460: Chapter 460 Today's Top News

"Ding! Loyalty of Shi Qingxuan detected at 100%, triggering Heaven-Defying Fate Change! The Mysterious Mother Rock Heart Body has evolved into—the Kunyu Carrying Heavenly Dao Body!"

Return to Origin Ruins: Opening an independent space, sealing Dao principles for personal use; the stronger the seal, the greater the amplification.

Kindness Like Water: The Dao of Non-Contention, dissolving Dao principles, causing them to dissipate into formlessness.

Great Virtue Carries All Things: The Dao of Suppression, pacifying chaos, returning to peace.

...

Morning light filtered through the window lattice, spilling diagonally into the room.

The brocade quilt on the bed was piled in disarray, and the gauze curtains were half-draped. A bright red wedding dress, silk socks, and ribbons were scattered all over the floor, and the sweet, lingering scent of last night's intimacy still hung in the air.

Behind the bed was a small bathing pool. The water was drawn from the spiritual spring at the peak; steam curled in the air, and a few fallen lotus petals floated on the surface, though no one knew when they had drifted down.

Suddenly, there was movement in the water.

A pair of jade-white, bare feet suddenly broke the surface. The small red heart-linking bells tied around the ankles swayed gently in the light reflecting off the water.

The soles of the feet twitched, slapping the water surface forcefully, kicking up large sprays of crystalline water. They arched high, toes tensed and stretched forward, tapping the water as if trying to grasp something.

Water droplets rolled continuously down the insteps, arches, and toes, refracting shimmering light in the sunshine.

The red-stringed bells danced and spun wildly around the ankles, emitting an increasingly dense and rapid crisp sound, like a hundred birds paying homage to the Phoenix, joyful and enthusiastic.

The jade feet tensed violently, the soles slapped the water surface heavily once more, sending waves splashing everywhere, and a seductive crimson flush bloomed across the soles.

Crystalline water droplets were flung out violently, tracing arcs in the air before falling back into the pool.

Suddenly,

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—!"

The bells let out a dense, intense chime, like a sudden downpour beating against banana leaves at its most violent moment—and then, it stopped abruptly.

The jade feet lowered, the soles resting gently against the water surface, toes trembling slightly, like petals unfurling after being nourished by rain.

Water droplets slid slowly from the soles and insteps, flowing along the graceful curves of the arches back into the pool, creating fine ripples.

Shi Qingxuan's voice sounded in the bathing pool, carrying a hint of laziness and playfulness:

"Really... have to wash again... weren't you satisfied last night?"

She snuggled in Ling Hao's arms, her wet long hair sticking to her back, a faint flush still lingering on her face.

Ling Hao chuckled, holding her with one arm while grasping the void with the other, causing the chaos yin-yang mirror to appear in his palm.

"The chaos yin-yang mirror has already integrated a drop of your essence blood, connecting it to the Nine-Turn Corridor. Even without physically passing through the Nine-Turn Corridor, you can still obtain the authority of the Moonshadow Sect, such as the amplification of the resonance dao tower."

With a thought, the chaos yin-yang mirror lit up with a warm, gentle light.

In the void, a phantom of the Nine-Turn Corridor slowly emerged.

It was an ancient corridor with nine turns, each inscribed with profound runes and emitting a faint golden light. The phantom resonated with the chaos yin-yang mirror, both emitting a subtle humming sound.

This was a new function unlocked after his last Dual Cultivation with Shui Liuli, when the chaos yin-yang mirror's CG collection reached five hundred thousand.

By letting the chaos yin-yang mirror integrate the essence blood of the Dual Cultivation partner, one could connect to the Nine-Turn Corridor without needing to go there in person.

"A drop of essence blood? How did you get..."

Shi Qingxuan stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering something. Her face flushed, and she turned her gaze away, not daring to look at the blood-stained handkerchief Ling Hao had taken out of his Storage Ring.

"Guess?"

Ling Hao raised an eyebrow and put the handkerchief away.

Shi Qingxuan bit her lip, her expression suddenly changing as she looked down at her hands.

"Hmm? My cultivation Realm..."

With a thought, she discovered that the power she could call upon and wield was more than a hundred times greater, as if her entire being was being lifted by a thick, powerful force.

She tried to circulate her spiritual energy, and a solid ball of spiritual light appeared in her palm, actually emitting the pressure of the Mahayana Realm.

"Isn't it said that one needs the secret techniques of the Moonshadow Sect to raise a major Realm?"

Shi Qingxuan looked at Ling Hao with burning eyes.

"I... this..."

Ling Hao coughed lightly: "Is there a possibility—that I am the Moonshadow Sect's secret technique."

Originally, it did require the Dual Cultivation partner to enter the Moonshadow Grotto-Heaven and then Cultivate the "Yin-Yang Aperture Drilling Method."

But ever since the Moonshadow Grotto-Heaven evolved into a Small World and gained a World Imprint, Ling Hao could directly bestow it.

As long as a female cultivator was "marked" by him and acknowledged by him, she could mobilize the power of the Small World to cross a major Realm.

For example, Su Fengyi and Ye Xinglan of the Wutong Divine Dynasty previously.

A spark of realization flashed in Shi Qingxuan's mind, and an unbelievable thought emerged:

"That is to say... those Elders and Disciples who could raise a major Realm... they all..."

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Ling Hao nodded frankly.

"However, the upper limit of this increase is my cultivation Realm; it cannot exceed me."

Shi Qingxuan was stunned for a long while before slowly digesting this information. She looked at Ling Hao with complex eyes, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness and helplessness:

"I thought I had overestimated you, but I didn't expect you, husband..."

She had seen the intimacy between numerous Moonshadow Sect Elders and Disciples and Ling Hao, and had made guesses, preparing herself mentally.

But she hadn't expected that those Elders and Disciples were probably not all of them—there were likely even more within the Moonshadow Sect itself...

Her own husband was just a—

"Big—lecher—emperor!"

Shi Qingxuan gritted her teeth and spat out the words, but there was no real anger on her face, only embarrassment and helplessness.

Ling Hao didn't mind, chuckled, and pulled her up from the bathing pool.

The spiritual spring water evaporated from their bodies on its own, and he took clean undergarments to drape over her.

Once they were both dressed and back by the bed, Ling Hao suddenly reached out and grabbed Shi Qingxuan's feet.

Shi Qingxuan's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively tried to pull back, but she was held firmly and couldn't move.

"Husband, what... what are you doing?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Ling Hao smiled: "Breaking news."

"You still want to... I can't take it anymore..."

Shi Qingxuan's face turned even redder, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Ling Hao laughed, picking up the pair of red embroidered shoes from the bedside.

He waved the "Tomorrow Shoes" that Supreme Elder Lu Yao had given him yesterday in front of her.

"Take out your silk socks; I want to help you put on your shoes. According to custom, one must wear shoes to pay respects to Elders and make offerings to the Sect. Hurry up, we still have to go pay respects to your mother."

Shi Qingxuan was startled, then realized she had misunderstood, and the blush on her face spread to her earlobes.

She pursed her lips, took a pair of brand-new moon-white silk socks from her Storage Ring, and muttered in a low voice:

"You... you did that on purpose."

Ling Hao smiled without answering, took the silk socks, gently lifted her feet, and slowly put them on for her.

He pinched the opening of the socks, rolling them up slowly, his fingertips grazing her arches and soles intentionally or unintentionally.

Shi Qingxuan's toes curled from the ticklish sensation, but she was held firmly by him and had to bite her lip to endure it.

Halfway through, Ling Hao suddenly lowered his head, rubbing his nose against the top of her feet through the thin silk socks, and took a deep breath.

"Pervert... stop smelling..."

Shi Qingxuan's face was as red as if it were about to bleed, and she kicked him lightly with her other foot.

Ling Hao looked up, his eyes smiling: "It smells very good."

"You... say that again and I won't wear them!"

Shi Qingxuan was both shy and annoyed, reaching out to grab the silk socks from his hand.

Ling Hao dodged with a laugh, put on the silk socks in a few quick moves, and then slipped on the red embroidered shoes. He held her feet and looked left and right, nodding with satisfaction:

"Beautiful."

Shi Qingxuan blushed, pulled her feet back under her skirt, and cursed in a low voice:

"Lecher."

Ling Hao leaned close to her ear, lowering his voice:

"That's not what you called me last night."

Shi Qingxuan shuddered, pushed him away violently, and got up to walk out the door without looking back.

Ling Hao followed, laughing loudly.