"There are two paths now. One is to completely abolish your cultivation and start over from scratch. The other path," Zhou Chen kissed the corner of his forehead and held his hand, "is to dual cultivate with me."

"I know you mortals have a concept of Dao companions and joint cultivation, but I'm an ancient divine beast. Dual cultivating with me would be incomparable, not only repairing your core but also advancing your own cultivation. It's the best method."

Zhou Yin stared at him unblinkingly.

Zhou Chen paused, his voice extremely gentle: "If you're unwilling, it's alright too. There's a plant in the Northern Sea Ruins that can consolidate vital energy and boost cultivation, allowing one to achieve twice the results with half the effort. I'll go find it for you, I won't let you suffer any hardship from re-cultivating."

Water droplets from the rocks outside the cave fell, clearly audible, making the current moment even more quiet.

Zhou Yin lowered his eyelids without speaking, as if he had fallen asleep.

Zhou Chen knew he wasn't actually asleep.

Zhou Yin gazed at the rocks overhead, the layers of mottled patterns indicating the age of this cave.

To the vast universe, hundreds of millions of years pass in the blink of an eye.

He had already forgotten what he was doing at this age in his previous life.

Presumably, if not cultivating, then spending his days in pursuit and escape.

Now unable to move, yet having someone by his side.

The Heavenly Dao is heartless.

That's what he used to believe, and indeed how he acted in his past life, never wasting a single bit of time on anything intangible.

But if it was truly heartless, why would Nüwa marry Fuxi as husband and wife? Why would Gonggong angrily strike Mount Buzhou?

The numbers of the Heavenly Dao, the changes of the human heart, the true and the false, the strong are prone to poverty.

In the end, it all comes down to two words—nature.

His hand was tightly grasped, the other person's palm even exuding a bit of damp heat, all transmitted over.

Even though his organs were aching to the extreme right now, Zhou Yin still tugged the corner of his mouth slightly. His gaze fell on the person beside him as he struggled to pull his hand free, but couldn't.

"The sweat on your palm... don't wipe it on me later."

Zhou Chen froze for a moment, then became wildly joyous, his mind and spirit shaken. He couldn't help but stammer: "A-Ah Yin, wife, you agreed? I didn't hear wrong, right?"

Unable to resist, he hugged Zhou Yin's hand, kissing and nuzzling it over and over. If not for the inappropriate timing, he almost wanted to rush out and run a few laps to announce it to the whole world.

In front of others, he could have many faces—elegant and composed, imposing and stern, even turning Ning Chang from foe to friend and forming an alliance with a few laughs. But in front of Zhou Yin, he only ever had one disposition.

Zhou Yin closed his eyes, too lazy to pay him any mind.

Outside, rain had started falling at some point, quite heavily, pattering on the leaves, shrouding the entire mountain forest in a layer of chill.

However, inside the cave, because of Zhou Chen's barrier, it wasn't just not cold, but quite warm.

Dense kisses fell from his forehead, along the corners of his eyes, the sides of his nose, his cheeks, lips, chin, stopping at his Adam's apple to lightly bite down, tongue flicking out to lick, feeling the pulse beating on either side, branding his own mark on that fair neck.

Folding up the mat a few times to pad under his waist, he half supported, half embraced him, untying his outer robe. Due to his preciousness, every motion was nearly reverent, meticulous as if the person under him was a fragile treasure.

Although the Vermilion Bird could experience a cycle of death and rebirth, unable to produce offspring with others, it wasn't that previous generations of Vermilion Birds never had lovers. But none had been like Zhou Chen, establishing a heart-blood contract, willing to share his lifespan with his partner.

Even though Zhou Yin didn't know about this right now, just the thought of this person dying like this, closing his eyes and never opening them again, made Zhou Chen feel all his hopes turned to ash, that nothing in the world could ever attract his attention again.

A goose losing its mate would cry in grief until death.

Love rises from unknown origins, deepening with a single venture.

Zhou Chen took his hand and kissed each finger, lingering with reluctance, while undoing his sash with the other hand, revealing a large expanse of chest.

Fair yet not weak, broad and beautifully built with distinct musculature. Fingers pressing down slid smoothly as if touching jade, bouncing back with resilience.

His hand stroked that stunning waist, spiritual energy pouring in continuously to repair the damaged organs.

Then covering those pale lips, lightly biting down, sucking, tongue prying open teeth to engage in a deep, lingering kiss until he felt the other's breathing quicken slightly before letting go. Turning to kiss the light red bud on his chest, teeth gently nipping, tongue flicking over it, the painful yet itchy sensation made Zhou Yin unable to resist arching his body slightly.

"Ah Yin..."

An admiring sigh brushed past his ear like a feather. His pants were tugged off and pulled down. His skin, with a physique that feared cold due to his current injury, trembled slightly upon contact with air, immediately enveloped in a warm, strong embrace.

Fingers probed the tightly closed entrance, lightly thrusting, gently twisting, slowly entering.

Teasing him into arousal, Zhou Chen didn't dare delay any longer. Although this moment was so wonderful, the purpose was still for healing, so naturally the faster the better.

Once those fingers had opened him up a bit and he felt this body was no longer so tense and stiff, he sat cross-legged and pulled the other into his arms, letting his legs straddle his waist.

"Bear with it..."

"..." Zhou Yin raised his neck, not making a sound, his breath rapid and scorching. His slightly opened eyes seemed to be veiled with a layer of mist, set against the faint flush on his face due to the rising temperature, causing Zhou Chen to lose himself a little.

Both of them were already drenched in sweat in their heavy clothes. Zhou Yin's inner garment had been half pulled down to his waist. His skin, even more slippery from sweat, felt cool to the touch. Zhou Chen was afraid he would catch a cold, so he snapped his fingers towards the corner, igniting a few more flames that hovered and swayed in the air.

"The highest uses the void as the cauldron, the supreme ultimate as the furnace, purity as the wondrous function, non-action as the elixir foundation, essence and life as lead and mercury, concentration and wisdom as water and fire..." Zhou Chen recited slowly.

Zhou Yin closed his eyes, striving to calm his mind, embracing the origin and guarding the one, just like in his daily cultivation, memorizing the words he heard.

After the initial unbearable tearing pain passed, a spiritual force gradually flowed through their limbs and bones from where the two were joined, densely enveloping them, smoothing every meridian and repairing every blood vessel. This was a warmth unlike any other sensation.

Not only did Zhou Yin tremble slightly, even Zhou Chen almost wanted to moan in comfort.

In dual cultivation, the benefits were not just for Zhou Yin alone. Zhou Chen naturally also gained tremendously.

As the rhythm quickened, this warm current went from faint to noticeable, then flowed throughout the entire body. Zhou Yin felt that his pain seemed to have lessened a great deal.

The rain did not stop, falling from the sky like needles, forming a curtain of water at the cave entrance, separating the two worlds inside and out, with green grass and leisurely floating dust.

Fingers intertwined, entangled to the point of death, with a profoundness that nearly embedded into flesh and blood. Heartbeats and pants interweaved, falling into someone's ears, and into someone's heart.