Li Zhaoye strolled leisurely beneath the Lingtan Tree, sword in hand. Behind him, the disciples' "sparring" had devolved into utter chaos—a spectacle of flailing limbs and flying dust, like a den of demons unleashed.
He casually pressed the overexcited Luo Luo back into her wheelchair with one hand, then lifted his gaze to meet the sheepish expression of Xu Junzhu.
"What's all this about?" he asked. "Some good news?"
Xu Junzhu stepped forward to explain. "I was just telling Little Sister Luo that given the dangers we face, we must use every means possible to help her cultivate faster—even if it means bending the rules or crossing boundaries. There’s no need to cling to outdated traditions."
Luo Luo nodded vigorously. "Mhm, mhm, mhm!"
Li Zhaoye arched a brow, barely managing to suppress the twitch at the corner of his lips. He looked down at Luo Luo, sighed, and patted her head before roughly ruffling her hair.
"Have some dignity," he drawled. "Is there really a need to get this worked up?"
Luo Luo: "Oh..."
She had almost forgotten—Li Zhaoye was notoriously prideful in public, refusing to admit his poverty at all costs.
So she cleared her throat subtly, schooling her expression into a cool, detached imitation of his usual aloof swordsman facade.
Xu Junzhu asked, "What does Eldest Brother think?"
Luo Luo was both eager and anxious. She worried Li Zhaoye’s stubbornness might ruin this golden opportunity.
"I understand what you're suggesting," Li Zhaoye said, glancing at Luo Luo with a faintly raised brow. "But..."
Luo Luo couldn’t resist pinching his hand.
Her eyes screamed at him: Enough with the "buts"! No buts needed!
Li Zhaoye: Tch. Unbearable.
With a resigned sigh, he nodded. "Fine. I’ll handle it as soon as possible."
Luo Luo: "?"
She blinked in confusion. "Handle what? Why not just do it now?"
"Tch." Li Zhaoye narrowed his eyes at her. "Do it now, and you’ll be begging for death."
Watching a fortune slip away because of his pride, Luo Luo grew frantic. "How would I be begging for death? How?! We haven’t used pills or spirit stones all these years—not because we didn’t want to, but because we’re broke!"
Li Zhaoye’s head spun from her outburst. "What nonsense are you spouting? Weren’t we talking about dual cultivation?"
The fastest way to boost her cultivation, bending rules, crossing boundaries—what else could it be?
Luo Luo’s jaw dropped.
Xu Junzhu & Xu Junlan: "..."
Li Zhaoye spoke gravely. "Have you forgotten about that cursed thing inside me? How could we sleep together without dealing with it first? Do you have a death wish?"
Luo Luo’s cheeks and ears burned.
She weakly waved her hands. "No, no! Eldest Sister meant spirit stones. She’s giving me spirit stones. For cultivation."
Xu Junzhu: "...Right."
Silence fell beneath the Lingtan Tree.
Finally, Li Zhaoye smiled faintly and raised a brow. "Fine. Arrange the spirit stones first. As for dual cultivation... I’ll handle that soon too."
His tone was perfectly calm, as if discussing mundane sect affairs, effortlessly laying out plans without a hint of embarrassment.
Xu Junzhu reflexively nodded. "Understood."
Luo Luo, too, was momentarily dazed by his composure. "Oh..."
"Let’s go!"
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Li Zhaoye grabbed the back of Luo Luo’s wheelchair and pushed her away.
The Xu sisters stood frozen under the tree for a long moment.
Eventually, Xu Junlan patted her chest and exhaled in relief. "Eldest Brother has a condition that prevents him from dual cultivating with Luo Luo. What a blessing!"
A group of disciples passing by with their swords: "...Huh?!"
What?! What did they just hear?!
Back in Luo Luo’s chamber, she obediently wrapped her arms around Li Zhaoye’s neck as he carried her to bed.
She could actually walk now—she’d just forgotten to mention it earlier after he’d kissed her senseless in the warm springs, leaving her legs weak.
He tucked her under the blankets, then climbed in after her, slipping beneath the covers in one swift motion.
Luo Luo’s heart skipped. Her eyes widened nervously.
Was he about to... "discipline" her?
In the dim light beneath the blankets, his shadow loomed closer, radiating intensity.
He leaned in, his breath hot against her ear, and whispered excitedly, "How many spirit stones is she giving you?"
Luo Luo: "..."
He’d pinned her to the bed, burrowed under the covers—just to ask that?
She whispered back, "Eldest Sister didn’t say. Do you know how many we’d need to reach the Divine Transformation stage?"
Li Zhaoye: "..."
That was beyond his expertise.
The two stared at each other in the darkness, the air growing thick.
Surrounded by her sweet scent, Li Zhaoye couldn’t resist lowering his head to kiss her again. Once tasted, it was an addiction.
Noses brushing, breaths mingling.
Luo Luo, remembering the dual cultivation topic, asked, "Can that thing inside you be removed?"
She’d read Palace Depths: That Beastly Divine Lord, Stay Away! and witnessed some truths in the Divine Palace.
Women who lay with the Divine Lord died. It would burrow into their wombs, become the next Divine Lord, and tear its way out through their stomachs.
And that It was now fighting Li Zhaoye for control of his body.
Li Zhaoye waved a hand. "Tried. No luck. If I could’ve gotten rid of it, I’d have dumped it in the latrine ages ago."
Luo Luo: "How did you try?"
Her heart ached, remembering how he’d torn at the sealing lines until he was drenched in blood.
Li Zhaoye: "Did it myself. What else?"
Luo Luo: "Oh..."
That explained nothing.
Li Zhaoye leaned closer, teasing darkly, "Want to help me try?"
Luo Luo: "Sure."
Her immediate agreement left him speechless.
Using her hands in the springs had been one thing—she’d been dizzy from his kisses, the mood just right.
But now, lying innocently under the covers, how could he let her handle his... equipment?
Too weird.
After a stifled pause, Li Zhaoye yanked the blanket back and grumbled, "Like hell. You barely slept last night, yet you’re still scheming. Sleep!"
Luo Luo: "...Fine."
Li Zhaoye resisted kissing Luo Luo all night.
Her lips were poison—once tasted, there was no stopping, no satisfaction.
Having abstained, he woke early the next morning.
After a quick wash, he carried the still-sleeping Luo Luo from the bed, cradled her with one arm, and wiped her face. Then he pried her mouth open, poured in a mouthful of minty spirit liquid, swished it around for her, and manually helped her spit it out.
Once she was cleaned up, he carried her to the training grounds, settled her in a sheltered, sunlit spot, tucked a blanket around her, and let her doze in a large wicker chair.
Luo Luo remained pliant in his hands, half-dreaming as the warm morning sun bathed her eyelids. The distant clashing of swords wove into her dreams, where she too danced through imaginary battles.
"Clang! Clang! Swish!"
On the other side, Xu Junzhu was busily preparing spirit stones and medicinal pills when Li Zhaoye added one more request—Yu Fusheng. Though puzzled, Xu Junzhu casually agreed, as it was a trivial matter.
Luo Luo woke in the afternoon.
She had been moved beneath the Lingtan tree, its dense branches arching overhead. The translucent white petals filtered the sunlight, casting a delicate, fragrant warmth over her. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Li Zhaoye.
He was earnestly instructing others in cultivation. The same movements, when performed by him, carried an unmistakable flair. With every motion, all eyes in the vicinity instinctively followed him. Wherever he stood became the center of attention.
Luo Luo’s heart swelled with pride just watching him.
Li Zhaoye sensed her awakening immediately. He calmly finished demonstrating the sword form, executing a flawless conclusion before turning to greet her with perfect composure—only for a figure in green robes to rush over.
"Disciple-nephew—Disciple-nephew—Li Zhaoye!" Master Fuling strode forward, eagerly pulling a pill bottle from his sleeve and pressing it into Li Zhaoye’s palm with great solemnity. "Three pills, three times a day!"
Li Zhaoye raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, he mused. Back then, I had to scheme and steal just to get a single pill. Now they’re practically throwing them at me.
Just as he debated whether to feign modesty and refuse out of courtesy, Master Fuling clapped him heavily on the shoulder.
"These pills contain wolfberry, deer antler, foxnut, dodder seeds, chives, and mulberries," Master Fuling assured him. "Guaranteed to cure kidney deficiency!"
Li Zhaoye: "???"
What the—?! Who the hell is kidney-deficient?!
Master Fuling sighed sympathetically. "Luo Luo told me everything. You’ve had it rough!" (Practicing that kidney-draining sword technique...)
Li Zhaoye’s expression turned lifeless: "..."
So why did I let that little brat sleep peacefully last night instead of teaching her a lesson?
He shot a scorching glare in her direction.
The intensity of his gaze sent a searing heat through Luo Luo’s chest. Her heart fluttered wildly as she thought, This guy… always so fierce and full of energy.
I love it.
---
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Li Zhaoye was about to settle the score with Luo Luo when Xu Junzhu arrived unexpectedly.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister." Xu Junzhu greeted them briefly before sitting at the wooden table and casually laying out a row of Qiankun bags. "It was rushed, so this is all I could gather for now."
"No problem, let me see!" Luo Luo eagerly leaned forward, grabbing one of the bags and upending it onto her lap.
Xu Junzhu: "Hey—"
Too late. With a thunderous crash, the injured Luo Luo was buried under a mountain of spirit stones.
Xu Junzhu sucked in a sharp breath, catching the slow, deliberate blink of Li Zhaoye’s eyes from the corner of her vision.
A soft poof sounded as Luo Luo emerged from the pile, her head popping out.
Xu Junzhu: "..."
Eyes wide, Luo Luo stretched out a hand, gesturing emphatically at Li Zhaoye.
"Last time! In the illusion! When I hit Chen Xuanyi with spirit stones! It wasn’t even this much!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn’t have dared to dream of this much!"
Truly, poverty had limited her imagination.
Li Zhaoye nodded gravely, his expression equally solemn.
Luo Luo’s gaze turned distant and melancholic. "Now I kind of want to carve Senior Sister’s portrait on a wall too..."
Doubt Chen Xuanyi, understand Chen Xuanyi, become Chen Xuanyi.
Xu Junzhu sighed. "Before that, maybe you should crawl out of the spirit stones first."
Luo Luo: "Oh, right, hehe."
She glanced at the neatly arranged Qiankun bags on the table.
There were this many more!
"Senior Sister," Luo Luo couldn’t help but ask, "with so many spirit stones, how have you stayed at the Golden Core stage all this time?"
Xu Junzhu, long accustomed to her provoking remarks, ignored the jab and replied seriously, "Cultivation built on spirit stones and pills is like a tree without roots or water without a source. You know this—without the right temperament and experience, no amount of spiritual energy can lead to a breakthrough."
Luo Luo: "..."
Li Zhaoye: "..."
Luo Luo exhaled a long, wistful sigh. "Senior Sister, I’ve never in my life known what it’s like to have excess spiritual energy. If you want tips on splitting a single spirit stone in half, though, I’m your expert."
Xu Junzhu’s lips twitched.
Clearing her throat, she pushed another Qiankun bag forward, swiftly changing the subject. "This is the Yu Fusheng you asked for, Senior Brother. May I ask… its purpose?"
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo exchanged a glance and smiled mysteriously.
Luo Luo grinned. "Senior Sister, you’ll see just how amazing it is!"
After absorbing vast amounts of spiritual energy, the next step was to enter the Yu Fusheng illusion—where the disparity between dream and reality allowed for intensive training in compressed time.
Luo Luo deliberately kept her in suspense. "You’ll find out soon!"
Outside, the moon climbed steadily into the treetops.
With Li Zhaoye and Xu Junzhu’s assistance, Luo Luo hastily devoured the mountain of spirit stones, reducing them to ash. Her dantian and meridians swelled to bursting, her fire infant spirit flickering violently, barely able to cycle energy.
Luo Luo grabbed the Yu Fusheng, its liquid shimmering like springwater. "Senior Sister, bottoms up!"
Xu Junzhu hesitated. "Me?"
Luo Luo urged, "Aren’t you sparring with me? Don’t ask, just drink!"
Xu Junzhu’s fingers trembled slightly before she steeled herself and downed the concoction in one gulp.
Boom!
A scorching wave of heat crashed into her mind.
When her senses cleared, the three of them were still seated in Luo Luo’s pavilion—the very place where so many intimate memories lingered.
Luo Luo stole a glance at Li Zhaoye, who lazily met her gaze.
Their eyes locked, and both silently mouthed: "You!"
She glared at him, intending to look away, but her gaze lingered, caught in the depths of his dark eyes. It took immense effort to tear herself free.
Her heartbeat raced.
Clenching her fists, she calmly turned to Xu Junzhu instead.
Xu Junzhu frowned, bewildered. "What exactly is...?"
"Training!" Luo Luo cheerfully yanked her up. "Let’s go!"
Dazed, Xu Junzhu rose, fighting the urge to loosen her collar as she stumbled outside.
Clang!
A fiery sword cry rang out as Qiushui materialized in Luo Luo’s grip. With a flick of her wrist, flames erupted along the blade.
"Come at me!"
Her strike descended like a meteor. Xu Junzhu’s pupils contracted as she summoned Qingnü Wushuang to parry.
Clash!
Sword met sword—one half of the air exploded in flames, the other half crystallized into frost. The shockwave rippled outward, painting the surroundings in hues of crimson and azure, like a canvas split between fire and ice.
Li Zhaoye lounged on the windowsill, one knee bent.
As the two clashed, he tore at the seals binding him. The fiercer he pulled, the deeper the crimson tinged his eyes.
Luo Luo fought with exhilaration in front of the pavilion.
Xu Junzhu had been right—fire and frost, opposing yet complementary, made for the perfect sparring match.
Each strike sent both women skidding back, their blades scraping furrows into the earth.
Before Xu Junzhu could catch her breath, Luo Luo pivoted sharply, pressing her sword tip against the ground until the blade bent. With a resonant twang, she leveraged the recoil to midair, her body shooting like an arrow straight toward Xu Junzhu.
Xu Junzhu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Impressive!”
Her own foundations were rock-solid. Pupils contracting, she swiftly formed a hand seal with her left hand while raising her sword, Qingnü Wushuang, in the right. A streak of gleaming sword light arced toward Luo Luo’s forehead.
Luo Luo let out a soft gasp, flipping backward to narrowly evade. This was a technique infinitely close to the Nascent Soul stage—one she had suffered greatly under when used by Feng Baiyan.
Landing, Luo Luo lashed out with a vicious kick, striking from an impossibly tricky angle.
Blades clashed. In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged over a hundred strikes.
This fight was far more exhilarating than their duel on the Qingyun Arena.
Luo Luo grew fiercer with each exchange, the spiritual energy stored in her body rapidly cycling through her meridians, repeatedly refined by her supreme-grade Fire Nascent Soul into blazing spiritual power.
Xu Junzhu, however, was in dire straits. Her breathing grew heavier by the second. Though she could forcibly suppress the searing heat inside her with frost energy, the bone-deep, maddening itch became increasingly unbearable.
With a careless clang, Qingnü Wushuang slipped from her grip.
Her delicate features twitched as she rasped, “Little Junior Sister, what exactly is the meaning of this?!”
She was on the verge of furious humiliation.
Luo Luo twirled her sword and blinked innocently. “Don’t you think this training method is amazing, Senior Sister?”
Xu Junzhu pressed her lips into a thin, pale line. “How is it amazing?”
Luo Luo grinned triumphantly. “Fighting here for three days and nights means only a quarter-hour passes in the real world. We’ll have so much extra time to cultivate!”
Xu Junzhu stared at her, dumbfounded, before finally blinking.
Luo Luo beamed even brighter. “Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“Wait, hold on.” Xu Junzhu raised a trembling hand. “You took… aphrodisiacs… just to extend time?”
Luo Luo saw nothing wrong with the phrasing and nodded proudly. “Exactly!”
Li Zhaoye, perched on the windowsill: “…Tsk!”
Listen to this nonsense!
Xu Junzhu clutched her forehead in agony. “No—you should’ve said so earlier! The illusion isn’t caused by Yu Fusheng—it’s the Dreamsoul Jade!”
Luo Luo: “Huh?”
Xu Junzhu was too exhausted to even facepalm. “Yu Fusheng just adds an extremely potent aphrodisiac to the existing formula!”
She’d endured and endured, thinking there was some profound secret—only to realize they’d just taken a strong aphrodisiac for no reason.
Fuming, Xu Junzhu decisively slashed her own throat with her sword, exiting the illusion.
Luo Luo & Li Zhaoye: “……”
Xu Junzhu tapped the table, her gaze dark.
Luo Luo squirmed under her scrutiny. “Heh, I’m used to it now. That medicine, heh…”
Compared to Yu Fusheng, Li Zhaoye’s aggressive kisses were harder to endure.
Xu Junzhu took a deep, calming breath and waved a tired hand. “You—I had Dreamsoul Jade ready. Why take Yu Fusheng?!”
That was livestock medicine! Livestock medicine!
Luo Luo chuckled awkwardly. “Senior Sister even has something like this? So impressive. Huh?”
She blinked, suddenly curious. “Why haven’t I heard of this cultivation treasure before? Why doesn’t anyone use it?”
Xu Junzhu deadpanned, “It’s useless.”
Luo Luo tilted her head at Li Zhaoye. Both were baffled. “How could such a treasure be useless?”
Xu Junzhu was at a loss for words.
She sighed, patiently explaining to this clueless couple: “Cultivation is inherently long and tedious—day after day, month after month, year after year of monotonous repetition. Progress is imperceptibly slow, naturally leading to frustration and procrastination. Thus, sects enforce strict daily cultivation hours, using mandatory quotas to discipline disciples and prevent slacking.”
Luo Luo still didn’t get it.
What did that have to do with the Dreamsoul Jade?
Xu Junzhu’s expression was complicated. “Four hours of forced cultivation daily is already torture for most. Once training ends, they never want to touch a sword again. If someone really wanted extra practice, there are plenty of unused hours in a day—why would they need Dreamsoul Jade?”
Who’d be deranged enough to feel pressed for time?
Oh. These two.
Xu Junzhu was done. She waved a hand and retrieved the Dreamsoul Jade from another storage pouch.
“Let’s go.”
Back in the illusion, Xu Junzhu vented her pent-up fury by thrashing Luo Luo with Qingnü Wushuang.
Her current cultivation was infinitely close to the Nascent Soul stage, and with Master Fuling’s sword intent integrated, her true strength surpassed it.
This was exactly the opponent Luo Luo wanted.
She thrived against stronger foes.
Boom—!
The flames swirling around her Qiushui Sword grew fiercer. Amid the scorching winds, her dark eyes gleamed with unyielding intensity.
“Senior Sister, take this!”
Clang—CRASH!
Sunrise. Moonfall.
Li Zhaoye wasn’t idle either. Perched high above, he worked on dismantling the cursed seals binding him.
Occasionally, blood rained from the sky.
Suddenly, he raised a hand and called lazily, “Hey, I’ll tear off a piece of His soul to fight.”
Luo Luo’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”
Exiting the dream, they watched as Li Zhaoye, after a brief pause, ripped a chunk of the seal from his body!
Blood sprayed as the black mist trapped within shrieked.
Xu Junzhu had encountered this entity before, but even now, its presence made her eardrums throb, her mind restless, teetering on madness.
As the mist howled and churned, Li Zhaoye grabbed Younü and stabbed it into his own head.
The crimson abdomen of Younü swelled, nearly translucent.
Luo Luo watched intently, relieved to see it mostly siphoned away the corrosive dark energy—sparing Li Zhaoye’s mind.
Soon, he yanked Younü free and used its expelled venom to activate the Dreamsoul Jade.
“Be careful.” His voice was rough. “No telling what memory we’ll land in. If we’re separated and you encounter Him, don’t engage. I’ll come.”
“Got it!”
Li Zhaoye was a battle maniac who preferred offense over defense.
Last time, when the Divine Palace unleashed the sealed entity within him, it failed to kill him. He wouldn’t be caught off guard twice.
The dreamscape materialized souls.
Using Younü, he could carve out fragments of the entity’s soul to weaken and destroy it.
As Luo Luo pondered, a blinding white light flooded her vision.
She shielded her eyes, adjusting before cautiously surveying her surroundings.
“…Huh?”
A cobblestone street stretched before her, bustling with people in unfamiliar clothing and hairstyles.
The sunlight stung. Squinting upward, she froze.
There were two suns in the sky.
"Wow..."
His memories truly transported her back to ancient times. Legend had it that two suns once hung in the sky during that era.
Luo Luo was still marveling at the sight when a barrage of rotten vegetables and shattered eggs suddenly came flying into her view.
"Whoosh—buzz—" The projectiles soared over her head, hurled toward a lone figure walking slowly down the street.
Luo Luo focused her gaze and saw a slender, upright silhouette, his demeanor serene and detached. As the vegetables and eggs splattered against him, he simply continued forward in silence.
"We don’t need you here! Get lost!"
Someone hidden in the crowd shouted at his retreating figure.
"What kind of saint are you? Disgusting! Get out! Leave!"
"Go away!"
"Thud."
A muffled impact—someone had slipped a brick among the vegetables and eggs, striking the man squarely on his back.
His steps faltered slightly as he turned around.
His eyes met Luo Luo’s.
Luo Luo: "..."
No, she really hadn’t thrown anything—she’d only raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.
It seriously wasn’t her!
