Dinner was warm and cozy.
Qin Yuelin wolfed down the "Golden Crystal Spirit Rice," grains clinging to the corners of his mouth.
Golden Crystal Spirit Rice is a High Grade Tier 1 Spirit Rice, requiring five years to mature a single crop. In the Qin Family, it costs twenty Spirit Stones per jin.
Qin Yueqi, on the other hand, had a particular fondness for the plate of rabbit meat, his small face flushed from eating.
Qin Guiya occasionally served dishes to the children, but his gaze would inadvertently sweep over Lin Mushuang.
As the last ray of daylight vanished, Qin Guiya suddenly put down his bamboo chopsticks:
"Mu Shuang, tonight..."
"I know."
Lin Mushuang interrupted him, her fingertips trembling as she stood to clear the dishes. "You go to the quiet room first. I'll come once I've settled the children."
As night deepened, inside the Immortal Cave.
Lin Mushuang, dressed in a dark gauze robe, sat by the jade bed, combing her long hair, the ends still carrying the faint dampness from her bath.
Qin Guiya pushed open the door and entered, his gaze falling on her half-exposed, fair shoulders and neck, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
"Mu Shuang."
His voice was low. He walked behind her, his fingertips gently caressing her hair. "You've worked hard today teaching Yue Qi and Yue Lin."
Lin Mushuang glanced at him sideways, a slight smile playing on her lips: "My husband has been in seclusion for several years, and now that he's out, he's quite sweet-tongued."
"Just the truth."
He chuckled softly, his fingers tracing from her long hair to the side of her neck, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin behind her ear. "You teach better than I do; the children are making rapid progress."
She hummed softly, but did not pull away from his touch:
"Don't start with that. What new tricks have you come up with during this seclusion?"
Qin Guiya leaned in, his thin lips almost touching her ear, his warm breath caressing her:
"No new tricks, but I'd like to try... if the old tricks can still satisfy you."
Lin Mushuang's ear tips reddened slightly, but she feigned composure and turned her head, her nose almost touching his:
"That depends on your skill, Great Master Qin."
He chuckled softly, then suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her entirely into his embrace.
Lin Mushuang was caught off guard, her palms pressed against his chest, but he clasped her wrists and gently pressed her onto the bed.
"My skill..."
His voice was husky, and his other hand caressed her cheek. "Aren't you the one who knows best?"
...When the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased, Lin Mushuang leaned lazily in Qin Guiya's arms.
Qin Guiya extended a wisp of his Divine Sense into the Ancient Tree Space; another flower on a side branch had matured and fallen into the space.
He played with a strand of her hair: "My wife, has your Formation mastery improved in recent years?"
Lin Mushuang smiled calmly, and asked curiously: "Of course it has. The more frequently my husband and I engage in Dual Cultivation, the faster my Formation mastery seems to improve.
I wonder if my husband is hiding something from me, such as having a special Spirit Body Aptitude?"
Qin Guiya coughed twice: "It's good that my wife understands this in her heart."
He suddenly flipped her beneath him, his eyes dark,
"Was my wife feigning exhaustion just now? Do you still have the energy to probe your husband's secrets?"
Lin Mushuang raised an eyebrow, her slender legs wrapping around his waist: "If Immortal Master Qin still has energy, why not verify it again?"
"Verify?"
Qin Guiya lowered his head and bit the tender flesh of her shoulder, mumbling, "Your husband wants to see, this Dual Cultivation to its extreme..."
The bed curtains rose again, then fell again.
The next morning.
Qin Guiya stepped into the Alchemy room feeling refreshed, while Lin Mushuang uncharacteristically slept until late morning.
Waving his hand to set up an isolation Formation, he took out the Spirit Medicine that his twelfth brother, Qin Guiheng, had helped him collect over the years: Golden Spirit Flower, Jade Marrow Ganoderma, Millennium Polygonum multiflorum... all neatly arranged on a jade platform.
"There are no Flawless Pills left to consume; it's time to continue refining."
He took a deep breath and summoned the Tier 2 High Grade "Mountain and Sea Qi Furnace" that had accompanied him for many years.
The Pill Furnace was entirely grayish-green, with mountain and sea patterns carved into its body, now glowing faintly under the activation of spiritual power.
"Poof—"
A wisp of Golden Core True Fire leapt from his fingertips, and the furnace temperature surged.
Qin Guiya skillfully added the Spirit Medicine, his Divine Sense precisely controlling every degree of heat.
The refining of Tier 3 Medicinal Pills was far more complex than Tier 2; the purification stage alone took a full day.
When the essences of various Medicinal Liquids finally fused in the furnace, the entire Pill Furnace began to vibrate slightly.
"Condense!"
Qin Guiya changed his hand seals, and the furnace lid slammed shut.
For the next three days, he had to constantly maintain a stable spiritual fire; the slightest mistake would lead to complete failure.
Six months later.
"Bang!"
Another batch of Medicinal Pills was opened, and ten golden pills flew out, two of which had Pill Veins on their surface!
"Basically, one to two Flawless Pills appear in every batch now."
Qin Guiya wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the more than four hundred Golden Spirit Pills accumulated in the jade bottle, half of which were of perfect quality, and there were also over forty Flawless Pills.
This success rate would be considered terrifying in any faction.
His gaze fell on the slightly reddish Qi Furnace—this Tier 2 Pill Furnace was already nearing its limit.
"It's time to replace it with a Magic Treasure-grade Pill Furnace..."
Just as he was about to send a message to his twelfth brother, his finger suddenly paused.
"Peach Forest Island has more than just our branch. Once I start collecting Magic Treasure Pill Furnaces, my Alchemy skill will be exposed..."
He narrowed his eyes and slowly put away the communication jade slip... Inside Qin Faha's Immortal Cave.
"Tier 3 Alchemist?"
Qin Faha held an Immaculate Golden Spirit Pill, his eyes gleaming brightly.
The Pill Veins, like living things in the sunlight, proved that this was by no means a fluke.
"Good! Good!"
He laughed and slammed the table, "Our branch has finally produced a Tier 3 Alchemist!"
Qin Guiya cupped his hands: "I ask Second Uncle to help deal with this batch of Medicinal Pills, and by the way..."
"You want a Magic Treasure Pill Furnace, right?"
Qin Faha understood, and took out a purple jade token from his Storage Ring. "Take this to the Hundred Refinements Pavilion in Liu Yuan Market. This shop is run by a good friend of mine, and he's very trustworthy."
Then he smiled mysteriously: "As for these..."
He threw out a Storage Pouch containing dozens of strange seeds, some glowing golden, others entwined with thunder patterns.
"fire-patterned thunder bamboo? Purple Spirit Fungus?"
Qin Guiya's pupils contracted, "This..."
"A treasure from your grandfather's Spirit Medicine garden."
Qin Faha said meaningfully, "I heard that girl Qing Chan has good spiritual plant talent?"
Qin Guiya's heart stirred, and he took the cue: "She does have some talent."
"Cultivate her well."
Qin Faha patted his shoulder, "After these Spirit Medicine mature, remember to save a few for your grandfather."
Leaving the Immortal Cave, Qin Guiya caressed the Storage Pouch, his Divine Sense sweeping over the four acres of Spirit Fields in the Ancient Tree Space.
Under a twenty-fold growth rate, these Tier 3 Spirit Medicine might be ready for use within a decade or so... Upon returning to his small courtyard, Qin Guiya sat cross-legged and immersed his Divine Sense into his Sea of Consciousness.
The sight before him made him nod slightly.
The ancient tree was taller and thicker than before his seclusion, with lush branches and leaves.
On two side branches, an Enlightenment Leaf was verdant, while the flowers on the other side bloomed with a faint spiritual glow.
Around the ancient tree, the Spirit Medicine in the four acres of Spirit Fields were growing exceptionally well, lush and green.
Many of these Spirit Medicine were already close to five hundred years old, being the earliest batch planted, and had now reached the age of maturity and usability.