Chapter 126 Hoarding Rat

Gu Ye tidied up the bedroom carefully, and only after confirming everything was in order did he turn to enter the bathroom.

The warm stream of water poured down from overhead, washing away the fatigue and restlessness of the past few days; amidst the misty steam, his tense mind slowly relaxed.

By the time he dried his body, changed into clean clothes, and walked out of the bathroom,

a light tune was unconsciously playing on his lips, his steps were light, and his eyes were filled with an undisguisable joy, clearly in an excellent mood.

His mood was naturally good; after all, having lived two lives, he had finally lost his virginity.

As Gu Ye thought about this, a hint of regret couldn't help but surface in his eyes.

Night Dwelling Phoenix had actually knocked him out, leaving him with no sensation at all.

It was truly an imperfect experience.

As his thoughts drifted, Gu Ye suddenly snapped back to reality, remembering the second talent he had unexpectedly awakened afterward.

That event was closely linked to this talent that appeared out of thin air; even if he wasn't usually the most meticulous person, he now vaguely understood why Night Dwelling Phoenix had made such a massive sacrifice and concession.

It gradually became clear in his heart that the function of this second talent couldn't be more obvious: it could assist others in condensing a Godhead.

A Godhead, in his previous life, was the ultimate goal that cultivators looked up to their entire lives, the only key to stepping into the Divine Realm and reaching the peak, and a supreme treasure that countless geniuses and monsters spent their whole lives pursuing but never reaching.

For this path, let alone paying a huge price, even if it meant gambling half a lifetime of cultivation, countless people would still flock to it.

But he didn't know if it could allow her to become a god in this world.

"So that's how it is."

Gu Ye sighed softly in his heart, gaining a bit more understanding of that cold and peerless woman:

"Her obsession is truly deep enough."

But on second thought, he felt this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Night Dwelling Phoenix was intent on becoming a god; if she could truly reach the top with the help of his talent, for him, it would be no different than gaining a god-level backer who could shake the world.

Walking in this peril-filled world in the future, whether facing surrounding powerful enemies or dangerous secret realms, he would have an unmatched level of confidence and security.

However, he also vaguely guessed that given how rigorous and rare a Godhead was, a single opportunity would not be enough for her to reach completion; to truly condense a Godhead and transcend the mundane, this path was destined to be long and winding.

Thinking of this, the corners of Gu Ye's mouth unconsciously curled up slightly, a hint of calculating cunning flashed in his eyes, and he already had his own plan in mind.

He no longer dwelled on useless thoughts, held his breath, and with a thought, slowly opened the natal card floating in his sea of consciousness, his gaze falling solemnly on the newly awakened second talent.

[Taiji Fusion] +1 (Awakening)

Effect: ...

A line of clear characters entered his sight, and Gu Ye's brows quirked slightly as a series of doubts immediately rose in his heart.

"What exactly does this '+1' mean?

Does it increase by one point every time a special opportunity is experienced, or is it related to other factors?

The 'Awakening' label at the end... could it be that this second talent, just like [Refinement], can be continuously upgraded and strengthened?"

He stared at that line of small characters and scrutinized it repeatedly, racking his brains but unable to understand the key; since there was no previous experience to refer to and no way to verify it immediately, after a moment of hesitation, Gu Ye simply stopped bothering himself and focused on internal inspection, carefully feeling the changes quietly occurring in his body.

His physical strength had indeed improved by a large margin; his bones, flesh, and meridians were all becoming tougher and more powerful at a speed difficult to perceive with the naked eye.

Now, his means of improving his physical body, besides the [spirit sealing liquid] he had always relied on, had gained a brand-new path, though this path seemed difficult to manage.

Night Dwelling Phoenix's cold, peerless face, which carried a natural, awe-inspiring pressure, unconsciously surfaced in his mind, and Gu Ye felt a subtle emotion rise.

But he was instantly chilled to the bone by the other party's unfathomable and heart-palpitating strength; the thought from a moment ago vanished instantly, and he became completely sober.

"Forget it, forget it. It's safer to honestly rely on [spirit sealing liquid] for improvement; there's no need to take unnecessary risks."

He forcibly suppressed his stray thoughts and checked his realm again, only to find that he had merely broken through to Silver Rank 3, which caused a bit of confusion and disappointment in his heart.

According to the records on the talent panel, the two were in a complementary and mutually beneficial dual cultivation mode, and Night Dwelling Phoenix was a genuine Legendary Realm powerhouse.

Her foundation was incredibly profound; even if she was restricted by certain rules and couldn't exert her full power, it shouldn't have only allowed him to increase by such a negligible minor realm.

"Is it because her strength is suppressed by a seal, making her unable to exert her true power?"

Gu Ye suddenly remembered that Night Dwelling Phoenix's power seemed to have been in a sealed state, which would gradually unseal as his own realm increased.

He only assumed the seal limited the effect, never realizing that there was another manipulation behind all this.

What he didn't know was that the timing and progress of the second talent's awakening were firmly controlled by Night Dwelling Phoenix from beginning to end.

During dual cultivation, how the surging vast energy and spiritual energy of heaven and earth were distributed—how much flowed to herself and how much went to him—was entirely up to her.

From start to finish, she was merely using him as a tool to strike at the Godhead and break through her shackles, nothing more.

Over the next few days, Gu Ye stopped overthinking and devoted himself to meditation, focusing on stabilizing his newly broken-through realm while constantly suppressing the corruption value that was quietly rising within him, letting his restless state of mind return to peace and steadiness.

Until one day, when he checked his [Refinement] talent as usual, he unexpectedly discovered that after the card draw effect, it was clearly labeled with "+3".

Gu Ye's eyes suddenly lit up, and the doubts that had been lingering in his heart were instantly resolved.

After refining cards a few days ago, the familiar notification screen hadn't appeared for a long time; it wasn't that the talent effect hadn't triggered, but that all the draw attempts had been silently accumulated and stored, rather than being issued immediately.

Thinking of this, a strong sense of anticipation instantly ignited in Gu Ye's eyes.

In his previous life, he was a total Hoarder Mouse; when playing games, he always liked to accumulate resources for a big payoff. When playing Yuanmo, he would always hoard hundreds of pulls worth of Primogems before making a move.

When playing Delta Force, he even accumulated a total net worth of 1 billion, enjoying the thrill of finding rare 'Big Reds'.

Now that he could hoard draw attempts, he naturally made up his mind to save them all.

Once the entire Ash card set was fully refined and everything was ready, he would draw them all in one go to experience a truly exhilarating and explosive thrill.