Back in the Jade Capital, Li Yuan’s physical body, seated inside the imperial palanquin, maintained just the right amount of vacant daze, exactly befitting the image of a gravely ill Emperor being paraded before the people. Outside, the city bustled with life. The districts previously ravaged by the Lotus Cult were still under reconstruction, scaffolding climbing where ruins once lay. At the same time, hidden shadow guards prowled quietly through the streets, watching from every corner. Anyone who so much as hinted at malicious intent was captured on the spot without a sound. The 3,000 newly appointed imperial guards formed an unbroken wall around the Heavenly Son’s palanquin, cutting off anyone who tried to approach. After some time, the carriage stopped before a small but elegant mountain. It stood about three hundred meters tall, its slopes a riot of spring blooms, trees thick with fragrant flowers. At its summit rested a palace-like pavilion, ancient yet graceful. A winding stone path led upward, twisting and curling through verdant shade. Xie Wei supported Li Yuan as he stepped down from the palanquin and said softly, “Your Majesty, let us take a walk up Qilin Mountain.” Li Yuan lifted his gaze, scanning the mountain before them, momentarily distracted. “What is it, Your Majesty?” she asked gently. Li Yuan blinked, his voice calm and faintly amused. “Nothing…just thought it’s a little small.” Xie Wei couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Qilin Mountain is considered quite large within the Jade Capital. If Your Majesty wishes to climb one of the truly grand peaks, those that rise over 1,000 meters high, you’d have to travel far to the famous ranges and great lakes.” If only she knew I could transform into a 1,000-meter-tall mountain right now if I wanted. Li Yuan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He gave her a glance, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. “Not necessarily.” She arched an eyebrow at him but said nothing, only smiling faintly as the two of them began climbing the stone steps side by side. Along the way, she said teasingly, “Not necessarily? Among the mountains of the capital, Qilin Mountain is the most beautiful, while Golden Peak is the tallest. But even Golden Peak is barely over 500 meters tall. If Your Majesty wishes to climb a higher mountain, we can visit Golden Peak next time. But if you’re thinking of finding one taller than 1,000 meters… I’m afraid there’s nothing like that here.” Li Yuan simply smiled in response, neither confirming nor denying anything. The Emperor and Empress didn’t descend the mountain. Given the Emperor’s frail health, going up and down again would have been far too tiring. So instead, they spent the night at the palace atop Qilin Mountain. In the quiet of midnight, the candlelight swaying faintly, Xie Wei slipped once more into Li Yuan’s arms, warmth rising between them. After a long, breathless tangle of heat, Li Yuan held her close and murmured against her ear, his voice teasing, “Maybe the Empress has already climbed a mountain tonight?” It took her a moment to register the joke, recalling their conversation from earlier that day. Then she covered her lips with her hand, suppressing a laugh, before glaring at him through lowered lashes, cheeks flushed. “Shameless…utterly shameless!” Li Yuan chuckled softly. “Funny…I seem to remember you telling me during the day that we couldn’t do this.” Xie Wei froze for half a heartbeat, her blush deepening until it reached the tips of her ears. She had been juggling so many thoughts earlier that she’d completely forgotten what she’d said. Taking a deep breath, she buried her face against his shoulder and mumbled defensively, “I-I said we had to wait until my sister and brother-in-law had a child first…” Li Yuan only laughed, tightening his embrace. The two of them fell asleep entwined, the warm spring breeze drifting softly outside the pavilion windows. A fine mist of gentle drizzle swept across the Jade Capital, soft as silk. Hand in hand, the Emperor and Empress descended Qilin Mountain and returned to the imperial palace together. After that one carefully staged outing, the rumors about the Demon Empress poisoning the Emperor collapsed on their own without anyone needing to refute them. Li Yuan, meanwhile, returned to the quiet depths of the Clear Mind Hall, settling back into seclusion to consolidate his realm while beginning the next phase of cultivation. He aimed to break through to the next stage as swiftly as possible. For ordinary martial artists, attempting the Heaven Soul cultivation technique required practicing near a third rank meat field, a place dense with primal vitality. Without it, progress was nearly impossible. But Li Yuan wasn’t ordinary. All he needed was a quiet place to train. Though, amusingly enough, the Clear Mind Hall just so happened to sit right next to one of those meat fields anyway. Li Yuan quietly folded his robe and pants with deliberate care, placing them neatly in the corner of the secret chamber. Then, barefoot and bare-chested, he sat cross-legged upon the cold stone floor. Almost immediately, his flesh began to ripple and swell unnaturally. Muscles shifted beneath his skin; his body expanded, contracted, and distorted like molten wax being reshaped by invisible hands. In the next moment, his right arm twisted violently, transforming into a jagged shard of stone. A heartbeat later, his spine erupted upward, reshaping itself into a massive slab of rock several meters high. The protrusion slammed against the chamber ceiling, nearly bursting it apart. He didn’t stop. His form morphed again and again, cycling endlessly between flesh and stone, human and beast. This was the adaptation process, forcing every fiber of his body to obey his will. He had to reach the point where change flowed as naturally as thought itself. Days slipped into weeks. Then weeks bled into months. Two full months later. Inside the secret chamber, Li Yuan slowly exhaled a long, steady breath. Without warning, his entire body collapsed inward and transformed into a massive boulder, perfectly filling every inch of the chamber. Then, before the stone could even settle, it began to shift again—compressing, grinding, reshaping itself like living flesh folding in upon itself. From the stone emerged a grotesque, indescribable creature, its body twisting unnaturally in silence. The creature compressed further, melting into the form of a towering, earth-shaking giant elephant. The elephant roared without sound, then crumbled into a sleek, blood-eyed tiger… The tiger became a snarling wolf… The wolf a shadow-black panther… The panther a buzzing fly… The fly an ant smaller than a fingernail… With a muted pop, the ant burst apart in a flash of light, reforming into a youth, calm and composed, his aura vast and unshakable. Li Yuan opened his eyes and smiled faintly, lowering his gaze to read the faintly glowing message before him: Incomplete Six Paths - Mortal World Transformation, Myriad Beasts Transformation (2/4) He murmured under his breath, almost to himself, “As expected…fully merging with the withered flame granted me another fragment of power. That’s the second piece out of the four.” But then his brows furrowed slightly. “…Still, why does the Six Paths Transformation only have four fragments?” After a moment of quiet thought, he shook his head. “Forget it. There’s no answer to that now. No point wasting energy over it.” Still, one thing became clear. To unlock the remaining pieces, he would almost certainly need greater flames—stronger fires, deeper powers. Every time his mastery over flame increased, so too did his control over flesh, pushing him another step closer to perfection. Li Yuan flexed his fingers, marveling at the sensation of boundless possibility flowing through him. He could now change into anyone. He could become any beast, any insect. He could even turn into a mountain if he wished. It was intoxicating, almost like having access to the mythical Monkey King’s 72 Transformations himself. He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement for what awaited in the later stages. After redressing himself in fresh robes, Li Yuan stepped out of the secret chamber and into the sunlight, stretching lazily and releasing a soft yawn. But halfway through, he noticed the palace maids stationed outside the Clear Mind Hall. Their faces were pale, their expressions stricken with panic. Something had happened. His heart stirred. Without moving his lips, he released his senses outward, letting his perception sweep through the entire imperial palace. Within moments, he understood the situation completely. Without hesitation, Li Yuan activated Phantom Body and blurred into motion, heading directly toward the Phoenix Cry Hall. Deep within the inner palace, the usual residences were split among three halls—the Emperor’s Dragon Roar Hall, the Empress’s Phoenix Cry Hall, and finally, the Clear Mind Hall, where Li Yuan chose to stay when he sought absolute solitude for cultivation. And now, trouble had come knocking. Li Yuan moved swiftly through the palace corridors, a blur among shadows. Eunuchs and palace maids passed by, their footsteps quick and anxious, but to them…he didn’t exist. To their eyes, he was nothing but air. Not a single one noticed the invisible presence slipping silently past them. In just a few breaths, he reached the gates of Phoenix Cry Hall. The entire area was locked down. Layers of hidden shadow guards and imperial guards surrounded the palace in silence, blades at their sides and tension thick in the air. Standing before the inner hall was Gao Kaiping, a spear in his grip, his cold, hawk-like gaze sweeping the surroundings. Even with Li Yuan’s Phantom Body skill, there was no way to bypass Gao Kaiping’s sharp senses. At least…that used to be the case. This time, Li Yuan didn’t hesitate. His body trembled slightly, then compressed, his flesh collapsing inward. In the blink of an eye, the young man vanished, and in his place, a tiny white-winged mosquito appeared, hovering soundlessly in midair. The mosquito shimmered faintly, activating the Phantom Body skill, and with a flicker of motion, slipped soundlessly through a narrow gap in the window frame. Inside, the room was quiet, too quiet. The faint metallic tang of blood hung in the air. Xie Wei sat propped against the bed, her face pale beneath the soft lantern light. A bandage was tightly wrapped around her shoulder, and faint traces of fresh blood seeped through the cloth. From the earlier whispers he’d overheard, Li Yuan had suspected something had happened to her. But seeing this with his own eyes, his expression darkened. It was an assassination attempt on the reigning Empress. This was no small matter. He revealed his figure silently in midair. Xie Wei spun around, startled, her phoenix eyes wide, lips parting in disbelief as the Emperor materialized out of thin air before her. Outside the room, Gao Kaiping, the iron-willed general famed for his vigilance, remained completely unaware. Li Yuan lowered himself to the edge of the bed, his gaze softening as it fell upon her wounded shoulder. His voice was quiet, steady. “Who did this?” Xie Wei sniffed faintly, then, against all expectations, curved her lips into a small smile. “Don’t concern yourself,” she whispered. Fınd the newest release on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵 Before Li Yuan could answer, there was a sudden knock on the door, followed by Gao Kaiping’s muffled, cautious voice. “My Empress…is there someone in there with you?” Xie Wei replied calmly, “No one. This Palace was only talking to herself.” Gao Kaiping hesitated for a moment, still suspicious, but dismissed the thought. To slip past him without a sound was impossible, or so he believed. Once silence returned, Xie Wei turned slightly and mouthed two soft words toward Li Yuan. Without hesitation, Li Yuan drew her into his arms. Her breath brushed against his ear as she whispered, voice trembling ever so slightly, “I intended to transfer Wildsouth Province’s army to the Jade Capital… But before I could finalize anything, they came for me. Not just me, the officials who supported the proposal were also killed.” Li Yuan sighed softly, his voice low. “You’re moving too quickly.” Just a single phrase, but she understood he’d seen straight through her intent. She wanted to curtail the regional warlords. Every provincial governor was effectively a king in his own right, holding armies, wealth, and power. In the early days, they’d been useful, suppressing wandering sects and rogue forces. But times had changed. After the devastation of the Lotus Cult, the great sects and independent factions had withered. The provincial governors, however, had survived, fortified, and grown fat on their autonomy. Now, they were powerful enough to resist imperial decrees outright, answering commands only when it suited them. Some among them had grown bold enough to act like sovereigns in their own domains. That was the reality Xie Wei was trying to dismantle. But her attempt had drawn blood before it had even begun. After a long pause, Xie Wei shook her head faintly, her voice soft, tired. “Go to Yu’er.” Li Yuan studied her expression for a moment, recognizing that she didn’t want to speak further. He checked her wounds carefully one last time, ensuring they weren’t life-threatening, before quietly rising to leave. Back at the Clear Mind Hall, Li Yuan returned to the secluded chamber beneath its foundations. Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began circulating Yin and Yang, pouring himself entirely into cultivation. It was time to step into the second sub-realm of the Heaven Soul cultivation technique, Myriad Forms, Flesh and Blood Gate And beyond that, to condense an Immortal form. The 3,888 petals of his ancestral seal spun around him like countless burning wheels, circulating endlessly through the roaring withered flame within his core. It was like shaping molten sugar into forms with a single steady breath; his soul stretched, warped, and shifted along with the energy flow. But unlike sugared figurines, if he stopped channeling, the soul snapped instantly back into its original state. Still, progress was being made. The threshold of transformation was close.