Chapter 89

Facts proved that Lu Xingzhou had overcomplicated things.

Yin and Yang have always been relative, not absolute concepts.

Given the cultivation levels of both man and woman, as long as his true qi entered the woman's body, it would inherently be yang qi compared to her cultivation; harmonizing it with her cultivation would then create yin-yang balance, using the body as a furnace and qi to form a pill.

Thus, there was no need to specifically separate out any yang qi, no need for mouth-to-mouth contact, and certainly no need to actually do anything.

It was truly just a matter of transferring energy palm-to-palm...

Actual union would merely make the effect much stronger, after all, that would be true yin-yang harmony.

When forces connected between two parties, and the other's cultivation was weaker than one's own or their mind was unclear, the one channeling energy could easily use the other's body as a furnace to refine and merge their yin and yang qi, returning it to themselves; this was the origin of the Demon Art of Plundering.

But if both were clear-headed and willing, and both knew dual cultivation techniques, they could exchange back and forth, benefiting each other, achieving the dual cultivation effect of harmonious mutual progress. That effect was obviously not as fast as plundering, but it had the advantage of causing no harm to either party, allowing for long-term mutual advancement.

Du Gu Miss Qingli's cultivation was stronger than Lu Xingzhou's, but at this moment her mind was unclear; regardless of whether she knew dual cultivation techniques, she could not achieve dual cultivation.

Lu Xingzhou could only take unilateral control, harmonizing yin and yang within her body, watching as their spiritual energies gradually merged.

Du Gu Miss Qingli's power was immense... Lu Xingzhou, somewhat distracted, sensed it, deeply knowing that if he were to snatch back this merged spiritual energy, it would cause his cultivation to skyrocket. But that would cause great damage to Du Gu Miss Qingli, wasting at least several years of her practice.

His mind was entirely immersed in the operation of the technique, failing to notice that Du Gu Miss Qingli's thrashing had stopped and her hazy blue eyes had regained clarity.

Since yin and yang were being harmonized, the effects of the seduction technique she had suffered naturally began to gradually fade.

Du Gu Miss Qingli realized what situation she was in... she had no time to care that their lips were currently touching; her first reaction was that her state was abnormal.

But she was powerless to stop it now; her power had already been taken under Lu Xingzhou's control. Let alone stopping the formation of a pill within her body as a furnace, she couldn't even break free from the hand holding her head down, and her small mouth was still being kissed...

Du Gu Miss Qingli's heart gradually sank.

This was being plundered...

Surely no one would give up seizing such immense power... once abandoned, it would not only mean losing the plundering effect, but actually reversing it, with the power Lu Xingzhou had previously injected being given to her for free.

Very well. Even if she lost several years of cultivation to plundering, considering he hadn't taken advantage of the situation to break her body just now, it could be considered that the debt was repaid and accounts settled.

It was just that she had done the same mouth-to-mouth thing as Shen Tang; how disgusting.

Du Gu Miss Qingli closed her eyes.

Just then, Lu Xingzhou decisively severed the connection between his spiritual energy and that within Du Gu Miss Qingli's body.

Du Gu Miss Qingli, who had just closed her eyes, opened them in shock.

Was he really plundering in reverse, giving his power to her for free?

Seeing that Lu Xingzhou's cultivation, which he had so hardly broken through to sixth grade, was almost regressing to seventh grade...

Lu Xingzhou leaned back slightly, leaving her lips.

Their eyes met; one could still see some spring water in Du Gu Miss Qingli's blue eyes, the lingering aftereffects from before, but her intellect had definitely recovered.

Her red lips were kissed wet, looking so tender and juicy that Lu Xingzhou unconsciously swallowed, slightly turning his eyes away: "Is it done?"

Du Gu Miss Qingli stared at him steadily for quite a while: "Mm. How... how do I return the power to you?"

"Ha..." Lu Xingzhou laughed: "You definitely don't know dual cultivation techniques; what is there to return?"

Du Gu Miss Qingli said very seriously: "You do. You can plunder it back; I will cooperate."

Lu Xingzhou blinked his eyes; Du Gu Miss Qingli remained serious.

The next moment, Lu Xingzhou kissed her again.

Du Gu Miss Qingli kept her eyes open, quietly waiting for his plundering.

The result was no invasion of spiritual energy; instead, he was kissing with great delight.

Du Gu Miss Qingli waited blankly for a while, finally realizing what was happening; her cheeks quickly flushed red, and she pushed him away: "You, you..."

Lu Xingzhou wore an innocent expression: "Didn't you ask me to plunder?"

"Then where is your power?"

"Oh, this is my first time trying this technique; I'm not very skilled. I failed, right? Try again?"

Even Du Gu Miss Qingli, in her daze, knew the man was teasing; she grew angry: "Are you sick? Your cultivation has regressed!"

Lu Xingzhou just smiled: "Does it matter? I haven't truly dropped a grade; I'll make it up after practicing for a while. If you feel bad about it, let me kiss you again?"

Du Gu Miss Qingli pressed her lips tightly together.

It had to be said, what was thought to be disgusting actually wasn't. Not only wasn't it, but it was... quite comfortable.

Memories from the confusion flashed through her mind frame by frame... so this was something she actually wanted.

Facing his teasing and request for another kiss again, Little Bai Mao's heart was in chaos, beating wildly; knowing full well she shouldn't, she didn't know whether to refuse.

He had saved her... he could have taken the opportunity to plunder, but he didn't ask for anything, instead sacrificing much of his cultivation. And since they had already kissed just now, kissing again seemed like it would be fine.

Seeing Little Bai Mao's dazed look of deep thought, Lu Xingzhou truly couldn't hold back; he embraced her again and kissed her.

The magnetic field here had weakened both parties' self-control significantly, and besides... they hadn't never kissed before.

Du Gu Miss Qingli kept her eyes open, dazedly yielding, and unknowingly he knocked open her pearl teeth; something was extending inside.

It was as if something had crashed into her brain, glaciers shaking, the ice ocean gently swaying, bewildered and not knowing why. In her daze, she remembered Shen Tang's words.

Neither of them had extended their tongues, yet she had done it first!

Du Gu Miss Qingli's breathing grew rapid; finally, she pushed him away, bowing her head and panting: "That's enough."

Seeing Lu Xingzhou look as if he wanted to say something, Du Gu Miss Qingli took a deep breath, struggled to her feet, stood very seriously before him, and said earnestly: "You saved me this time... I will definitely repay this kindness. But it shouldn't be in this way."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at her: "Does your sect have rules forbidding romantic love between men and women? Or is there a saying that this matter will affect cultivation?"

Du Gu Miss Qingli shook her head: "No."

Lu Xingzhou was momentarily stunned; this was different from the novels he had read. Swordsmen, especially ice-attribute ones, weren't they all like this? Besides, the high-ups of the Sacred Land were all "True Persons," implying they were ordained, yet they didn't forbid love? It was somewhat surprising.

But he heard Du Gu Miss Qingli say: "Lu Xingzhou, I don't know what it's like to like someone; perhaps... because of this accidental intimacy, I feel something different towards you, but I know I am not like Shen Tang, whose heart is entirely filled with you. So we are not lovers, and this is not a relationship we should have."

Lu Xingzhou was actually rendered speechless by her words, not knowing how to respond.

It must still be a cultivation issue; with her special cultivation, emotions were indeed much more indifferent than normal people. If not for the various accidents making such intimate contact so outrageous, Little Bai Mao would have been the type completely incapable of ripples in her feelings.

If she were a normal woman in ancient times, having reached such intimacy, she should have already been devoted to him alone; she only felt "something different"...

Indeed, she heard Dugu Miss Qingli continue: "My cultivation's ultimate pursuit is to be like the moon reflected in a cold river, with all things unattached to my heart. No matter how one looks at it, it should not be like Shen Tang, who is lost in love and affection; I cannot do that either. If you insist I repay my debt in this manner..."

"Stop." Lu Xingzhou finally waved his hand: "Don't make it sound like I'm expecting a reward for a favor... I don't think that way, and this is simply mutual aid, nothing like a favor at all."

"If you are merely greedy for lust..." Speaking here, Dugu Miss Qingli felt a hint of shame; from the very beginning, Lu Xingzhou had not concealed his feeling that she was beautiful, so it seemed true. Who could feel lust for someone they found ugly...

She paused, then earnestly advised: "If you let such base desires rule you, it is detrimental to your cultivation. You have a mind full of brilliance; you should not be like this."

"Fine, fine, fine." Lu Xingzhou was truly at a loss between laughter and tears: "With your serious one-two-three-four, you've made my base desires disappear."

Dugu Miss Qingli smiled slightly.

Lu Xingzhou stared, somewhat dazed.

Perhaps Bai Mao had occasionally shown a fleeting, restrained smile, but this should be the first time she revealed such a relieved, unmasked smile.

Though it was just a smile, it was as if ice melted and snow dissolved; it was very beautiful.

He could not help but say: "Miss Qingli..."

This address made Dugu Miss Qingli's heart skip slightly: "Mm?"

"I do not think appreciating beauty is a base desire," Lu Xingzhou said. "And I believe people do not need to train themselves into glaciers. The so-called 'frosty sky, frozen moon reflecting on a cold river' should refer to a state of mind, not physically training a person to become that way."

Dugu Miss Qingli pondered in a daze: "Perhaps. This is something I need to explore."

After speaking, she smiled again: "This is the first time you have seriously discussed the Dao with me; everything else you said before was just an excuse to keep me here."

"Not entirely," Lu Xingzhou finally stood up and stretched: "You must part ways this time... but I believe that when the night is deep and quiet, you will unintentionally think of Shen Tang, think of A'nuo, think of me. Then it will no longer be observing someone else's story, but your own restlessness."

"If you say so..." Dugu Miss Qingli looked at him quietly: "When I forget you, that will be my path."

Both sides were tacitly in agreement; one mentioned Shen Tang and A'nuo, the other added the word 'you' (plural), and both understood what was actually meant.

Otherwise, how could Shen Tang and A'nuo make her restless? What could make someone toss and turn was only that day's wheelchair flip, being pinned down, and today's kiss that was more advanced than Shen Tang's, involving what was extended.

"I will forget," Dugu Miss Qingli stepped back two paces, holding her sword to perform a very solemn swordsman's salute: "Thank you."

Lu Xingzhou asked: "Do you still need to continue the magnetic field cultivation?"

"No need... the energy and insights you gave me are abundant; now the path to third grade is within reach, so I need to find a safe, quiet place for deep cultivation." As Dugu Miss Qingli spoke, she seemed to know what Lu Xingzhou was about to say and said in advance: "This is a long-term cultivation; I will not return to Danxia Mountain, otherwise you will always find excuses to keep me from leaving."

Lu Xingzhou's intended words were blocked completely; he said sincerely: "Fed too much material, the database has upgraded..."

Dugu Miss Qingli did not understand; she bowed again: "We shall meet again."

Lu Xingzhou returned the salute: "We shall meet again."

Dugu Miss Qingli flew out of the cave on her sword; suddenly, her parting words lingered in the air: "Actually, I never told you... you are also very good-looking."

(End of this chapter)