Chapter 696: Advance Preparations (7)
The energy around me slowly began converting into yang qi.
At that moment, a soft, warm light fell over me from behind.
When I turned my head, the faint radiance that had started from Zihwa’s chest was slowly wrapping around her entire body.
The light was clear and deep, like old jade that had aged for a long time, and inside it, an intense force writhed.
‘So this is Mother-in-law’s energy the Dark Maiden handed over.’
It looked like her realm was rising with the energy Mother-in-law had left behind that the Dark Maiden had put into her.
The flow of energy was anything but ordinary.
I asked Zihwa urgently.
“Zihwa, will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. It’s a familiar energy.”
Zihwa answered in a low, calm voice, still with her eyes closed.
There wasn’t a hint of wavering in her voice.
I quickly put my hand on her shoulder and continued.
“Because of the divine fever, I need to look after Ji-ryeon. I’m going to send you inside for now. Sorry I can’t stay with you.”
I should watch over Zihwa’s realm rise too, but Ji-ryeon, whose body was boiling because of divine fever, came first.
And if someone’s realm rises, the energy around them is bound to surge.
I couldn’t let her raise her realm out here, so I had to put her inside.
This is a secluded room, but I don’t know how much Zihwa’s realm will recover. If she ends up higher than me or something, it’s obvious people around us will notice the flow of energy.
Saying that in a voice full of apology, I was about to send Zihwa into Dokmul-hyang, when Zihwa suddenly spoke low.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
Zihwa seemed to hesitate, took a breath, then whispered in a very small voice.
“...You.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
It felt like she was thanking me for blocking the Dark Maiden.
I kissed Zihwa on the forehead and said.
As a man, it was only natural.
“It’s only natural, as a man.”
Soon Zihwa’s body scattered like smoke, slipping away in a smooth blur, and completely seeped into Dokmul-hyang.
All that remained there was a faint lingering scent.
I let out a deep sigh and slowly turned my head.
“Haah... So-ryong. Hurry...”
Ji-ryeon was looking up at me from the bed.
Her gaze was like someone who’d been starving for years—no, even more desperate and hot than that.
Her chest was still heaving roughly, and her breath was packed with thirst.
Her clothes had already slipped down to her shoulders, half-peeled off.
Her sweat-soaked skin glowed faintly under the candlelight.
‘Ha... If you’ve got four wives, you really don’t get a break.’
I slowly walked toward the bed.
Ji-ryeon’s hand grabbed my arm first and pulled.
Her touch was hot, trembling.
“So-ryong... hurry...”
I skipped taking off my clothes, skipped talking, and dove into her arms.
Now I only had one job.
Become a firefighter, and put out the blaze burning inside Ji-ryeon’s body.
***
A couple of hours later, Ji-ryeon lay sprawled on the bed, dragging in rough breaths.
Her full chest rose and fell.
Her swollen breasts, slick with sweat, glistened, and strands of her hair had fallen over them, stuck there damply.
“Haah, haah...”
Thankfully, since Ji-ryeon hadn’t learned anything yet, I’d still defended my nighttime throne.
I had my face buried between Ji-ryeon’s breasts, then I lifted my body and said.
“I’m going to go check on Zihwa.”
I had to confirm whether her realm rise was going smoothly.
I’d already put out the urgent fire here.
I pulled my face out from between her breasts and reached for my clothes to put them on, when Ji-ryeon tilted her head like she couldn’t understand and asked.
“If you’re going inside, why are you putting clothes on?”
“Ah. Right?”
Thinking about it, since only my mind was going in, I didn’t need to get dressed.
I was thinking I still hadn’t fully adjusted, when Ji-ryeon patted the space beside her.
“Come here. I’ll keep watch, so go and come back.”
So she meant I should only send my mind inside and leave my body beside her.
I lay down beside her like she said.
Then Ji-ryeon naturally pulled my body into her arms.
Soft, warm arms wrapped around my waist, and one leg slid up over my thigh.
Her body heat and her breathing were right next to me.
“Go on, go. I’ll keep you safe while you’re gone. Hehe.”
Then she closed her eyes.
She probably meant to fall asleep while hugging me.
With this realm rise, Ji-ryeon had reached the Life-and-Death Realm, the Golden Core Stage.
Even if something happened, she could react instantly even half-asleep, so it was fine to entrust it to her.
At around the Golden Core Stage—Life-and-Death Realm—you could keep one side of your awareness awake, like a dolphin.
So if anything changed, you could respond even while sleeping.
Trusting her, I decided to go into my mind-space too.
“Okay. Then I’ll be right back.”
“Mm.”
Ji-ryeon’s answer was already drowsy and languid.
I closed my eyes and focused my consciousness into the mind-space.
It was time to go to Zihwa’s side.
When I opened my eyes, it was Dokmul-hyang.
Near the entrance, Zihwa was floating about halfway in the air.
Energy was gathering around her like a vortex, and clear, deep energy was seeping in from the surroundings, as if filling the empty space in her middle dantian.
It felt like something in her middle dantian was being treated, and the energies were filling that hollowed-out place.
It looked like Mother-in-law’s energy the Dark Maiden had handed over was working properly.
I had the thought this process would take a while to finish.
It felt like the energy was gathering in a denser way than my wives’ normal realm rises.
Since it seemed like no one else was around, I asked Cho to call Sister Seol.
‘Cho, Zihwa’s mom is at the entrance of Dokmul-hyang. Can you tell Aunt to come and keep watch here? Zihwa’s mom is in the middle of a realm rise, and I think someone should watch in case someone comes.’
Zihwa’s realm rise felt like it was proceeding without issues.
Since I was here anyway, I planned to go check on Hwa-eun’s condition too, so I called someone to guard her in the meantime.
Gun Hye-rin was watching over Hwa-eun, so the only person I could really trust was Sister Seol.
‘—Tchrit. Okay, Dad.’
After waiting a bit, Sister Seol came running from the village side, holding Myoran in her arms.
Myoran was clinging tightly to Sister Seol’s chest, getting jostled and swung around as she was carried over.
“So-ryong!”
“Sister Seol.”
Myoran saw me and quickly jumped down from Sister Seol’s arms to greet me.
—Meow. 『Hello, Elder.』
“Ah, good timing. Zihwa is in the middle of a realm rise, so stand watch for a bit.”
—Miyaung. 『Okay, Elder.』
Perfect.
In my heart, Sister Seol was the trustworthy one, but in terms of raw ability, Myoran was better.
Sister Seol had only recently stepped into the Hwagyeong Realm.
She’d undergone Bone-Forging Body-Cleansing not long ago, so her body wasn’t fully perfected yet. On the other hand, Myoran could handle all sorts of Dao techniques freely, so she would be a bigger help if something happened.
When the little guy sat down with his butt stuck right next to Zihwa, Sister Seol, watching what he was doing, looked at Zihwa and said.
“What, Zihwa’s raising her realm too?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about Ji-ryeon? Didn’t you call Zihwa because you said something was weird with Ji-ryeon too?”
“Ah, Ji-ryeon raised her realm and she’s sleeping outside.”
“How far did she go up?”
“She reached the Life-and-Death Realm.”
“Seriously? I’m jealous. I wonder how far Zihwa’s realm will rise.”
“I don’t know. She used to be stronger than me, so she might end up higher than me too. Then I’m going to go check on Hwa-eun.”
After answering Sister Seol’s questions, I was about to head toward where Hye-rin had placed Hwa-eun’s cocoon.
That was when Sister Seol’s voice came from behind me.
“Hey, So-ryong.”
When I turned my head, Sister Seol was pointlessly nudging the grass on the ground with her foot.
“Hm?”
When I turned my head, Sister Seol was pointlessly nudging the grass on the ground with her foot.
She obviously had something she wanted to say.
That was a habit Sister Seol always had before she brought something up.
“Hey...”
“Yes? Do you have something you want to say?”
Sister Seol wiggled her fingers and hesitated, unable to continue.
Then she looked at a distant mountain and carefully opened her mouth.
“No, it’s just, you know...”
“Yes?”
“Um... Don’t think it’s weird, and listen.”
“Weird?”
At the sudden “don’t think it’s weird,” I tilted my head, and Sister Seol’s face flushed slightly as she continued.
“No, I mean. When my realm went up, it felt really good.”
“Right. Your body feels lighter, and especially after Bone-Forging Body-Cleansing, that’s the best.”
She was right.
Before and after Bone-Forging Body-Cleansing was a completely different world.
Your body was reborn, and it was a body made to fit you perfectly, so you couldn’t even compare it to before.
Your body got strangely light, fatigue didn’t build up, energy circulated naturally, and even small wounds healed quickly.
So someone who’d gone through Bone-Forging Body-Cleansing felt that change the most.
As I nodded, she continued.
“Yeah. So, I mean...”
“Yeah, so?”
“But... uh...”
And again, Sister Seol couldn’t continue, only her lips moving.
What in the world was she talking about that she was dragging it out like this?
Frustrated, I spoke first.
“Sister Seol, if it’s not urgent, can you tell me later? I’m going to go check on Hwa-eun right now.”
“N-no, I’m saying it now!”
Sister Seol shouted urgently when I said I was going to check on Hwa-eun.
But then she lowered her head, then slowly raised it again and looked up at me.
Her eyes were mixed with hesitation and embarrassment.
Her cheeks were already flushed red, and her fingers were still fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
It felt like it was something hard to say even though she said she’d say it.
What could it be?
As I was thinking that, Sister Seol checked my eyes, made a face like she’d made up her mind, then bit her lower lip hard and shouted.
“D-don’t misunderstand me, So-ryong! C-can you d-do dual cultivation with me j-just once?”
“Huh?”
At first I thought I’d misheard.
I thought maybe because I’d done dual cultivation so much with my wives lately, what Sister Seol said had sounded like that.
‘So-ryong, you lunatic. You’re possessed. A lewd demon!’
With a line like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, of course I had to think that, but I hadn’t misheard.
Sister Seol was making an absurd request.
“I-I’m saying, d-dual cultivation with your sister, j-just once!”
At those words again, my head went blank for a second.
Dual cultivation.
She was saying she wanted to have sex once.
Is my sister crazy?
But it seemed like even Sister Seol knew what she’d just said, because after blurting it out, her face went bright red and she avoided my eyes.
Still, when I couldn’t answer and just froze, she bit her lip slightly and added.
“N-no... Don’t think it’s weird. Just... When my realm went up, my body felt so light and I was overflowing with energy, and... the next realm is right in front of me.
And I’m kind of jealous that your wives reached the Life-and-Death Realm from just one time...”
Sister Seol’s voice got smaller and smaller as she trailed off.
Then, embarrassed, she covered her face with both hands.
It seemed she’d blurted it out out of greed for her realm, but after saying it, she was thinking, why did I do that.
I tried to slip away.
I was going to pretend I hadn’t heard.
But Myoran had already followed me.
The little guy said casually at my side.
—Meoow. 『I mean, you said you two aren’t even blood-related, right? And this is the cultivation world, a place freed from your ties in the Lower Realm. Just do it once, nice and refreshing—』
So that’s why Sister Seol suddenly did that.
It looked like this little guy had been putting ideas in her head.