Without a word to Lin Ming, she floated cross-legged and immediately began cultivating, eager to test this profound new feeling of liberation. The room instantly filled with swirling Ice Qi, forming motes of crystalline energy that swirled around her. Her initial tests confirmed the change, as she could circulate Qi to her Dantian with startling ease, the pathway wide and unrestricted, shaving critical time off her daily meditative cycle.
Lin Ming was momentarily dumbfounded at the sight before him. It was one thing to see the cold, proud cultivator during the ceremony, but watching her harness the very elements was entirely different. Engulfed in a cocoon of shimmering energy, she looked less like a woman and more like a celestial goddess. The ethereal glow of the Ice Qi swirling around her lent her a fragile, transcendent beauty that commanded absolute reverence. Lin Ming could only marvel at the sublime elegance of the Immortal Dao.
As minutes passed and Su Yueru deepened her meditative state, Lin Ming quickly got a system notification;
[Wife is Cultivating, Sharing Progress.....]
This was it! Lin Ming's true journey on the immortal path began not through effort or talent, but through the passive progress granted by the Heavenly Marriage System.
He felt an immediate, overwhelming surge of warmth wash over his previously mortal body. It was a steady torrent of pure Spiritual Energy that flooded his meridians, condensing into his flesh, bone, and blood. His mind sharpened, allowing him to process the sudden influx of knowledge about the nature of Qi. His blood turned colder, his muscle fibers tensed and hardened, and his skeleton began to subtly condense.
He was breaking through to the Body Tempering Realm.
At the Body Tempering Realm, the cultivator, strengthens the mortal shell to withstand the corrosive power of spiritual energy. It involves purging mortal impurities, strengthening muscle and bone with Qi, and preparing the meridians to safely circulate greater amounts of energy. A successful foundation at this stage determines a cultivator's potential lifespan and physical resilience.
As the torrent of energy finished its work, a final system notification confirmed the success;
[Host has absorbed enough Spiritual Energy to temper their body, Breakthrough to Body Tempering Realm Successfully!]
Lin Ming flexed his hand, noticing the subtle, profound change. His body felt simultaneously heavier and lighter. This peculiar phenomenon, which he could not have grasped as a mere mortal, was now clear to his newly upgraded consciousness. His body was heavier because his bones, tendons, and muscles had become incredibly dense and compacted with pure Qi, granting him greater strength and durability. Yet, he felt lighter because the purging of mortal impurities and the unimpeded flow of refined Qi had made his movements fluid and his being inherently closer to the ethereal nature of the Dao.
His mind was also accelerating as Su Yueru continued her meditative comprehension of the Ice Dao. This process was effortless, akin to a lion who eats without hunting because the lionesses diligently hunted the prey, or a farmer who reaps a bountiful harvest without tilling the soil because his partner had meticulously managed the fields. Lin Ming was reaping the profound benefits of Su Yueru's genius and years of hard work without lifting a finger. He was cultivating without cultivating.
As Su Yueru pushed her limits, attempting to capitalize on her newly improved circulation, the concentration of spiritual pressure surrounding her intensified sharply. Lin Ming quickly dropped to his knees, his newly tempered body still no match for the crushing aura of a Late Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Blood began to drip from the corner of his lips, but his life was spared by the fact that he was no longer a fragile mortal.
Ice motes violently engulfed the room, and a focused beam of bright blue light shot out of the roof of the chamber, cutting a clean path toward the sky. Su Yueru's body began to emanate a distinct, different aura. She was experiencing a breakthrough.
It was not the cataclysmic event required for the Golden Core stage, but a crucial transition nonetheless, the movement from the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment to the Peak of the Late Stage. One more tiny bridge crossed, and she would finally attempt to form her Core.
A wave of pride washed over Su Yueru. With this breakthrough, her total lifespan now exceeded 250 years, and she had only lived 24 of them. The wait for the Core, whether thirty or fifty years, was insignificant to an immortal. The bridge to the Core had been set; she only needed to find the right way to cross.
Still floating cross-legged, she initiated a complex refinement technique. The surrounding ice motes came together, forming a beautiful blue Ice Blade mid-air. She began forming numerous seals, directing the powerful energy into the nascent sword. More seals followed, and as the blue ice sword solidified, she pressed her hands to her brow, focusing her Divine Sense to complete the final, most delicate step— refinement.
The sword was an Epic-ranked Pure Pavilion Blade, a treasure whose refinement usually required the robust Divine Sense only available to those at the Golden Core stage and above. However, the most talented cultivators were rumored to feel the power of the Golden Core at the Peak Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Su Yueru wanted to test that rumor.
She injected more and more of her Divine Sense into the ice sword. A high pitched, crystalline crack sounded, and the perfect sword shattered, collapsing into harmless powder. The exception was indeed only a rumor; her foundation, no matter how talented, was not yet sufficient.
As the ice dust settled, the system chimed again, rewarding Lin Ming for her intensive session;
[Your Wife presently cultivated: Spiritual Qi +850, Comprehension +5!]
Lin Ming pushed himself off the floor, still feeling the raw pressure of her breakthrough. He forced a smile, knowing that a light jest would test the new boundaries of their 'marriage.'
"Senior Sister," Lin Ming began, wiping the blood from his lips. "I am sorry for interrupting your celebration, but was that intense pressure just now a final, subtle hint that you still wished to quash this mortal after the ceremony?"
Su Yueru's head snapped up, her eyes wide. She looked not at his bloodied lip, but at his aura.
"Wait," she interrupted, her divine sense scanning him. She could distinctly sense the subtle, faint presence of spiritual energy emanating from his previously rootless body.