Chapter 315: Ice and Fire

Just as before, a chilling cold echoed in his palm. It felt as if the Qi in his body was being gently drawn away by Yun Ci, a sensation that was slightly painful yet also strangely tingling.

With his eyes closed and his mind free of distracting thoughts, he focused on cooperating with her completely.

He could clearly feel that Yun Ci’s injuries had recovered a great deal. They had been at this for a long time without stopping.

Chen Qingyang felt the will left behind by the True Dragon weakening bit by bit. ‘Since letting her handle it is this pleasant, there’s no need for me to suffer through other methods.’

This task still required a great deal of effort. After a long while, he began to feel a slight tremor in her palm.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Yun Ci’s gaze fixed on him with fierce determination. Her face was slightly flushed, yet her eyes held a crystalline, cold glint. Her legs and waist were taut, and as she exerted all her strength, she looked surprisingly alluring.

Flames and ice enveloped them, creating a world of two extremes.

At the critical moment, her body trembled more violently, and she couldn’t help but let out soft gasps. Their hands were pressed tightly together as the surrounding Qi Mechanisms of ice and fire whipped into a raging storm.

The more one focused, the more determined their gaze became. She kept her eyes fixed on Chen Qingyang, unblinking, as if a great power was brewing.

Everything built to a climax before erupting in an instant, pouring out all at once. She looked as if all her energy had been drained, her body threatening to go limp as her gasps continued unabated.

The moment he saw Yun Ci about to collapse, Chen Qingyang wrapped an arm around her shoulder. But before he could even savor that brief moment of softness, he quickly pulled away as if he were a thief caught in the act.

Yun Ci stabilized herself and sat upright, unmoving. Clenching her jaw, she closed her eyes, and Chen Qingyang withdrew all of the True Dragon Fire.

‘Just as she said, a significant portion of the True Dragon Divine Soul has been eliminated. At this rate, one more session should be enough to finish the job.’

“Master, are you all right?”

Yun Ci didn’t speak, only shaking her head lightly.

Then, just like last time, a cold aura enveloped her, too strong for the faint flames to resist.

Chen Qingyang deployed his Conscious Fish, which formed nine streams of flame. Like nine fire dragons, they began to revolve around Yun Ci.

‘So it’s really turned into a “you help me, I’ll help you” kind of mutual exchange.’

The two of them—one fire, one ice; one Yin, one Yang—had actually reached a state of fusion. Chen Qingyang suddenly noticed their two auras were in symbiosis, drawing in the surrounding Spiritual Qi to form a vortex and mutually enhancing each other…

Across from him, Yun Ci’s eyelids twitched; it seemed she had sensed this change as well.

Involuntarily, the image of Yao Jingzhi and that woman in the throes of fervent Dual Cultivation surfaced in Chen Qingyang’s mind…

‘Our Qi Mechanisms are intersecting, Yin and Yang are uniting… It’s a different method, but it achieves a wonderfully similar result.’

‘Although there’s no physical contact, our minds are in resonance, with this fire and water acting as the medium.’

‘This is a true meeting of souls!’

He had arrived during the day, and they had been busy until nightfall. It wasn’t until Yun Ci voluntarily opened her eyes, paused in surprise for a moment, and then withdrew her Dharma Gate, that Chen Qingyang sensed the change and returned to his senses as well.

Neither of them spoke, letting the silence hang for a moment before Chen Qingyang finally broke it. “Are you feeling much better now?”

It was unclear what Yun Ci was thinking, but her expression was strange. At least this time she didn’t turn her back. Instead, she stared at Chen Qingyang thoughtfully for a long moment before asking, “You… How did your Cultivation break through again?”

‘Our actions were just so intimate, how could she not have noticed?’ “It was a fortuitous encounter,” he said. “I obtained some Five Elements Essence. Purely luck, not worth mentioning.”

Yun Ci pressed, “You haven’t been to see that Fire Dragon again, have you?”

“Of course not. Master, you should know that the Fire Dragon Will inside me hasn’t grown, which proves I haven’t seen it.”

“Merely obtaining Five Elements Essence isn’t enough to cause a breakthrough in Cultivation. You’re lying to me again. If I didn’t know what several of the reincarnated True Monarchs look like, I would almost suspect you were one of them.”

‘Liu Tao had the same suspicion once,’ Chen Qingyang thought. ‘It just goes to show how shocking my progress is.’ “Master, you have a discerning eye. The opportunity indeed wasn’t the Five Elements Essence. But I can’t tell you what it was. I’m afraid it would bring you trouble.”

It wasn’t just trouble; it was immense trouble. If Chen Qingyang had said this in the past, she would have surely chided him. This time, however, she only chuckled lightly.

“You have far more secrets than I ever imagined. I can see a place for you among the future Master Life Lights. When we meet again many years from now, I’ll have to call you Senior Brother!”

Chen Qingyang immediately waved his hands in dismissal. “I wouldn’t dare be called Senior Brother. Junior Brother, at most.”

Yun Ci laughed again.

…

「By the time he left, it was the middle of the night.」

[Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth: (15,614/120,000)]

Small golden characters floated into view. Chen Qingyang glanced at them. ‘The progress increased by nearly two hundred, and I only cultivated for a few hours. If I could do this with her day and night, my Cultivation would surely skyrocket. So these are the great benefits of Dual Cultivation.’

‘What a pity, she’s a Foundation Establishment Master… But then again, even if she wasn’t, this isn’t something one can do recklessly!’

After returning, it took him a long time to push the matter from his mind and focus on his cultivation and meditation.

…

The small courtyard’s plot of land wasn’t large, perched as it was on the edge of a cliff. The Spirit Fields that Zhang Ping had cleared were also situated on a slope.

Now, Xu Baoling had used a Magic Technique to shave a section off the adjacent hillside, forcibly creating a flat piece of ground nearly twenty zhang square.

After four or five days of hard work, a dozen or so Miscellaneous Task disciples had laid the foundation. According to Zhang Ping’s plan, a two-story pavilion was to be built here.

In the future, Chen Qingyang would no longer have to live in the bamboo house; he would move into the second floor, while the ground floor would be used to receive guests. As long as they didn’t go overboard on unnecessary decorations, the cost in Spirit Stones wouldn’t be too high.

Within the Tai Xu Sect, there was a specific department for managing Miscellaneous Task disciples. One only needed to spend some Spirit Stones there to hire them. The required raw materials and other supplies could also be purchased.

Zhang Ping had also designed a courtyard wall for this purpose. It didn’t need to be too complex—just enough to enclose the area and connect smoothly with the existing bamboo fence.

Based on his life experience, breaking ground was no small matter. Since they had started, they might as well solve all the lingering problems. He handled matters with the air of a true steward.

“…Senior Brother Chen, we can start on the walls tomorrow. According to my plan, the roof can be completed within a month. Do you need any particular interior decorations, or do you have any special requests? I can factor them into the plan ahead of time.”

Chen Qingyang thought for a moment. He actually quite liked Yun Ci’s minimalist, bare-walls style. “I don’t need anything. Bare walls are fine. We’ll just need to move my things over.”

“Won’t that be a little too shabby? After all, Senior Brother, you are an Inner Sect Disciple of Cyan Bamboo Peak. You should have the prestige that comes with it.”

“No need. That will be fine.”

In recent days, he had also been paying attention to Zhang Ping’s cultivation. Ever since Zhang Ping started planting Spirit Grass, it seemed as if a new layer of Spiritual Qi surrounded him. During his cultivation and meditation, he had even gained some small insights into the Qi Mechanism.

He was probably not yet thirty. If he could achieve a breakthrough in his Cultivation, he would be considered to have average aptitude among the Qi Refining Disciples.

Of course, besides finding the right path, the most important factor was the support of Elixirs.

“You must also remember that these worldly matters are temporary,” Chen Qingyang advised. “You have to stay focused on your Cultivation. If you want to go far in the future, you must never slack off.”

Zhang Ping bowed with his hands clasped, his expression solemn. “Senior Brother, I understand completely.”

After making a round outside like an old farmer inspecting his land and clearing his head a little, he returned to his room to continue practicing Alchemy.

After several days of studying Green Fall Longevity, he was gradually getting the hang of Tier Four and would soon achieve it.

The benefits from comprehending the Dao in the Tai Hao Qingxu Palace were gradually starting to manifest.

‘Thinking about it now,’ he mused, ‘Senior Brother Lu passing the Array True Understanding to me was an immense opportunity. It’s like he gave me an early key to many of the Tai Xu Sect’s Immortal Cultivation Resources, allowing me to enjoy things I shouldn’t have access to yet.’

‘Whatever Senior Brother Lu’s ultimate scheme is, the benefits to me have been very real.’

「The next day.」

A light rain was falling, shrouding Cyan Bamboo Peak in a gray haze.

Chen Qingyang started on the path up the mountain.

He had always remembered Ji Rang’s words—it was time to pay a visit to his eldest senior brother.