Chapter 166

With Pei Chuyun's current strength, if she were to actively operate the Joyous Maiden's profound technique with all her might, things would be quite serious.

Not to mention First or Second Rank, at least a Third Rank high-stage cultivator would definitely not be able to withstand her.

A true top-tier demoness who could suck someone to death without consequence, at most paying with a pregnancy.

Lu Xingzhou, who had just reached the Fourth Rank low-stage, would definitely be in trouble.

But if she wasn't actively driving it, the situation wouldn't be that difficult.

Ultimately, the Joyous Maiden's profound technique is just a type of dual cultivation technique, though it belongs to the harvesting direction. Both of them were already very accustomed to adjusting it to a dual cultivation direction. After such long-term dual cultivation through lip-to-lip qi exchange, Lu Xingzhou operated his Yin-Yang Ultimate Technique, while Pei Chuyun operated the Joyous Maiden's profound technique. They had been dual cultivating for so long...

It's just that dual cultivation through qi exchange is not that direct, and the effect is not strong enough. At that time, Lu Xingzhou relied on the extra yang energy from the ham to suppress it.

Now the effect is countless times stronger, but Lu Xingzhou's essence of flame and fire has penetrated his entire skeletal structure, so he doesn't need to call upon extra energy, and he is much stronger than before. Can he withstand it directly?

Facts proved that he couldn't quite do it.

If there were no such thing as "primordial yin," he might have been able to. But the little demoness's virgin primordial yin was too ferocious; the yin energy was so vast it almost froze Lu Xingzhou's meridians.

If it weren't for the fact that the power of water and fire had just penetrated his entire skeletal structure, making his tolerance much stronger, this passive surge might have crushed him.

No wonder people in the world say that sleeping with a Joyous demoness is worse than tying a hemp rope to a tree; this is truly risking one's life!

Sometimes Lu Xingzhou felt that he did have some luck; if this had happened a few days ago, he wouldn't have been able to hold on, but now he just barely could.

And he also happened to possess the means to draw in extra yang energy to counter it—the newly acquired Destruction Golden Fire.

He didn't need to introduce such violent flames; he only needed to borrow its yang energy to counter it.

Pei Chuyun felt Lu Xingzhou's trembling, which he couldn't quite withstand, and just as she was feeling worried, a scorching yang energy rose from his spirit platform, like a violent fire dragon roaring madly.

It was also like the storm in his movements at this moment.

Pei Chuyun swallowed the words she wanted to say, almost rolled her eyes, and her thoughts were almost scattered.

The imagery flashed by. The scorching yang energy and her primordial yin swept together, spiraling and winding through his much-strengthened meridians and bones, moving around. It felt like a car race gone wild, with cars cutting each other off; it was very thrilling.

Lu Xingzhou had sweat on his forehead, carefully regulating and guiding these two spiraling, wild energies to circulate for countless cycles, until they finally calmed down slowly.

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

She had felt this way during their first dual cultivation through qi exchange. At that time, she felt that if Lu Xingzhou didn't return it, she would be harvested. But that was only a small amount of spiritual energy, so even if she were harvested, it wouldn't be a big deal. This time it was much more serious; not only was the amount large, but more importantly, there was a mental tug-of-war, which was the backlash of the Joyous Maiden's profound technique.

—The Joyous Maiden's profound technique can control the other party, but what if there is a backlash?

Then she would be the one controlled, becoming a slave and a servant.

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

So far, she still hadn't actively operated the technique, passively letting him perform. If she became active, she could still fight for control.

At that time, it would probably be a falling out...

Thinking of this, she smiled with some relief; he wouldn't do that.

If he would, this whole thing wouldn't have started today. Without this trust, why would he get serious?

Sure enough, just as she thought of this, the spiraling energy was returned, accompanied by Lu Xingzhou's somewhat exhausted whisper: "Returned to you, you operate it..."

Pei Chuyun smiled mischievously: "Young Master is indeed not capable."

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

Pei Chuyun turned over, reached out to support his chest, her voice gentle: "Then you rest for a while, I'll..."

The Joyous Maiden's profound technique was finally fully operated, receiving the two intertwined energies and easily kneading them into a Taiji.

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

As expected, the little demoness was still stronger; she was just letting him have his way before...

If he's not capable, he's not capable. The demoness is taking the initiative, which saves effort.

The little demoness's voice came to his ear: "I need to draw out your primordial yang, don't be nervous..."

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

I still have this thing?

As if seeing his confusion, Pei Chuyun giggled: "Of course you do... what we usually do is fake... Whether there is a real ecstasy is not the same thing in martial arts theory, unless you do it too frequently, which might cause damage. Why, have you been cheating with someone other than me?"

Lu Xingzhou felt that it was recorded somewhere... Forget it, he didn't want to think about it.

The primordial yang was drawn out, and the Destruction Golden Fire retreated. Only now was it a true yin-yang union. A flush appeared on Pei Chuyun's face, and she could clearly feel her cultivation beginning to grow. She had been a bit short of perfection at the Fourth Rank high-stage, but now she was heading straight for the Third Rank threshold.

The dual cultivation of primordial yin and primordial yang was indeed not the same as the previous small-scale play. Pei Chuyun had dual cultivated so many times before, and the progress bar had moved at most a tiny bit, but this time it was almost breaking through.

Pei Chuyun hesitated, and Lu Xingzhou turned her over again: "You take the medicine, I'll handle it."

Pei Chuyun was dazed: "Take, take medicine? Shouldn't the man be the one to..."

Lu Xingzhou was almost amused to the point of anger: "Do I need it? I'm talking about your breakthrough pill."

Pei Chuyun hesitated: "Is it really okay?"

"I'll protect the dharma for you, you break through with peace of mind."

That wasn't just protecting the dharma; even the dual cultivation operation was fully handed over to him, representing unparalleled trust.

Pei Chuyun, however, no longer hesitated, took out the elixir from her ring, and swallowed it immediately.

Handing it all over to him was no problem at all, except that he would blindly pose her in various positions, like flipping her over to lie on her stomach...

The last thought Pei Chuyun had before falling into introspection was wondering if she was the only cultivator in history to break through to the Third Rank in this position.

At about the same time, Danxia Mountain.

Shen Tang opened her eyes in the hall.

Today, the spiritual energy of Danxia Mountain was becoming increasingly rich, and with the addition of the spirit stone vein, cultivation was like drinking water.

For every little bit of improvement in the Third Rank, the spiritual energy required is dozens of times more than before. I don't know how many people, even after breaking through to the Third Rank, need decades of accumulation to rise one stage.

But in this place, with Shen Tang's own talent and the addition of the Imperial Supreme World-Shocking Scripture, she had broken through to the mid-stage of the Third Rank in just three months.

It could be called world-shaking. "Why do I feel a bit uneasy..." Shen Tang, who had clearly broken through, showed no joy, but instead stood up and paced back and forth: "Where did something go wrong? Did I miss something..."

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly called out: "Someone come."

The guard outside the door hurried in: "Sect Master."

"Is there any news about Elder Lu recently?"

"The latest news is that Elder Lu has just come out of the Demon-Subduing Domain trial. During the trial, he encountered various assassinations, including those by teachers from the Alchemy Academy, all of which he successfully resolved. Qin Zhiyu, the head of the Alchemy Academy, bombarded Grand Tutor Huo in the imperial court for hiring killers to murder students."

"Nothing else?"

"No..."

Shen Tang scratched her head: "Could I be overthinking it? Why do I always feel like some good thing has been snatched by someone else..."

Capital, Sheng Mansion.

Sheng Yuanyao hopped out of the secret room, her youthful ponytail flying.

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

"Broken through. Just Fourth Rank, it's embarrassing to even talk about it after breaking through." Sheng Yuanyao puffed out her chest: "I'm actually almost at the mid-stage of the Fourth Rank."

Sheng Qingfeng widened his eyes: "How can you be at the mid-stage of the Fourth Rank just after breaking through?"

"You said it yourself, following Lu Xingzhou brings good fortune." Sheng Yuanyao was about to run away: "So I'm going to seek good fortune, see you later."

Sheng Qingfeng grabbed his daughter's ponytail: "Who goes looking for a man on the Qingming Festival? Rumors of morning sickness have already spread. Do you still want your face? If you take another step, I'll break your legs!"

Sheng Yuanyao was furious: "I know which ones started the rumors first, watch me beat them to death!"

"If you could keep yourself clean, what use would rumors be? Can you stop the mouths of the masses, can you stop the winking and nudging!"

"What do you know? My morning sickness is fake; the Pei family's loser is probably going to have real morning sickness! I must destroy it!"

Sheng Qingfeng: "So what does it have to do with you whether she's pregnant or not? Aren't you friends?"

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

"Copy the family rules ten times, and don't leave the house until you're done."

"Old Sheng, you will regret this!"

National Master's Observatory.

"Clang!" Sword qi soared into the sky, bringing frost for a hundred miles.

Most of the capital looked up toward that location, their hearts trembling at the biting frost.

"Rumble!" Heavenly thunder erupted, and the frost tribulation descended, covering almost the entire National Observatory.

"What is that?" Someone said in horror: "Don't tell me that's a Third Rank small heavenly tribulation?"

"It is a small heavenly tribulation. That is a heavenly thunder tribulation plus 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 small heavenly tribulation have so many layers?"

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

"She's only eighteen..."

The sword qi condensed into a huge, ancient sword shape, sounding like thunder, and went straight into the clouds.

The thunder tribulation above struck the sword qi and dissipated completely. The tribulation clouds broke, and the rain cleared into a blue sky.

As the frost descended, the warm fire from the elixir in Dugu Qingli's body was still there, and with a "crack," the mysterious ice shattered.

The young girl opened her eyes, blue light flickering, as cold as ice.

Ye Tinglan stepped forward, very satisfied: "The Tengyun small heavenly tribulation is almost like nothing to you. You are worthy of being my disciple."

Dugu Qingli's expression was a little paler than before. She was silent for a long time before speaking faintly: "Just now, the celestial phenomena were drawn, and I sensed the meaning of 'heavenly maidens scattering flowers.' Perhaps someone else is breaking through the Tengyun tribulation."

Ye Tinglan was unconcerned: "There are many capable people in the capital. It's not strange that someone happened to break through one after another with you."

Dugu Qingli said slowly: "It feels like an acquaintance, like... the Joyous Maiden's profound technique."

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

"I just feel... as if something has been snatched away..."

In the south, Miaoyin Mountain.

"Yama, there is a top-secret message from the capital."

"Oh? What does it say?"

"It says the Judge entered the Pei mansion this morning to help the Pei family's young lady assassinate a Pei family elder. The specific details are unclear."

"And what about this?"

"There are rumors in the Pei mansion that the Judge proposed to... to the Pei young lady and was rejected by the Pei Marquis."

"With Xingzhou's intelligence, it's impossible for him not to know that such a proposal couldn't succeed. To do it anyway is tantamount to self-humiliation; it absolutely cannot be his true intention. It's mostly some secret agreement with the Pei clan, targeting the Huo family."

"... erhaps."

"Anything else?"

"His leg is healed."

This time, Yuan Muyu was silent for a long time before whispering: "When I gave him the demon core, it was because I wanted him to be able to heal his leg... After so long, he even entered the Alchemy Academy. Finding other materials to heal his leg is only natural, what is there to talk about."

"Yes."

"I should have understood long ago that he is a boat without a tether; forcing a rope on him is meaningless... but... forget it." Yuan Muyu sighed: "He is full of the Huo family's affairs and has no mood for anything else. You all tell the capital branch to cooperate with him more. He only has Anuo by his side, how pitiful."

Just as she said this, his primordial yang was completely exhausted, viciously injected into the little demoness's body.

The little demoness, kneeling and lying down, had her long hair flying, and the meaning of "heavenly maidens scattering flowers" faintly descended upon the cave.

Pei Chuyun broke through the major hurdle of the Third Rank, the Heavenly Demon Heart Tribulation descended from above, and the Tribulation of Lust arose from below. Both tribulations arrived.