Silence returned to the private room, leaving only the two’s unsteady breathing.
Ning Xian hung limply on Fang Xuan’s body, her forehead resting against his sweat-drenched chest.
"My... my legs are weak."
"It’s fine, Junior Brother is holding you."
Once Ning Xian’s breathing gradually stabilized and her trembling stopped, she realized something after the fact.
"It's... not over yet?"
"Almost, Senior Sister... just hold on a bit longer."
Hearing this, Ning Xian’s body began to tremble slightly again: "How about... let’s stop here for... today, I... I really..."
"No," Fang Xuan leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe.
"Senior Sister is in such good condition today that she hasn’t even fainted yet. Shouldn’t we double the session as we discussed? Otherwise, won't it look like I've gone back on my word or that I'm afraid of Senior Sister?"
........
When everything finally settled down, the sky outside had shifted from the bright afternoon to dusk.
Fang Xuan carefully picked up Ning Xian, who was completely drained of strength and in a state of semi-consciousness, carrying her in his arms...
To be honest, was this really dual cultivation...
Wasn't it a bit... too intense? What kind of dual cultivation involves fainting every single day?
He actually wanted to be gentler, but Senior Sister always said that being gentle was too hard to bear.
No—she even teased him, saying he was all talk and didn't actually dare to go all out—
He had no choice but to... cough cough...
.......
The next day.
Sunlight streamed through the window frames.
When Ning Xian woke up, her body felt as if it had been taken apart, so sore and limp that it didn't feel like her own.
She knew this was the result of last night’s... cough, the result of Junior Brother doubling the cultivation session.
The pure yang qi and the portion of spiritual energy he transferred over were excellent supplements for her body, which was primarily of the yin attribute.
She lazily got up, skipping her morning washing and grooming, and casually threw on a loose pair of nightclothes before walking into the courtyard barefoot.
Her long hair was unstyled and draped over her shoulders, making her small face look even paler.
The dark circles under her eyes were also more prominent, giving her a sense of fragile beauty.
She sat down at the stone table and poured herself some tea.
The sunlight felt warm on her body, making her narrow her eyes in comfort.
Junior Brother was truly too... diligent.
Last night, he had been practically tireless, persisting until she had absorbed nearly all the excess yang qi and spiritual energy.
The results were significant; she felt that the Transformation Realm was within reach.
It was just a struggle for Junior Brother...
She rubbed her still-aching waist and then touched the dark circles under her eyes, letting out a small yawn in the warm sun.
Considering how hard he worked, she wouldn't hold it against him for fooling around in a place like a restaurant yesterday...
.......
On the other side, Fang Xuan finished practicing a set of sword techniques in the bamboo grove clearing, feeling refreshed and in peak condition.
Although the amount of exercise last night was large, he was mostly the one outputting, transferring the overabundant spiritual energy and yang qi into Senior Sister to harmonize it.
Instead, he felt a sense of clarity and relaxation after being emptied, and his foundation seemed even more solid.
As expected, dual cultivation is the way to go.
Fang Xuan thought happily to himself.
An inconspicuous communication talisman in his ring suddenly began to glow faintly.
Fang Xuan took out the talisman and sent his divine sense into it.
It was a message from that brat Chen Fan—an urgent distress signal? Two black-robed Void Core cultivators?
As the only power they had taken under their wing, it was better to save Tianlan Kingdom.
The problem was... Senior Sister had already returned to her room to meditate, seemingly consolidating her realm.
She seemed to have mentioned before that if there were no urgent matters today, he should not disturb her.
The distance from here to the Southern Wilderness's Tianlan Kingdom was not short.
Even if he rushed there at full speed, the round trip plus the time to handle the matter would take at least half a day.
If he was gone for half a day... Senior Sister would probably cry.
And she would definitely be angry.
Fang Xuan rubbed his chin, his gaze falling on his right hand, which was still wrapped in a white bandage.
Long-distance spatial travel... he hadn't tried it yet.
He carefully unwrapped the bandage, revealing his slender, fair hand.
Then, several strands of space sword intent frantically condensed from his hand.
With a flick of his wrist, his fingertip lightly sliced through the void in front of him—
A spatial rift appeared in response.
It actually worked.
Although the stability of this rift was far from the kind Senior Sister could create with casual ease, and the consumption was much higher.
But... going to Tianlan Kingdom once should be fine.
Senior Sister was in deep meditation; she might not even notice he had slipped away.
He quickly made an estimate.
Using space to travel there, slapping two Void Core cultivators to death, and then returning immediately should take about an hour...
He would only be gone for that long; Senior Sister definitely wouldn't find out...
......
Over here.
The palace of Tianlan Kingdom.
In the Main Hall.
Chen Fan was wearing his bright dragon robes, but he currently lacked any imperial dignity.
He was held down on the main seat of a banquet filled with delicacies, unable to move, by two black-robed cultivators with cold auras.
He could only maintain a forced smile, his face bruised and swollen, with a scrape on his forehead seeping blood, looking quite pathetic.
"Please do not be angry, my lords. Let us drink first..."
Chen Fan tried hard to raise his hand to grab the wine jug, but his arm was pinned down firmly, leaving him only able to laugh dryly to smooth things over.
"Hmph, at least you know your place." The black-robed cultivator on the left with three-cornered eyes snorted coldly and loosened his grip slightly, though his gaze remained vigilant.
They were ordered to come to Tianlan Kingdom to retrieve spiritual treasures; they didn't expect this little emperor to actually be a bit strange.
He had clearly been investigated before as a mortal without any spirit roots, yet now he had the cultivation of the Qi Refining Realm.
Although it was weak, it was an undeniable fact.
It was just that this cultivation... was too weak, so weak that they could crush him with a single finger.
"Quickly, fill the cups for the two lords."
Given a moment of respite, Chen Fan hurriedly grabbed the wine jug to pour wine for the two.
The veins on his hands bulged, but he suppressed his anger.
Endure.
Not far below the banquet sat a young woman wearing luxurious palace attire with a refined appearance.
She was unhurriedly sipping tea; she was the prime minister's legitimate daughter who had originally broken off the engagement with Chen Fan.
She glanced at the bowing Chen Fan at the head of the table, a flash of calculating satisfaction in her eyes as she set down her teacup and spoke:
"Great immortal masters, please see clearly. He was originally a trash who could not cultivate; everyone in the imperial court knows this. Yet now he suddenly has Qi Refining Realm cultivation—no matter how weak it is, it is absolutely abnormal."
"He must have obtained some unknown peerless technique or treasure and hidden it away. Otherwise, with his aptitude, it would be impossible!"
Chen Fan only watched coldly.
The entire household of the Prime Minister's Manor had been executed by him, not even leaving a single chicken alive. He hadn't expected there to be a fish that escaped the net.
Rate on N.U.
