There is hope for a counterattack at 99.

Private moments of mischief always pass quickly. By the time the two little husbands finished their “fight,” it was already noon the next day.

Luo Yu buried his head in his wife’s arms like an ostrich, silently shedding tears—he felt utterly hopeless. After all, he was a man; how could he not regain even a single ounce of his strength?

Qin Yue ran his fingers down Luo Yu’s back, eyes half-closed in contentment, and asked, “Are your legs still weak?”

Luo Yu blushed deeply, gritting his teeth as he spat out, “I’m still very strong! This little storm is nothing! If I weren’t a bit tired from our duel just now, I’d have left you utterly spent!”

Qin Yue couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a good attitude. Keep it up.”

Luo Yu punched his chest and said, “Next time, I’ll make you feel weak in the legs too!”

Qin Yue replied, “That sounds good.”

Luo Yu’s eyes lit up. “You agree?”

Qin Yue nodded. “No need to wait for next time. Let’s go for two more rounds now; I suppose I should be weak in the legs by then.”

Luo Yu grumbled, “You beast!”

The two nestled on the floor, teasing and bantering. Luo Yu flipped over, collapsed on Qin Yue’s chest, and kicked his soft little leg. Showing his teeth, he said, “Hiss... you beast! It still hurts a bit... hurry up and refine some magical treasures to compensate me!”

Qin Yue lazily stroked Luo Yu’s smooth waist. “Want to lie down a little longer?”

Luo Yu said, “No more lying down! I’m not a woman!” With that, he climbed off Qin Yue, started dressing, and cheekily pinched a certain spot on Qin Yue’s chest. “Hehehe, quite elastic!”

Qin Yue squinted at Luo Yu, who grew a bit nervous and awkwardly said, “I just… you know… pinched a bit to get back some capital. No funny business, don’t misunderstand!” Then, unsteady on his feet, he slipped up to the cultivation platform, found a spot, squatted down, and pulled out some hallucinogenic materials he had obtained last time at Green Dust Residence along with some miscellaneous ingredients, eagerly studying how to refine a magical treasure.

Qin Yue got up, dressed, and also stepped onto the cultivation platform. He walked to Luo Yu’s side, waved, and conjured a giant, vividly colorful butterfly—it was the Nine Nether Phantom Darkness Butterfly, slain in the underworld, the physical form of the Myriad Laws Bewildering Emperor.

Luo Yu tinkered with the scattered materials, took a jade bottle, and happily approached the butterfly. After observing it from all sides, he puffed his cheeks and blew a breath at the butterfly. The scales powder on its wings detached, gathered into a shimmering fluorescent ribbon in the air, and slowly floated into the jade bottle.

Luo Yu stored the scales powder away, tapping the bottle with satisfaction. “Let’s put this away first, to avoid any mishaps.”

Qin Yue nodded. “The butterfly’s wings and scales powder are nourishing, but the body itself is useless.”

Luo Yu said, “We’ll take the wings off to refine the magical treasure and use the body as fertilizer for the flowers.”

Qin Yue asked, “Have you decided how to refine it?”

Luo Yu excitedly replied, “Refine it into a colorful banner! Use that hallucinogenic material as the flagpole, the wings as the banner, and attach the scales powder. One wave and it sprays out! Brilliant, right? In a PK fight, you charge forward while I pretend to cheer for you from behind, catching the enemy off guard. Guaranteed to work!”

Qin Yue said flatly, “Idiot! Your method wastes the hallucinogenic effect on the flagpole. If you wield it, how would it subdue the enemy?”

Luo Yu was stunned and sheepishly asked, “Then what’s your idea?”

Qin Yue said, “Why not refine it according to its original form? The butterfly’s dance is naturally dazzling to the eye. Use the wings to hold the scales powder, and refine the hallucinogenic material into the butterfly’s body.”

Luo Yu rolled his eyes and muttered softly, “I’m a manly man, why play with butterflies… it hurts my masculinity.”

Qin Yue glanced at him. “Cultivators aren’t bound by form. The important thing is practicality. Didn’t I also use my mother’s embroidered handkerchief?”

Luo Yu tilted his head, thought it over, and unable to come up with a better plan, sighed, “Fine. Let’s refine a butterfly.”

They finalized the plan and set up to begin refining the magical treasure.

The refinement of a magical treasure is not much different from that of a magical device; it depends mainly on the quality of materials, the grade of fire used, and the skill of the refiner. Essentially, magical treasures are purer and more perfect than devices, that’s all.

Since the two main materials for this treasure were both of high grade and only a few auxiliary ingredients were used, the two of them stayed in the rear hall refining for a full half-month until the work was complete.

Sitting together on the cultivation platform with their heads close, they admired a palm-sized butterfly. It looked as if carved carefully from diamond, completely transparent and lifelike. The wings shimmered with subtle, colorful light, clear as ice, breathtakingly beautiful.

Luo Yu grinned foolishly. “So pretty! No wonder I studied art! The design is exquisite!”

Qin Yue said coolly, “Of course, definitely more beautiful than a giant banner.”

Luo Yu gushed, “Let me try refining it! I wonder how the divine power will be! It must be amazing!” Then he exhaled his alchemical fire and began the initial refinement. To refine a magical treasure, one first uses alchemical fire to preliminarily refine it, allowing it to be absorbed into the body, then uses spiritual energy for a second refinement to achieve unity of mind and command.

Qin Yue didn’t disturb him but silently pulled out a small manuscript given by the Northern Yin Emperor and began studying it in a corner. The book, titled *The Scripture of Spirit Refinement of the Body*, explained how to incorporate parts of a living being’s flesh for one’s own use, similar to modern transplantation but without replacing the original organ; instead, it used “spiritual energy refinement” and nourishing methods. Both spiritual creatures and cultivators are unlike ordinary people: as long as spiritual energy remains in the body, even if the soul perishes, the flesh does not decay. With proper care, the body can be used as skillfully as the original owner. This method produces an alternative type of magical treasure.

Qin Yue read the booklet twice, then carefully examined the already incomplete butterfly body. His gaze hesitated over the two fist-sized eyes. After some thought, he gave up on the right eye and cautiously extracted the left one.

He felt the method in the book wasn’t difficult for them—it was similar to refining a magical treasure but gentler and more delicate to preserve the original biological functions, avoiding the harshness of alchemical fire.

Qin Yue decided to give it a try. Even if he failed, it would at least provide experience for Luo Yu.

Holding the black, onyx-like eye, he found a corner, sat cross-legged, and gently overlapped his palms before his dantian. Following the book’s instructions, he slowly refined the eye with spiritual energy.

As Qin Yue emitted spiritual power, a soft, milky white light appeared between his hands, flickering through his fingers, brightening and dimming.

The eye suspended between his palms began to change under the spiritual energy’s refinement: from an onyx black, it gradually revealed hints of dark red, shrinking in size until it became as small as a sesame seed, quietly resting in his jade-white palm. At a glance, it looked like a tiny drop of blood accidentally oozing from the palm.

Although the process was quick in theory, because he was careful, it took about six hours. Glancing over, Luo Yu was still there, endlessly refining his magical treasure with alchemical fire.

Qin Yue’s spiritual power flickered, and the tiny red bead melted into his palm. Instantly, a blood-colored dot appeared in his left pupil. With a thought, the dot expanded rapidly, turning the entire pupil blood red, slightly bulging, faintly displaying geometric six-sided snowflake-like patterns.

Qin Yue couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. The sensation was subtle: his left eye’s field of vision was at least a third wider than the right eye’s. Although its sharpness was less than that of the right eye, it easily detected every subtle movement of moving objects, revealing motion processes, light wave polarization, magnetic waves, and advanced energy fluctuations that the right eye couldn’t see.

He realized this eye was essentially an insect compound eye but evolved to a higher level, capable of discerning the magical power fluctuations generated by illusions, and analyzing their flaws.

Excited, he practiced familiarizing himself with the insect eye. Soon, Luo Yu finished refining his magical treasure and eagerly approached.

Luo Yu was about to show off his new treasure when he noticed Qin Yue acting strangely. Widening his eyes, he curiously asked, “Huh? When did you get colored contacts… so flashy!”

Qin Yue said, “I refined an insect eye while you were busy—there are patterns on it?”

Luo Yu replied, “Yeah! Six hexagons forming a snowflake. I thought it was Sasuke’s Mangekyo Sharingan... That’s six large compound eyes, right? Must be fast! How’s the effect?”

Qin Yue nodded. “Pretty good. You can see all the magical power fluctuations when you refine your treasure.”

Luo Yu’s eyes gleamed. “Let’s test it out!”

Qin Yue asked, “How?”

Luo Yu chuckled, “Watch me!” With a wave, a transparent butterfly appeared out of thin air, glowing with rainbow light as it spun in the air. Suddenly, it shook its wings and transformed into a swarm of over a hundred small butterflies.

The butterflies shimmered and fluttered, dazzling the eyes. They flapped a few times and vanished into thin air, showing signs of stealth ability.

Luo Yu grinned mischievously, scheming in his heart: if Qin Yue got mesmerized, he could take advantage and settle old scores all at once!

Unfazed, Qin Yue calmly scanned his surroundings. To his eyes, he was surrounded by invisible entities emitting strange fluctuations. If touched by those waves, he would be trapped. Suddenly, he moved left and right, dodging through gaps in the waves like a fish weaving through reeds, escaping the encirclement without the entities getting close.

Luo Yu frowned, concentrating his mind. The hundred invisible butterflies split further into nearly a thousand smaller butterflies, fiercely attacking Qin Yue. This was his attempt to use the “Divided Mind Technique” to manipulate the treasure for offense. Compared to magical devices, magical treasures are easier to control, and such a swarm attack requires little mental energy. He could divide it into over a thousand butterflies. Theoretically, the number of butterflies corresponds to the number of scale particles, but his spiritual awareness couldn’t handle more than a thousand at once, making that his limit.

Though the Myriad Laws Bewildering Emperor had once controlled countless evil spirits, he never made so many fall into his trap at once. He simply trapped them with illusions and placed restrictions in their minds so he wouldn’t need to constantly control them.

Luo Yu thought, “The hall isn’t that big; with this insect swarm tactic, I’ll corner you eventually, right?”

But if he could think of that, so could Qin Yue. Instead of running endlessly, Qin Yue wielded his spiritual power, sending gusts of palm wind that blew the butterflies left and right. Yet with so many butterflies, as some were blown away, others swarmed back, leaving Qin Yue flustered as the butterflies formed a formation around him.

Luo Yu chuckled gleefully, sensing his plan was about to succeed.

Qin Yue saw his smug expression and guessed his thoughts. Raising his voice, he said, “I’ve tested it. I admit defeat. You should stop now.”

Luo Yu sneered, “Do you ever stop when I tell you to? The tide turns, the emperor changes! Today, I’m going to finish you!”

Qin Yue snorted coldly, “If I weren’t afraid of damaging the treasure and hurting you, I wouldn’t have held back.”

Luo Yu boasted wildly, “Come on! I’m a real man, a little injury means nothing!”

Author’s note:

I’m back alive again, no censorship!

Dear readers, please forgive me! Wishing you a happy New Year and a joyful Lantern Festival!

*The Tale of Cultivating Brothers*, Chapter 99 — full free reading and hopeful updates completed!