At midnight, the ladies had all retired to bed, and a batch of sour plum soup made just at evening rested on the stone table in the courtyard, prepared as a means to relieve the heat of this late May night.

Taiyin hung high in the sky...

In the blind man's vision, the pure white lines present during the day had vanished, replaced by a diluted ink, streaming capriciously across the canvas of the heavens, and enveloping this vast world.

White is Yang.

Black is Yin.

Yang signifies life.

Yin signifies death.

Having seen so much of this black and white ink landscape, Song Cheng's heart had long since reached an understanding.

Devoid of sight, the myriad colors and lavishness of the human world eluded him; yet, he caught a glimpse of Yin and Yang, a vision more lucid.

This might well be the reason why the "Heart's Eye" is still called an "eye".

As the bright moon shone above and the inky threads in the sky thickened, the young man hesitated no more. He drew a cyan jade bottle from his bosom, swiftly popped the stopper, poured out a Soul Strengthening Pill, then, while quickly resealing the bottle, he sniffed it, and promptly tossed the pill into his mouth.

The initial taste of the Soul Strengthening Pill was somewhat similar to a mint candy.

But Song Cheng soon realized that the "mint candy" was merely a surface layer.

When his tongue licked away this outer layer, it unleashed a sensation akin to a bursting ice river within his mouth.

The walls of flesh and blood seemed to be punctured, stirring up a hornet's nest.

His body's martial qi blood, characteristic of a martial artist, was instantly aroused, surging back as if "Fire Nation soldiers" had discovered an infiltration by "Ice Nation soldiers".

This wave of biting cold was indeed potent, yet within his body, it was absolutely no match for the qi blood.

As the "soldiers of both nations" neared clash and the "Ice Nation soldiers" were about to be cleansed away,

Suddenly... a Nether Pagoda leapt out from the void, materializing within the young man's body. Even though it stood within his flesh, it appeared to be in a completely different dimension, simply overlapping with his own.

The "Ice Nation soldiers", upon seeing this pagoda, as if finding a way out, "whooshed" into it in entirety.

The "Fire Nation soldiers" however, were blind to this pagoda, searching scrupulously within the young man's body, failing to find a single "Ice Nation soldier" and thus withdrew to their respective homes.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear...

Song Cheng witnessed this rapid transformation within his body.

He finally grasped the meaning behind Hua Wen's words, the attendant on the second floor of Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

These soul-type pills were indeed not suitable for martial artists.

The stronger the flesh and blood, the harder it was for the Divine Soul to emerge.

For flesh and blood were like a solid, doorless wall, the stronger they were, the harder it was for the Divine Soul to break free.

No wonder the people on the second floor of Thousand Treasures Pavilion, with strengths at the "Power Realm" or even below, behaved that way. It all made sense now.

Song Cheng had a clear understanding in his heart.

This rule should have applied to him as well, as his qi blood resembled Yang Fire and could not sustain the cold Yin Soul, making this expensive Soul Strengthening Pill nothing more than a "freezing point mint candy" to him...

But with that Nether Pagoda, everything changed.

What other martial artists could not do with their Divine Souls leaving their bodies, he could.

Where other martial artists wasted the Soul Strengthening Pill, for him, it was still effective.

The "Ice Nation soldiers" hid in the Nether Pagoda.

After a while, sensing that the siege from outside had dissipated, they stealthily emerged from the pagoda.

This time around, the "Fire Nation soldiers" did not react aggressively, as if the "Ice Nation soldiers", having mingled within the Nether Pagoda, had been assimilated as their own.

The "Ice Nation soldiers" effortlessly "punched a hole" in the walls of Song Cheng's flesh and blood.

The moonlight, which had been kept at the periphery of his flesh, found its entrance at this time, and strands of ink were drawn in, encircling the young man's Divine Soul, allowing it to grow...

An increasingly intense feeling of nausea and distortion welled up from within Song Cheng's core.

But then, a strange flavor of "ashes" exploded on his palate.

The nauseating effect of the moonlight, the feeling of distortion, vanished in an instant.

An indescribable sense of fulfillment emerged from within Song Cheng's soul.

After a short period of time, the "entrance" closed.

Song Cheng continued to spend another two hours to fully digest the experience.

Taking the Soul Strengthening Pill amounted to a brief chill in his mouth, followed by a frosty sensation throughout his body, then the pill dissolved, bringing a slight taste of "ash".

However, he was somewhat aware of the process within, his thoughts wildly conjecturing such as "flesh and blood have protected the Divine Soul", "the Divine Soul grows stronger when touched by moonlight", "the moonlight might be problematic, after all, it is black in color and induced nausea and distortion when he faced it", "the Soul Strengthening Pill contains at least two main ingredients, one to open a passage for absorbing moonlight and another to offer protection", "that pagoda of his is no simple matter, reminiscent of a standalone visualization space, and when his Divine Soul leapt from it, it remained unaffected by moonlight" and so on and so forth...

However, these were all unverified speculations hence Song Cheng only took note of them, preparing to validate them slowly later.

At this moment...

He got up, yawned, looked up, and gazed once more at the hanging orb of black ink above, feeling an indescribable tremor within.

Soon after, he calmed his emotions, pushed open Madam Tong's bedroom door softly, quietly stripped down, and climbed onto the couch.

Madam Tong seemed to sense something and murmured, turning over in her sleep. Her petite body clung to him, and then in the little cocoon of blankets, she wriggled, almost as if she intended to squeeze Song Cheng right off the bed.

Song Cheng gently embraced her and then closed his eyes, his Divine Soul leaving his body.

He was no ordinary person, so even with his Divine Soul separated, he wouldn't grow cold in a short while.

His light, drifting Yin Soul emerged from his young forehead, feeling the biting cold of the night reduced significantly. He flew arrogantly, as if walking amid a gentle spring breeze...

Was the night no longer cold?

Certainly not.

His Yin Soul had grown stronger, better adapting to the external environment.

...

...

The next day, early, as soon as Song Cheng opened his eyes, he saw Madam Tong blinking at him and asking, "Song, when did you come back last night?"

Song Cheng found much to ponder.

Madam Tong seemed to ask a question, but really, it was a conglomeration of two.

After a brief consideration, Song Cheng felt that the latter question was insignificant, and thus he replied, "Why don't you call me the head of the household anymore?"

Madam Tong said, "Sister An calls out, can't I? Song."

Song Cheng wanted to say something but stopped himself, nodding fervently, "Okay! Boss, call me whatever you like."

"Pah," Madam Tong gave him a punch.

After that, Song Cheng asked, "Didn't you feel it when I came back?"

Madam Tong replied, "A little, but I fell asleep and then forgot..."

She lay on the young man's sturdy chest, propping herself up by her elbows and cheeks, her calves upturned under the thin blanket like a small umbrella, her feet swaying, making the whole blanket shake.

Sunlight penetrated the window gauze, casting the verdant shades of several banana plants outside, the trees swayed gracefully, leaves rustling in the wind, and suddenly the sound of wind chimes tinkled.

Song Cheng, feeling the slight weight on his body, asked, "Where are the wind chimes from?"

Madam Tong said, "Song, it was Ling who hung them up. Ling said everyone seemed a bit repressed, so she decided to make some wind chimes, but they must have been hung up just now."

Song Cheng turned his head and caught a glimpse outside, indeed seeing a figure hustling back and forth.

"You're up."

Madam Tong pushed herself up from the young man's chest, slipped on her boots, put on her trousers, straightened her clothes, sat properly in front of the vanity to comb through her hair, and then grasped the knife by the bed, ready to go out.

Song Cheng said, "Take the one in the corner."

The one in the corner was the "Huntian Poqi Crossbow" he had used previously that added "10" to combat power.

Having switched to a new weapon, he naturally passed on his second best to Tong Jia.

Madam Tong took it without hesitation.

At once, her data changed from "13~23" to "15~26".

Song Cheng was stunned for a moment before he understood... one needed to reach a certain strength to truly bring out the nuances of a blade.

His "Fine Blade" needed force to be channeled into it to unleash its power, hence Madam Tong only inherited "5" points of strength.

Similarly, the "Mechanical Shield" he acquired yesterday also required Gang Qi to fully unleash its power.

This was a good thing.

If others thought he could only make use of the shield's sturdiness, his "full usage" would then become another hidden card.

The increase in hidden cards made him feel secure.

As he was pondering this, Madam Tong had already run out the door, exchanged glances with Ying, who had emerged from the opposite door, and then they began practicing with their knives.

Ling was carrying a small stool, running up and down, hanging the wind chimes.

Tong Jia, Ying practicing with their knives.

Miss An, as cold as ice jade, slowly opened her door.

And the son-in-law, was still idly lying on the bed.

The scene slowly froze in time.

...

...

Yesterday, Son-in-law Song went out and truly experienced the thrill of "spending Flower Lady's money to become stronger."

Today, he wouldn't go out but would simply sharpen his blade instead.

So, Song Cheng carried a stool, held a basin of water, and went outside the Scripture Pavilion to sharpen his blade.

In the Scripture Pavilion, those martial artists who didn't understand could come out and ask him, and he would casually give pointers to help these martial artists become stronger quickly.

The things those martial artists racked their brains over and couldn't figure out, he could clarify in a few words, like a revelation that made them suddenly understand, causing them to thank him profusely before going back down.

...

...

In the evening, a frantic member of the trade association came running in, nervously looking for An Chenyu, saying, "Chairman, it's bad, they've sealed off the city!"

Miss asked, "What else?"

The person said, "There are rumors as well, about the northern lands, saying a County has been slaughtered by barbarians."

Miss nodded and said, "Mobilize more people and go investigate further."

...

...

And so it was.

In the middle of the night.

The city was in a state of turmoil, panic boiling over.

Another member of the trade association came rushing in.

The news from the north was more complete now.

"Miss, the slaughtered place was Xiegu County. It's said that most people in the County were slain, and the barbarians only took young women, livestock, and food to other counties.

This year's Ghost Tide completely cut off the food supply to the villages and counties, and although the Prefectural City looked like it had ample food stores, outside it's already plunged into complete chaos.

As for the women, everyone says that having more people around, even in the Ghost Tide, won't cause any trouble, so... so... these barbarians intend to use our Central Earth women to..."

"What about the Six Towns?" An Chenyu interrupted.

"There was battle, but it ended in a complete defeat; they can only defend their own cities now and can't spare any thought for the other counties. Now the Prefectural City is in turmoil; everyone wants to run.

But they can't. The city is sealed, and the Magistrate won't let anyone escape!"

The voice reporting trembled slightly.

"Oh, also, Chairman.

There's more... about the Ma Family in the northern city, that family that trades in horses.

They got the message yesterday and ran ahead of time... but as a result, after the city was sealed today, their heads were thrown inside the city.

All were men's heads, not a single female family member was left...

That Old Six Ma, I knew him well. I had dined with him just a few days ago, when we were buying horses from your trade association.

But the next time I saw him, it was only his head left."

The reporting voice was on the brink of tears, "The barbarians might have already surrounded the Prefectural City."

An Chenyu's expression remained usual, she said calmly, "Don't panic, when the sky falls, there are tall ones to hold it up; Hanping Prefecture is still safe for the time being."

Her voice always gave the impression of holding hidden cards, and the reporter seemed to be affected, calming down a bit, then took their leave and left.

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