The ascent began as the first light of dawn touched the jagged peaks of the Azure Sky range. However, this was no ordinary sunrise. In the high altitudes of the "Forbidden Zone," the sun's rays were filtered through eternal ice clouds, casting a haunting, prismatic glow over the vertical cliffs.
Qin Feng led the way, his boots no longer crunching heavily on the stone. With every step, a faint ripple of violet Qi cushioned his feet, a subconscious application of his new Primordial Eclipse Body. Behind him, Ye Chen moved with the effortless grace of a swan. Though her silk robes were still torn and stained with the dust of the mines, the way she carried herself made the mountain itself seem like her throne room.
"The air is getting thin," Qin Feng noted, his breath barely forming a mist. "In the past, my lungs would have given out miles ago. Now, it feels like I'm breathing pure energy."
"That is because you are," Ye Chen replied, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of pursuit. "At the Foundation Establishment realm, your body no longer relies solely on breath. You are consuming the 'World Qi' directly. But do not grow complacent, Husband. The Ancient Moon Ruins are protected by more than just height."
[DING! Location Discovered: The Frozen Stairway.] [Environment Effect: 'Lesser Absolute Zero' — Qi regeneration reduced by 10% for non-Moon aspected cultivators.]
As they climbed higher, the path narrowed until it was nothing more than a finger-width ledge over a three-thousand-foot drop. For a mortal, it was certain death. For Qin Feng, it was a training ground.
Suddenly, the System's alert chimed, its golden interface flickering with a sharp red border.
[WARNING: Aerial Predators detected.] [Target: Frost-Winged Drakes (Rank 2 Spirit Beasts).] [Number: 5.]
From the swirling mists above, five massive shapes plummeted. They were drakes, lizard-like creatures with wings made of translucent ice and eyes like frozen rubies. They let out a synchronized screech that shattered the nearby icicles, their claws extended to snatch the intruders from the cliffside.
"They think we're easy prey," Qin Feng growled. He didn't reach for his pickaxe this time. Instead, he channeled his golden Qi into his fingertips, recalling the 'Eclipse Void Step' he had used against the Elder.
"Don't just dodge," Ye Chen's voice resonated in his mind. "The drakes are born of the cold. To defeat them, you must use the 'Eclipse' to invert their temperature. Turn their own ice into a prison."
Qin Feng nodded. As the first drake lunged, its maw open to reveal rows of frost-coated teeth, Qin Feng stepped forward, not away. He grabbed the creature's icy snout with his bare hand.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: Eclipse Inversion!]
The golden light in Qin Feng's hand turned a deep, abyssal violet. The heat of the drake's own internal spirit core was suddenly sucked out, forced into a state of "Negative Energy." In an instant, the drake didn't just freeze; it turned into a statue of brittle, black glass.
Qin Feng gave a sharp flick of his wrist, and the beast shattered into a thousand shards that tumbled into the abyss.
"One down," he muttered.
The other four drakes hesitated, their primitive instincts screaming at them to flee. But Ye Chen didn't give them the chance. She raised her hand toward the sky, her violet Qi forming four translucent needles of light.
"Moonlight Needle: Piercing Silence," she whispered.
The needles shot through the air with the speed of thought. Each one found the center of a drake's forehead, snuffing out their lives instantly without even a drop of blood being spilled. The beasts fell silently into the clouds below.
[DING! Combat Over!] [EXP Gained: 8,000!] [Relationship Bonus: Synergy is increasing! Current Resonance: 92%.]
Qin Feng looked at her, impressed. "You're getting your strength back faster than I expected."
"The 'Eternal Eclipse' technique is more potent than I remembered," she admitted, her gaze softening for a fleeting second. "Or perhaps it is because the 'key' providing the energy is more... stubborn than most."
By nightfall, they reached a wide, flat plateau halfway up the mountain. In the center stood a crumbling stone archway, the entrance to the ruins. But before they could enter, the sun set, and the twin moons took their place in the sky.
The temperature plummeted. Even with their Foundation Qi, the cold was biting. Qin Feng quickly cleared a space inside a shallow alcove and pulled out the remaining high-grade spirit stones.
"We need to cultivate," he said, sitting cross-legged. "The 'Ascent' quest said we need to reach the 2nd Layer of Foundation Establishment before entering the Inner Sanctum."
Ye Chen sat across from him. This time, there was no hesitation. She took his hands, her fingers intertwining with his. The silver light of the moons poured into the alcove, drawn to them like iron to a magnet.
"This is the first time we cultivate without an army at our door," Qin Feng remarked, looking into her violet eyes. "It feels... strange."
"It is the 'Quiet before the Storm', Husband," Ye Chen replied, her voice low and intimate. "Inside those ruins, we will face the trials of my ancestors. They do not care if you are a miner or a king. They only care if your soul is strong enough to carry the Eclipse."
As they closed their eyes and began the 'Dual Path' circulation, the energy between them became a physical presence. It wasn't just Qi; it was a bond of shared trauma, shared rebellion, and a growing, unspoken trust.
[DING! Initiation of 'True Dual Cultivation'...] [Note: Because both hosts are now in the Foundation Realm, 'Physical Resonance' is now possible.]
Qin Feng felt his consciousness merge with hers. He saw flashes of her childhood, the cold palaces, the endless training, the betrayal of her sect. She, in turn, felt the suffocating darkness of his mines, the hunger, and the iron will that had kept him alive.
The two broken souls wrapped around each other, mending the gaps. In that frozen alcove, surrounded by the ghosts of an ancient civilization, the "trash" miner and the "banished" Empress became something more than a couple. They became a legend in the making.
[DING! LEVEL UP: 2nd Layer Foundation Establishment!] [New Feature Unlocked: 'Spirit Communication' — You can now speak to each other across any distance.]
As the dawn broke on the third day, the stone archway of the ruins began to glow with a pale, inviting light. The Ancient Moon was calling.