Chapter Five: Planetary Realm!

“Aiya! I’m so tired!”

After finishing off the last three enemies, Little Qinglong reverted to her small dragon form and landed on Yang Ye’s shoulder, her expression noticeably weary.

Yang Ye wiped the blood from his mouth, looking at her in amazement. “Little Qing, I didn’t expect you to be this powerful!”

Waving her dragon claws nonchalantly, Little Qinglong replied, “It was nothing! But transforming like that takes too much energy. That beast core I just ate was basically wasted.”

She glanced at Yang Ye and said, “Husband, you’re injured. Let’s cultivate together.”

Cultivate together?

Yang Ye’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Little Qinglong. “You’re still young. We can’t do something like that.”

“Why not?” Little Qinglong asked. “This way your wounds will heal much faster. Don’t worry, you’ll feel really comfortable.”

Yang Ye shook his head firmly. “I said no, and that’s final! My injuries will heal in a month or so with some rest. There’s no need for that.”

Although Little Qinglong was his wife through a proper wedding ceremony, Yang Ye simply couldn’t bring himself to do such things. In his mind, Little Qinglong was still very much a child.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Yang Ye added, “When you’re grown up, an adult, and can take human form, your husband will cultivate with you every day. Heh heh!”

“Why do I have to take human form to cultivate together?” Little Qinglong asked curiously, her dragon eyes wide.

“How could we possibly do that if you’re not in human form?” Yang Ye retorted.

Though he’d been here since childhood and had little contact with the outside world, his master had explained what dual cultivation meant.

As they spoke, another wave of blood welled up in Yang Ye’s mouth.

“No! I can’t let you be so stubborn, husband. We must cultivate together!”

Seeing how gravely Yang Ye was hurt, Little Qinglong’s resolve hardened.

Before he could object, she began explaining her method of cultivation.

When she finished, Yang Ye finally understood, scratching his head awkwardly. “So that’s what you meant by cultivating together!”

Little Qinglong’s idea of dual cultivation was completely different from Yang Ye’s. Privately, Yang Ye scolded his master for being so improper and misleading him.

“Hmm? Husband, what did you mean by dual cultivation then?” Little Qinglong asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes after realizing there had been a misunderstanding.

“Haha!” Yang Ye chuckled. “Nothing! I just misunderstood. I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“No, I have to know!” Little Qinglong insisted.

“It’s not a topic for children,” Yang Ye replied, shaking his head.

“No, I must find out. Grandpa always said there should be no secrets between husband and wife. If you don’t tell me, it means you’re hiding something and don’t really treat me as your wife. Do you not want me anymore because you think I’m too young…”

Little Qinglong pouted and piled accusation after accusation on Yang Ye.

Feeling wronged, Yang Ye protested, “Who says I don’t see you as my wife? Fine, I’ll tell you!”

Despite being eighteen, Yang Ye’s upbringing had left him somewhat childish.

“Go on, go on!” Little Qinglong clapped her claws with anticipation and delight.

Yang Ye turned away and whispered a few words into her ear.

He’d thought Little Qinglong would be embarrassed by his explanation, but she surprised him by saying, “Why don’t we try your kind of dual cultivation?”

Blood trickled from Yang Ye’s nose.

——

Beneath the autumn sun, Yang Ye sat cross-legged. Soon, a faint blue light began to radiate from his chest.

The Gate of the Star Sea opened wide.

With a whoosh, Little Qinglong transformed into a streak of blue-green light and dove into the pale blue radiance.

Yang Ye exhaled deeply, folding his hands over his chest as the blue light gradually faded.

At that moment, his consciousness fully entered the Star Sea within his body.

The Star Sea was the source of a cultivator’s strength and where star energy was stored. The extraterrestrial martial artists had taught humanity to construct a Star Sea within themselves, and within that sea, to emulate the universe.

Yang Ye was at the Mist Star realm. His Star Sea contained no celestial bodies yet, only countless glowing star points, resembling a cloud of mist.

Little Qinglong was already inside his Star Sea, swimming joyfully.

“Husband, I never imagined your Star Sea would be so vast! It’s just like the universe Grandpa described!” she exclaimed.

Dragons loved freedom, and though Yang Ye’s Star Sea wasn’t a true universe, it gave Little Qinglong a sense of boundless liberty.

“Hey! Don’t go stirring things up in there. If you mess up my star mist, I’ll be in big trouble!” Yang Ye hurriedly called out upon seeing her dive into the mist.

His voice still echoed in the Star Sea when, suddenly, a strange energy surged within his body and shot into the Star Sea.

It was a radiant, multicolored energy. The moment it entered Yang Ye’s Star Sea, it melded with the star mist, turning it iridescent.

Yang Ye was astonished. Where had this mysterious energy come from?

As he puzzled over it, Little Qinglong’s excited voice rang out: “Husband, this star mist is delicious!”

“No!” Yang Ye cried in alarm.

But Little Qinglong gave him no time to stop her. She opened her mouth and inhaled.

The colored star mist immediately condensed into a mass and was swallowed by Little Qinglong.

“Hiccup—”

Swallowing Yang Ye’s star mist, Little Qinglong gave a contented hiccup, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

What just happened?

Weren’t they supposed to use her dragon energy to merge with the star mist and heal him?

How had things turned out like this? This was far from reliable!

Just as Yang Ye was about to withdraw his consciousness from the Star Sea, the slumbering Little Qinglong suddenly began to emit multicolored light from her whole body.

No, it was more like multicolored mist.

This mist was identical to the star mist Little Qinglong had just devoured.

In Yang Ye’s view, the colored mist drifted slowly, eventually coalescing into a radiant orb.

In moments, the orb began to spin.

Thunderous rumbles echoed as the orb whirled, shaking Yang Ye’s Star Sea.

This phenomenon was all too familiar to Yang Ye. Ever since constructing his Star Sea, each breakthrough had been accompanied by such tremors.

But this time, the commotion was even greater.

As the Star Sea rumbled, Little Qinglong continued to release multicolored mist.

Most of the star mist formed the orb, while a smaller portion wound around the orb, creating a spiral band of mist.

“This… this is a planet!” Yang Ye exclaimed in awe.

The scene unfolding within his Star Sea was identical to the process of forming a planet at the next cultivation realm—except the celestial body glowed with multicolored light.

Suddenly, Little Qinglong opened her eyes and yawned.

Seeing the enormous orb before her, she cried out, “Husband, what’s happening?”

Yang Ye laughed. “Little Qing, you can come out now. Your husband can heal himself properly now—all thanks to Grandpa!”

He recalled that rainy night two years ago, when he’d married Little Qinglong and her grandfather had infused a trace of energy into his body.

Though that trace had been minute, its quality was beyond Yang Ye’s imagination.

It had allowed him to leap directly from the Mist Star realm to the early Planetary stage!

And not only had Yang Ye benefited, but Little Qinglong as well.