The Black Forest did not live up to its name; it was darker.
Under the canopy of ancient, twisted iron-wood trees, the silver light of the twin moons struggled to reach the forest floor. Every shadow seemed to move, every rustle of dry leaves sounded like the skittering of a thousand insects. For a normal miner, this place was a graveyard. For Qin Feng, carrying the unconscious weight of an Empress in his arms, it was his only sanctuary.
His lungs burned. Even with his 6th Layer Qi Refining cultivation, the physical and mental toll of the night was catching up to him. The 'Imperial Possession' had left a hollow ache in his meridians, a lingering frost that made his joints stiff.
[WARNING: Host's Qi reserves at 12%. Fatigue accumulating.] [Detection: Rank 1 Spirit Beasts 'Night-Stalkers' are tracking your scent.]
"Not now," Qin Feng hissed through grit teeth. He shifted Ye Chen's weight, her head lolling against his shoulder. Her skin was still unnaturally cold, a sign that her soul was still stabilizing after the massive energy output.
He activated Ghost Step, but this time, he didn't use it for speed. He used it to lighten his footfalls. He moved like a specter between the massive roots, his eyes darting left and right. The system's map flickered in his mind, pointing toward a jagged rift in the mountains known as the Moon-Shattered Valley.
Legends said the valley was formed when a piece of the primordial moon fell to earth, shattering the landscape and leaving behind a unique, silver-rich spiritual environment. Because the energy there was "aspected" towards the moon, most sun-aligned cultivators of the Azure Sky Sect found it repellent. It was the perfect hiding spot for a man with a Moon Empress as a wife.
After two hours of frantic trekking, the trees began to thin, replaced by jagged limestone cliffs that reached toward the stars like frozen lightning. The air here was different—crisp, sharp, and smelling of ozone.
He found it—a narrow opening hidden behind a curtain of bioluminescent vines. It was a natural cave, deep and winding, with a floor of soft, white sand.
Qin Feng stumbled inside, his legs finally giving out. He collapsed onto the sand, carefully shielding Ye Chen from the impact. For a long moment, he just lay there, listening to the frantic thudding of his own heart and the distant, eerie howls of the forest predators.
"We made it," he whispered, though there was no one to hear him.
He reached into his bag and pulled out the mid-grade spirit stones he had mined earlier. He arranged them in a circle around Ye Chen. Even in her coma, her body instinctively began to draw in the rich, azure energy. The frost on her skin started to melt, turning into a fine mist that filled the cave.
[DING! Survival Quest Phase 1 Complete!] [Reward: Divine-Grade Technique 'Eternal Eclipse' (Introduction)]
A surge of information flooded Qin Feng's brain. Unlike the crude, violent methods of the miners, 'Eternal Eclipse' was a masterpiece of flow and balance. It wasn't about hoarding Qi; it was about the resonance between two souls—the Sun and the Moon.
"To the world, you are separate. To the Eclipse, you are one," the manual's first line read.
Qin Feng sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. He began to follow the breathing patterns described in the technique. As he did, he felt a tether—a literal golden thread of energy—stretching from his heart to Ye Chen's. Through this thread, he could feel her state. Her meridians were like a shattered palace, beautiful but broken.
"If I leave her like this, she'll never wake up," he realized.
He crawled closer, sitting behind her. He placed his palms on her back, feeling the sharp ridges of her spine through her tattered silk robes. Taking a deep breath, he began to circulate his Qi according to the 'Eternal Eclipse' method.
[Initiating 'Dual Path' Resonance...] [Transferring 50% of Host's Pure Qi to Spouse to jumpstart Soul Recovery.]
The sensation was terrifying. It felt like his soul was being pulled through a needle's eye. But as his energy entered her, the cave began to transform. The silver sand on the floor started to glow. The bioluminescent vines outside turned a deep, royal purple.
Ye Chen's body shuddered. A soft, melodic hum began to vibrate from her chest—the sound of her shattered 'Moon Core' reacting to the infusion of life.
Hours passed in a blur of meditative trance. The sun began to rise outside the valley, but inside the cave, the silver light remained dominant. Slowly, the violet eyes of the Empress flickered open.
She didn't move at first. She simply stared at the cave ceiling, her breath hitching as she felt the warmth of Qin Feng's hands on her back. She could feel his exhaustion, his desperation, and his strange, unyielding stubbornness.
"You... you found the 'Eternal Eclipse'?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Qin Feng opened his eyes, his face pale and covered in sweat. "The System gave it to me. It said it was the only way to save you."
Ye Chen turned around, her gaze searching his. For the first time, the coldness in her eyes wasn't directed at him. It was directed at the world that had tried to keep them apart.
"That technique... it was lost ten thousand years ago," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "It belonged to the founders of the Moon Sect. How a commoner like you obtained it... I no longer care. But you must understand, Qin Feng. By practicing this, our lives are no longer just 'intertwined.' If I die, you die. If you fall, I fall."
Qin Feng wiped the sweat from his brow and gave her a tired, lopsided grin. "Empress, I've been a miner my whole life. I know all about being trapped in deep holes. At least this time, I'm in a hole with someone worth fighting for."
Ye Chen looked away, a faint flush appearing on her pale cheeks. She reached out and took his hands, her grip surprisingly strong. "Then let us begin. The Azure Sky Sect will have mobilized their 'Inner Disciples' by now. They will find this valley within three days. If we aren't at the Foundation Establishment Realm by then, we will be nothing but beautiful corpses."
[DING! Relationship Bond Evolved: 'Fated Partners'] [New Feature: 'Shared Dantian' — You can now store Qi in each other's bodies.] [Current Objective: Reach Level 10 (Peak Qi Refining) within 72 hours.]
Qin Feng felt a surge of adrenaline. The deadline was tight, but with the 'Eternal Eclipse' and the mid-grade stones, it was possible.
They sat face-to-face, their knees touching, their hands joined. The silver light of the valley poured into the cave, drawn by the resonance of the technique. As they began the first true cycle of dual cultivation, the air around them hummed with a power that hadn't been seen in the mortal realm for millennia.
Outside, in the Black Forest, the predators began to retreat. They could feel a new presence in the valley, a predator far more dangerous than anything born of shadow.
Back in Azure Sky City, a massive bounty was being posted. A thousand high-grade spirit stones for the head of the miner. Ten thousand for the Empress, alive.
But as the soldiers prepared their horses and the disciples sharpened their swords, they had no idea that the "trash" they were hunting was currently rewriting the laws of the heavens in a cave made of silver sand.