he stood there unsure what to do, he sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.
It came from a talisman breaking. It was the one he had given the twins. Had they encountered some danger?
All his distractions vanished. He hastily informed Yun Lie and went to the adjoining room.
Its door stood open. Inside, he found the twins huddled together in a corner of the bed, trembling.
Startled, Xu Ziqing hurried over. “Are you unwell?”
The boys leaned against one another. The older one began, “We didn’t wish to trouble you, Senior, but… but…”
His younger brother added, “What happened today was so…” He seemed unable to speak of it, then drew a deep breath. “After bathing, we wanted to rest. But every time we closed our eyes, we had terrible dreams. We simply couldn’t help ourselves…”
The elder pleaded, “We cannot sleep, and we’re frightened. We only ask that tonight…” His voice dwindled to a whisper. “…you remain here with us.”
As they spoke, they moved anxiously toward the edge of the bed and looked up at him with pitiful expressions.
They appeared freshly washed, and their overlarge clothes hung loosely around them. Their small, delicate figures only reinforced the impression of helplessness they wished to create.
Xu Ziqing sighed.
He had not considered their circumstances carefully enough. These were two young boys who had endured a terrible ordeal. Of course they were frightened. Leaving them alone in this room had been thoughtless.
Now that he knew, he could not abandon them. Besides, he had felt somewhat unsettled around his senior brother earlier. Spending the night quietly protecting the boys might also help him steady his own heart and avoid troubling Yun Lie.
Having decided, he smiled. “Then I’ll stay here with you tonight.”
He paid no attention to anything in their appearance beyond their need for reassurance.
The twins looked momentarily stiff with disbelief. They soon forced fragile smiles. “Th-thank you for your kindness, Senior…”
They approached from either side, trying to lead him toward the bed.
Believing they were afraid, Xu Ziqing took each gently by the wrist and helped them settle comfortably beneath the covers.
Then he drew the light blanket over them and said warmly, “Sleep well. I’ll meditate nearby.”
He sent his senior brother a voice transmission, sat on one of the cushioned couches, and prepared to enter meditation.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he extinguished the lamps. The twins lay awake in the dark, utterly dumbfounded.