At the break of dawn, Xuan Yuan   opened his eyes.
The room, still dimly lit just moments ago, suddenly glowed with a trace of golden light, startling Huang Rong awake from her drowsiness.

«Ah! Brother Xing, your eyes are glowing?!»

«Huh?» Xuan Yuan   blinked. The celestial  gleam in his pupils faded as he touched his cheek. «Can cultivating internal arts even have this kind of visual effect?»

Over the time she had spent with him, Huang Rong had occasionally heard Xuan Yuan   say some strange things. So by now, she could more or less understand what he meant by «special effects.» Hearing this, she gave a helpless laugh and said, «That’s impossible. External manifestations from inner cultivation only appear after reaching extremely high levels. No matter how powerful the Nine Yang celestial  Skill is, the first chapter alone couldn’t possibly have such effects.»

«But still… Brother Xing, you really did manage to fully master the first chapter in just one night!»

Xuan Yuan   excitedly clenched his fists and gave a few swings, feeling an unprecedented fullness of strength coursing through his body. A profound sense of satisfaction curled his lips into a relaxed smile.

Seeing Huang Rong nodding off again, the weariness still lingering in her eyes, he realized she had stayed up watching over him all night. Heart aching slightly for her, Xuan Yuan   said, «Rong’er, go ahead and sleep for a bit. You don’t need to keep watch through the night anymore. Now that I’ve laid the foundation, I can understand how to proceed from here.»

«Mmm… I still want to stay…»

Nestled in Xuan Yuan  ’s arms, Huang Rong nuzzled sleepily against his chest, mumbling softly. A moment later, she actually fell sound asleep.

Gently brushing a few strands of hair away from her face, Xuan Yuan   carefully placed her back on the bed and tucked her in. Only then did he get up.

Closing the door behind him quietly, he stepped into the courtyard and looked up to the pale white light emerging from the eastern sky. Taking a deep breath of the fresh countryside air, Xuan Yuan   couldn’t help but throw a few more punches in joy.

Then, acting on a thought, he removed the Xuanguang Pendant and held it in his palm, injecting internal energy into it.

But the pendant showed no reaction. Only when most of the internal energy he had gained overnight was nearly depleted did the pendant finally emit a faint, barely noticeable golden glow.

«It really works!!!!»

Xuan Yuan   was overjoyed. Things were happening just as he had predicted.

«Zzzt… zzzt… Master? Master, is that you?»

Nuwa’s voice rang out.

«Nuwa! That’s great! I finally got back in contact with you! How’s everything on your end?»

«Zzzzt… All systems nominal… zzzt… After the earthquake two days ago, everyone believes you’re the reincarnation of the Eastern Celestial Emperor Taiyi… zzzt… They’re currently discussing… zzzt… rebuilding the Taiyi Shrine for you…»

Xuan Yuan  : «?»

«Two days ago? It’s only been that short over there? But it’s already been months on my side.»

Most of those months had been spent traveling.

«Zzzt… It’s probably the time difference between different worlds… Master, have you found a way to return?»

Xuan Yuan   quickly recounted his experiences from the past few months. Nuwa on the other end seemed to contemplate his words and was just about to respond again when—the Xuanguang Pendant suddenly went silent.

Looking at the now-dormant pendant, Xuan Yuan   frowned in thought.

«Looks like I ran out of internal energy again.»

«If I want to maintain communication with Nuwa long-term—or even go back—I’ll need an immense amount of internal energy. Good thing I’m cultivating the Nine Yang celestial  Skill. Once I master it, my internal energy will regenerate continuously and endlessly. Otherwise, this would’ve been really troublesome.»

«And over on Purple Mountain, only a day or two has passed?»

Right then, Xuan Yuan   felt deeply relieved about the choice he had made.

Glancing back at the tightly closed bedroom door, he turned and entered the small kitchen next to the house.

By the time Huang Rong woke up, she saw Xuan Yuan   sitting at the table, smiling warmly at her. Several plates of food were laid out in front of him.

«Brother Xing? You… you cooked?! How could I let you cook?!»

From one look, she could already guess what had happened. Huang Rong hurriedly threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed.

«I should be the one cooking for you, not the other way around!»

«Why can’t I cook?» Xuan Yuan   pulled her gently down to sit beside him and set up her chopsticks and bowl.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Huang Rong couldn’t deny that his cooking was far inferior to her own. But in her eyes, there was nothing in the world more delicious than this meal.

«They say a gentleman stays far from the kitchen…»

«When did the famed Lady Huang of Peach Blossom Island ever concern herself with such worldly etiquette?»

As Xuan Yuan   playfully knocked her on the head, Huang Rong stuck out her tongue, then retaliated by scooping rice for him. «Brother Xing, you eat first!»

«We’ll eat together.»

«Mm~!»

The meal quickly came to an end. Huang Rong got up on her own to clean up the dishes, while Xuan Yuan   glanced at the sun. The girl had slept all the way till noon, so this counted as lunch now.

After Huang Rong came back from washing the dishes, Xuan Yuan   said, «Rong’er, just now I managed to reconnect with Nuwa.»

He told her everything that had happened while she was asleep.

Learning that internal energy really could reactivate the Xuanguang Pendant, Huang Rong was naturally thrilled for him. «Then Brother Xing, you should focus on cultivating the Nine Yang celestial  Skill from now on. You’re born with all your meridians and major acupoints open, with no bottlenecks, and you don’t have to worry about that final hardship before reaching mastery either.»

«Once your celestial skill is fully cultivated, Brother Xing, you can go home!»

She spoke from the heart, thinking only of Xuan Yuan  ’s well-being—without the slightest worry that once he returned, he might never come back.

Seeing her eyes darting around mischievously again, Xuan Yuan   pinched her nose and asked, «What are you scheming now?»

«Nothing…» Huang Rong denied it, twisting her slender body to one side. «Rong’er was just thinking that although Brother Xing has achieved inner energy cultivation, you still lack proper combat techniques. I need to find a powerful martial art to teach you…»

The more she thought about it, the more troubled she became. Finally, Huang Rong bit her lip and stomped her foot. «Brother Xing, how about… how about I teach you the martial arts of Peach Blossom Island?! Even if my father scolds me to death, I’ll accept it!»

«There’s no need. How could I ever put you in such a difficult spot?» Xuan Yuan   waved his hand, gently stopping her. «There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. No need to rush it now.»

«For the time being, the most important thing is to fully master the Nine Yang celestial  Skill as quickly as possible.»

Huang Rong nodded and proactively brought out the tablet computer.

«Then you focus on cultivation, Brother Xing. I’ll use the drone to search for the celestial  Eagle.»

She didn’t have the kind of personal terminal that Nuwa had given to Xuan Yuan  , so she could only control the biomimetic drone using the tablet. Xuan Yuan   had already granted her permission earlier.

Xuan Yuan   didn’t hold out much hope for finding the celestial  Eagle or locating the grave of Dugu Qiubai. He merely thought it would be lucky if they found anything at all. But seeing how excited Huang Rong was, he didn’t interrupt her enthusiasm and turned around to resume his cultivation.

Unknowingly, several more days and nights passed.

Xuan Yuan  ’s cultivation progressed without any obstacles, as if aided by celestial  providence. Without encountering a single bottleneck, he managed to master one volume per day. In just a few short days, the Nine Yang celestial  Skill reached completion.

His progress was so astoundingly fast that all the medicinal herbs Huang Rong had painstakingly gathered ended up being completely unnecessary.