"One kilometer," Tian Lei replied after consulting his fortune core, where her presence was bound. "And you can hover around me invisibly — others won't see or sense you. Not even soul-sense cultivators or great emperors can detect your presence when you're in that state."
Muring Yue's brows raised. "That's a high-grade concealment seal. Where did you even get something like that?"
Tian Lei shrugged again, playing dumb. "Wouldn't be a proper protagonist if I didn't have some mysteries of my own, right?"
"You're spewing nonsense again. What is this 'protagonist' thing you keep mentioning?" Muring Yue asked, narrowing her eyes.
Tian Lei shook his head quickly. "Never mind," he said, waving it off.
Then, with a sly grin, he added, "You're quite the beauty, now that I actually look at you."
That sudden comment made Muring Yue pause mid-glare. She turned to him slowly, eyes narrowing, but then a faint smile tugged at her lips. "Hmph. I was once a Saintess — one of the top Heavenly Beauties in the Upper Realms. It's only natural you'd find me beautiful," she said, flicking her shimmering hair over her shoulder with pride.
Tian Lei chuckled, leaning in slightly. "Hmm… you must've been a real key figure back then."
The moment the words left his mouth, he noticed a faint blush rise on Muring Yue's face, despite her best efforts to keep her composure.
He grinned. Got her.
"A-Aanyway, let's go check on your little Dao companion," Muring Yue said, quickly changing the subject as she began to float away.
Tian Lei shrugged and followed after her. "Yuyan should be fine. She went after the bandit leader, right?"
He recalled that the leader was at the peak of the Body Forging Stage — strong, but not unmanageable. Back then, Yuyan had been capable enough to handle herself even without a major breakthrough. If not for her holding back to protect the others, she probably could've taken out those bandit leaders on her own.
But now… now she was even stronger.
With her recent advancement in body cultivation and the reforging Tian Lei had guided her through, she had grown significantly more powerful.
"She's probably finished things already," Tian Lei muttered with a confident smile.
And just as he had thought, when Tian Lei reached the bandit leader's location, he found the man frozen solid in a pillar of pure white ice. Even his two vice-leaders were sealed beside him, captured in time like grotesque ice sculptures.
Yuyan sat calmly atop a large boulder, resting with one leg crossed over the other. She didn't even look up as Tian Lei and Muring Yue arrived.
"You're late. I finished this a while ago," she said, her tone cool and composed.
Tian Lei raised an eyebrow, examining the intricate frost patterns on the frozen bodies. "Is this… the ability you got from your Moon Phoenix Divine Body?" he asked.
Yuyan nodded. "It's called Heavenly Moon Ice. Its freezing power is incredibly pure. And it'll only grow stronger as I advance in rank."
Tian Lei nodded in understanding.
Abilities granted by divine bodies weren't ordinary. Once a cultivator awakened a body of Heaven or above grade, they would naturally gain at least one innate ability. These were far more than techniques — they were like supernatural instincts, tied to the very essence of their bloodline. The power matured alongside the cultivator, evolving as their cultivation deepened.
"Looks like your path is shaping up just fine," he said, smirking. "At this rate, I'll be the weakest one in the group."
Yuyan glanced at him. "You've never been the weakest, Tian Lei. But keep slacking, and I might leave you behind."
He laughed. "Not a chance."
"What other ability did you get?" Tian Lei asked, his curiosity piqued. He knew that even though the Divine Body she had wasn't the original, but an artificial one-based cultivation technique, it still functioned like a real Divine Body. Even if it was only 80% of an original, it was still an incredible force.
"I have one more," Yuyan replied. "It's called Phoenix Wings."
As she spoke, a pair of misty blue wings spread from her back — elegant and ethereal, like a swan made of ice and moonlight. The wings shimmered with a faint crystalline glow, casting soft reflections on the frosted battlefield.
"Damn, those are beautiful," Tian Lei said, momentarily mesmerized.
Yuyan chuckled softly. "I'm pretty sure your abilities are just as amazing."
"They're robust, not beautiful," he replied with a grin, and she giggled.
"Anyway," she continued, stretching slightly, "let's return to the sect. I wonder what kind of faces they'll make when they see us now." A flicker of excitement lit up her eyes as she nodded confidently.
Muring Yue, who was still floating invisibly beside Tian Lei, leaned in and whispered only to him, "Your little 'wife' is quite talented. It's rare for someone to awaken two abilities from an artificial Divine Body so quickly."
"Is it?" Tian Lei asked curiously.
Muring Yue nodded. "I only gave her the cultivation art she needed to have a perfect base… but even with that, she's surprisingly compatible with the Divine Body. That's likely why she wasn't just able to awaken one, but two abilities from it."
Tian Lei nodded thoughtfully. "So, should I prepare more Ice-related resources for her to stabilize the power?"
"It might help," Muring Yue replied, "but it could also be due to the rare Yin and Yang Nectars you two consumed. You're like water and moonlight—naturally attuned. That makes your bodies highly compatible with these two energies."
Tian Lei nodded, deep in thought. "So, that's why she was able to gain two of these abilities huh?"
"Most likely," Muring Yue said, nodding thoughtfully. "And yes, you should give her more Yin-related arts. Not only will she learn them faster, but they'll also have a stronger effect when used by her."
Tian Lei looked over at Yuyan's back and nodded. "Got it. I'll prepare them for her."
"Oh," Muring Yue added with a sly smile, "you should also look into a Dual Cultivation art."
She smiled knowingly as Tian Lei didn't reacted how she wnated as he just nodded. "Okay" he said simply.
Muring Yue paused, sensing his normal reaction. She turned her head toward him, narrowing her eyes. "Wait… do you even know what Dual Cultivation means?"