The eastern spirit spring lay hidden deep in a secluded valley behind the outer disciple quarters, shrouded by layers of protective formations that only Golden Core elders could easily bypass.
Tonight, the moon hung full and bright in the sky, casting silver light over the steaming pools of spiritual water. Mist rose like immortal vapors, carrying a faint scent of lotus and flame—remnants of the sect's dual fire-water spirit vein.
Xiao Yang arrived precisely when the moon reached its peak.
He wore simple black outer disciple robes, his hair tied back loosely. After the system's reward, his cultivation had leaped to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation—still insignificant in the eyes of true experts, but his aura now carried a subtle, magnetic warmth that even he could feel radiating from his dantian.
He stepped through the outer formation with the token Madam Su had quietly slipped into his hand earlier that day—a small jade slip that parted the mist like a gentle breeze.
She was already there.
Madam Su Qingxue stood at the edge of the largest spring, her back to him, silver-white hair cascading down like a frozen waterfall. Her ice-blue robes had been exchanged for a simpler white inner garment—still elegant, still modest, but clinging slightly to her mature curves from the humid mist.
She didn't turn when he approached, but her voice drifted softly over the water.
"You came."
Her tone was calm, but Xiao Yang caught the faint tremor beneath it.
"This disciple would not dare disobey Madam's summons," he replied, stopping a respectful distance away.
A long silence followed. Only the gentle bubbling of the spring and the distant chirp of spirit crickets filled the air.
Finally, she turned.
Her phoenix eyes were as cold and beautiful as ever, but tonight they held something else—confusion, conflict, and a trace of vulnerability that made Xiao Yang's heart race.
"I… have been experiencing recurring cold yin flares in my meridians," she said quietly. "For the past decade. Ever since I overextended myself refining Nascent Soul breakthrough pills for my husband."
She paused, as if saying his name aloud might anchor her.
"Elder Zhao is still in seclusion. The other elders… their yang qi is either too violent or too impure. It would only worsen the deviation."
Her gaze dropped to the water.
"Today in the garden, your qi felt… different. Warm. Pure. Like sunlight piercing through eternal winter."
She looked up at him then, her cheeks touched by the faintest flush.
"I should not be asking this of a mere outer disciple. If word got out, both our reputations—"
"I understand," Xiao Yang interrupted gently. "And I will tell no one."
He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the natural heat radiating from his body.
"Madam, if my humble yang qi can ease your pain… I am willing to help. No matter what it takes."
Su Qingxue's breath caught.
For a moment, she looked like she might flee.
Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Sit," she whispered, gesturing to a smooth stone beside the spring. "We will begin with simple qi circulation. Clothed. Nothing… improper."
They sat facing each other, knees almost touching.
Xiao Yang extended his palms. After a hesitation, she placed her delicate hands in his.
The moment their skin touched, both of them stiffened.
A visible ripple passed through Su Qingxue's body.
His Heavenly Yang Essence flowed naturally into her palms—gentle, pure, intoxicating.
"Ah…"
A soft, involuntary sound escaped her lips.
Her eyes fluttered half-closed as warmth spread up her arms, melting decades of accumulated cold yin like spring sun on snow.
Xiao Yang felt it too—her yin qi, rich and profound, flowing back into him. Cool, elegant, and incredibly potent. The Yin-Yang Harmony Scripture activated instinctively, cycling their energies in perfect rhythm.
Minutes passed in silence.
Her breathing grew deeper. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Strands of silver hair clung to her damp forehead.
When she opened her eyes again, they were slightly glassy.
"It's… working," she murmured, voice huskier than before. "I haven't felt this warm in… so long."
She didn't pull her hands away.
Instead, her fingers tightened slightly around his.
"Xiao Yang…" she whispered his name for the first time. "How is your qi so pure? You are only at Qi Condensation, yet it feels… deeper than many Core Formation cultivators I've known."
He met her gaze steadily.
"Perhaps the heavens took pity on this worthless disciple," he said softly. "Or perhaps… it was meant to find its way to you."
Her eyes widened.
For a heartbeat, something raw and tender flickered across her beautiful face.
Then guilt crashed in.
She tried to pull away.
"I… I should not be here. My husband—"
"Is in seclusion for another three years," Xiao Yang finished quietly. "And you have sacrificed everything for him. Is it wrong to ease your pain? To let yourself feel warmth again?"
Tears gathered in her phoenix eyes.
"I love him," she whispered, voice breaking. "I have always loved him. Since we were mortals. He is my dao companion… my everything."
A single tear slipped down her flawless cheek.
"But tonight… for the first time in a century… I don't feel alone."
She leaned forward—just slightly—but it was enough.
Their foreheads almost touched.
The air between them burned.
Xiao Yang's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then let me stay, Madam. Just for tonight. Let me warm you… even if only a little."
Her lips trembled.
Another tear fell.
Then, so softly it could have been the wind:
"Qingxue," she breathed. "When we are alone… you may call me Qingxue."
The system's voice rang coldly in his mind.
But Xiao Yang barely heard it.
Because in that moment, as Su Qingxue's fingers intertwined more firmly with his, as her cold yin qi wrapped around his yang like a lover's embrace…
He felt something he hadn't expected.
Not just desire.
Not just triumph.
But the dangerous, aching beginning of something real.
And from the way her tear-filled eyes searched his—conflicted, guilty, but unable to look away—he knew she felt it too.
The moon watched silently above.
The spirit spring steamed around them.
And the legendary Ice Phoenix… began to melt.