Cultivating Together

"What preparations? Bathing, changing clothes, burning incense, and cleansing myself?" Jiang Zhu teased.

Qin Yao glanced at him. The red beauty mark between her brows added a seductive charm to her features.

"What sweet dreams are you having? For your first cultivation session, Her Highness won't ask you to do any of that." As she spoke, she took out some spirit herbs and handed them to Jiang Zhu.

"Nourish the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart as much as possible. Her Highness needs its sacred blood to cultivate. When the time comes, just follow her instructions!"

After delivering the message, Qin Yao left, her graceful figure swaying.

Yan Ruyu stood on a cliff in Peach Valley, taking everything in.

She was like the Guanghan Fairy descending into the mortal realm. Her immortal form was slender and graceful, her curves enchanting. Though she had a devilishly alluring figure, she possessed the ethereal air of a fairy untouched by worldly life, giving her unparalleled charm.

Before long, Qin Yao came up behind her. "Your Highness, everything is ready."

Yan Ruyu's expression was complicated as her watery eyes gazed down at Peach Valley. After a long while, her red lips parted slightly, and her voice rang out like heavenly music. "Tomorrow, then!"

With that, she turned and left, Qin Yao following silently behind her.

The next day, Jiang Zhu followed the old woman out of Peach Valley and arrived at a hall halfway up a mountain.

Clouds and mist drifted across the mountainside, shrouding most of the hall.

Inside the spacious hall, Yan Ruyu sat on a meditation cushion in white robes, like a secluded orchid in an empty valley, serene and beyond the mundane.

Beside her sat a jade tray holding several precious spirit herbs. Their radiance shimmered, and their fragrance filled the air.

"Take these spirit herbs and nourish the Great Emperor's Sacred Heart properly." Yan Ruyu's voice reached him, carrying a trace of complicated emotion.

Jiang Zhu found this rather strange. Could it really be that kind of dual cultivation?

That shouldn't be right! What would the Azure Emperor, a Chaos Green Lotus, know about dual cultivation methods?

When it came to dual cultivation, his ancestor, the Human Desire Great Emperor, was the one to look to. Across the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Jiang Hengyu's Dual Cultivation Method was the most authentic.

Jiang Zhu suppressed his thoughts and swallowed the spirit herbs without another word.

"Once blood energy begins to emanate from the Great Emperor's Sacred Heart, guide it out of your Bitter Sea and then transfer it to me..."

So that was it. Jiang Zhu understood now. She was merely using him as a relay for the blood energy; there was no special secret dual cultivation method involved.

"I can't control the Great Emperor's Sacred Heart. My body will absorb the blood energy first, so..." Jiang Zhu said.

Although the Great Emperor's Sacred Heart possessed spiritual awareness, its blood energy did not. It would still temper his body first.

"I know. You only need to guide the blood energy out of your Bitter Sea."

After understanding Yan Ruyu's intentions, Jiang Zhu began refining the spirit herbs. Life essence poured steadily into his Bitter Sea, where the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart absorbed it.

Bloody light shot skyward from the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart. Crimson radiance spread, gleaming streams of blood essence flowed, and abundant vitality circulated.

Seeing Yan Ruyu extend her hands, Jiang Zhu moved to press his palms against hers.

To his surprise, her slender, jade-like hands moved straight down and settled below his navel.

"?"

Jiang Zhu nearly lashed out and broke those hands. Below his navel lay his Sea of Bitterness-the very foundation of a cultivator.

"This makes the transfer more effective and reduces the loss." A blush spread across Yan Ruyu's otherworldly face, though it was unclear whether it came from the sacred heart's nourishing blood energy or...

Blood energy flowed endlessly from the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart, passing through his Bitter Sea into Yan Ruyu's arms before finally entering her Sea of Bitterness.

After a long while, the sacred heart stopped releasing blood energy, bringing this cultivation session to an end.

"You may go back. Come here again at this time tomorrow to continue cultivating." Yan Ruyu withdrew her hands and remained seated with her eyes closed.

Hearing this, Jiang Zhu rose and left the hall.

"Your Highness, how effective was the cultivation?" Qin Yao had entered at some point and spoke up to ask.

Yan Ruyu shook her head. "As the blood energy traveled from his Bitter Sea to mine, eighty or ninety percent of it was consumed in tempering our bodies." Disappointment touched her exquisite face. "Less than a tenth remained for me to cultivate the Emperor Ancestor's Supreme Demon Art."

"We can only connect our Seas of Bitterness directly!"

"Your Highness, why must you do this? Surely it would be fine to progress a little more slowly." Qin Yao was puzzled.

"You don't understand." Yan Ruyu shook her head. "Although the one in seclusion has found a fleshly vessel with extraordinary talent, even he doesn't know whether he can succeed. What if the one who emerges isn't him?"

"That..."

"Besides, there's the Ji Family. They've been making unusual moves. I suspect they may attack us. If I can't master the Emperor Ancestor's Profound Method, how will we hold our ground?"

"Why would the Ji Family attack us?" Qin Yao asked.

"The Ji Family has produced an exceptionally rare divine physique, seldom seen in the Eastern Wasteland. Now that its cultivation has begun to take shape, they may intend to test their blade on us."

A hint of worry appeared on Yan Ruyu's face. Only a scattered handful of the Demon Emperor's Descendants remained, and now the Ji Family had set its sights on them. Their road ahead looked bleak!

The one in seclusion was no easy character to deal with either. If he succeeded, he could shelter them for a while, though what happened afterward was uncertain. But if he failed, how would they survive the crisis before them?

Alas, how had the mighty Azure Emperor's Descendants fallen to this? For a moment, she felt lost.

Before long, she pulled herself together. "No matter what, I must master the Emperor Ancestor's Profound Method and restore his glory. As one of his only two remaining descendants, this is a duty I cannot shirk!"

"Your Highness..."

"Say no more. It's decided!" Yan Ruyu said firmly, her words cutting iron and severing nails.

The next day, at the same time, Jiang Zhu returned to the hall.

Seeing him arrive, Yan Ruyu parted her lips, and her heavenly voice rang out. "Yesterday's method wasn't suitable. Today, we'll try another."

"What method?" Jiang Zhu asked curiously.

Yan Ruyu said nothing, merely pushing the tray of spirit herbs in front of him.

Jiang Zhu could only swallow the herbs first. Once their rich life essence had flowed into the sacred heart, he looked toward Yan Ruyu a short distance away.

"Lie down, and don't move!" Yan Ruyu's voice was bone-chillingly cold.

Hearing this, Jiang Zhu rose from his meditation cushion.

Let's see what brilliant method you have.

Then a ribbon-like magical treasure appeared before him, accompanied by her voice. "Cover your eyes. After that, stand where you are and don't move!"

As she spoke, a faint aura of power lingered throughout the hall, as though warning him.

Feeling that pressure, Jiang Zhu obediently stood still. He looked at the ribbon in his hands and understood its function: blocking a person's vision.

Although something felt wrong, he still covered his eyes.

The next instant, realization struck him.

Standing still, unable to move, with my eyes covered.

Oh no, isn't this the Little Dragon Girl setup?

Jiang Zhu's heart jolted, and he hurriedly activated the Source Heaven Divine Eye.

Instantly, everything outside became clear-except that he accidentally saw through a few extra layers of clothing.

Yan Ruyu was still standing where she had been, and his gaze met a vision of delicate, snowy white.

Her snow-white body was like mutton-fat white jade, warm and exquisite. Her shapely form rose and fell in flowing curves, her devilishly alluring figure bewitching the mind.

She was like the Guanghan Fairy bathing in the mortal realm, her immortal skin and jade-like body brushing against the boundless dust of worldly life.

Jiang Zhu immediately felt his blood surge, almost beyond his control.

Just then, Yan Ruyu stepped toward him. As she walked, the curves above trembled slightly, while those below flickered in and out of view.

Truly, boundless beauty lay atop perilous peaks, pouring into the red lotus's twin petals. The ancients did not deceive me!