"What do you want from me?" Qin Feng asked curiously.
"Since we're not married yet, it seems a little premature to call you father-in-law," Xu Zimo scratched his head and smiled. "I want to visit Thundercloud Cave. Could you take me there?"
"Don't worry. I never go back on my word," Qin Feng replied indifferently. "In three days, I'll have Shuang'er accompany you."
"Three days? That's fine, I’ve got nothing else to do lately," Xu Zimo nodded.
"Since you're here, why not spend some time with Shuang'er," Qin Feng said, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Qin Shuang continued playing her zither, ignoring the two of them entirely.
Xu Zimo smiled and walked through the sea of flowers toward the pavilion.
With a sudden twang, one of the zither strings snapped, and the music stopped abruptly.
"You, there’s clearly a path over there. Why did you walk through the flowers?" Qin Shuang glanced at Xu Zimo, displeased.
"I didn’t notice," Xu Zimo smiled, casually plucked a flower from nearby, and tossed it onto the zither. "For you."
Then he leaned back against a chair in the pavilion.
"You're really shameless," Qin Shuang said, helpless against him.
"Play me a song," Xu Zimo waved his hand.
"A string broke. How am I supposed to play?" Qin Shuang said irritably.
"Only one string broke. The others still work. That just means you're not good enough," Xu Zimo shook his head slightly.
"Do you really plan on staying in our Qin residence?" Qin Shuang was silent for a moment, then asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn’t I?" Xu Zimo responded.
"I don’t want you to die because of me. I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life," Qin Shuang said. "I've already made myself clear. You should understand."
"I understand. But I’m not leaving," Xu Zimo shook his head.
Before he could finish, Qin Shuang suddenly let out a startled cry.
Without any warning, she collapsed to the ground.
Her entire body trembled, and a chill spread outward from her, freezing everything in its path.
The freezing was incredibly fast, within moments, the entire pavilion was encased in ice, and the frost began spreading to the sea of flowers.
Xu Zimo shattered the ice around him and stepped forward.
When he reached Qin Shuang, she was already encased in a thick layer of ice.
The surrounding cold grew more intense, even making Xu Zimo feel a bit chilled.
Before he could make sense of the situation, a roar came from nearby.
"Step aside! If you want to live, don’t touch her."
Qin Feng flew in from a distance, walking on air. His powerful Empyrean Meridian aura suppressed everything around him.
With a wave of his hand, he shattered all the ice and took out five fiery red stones, placing them on Qin Shuang’s limbs and forehead.
Soon, the cold air began to stabilize and fade.
Qin Shuang slowly opened her eyes. Her face was deathly pale, as if she'd just returned from the gates of hell.
"Father," she whispered.
"Don’t speak," Qin Feng pulled out several more flaming red pills and helped her take them.
Her complexion finally began to improve.
"Go back and rest," Qin Feng let out a deep sigh of relief. Without acknowledging Xu Zimo, he picked up Qin Shuang and left.
…
"That must’ve been an innate physique," Xu Zimo muttered to himself.
Long ago, Xu Zimo had read a book called "Annals of the Primordial Heartlands" in the True Martial Sacred Ground.
He'd come across it while researching the Red Myriad Dao Lotus for the God Emperor.
In this world, physiques are generally divided into innate and acquired.
Acquired physiques are battle physiques, merging with a battle physique enhances strength.
But battle physiques are limited. Only a hundred exist, some undiscovered, some already possessed.
Besides battle physiques, there are innate physiques, those a person is born with. While not as powerful as battle physiques, they far surpass normal physiques.
And because innate physiques are highly compatible with their owners, they have enormous growth potential.
Xu Zimo guessed that Qin Shuang had lost control of her innate physique, resulting in backlash.
Her physique likely had something to do with ice.
The stones and pills Qin Feng used were all of extreme yang and fire attributes, clearly to suppress her innate physique.
Thinking this through, Xu Zimo suddenly had a few other ideas, piecing things together in his mind.
But he didn’t expose anything. After exploring Thundercloud Cave, he planned to leave.
Back in his courtyard, he waited for the next three days.
During those days, Xu Zimo noticed the fire-attribute herbs in his meals grew stronger and stronger.
Moreover, the herbs were clearly selected in a complementary sequence, each enhancing the effects of the previous, igniting the fire within his body.
Fortunately, his physique was strong. Anyone else would’ve been burned alive from within.
…
Three days later, Qin Feng brought Qin Shuang and Steward Long to Xu Zimo’s courtyard.
"Today we’re going to Thundercloud Cave?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Get ready. Let’s go," Qin Feng nodded.
"No need to prepare. Let’s just go," Xu Zimo replied.
He glanced at Qin Shuang. She seemed to have recovered, her face rosy and her condition stable.
Xu Zimo followed them as Qin Feng led them through several long corridors to the back mountain of the Qin residence.
The back mountain was specifically built for Thundercloud Cave.
It was essentially a restricted area, no other clan members in sight.
Walking along the mountain path, Xu Zimo saw many hyenas along the way.
They guarded the area but retreated upon seeing Qin Feng.
When the group reached a cave at the rear of the mountain, Qin Feng stopped.
"Steward Long, stay here. I’ll take them inside," Qin Feng ordered.
He took a key from his storage ring and pressed it into a groove on the cave’s stone door.
With a rumbling sound, the stone door split in two and slowly opened.
The three entered, and the stone door closed behind them.
It was pitch black inside, with countless branching paths.
Qin Feng led the way, saying, "Thundercloud Cave was left by our ancestors. It’s extremely beneficial for cultivating the Dao of Thunder, and can also be used for body refinement. I’m taking you to the Heavenly Thunder Pool."
As they walked, Xu Zimo noticed Qin Shuang’s face was full of sorrow.
Following several twists and turns, they finally arrived in a room filled with crackling lightning.
The sound of thunder echoed around them. Ahead, there was a thunder pool.