There was a line—indeed, there was a line.
Su Yingman gathered her skirt and sat down, her posture elegant like a lotus blooming on still water.
The wide hem of her dress flowed like liquid mercury, seamlessly covering everything beneath without allowing even the slightest glimpse to reach Zhuxin at her side.
Even if Zhuxin could see, she would hardly be able to imitate such grace.
The subtlety of Su Yingman lay in the intricate veins hidden within her, like a deep valley or a secluded pond, winding paths leading to secret realms.
With every step and change of scene, endless variations unfolded naturally—an innate charm impossible to force by human effort.
Though Jiang Huai never spoke of it aloud, his body’s most genuine reactions could not lie.
Su Yingman possessed an irreplaceable, enchanting allure.
He closed his eyes and, following their prior silent agreement, slowly transmitted a thread of pure and gentle Innate Primordial Qi into Su Yingman’s meridians.
Su Yingman’s delicate body trembled slightly; a glimmer of spirit flashed in her eyes.
She immediately rose, her movements swift yet retaining composure.
From her Storage Treasure, she took out a Pure Meditation Cushion and placed it on the ground.
Then she sat cross-legged without hesitation, eagerly circulating her Qi through the microcosmic orbit, wholly focused on refining the precious spiritual essence gifted to her.
Zhuxin watched intently from the side, her lips twitching downward almost imperceptibly.
She took out a Simple Silk Handkerchief and silently bent down to meticulously wipe clean the seat that had just borne the weight of another’s cultivation.
If she was going to use it herself, it should at least be clean.
Jiang Huai blinked at her, his gaze silently asking for help in loosening the remaining bindings on his body.
Zhuxin naturally understood his request and tried to untie the restraints but found them impossible to loosen.
Helpless, she turned her head to look at Qin Qingyue, who was sitting in meditation nearby, her breath steady and calm, then shot Jiang Huai a helpless glance.
“Husband, it’s not that I don’t want to help you untie it—I truly can’t.”
“And besides, with the Proud Black Dragon’s words, I dare not disobey…”
Having said that, she bit her lip gently.
With no one else watching, both Qin Qingyue and Su Yingman were deep in cultivation.
A torrent burst forth—fierce and unrelenting.
Flames.
The scorching passion suppressed for hundreds of years broke free like a dam burst.
Zhuxin was like a lioness, her long hair ablaze.
The Pure Yang Body’s unique constitution was extraordinary—amid the intensity, wisps of white mist steamed up, like clouds curling and swirling.
Her fair, slender legs were toned and powerful from years of martial training, unlike Su Yingman’s delicate and soft frame, exuding a smoothness full of explosive strength.
Jiang Huai fulfilled his promise and silently passed his Innate Primordial Qi to her.
Zhuxin’s movements suddenly froze, and she turned her head to look at Jiang Huai, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
She pursed her lips, silently mouthing two words:
“Thank you.”
Jiang Huai nodded at her, thinking the matter was settled.
The debt was repaid, and Zhuxin’s heart could be at ease.
Wait—why aren’t you getting down from there yet?
A whimper escaped Jiang Huai’s lips, but Zhuxin pretended not to hear it, acting as if she didn’t know.
Once something happens, it’s like a boulder rolling down a mountain—there’s no stopping it.
Jiang Huai whimpered in confusion:
“Didn’t I already give you the Innate Primordial Qi?”
Zhuxin avoided his gaze, mumbling:
“I already said thank you, how can you still not understand?”
Then she completely immersed herself in her own art, unable to extricate herself.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Qingyue was the first among the three women to awaken from meditation.
She was also the one who, after refining the Innate Primordial Qi, looked the most complete and vibrant.
Lowering her eyes, she saw beside Jiang Huai’s legs Su Yingman and Zhuxin each seated on a cushion, still with eyes closed, circulating spiritual energy, clearly working hard to digest what they had received.
Jiang Huai, unable to move, simply closed his eyes and feigned sleep, looking like he couldn’t be bothered with them.
A faint smile curled at the corners of Qin Qingyue’s lips.
With a flash of shadowy light, her form transformed into a small, agile Black Dragon.
She glided over to Jiang Huai and lightly brushed her dragon tail along him.
Jiang Huai immediately felt a loosening, the stubborn restraints finally disappearing completely.
At last, he regained his freedom.
He blinked open his eyes and met Qin Qingyue’s crimson dragon eyes filled with a teasing smile, then helplessly closed them again.
“What’s wrong? Are you unhappy to see me?”
The two-finger-wide Black Dragon she transformed into wove nimbly across his body, the cool dragon scales brushing his skin, bringing a strange sensation.
Her dragon head rubbed affectionately against his jaw.
Jiang Huai raised his hand and gently tapped her small, exquisite Black Dragon Horn.
“How is it? Was the refining process smooth?”
Qin Qingyue rested comfortably on his chest, her dragon head lightly nodding.
“Smooth. The Jade Liquid True Qi within me has been completely transformed into Innate Primordial Qi.”
Her tone grew serious.
“I originally thought Innate Primordial Qi was just a more powerful, purer form of high-level true Qi than Jade Liquid True Qi, much like how Clear Spirit Qi is superior to Turbid Qi, and Jade Liquid surpasses Clear Spirit Qi.”
“But I realize now I was wrong.”
She carefully examined the new power flowing within her, her dragon face solemn.
“Innate Primordial Qi is indeed far superior to Jade Liquid True Qi, but fundamentally, they are two entirely different existences—different in kind.”
Hearing this, Jiang Huai sat up straight, his expression serious.
“What’s the difference?”
“Many differences, in all respects entirely distinct. Perhaps because what I received is only the seed Qi, not the complete form, my understanding is still incomplete,” Qin Qingyue pondered.
In this world, without a special constitution or immortal materials, cultivators can only ever refine the Turbid Qi from heaven and earth throughout their lives.
Jade Liquid Refining is already an optimal path for Qi refinement, developed after tens of thousands of years of effort and countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
Beyond that, to reach realms like Transformation of Spirit, perfection requires relying on the unique immortal materials found only in certain Secret Realm Small Worlds—highlighting the difficulty of the Dao path.
Yet Innate Primordial Qi seems to have emerged as an entirely different route, completely unlike Jade Liquid Refining.
Jiang Huai lightly massaged Qin Qingyue’s dragon head with his index finger, recalling:
“Come to think of it, your reactions when I gave you the Innate Primordial Qi were all different.”
“I thought I was giving out the same thing to all of you, but ultimately what you could accept and transform varied.”
Qin Qingyue immediately perked up, her dragon body twisting.
“Tell me more.”
“You absorbed and transformed the purest and most abundant, followed by Zhuxin. Yingman’s portion was slightly less than Zhuxin’s but not by much,” Jiang Huai analyzed.
He now suspected that the effect of absorbing Innate Primordial Qi might be closely linked to the cultivator’s innate cultivation talent.
Qin Qingyue had the highest talent, so she could absorb the purest Innate Primordial Qi and benefit the most.
Qin Qingyue fell into deep thought, her dragon body unconsciously gliding around Jiang Huai’s waist and abdomen, finally resting her dragon head gently on the Spirit Sword Mark there.
“When Yingman wakes, we should ask about her feelings,” she said.
Then, as if mimicking smoking, she occasionally bent down and made soft sucking noises at an imaginary pipe, as if savoring the taste.
After a moment’s thought, she sucked a couple more times.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Huai asked, lightly grabbing her restless dragon tail.
“Didn’t I just give you the Innate Primordial Qi? Let me rest a bit.”
She sucked on the “pipe” like a smoker, making him feel awkward.
Qin Qingyue arched her dragon neck and flicked her tail defiantly.
“You wouldn’t understand! I’m savoring the mysteries of Innate Primordial Qi!”
“You wouldn’t get it, little Foundation Establishment novice. Don’t disturb me!”
With that, she curled around him tighter, lowering her dragon head, fully immersed and unwilling to be interrupted.
Jiang Huai had no choice but to yield to this willful yet powerful Black Dragon.
Not long after, Su Yingman and Zhuxin slowly opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
Their eyes shimmered with spiritual light, their breaths more condensed and profound than before.
It was clear they had successfully begun to refine the Innate Primordial Qi, and their foundations had quietly transformed.