The First Immortal of Destiny-Chapter 562 Beautiful Scenery_1

The banquet lasted for five full days, during which Shen Mo lost count of how much fine wine he had drunk, how many cultivators he had met, and how many words he had spoken!

As the banquet drew to a close and the guests dispersed, he took Zhao Lingyin's jade-like hand and rode the phoenix chariot back to their newly built Guanyun Mansion.

The originally elegant bedroom, under the arrangement of Lu Taorui and the other maid-disciples, had become magnificent and luxurious, yet exuded a hint of festive cheer.

Shen Mo, slightly inebriated, helped remove Zhao Lingyin's phoenix crown, his gaze fixed fiercely on her face.

He sighed inwardly. Such a flawless beauty, even if watched for thousands or millions of years, would not breed the slightest hint of boredom!

Under his passionate gaze, Zhao Lingyin blushed from her cheeks to her neck. Unable to resist, she buried her face in Shen Mo's embrace, reproaching shyly, "You see me every day, yet now you can't stop staring."

Gently stroking her silky hair and jade-like back, his sweet words poured forth like honey. "It's your beauty that captivates me so," he murmured.

In the midst of her coy laughter, Shen Mo summoned a surge of energy and blew out the dragon and phoenix candles...

As the saying goes:

On Miaogushe Mountain, a God-man resides.

His skin like ice and snow, his grace like a maiden's;

He consumes not the five grains, but inhales the wind and drinks the dew;

Riding the clouds, commanding flying dragons, he roams beyond the Four Seas;

His spirit concentrated, he keeps all things from blemish and ensures the ripeness of harvests!

...

「The next day,」 Zhao Lingyin, her enticing body entwined with Shen Mo's, asked laughingly, "If we were to have a child, would you prefer a son or a daughter?"

Shen Mo brushed his knuckles over her cheek and, after a moment of thoughtful pondering, shared his humorous opinion, sending Zhao Lingyin into peals of laughter.

Given his current Realm and extraordinary qualities, having a child with Zhao Lingyin probably seemed as difficult as reaching the heavens. Since opening his Spirit Sea, the more profound his cultivation level became, the more detached from the mortal world he grew. With each new Skill he mastered, the difficulty of passing on his bloodline increased. Zhao Lingyin was also aware of this. Nevertheless, they were merely sharing pillow talk, and Shen Mo certainly wouldn't spoil the mood by pointing it out!

"Oh, right. At the banquet earlier, I saw Sister Mengze drinking by herself, looking quite melancholic... Could it be because we became Dao companions?" Zhao Lingyin tilted her head, a hint of playful shrewdness in her bright, captivating eyes.

Faced with such inquiries, Shen Mo, long adept at handling them, didn't answer directly. Instead, with a mere thought, he had their souls and Dao Bodies intertwine in a familiar, intimate dance.

The intimate pleasures of the bedchamber were not for outsiders to know.

...

「Time flew during those sweet spring nights, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Shen Mo returned to his daily cultivation routine. Apart from now having a delightful, like-minded companion in Guanyun Mansion, nothing major seemed to have changed in his life. After forming his Golden Core, each breath he took could draw in an endless torrent of nature's spiritual energy towards the mansion. However, merely refining spiritual Qi and accumulating True Yuan was no longer enough to elevate his cultivation Realm!

The five Realms Shen Mo was familiar with—Body Tempering, Qi Gathering, Spirit Sea, Golden Core, and Divine Bridge—while all processes of life-level transformation, each had its own emphasis. The first step on the Immortal Path involved tempering one's vitality; this was the Body Tempering Realm. In this Realm, one constantly tempered their Dao Body, enhancing its vitality and strength, and allowing spiritual energy to permeate every Chakra and viscera, laying a foundation for the next stage. Among Essence, Qi, and Spirit, this Realm placed a relative emphasis on "Essence."

The Qi Gathering Realm and Spirit Sea Realm, which involved opening the Dantian and Spirit Sea to accommodate more Mana and True Yuan, were relatively more focused on "Qi." Of course, Essence, Qi, and Spirit were an integrated whole, intertwined with each other. A deficiency in any aspect would halt one's cultivation Realm; progress couldn't be made just by improving one aspect alone.

For Shen Mo, the first three Realms had seemed relatively simple. But starting from the Golden Core Realm, the requirement for the harmonious integration of these three became increasingly stringent. If he focused solely on strengthening his vitality, Blood Qi, and Dao Body's power, or concentrated only on the refinement of True Yuan and the sheer amount of Mana, his cultivation level wouldn't grow! A more direct manifestation of this was that the Gold mist in his Dantian, representing his Mana, hadn't changed in the slightest. This meant that if he wished to continue advancing after entering the Golden Core Realm, all three aspects—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—had to be elevated simultaneously. His Dao Body's vitality, soul's strength, Mana and True Yuan, Path Heart comprehension, and so on, all needed to keep pace.

Shen Mo's accumulation before forming his Golden Core had been substantial. Now, his cultivation was growing daily, and he hadn't encountered any bottlenecks. He speculated that with his previous reserves, advancing to the middle-stage Golden Core Realm shouldn't be an issue. As for whether he could smoothly enter the late-stage Golden Core Realm, he was somewhat uncertain. If his cultivation stagnated then, he would figure out a solution; there was no need to worry prematurely!

As his Realm progressed steadily, his proficiency in side occupations like Alchemy, Talisman crafting, Artifact forging, and Array formation also saw rapid advancement after a period of stagnation.

[Destined Lord: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Early-stage Golden Core Realm]

[Talisman Path: Grade IV (3,042/9,000)]

[Alchemy Path: Grade IV (7,645/9,000)]

[Forge: Grade IV (8,005/9,000)]

[Array Path: Grade II (1,570/3,000)]

This was naturally thanks to the Riverside Sect's rich collection of texts. After his promotion to Supreme Elder, Sect Merit had become useless to him, allowing him to freely peruse various cultivation methods, magic, manuals, and secret scrolls! Having obtained many Grade IV and Grade V elixir recipes and talisman scrolls, along with manuals related to Alchemy, Talismans, Artifacts, and Arrays, Shen Mo benefited immensely. Furthermore, Zhao Lingyin had also given him all the elixir recipes and manuals she had acquired from the Alchemy Tower as part of her dowry—though this, of course, did not include Wu Gong's personal heritage.

At that time, he hadn't completely assimilated all this new knowledge. He still needed to refine more finished Elixirs, magic treasures, and talismans to continue improving his skills in these areas. Consequently, a lack of various top-tier spiritual items and raw materials began to limit his progress in the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.

Although the Riverside Sect's Treasure Hall contained many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, they didn't belong to him alone. The five Golden Core Realm cultivators each had their allotted share, and a portion also had to be set aside for distribution to the sect's higher-ups or as rewards for other Sect Disciples. Even so, the top-tier spiritual items he received monthly were enough for him to refine some High-Grade Spirit Pills, talismans, and magic treasures, so his related skills continued to progress steadily.

After all, refining higher-grade Elixirs, talismans, and artifacts often took ten days or even half a month, and the rate of improvement was far slower than before. Fortunately, with the Red Flame Zone having settled into a rare period of peace, Shen Mo was free from bureaucratic chores and had relatively ample time to incrementally advance his various side occupations.

He didn't sell the finished products casually. Elixirs and talismans of Grade IV and above, and magic treasures of Low-Grade Spiritual Level and higher, were difficult to value using only Lower Grade Spirit Stones; selling them merely for Spirit Stones would indeed be a waste. They could be kept for his own use or for those close to him, or exchanged with others for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of equivalent value. He could still profit considerably; it just wouldn't be measured purely in Spirit Stones anymore!

Besides his daily cultivation, handling sect affairs, and Alchemy, Shen Mo spent all his remaining time with Zhao Lingyin. After all, they were newlyweds, still deeply immersed in that "never tiring of gazing at each other" phase.