In the faint morning light, inside their quarters.
On the bed, a handsome young man slept naked, his head resting against the shoulder of the equally unclothed man beside him. His expression was tranquil. Their fingers were intertwined, and the man’s arm rested around the young man’s waist, drawing him almost into an embrace. Their breaths mingled at close range.
Their two cascades of dark hair lay spread out like flowing water, tangled together in an intimate scene.
Before long, the young man’s eyelids fluttered, and he awakened.
At the same moment, the man beside him opened his eyes.
Their gazes met. The young man’s face was tender, while the man’s gaze softened slightly.
Looking at his senior brother, Xu Ziqing suddenly remembered what had happened the previous night. Vaguely, he recalled that at the very end of their dual cultivation, Yun Lie’s Nascent Soul had entered his dantian… And then, as though struck by lightning, he had actually… actually fainted?
The memory brought a rush of heat to his face. Even the tips of his ears turned scarlet.
Yun Lie stroked his cheek. “When Nascent Souls unite for the first time, some discomfort is natural. You needn’t take it to heart.”
Xu Ziqing composed himself, although his embarrassment did not entirely disappear.
To faint during dual cultivation was truly pathetic. He had even forced Senior Brother to console him… The thought left him exceedingly ashamed.
Yun Lie said nothing more. He merely pressed Xu Ziqing’s brow gently and waited for his junior brother to settle his thoughts.
Xu Ziqing was not one to brood endlessly. After composing himself, he raised his eyes. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
The two shared a little more tenderness before rising and dressing.
Once dressed, Xu Ziqing examined the condition within his body.
The previous night’s dual cultivation had benefited him in many ways.
Within his world of myriad woods, the energy of death had originally been far weaker than the energy of life. During their union, his senior brother’s killing intent had entered it and helped refine the Minor Cosmos into a more stable form. Xu Ziqing’s Dao of the Cycle of Life and Death had transformed into a green dragon, intertwined with the black-and-gold dragon formed by Yun Lie’s Ruthless Slaughter Sword Dao. Their Daos complemented one another. Through this mutual exchange and adjustment, many of their conceptions had advanced tremendously.
Not only had Xu Ziqing’s Nascent Soul realm been thoroughly consolidated, but his cultivation had improved all the way to the peak of early Nascent Soul. Only one thin barrier separated him from the middle stage.
This made him understand something. Perhaps because he had only recently formed his Nascent Soul and his inner world had undergone so many improvements, dual cultivation at this moment was exceptionally beneficial.
But compared with him, his senior brother ought to have gained even more.
With that thought, Xu Ziqing looked at Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, how did you fare?”
Yun Lie said, “I’ve reached late Nascent Soul.”
Xu Ziqing was startled.
How could he have advanced an entire realm so suddenly?
As far as Xu Ziqing knew, his senior brother had only recently entered middle Nascent Soul. Surely he should not have advanced this quickly.
Yun Lie explained, “After you formed your Nascent Soul, the Heavenly Dao’s gifts remained within you. We have been married for many years, and so they benefited me as well.”
When the two first exchanged their vows, they had done so with absolute sincerity, and the Heavenly Dao had long since left its mark upon them. Xu Ziqing had also attained the Dao through a legendary cultivation art. Although he had been relatively weak in the early stages, once he formed his Nascent Soul his power increased explosively. Inside his Minor Cosmos, the myriad woods circulated yin and yang in the form of the two aspects of Taiji, creating boundless vitality.
Under these conditions, Yun Lie’s dual cultivation with him allowed Yun Lie to absorb what Xu Ziqing could not yet digest. As their Minor Cosmoses merged, it also repaired certain shortcomings within Yun Lie’s sword domain and, for the first time, allowed him to receive true essence in return from Xu Ziqing.
Together, these benefits forced his cultivation upward by an entire realm.
Such extraordinary results could occur only this once, however. Future sessions of dual cultivation would no longer bring the same rewards.
This was because forming a Nascent Soul had fundamentally transformed Xu Ziqing’s entire being.
Once a cultivator passed this threshold, the immortal path ahead grew much smoother, and the breakthrough naturally had its own exceptional qualities.
After examining their cultivation, neither lingered in the room. They went outside.
Yun Lie headed toward the Sword-Seeking Hall as usual, and Xu Ziqing accompanied him. Many sword cultivators had already been discussing swordsmanship for some time, and they greeted the pair on arrival.
The next instant, someone noticed something and exclaimed, “Fellow Daoist Yun’s cultivation…!”
The others noticed too and were astonished.
Jiwen Jing said, “We haven’t met for two days, yet Brother Yun has broken through again! Truly cause for congratulations.”
Yun Lie sat down beside Xu Ziqing. “Thank you.”
The others did not inquire further, but they quickly understood.
Since Fellow Daoist Yun and Fellow Daoist Xu were dual-cultivation companions, what they had been doing during those two days behind closed doors was hardly difficult to imagine.
Naturally, the sudden leap in Yun Lie’s cultivation must also have been connected to it.
Several people entertained slightly suggestive thoughts, but kept them to themselves rather than teasing the couple aloud.
Jiwen Jing, on the other hand, examined the two more carefully.
He noticed that whenever the ordinarily cold Yun Lie looked at Xu Ziqing, his gaze softened noticeably. It was far more intimate than the utterly expressionless way he looked at others.
After watching them, Jiwen Jing sighed inwardly.
These two truly were dual-cultivation Dao companions, deeply in love and long bound by an oath. In that case, his own younger sister could not marry Yun Lie.
It was rather a pity.
But there was nothing to be done. His sister should arrive within a day or two, and she could still attend the Sword Discussion Assembly. If another promising young cultivator proved suitable, they could consider him. If not, there was no reason to rush.
A woman of the Jiwen family would never lack suitors.
Having settled the matter in his mind, Jiwen Jing joined the others in discussing swords again.
Xu Ziqing listened for a while, but he was not a sword cultivator, and the Dao he practiced was not the sword Dao. He could understand some of what they said, but it was not his specialty.
After accompanying Yun Lie for a little longer, he took his leave and went outside.
Even with his present Nascent Soul cultivation, he had to remain diligent in his own training.
Sword qi filled every corner of the city. The auras of its countless sword cultivators gathered into a mighty torrent that took the shape of a great dragon of sword Dao above the rooftops, containing a multitude of conceptions.
This was not something they did intentionally, yet it benefited those discussing the sword in the city. Conversely, it exerted a certain suppressive effect upon cultivators who did not practice the sword.
At Xu Ziqing’s present realm, that suppression had little effect, but he would naturally cultivate better in a quieter place.
After considering it briefly, he walked directly out of the city.
Mountains rose amid dense woods outside, where wood qi was abundant and the sword Dao’s aura did not reach. For Xu Ziqing, this was an ideal place.
Besides… after their dual cultivation the previous night, the bond between him and his senior brother had deepened further. Within a hundred li, he could now locate Yun Lie quite easily.
There was no need to worry so much about being separated.
He soon found a mountain thick with trees and descended halfway up its slope, beneath several large trunks, to sit cross-legged.
After arranging several protective restrictions around himself, he closed his eyes and began patiently refining his cultivation.
He had gained a great deal the night before and needed to digest it properly.
As he entered meditation, wood qi from the mountains and sky rushed toward him, becoming an inverted-cone vortex that poured into the crown of his head and revolved around the Nascent Soul inside his dantian.
He held an upper-grade spirit stone in each hand, constantly drawing out its spiritual energy, compressing it, and converting it into true essence. That essence surged through his meridians like a mighty river without end.
Whenever he cultivated now, his legendary art circulated more quickly than ever, dozens or even hundreds of times faster than in the past. With his internal channels so broad, spiritual energy roared through them like wind through a hall and leaped like thunder.
Afterward, he seemed to become a withered tree, utterly still and silent.
Before he knew it, three or four shichen had passed.
A faint rustling sounded from the forest. Two sisters emerged from among the grass and vines and hurried deeper into the woods.
Both were extraordinarily beautiful, but their steps were unsteady. They seemed injured and were fleeing in a blind panic.
Just then, a harsh voice rang out from the sky like a thunderclap. “You two little bitches! Where do you think you’re running?”
The sisters grew even more frightened. With graceful hands, they rapidly released several talismans, forming layer upon layer of arrays behind them to conceal their tracks.
But a sword shadow swept down. A flying sword shone brilliantly and hacked several times, destroying every formation. In their place appeared a bearded, middle-aged man whose domineering aura and wicked eyes made his intentions clear.
He glanced over the destroyed arrays, sniffed the air briefly, and pursued the sisters into the forest.
Their auras remained so distinct that they could not deceive him in the slightest.
The two sisters fled at top speed, employing escape techniques as they moved through the forest.
But their escape art was not a wood-escape technique, so the surrounding trees offered little assistance. Already gravely wounded, they quickly grew pale and found every step more difficult.
Behind them, the sharp aura of their pursuer drew steadily closer until they were almost overcome with despair.
At last, after they had escaped another few li, the man behind caught up!
He raised a hand, and five or six treasured awls flew out like spirit snakes, forming a battle array in front of the sisters. If they wanted to escape, they would have to pass through it.
But with their pursuer already upon them, how could he possibly grant them time to break the formation?
They had been trapped.
The sisters exchanged bitter smiles. “Heaven refuses to protect us. I’m afraid we’ll die here today.”
Seeing them stop, the middle-aged man gave a savage grin. “You little bitches certainly run fast, but Grandfather caught you anyway, didn’t he? Hand over the thing right now, or else…”
The older sister clenched her fists and cursed him. “You thief! Never!”
The younger sister declared, “Even if we die, we will never let you have your way!”
She had scarcely spoken when the elder sister swallowed a pill. Her cultivation recovered instantly and then surged to several times its former power. She rushed directly toward the array of treasured awls and shouted, “Little Sister, run! Protect the item, and avenge me one day!”
Tears filled the younger sister’s eyes. She clenched her teeth and immediately fled!
The middle-aged man flew into a rage and pointed a finger. His flying sword lunged toward the younger woman. “You aren’t getting away!”
The elder sister instantly turned back and blocked the flying sword.
Meanwhile, the younger sister steeled her heart and ran even faster.
She would never waste the chance to escape that her sister had sacrificed herself to provide!
The middle-aged man was held back by the elder sister, and his rage only intensified. His attacks grew more ruthless, and within a few breaths he inflicted even more injuries upon her.
His patience soon ran out. He struck again and again with heavy blows, until at last a single palm strike sent the elder sister flying. She crashed to the ground and lay completely motionless. Without giving her a second glance, he followed the younger woman’s trail and pursued her at full speed.
The younger sister fled desperately, but the time her sister had bought her was pitifully short. Before even half a ke had passed, the pursuer was closing on her again.
She hated him with all her heart but was powerless. Just as he was about to catch her…
A human figure suddenly appeared ahead. She did not even have time to see the person clearly before shouting, “Senior, save me! Senior, please save me! I will reward you generously!”
She had abandoned all other considerations.