Bah! That Dog of a Man Had No Romance

"Mm... What's on my lips? Mm... so soft." Nantian Wan'er woke up, her hands grasping blindly through the air.

"Wan'er, don't move. It's me. I'm treating your injuries." Lu Chen hurriedly stopped Nantian Wan'er.

"Alright, alright, I won't move."

"Ah..." Nantian Wan'er opened her eyes and screamed when she saw Lu Chen so close at hand.

"Wan'er, Wan'er, you're awake?" Outside, Nantian Xiu heard Nantian Wan'er's cry and shouted excitedly.

"Shh, don't move. The circulation of spiritual energy hasn't ended yet." Lu Chen warned Nantian Wan'er, then pressed his lips to hers again.

"Mm... I won't move. Lu Chen, was it you who saved me? I can feel that the cold energy in my body has lessened greatly." Nantian Wan'er stared cautiously into Lu Chen's eyes.

"The cold energy in your body has basically vanished. We're stabilizing your Heavenly Pool now."

"Mm... alright, but my lips are so sore, and my heart is beating so fast. Will anything happen? Mm..."

It was Nantian Wan'er's first time experiencing such matters between a man and a woman. She did not know whether it was caused by the cold energy or something else.

"It'll be over soon. There shouldn't be any problem. My heart is beating fast too, so it should be fine."

Just then, fiery red light radiated from Lu Chen's body, while icy blue light radiated from Nantian Wan'er's. Starting from where their hands met, the lights began to revolve.

One black and one white, one forward and one reverse, one yin and one yang, one man and one woman.

Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er formed a Yin-Yang Diagram of heaven and earth in perfect harmony. The Black Fish became the fish eye of the yang diagram, while the White Fish became the fish eye of the yin diagram.

Yang contained yin, yin contained yang, and yin and yang transformed into one another.

The Azure Emperor Divine Tree leaped out of Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool and revolved together with the Yin-Yang Diagram.

Slowly, it became the boundary between yin and yang in the space between Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er. One part plunged into Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool and coiled around the Black Fish, while the other plunged into Nantian Wan'er's Heavenly Pool and coiled around the White Fish.

"What is this? A little fish appeared inside my body, and I can use it to connect to your Heavenly Pool."

"Huh, there's a little fish in your body too, except it's black."

By then, Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er's lips had separated. Nantian Wan'er stared at the changes within their bodies in utter amazement.

"This is a treasure from my Heavenly Pool. It seems our bodies have become connected."

Lu Chen discovered that his Heavenly Pool and Nantian Wan'er's Heavenly Pool had linked together. The Azure Emperor Divine Tree had become the bridge connecting them, and they could even use each other's Heavenly Pools.

"That's true. I can feel your emotions. Why is your heart beating so fast? Your Heavenly Pool is so strange. It's completely different from ours."

"Huh, this little White Fish seems to lead to a strange place too."

By accident, Nantian Wan'er touched the trigger leading to the Twin Fish Plate's Small World, and Lu Chen followed her inside.

"Lu Chen, is this your magic treasure? This is my first time seeing one. Even our Nantian Sect doesn't have a magic treasure like this."

Nantian Wan'er explored the Small World everywhere, completely unhindered.

Lu Chen watched Nantian Wan'er acting like a curious child and did not stop her from exploring the secrets of his body.

Perhaps because of this unexpected change, Lu Chen had become even more trusting of Nantian Wan'er and was willing to share every one of his secrets with her.

They could each sense what the other was thinking, as though they had always been one body.

Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er had emerged from the Small World. They had thoroughly explored the changes in their bodies, their hearts and minds linked as they came to understand each other's secrets.

Watching the ever-thickening Yin-Yang Diagram, Lu Chen did not know when this situation would end and could only wait silently.

"Wan'er, you absolutely must not tell anyone about what happened today. Not even your grandfather."

Lu Chen had too many secrets, and now that his thoughts were linked with Nantian Wan'er's, he had to warn her beforehand lest she let something slip and expose them.

"Brother Lu, Wan'er understands. You don't need to say more. I know everything you're thinking. These are our secrets, and Wan'er won't tell anyone else."

Nantian Wan'er had long since fallen for Lu Chen. Now that their hearts and minds were linked, she naturally would not reveal Lu Chen's secrets.

Just then, the Taiji Diagram stopped revolving and slowly formed into a giant cocoon, enveloping Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er within it.

"Rumble..."

A deafening boom came from the sky. Dark clouds rapidly gathered, and bolts of Red Thunder fell one after another.

"Red Thunder? What exactly is happening inside?"

Nantian Xiu stared at the giant cocoon. Even he did not know what was happening within.

When the Taiji Diagram formed, all information about Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er had been blocked out. No matter what divine abilities Nantian Xiu used, he could not probe the situation inside.

"It has to succeed." Nantian Xiu stared at the giant cocoon and clenched his fists.

"Boom..."

Red Thunder descended and struck the giant cocoon, sending arcs of lightning flashing everywhere.

Yet the giant cocoon was not damaged in the slightest. Instead, it became even more crystalline and translucent.

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts...

A full eighty-one bolts of Red Thunder struck the giant cocoon, which radiated crystalline treasure light.

"Is it finally over?"

Nantian Xiu sensed the giant cocoon's aura. "What kind of transformation will occur this time? Not even eighty-one bolts of Red Thunder could break the cocoon."

Inside the giant cocoon, Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er were dazed.

The Red Thunder passed directly through the giant cocoon and reached their bodies, tempering them again and again, continuously expelling impurities from their muscles and bones.

Gradually, the muscles of Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er began to emit a crystalline, five-colored glow.

This was the radiance revealed when body refinement was first achieved. Ordinary people often had to cultivate for hundreds or thousands of years and reach great perfection in the Qi Gathering Realm before they could possibly attain it.

Yet Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er had reached it in less than a quarter of an hour. What a heaven-sent opportunity this was.

Lu Chen examined his and Nantian Wan'er's Heavenly Pools. He discovered that after the Heavenly Pool's tempering, their Heavenly Pools had fused together. The two of them now resembled a single symbiotic entity.

Lu Chen circulated his spiritual energy and sensed his condition. The two shared one Heavenly Pool, yin and yang balanced. The Fire Toxin and Cold Poison intertwined and dissipated, and even without the Yin Sea Pearl, Lu Chen's Fire Toxin would no longer arise.

"This feeling is wonderful." Lu Chen swung his fist and struck the giant cocoon.

"Rip..." The giant cocoon glowed, then shattered in response.

"Grandpa Xiu, we succeeded! The Fire Toxin and Cold Poison have both vanished." Lu Chen impatiently told Nantian Xiu what had happened inside the giant cocoon.

"Good, good, good. It's good that you succeeded."

Nantian Xiu sensed their auras, and old tears streamed down his face. At that moment, it felt as though his long-cherished wish of many years had finally been fulfilled.

Suddenly, storm clouds began gathering in the sky, and Black Divine Thunder condensed overhead.

"Grandpa Xiu, I feel like I'm about to advance. My Tribulation Lightning is coming."

Lu Chen sensed his Heavenly Pool. The spiritual energy in his body had long begun liquefying, and when his Heavenly Pool merged with Nantian Wan'er's just now, he had already felt it.

Now that storm clouds were gathering overhead and the spiritual energy within him was surging wildly, that sensation became even clearer.

"Tribulation Lightning? Black Divine Thunder? Why is the quality of Tribulation Lightning for the Qi Gathering Realm so high?" Nantian Xiu stared at the storm clouds and muttered to himself.

"Grandfather, I think my Tribulation Lightning is here too," Nantian Wan'er said from behind Lu Chen.

"What? Wan'er, your Tribulation Lightning is here too? Why have they all gathered together?"

"One person's Tribulation Lightning is already a brush with death. Now the Tribulation Lightning of two people is overlapping."

Nantian Xiu knew just how severe the test of Tribulation Lightning was for those crossing it. He took out his defensive magic treasures from his storage space and handed them to Nantian Wan'er and Lu Chen.

"You two must be careful. I have nourished these two defensive magic treasures with spiritual energy for many years. They should be enough to withstand twelve waves of heavenly lightning from the Qi Gathering Realm."

"Once the Tribulation Lightning clouds begin gathering, they cannot be stopped. I must leave quickly. Otherwise, if the heavenly lightning takes it as human interference in the tribulation, it will become even more severe."

"Grandpa Xiu, you should leave first. Our bodies have already been strengthened once, and I can sense that the Tribulation Lightning poses little threat to us."

Lu Chen possessed the memories left behind by Feng Tiancheng. He could sense that the might of the Tribulation Lightning did not pose much threat to his current physical strength.

The storm clouds in the sky had already grown countless times larger than before, and black lightning serpents darted through the clouds.

"Rumble... rumble..."

"That's good. The Tribulation Lightning is about to begin. You must remember the methods I taught you for dealing with it. Face it carefully."

After speaking, Nantian Xiu immediately flew into the distance, leaving the area of the Tribulation Lightning.

"Boom!" The moment Nantian Xiu flew out of the tribulation area, a black lightning serpent ten meters thick split out of the storm clouds and crashed down.

Watching the lightning descend from the sky, Nantian Xiu was filled with worry. You must endure it. Lu Chen's talent truly is extraordinary. The might of his Qi Gathering Realm Tribulation Lightning is actually comparable to that of the Core Condensation Realm.

Lu Chen stared at the sky. The first bolt of Tribulation Lightning was still some distance away from them.

"Wan'er, put on the defensive magic treasure. Our physical strength has already taken its first step. As long as we are careful, the Tribulation Lightning of the Qi Gathering Realm will be enough for us to handle."

Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er stood side by side, awaiting the arrival of the Tribulation Lightning.

From Feng Tiancheng's memories, Lu Chen had learned that Tribulation Lightning was not merely a trial, but also a blessing for cultivators.

Every bolt of heavenly lightning tempered the body. During the tribulation, one had to let the lightning temper every part of the body as much as possible.

Once the heavenly lightning ended, there would also be a chance for a blessing from the Heavenly Dao, restoring hidden injuries in the body.

The first bolt of Tribulation Lightning descended. The lightning serpent coiled above Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er's heads, spitting arcs of electricity.

Lu Chen led Nantian Wan'er forward, meeting the Tribulation Lightning with their bare bodies.

"Boom..."

The Tribulation Lightning fell. Boundless lightning surged over Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er like lightning serpents, ceaselessly scouring their muscles and bones.

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts...

Countless streaks of lightning gradually descended. The valley where Lu Chen stood was illuminated by the lightning, and the ground had already become utterly ravaged.

The first wave of Tribulation Lightning ended, revealing Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er. Clearly, the first wave had not affected them.

"This feels pretty good. This wave of Tribulation Lightning is still manageable."