Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

Lin Zui quietly felt the changes in his spiritual root, feeling refreshed all over. However, Yan Ruyan, who was trying her best to maintain this state, was not so comfortable.

Controlling the spiritual energy of the root is extremely mentally taxing, and each tempering process requires at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Yan Ruyan, being a novice in such matters, found it even more difficult to persevere.

After finally managing to hold on until the tempering process was over, Yan Ruyan was completely exhausted and collapsed to the side, having no strength left.

Sensing the other's exhaustion, Lin Zui felt a pang of sympathy. He gently helped her up and laid her down, but their eyes met unexpectedly, causing Yan Ruyan's pretty face to flush red again.

Heaven knows how much mental preparation she had done to suppress her shame; now, she dared not meet Lin Zui's gaze and only wanted to escape far away.

But as Lin Zui looked at her infinitely shy expression, his heart gradually warmed.

While practicing his cultivation, Lin Zui's attention was focused on the changes in the spiritual root vortex. Now that the cultivation was over, looking at Yan Ruyan's shy and timid appearance, Lin Zui found it hard to contain his emotions.

Because of the telepathic ability, Yan Ruyan quickly noticed the change in Lin Zui's emotions. Before she could react, Lin Zui had already turned over and pressed down on her.

"Young...Young Master..."

"Shh, don't speak!"

"Well……"

Yan Ruyan instinctively wanted to resist, but as the mind-reading technique sent wave after wave of strange emotions into her mind, she soon found it difficult to think.

……

One hour later.

"I never imagined that mind-reading techniques would have such side effects. This is really..."

Looking at Yan Ruyan curled up in a ball beside him, Lin Zui smiled bitterly.

At first, he was indeed unable to control himself, but later he became somewhat out of control.

The mind-reading technique allowed the two to connect on a deeper level, essentially giving them the feelings of two people simultaneously. Under this mutual influence, not only did he become unable to resist, but Yan Ruyan also became somewhat lost in the moment.

With a helpless smile, Lin Zui decided to stop thinking about it now that things had come to this, but he would still learn from this experience in the future.

Looking at Yan Ruyan, she still kept her head down, but sensing Lin Zui's gaze, she finally suppressed her shyness and looked up at him.

"Young master..."

"Call me husband!"

"what?"

Yan Ruyan was surprised, thinking she had misheard.

"Call me husband, and from now on, you will be my Daoist partner!"

Lin Zui revealed his plans.

If it were just to use her to refine his spiritual root, there would be no need for this. But after spending more than a year together, especially after the moment when he couldn't control his emotions just now.

Lin Zui was certain that it wasn't just lust; even the mind-reading technique was merely a catalyst, allowing him to discover his own feelings sooner.

Since that's the case, why bother hiding it? He doesn't want to be like Han Laomo, who has affairs everywhere but is irresponsible. If he likes someone, of course he should keep them by his side.

"My husband..."

Yan Ruyan's voice was barely audible, but one could still discern a hint of joy in it.

"Thank you for your hard work just now, but this can't go on forever."

"what?"

Yan Ruyan didn't understand what Lin Zui meant at first.

Then, Lin Zui touched his chin and slowly looked at her.

"How about... we actually go find a dual cultivation technique and practice it?"

Yan Ruyan quickly understood Lin Zui's meaning and blushed with embarrassment. However, after a moment, she nodded gently.

"Ruyan is entirely at her husband's disposal."

……

Days pass by.

After the initial nervousness and awkwardness, Yan Ruyan's subsequent practice went much more smoothly.

Although she still couldn't help feeling shy, now that she had clearly defined her relationship with Lin Zui, it wasn't so hard to accept once she got over that mental hurdle.

However, after each session, Lin Zui would tease and flirt with her, which she found difficult to resist.

Fortunately, he wasn't completely unrestrained; most of the time he knew when to stop and didn't indulge as much as he did the first time. Over time, he gradually got used to it.

As for that so-called dual cultivation technique, Lin Zui mentioned it casually and then forgot about it. After all, he cultivated the "Five Elements Transformation Technique" and could not cultivate it in combination with other techniques. Even if he really practiced it, it would not have any effect at all.

As for the pleasures of love between men and women, the experience of the first time is indeed hard to describe, but he naturally wouldn't really get addicted to it. After exploring everything that needed to be explored, he stopped pursuing it recklessly.

In the blink of an eye, more than three months have passed.

After several months of tempering, Lin Zui's fire-attribute spiritual root vortex was significantly larger than before, and the speed at which he absorbed and refined spiritual energy was vastly different from before.

Even the distribution of the five elemental vortexes within the dantian has changed. The five vortexes that were originally located at the five corners of the dantian have now faintly formed a shape with a large fire vortex in the center and four smaller vortexes of metal, wood, water, and earth surrounding it.

However, the original balance was not broken by the sudden increase in the fire attribute vortex. After the rotation of the five elements, the spiritual energy absorbed by the fire vortex was directly converted into the magic power of the other four attributes, thus maintaining the overall balance of magic power.

However, this means that the Spirit Void Formation that originally maintained the vortex's operation is no longer applicable and needs to be modified according to the changes in the five elemental forms.

However, because his form had not been stable, Lin Zui did not rush to deal with it. Instead, he took advantage of this time to cultivate with all his might, supplemented by a large number of pills, and raised his cultivation to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

As for the business of Wanfuju, it was handed over to Xin Ruyin's maid, Xiaomei. This girl was clever and quick-witted. After learning from Lin Zui for a while, she quickly managed the shop inside and out in an orderly manner.

Of course, if there are any rare talismans that she doesn't recognize, she can contact Lin Zui at any time. Through the teleportation array between the cave and the Myriad Talismans Residence, Lin Zui can arrive quickly.

Xin Ruyin and Qi Yunxiao, on the other hand, had also chosen a stone chamber within the cave to cultivate, as instructed by Lin Zui.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, upon hearing that Lin Zui and Yan Ruyan had become Daoist partners, he immediately disregarded their objections and resolutely moved out, opening up a small cave dwelling outside Lin Zui's cave dwelling, leaving Lin Zui somewhat dumbfounded.

Just then, the stone door of the stone chamber opened, and Yan Ruyan walked in carrying a pot of spiritual tea.

At this moment, Yan Ruyan was no longer dressed as a young girl. Her clothes and hairstyle had a more mature feel, and her beauty was tinged with a hint of charm.

"My husband."

Yan Ruyan sat down next to Lin Zui and handed him a cup of tea, which Lin Zui took and sipped.

"Hmm, Fellow Daoist Xin's skills are becoming more and more exquisite."

"Couldn't Ruyan have brewed it herself?"

Yan Ruyan pouted, somewhat dissatisfied.

"you?"

Lin Zui didn't answer, but gave her a look that suggested she figure it out herself.

"However, the taste of this tea is somewhat different from before. Is it newly delivered?"

"Yes, Sister Xin just finished preparing it and sent it to my husband as the first thing she brought."

Lin Zui nodded.

"That's very thoughtful."

"But Sister Xin didn't just come to deliver tea; she also asked me to pass on a message to my husband."

"Oh?"

"Sister Xin said that a fellow Daoist surnamed Han has come and asked my husband if he would like to meet him."

"Han Li?"

Lin Zui smiled.

"If it is him, then it is indeed worthwhile to go and meet him."

"Oh, is this person a friend of my husband?"

"I guess so. We've crossed paths a bit. Come to think of it, he was one of the cultivators who participated in the Yan Family Fortress Treasure Hunt. It's quite an achievement that he managed to escape from the pursuit of Wang Chan and his gang."

"what?"

Yan Ruyan was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected that this person was also a participant in the Yan Family Fortress Incident.

After thinking about it, I became a little worried.

"In that case, shall Ruyan not go with her husband? What if this person has seen me before? Won't that cause trouble?"

Lin Zui just chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"It's alright. This Fellow Daoist Han is a very sensible person. Even if he has indeed met you, he won't cause any trouble. Besides, since we're friends..."

Lin Zui's eyes flashed, and an idea came to mind.

"You should at least give us a generous gift."