Ao Qing looked at Wang Mu, his body completely bound by the Mystic Water Divine Locks.

She couldn't help but laugh, letting out a series of proud, resonant dragon roars.

After a few chuckles, she realized she had lost her composure and quickly stopped, hovering to the side.

Wang Mu was now fully entwined with so many Mystic Water Divine Locks that he couldn't tell how many layers there were. From a distance, he resembled a mummy, except these Divine Locks were black, leaving only his head visible.

His body was completely immobilized.

He did look somewhat comical.

Only Wang Mu himself felt a peculiar sense of security from being so completely enveloped.

"What on earth has happened to you?" After a moment, Ao Qing spoke in human tongue, her dragon eyes blinking.

"Cultivation." Wang Mu closed his eyes.

With so many Mystic Water Divine Locks binding me, no matter how restless the Emotion Poison within becomes, it can only be slowly absorbed and transformed by the Infinite Spirit Vortex…

"Never mind then." Ao Qing rose. "How long do you plan to cultivate?"

"Hard to say… By the time I finish cultivating, these Mystic Water Divine Locks should no longer affect me," Wang Mu said. "You should leave. Don't come here unless it's absolutely necessary."

"..." Ao Qing.

"You..." Ao Qing couldn't hold back any longer. With a flash of light, she transformed into her half-human form, hovering in the seawater. Her sea-blue hair, as silky as the water itself, flowed around her, creating dark ripples.

"You had me bring you to the Sea Prison, and without explaining your situation, you just tell me to leave? What do you take me for?" Ao Qing demanded. "A tool?"

Wang Mu immediately sealed his Primordial Spirit, shutting off all his senses.

"No…" Wang Mu furrowed his brows slightly, then quickly changed the subject. "That's not it. Actually, there's another favor I'd like to ask of you, Miss Ao Qing."

"So, you still want my help, is that it?" Ao Qing nodded, looking somewhat mollified. "Speak."

"Have you noticed any particularly powerful sea beasts appearing around Ling Province recently?" Wang Mu asked. "It's an Ancient Kun, located somewhere in your Ling Province."

"Ancient Kun?" Ao Qing pondered. "I haven't heard of it… What do you want with it?"

"Oh… a friend's mount went missing, and he asked me to help look for it," Wang Mu said casually.

"Hmm…" Ao Qing turned around. "Alright, I'll go look for it for you."

Watching Ao Qing depart, Wang Mu sighed in relief. He had finally managed to send her away.

It seemed that, whether dragon or human, when it came to the opposite sex, most were indeed the same…

After that, Wang Mu immersed himself in cultivation.

The process was actually quite painful.

Although the Emotion Poison could no longer control his body, it permeated his Sea of Consciousness, severely impacting his Nascent Soul, which in turn affected his Divine Sense, soul, and more.

Consequently, his mind was frequently filled with suggestive images.

These images included, but were not limited to: an aloof and peerless Sword Immortal transforming into a snow frog... a bewitching and graceful demoness becoming a puppy... a proud and elegant Great Immortal turning into a koala... a gentle and voluptuous Dan Zu becoming a knight...

Various creatures morphed back and forth in Wang Mu's mind.

His will was constantly tested.

Moreover, as time went on, the number of creatures increased, as did the number of people, and some weren't even human…

Wang Mu, stay calm.

What haven't you seen before?

This mere Emotion Poison is nothing!

Just treat it as review material from my past life.

As Wang Mu continued to coax himself, his Nascent Soul glowed with five different colored lights. A field of Sword Intent enveloped him, and Mixed Element Yin Yang, like twin guardians, entwined and protected the Primordial Spirit he had cultivated with such difficulty.

Perhaps Wang Mu's methods were having some effect, as the influence of the Emotion Poison slowly waned.

Alternatively, perhaps the Wuji Treasure Book was simply too formidable.

The Emotion Poison was swiftly absorbed and transformed.

The Infinite Spirit Vortex also began to release a potent energy that coursed through his entire body.

Within his body, the Mountain and Sea True Intent he had previously cultivated rapidly manifested on his back, causing his entire frame to begin to swell.

Wait... this Infinite Spiritual Power cultivated from the Infinite Spirit Vortex… it's turning my entire body into a furnace, as if it's equipped with a special turbo, forcibly absorbing the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth...

This... This feels like it meshes so well with the Hundred Refinement Body Technique?

At a certain point in his cultivation, Wang Mu was taken aback.

The Hundred Refinement Body Technique was his introductory method for body refining.

Reaching one hundred layers meant transforming his body into something like a furnace of heaven and earth, allowing him to absorb the world's Spiritual Energy like a vortex and store it endlessly.

However, the body cultivated through it couldn't directly plunder external Spiritual Energy, nor could it convert all things in the external world into Spiritual Energy.

Compared to the Hundred Refinement Battle Body, this new state was more domineering, yet it felt even more compatible.

To make an analogy, possessing the constitution granted by the Infinite Spirit Vortex was like having an engine with a much larger displacement—or even being upgraded into something akin to a fighter jet.

"..." Wang Mu.

The sensation was quite subtle.

Such unexpected compatibility made it difficult not to wonder: were these two cultivation techniques somehow related?

Or was it just... a coincidence?

After all, among the myriad cultivation techniques in the Nine Provinces, who could say which two might possess such a high degree of compatibility?

This was especially true for Body Refining Methods.

Of course, the Wuji Treasure Book itself wasn't solely a Body Refining Method; it also encompassed many other Demon Secret Methods.

I didn't expect this cultivation to proceed even more smoothly than I had imagined...

This Hundred Refinement Body Technique and the Wuji Treasure Book… they're so incredibly compatible! Coupled with the superior constitution from the Mountain and Sea Body Refining Technique... once I completely absorb and transform this Emotion Poison, could I perhaps directly cultivate the Infinite Demon Body?

This was the Emotion Poison that Mu Hongyuan had suppressed for hundreds of years. Wang Mu had absorbed most of it—this was no simple matter!