Chapter 207: He Only Has A Nuo By His Side, Quite Pitiful

Given Pei Chuyun's current strength, if she were to actively and fully operate the Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method, things would get serious.

Not to mention first or second-rank cultivators, even high-level third-rank cultivators certainly couldn't withstand her.

She was a true top-tier seductress who could drain people to death without compensation, at most offering a pregnancy.

Lu Xingzhou, who was currently only a low-level fourth-rank cultivator, would definitely be in trouble.

But if she wasn't actively initiating it, the situation wouldn't be so difficult.

Ultimately, the Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method is just a type of dual cultivation technique, merely leaning towards the draining aspect. However, both of them were already accustomed to adjusting it for dual cultivation. During their long-term breath-exchange dual cultivation, Lu Xingzhou operated his Yin-Yang Extreme Will technique, while Pei Chuyun consistently operated the Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method. They had been dual cultivating for so long...

It's just that breath-exchange dual cultivation isn't as direct, and its effects aren't potent enough. Back then, Lu Xingzhou had used the extra Yang energy from the ham to suppress it.

Now, the effects were countless times stronger, but Lu Xingzhou's essence of blazing fire permeated his entire skeleton, so he no longer needed to summon extra energy. He was also much stronger than before. Could he directly resist it?

The truth proved, not really.

If it weren't for the "primordial Yin," perhaps he could have. But the little seductress's virgin primordial Yin was too fierce; the vast Yin energy nearly froze Lu Xingzhou's meridians.

If it weren't for the fact that the powers of water and fire had just permeated his entire skeleton, making his endurance much stronger, this passive surge might have overwhelmed him.

No wonder people say that dealing with a Joyous Union sect seductress is worse than hanging oneself with a rope from a tree. This truly was risking one's life!

Sometimes Lu Xingzhou felt he truly had some good fortune. If this had happened a few days ago, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it, but now, he could.

And he happened to possess the means to introduce additional Yang energy to counteract it—the recently acquired Fiery Golden Annihilation.

There was no need to introduce such violent flames; he just needed to use its Yang energy to counteract.

Pei Chuyun felt Lu Xingzhou tremble slightly, unable to bear it. Just as she was beginning to worry, a surge of scorching Yang energy emanated from his spiritual platform, like a raging fire dragon roaring wildly.

It was also like the stormy intensity of his current actions.

Pei Chuyun swallowed back everything she wanted to say. She nearly rolled her eyes, her thoughts almost scattered.

An image flashed by: the scorching Yang energy and her primordial Yin surged together, spiraling and intertwining, roaming through their greatly strengthened meridians and bones. It felt a bit like race cars going wild and cutting each other off—very dangerous.

A faint sheen of sweat appeared on Lu Xingzhou's forehead. He carefully controlled, guiding these two rampaging, spiraling energies through countless cycles until they slowly calmed down.

Pei Chuyun's heart stirred slightly, and a sudden sense of losing control, of fear, welled up.

She had experienced this feeling before, during their first breath-exchange dual cultivation. At that time, she felt that if Lu Xingzhou didn't return it, she would be drained. But that was only a small amount of spiritual energy, and even if she was drained, it was no big deal. This time, it was much more serious. Not only was the amount large, but more critically, there was a spiritual pull—the backlash of the Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method.

The Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method could control the other party, but what if it backfired?

That would mean being controlled herself, becoming a slave.

Pei Chuyun opened her eyes and steadily gazed at Lu Xingzhou, who was sweating profusely above her.

So far, she still hadn't actively operated her technique; she was passively letting him take the lead. If she were to become active, she could still fight for control.

At that point, it would probably mean turning hostile...

Thinking this, she smiled with a hint of relief. He wouldn't do that.

If he would, this whole situation wouldn't have started today. Without that trust, why would they engage in something so serious?

Sure enough, just as she thought this, the spiraling energy returned, accompanied by Lu Xingzhou's slightly weary whisper: "It's back to you. You operate it..."

Pei Chuyun gave a mischievous smile. "So, Young Master can't handle it, can he?"

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

Pei Chuyun flipped over, placed her hands on his chest for support, and said gently, "Then you rest for a bit. I'll take over..."

The Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method finally began to operate at full capacity. It absorbed the two intertwining energies and effortlessly molded them into a Tai Chi symbol.

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Indeed, the little seductress was still stronger. She had been holding back earlier...

If he couldn't, then he couldn't. Let the seductress take the lead; it would even save him effort.

The little seductress's voice came from beside his ear: "I need to draw out your primordial Yang. Don't be nervous..."

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

"I have that?"

As if sensing his confusion, Pei Chuyun giggled. "Of course you do... What we usually do is just for show... Whether it's truly soul-stirring or not is a different matter in martial arts principles. Unless you do 'that' too frequently, it might be damaged. What, have you been secretly dabbling with anyone else besides me?"

Lu Xingzhou felt this was recorded somewhere... Never mind, he didn't want to think about it.

With the primordial Yang drawn out and the Fiery Golden Annihilation receding, this was now true Yin-Yang harmony. A flush appeared on Pei Chuyun's face. She could clearly feel her cultivation beginning to grow. She was originally just short of perfecting the high-level fourth rank, but now she was rapidly approaching the third-rank threshold.

Dual cultivation using primordial Yin and Yang indeed had a vastly different effect than their previous 'play-acting'. Pei Chuyun had dual cultivated countless times before, and her progress bar barely moved, but this time, she was directly on the verge of a breakthrough.

Pei Chuyun hesitated. Lu Xingzhou flipped over and pinned her down again. "Take your pill. I'll take over."

Pei Chuyun looked bewildered. "Take... take a pill? Shouldn't the man be taking it..."

Lu Xingzhou was practically exasperated into laughter. "Do I need to? I meant your breakthrough pill."

Pei Chuyun hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"I'll protect you. You can break through with peace of mind."

That was not just about protecting her. Even the operation of the dual cultivation was fully handed over to him, representing unparalleled trust.

Instead, Pei Chuyun no longer hesitated. She pulled a pill from her ring and immediately swallowed it.

Handing everything over to him was no problem at all, except that he might randomly put her into strange positions, such as flipping her over onto her stomach...

Pei Chuyun's last thought before entering internal meditation was, she wondered if she was the only cultivator in history to break through to the third rank while in such a position.

At almost the same time, on Mount Danxia.

Shen Tang opened her eyes in the hall.

Today, Mount Danxia's spiritual energy was even more concentrated. Coupled with the blessings of the spirit stone mine, cultivation was like drinking water.

For the top three ranks, every slight improvement required dozens of times the spiritual energy as before. Countless people, even after breaking through to the third rank, still needed decades of accumulation to advance one level.

But in such a place, with Shen Tang's inherent talent and the Imperial Supreme World-Shaking Scripture's blessing, her third-rank cultivation had already broken through to the mid-level in just three months.

This was truly astonishing.

"Why do I feel a bit uneasy..." Shen Tang, despite having broken through, showed no joy. Instead, she stood up and paced back and forth. "Where did something go wrong? Am I missing something..."

After a moment of thought, she suddenly called out, "Someone!"

The guard outside the door rushed in. "Sect Leader."

"Are there any recent updates on Elder Lu?"

"The latest news is that Elder Lu just emerged from the Demon Subjugation Domain trial. During the trial, he was subjected to various assassination attempts, including those by Dan Academy masters, but successfully resolved them. The Dean of Dan Academy, Qin Zhiyu, publicly denounced Grand Preceptor Huo in court for hiring assassins to kill students."

"That's all?"

"No..."

Shen Tang scratched her head. "Am I overthinking this? Why do I always feel like someone got ahead of me on something good..."

The capital, Sheng Residence.

Sheng Yuanyao bounced out of the secret chamber, her youthful ponytail swinging.

Sheng Qingfeng grabbed her. "Where are you running off to? Did you break through?"

"I broke through. It's just fourth-rank; I'm almost embarrassed to mention it." Sheng Yuanyao puffed out her chest. "I'm actually almost at mid-level fourth-rank."

Sheng Qingfeng's eyes widened. "How can you be mid-level fourth-rank right after breaking through?"

"You said it yourself, following Lu Xingzhou brings good fortune." Sheng Yuanyao tried to slip away. "So I'm off to seek my fortune. See ya!"

Sheng Qingfeng grabbed his daughter's ponytail. "Who goes running off to find a man on Qingming Festival? Morning sickness rumors are already spreading about you. Do you have any shame left? Take one more step and I'll break your legs!"

Sheng Yuanyao was furious. "I know who started those rumors. I'll beat them to death!"

"If you could only keep yourself pure, what good would others' rumors do? Can you stop everyone's wagging tongues, or their knowing glances?"

"What do you know? My morning sickness is fake. That good-for-nothing from the Pei family is probably going to have real morning sickness! I have to ruin it!"

Sheng Qingfeng: "So, what does her pregnancy have to do with you? Aren't you friends?"

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

"Copy the family rules ten times. You can go out after you've finished copying."

"Old Sheng, you'll regret this!"

Imperial Preceptor's Abode.

"Clang!" Sword energy soared to the heavens, and frost spread for a hundred miles.

More than half of the capital looked up towards that direction, trembling in awe at the biting frost.

"Rumble!" Heavenly thunder erupted, and the frost tribulation descended, almost covering the entire Imperial Preceptor's Abode.

"What is that?" someone exclaimed in horror. "Don't tell me it's a minor heavenly tribulation for the third rank?"

"It is a minor heavenly tribulation. That's a thunder tribulation combined with a frost tribulation. If things go wrong, there might be a fire tribulation below, we just can't see it."

"Are you kidding me? How can a minor heavenly tribulation have so many layers?"

"If she's Dugu Qingli, then it's possible. Let's see if she can withstand this tribulation..."

"She's only eighteen..."

Sword energy condensed into a massive, ancient sword shape. Its sound was like thunder, soaring straight into the clouds.

The thunder tribulation from above struck the sword energy, completely dissipating. The tribulation clouds suddenly broke, and the rain cleared, revealing a blue sky.

As the frost settled upon her, the warming fire from the elixir within Dugu Qingli was still present. With a "crack," the dark ice shattered.

The young woman opened her eyes. Blue light flickered, and she was as sharp and cold as ice.

Ye Tinglan approached with great satisfaction. "The Ascending Cloud minor heavenly tribulation was practically nothing to you. Truly worthy of being my disciple."

Dugu Qingli's expression was slightly paler than before. After a long silence, she spoke softly: "Just now, the celestial phenomena indicated 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers.' Someone else might be breaking through the Ascending Cloud tribulation."

Ye Tinglan dismissed it. "There are many capable individuals in the capital. It's not surprising if someone happens to break through before or after you."

Dugu Qingli slowly said, "It felt like someone I know. Like... the Mystic Maiden Cultivation Method."

"Pei Chuyun? Logically, she's still a bit short."

"I just feel... like something was snatched away..."

To the south, Mount Miaoyin.

"Lord Yama, there's a top-secret message talisman from the capital."

"Oh? What does it say?"

"It says the Judge entered the Pei Residence this morning to help Miss Pei assassinate an elder of the Pei family. Specific details are unclear."

"What's the matter now?"

"There's a rumor in the Pei Residence that the Judge proposed... proposed to Miss Pei... and was rejected by Prime Minister Pei."

"Given Xingzhou's intelligence, it's impossible he wouldn't know such a proposal couldn't succeed. To still do it is tantamount to humiliating himself. It absolutely cannot be his true intention. Most likely, he has some secret agreement with the Pei family, targeting the Huo family."

"Perhaps."

"Anything else?"

"His leg is healed."

This time, Yuan Muyu was silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice: "When I gave him the demon core, I hoped he could heal his leg... After so much time, and he even entered the Dan Academy, it's only natural he'd find other materials to heal his leg. What's there to say?"

"Yes."

"I should have known long ago," Yuan Muyu sighed, "he's an unmoored boat. Forcing a rope on him is meaningless... But... never mind. He's fully preoccupied with the Huo family's affairs; he has no mind for anything else. You all should tell the capital branch to cooperate with him more. He only has Ah Nuo by his side. How pitiful."

Just as she spoke these words, primordial Yang surged out completely, fiercely pouring into the little seductress's body.

The kneeling seductress's long hair fluttered, and the subtle aura of 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers' descended upon the cave dwelling.

Pei Chuyun broke through the major third-rank barrier. The Heavenly Demon Heart Tribulation descended from above, and the Tribulation of Lustful Fire arose from below. Both tribulations arrived.