Chapter 210: Yin and Yang Dual Cultivation

A powerful spiritual force instantly descended, its icy aura even startling Xu Yang for a moment.

The little dragon-python had no idea what was happening inside the spirit ship. It was instantly intimidated, frozen three meters away, its soul feeling as if it had plunged into an ice cellar. It dared not move an inch, as if its entire spiritual world was submerged in chilling stillness.

"Hold on, he's one of us!"

The Empress withdrew her gaze. A moment later, she saw a little snake, taller than a person, dart in with a pale face.

"Damn it... Which idiot is attacking me..." Before it could finish speaking, the little snake saw the Empress sitting cross-legged in the spirit ship, and its four eyes immediately widened.

"Isn't that... the Cold Moon Empress? Boss, what are you doing..."

Xu Yang chuckled, "The Empress and I are traveling together to the East Sea to rescue Lian Xue and the other female disciples from the Cold Moon Empire's first team."

The little snake's scales bristled. "No way? Just the two of you? You're going after the Taotie?"

"What, do you think the two of us aren't capable enough?"

"No, no, no, Boss, I know your strength, of course, and the Empress is a powerhouse among powerhouses. But the Taotie, being a spirit seed from the primordial era, might not be so easy to handle, right? And I've heard many tales about the East Sea; it's not a place you can just waltz into!"

Xu Yang nodded. "You're absolutely right. That's precisely why we're traveling together. From now on, the Empress is my companion. Come back at once and don't disturb her."

With a gentle wave of his hand, Xu Yang forcibly returned the little snake to its original form. It swiftly slithered into his sleeve.

"The Empress's intimidation worked." Xue Qinghan's face was devoid of any smile. She slowly closed her eyes again, but after a few seconds of silence, she suddenly spoke: "Just call me Ah Xue; otherwise, it will be inconvenient when we're traveling. I'll call you Ah Yang."

"Alright..."

Xu Yang didn't object. However, he heard the little snake's muffled snickering. Although it was only transmitting its thoughts to Xu Yang, with the Empress's powerful spiritual energy, how could she not detect it immediately?

"Boss, you certainly have a way with women! I've noticed that top beauties always seem to appear around you. Even though this Empress is a bit cold, her peerless beauty is truly no less striking than your female disciples'. And she's the empress of the Cold Moon Empire! If you could win her over, wouldn't you get whatever you wished for in these Three Thousand Dao States..."

Before it could finish speaking, the Empress's exquisite face was already covered with a layer of frost. An icy aura rapidly permeated the entire spirit ship. Xu Yang was naturally unaffected, but it was torture for the little snake in his arms, which was almost frozen into an ice sculpture along with the space inside the spirit ship!

"D-did I say something wrong, B-Boss, save me..."

Xu Yang snorted coldly, "That's what you get for having a loose tongue. Serves you right. Learned your lesson now, haven't you? The Empress's majesty is not something you can profane. I'm not even a match for her spiritual power, so you'd better behave yourself."

"Empress, my lady, this little snake knows it made a mistake. You are a truly magnanimous person, please let me off the hook!"

As expected, the little snake had been communicating with Xu Yang purely through spiritual transmission throughout. Yet, its words genuinely provoked a change in the Empress's emotions. This demonstrated the terrifying power of the Empress's spiritual energy; Xu Yang and the little snake had no chance of having a private conversation in front of her.

The frosty aura quickly receded, and the little snake finally gasped for breath as if relieved of a heavy burden. It no longer dared to secretly whisper anything about the Empress.

However, in Xue Qinghan's heart, the little snake's whispers actually stirred a ripple in her deepest thoughts...

Seven days passed in a flash. During these seven days, Xu Yang and the Empress sat opposite each other, cultivating. They didn't exchange a single word.

Until a certain moment, Xue Qinghan's expression shifted repeatedly. Two completely different energies seemed to be running wild within her body, momentarily beyond her control.

Since Xu Yang didn't have a deep understanding of her, he initially paid no mind. However, once he sensed her pain, he decisively flew before her and touched her glabella with a finger. Gentle spiritual energy swiftly flowed into the Empress's body through her glabella, quickly suppressing the two extremely domineering yet clashing spiritual energies.

Xu Yang could tell that the Empress seemed to be cultivating two entirely different cultivation methods!

It was important to note that her approach carried significant potential harm to her body.

"Thank you..." A fine sheen of sweat appeared on the Empress's forehead. A rare glimmer of gratitude flickered in her eyes.

"Forgive my bluntness, these two extremely domineering inner energies within your body have likely been present for more than just a day or two. Over time, the strain on your meridians will continuously increase, and the resulting harm will become more severe. Even if I hadn't intervened just now, with your foundation, you would have been able to suppress it. However, one day, the power will spiral out of control, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

The Empress was keenly aware of her condition, but what could she do?

In fact, her choice to cultivate two methods simultaneously was to introduce pure Yang spiritual energy into her body through them, thereby replacing the function of pure Yang True Blood. This was to break free from the situation where the imperial lineage of the Cold Moon Empire traditionally had to depend on a powerful man.

The outside world only knew that the Cold Moon Empire's royal tradition had been passed down without exception for generations, merely to consolidate the empire's rule. Little did they know, this practice was also a unique requirement of the cultivation methods practiced by successive Empresses.

The Cold Moon Cultivation Method, being an extremely Yin and cold practice, was indeed immensely powerful with an exceptionally high ceiling, and almost flawless in its execution. However, its demands on physical strength and its side effects on one's meridians necessitated compensation with pure Yang energy. For this pure Yang energy to perfectly integrate with one's own constitution, the only common and relatively most effective method was physical union.

In the years since the Empress took over the Cold Moon Empire, she had dedicated herself to cultivation, quietly leading the empire into its most prosperous era. Though she hadn't been in power long, she was already implicitly comparable to the greatest Empresses of past generations. Similarly, she also wanted to completely free herself from the awkward dependency on men concerning cultivation methods. Thus, she single-handedly pioneered a dual-cultivation approach.

It had to be acknowledged that, in terms of both courage and wisdom, Xue Qinghan was a rare and extraordinary woman in the world. However, such a risky method had already destined her to embark on a path of no return.

Xu Yang, after all, was an old monster who had cultivated for a hundred thousand years. He could tell at a glance whether the Empress's cultivation method would succeed or fail. However, as an outsider, excessive interference would be impolite.

After offering some advice, seeing that the Empress merely offered a dismissive smile, Xu Yang said no more.

Over the next three days, the Empress unexpectedly discovered that the two conflicting spiritual energies within her body seemed far less restless than they had been. The true qi Xu Yang had left in her body seemed to have a remarkably clear effect!

Undoubtedly, Xu Yang's physique and profound spiritual foundation were the ideal source for the Empress's Pure Yang True Blood!

But how could the Empress ever bring herself to mention such a thing?