Chapter 278: Anniversary

Chapter 278: Anniversary

Deep in the night, all was still.

Yuan Sanniang sat as the banker in her own inn’s gambling den, shaking the dice with a face flushed bright red.

Her underlings were quite used to it—of course she’d be holding court in the casino late at night. Only that one baffling day had she sat in an empty tavern, wasting half the night chatting nonsense with that sallow-faced man, no one knew what for.

A Hu shaman entered the gambling hall, staring straight at her.

Sanniang’s enthusiasm for running the table was ruined. She tossed down the dice with a huff, then flashed a charming smile. “Come with me.”

The shaman followed her to a private VIP room on the side before speaking slowly. “The Great Shaman cooperates with Ying Wu for the exchange of information on various secret realms. That’s why we tolerate a Central Plains woman like you staying in this important market. If you want to trade a little intelligence, as long as it’s not too excessive, we turn a blind eye. But feeding us false information and sowing discord between us and the Great Khan—isn’t that going too far?”

Sanniang said, “Don’t talk nonsense. My intelligence trade has never involved military matters. It’s just my personal side hustle to earn a little pocket money, save up a dowry. It has nothing to do with Fifth Master.”

The shaman kept a straight face and said nothing.

Was that the point of the accusation?

What the hell do we care how much dowry you save to throw at some man?

Sanniang said, “Why do you claim I’m sowing discord? Because Ubaru said he didn’t find anything in the lake?”

“Because that man and woman disappeared into the northern mountain range. The secret realm has nothing to do with Yellow Sand Lake. So your claim that Ubaru found some key in the lake is naturally false.”

“Is it possible that there’s another secret realm in the lake?”

The shaman was taken aback.

“At this point, I can roughly conclude one of two things. Either this place and that one are actually two unrelated secret realms, and everyone’s thinking has been misled, focusing all attention on the lake. Or our earlier idea wasn’t wrong, but this lake is an exit, not an entrance.”

The shaman frowned for a long while before saying, “Since the lake is right here, we can discuss how to study it later. As for the mountain pass over there, do you have any way to crack it?”

Sanniang said irritably, “You’ve had thousands of people studying that mountain for so long and still found no solution. What use is asking a weak woman like me?”

“You are no weak woman… If you truly were, we could let you off out of respect for Ying Wu’s reputation. But the other wolves of the grasslands don’t know who Ying Wu is… Their ashes have probably been scattered by now.”

“Just like how Ubaru claims to be at the sixth or seventh barrier, but no one really knows how many he’s at?”

The shaman was also annoyed. “Are you picking a fight with Ubaru? Right now we’re talking about the mountain problem. Why do you keep dragging him into it?”

Sanniang pouted. “Of course I’m picking a fight. He wants to toy with me—he should look in a mirror first.”

The shaman was speechless. A woman as alluring as you in the desert—isn’t it only natural that the local power-holder would want to toy with you?

Why does this trivial matter keep derailing the topic?

Sanniang was equally exasperated inside. You come to me to solve your riddles? Do I look like a fool?

I’ve been the fool for years now. There’s no damn secret realm in this lake. I’ve been butting heads with Ubaru over it for five whole years. Do you know how I’ve lived through those five years?

And then, just like that, they say the secret realm is in the mountains.

Why do they find it the moment they arrive? It pisses me off!

Her eyes rolled around for a while, and she flashed another charming smile. “Is it possible that you don’t need to do anything at all? Just guard the shores of Yellow Sand Lake and wait for the rabbit to come to you. When they show up, catch them—are you afraid you won’t be able to interrogate them?”

The shaman paused, thinking that if the lake really was an exit, this idea wasn’t wrong.

“Are you sure it’s an exit?”

“I never said that. It’s just a suggestion. The choice is yours.”

The shaman was very troubled.

Ubaru clearly didn’t want to keep searching. Searching for secret realms—sects like it, martial artists like it. But a tribal leader who rides across the grasslands might not care so much. What he cared about more was capturing those two Central Plains troublemakers stirring up trouble in the rear, and also the movements of Batu’s War Lion tribe.

The surrounding tribes were changing. As the commander guarding this region, keeping his army in the mountains for a long time just to catch two people was clearly not sustainable. Ubaru’s earlier words had already hinted at a retreat.

The temple was in the northern desert… In this southern desert, the temple had very few people of its own. Perhaps the only option was to pick a possible exit and wait.

The shaman frowned for a long time, then finally sighed. “I hope your guess is right.”

Sanniang’s eyes darted around several times, and she said with a grin, “May the earth bless you.”

…

In the mountains, there was no sun or moon.

One day felt like a month.

Inside the jelly-like cocoon, a jade-white arm slowly reached out, pushing aside all the jelly covering it, revealing the intertwined bodies beneath.

The man sat cross-legged, the woman coiled around his waist.

A very lewd posture, yet strangely appearing solemn and dignified.

It was the core dual-cultivation secret technique of the Maitreya Sect.

Yue Hongling looked at Zhao Changhe, who was in meditation, then curled her lips and lazily ran her fingers through her hair as she stood up.

The once-green female knight had now bloomed like a rose in full flower, exuding allure from head to toe.

Her snow-white, slender legs stepped onto the ground. The red garment that had been tossed aside wrapped around her body. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, her charm reined in, and the female knight was back.

After an unknown period of dual cultivation and the aid of treasures, Yue Hongling had broken through the first secret treasury, stepping into the threshold of the celestial realm.

If before, the “Human Ranking” was just picking the tallest among dwarves—selecting a few from the ninth barrier of the mysterious gate to fill the list—now she was a true grandmaster.

In all the world, those who had entered the secret treasury numbered barely a hundred.

How many people spent their entire lives stuck at that threshold, only for her to break through now?

Yue Hongling let out a soft breath, then turned and gently stroked Zhao Changhe’s cheek as he sat in meditation. A trace of tenderness flickered unbidden in her eyes.

She never imagined that the most crucial turning point in her life would be passing through Zhao Village back then… The youth of that time not only walked hand in hand with her today but also brought her the martial destiny she had pursued all her life. Even more unexpected was that she willingly let him conquer her, yielding and welcoming.

And she had even grown addicted, indulging night after night.

Sometimes Yue Hongling would faintly sense a feeling—was there divine will at work?

But looking at his calm face in meditation, tenderness surged within her, and she thought that even if there were divine will, she should thank the old matchmaker’s kindness.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes and met her gentle gaze. They looked at each other for a moment and both smiled.

Zhao Changhe said, “Why are you wearing old clothes… Planning to leave?”

Yue Hongling asked, “How do you feel?”

Zhao Changhe examined himself inwardly. He had to admit that the effects of this unknown period of dual cultivation were terrifyingly immense.

Yue Hongling had transformed her body, but it didn’t seem to be heading toward the “innate Dao body” path. She hadn’t even fully accepted the gem’s baptism; she mainly absorbed its energy. It was more accurate to say she was using the jelly than the gem. As a young grandmaster, she had her own direction and martial understanding, long past the stage of being led by heavenly treasures. She only needed a supply of energy to turn it into her own.

In other words, the gem’s supposed Dao-body transformation effect was still there, just with reduced energy.

And this energy, after being absorbed and refined by Yue Hongling, became her own, then circulated back to Zhao Changhe through dual cultivation. This avoided direct contact with the gem’s physical baptism, using her as an intermediary. It didn’t conflict with his “Blood Asura Body” but instead extracted the essence to improve his internals.

The Blood Asura Body was about changes in muscles and bones, while the Dao body’s transformation focused more on meridians and dantian.

After prolonged union, Zhao Changhe’s long-weak meridians had finally expanded to the level of an ordinary martial artist—at most slightly thinner, with no major difference.

He still couldn’t compare to geniuses, but at least he was normal now.

Once the meridians were normal, the chain reaction was terrifying.

His Six Harmonies Divine Art had always cultivated extremely fast, only held back by his weak meridians, stuck at a bottleneck. As the meridians expanded, the divine art naturally climbed. Breaking through from the sixth to the seventh level was as easy as eating. By the time his meridians reached normal standards, he had already burst straight into the eighth level.

The internal art that had always lagged behind had now, at this moment, surpassed his external art.

The Blood Fiend Art seemed unwilling to accept it—damn it, the Six Harmonies Divine Art, which had always been just a support, was now taking the lead?

So the Blood Fiend turned in fury, surging and roaring.

The energy contained in the "jelly" was almost sucked out like by a pump, seeping into the skin and flesh, penetrating into the bones and internal organs. The cave, which had been nearly filled with jelly, had now diminished greatly, leaving only some for bedding and mattresses...

The foundation of martial cultivation ultimately lies in energy—from the early days of fighting for food and meat to later using auxiliary pills, it was all for this. Once there was a massive supply of energy, breakthroughs became very easy.

The eighth level of the Blood Fiend Art was declared a breakthrough.

The surging, violent killing intent, ready to burst forth, was directly poured onto Yue Hongling during dual cultivation... but then, with the lotus throne sitting high, it was pressed back down, and nothing happened.

Cultivating both internally and externally, truly the eighth level of the Mysterious Gate.

They themselves, deep in the mountains, lost track of time and did not know how long had passed.

In reality, they had been in the mountains for over twenty days... Outside, it was already October.

October, besides announcing the departure of autumn and the arrival of winter, also had a very special significance.

It was the time of Zhao Changhe's transmigration—exactly one year since he crossed over.