I conquered the cultivation world with scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

The spring water should have been slightly cool, since she had been dodging sword attacks and her whole body was radiating heat.

The hot spring water is intelligent and will naturally regulate the water temperature, but Jiang He noticed that the spring water was getting hotter!

Since entering the water, her movements have been large, and the water ripples only occur around her.

Just now, Jiang He clearly sensed movement not only from her side but also from behind in the spring!

Jiang He used all of her spiritual power in that punch.

"boom!"

Water splashed everywhere, and Jiang He watched as the spring water turned increasingly red, with large patches of blood spreading out.

Just as Pei Ci was about to surface, a punch came straight at him and hit him in the abdomen, causing the bandaged wound to reopen and bleed continuously.

His meridians were in excruciating pain, and the area felt like a sieve that let in the wind.

Pei Ci instinctively spread his hands to block Jiang He's attack, but his spiritual veins were already devoid of spiritual roots, and the tearing pain assaulted Pei Ci's nerves.

So Jiang He's second punch came right in front of him, and Pei Ci still didn't dodge.

By the time he realized what was happening, he quickly distanced himself from Jiang He, and Pei Ci silently watched the woman in the water.

Jiang He had long, black hair that hung down to her chest. She had a graceful figure, skin as white as snow, and a pair of beautiful eyes that were exceptionally sharp.

While Pei Ci was looking at her, Jiang He was also looking at Pei Ci.

Pei Ci's silver hair clung to his face, giving him an aloof and restrained air.

She was secretly alarmed. When had this person hidden in the spring? And why was she only noticing now?

Without hesitation, Jiang He used her spiritual power to reduce water resistance and then launched several waves of spiritual energy blasts at Pei Ci.

Pei Ci leaned back, easily dodging Jiang He's attack thanks to his combat experience.

He opened his hand to cover his wound and then suddenly dived underwater.

The splash disappeared, and the water returned to calm.

The person disappeared?

Jiang He frowned slightly as she looked at the still spring water. She released her water spirit energy to sense the ripples in the water.

-

Jiang Yaoyi looked at her increasingly advanced cultivation level; she was just a little bit away from breaking through to the middle stage of the Golden Core realm.

Her face was filled with joy, and Jiang Shuo also looked delighted as he emerged from the cave.

23 hours and 50 minutes have passed since we began to study the stone tablet.

The old butler saw the two of them come out and respectfully offered his congratulations.

Seeing that Jiang He was nowhere to be seen outside the cave, Jiang Yaoyi turned to look at the cave itself.

"My sister has been inside for so long and hasn't come out yet. This is her first time trying to understand the stone tablet. I hope nothing bad has happened to her."

Jiang Yaoyi's face showed worry.

“Who knows? Jiang He has five spiritual roots but is also at the Qi Refining stage. I just don’t know if he can dodge those sword moves. In the past, some cultivators from the Jiang family have died in the stone cave while trying to comprehend the stone tablet. It’s hard to say.” Jiang Shuo frowned.

"Sister will be alright." Jiang Yaoyi made no attempt to hide her worry, but she was overjoyed inside.

She had entered all those stone tablets. The sword moves on the stone tablets were fierce, and she was beaten so badly the first time that she couldn't fight back. Fortunately, the spring water had healing properties.

Jiang He's talent is lacking; it would be better if she couldn't withstand the sword techniques in the stone tablet and died inside, saving her the trouble of dealing with it.

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Jiang Yaoyi's worried eyes.

If you survive that, but don't come out by the appointed time, that would be even better.

After all, the stone cave only opens once every six months, and if Jiang He really can't get out, she'll miss the college entrance exam. Besides, the Jiang family rules are ruthless...

"Is Jiang He being greedy? Although studying the stone tablet is beneficial to cultivation, once 24 hours have passed, Jiang He will be violating the clan rules. As long as she comes out of the stone cave, she will be whipped."

Jiang Shuo slowly looked at the old butler, who stood calmly in place, his expression unchanged. He looked at the time, waiting for the final time limit to arrive.

-

Jiang He's mental focus was highly concentrated.

Three seconds later, a slender hand emerged from the spring without warning, its long fingers binding Jiang He's waist.

With his other hand, he covered Jiang He's mouth.

The water splashed behind them.

The man then sank to the bottom of the water with her.

Jiang He's thin clothes were soaked through, and the faint candlelight reflected underwater.

The man behind her held her body tightly.

The two were so close that even the slightest movement would cause them to touch each other.

But there was no ambiguous or romantic atmosphere in the air; instead, there was only tension.

Jiang He struggled and struck Pei Ci behind her with her elbow, then bit down hard on Pei Ci's palm while she was holding her breath.

Pei Ci only grunted but did not let go.

The hot spring water had healing properties, and Pei Ci's external injuries had improved somewhat. His voice, which hadn't been spoken for a long time, was hoarse:

"Time is almost up. If the two of us don't leave, we'll have to wait another six months before we can leave the cave."

Jiang He naturally knew, but Pei Ci's hand still hadn't left her, so Jiang He couldn't speak.

"I didn't mean to fight you. How about we go our separate ways once we're out of the cave?"

Jiang He nodded silently.

Pei Ci loosened his grip slightly, and Jiang He quickly slipped out of his grasp and pinned Pei Ci down.

Jiang He grabbed his neck with her hands.

Pei Ci did not move.

He raised his hands, water droplets slid down, and his muscles were faintly visible.

Jiang He's eyes darkened.

The two were in an odd pose; to an outsider, it would look like they were playing some kind of alphabet game.

Unfortunately, it was all an illusion.

Although Jiang He could not sense any spiritual power from Pei Ci, the two were roughly equal in martial arts strength.