The next morning, when the first rays of dawn light streamed in through the window, Qu Qirong woke up.
After washing up, she found Deng Tianyu sleeping soundly, so she didn’t disturb him. She simply opened the door and called for a maidservant from the Misty Rain Pavilion, asking her to send over some breakfast.
Smelling the delicious aroma wafting from the food, the little fox Yingying, who had been sound asleep in her soft little nest, twitched her petite body, even though her fox eyes were still tightly shut.
Then, still half-asleep, she actually followed the scent and hopped onto the bamboo table.
The still-sleeping little fox: “Slurp… (￣￢￣）!”
“Such a gluttonous little fox.”
Seeing this, Qu Qirong couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She picked up a delicate pastry and placed it into the little fox’s mouth.
“Nom…”
The little fox Yingying puffed up her cheeks, chewing subconsciously. She gradually squinted her eyes, the three fluffy tails behind her swishing back and forth non-stop.
Qu Qirong fed the little creature another delicate pastry.
Just then, a warm, familiar voice came from behind her: “Aunt Rong!”
Qu Qirong revealed a gentle smile. “Tianyu, go wash up. I’ve already had the servant bring breakfast.”
“Mhm!” Deng Tianyu nodded, exhaling a soft breath of stale air, and prepared to wash up.
Qu Qirong asked, a bit puzzled, “Tianyu usually gets up very early. Why were you so much later today?”
Deng Tianyu paused mid-step and forced out a smile. “Last night, while cultivating a divine ability, something went wrong. Although I’m fine now, it was very draining on my spirit.”
“Mentally exhausted, I rested a bit longer than usual.”
“Ah, I see!” Qu Qirong showed an expression of understanding.
Deng Tianyu said nothing more, just entered the bathroom and, head lowered, began to wash up.
He truly had been quite drained last night…
Because his Shizun had been overly concerned about his cultivation, she had insisted on mutually refining divine abilities with him the entire night.
Knowing it was for his benefit, Deng Tianyu had diligently cooperated and pushed the divine ability to its limits.
In the end, the uses of the Primordial Yang Reflux Art were all exhausted, and he even overdrew today’s three uses.
Several times, the commotion caused by the divine ability was so great it nearly woke Aunt Rong.
Under round after round of refining divine abilities, it wasn’t until the sky began to lighten at dawn that this master-and-disciple pair, having refined the ability to the extreme, finally stopped.
And because of the long cultivation session, even in the Mysterious Winter, Deng Tianyu and his Shizun had worked up quite a sweat.
When Deng Tianyu had just finished cultivating, the sticky sweat had accumulated in large amounts.
Like spilled ink, it had flowed and dripped down steadily.
“Tianyu, I’m very satisfied with your progress in this divine ability cultivation.”
“I still have sect affairs to handle, so I’ll head back first!”
“Remember, don’t be lazy. I will periodically find time to check on you!”
After a while of cuddling, the dazed Ning Wan had leaned close to her precious disciple’s ear, given an extremely alluring reminder, and then left the room.
His thoughts pausing there, Deng Tianyu sighed softly and said to himself:
“Shizun cares so much about my cultivation; how could I ever be negligent?”
“Now, the Primordial Yang Reflux Art can be used seven times. I’m only two away from the limit of nine. It shouldn’t take too much more time.”
Of course, his diligent cultivation didn’t have any other meaning. He just wanted to properly repay his Shizun’s guidance, which could also be considered fulfilling the path of filial piety!
While pondering, Deng Tianyu also found time to glance at the Filial Piety Pool.
The Filial Piety Water Drops inside were noticeably more plentiful. Clearly, it was a reward for last night’s filial deeds.
Of course, he hadn’t broken any rules.
Because it was his Shizun who had requested the divine ability refinement; it couldn’t be counted as filial piety turning sour.
“As expected, only those who know how to use the rules can be considered winners!”
Deng Tianyu straightened his appearance and slowly walked out of the bathroom.
After having breakfast with Aunt Rong, he summoned the Dharma Boat and flew toward the location of West Rime Lake.
Along the way, specks of snow drifted down, blanketing the endless mountains and fields in a silver-white coat.
Besides him and Aunt Rong, they could also see quite a few other Dharma Boats, clearly all heading for West Rime Lake.
Before long, the Dharma Boat arrived above an expanse of icy lake.
Looking out, the ice lake was vast and boundless, seemingly merging with the sky and earth into a single color.
The lake water was so clear and bright, it was like a flawless white mirror, reflecting the images of all pure things.
On the ice lake, strains of Snow Lotuses shimmering with flowing light held up springs of water. Streams of water cascaded down, splashing up bursts of crystalline spray.
These Snow Lotuses were originally ordinary things, but nourished by the unpolluted spiritual energy of West Rime Lake, they had already become spiritual plants. They grew with breathtaking beauty, and each one was already the size of a small tree.
As a gentle breeze blew, the Snow Lotuses swayed, as if they were fairies wrapped in white immortal dresses, gracefully dancing on the lake—a scene as beautiful as a poem or painting.
Gazing at the ice lake before him, Deng Tianyu spoke up: “This is West Rime Lake?”
The spiritual energy here was exceptionally rich and seemed completely free of impurities, able to be directly absorbed into the body.
“Just seeing the lake’s current scenery makes this trip worthwhile.”
“If the beautiful sight of the dancing Flying Cods appears, won’t it be even more stunningly magnificent?”
Qu Qirong’s beautiful eyes sparkled with splendor, her red lips slightly parted.
She had heard before that the scenery of West Rime Lake was one of the greatest sights in Youzhou, but she had never seen it with her own eyes.
Now, it seemed, it was just as the rumors said—beautiful as a fairyland.
“Swoosh… swoosh…”
One after another, Dharma Boats flew in from the distance, stopping at the outer perimeter of the ice lake.
Seeing this, Deng Tianyu also found a suitable spot, formed a hand seal, and descended with his Dharma Boat.
“Glub… glub…”
As if sensing this familiar environment, the Red-Black Spirit Cods in the fish basket kept blowing bubbles, swimming around with great excitement, occasionally trying to leap out of the basket.
Unfortunately, the fish basket was no ordinary basket. It was woven from special materials, creating a spiritual energy barrier that blocked them.
Qu Qirong noticed this and said softly, “Do you two want to return to the lake?”
“Buzz… buzz…”
The two Red-Black Spirit Cods leaped out again and again, crashing into the spiritual barrier at the basket’s opening, causing ripples to spread.
They tirelessly and endlessly rammed against the spiritual energy barrier.
Finally, due to the recoil of the spiritual barrier, spots of blood appeared on the two Red-Black Spirit Cods, and their auras grew weaker and weaker.
Even so, they didn’t stop, still crashing recklessly against the barrier.
“Yingying?”
The little fox Yingying didn’t quite understand and looked toward Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong.
Qu Qirong was moved by the sight and couldn’t bear it. “Tianyu, how about we release these two Spirit Cods?”
This scene reminded her of herself.
She had once been like a fish trapped in a basket, trying everything she could to escape, but ultimately it was all in vain.
That kind of despair and sorrow was something only those who had experienced it personally could truly understand.
