Cultivation Through Dual Practice: Scholarly and Martial

After Jiang Yingyue left, Lu Chen stared at the black "marble" in his hand, speechless for a long while.

"It requires ten thousand strands of Yin-Yang Essence..."

"I..."

Lu Chen was completely dumbfounded.

He had never imagined that the pitch-black "marble" Jiang Yingyue had given him was actually a defective Spirit Transformation Pill.

Of course, he knew what a Spirit Transformation Pill was.

It was a supreme divine pill capable of helping Nascent Soul ancestors at the Great Perfection stage of the Nascent Soul Realm break through into the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Moreover, in this day and age, the pill formula for the Spirit Transformation Pill had long been lost.

In Jiang Yingyue's hands, this Failed Spirit Transformation Pill was useless.

But in Lu Chen's hands, it was entirely different.

Yet Lu Chen simply could not feel happy about it.

Damn it, restoring this Failed Spirit Transformation Pill required ten thousand strands of Yin-Yang Essence.

Ten thousand strands.

How was he supposed to get that?

How many times would he have to practice Dual Cultivation to gather ten thousand strands of Yin-Yang Essence?

This was practically setting him up to drain himself dry and die.

Lu Chen was truly at a loss for words.

Before long, Zhao Hong returned with Little Xixi.

Lu Chen put away the Failed Spirit Transformation Pill in his hand.

Jiang Yingyue had actually sent her to Zhao Hong long ago.

"Big brother Master..."

Little Xixi was delighted to see Lu Chen. She immediately pounced on him and hugged him.

Lu Chen liked Little Xixi as well.

But he was currently unable to teach her.

What should he do?

He thought of Yun Feiyan, the Joyful Union Sect's senior sister.

But Yun Feiyan had already returned to the sect.

Then he thought of Liu Yan'er, the Blissful Sect's holy maiden.

No.

He immediately cut off that thought.

Little Xixi possessed a top-grade Heavenly Spirit Root. If she fell into the hands of the Blissful Sect, who knew what would happen?

"The Yun Household..."

Lu Chen thought of the Yun Household in Hehuan Town.

If there truly was no other way, he could only secretly send Little Xixi to the Yun Household first.

After all, the Joyful Union Sect was about to hold its Sect Grand Tournament.

And once the Joyful Union Sect's Sect Grand Tournament ended, the Black Tortoise Sect would make its move against the Joyful Union Sect.

The Joyful Union Sect would definitely not obediently allow itself to be swallowed by the Black Tortoise Sect.

A war might very well erupt between the two sects.

This would be a great upheaval.

He had to prepare for the worst.

"Little Xixi, go back with White-Beard Grandpa first and see your parents, so they do not worry."

Lu Chen said to Little Xixi.

"Mhm, big brother, I'll go see Father and Mother first!"

Little Xixi was very sensible.

After Little Xixi left, Lu Chen immediately summoned Bing'er, Huo'er, and Qing'er.

He wanted to practice Dual Cultivation with the three women and obtain Yin-Yang Essence.

This time, it was proper Dual Cultivation.

Lu Chen and Bing'er sat cross-legged facing each other, the man's and woman's hands pressed together as they circulated the Dual Cultivation technique at the same time.

The Joyful Union Sect's Dual Cultivation techniques were undoubtedly the finest in the cultivation world.

The vital energy within their bodies flowed through their hands, forming a great circulation within both of them.

Lu Chen discovered that every time the vital energy within their bodies completed one great circulation, another strand of Yin-Yang Essence appeared inside the Yin-Yang Cauldron in his dantian.

Sure enough, Dual Cultivation could grant Yin-Yang Essence.

And who said Dual Cultivation could not be done properly?

Now that he had inherited the Yin-Yang Cauldron, Dual Cultivation did not necessarily have to involve that.

This pure, water-clear form of Dual Cultivation benefited both parties.

Moreover, whenever the Yin-Yang Creation Scripture completed one Greater Celestial Circuit, a strand of Yin-Yang Essence would be produced inside the Yin-Yang Cauldron.

Through this kind of Dual Cultivation, Lu Chen could help Bing'er open the meridians throughout her body and let her directly break through into the Qi Refining Realm.

He could gain Yin-Yang Essence while raising cultivation—killing two birds with one stone!

After Bing'er successfully broke through into the Qi Refining Realm, Huo'er took her place.

Lu Chen then helped Huo'er open her meridians and break through into the Qi Refining Realm as well.

Then Qing'er took her turn.

The three women rotated in turn.

Inside Lu Chen's dantian, the Yin-Yang Essence within the Yin-Yang Cauldron grew ever more abundant.

Lu Chen also took out pills for them to consume.

In just one night, Bing'er's cultivation broke through to Qi Refining, Third Level.

Huo'er broke through to Qi Refining, Second Layer.

Qing'er was the most incredible—she had actually broken through to Qi Refining, Fourth Level.

This was talent.

Others could only envy it.

Whether it was one's Spiritual Root or bloodline, both were innate.

They were not things one could obtain through acquired effort.

This was the downside of Dharma cultivation. From the moment a person was born, the difficulty of their path in Dharma cultivation had already been decided.

Body Cultivation was different.

Body Cultivation practitioners did not look at innate bones or bloodlines.

Even an ant could rise with overwhelming force through acquired effort.

But the path of body cultivation was far more difficult than Dharma cultivation.

Through this kind of Dual Cultivation, Lu Chen successfully obtained eighty-two strands of Yin-Yang Essence.

"Master, why are we practicing Dual Cultivation like this? Does Master no longer like us?"

Bing'er could not help asking.

"Silly girl, how could Master not like you?"

Lu Chen said with a smile.

"Then why didn't you tonight..."

Bing'er trailed off.

"This is proper Dual Cultivation!"

Lu Chen sighed.

He was not some starving lust demon.

"Dual Cultivation can be divided into Literary Cultivation and Martial Cultivation. This time, we'll try Literary Cultivation; next time, we'll try Martial Cultivation!"

Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Chen stopped cultivating and rose from the floor.

"What? Dual Cultivation is divided into Literary Cultivation and Martial Cultivation too?"

Bing'er and the others were all dumbfounded.

It was the first time they had heard that Dual Cultivation could be done this way.

Lu Chen began setting up the formation platform.

He placed one formation platform in the inner bedroom, then stored the other in his storage bag.

As long as he set up the other teleportation formation platform somewhere hidden in Waste-Pill Valley, he would no longer need to run back and forth.

Besides, something major was about to happen in the Joyful Union Sect.

He would set up the teleportation formation first. When danger came, he could use it to flee for his life.

Before dawn, Lu Chen slipped away quietly.

Meanwhile, Bing'er and the others continued cultivating.

The spiritual energy in the Number One Heaven Room was far denser than outside.

Lu Chen carefully returned to the mountain.

He had thought Su Qingqing and the others would come punish him.

But to his surprise, he spent an entire day in Waste-Pill Valley without anyone coming to find him.

"What is going on?"

Lu Chen was very curious.

There were still three days until the Joyful Union Sect's Sect Grand Tournament.

Lu Chen did not care about any of that. He directly set up the teleportation formation platform in the Number Eighteen Waste-Pill Room.

Who would have thought he would set up a teleportation formation platform inside a Waste Pill Repository?

After setting up the teleportation formation, he began restoring defective pills.

At this moment, the Joyful Union Sect's sect master issued a sect master's decree, summoning back all the Joyful Union Sect's Inner Sect Disciples who were outside.

Everyone in the Joyful Union Sect was preparing for the Sect Grand Tournament three days later.

Meanwhile, at the back mountain—

Within the Joyful Union Secret Realm—

Jiang Yingyue sat cross-legged before a pill furnace.

The two lines Lu Chen had spoken while showing off hung before her.

Jiang Yingyue had written down those two lines and hung them up.

She stared at them for an entire day.

Yet she still could not comprehend the profound principles of the Great Dao contained within them.

"Is my comprehension insufficient?"

Jiang Yingyue felt vexed.

Ye Chenyu, the Joyful Union Sect's sect master, arrived.

When she saw the two lines before Jiang Yingyue, she too was stunned by them.

So that masked fellow truly was an unparalleled master.

From those two lines alone, she could see that his level of comprehension regarding the "Dao" far surpassed theirs.

Fortunately, she had not attacked that man.

Ye Chenyu had opposed Jiang Yingyue returning Little Xixi, who possessed a top-grade Heavenly Spirit Root, to that mysterious man.

But Jiang Yingyue had stubbornly insisted on doing so.

The two of them had fallen out somewhat over it.

In the end, however, Ye Chenyu compromised.

At this moment, Ye Chenyu secretly rejoiced.

If they had offended this man, their Joyful Union Sect would have been in grave trouble.

Since this man was so formidable, why not ask him to refine Nascent Soul Pills for them?

Lu Chen never could have imagined that the peerless master he had impersonated would become the Joyful Union Sect's saving straw.

Ye Chenyu was coming to find him.