The night was ink-black.

The usual sweeping tides of Divine Sense over Taiji Peak were absent tonight. Instead, a ghostly aura, thicker and more oppressive than usual, drifted through the mountain ridges.

High above a certain spot on the summit, far beyond the reach of Zhou Kai’s Divine Sense, Li Youci stood quietly before the door of the Dark Cloud Soul Chasing Sedan.

She clutched four talismans tightly in her hand. The paper was a dark, ashen grey, etched with intricate patterns in an unknown golden material that shimmered faintly.

Her gaze pierced through the heavy darkness, following a figure rapidly receding into the distance. Her eyes were filled with worry and unease.

Even in the dead of night, Yantian Peak was only slightly quieter than during the day. For cultivators of the Second Realm, sleep was no longer a necessity.

Palaces and pavilions scattered across the peak were dotted with lamplight. Occasionally, streaks of escaping light would cut through the night sky before vanishing just as quickly.

Zhou Kai rode his own escaping light, heading straight for Yunmeng Residence.

He had learned about his nominal master, Li Yunmian, from Fish Baibai some time ago. Mo Qianyuan also lived here, attending to their master.

Zhou Kai retracted his escaping light and landed before the courtyard gate. Finding it slightly ajar, he didn’t hesitate. With anger churning in his gut, he pushed the gate open and strode in.

He immediately spotted Mo Qianyuan.

She was frowning slightly, meticulously wiping a clean jade table as if invisible dust clung to its surface.

Beside the jade table, on a wide reclining chair, a woman dressed in luxurious palace attire lounged at an angle.

Her hair was styled high in an elaborate cloud-like bun, adorned with a phoenix hairpin. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, yet she exuded an air of bone-deep laziness.

The palace dress, which should have lent her an air of dignified elegance, hung loosely on her frame. The collar was slightly open, revealing a stretch of collarbone as pale and flawless as frost or snow.

Her eyes and brows held a myriad of charms, yet she seemed utterly disinterested in everything around her. Her eyelids were half-drooped, neither fully asleep nor awake, as if even the act of opening her eyes was too much effort.

This, presumably, was his nominal master whom he had never met: Li Yunmian.

“Disciple Zhou Kai pays his respects to Master, and to Senior Sister!”

Zhou Kai suppressed the anger and anxiety in his heart, striving to keep his voice steady. He stepped forward and respectfully performed a full kneeling bow.

Li Yunmian’s eyelids twitched. She didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t sit up. She merely uttered a faint sound from her throat.

“Hmm.”

Consider it an acknowledgement.

Mo Qianyuan paused her wiping. She glanced at him, her expression filled with disdain.

“Junior Brother Zhou, your robes are disheveled, and your aura is restless. What kind of appearance is this?”

She frowned deeper. “If you are this reckless again, I will punish you by making you polish the floor tiles of Yunmeng Residence one hundred times. They must shine like mirrors.”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but glance at Li Yunmian on the recliner. Her tone softened slightly, though it held a note of helplessness.

“Master, you are a Golden Core Senior. Please mind your posture. Don’t always lounge about like that.”

Li Yunmian uttered only one word.

“Tired.”

She truly was lazy. Too lazy to cultivate, too lazy to teach disciples, too lazy to manage her daily life. Even after damaging her Divine Sense refining those talismans for Li Youci, she had only secluded herself for three days before coming out.

In her words: Seclusion was also tiring.

Fortunately, she had Mo Qianyuan. Not only was the girl a talisman genius, but she also managed her master’s life with military precision. Without her, Yunmeng Residence would be a pigsty.

Zhou Kai had no mind for pleasantries. He cut straight to the point.

“Master, Senior Sister. This disciple has come to inquire about something—the Spirit Platform Fuel Fire Talisman.”

Hearing this, Mo Qianyuan finally gave him her full attention.

With a flick of her slender hand, she tossed a meditation cushion toward Zhou Kai. She used her spiritual power to adjust its trajectory mid-air, ensuring it landed perfectly aligned with the floor tiles’ pattern.

“Sit and speak. The Spirit Platform Fuel Fire Talisman? That is an extremely obscure ancient art. Ordinary cultivators have never even heard of it. Where did you learn of it?”

Zhou Kai lied smoothly, claiming he found mentions of it in ancient fragments while studying the Talisman Dao.

“The Spirit Platform Fuel Fire Talisman… it seals the recipient, then seals the pure Mana or Vitality of the creator within them, causing it to lie dormant,” Mo Qianyuan recited. “It does not damage the foundation… but causes extreme agony… Once the talisman’s spiritual nature is exhausted—roughly three to five years—the recipient becomes no different from a mortal cripple, unable to sense Spirit Qi, let alone cultivate.”

Hearing “extreme agony,” Zhou Kai’s heart clenched violently. His anger flared hotter.

“It truly doesn’t damage the foundation?” he pressed.

“Why would it?” Mo Qianyuan countered, looking confused.

Zhou Kai felt a wave of relief. Li Youci’s method was harsh, but it preserved the Dao Foundations of Ziyi and the others. His feelings were a mess—resentment at Li Youci’s high-handedness clashing with heartache for the four women.

“Is there a way to break this talisman?” Zhou Kai asked.

Mo Qianyuan raised an elegant eyebrow. “Why would you want to break a righteous, orthodox treasure? If used correctly, this talisman offers immense benefits. Even if there’s backlash, they deserve it!”

“Orthodox? Benefits? Backlash?” Zhou Kai was utterly confused. “Senior Sister, what do you mean?”

Li Yunmian, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally opened them. She yawned, looking at Zhou Kai with a faint, amused smile.

“Little one, why the rush?”

She sounded as if she had just woken up.

“This Spirit Platform Fuel Fire Talisman is quite troublesome to refine. It requires great effort for little gratitude.”

“The most crucial point,” she continued lazily, “is that the recipient must be truly willing. Their soul and will must not hold a shred of resistance. Otherwise, the talisman patterns cannot be inscribed. Forcing it would only destroy the talisman and cripple the person.”

“Willing?” Zhou Kai froze.

Ziyi and the others… their fear and grievance…

Li Yunmian seemed to see through his thoughts.

“Even if successfully inscribed, if the recipient lacks supreme trust—a willingness to entrust their very life to the giver—they will suffer the agony of the fuel fire burning their bodies until the talisman fades.”

She stretched her arms overhead, her graceful curves straining against the loose fabric. Her voice grew even more languid.

“Conversely, if the recipient is sincere and deeply devoted, then this fuel fire becomes a tempering flame.”

“The impurities in their Dao Foundation, the dust in their hearts, the hidden injuries of cultivation—all will be gradually burned away.”

“During those three to five years of dormancy, the recipient indeed cannot actively absorb Spirit Qi. This is because their body enters a wondrous state of ‘Emptiness’ and ‘Gestation.’ Any external cultivation would interfere with this rebirth.”

Li Yunmian’s eyes gleamed with a hint of wisdom.

“Once they pass through the dormant period, they are left with a flawless, pure Dao Foundation. The benefits to their aptitude, physique, and Dao Heart are immeasurable. It is a great opportunity of ‘breaking and then standing.'”

She chuckled softly, seemingly amused by a memory.

“It’s funny, actually. Some time ago, Youci came rushing to me in a panic, begging me to refine four Spirit Platform Fuel Fire Talismans. I thought she wanted me to seal my Golden Core Mana into them.”

“I never expected she would seal her own Mana. She even used the Lawless No Word Heavenly Scripture to transform and purify her own Vitality for them. Tsk tsk.”

Zhou Kai’s head snapped up.

This talisman was refined by Li Yunmian, but the core power came from Li Youci?!

Why would she go to such lengths? Expending her own cultivation to enhance his women?

And Ziyi and the others… whether they endured the torture out of love for him, or because the System locked their Affection, it didn’t matter anymore.

Zhou Kai’s heart was a tumult of conflicting emotions. His ache for the four women threatened to overflow, while his view of Li Youci became incredibly complicated.

Even if they were willing… you, Li Youci…

He thought of the Town Head of Red Cliff, and the sedan chair that had once threatened to crush him. She was overbearing, yes. She had a bad habit of scaring people.

She probably used that Mysterious Nether Precious Mirror to terrify his four Dao Companions into submission.

Li Yunmian continued in her unhurried tone.

“What’s even more interesting is… the day after I finished refining those four talismans, she came running back again.”

“She begged me for four Unsealing Talismans.”

Li Yunmian finally looked directly at Zhou Kai, her gaze knowing.

“That girl Youci… she gets stuck in her own head. She was so resolute when begging for the Fuel Fire Talismans, yet turned right around to ask for a way to undo them. She kept asking me how to save the recipient if backlash occurred, or if they couldn’t endure the pain…”

She paused, her smile turning sly.

“That little girl is probably afraid something might go wrong and she wouldn’t know how to explain it to a certain someone. Or perhaps… she felt she went too far and wanted to prepare a remedy?”

“If unsealed early, the recipient only needs to rest for a month before they can resume cultivation.”

“Many thanks for Master’s and Senior Sister’s guidance!”

Zhou Kai bowed deeply, then exited Yunmeng Residence, speeding back toward Taiji Peak.

The night wind whipped at his robes. Zhou Kai’s eyes gleamed, his mind racing.

The four women’s mindset had shifted to fear. He needed Li Youci to use the mirror to restore them.

Regardless of Li Youci’s good intentions, he could not accept her methods. Acting without consent, using fear and force—he would never agree to that! Even if the result was a flawless foundation!

He was going to demand an explanation.

As his thoughts swirled, Taiji Peak loomed ahead.

The closer he got to Li Youci’s cave dwelling, the denser the ghostly aura became. It felt as if countless resentful souls were whispering in the dark.

An ordinary cultivator would be trembling in fear by now.

Unexpectedly, the cave dwelling—usually heavily restricted and forbidden to outsiders—stood with its entrance wide open.

Before Zhou Kai could speak, a voice drifted out from the depths.

It was clear and cold, but tinged with obvious resentment… and a trace of nervousness.

“Zhou Kai… come in.”