Su Wen sat in the alchemy room, the spirit herbs neatly arranged beside him.
He placed the Black Treasure Cauldron at the centre of the alchemy pit.
Taking a deep breath, he activated the safety formations and ignited the spiritual fire, feeling the cauldron hum with energy.
Carefully, he began the refining process… starting with Du Yue's pills, and then moving on to his own.
He placed the six Low Grade 3 spirit herbs into the cauldron, watching as their essence swirled and merged together.
The herbs hissed and released faint glimmers of energy, the aroma of condensed spirit qi filling the room.
He carefully adjusted the heat using his Soul Sense, controlling the flow of spiritual qi to ensure each herb was refined into a potent pill.
Once finished, he cleaned the cauldron meticulously until it gleamed, leaving no trace of residue.
Then he lit the fire again and placed the seven Mid Grade 2 spirit herbs inside.
The herbs glowed warmly as they absorbed the heat from the spiritual fire.
Using his Soul Sense, he guided the qi steadily, making sure each herb was refined properly to preserve its full effectiveness.
In just an hour, all the spirit pills for both of them were concocted.
Su Wen stood, shutting down the formations and cleansing the cauldron to remove every impurity.
He tidied the alchemy room, sorted the remaining ingredients, and, once satisfied everything was in order, vanished from the room.
He reappeared inside the lakeside lodge, intending to hand the freshly refined pills to Du Yue.
Just as he glanced toward the training grounds, what he saw froze him in place, mouth agape.
There, Du Yue practiced her sword technique… the Eternal Snow Severing-Heaven Sword Art.
Her movements looked more like a dance than a fighting style, flowing gracefully with her Grade 3 White SnowSword in hand, releasing a terrifying Golden Core pressure that felt far beyond the realm she should be in.
Her eyes were pitch white, completely lost in her own world, focused entirely on the flow of her sword, as snow-white petals of sword qi drifted gently through the air.
Every movement was fluid and precise, each swing radiating both elegance and raw power.
The snow-white petals seemed delicate at first glance, but in reality, they carried a chilling, piercing Grade 4 Sword Intent that made even Su Wen draw a sharp, cold breath.
She looked like a goddess in motion, Grade 4 Sword Intent swirling around her in perfect harmony, yet her technique seemed as if it could sever the night sky itself.
Su Wen stood there, completely captivated by her sword dance, only regaining his senses after a long moment.
Goosebumps prickled his skin as he murmured, "Let her practice peacefully… I mustn't break her momentum."
Then, stealing one last glance before running… cough… leaving, he thought to himself,
"Do I feel grateful… or terrified… that she's my wife?"
Su Wen teleported outside the house and removed his robes, standing bare-chested as snow fell freely onto his skin, the cold wind sliding past him.
His toned, lean body… defined abs and honed muscles… looked like a living sculpture silhouetted against the dark night sky.
He took several deep breaths, calming his mind and turning his focus inward, centering himself on the connection between body and mind.
Slowly, he sank into the stance of the Second Level of the Heavenly Body Fist Technique, stirring the spiritual qi within his dantian and guiding it upward… toward his brain.
He inhaled deeply, then suddenly punched forward with absolute concentration.
The raw power behind the strike blasted the surrounding snow far away.
He crouched low, like a tiger poised to pounce.
Focusing on his legs, he surged forward and struck with both fists in unison.
A sharp swerve echoed as his fists seemed to pierce the air itself.
He stepped back, twisted his body, raised his left arm to block, then unleashed a fierce punch with his right fist.
He continued without pause… his feet stepping and twisting again and again, fists roaring with power as his body flowed like water, absorbing and redirecting force outward.
Every movement was precise and controlled, yet filled with explosive strength.
Qi surged through his limbs, spiralling with each stance and breath.
Heat rose rapidly within his body.
His pale skin flushed red, and the snow that fell upon him melted instantly, turning into wisps of steam.
The faster he moved, the more intense the heat became.
The ground beneath his feet trembled lightly, completely stripped of snow, which scattered into the air and failed to settle within a wide circle around him.
Gradually, he immersed himself fully in the technique. His eyes grew empty, holding only the movements of the fist art.
Slowly… then steadily… his movements accelerated, their precision increasing to an astonishing degree.
He practiced continuously for hours, spiritual qi surging upward again and again toward his brain… until, suddenly… something clicked.
It felt as though glass shattered inside his mind.
A torrent of spiritual qi rushed upward like a waterfall, relentlessly refining his brain.
Waves of warmth and clarity spread through his head as the refinement stabilized.
His vision sharpened.
His thoughts became clear.
His connection to his own body deepened, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from both body and mind.
When he extended his Soul Sense, it spread effortlessly… far sharper, broader, and more stable than before.
He had finally refined the Brain.
His consciousness… the vessel holding his Pure Soul… had strengthened.
Now, only the Heart remained…
Just one final step before achieving Sevenfold Body Refinement.
Su Wen didn't stop yet… he still had a breakthrough to make in spirit cultivation.
He settled onto the ground in a cross-legged position, exhaled softly, and allowed his thoughts to calm once more.
Slowly, his consciousness sank inward, descending into his dantian.
There, his spiritual lake revealed itself... a vast, dark-blue expanse that shimmered with depth and weight.
It wasn't merely larger than before; the liquid qi itself felt heavier, thicker, and brimming with vitality.
The lake had grown to more than twice the size of an ordinary cultivator's, a clear testament to the monstrous foundation he had built.
Su Wen took out three glimmering pills, all refined earlier from the seven Mid Grade 2 spirit herbs.
Without hesitation, he swallowed them one after another.
Warm, powerful medicinal energy spread through his meridians like flowing heat.
'Ever since she came into my life, my cultivation speed has increased exponentially', he mused inwardly.
'Not only that… even my supply of spirit herbs has grown absurdly fast.'
He shook his head lightly, clearing his thoughts, and activated his cultivation technique…
The Dao of the Nine Heavens.
His body trembled faintly as spiritual qi roared to life within him.
Carefully, he guided the surging qi into his dantian, fully immersing himself in the third spiritual qi refinement of Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.
As the refinement neared completion, tension filled his entire body.
The newly refined qi pressed outward, compressing and expanding at once, while the medicinal force from the pills surged like a raging river.
The two forces collided… Like water crashing against an old, fractured dam.
Su Wen gave a gentle push.
The dam collapsed.
His dantian shook violently as a tidal flood of liquid spiritual qi burst forth.
The spiritual lake expanded rapidly, waves crashing against the boundaries of his inner world.
Outside his body, spiritual qi from hundreds of meters around spiralled violently toward him, forming a roaring vortex above his head before pouring down like a devouring storm.
Minutes passed.
Gradually, the storm subsided.
The liquid qi within his dantian settled, deepening and stabilizing into a vast, silent ocean.
Su Wen had completed the sixth refinement.
He now stood at the very edge of Peak Foundation Establishment.
Once his spiritual qi fully stabilized, all he would need was a final push to step into the Peak stage… without the slightest resistance.
Within him, the ocean of qi continued to surge, now more than three times the size of a normal Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator's.
According to his cultivation method, he still needed three more refinements… compressing this already rich liquid qi into something heavier, denser… nearly solid.
Only then would he be qualified to form his Golden Core.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. A faint glimmer flashed through them.
"These last three refinements won't take long," he murmured softly.
"But the resources…" he sighed lightly. "Haah… they'll drain us dry."
A pause… then a relaxed chuckle.
"Well, who cares. I'll take it slow… and leave everything to my wife."
A small, easy smile curved his lips as the newfound depth of his cultivation settled within him… steady and powerful, like a beating heart.