Not following the expected path? Reborn and unexpectedly married to a demon.

Until one day, she took Chu Luo to a sandcastle.

What are we doing here?

Chu Luo asked, puzzled.

"Also, what's wrong with your skin tone? Are you sure it's okay?"

"This place contains a rare Yin-Yang Spring; my problems will be cured after I soak in the spring water."

"That's good." Chu Luo was relieved to hear this, as long as Shu Tong was healthy and alright.

"I'll keep watch outside for you."

Chu Luo was always wary of this place and never felt completely at ease.

"It's alright, it's safe inside," Shu Tong said, pulling her along as he opened the mechanism and pushed open the heavy iron door with one hand.

The two went inside, and the facilities were as simple as those in the palace on the cliff.

"Hey, isn't there a spring? Why is it all sand?" Chu Luo asked, looking at the sandy land.

Shu Tong pulled off her mask, revealing a completely black face, and said, "Not here. Hold me tight in a moment."

"Huh?" Chu Luo hadn't reacted yet.

Shu Tong reached out and hugged Chu Luo's waist. Suddenly, a door opened in the ground, and the two of them fell straight down.

Fortunately, Shu Tong held her firmly.

It took them quite a while to reach the ground.

The area below is more spacious and open, and also more humid and cool, which must be due to the presence of a flowing water source nearby.

Chu Luo paused for a moment, then heard a ticking sound. Using the candle that Shu Tong had just lit, she looked around and saw that it resembled a cave.

"The spring water here is groundwater, and this is an underground palace built into the ground. Follow me."

Shu Tong led Chu Luo forward, and soon they arrived at a place where they could be seen in the dim light without candles.

A stone path is flanked by water, one side steaming with white hot water, while the other side is as cold as a mirror.

"One is cold, the other is hot, is this the Yin-Yang Spring?" Chu Luo asked.

As she bent down to curiously examine the cold spring, something blue suddenly shot out of the water and hurtled towards her.

It brought a bone-chilling cold, like a piece of blue ice.

"Be careful"

Shu Tong pulled her aside, dodging the blue object.

The blue fish charged too fast and fell directly into the hot spring.

A meaty aroma soon wafted over, and the bluish-green thing was a large blue carp with sharp teeth in its mouth.

The hot spring water suddenly changed its color.

"This?" Chu Luo asked in shock.

"It's ripe," Shu Tong said calmly.

Seeing that Chu Luo was still staring at the large fish, he assumed she wanted to eat it and continued, "The internal organs haven't been removed; it won't taste good."

That's not what I meant. Is the water really that hot?

"Yes, it's quite hot," Shu Tong answered truthfully.

"Do you want to soak in the cold spring or this hot spring? Is that alright?" Chu Luo suddenly began to worry about the purpose of their trip.

Shu Tong shook her head. "Not here. The water's too deep here; it's uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, Chu Luo realized she was overthinking things. Wouldn't going down into that hot spring boil someone alive? Shu Tong couldn't possibly be here.

Shu Tong led her forward, and Chu Luo, still shaken from the earlier ordeal, stopped being curious and followed closely behind Shu Tong.

"arrive"

Shu Tong spoke to Chu Luo in front of a large stone wall.

"Is there a hidden door here?" Chu Luo had already figured out the mechanism of this place.

Shu Tong pressed something from somewhere, and then pushed it, and the stone wall opened from the middle, revealing itself to be a stone door.

Once inside, the temperature becomes much more comfortable.

Chu Luo saw two pools shaped like the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), with an exquisitely carved golden nanmu (Phoebe zhennan) curved screen in the middle.

The stone carvings on the surrounding rock walls are also exceptionally exquisite.

Chu Luo was now certain that this was the place where Shu Tong was soaking in the hot spring.

"There are two pools here, one is a high-quality cold spring, and the other is a hot spring."

Shu Tong explained that with a wave of her hand, the central screen fell down, revealing two pools, one white and one blue.

"The hot springs outside are too hot, and the cold springs are too cold; they're definitely not suitable for people to go down into."

Chu Luo stood not far away, and unlike those outside, she did not experience the sensation of being in both ice and fire.

“It’s not appropriate, but…” Shu Tong said.

"But what?" Chu Luo asked, puzzled. There were many things here that piqued her curiosity.

"The reason it's not suitable is that the spring water outside isn't cold enough or hot enough; this one is better."

"What? You mean the cold springs here are colder and the hot springs are hotter? Can you still go down there?"

Chu Luo was greatly shocked.

“Not just me, but you too,” Shu Tong said, taking out two outer robes from a nearby cabinet.

The outer robe must be made of the finest fabric, shimmering with a gentle, lustrous sheen that makes one want to touch it.

It feels soft and smooth to the touch, like a child's skin.

"I'm fine, why would I want to soak in a hot spring?" Chu Luo refused from the bottom of her heart; the cold spring was icy and bone-chilling.

This hot spring can even be used to cook pork ribs, so why doesn't she go down there to make soup?

"You've been practicing your Yang-Generating Technique's internal energy diligently, but lately, haven't you been able to improve it?"

Seeing her expression, Shu Tong couldn't help but smile and ask.

Chu Luo thought about it and realized it was true. No matter how much she practiced recently, even with Shu Tong's help and the assistance of the pipa music, she was still stuck at the eighth level.

"How did you know?" Chu Luo asked, somewhat surprised.

"The Yang-Generating Technique I taught you, and I'm by your side every day, yet your ability to manipulate people with your pipa hasn't increased. You haven't practiced martial arts, so you don't understand that you've reached a bottleneck."

Shu Tong pointed out the problem to her.

"You mean this spring water can enhance my internal energy?"

"Mm," Shu Tong nodded.

“But this hot spring can boil me,” Chu Luo shook her head.

"I think reaching the eighth level of internal energy is sufficient; it's already one of the top-tier internal energy levels."

Chu Luo originally wanted to train to the best, but she had seen people boil water in a pot and cook people alive. That scene gave her nightmares, and she found it hard to accept now.

"Go to the Cold Spring. The Yang-Generating Technique will warm your entire body. This problem becomes more pronounced the deeper your internal energy. If your energy rises too quickly, you'll lack staying power. The Cold Spring will suppress your blood temperature, allowing you to better build your foundation."

Chu Luo walked to the cold spring and reached into the water.

In an instant, my hands were so frozen that I lost all feeling.

Shu Tong was not surprised and did not stop her.

She walked to Chu Luo's side and said, "Gather your inner strength in your frozen hands."

Chu Luo did as she was told, gathering her inner strength in her hands, just as she would gather it in her fingers when playing the pipa.

Soon my hands felt warm, the cold pain was gone, and my hands felt even more comfortable than before.

"Your control is excellent. Take off your shoes and socks, then try to channel your inner energy throughout your entire body."

Chu Luo nodded, and after a while, Shu Tong noticed that her face was flushed.

He untied her clothes and pushed her into the cold spring.

Chu Luo was still shaken, but it wasn't as bone-chillingly cold as she had imagined.

She, who had been burning up, now felt very comfortable.

"Concentrate, otherwise you'll feel hot and cold all the time. Taking off all your clothes will make it easier for the cold spring to stimulate your skin," Shu Tong reminded her.

"Could you raise the screen?"

Chu Luo herself felt that the clothes she was wearing made her feel a little uncomfortable, but she was still a little embarrassed.

As she wished, Shu Tong waved her hand and raised the screen that blocked the space between the two springs.

"Where are you going?" Chu Luo asked her.

"You fear the hot springs, but don't worry, my internal energy is extremely Yin."

Upon hearing this, Chu Luo felt relieved, removed her clothes, and focused on controlling her internal energy in the cold spring.

After Shu Tong finished speaking, he walked into the hot spring that Chu Luo said could boil people, and sank into it.