The smell of sweet sweat and damp sheets still lingered in the air inside the cabin.
Yù Méi slowly opened her eyes. Her entire body felt like lead. Every muscle in her thighs, hips, and back throbbed with a deep, dull ache. Yet, unlike before, the chronic emptiness she had always carried in her chest was gone. In its place, something dense, warm, and alive pulsed in her lower abdomen — the Sea of Law.
She tried to sit up. Her arms trembled, and her elbows gave out on the first attempt.
— Forty minutes.
Yù Qíng's voice cut through the silence, low and laced with mockery.
Yù Méi turned her head slowly. Her sister was seated on the only chair in the room, fully dressed, her black hair perfectly combed. Yù Qíng crossed her legs with elegance, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at her with a sharp little smile.
— You used to bang on my door and call me weak for not lasting an hour and a half — Yù Qíng continued, her tone almost sweet. — Today you begged him to stop before forty minutes. And then you blacked out for five hours straight.
Yù Méi's face flushed instantly. Heat rose up her cheeks all the way to her ears.
She pulled the torn sheet over her chest but didn't have the strength to reply. The memories were still fresh — the crushing weight of his body, the thrusts that felt like they reached her soul, the way she had completely lost control. Just remembering made the base of her spine tingle.
Yù Qíng stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. She stopped there, looking down at her sister with a cold, evaluating expression.
— You spent four years thinking you were superior because you could punch trees in the bamboo grove — she said, her voice now lower. — You acted tough, beat your chest… but you were nothing more than an arrogant virgin. You thought you could handle our heaven in bed like it was some kind of game. Now you know the real weight of his strength.
Yù Méi didn't look away. However, unlike before, she didn't raise her chin with pride either. The sharp pain in her hips and the sensation of the newly expanded Sea of Law inside her were constant reminders that her old arrogance no longer had anywhere to stand.
She clutched the sheet between her fingers. For a long moment, it seemed like she might talk back. But in the end, she simply lowered her head in silence, swallowing the pride she had carried for years.
Yù Qíng watched that gesture of submission carefully. The old irritation she felt toward her sister seemed to cool slightly. Satisfied, she sat on the edge of the ruined mattress and picked up the wooden comb from the nightstand. With a calm motion, she pulled Yù Méi closer by the arm.
The teeth of the wooden comb slid slowly through Yù Méi's heavy golden strands. The movement was calm, almost hypnotic. Yù Qíng untangled the knots with surgical patience, smoothing the hair from root to tip, while the youngest sat with her back to her, spine straight, silently accepting the treatment.
— You've always been proud, Méi — Yù Qíng's voice came out low, without the previous mockery. Now it carried a cold, almost doctrinal authority. — I understand. But that pride was useless. You barked at the whole world thinking your raw strength made you special.
The comb continued its descent, dragging the golden hair across the girl's bare back.
— The world out there is nothing but dead dust — Yù Qíng continued. She pulled a lock of hair, evaluating its clean texture between her fingers. — Patriarchs, kings, immortals from ancient sects… they breathe filth and call it cultivation. We are no longer like them.
Yù Méi didn't move. The newly formed Sea of Law in her lower abdomen pulsed slowly, keeping her body warm and numbing the muscular pain.
Yù Qíng set the comb down on the nightstand. Her pale, cold hand descended to her sister's bare shoulder, her slender fingers gripping the flesh firmly.
— Our flesh was undone and remade by his hands — she whispered near Yù Méi's ear. — Your bones, your meridians, your breath… our entire being belongs to our heaven. Stepping on the same earth these mortals walk on, letting the soles of our feet touch their filth… is an offense to his work.
Yù Méi opened her eyes. The silence of the room seemed to swallow those words. Her sister's fanatical logic fit perfectly with the need and obsession she had carried for four years.
Yù Qíng tightened her grip on her shoulder.
— We are his altar, Méi. You will not bow your head to anyone but him. If some false god of this world orders you to kneel, you break their knees. Our heaven is our husband. To everyone else… we only deliver death.
Yù Méi's chest rose and fell once, deeply. The frustration of having blacked out in bed had disappeared. In its place remained a sharp, feverish clarity. The childish pride of the "raw blade" died there, replaced by something denser, more mature, and far more dangerous.
She turned her face over her shoulder. Her almond eyes met her sister's black gaze. The old hostility between them had vanished, replaced by an identical fanaticism.
— I understand, sister — Yù Méi answered, her voice low, soft, and resolute. — Only him.
Yù Qíng observed her younger sister's face for a second, then nodded, satisfied. She released Yù Méi's shoulder and calmly adjusted her own skirt.
It was at that moment that the air changed.
No dust rose from the floor. The door's latch didn't even tremble. But the scent of damp earth mixed with her husband's intoxicating aroma suddenly flooded the room.
Zhì Yuǎn was standing in the center of the cabin.
Yù Qíng slowly rose from the edge of the bed. Her black eyes traced his body with a mixture of reverence and pride. There was no fatigue in the man's breathing, and the space he had torn through to arrive left no scar in the air.
— You crossed the distance without making the wind whistle… — she murmured, her voice soft, almost reverent. The fanaticism was clear in her eyes.
Zhì Yuǎn adjusted his tunic collar with calm movements. His large hands, with smooth and perfectly forged skin, descended with ease.
— The foundation of the Law of Space has stabilized — he replied, his voice deep and direct. — The period of seclusion is over. Get dressed. We're heading down toward the Golden Prairies today.
Yù Méi shot up. The energy of the Sea of Law vibrated in her lower abdomen, mixed with the blind devotion her sister's indoctrination had planted minutes earlier.
— I'll prepare the draft beasts, my heaven — she said quickly, already moving. — Should I hitch the cargo wagon behind the carriage? The obsidian boxes with spirit stones and the weapons from the Unique Path are heavy.
Zhì Yuǎn shook his head.
— Let the second wagon rot in the courtyard. We're traveling light.
Yù Méi frowned, confused.
— What about the ores? The gold? Everything we looted from the pavilion?
The man raised his hand and casually pointed his index finger at his own abdomen.
— The Singularity doesn't only swallow energy. I threw all the tons of our loot inside my Dantian. My inner space is our vault now.
Yù Méi's lips parted slightly. For a second, her mind struggled to process the absurd idea that stones, weapons, and gold were stored inside his viscera. The shock was so great that she was left speechless.
Yù Qíng, on the other hand, simply smiled. To her, it was only natural that their god carried the weight of the world inside his own body.
The eldest walked over to him and pressed her face against his broad chest, inhaling the scent of earth and sweetness that emanated from his perfect skin.
— If you already control space, husband… — she murmured against his tunic, her voice low and sweet — why don't we just cut across the distance to the South at once? Why use the carriage?
Zhì Yuǎn slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. His dark gaze turned toward the window, fixing on the horizon beyond the ruined mountains.
— We're taking the carriage to make use of the road — he answered, his voice low but carrying a quiet, absolute weight. — If my deductions are correct, after we finish what needs to be done in the Far South… we won't be staying in this false world anymore.
The silence that fell over the room was dense.
Yù Méi and Yù Qíng looked at him at the same time. There was no fear or doubt on their faces — only calm, fanatical acceptance. Their destiny no longer belonged to this world. Wherever that Singularity went, the altar would follow.
The afternoon wind brushed against the three of them as they stepped out of the cabin and onto the courtyard.
The armored carriage waited on the beaten earth. However, the two draft beasts harnessed to the iron traces were no longer the same animals they had bought in Qīngshí.
Their copper-scaled hides had thickened and darkened, forming rigid plates over their swollen musculature. The beasts now stood almost as tall as the roof of the vehicle. Every time they shifted their weight, their hooves cracked the ground beneath their own density. Feeding them for years with the bloody remains of Zhì Yuǎn's hunts and water mixed with his Primordial Qi had completely corrupted the creatures' lineage. The strength radiating from their hot breaths rivaled that of cultivators in the Second Transcendent Stage.
Yù Méi glided to the side and released the wheel lock. She climbed onto the driver's seat with an agile leap and sat at the front, smoothing her golden skirt over her thick thighs.
Yù Qíng floated, keeping her navy-blue silk impeccable, and entered the passenger cabin.
Zhì Yuǎn climbed onto the driver's seat and sat beside Yù Méi. His large hands took hold of the thick leather reins.
The snap rang out sharply. The beasts pulled the colossal weight of the Mobile Palace without any effort. The iron wheels crushed the earth, and the carriage began descending the slope, leaving the ashes and ruins of Qīngshān behind for good.
The gravel road trembled beneath the group's advance. The warm wind of the prairies already blew on the horizon, marking the long, continuous descent into the Deep South.
With his hands loose on the reins, Zhì Yuǎn looked ahead at the open path.
— I'm dissecting the Law of the Soul along with the Law of Karma — his deep voice cut through the noise of the wheels, loud enough for his wife inside the cabin to hear as well. — My body has stopped merely housing energy. It has begun to physically represent the Inner Universe.
He rested his thumb on the leather of the rein, his face shadowed by the brim of his black hat.
— My consciousness has taken control of the entire mesh that makes up the void inside. This allowed me to touch these two Laws. But their complexity far surpasses any rule I've learned in this lower plane. The structure is heavy, which is why progress is slow.
On the driver's seat, Yù Méi rested her elbow on her knee, paying close attention to every syllable. The second wife's almond eyes were fixed on the man's profile with an almost tangible adoration.
— My original intention was only to create a technique to transfer cultivation manuals and memories directly into your minds — Zhì Yuǎn continued, his tone practical and direct. — But the connection you both have with my Universe through our dual cultivation opened another path. Using the Law of Karma, I intend to transfer my own understanding of Laws directly into your minds.
He turned his face slightly, meeting Yù Méi's submissive gaze.
— You won't just read the technique. You'll manipulate aspects of the world outside using my understanding as a foundation.
A wide, sharp smile spread across Yù Méi's face. The idea of having her mind invaded by him, of sharing her soul and accessing the power that governed the world, only inflamed the girl's devotion further. She stretched out her hand and placed her warm palm on Zhì Yuǎn's thigh, squeezing the fabric of his pants.
— Anything my heaven wants to place inside me, I'll accept — her voice came out soft, intimate, and filled with unwavering reverence. — I am only your altar, my love. You can shape me however you wish.
Zhì Yuǎn slowed the beasts. He turned his face toward her.
Without saying a word, he raised his hand and firmly held her face, his large thumb slowly brushing across Yù Méi's soft lips. His gaze was calm, but carried a hint of reprimand.
— Are we doing this again? — he murmured, his voice low and rough. — Your sister didn't waste any time, did she…
He ran his thumb across her lips once more, as if wanting to erase the words she had just spoken.
— But no. You are not just my altar. You are everything to me.
Yù Méi's eyes widened. His thumb was still on her lips, and those simple words struck her harder than any thrust that morning. Her chest rose and fell faster. Her amber eyes grew slightly moist — not from sadness, but from something warmer and more confused. She hadn't expected to hear that. Not after everything her sister had just instilled in her.
Inside the cabin, Yù Qíng, who had heard everything, slightly parted her eyes. A small, satisfied smile curved her lips. Her husband's correction didn't irritate her — on the contrary. She liked seeing that he valued them both enough not to let them lower themselves too much. Still, a small, perverse part of her felt pleasure knowing that the doctrine she had just instilled in her sister had been gently contested by him.
Yù Méi continued looking at Zhì Yuǎn, her lips still pressed by his thumb. After a few seconds, she gave a small, submissive nod — though now with a different light in her eyes.
The mutated beasts quickened their pace. The Mobile Palace devoured the cracked dirt road. The lands of the Far South, with all their ancient sects and old monsters, awaited the arrival of the family.