After being jilted by the saintess at the beginning, why is she crying?

In an instant, Lin Fengmian's face immediately switched to a deeply affectionate expression.

He stepped forward, his tone so sincere it was almost palpable:

"Your Majesty, why do you say such a thing?! As the saying goes, 'A day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness, and a hundred days as husband and wife is as deep as the sea!' I think... I think we're doing just fine as we are now! Really! Absolutely fine!"

Su Miaoyun narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly.

Her cool, aloof gaze seemed to see through all lies; she just stared straight at him without saying a word.

Lin Fengmian felt a chill run down his spine from her gaze.

Damn it! What's wrong with this woman? Wasn't she just a Foundation Establishment female cultivator with decent talent before? How come she seems even scarier than a Nascent Soul cultivator now that her spiritual energy has recovered? This aura is all wrong!

A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he decisively admitted defeat.

"Uh, Your Majesty... please don't look at me like that, it's making me nervous. Whatever you say, I'll do it!"

The invisible pressure emanating from Su Miaoyun slowly subsided.

She withdrew her terrifying gaze, reverting to her usual aloof demeanor. But the words she spoke sent a jolt through Lin Fengmian's heart once more:

"Your aura is strange."

Her tone was calm, yet every word was clear:

"I just vaguely sensed that within you... there lies a wisp of pure dragon energy, originating from the same source as the energy that erupted when the Fallen Dragon Mountains revived."

Su Miaoyun raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as a frost-covered blade, seemingly able to pierce through all the falsehoods and lies in the world, and directly into Lin Fengmian's eyes.

"Lin Fengmian, tell me—is the upheaval in the Fallen Dragon Mountains related to you?"

Lin Fengmian's heart sank, as if an invisible hand had gripped his lifeline. He knew something was wrong. This woman's intuition was too strange! Only a few days had the dragon energy entered her body, yet she had already sensed something amiss. He had previously thoroughly explored Su Miaoyun's body, inside and out, believing he had seen through her—just a native empress burdened with the responsibilities of her nation and possessing remarkable talent. But now, he suddenly realized how terribly wrong he had been.

This woman... is very strange.

Who exactly is she? Why does her phoenix eyes always hold a sense of vastness and remoteness that transcends the boundaries of this world?

Lin Fengmian tried to remain calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil, and he couldn't find a suitable excuse to get through the situation.

Su Miaoyun didn't press further. Instead, she took a step forward, a step so light it seemed to shatter all the pretense and pretense between them. The distance suddenly closed, her exquisitely beautiful, aloof face almost touching his. Her delicate nose was straight and elegant, her lips like red plum blossoms in ice, her breath carrying a faint, cool fragrance that brushed against Lin Fengmian's cheek. She spoke, her voice as cold as frost, but the words she uttered made him freeze, almost biting his tongue.

"Now that you possess the essence of dragon energy, you shall immediately begin cultivating with me."

"Huh?" Lin Fengmian was completely stunned. So direct? So pragmatic? Not even a single tender word was spared, all for the sake of dragon energy?

He'd been so nervous just now for nothing. Indeed, the hearts of emperors have always been cold as paper. Even after so many days and nights of physical intimacy and spiritual communion, in her eyes it was nothing more than a resource exchange.

Su Miaoyun said no more. With a slight lift of her jade hand, the stone door of the cave silently closed. Then, layer upon layer of restrictions lit up one after another, and spiritual light flowed and intertwined, sealing the entire cave so tightly that not even a sliver of sunlight could penetrate.

The way she looked at Lin Fengmian was less distant and indifferent than before, and instead showed more seriousness, as if she were looking at a sacrificial artifact that she was determined to obtain.

The subsequent cultivators' cultivation progressed smoothly, yet it was entirely different from before. This time, Su Miaoyun was no longer the refined and cold cultivation tool. Under the guidance of Lin Fengmian's pure Yang essence, she actually began to respond actively. Her phoenix eyes closed slightly, her long eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, and her previously icy aura thawed like a spring stream, gradually exuding a certain lively rhythm. Her breathing became erratic, and her exhalations carried a hint of unprecedented heat.

At the same time, the bottleneck in Su Miaoyun's spiritual energy, which had existed for many years, seemed to have been pried open by an invisible hand. She remained silent, yet the coordination of her spiritual energy became more harmonious than ever before. Each convergence, each cycle of energy circulation, was like two extremely precise gears meshing and turning, bringing Lin Fengmian an unprecedented experience of resonance. That exhilarating blending of body and soul, that resonance of spirit and flesh, was a hundred times more profound than any dual cultivation he had ever done with any other woman.

Lin Fengmian had only one thought left in his mind—as expected of the Empress, her talent was truly exceptional. Whether it was her status, strength, or her deeply hidden inner strength, she far surpassed Gu Qingge, Cang Yuwei, and even Qin Lan. This time, it seemed he had truly found a rare treasure.

For seven consecutive days, the spiritual energy within the cave surged ceaselessly, like the ebb and flow of the tide, day and night. Contrary to her usual behavior, Su Miaoyun didn't try to stop him once; instead, she practiced her cultivation technique with him almost non-stop, her eyes revealing an unprecedented urgency. That urgency wasn't like a desire for pleasure, but more like a drowning person desperately clinging to the only piece of driftwood. Fortunately, Lin Fengmian possessed profound inner strength; his Pure Yang Saint Body's yang energy was like an underground spring, inexhaustible, allowing him to calmly cope and accompany her as she rose and fell in this vast ocean of spiritual energy.

And so, the two continued their cultivation until dusk on the seventh day. The last rays of the setting sun were blocked from entering the cave by the barrier, allowing only a hazy glow to penetrate. Su Miaoyun finally showed a hint of weariness on her face and slowly stopped her cultivation. With her back to Lin Fengmian, she straightened her clothes, and there were still some faint red marks on her neck and shoulders, like plum blossoms fallen on snow.

Her voice, however, remained as cold as ever, even carrying a hint of hindsight:

"It seems that I alone cannot withstand your pure Yang essence."

She turned around, her phoenix eyes unfathomable, revealing no emotion, and gazed intently at Lin Fengmian, speaking with a serious expression:

"I need to strengthen our own people as soon as possible. Lin Fengmian, since you are so powerful, you should train more with Qin Lan and Chan'er."

She paused, as if stating something utterly ordinary:

"Otherwise... it would be such a waste."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fengmian's lips twitched violently, almost thinking he was hallucinating. Good heavens, this Empress has a truly audacious mind.

What do you mean by "waste"? Can't I conserve my energy, rest and recuperate, and fight again next time? Are you only satisfied when you've turned me into a nail?

So that's what she was planning.

This woman's thought process is truly bizarre; she can even turn something like dual cultivation into a talent development program.

What did Lin Fengmian take him for? A cultivation tool? Or a walking power bank?