The deeper they went into the Azure Cloud Forest, the thicker the spiritual energy became. Mist clung to every leaf, and the ground pulsed faintly like a living heartbeat. Strange cries echoed from unseen distances—some animal, some perhaps not.
Xiao Lin walked ahead without pause. Yue Ning followed half a step behind, her small hand occasionally brushing the hem of his torn sleeve as if to confirm he was still there.
Neither spoke for hours.
Then the forest changed.
A clearing opened ahead—unnaturally perfect, circular, fifty meters across. At its center stood a single black stone pillar, cracked and ancient, carved with faint, writhing runes that seemed to move when not looked at directly. Around the pillar lay the half-eaten corpses of three spirit beasts: two peak Body Tempering wolves and one early Qi Condensation panther. Their wounds were clean, precise—saber cuts.
Yue Ning stopped.
"Ambush," she whispered.
Xiao Lin didn't slow.
Three figures stepped out from behind the pillar.
All wore dark gray robes embroidered with a silver crescent moon—the mark of the Silver Moon Sect.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a thin scar across his left cheek. Late Qi Condensation, ninth layer. In his hand was a curved saber already dripping with fresh blood.
Beside him stood two younger disciples—both at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. One held a chain whip, the other a pair of throwing daggers.
The scarred man's eyes locked on Yue Ning.
"Little cauldron," he said with a cold smile. "You ran far. But the sect's tracking formation never lies."
His gaze shifted to Xiao Lin.
"And you brought a… child?" He laughed once. "Pathetic. Hand her over, brat, and I'll give you a quick death."
Xiao Lin looked at the three men.
Then at the black pillar.
The void inside his dantian stirred, hungry.
He spoke one word.
"No."
The scarred man's smile vanished.
"Kill them both."
The two disciples moved first—fast, coordinated.
The whip-wielder lashed out, the chain glowing with faint moonlight qi, aiming to wrap around Xiao Lin's neck.
The dagger-thrower flicked both wrists—four daggers screamed through the air in a deadly arc toward Yue Ning.
Xiao Lin didn't dodge.
He simply raised his right hand, palm forward.
The void in his dantian pulsed once.
A black ripple spread outward—silent, invisible to normal eyes.
The chain whip folded in on itself mid-air, metal links collapsing inward like paper being crushed. The moonlight qi shattered into motes that flew straight into Xiao Lin's palm.
The four daggers did the same—blades twisting, handles imploding, until nothing remained but wisps of devoured energy that streamed into his body.
The two disciples froze, eyes wide.
Their cultivation bases—already meager—began to leak out of their pores like smoke. They tried to scream.
They couldn't.
Their bodies caved inward in perfect silence, flesh and bone and soul pulled into the tiny black hole in Xiao Lin's abdomen.
Two breaths. Gone.
The scarred man staggered back, face pale.
"What… what are you?"
Xiao Lin lowered his hand.
The surge of energy from the two disciples pushed him forward—his meridians widened slightly, his body grew a fraction taller, stronger. Still a child's frame, but no longer frail.
He took one step toward the scarred man.
The sect elder roared and slashed with his saber—moonlight qi condensed into a crescent blade ten meters long, slicing toward Xiao Lin's head.
Xiao Lin didn't blink.
He met the crescent blade with his bare palm.
The blade shattered on contact.
Moonlight qi scattered like broken glass, then reversed direction—pulled back into Xiao Lin's hand as if time itself had turned backward.
The scarred man's saber trembled in his grip.
His cultivation base began to drain.
"No—no—no!"
He turned to flee.
Xiao Lin appeared in front of him—distance meaningless.
One small hand pressed against the man's chest.
The scarred elder's eyes bulged.
His body collapsed inward faster than the others—stronger cultivation, richer essence. The void drank deeply.
When it finished, only a pile of gray ash remained on the ground, blowing away in the wind.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Yue Ning stared at the spot where three men had stood moments ago.
She walked forward slowly and stopped beside Xiao Lin.
Her voice was very soft.
"You didn't even use a weapon."
"I don't need one," he said.
She looked up at him—six years old, yet already taller than her by half a head after the recent absorption.
The black thread on her wrist pulsed once, warm.
"You're getting stronger," she said. "Because of them."
"Because of you," Xiao Lin corrected. "The void told me. You are the key to the first layer. Without you, I stay weak."
Yue Ning lowered her eyes.
"Then… we should complete it. The dual cultivation."
Xiao Lin turned to face her fully.
"Not here. Not now. You're still too weak. I won't harm you."
She blinked in surprise.
"You… care?"
"I need you alive," he said simply. "And whole."
A faint blush touched her pale cheeks—the first color he had seen on her face.
She nodded once.
"Then we keep moving. The sect will send more. Stronger ones."
Xiao Lin looked toward the black pillar in the center of the clearing.
The runes flickered faster now, as if responding to his presence.
He walked to it.
Reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the stone, the pillar cracked open.
A small, fist-sized crystal floated out—pure black, swirling with faint violet specks.
Spatial Void Crystal.
The ancient voice spoke again.
«First resource acquired. Absorb to strengthen the Spatial Void Physique of Destined Wife Number One. Dual cultivation efficiency will increase by thirty percent.»
Xiao Lin took the crystal and held it out to Yue Ning.
"Take it."
She hesitated, then accepted it.
The crystal melted into her palm like snow, violet light spreading through her veins.
She gasped softly.
Her aura changed—sharper, deeper, more spatial.
When the light faded, she looked at him with new clarity.
"I can feel it," she whispered. "The void… inside me too."
Xiao Lin nodded.
"Good."
He turned away from the pillar.
The forest waited beyond the clearing—darker, more dangerous.
"Come," he said.
Yue Ning stepped up beside him.
Together, the six-year-old boy and the silver-haired girl walked into the shadows.
Behind them, the broken pillar crumbled to dust.
Ahead, the path to the first true breakthrough—and the first true union—had opened.
End of Chapter 3