"What do you think?" Shen Haoran chuckled softly.

Actually, Shen Haoran had only discovered it yesterday. When his Fire Spirit Black Obsidian entered Shui Ruolan’s body, he noticed her Spiritual Power circulation was sluggish and clumsy. There were only two possible explanations. The first was that her Spiritual Power was unstable, the result of a forced breakthrough on a weak foundation. However, Shui Ruolan was ranked eighth on the Dragon and Tiger List; her strength was absolutely terrifying, so it couldn’t possibly be the first reason. That left only the second possibility: something was wrong with her body.

Hearing this, Shui Ruolan recalled their two "intimate" encounters, and her face instantly turned crimson, like a ripe, red apple.

"Then... can you help me...?" Shui Ruolan looked at Shen Haoran, her eyes full of hope. ’Since he was able to find the problem in my body, he should have a way to help me, right?’

At her words, Shen Haoran fell silent. ’To be honest, I don’t want to get too involved with Shui Ruolan. But after our two encounters, I know she’s just a simple, innocent girl. If anything, I was the one who went a bit too far. Sigh... I guess I’ll just have to help her. I can consider it repaying a debt.’

"Come in. Tell me, what’s going on?" Shen Haoran said, inviting Shui Ruolan into the room.

Seeing Shen Haoran agree, Shui Ruolan’s face filled with gratitude. She quickly explained her situation. "Half a month ago, I was about to attempt a breakthrough when I suddenly felt the Spiritual Power in my Dantian start to dissipate. At first, I thought it was normal, but over the next few days, the dissipation grew more and more severe. No matter how much I tried to cultivate, nothing changed. Now, I’m about to drop from a Tier Six Spirit General to Tier Five!" Shui Ruolan said, her expression crestfallen.

Hearing Shui Ruolan’s words, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed. ’Cultivation regressing instead of progressing... This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a situation like this.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"May I examine the condition of your body?" Shen Haoran asked. ’To find the root of the problem, I’ll have to investigate inside her body!’

"You may!"

Afterward, Shen Haoran placed his hand on Shui Ruolan’s back. He sent out his Spiritual Thought and began to search for the source of her ailment.

But after his Spiritual Thought had circulated once through Shui Ruolan’s body, he found nothing out of the ordinary—until it reached her heart meridian.

Within Shui Ruolan’s heart meridian, a massive wall of ice spanned the entire channel, completely blocking the flow of Spiritual Power.

Seeing this thick wall of ice, Shen Haoran’s brow tightened. ’The heart meridian is one of the most important meridians in the human body. With it blocked, forget about her strength increasing—if this continues, she’ll eventually lose her life! But I don’t understand why her heart meridian would be blocked. Water Attribute Spiritual Power is known for being able to seep through anything. Even if a huge amount of it gathered together, it shouldn’t form a wall of ice capable of blocking a meridian!’

"Have you consumed any Treasures of Heaven and Earth recently?" Shen Haoran asked.

"How did you know? Half a month ago, my master saw that I was on the verge of a breakthrough and gave me a petal from a Celestial Snow Lotus. I just ate it!" Shui Ruolan replied.

"You ate it directly?" Shen Haoran was dumbfounded.

"Yes, how else was I supposed to take it?" Shui Ruolan said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

At her words, Shen Haoran was utterly exasperated. ’So this is what they mean about a pretty face and an empty head. Shui Ruolan is a living example. Even with my current constitution, I wouldn’t dare to consume a Celestial Snow Lotus directly. But her? She just gobbled it down in one bite!’

’The good news is, now that I know the cause of the problem, I just need to refine that Celestial Snow Lotus petal and let Shui Ruolan absorb the Energy. Then she’ll be fine!’

"Next, I’m going to refine this Celestial Snow Lotus for you. It might be a little painful, so you’ll have to endure it," Shen Haoran said in a low voice.

"Mm." Shui Ruolan took a deep breath, having already prepared herself.

Seeing this, Shen Haoran summoned his Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. He sent it into her body and guided it to the massive wall of ice in her heart meridian, preparing to begin the Refinement.

TSSS... The moment the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian touched the wall of ice, a hissing sound filled the air. Wisps of steam rose from the point of contact and subsequently merged into Shui Ruolan’s bones and meridians.

"Ngh..." Shui Ruolan couldn’t help but let out a soft moan from the sudden feeling of comfort. It felt as if she were floating on a cloud.

Shui Ruolan’s voice reached Shen Haoran’s ears, nearly causing him to lose control of his Heart Spirit. He immediately shouted, "Guard your heart and mind!" This sentence was as much for himself as it was for her.

Shui Ruolan also realized her lack of composure and quickly clamped her mouth shut. However, her flushed cheeks betrayed her inner turmoil.

’Didn’t he say it would be very painful? Why does it feel like this?!’ Shui Ruolan complained internally. ’Then again, Shen Haoran wasn’t wrong. I really am in "agony" right now!’

However, this "agony" didn’t last long. For Shen Haoran, whose control over fire had greatly increased, refining a single petal of a Celestial Snow Lotus was more than manageable.

Soon, the wall of ice was completely refined by Shen Haoran. At this moment, Shui Ruolan’s heart meridian was filled with a fine mist—this was the purest Energy left behind by the Celestial Snow Lotus!

Withdrawing the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian from Shui Ruolan’s body, Shen Haoran wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Refine that Energy. You might even be able to break through to Tier Seven Spirit General!"

Hearing this, Shui Ruolan’s face lit up with joy. She immediately closed her eyes and entered a state of Cultivation, beginning to absorb that pure Energy.

Seeing Shui Ruolan enter a state of Cultivation, Shen Haoran quietly left the room.

After leaving the room, Shen Haoran also sat down cross-legged at once. A faint mist rose within his body—it was the Energy of the Celestial Snow Lotus that he had brought out from Shui Ruolan’s body.

This wasn’t some petty theft on his part. The Celestial Snow Lotus’s Medicinal Power was too much for Shui Ruolan to absorb completely. If he hadn’t siphoned some of it away, the excess Energy in her heart meridian would have condensed and quickly formed another wall of ice. In a way, this was also helping her.

The white mist rose up and was quickly devoured by the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. It was refined into a stream of pure Spiritual Power that poured into his Spirit Crystal. With this infusion of Spiritual Power, Shen Haoran’s strength was completely stabilized at the level of a Tier One Spirit General.

「Two days later.」

A Spiritual Power storm erupted within Shen Haoran’s room. A powerful aura surged forth, startling him out of his state of Cultivation.

Feeling that oppressive presence, Shen Haoran murmured softly, "Did she break through to Tier Seven Spirit General?"

The moment the words left his lips, a graceful figure leaped out of the room and landed before Shen Haoran.

Looking at the radiant Shui Ruolan before him, Shen Haoran smiled.

"Thank you!" Shui Ruolan said sincerely. ’If it weren’t for Shen Haoran’s help, my strength might have dropped to Tier Five, or even lower! Looking at him now, this Shen Haoran is actually quite pleasant to look at.’

Shen Haoran smiled and nodded in return. "I benefited quite a bit as well, so let’s call it even."

Hearing this, Shui Ruolan finally noticed that Shen Haoran’s strength had stabilized at Tier One Spirit General, and she smiled and nodded.

"By the way, there’s something else I’d like to ask of you," Shen Haoran said.

"What is it?"

"Help me arrange a fight with Li Ge! I’m going to march onto the Dragon and Tiger List!"