I long to return home!

"What's wrong, my darling Han'er? Why do you look so worried?" Bai Qi stroked Murong Shuang's skin with a look of enjoyment, then pressed her down and said impatiently, "Han'er, I want more."

Just as he was about to get close, Murong Han dodged him. Seemingly a little impatient, he turned to the side and said, "I'm a little tired today. You should go back first, and don't let anyone see you."

Hearing this, Bai Qi was surprised and somewhat unwilling, but after being repeatedly persuaded, he had no choice but to give up. After getting dressed, he took one last reluctant look at Murong Han, climbed out of the back window, and disappeared into the moonlit night.

"What's wrong with Han'er today? Why did she react so strongly after hearing about that man surnamed Shen? Could it be that she's worried about him?" Bai Qi walked in the dark, along a secluded path where there were usually few patrols.

After walking a few steps, I stopped. Not far away, two maids on night patrol were wandering.

"Yan'er, we've finished our patrol of the manor tonight, it's time for us to rest," a maid said, carrying a night lantern.

After responding, Ming Yan'er's maidservant left, only to be abducted by a dark figure at a dark corner.

Not long after, in a secluded corner, a maid named Yan'er was found with her hands firmly pinned to the wall, her throat locked by spiritual power, unable to cry out for help.

After seeing the figure clearly, he exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master Bai...?"

Bai Qi smiled coldly, covered his mouth and nose until he fell into a coma, and then slowly took off his clothes, clearly still not satisfied with what had just happened.

...

The following morning.

Murong Shuang stepped out of the house, stretched out her arms, and looked at the increasingly dense spiritual power in her palms. She was afraid that she would reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in just a few months.

Feeling the biting cold wind on his cheeks, his expression grew serious. He looked in one direction and said in a low, worried voice, "I wonder how Aunt Liu is doing. I'll be going back in a few days."

Before long, following the bluestone path, they unknowingly arrived at Shen Lian's house. Seeing that there was no movement inside, they were about to approach Shen Lian when they pushed open the door and saw that his complexion was much better than before.

Seeing this, Murong Shuang looked slightly embarrassed, scratched her cheek, and said, "Good morning. Shuang'er originally wanted to invite Your Highness to have breakfast."

Shen Lian chuckled, clearly not believing such a claim. Even without absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could maintain abstaining from grains for several months.

He didn't expose him, but smiled faintly and said, "Lead the way."

Before long, the two appeared in the kitchen. Murong Shuang looked at the kitchen where breakfast was being prepared and asked Shen Lian, "What would Your Highness like to eat?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian casually glanced at the kitchen and casually mentioned several dishes whose names alone were extremely rare, leaving Murong Shuang stunned and at a loss for what to do.

After some final tinkering, Murong Shuang bought some breakfast from a branch of Ruyi Pavilion in the city and brought it back with Shen Lian to a leisurely pavilion in the lake.

Looking at the unheard-of food on the stone table, including brightly colored eggs and milky yellow soup, before Shen Lian could speak, Murong Shuang said with a smug look, "Your Highness can't find these dishes in the Yin Yue Empire."

Shen Lian chuckled and pointed to each item, saying, "Tea eggs, soy milk, fried dough sticks, sesame balls..."

Murong Shuang was startled and looked at Shen Lian in disbelief. He laughed a few times and explained, "My sister took me to eat these several years ago."

Shen Lian picked up a tea egg and gently peeled it. "I also heard that a few years ago, a citizen of the Wuji Empire came to the Yinyue Empire and grew stronger by making these strange things."

Hearing Shen Lian say this, Murong Shuang chuckled and lowered her head. She had originally wanted to regain some face with these strange things, but now she was speechless.

Before long, Shen Lian peeled a tea egg and put it in his mouth to savor it. "This is a good thing, but we are cultivators. We must stay away from these mundane things in order to achieve the Great Dao."

"Your Highness, Shuang'er would like to ask you, what exactly is that Great Dao?" Murong Shuang asked.

Shen Lian paused, swallowed the egg, his face turned serious, and said in a deep voice, "I don't know. I only know that there are worlds above worlds, and there are tens of millions of worlds like ours in the universe."

"When I break through to the Nascent Soul realm one day, it will be a completely new plane, the plane of gods."

Murong Shuang was shocked. Gods were too far away for her, and she probably would never be able to reach them in her entire life. After a short while, Shen Lian spoke again: "May I ask Miss Shuang, why do I have three innate spiritual roots?"

Murong Shuang was startled and spoke without thinking: "Those with three innate spiritual roots are absolute geniuses. There are very few people like them throughout history. They are invincible in the same realm."

"No!" Shen Lian rejected the idea, slowly raising his hand, the gilding flowing in his palm. "Perhaps for those below the Nascent Soul stage, the more spiritual root attributes the better, but once one's cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage, a wisp of divinity will appear in the body, which is the key to whether one can become a god in the future."

Murong Shuang was deeply shocked!

"Gods are single-minded. Having multiple spiritual roots is actually an obstacle for them. The more spiritual roots a god has, the more it will consume the divinity within them. There are many paths, but a god will only walk one, refining it into their origin..."

Hearing these seemingly unbelievable words, Murong Shuang was stunned for a long time before she finally came to her senses and said somewhat helplessly, "Your Highness, why are you telling me this? Shuang'er has nothing to give you."

"Consider this payment for the meal," Shen Lian said calmly, as gold flowed in his palm. "I don't usually use my other spiritual roots for this; I only cultivate the metal spiritual root."

"Is Your Highness's golden spiritual root so different?" Murong Shuang asked, puzzled.

Shen Lian pondered for a moment, met Murong Shuang's gaze, and smiled faintly, "If I said I possessed four innate spiritual roots, would you believe me?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Shuang remained silent, but seeing the former's resolute gaze, which did not seem like nonsense, she felt a sense of awe and lingering fear in her heart.

Before long, flames surged from Shen Lian's palm, then were enveloped in gilded gold, not scorching but devouring.

Upon witnessing this scene, Murong Shuang was speechless with shock. Her Dao heart, which had been strong from the beginning, was greatly shaken. She had never heard of a person devouring their own spiritual root.

"My gilded essence came from absorbing the earliest water elemental root in my body this time." Shen Lian withdrew his palm, and as he spoke, he felt a little thirsty, so he picked up his soy milk and drank it slowly.

"It's quite a search for you, Second Madam! So Shuang'er and His Highness the Prince are having breakfast here." A middle-aged woman's voice came from inside.

Murong Shuang looked up and her shock turned into disgust. Seeing Su Rong and Murong Han and her daughter walking towards her, she lost her appetite for breakfast.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian was about to turn around when he saw Murong Han sit down beside him without any hesitation, his body seemingly moving closer.

"Shuang'er greets Madam Su." Murong Shuang spoke coldly, glancing at Murong Han with a look that showed she didn't even want to mention him.