104: Late Foundation Establishment stage! Researching formations! A capable and supportive wife!

Chapter One Hundred and Four: Late Foundation Establishment Stage! Studying Formations! A Capable Helper!

Inside the quiet room, spiritual light was dense and misty.

Lu Qiu sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, his scarlet gold Crimson Heaven Mana flowing and rising around him like physical flames, yet firmly restrained within three inches of his body, forming a layer of flame light shield with constantly changing profound patterns.

The temperature of the entire quiet room rose as a result, the air distorting slightly as the dense Spiritual Qi was hungrily swallowed and refined.

Within his body, the circulation path of the Crimson Sky Burning Heaven Technique had already reached the final barrier of the sixth level.

Within his Meridians, mana roared like a river bursting its banks, crashing against that invisible yet resilient Bottleneck barrier.

This final push for the Breakthrough had already lasted for seven full days.

At this moment, Lu Qiu's mind was as calm as an ancient well, casting aside all distracting thoughts.

In his mind, he clearly replayed all the insights gained from practicing the Yin-Yang Crown with Xin Ruyin over the past six months, as well as every detail of refining and absorbing the pure and majestic Yang Qi that had accumulated in her body for many years.

That Yang Qi was a deadly poison to Xin Ruyin, but to him, who cultivated the extremely masculine Crimson Sky Burning Heaven Technique, it was an excellent supplement and great medicine!

Every refinement after Dual Cultivation made his mana purer, his Foundation more solid, and his control over fire-attribute spiritual power even more precise.

"Three months ago, I already touched the threshold of the Late Stage... Now, success comes naturally!"

Lu Qiu thought to himself and suddenly opened his eyes!

A phantom of scarlet gold flames flashed and vanished in his eyes!

"Break!"

With a low shout in his heart, the Crimson Heaven Mana accumulated to its Peak, along with the scorching essence settled in his limbs and bones after refining the Yang Qi, exploded!

It transformed into an extremely condensed scarlet gold torrent, crashing with unstoppable force against the invisible barrier that had long obstructed him!

"Boom—!"

It was as if a clap of thunder, audible only to himself, resounded in his mind!

That solid Bottleneck, under the combined impact of his own bitter cultivation, the Yang Qi supplement, and the harmonious state of mind after half a year of Dual Cultivation, melted and shattered instantly like ice and snow under the sun!

In an instant, Lu Qiu felt his whole body lighten, as if he had broken free from some heavy shackles!

A broader and more exquisite cultivation path suddenly opened up within his body!

Every pore in his body seemed to open, greedily absorbing the dense Spiritual Qi gathered in the quiet room, converting it into purer, more majestic Crimson Heaven Mana with a scorching aura of incineration!

His total mana nearly doubled!

Its quality also became more condensed and scorching!

Meanwhile, with the Breakthrough in cultivation, his sea of Divine Sense was also injected with new vitality. The operation of the Great Evolution Art suddenly accelerated, and his Divine Sense power rose accordingly, becoming more solid and sharp, with a significant improvement in both coverage and precision.

He could even vaguely feel that the barrier between the second and third layers of the Great Evolution Art had also loosened, with a Breakthrough in sight!

"Late Foundation Establishment Stage... It's finally done!"

Lu Qiu exhaled a long breath of turbid air with a faint hint of fire, an uncontrollable smile of joy appearing on his face.

Feeling the surging, unprecedentedly powerful mana within him and his more condensed and sharp Divine Sense, a sense of fulfillment and power never felt before filled his heart.

After years of bitter cultivation and many dangers, he had finally taken another step forward!

He did not get up immediately but continued to sit cross-legged, running his Cultivation Technique to consolidate the newly broken-through Realm and familiarize himself with the surging mana and Divine Sense.

After about another two hours, when he felt his Realm was initially stable and his aura was completely restrained, Lu Qiu slowly finished his cultivation.

The light of the Restriction on the stone door of the quiet room flowed, and with a thought, it slowly slid open to both sides.

Bright sunlight and fresh air immediately rushed in.

Lu Qiu stepped out, feeling refreshed. Everything he saw, even the patterns on the bamboo leaves, seemed to have become a bit clearer.

His gaze naturally turned toward the pavilion.

In the pavilion, Xin Ruyin was leaning against the railing, seemingly watching the bamboo, but her heart had been tied to the quiet room all along.

Hearing the door open, she immediately turned around, her clear eyes filled with unconcealed concern and expectation.

Their eyes met.

No words were needed. From Lu Qiu's more profound and deep aura and the irrepressible high spirits between his brows, Xin Ruyin already had the answer.

"Did you succeed?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.

Lu Qiu smiled and nodded affirmatively: "I succeeded."

Those three simple words made Xin Ruyin's heart, which had been hanging, finally drop. A bright smile of relief and genuine happiness for him bloomed on her face, a smile more moving than the sunlight outside the pavilion.

"Xiao Mei!"

Xin Ruyin called out to the side, her tone light: "Go prepare a table of good wine and food. Use the best ingredients. I want to celebrate properly for Husband Lu!"

Hearing this, Xiao Mei, who had been peeking from not far away, immediately beamed and replied crisply: "Yes, Young Miss! I'll go to the market right now to buy the freshest Spirit Beast meat and spirit vegetables!"

After saying that, she ran out like a happy little sparrow.

Looking at Xiao Mei's joyful back, and then at the gentle and smiling Xin Ruyin before him, a wave of warmth rose in Lu Qiu's heart.

The path of Immortal Cultivation was lonely and long. To have someone who treated him so sincerely by his side was truly a fortunate thing... That night, in the quiet room of the Bamboo Courtyard, red candles burned high.

The Dual Cultivation Technique finished its operation, and the Yin and Yang Qi completed a cycle of harmony.

Xin Ruyin leaned lazily in Lu Qiu's arms, her black hair spread out, her cheeks flushed with a moving blush, and her breath still slightly hurried.

After more than half a year of Dual Cultivation, the initial shyness had faded much, replaced by intimate trust and dependence.

"I didn't expect Husband Lu to be a top disciple of Yellow Maple Valley, one of the Seven Great Sects of the State of Yue."

Lu Qiu had already told her his true identity earlier.

"It was just a stroke of luck that I was able to join Revered Master's sect," Lu Qiu said calmly, holding her smooth shoulder. "Ruyin, after things here are settled, come back to Yellow Maple Valley with me in a few days. The Spiritual Qi in the valley is better than here, and there are more Formation manuals and fellow cultivators to exchange ideas with, which will be more beneficial for your cultivation and study of the Dao of Formations."

He paused and added: "As for your Dragons Roar Physique, it will also be more convenient for me to find more ways to alleviate it in Yellow Maple Valley, or I can ask for Revered Master's guidance."

Xin Ruyin pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to that steady and powerful heartbeat, her heart full of peace and security. She gave a soft "mm" without any hesitation: "I will follow Husband Lu's arrangements."

To her, since she had made the choice to entrust the rest of her life to the man before her, she would follow him wherever he went.

Lu Qiu felt her complete trust and was slightly moved.

After a moment's thought, he took his Storage Pouch from the bedside and took out two things.

A white jade box emitting a faint cold air, and an ancient-looking pale gold Jade Slip.

He opened the jade box and handed it to Xin Ruyin.

Lying in the box was a lotus-shaped Spirit Medicine, entirely snow-white with thick succulent leaves and silver veins flowing on the surface, emitting an astonishing Spiritual Qi and icy aura—it was one of the thousand-year spirit herbs obtained from Venerable Xuanji's Immortal Cave, the ice soul lotus!

"Ruyin."

Lu Qiu said seriously: "The Dual Cultivation method of the Yin-Yang Crown can only guide and alleviate the symptoms, but it cannot root out the Origin of your Physique. If we have this thousand-year ice-attribute Spirit Medicine, the 'ice soul lotus', to assist, using its pure cold air and vitality in coordination with the Dual Cultivation method, the effect of harmonizing Yin and Yang and nourishing the Origin will be even better. Perhaps it can further delay the Yang Qi backlash and even improve your Foundation."

Xin Ruyin looked at the thousand-year spirit herb in the box, which was overflowing with Spiritual Qi and of immense value, then looked up at Lu Qiu, her eyes instantly clouding with a layer of mist.

A thousand-year spirit herb, how precious it was!

He had taken it out without any hesitation, just to alleviate her pain... "Husband Lu..." Her voice choked, a thousand words stuck in her throat, finally turning into a tighter hug and silent emotion.

She had not misjudged him; Lu Qiu's treatment of her was indeed sincere.

Lu Qiu gently patted her back and placed that pale gold Jade Slip into her hand.

"This is the Golden Malice Art, a complete Cultivation Technique that can be practiced all the way to the Late Nascent Soul Stage." Lu Qiu explained, "I see that you possess Three Spiritual Roots, with the Gold Spiritual Root being more prominent. This Golden Malice Art is quite powerful and is perfect for your cultivation. It contains the complete cultivation insights of the original owner of the Immortal Cave, which will be of great benefit to your entry and subsequent cultivation."

Xin Ruyin took the Jade Slip, feeling its heavy weight, a warm current surging in her heart.

A cultivation Legacy was especially precious, let alone a complete technique that led directly to the Nascent Soul Dao!

Lu Qiu truly had no reservations toward her.

"Thank you, Husband Lu," she said softly while leaning in his arms, her voice filled with gratitude and tenderness.

Lu Qiu's heart was calm.

If it were anyone else, he would never be so generous.

But Xin Ruyin was different. In the original story, she was a noble-minded, affectionate, and righteous woman worthy of complete trust.

Since she was the Dao Companion he had chosen, he naturally had to treat her with all his heart and help her go further on this path. Her strength and safety would also be his own support and comfort... In the following days, Lu Qiu did not immediately set off to return to Yellow Maple Valley.

He needed time to completely consolidate his Late Foundation Establishment Stage Realm and familiarize himself with his surging power.

Meanwhile, he also stayed in the Small Bamboo Courtyard. Besides cultivating, he spent most of his time with Xin Ruyin.

What the two discussed most was the Dao of Formations.

After personally witnessing the terrifying power of the Heaven Burning Sea Boiling Grand Array, which used the momentum of heaven and earth to trap and kill a Fifth-level Peak Monster Beast, Lu Qiu's yearning for and emphasis on the power of Formations reached an unprecedented height.

He was determined to invest more effort into this auxiliary path, hoping to use Formations to defeat the strong as the weak in the future.

He even stopped keeping secrets and took out the two precious ancient Formation treasures, the Heavenly Derivation Array Codex and the profound mechanism array canon, to study and discuss them with Xin Ruyin.

Xin Ruyin's talent in Formations once again left Lu Qiu in awe.

Many ancient Formation principles in the Heavenly Derivation Array Codex that he had pondered for months without understanding, and deduction ideas in the profound mechanism array canon that felt obscure and difficult, Xin Ruyin could often grasp the key and propose clear and unique insights after a bit of deduction and a moment of contemplation, often giving Lu Qiu a sense of sudden enlightenment.

And she had an extraordinary resonance and understanding of the advanced Formation insights left behind; many concepts that Lu Qiu felt were wild and difficult to realize could quickly find theoretical basis and practical direction in her hands.

The two often spent several hours, or even forgot to eat and sleep, in the pavilion or the quiet room, facing complex Formation diagrams or Jade Slips.

The collision of thoughts and the sparks of inspiration allowed both of them to benefit greatly.

And after being nourished by these two top-tier Formation codices, Xin Ruyin's attainments in the Dao of Formations advanced by leaps and bounds.

Many problems that had previously troubled her were solved, and her understanding of the essence of Formations reached a whole new level.

One day, after jointly deducing a set of complex composite ancient Formations, Xin Ruyin's eyes flashed with the light of confidence as she said to Lu Qiu: "Husband Lu, regarding the ideas you mentioned before about improving the experimental version of the Inverting Five Elements Array, I have already come up with a clearer plan by combining the 'General Principles of Five Elements Generation and Inhibition' from the Heavenly Derivation Array Codex and the 'Ancient Formation Nesting Concept' from the profound mechanism array canon."

She spread out a new Formation diagram paper, her fingertips flowing with spiritual light as she quickly outlined several key Formation lines and nodes: "By proceeding with this line of thought, the full version of the Inverting Five Elements Array, which might have originally taken several years to perfect, I am confident I can complete the deduction of its core Formation principles and produce a true full Formation Plate within a year!"

Lu Qiu looked at the exquisite and interlocking Formation prototype on the paper, then at the spirited and confident beauty before him, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

Such a brilliant woman with a talent for Formations that was almost like a Prodigy had actually become his Dao Companion.

With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?

He seemed to already see that on the future path of Immortal Cultivation, with her by his side, whether it was guarding an Immortal Cave, exploring ruins, or dealing with enemies, there would surely be a solid and powerful safeguard.

Xin Ruyin would surely become the most important Capable Helper and fellow traveler on Lu Qiu's path of Immortal Cultivation.