"…Mhm, mhm."
Zhou Ruoxi, who took a moment to react, blushed and quickly averted her gaze. Nodding with her head down, she placed the maiden sword back into its scabbard. "I'll, I'll put it away first."
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, placing his gentleman sword into its scabbard as well. He then took out a book from the wooden box containing the manuals and read aloud, "Peerless Swordplay?"
Curiously, he opened the sword manual and began to read. Zhou Ruoxi, in turn, took out another manual from the box and flipped through it. She hadn't expected that seniors Kang Guangling and Li Qingshui would leave behind so many martial arts manuals. Besides the profound martial arts of the逍遥派 (Xiaoyao Sect), there were also techniques from the Lotus Sect, to which Li Qingshui belonged.
Thus, Li Qingshui had also left behind several of the Lotus Sect's profound martial arts…
"So, this Peerless Swordplay and that Peerless Yin Yang Technique are a set!"
As Wan Yunting was flipping through the Peerless Swordplay, he picked up the Peerless Yin Yang Technique again and compared them carefully. These two internal energy cultivation methods and swordplay manuals were also recorded in Kang Guangling's biography.
He had written that he and his wife, Li Qingshui, lived there. Besides happily conjugating daily and practicing the Peerless Yin Yang Technique, they also practiced the Peerless Swordplay!
This Peerless Swordplay was a sword technique meant for a man and woman to practice together. Although it could be practiced alone, only by practicing together as a couple could the Peerless Swordplay unleash its full power.
"This Peerless Swordplay has boundless power. If I find someone to practice it with, my swordsmanship will undoubtedly be peerless and invincible," Wan Yunting said with a smile, holding the Peerless Swordplay in one hand and the Peerless Yin Yang Technique in the other.
Hearing his words, Zhou Ruoxi felt an inexplicable stirring in her heart. She put down the manual she was holding, unsure of what to say.
"Senior Sister Zhou, why don't you try practicing the Peerless Swordplay with me?" Wan Yunting suddenly smiled at her.
Instantly, Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face flushed again. Looking at the Peerless Yin Yang Technique and Peerless Swordplay in his hands, her heart pounded. She lowered her head, too shy to say, "Junior Brother Wan, don't talk nonsense. We are not suited to practice this swordplay…"
Wan Yunting realized something and put down the Peerless Yin Yang Technique. Holding the Peerless Swordplay, he smiled at her, "Senior Sister Zhou, don't misunderstand. I'm talking about this Peerless Swordplay. It's actually a sword technique for two people to practice together. Even without the Peerless Yin Yang Technique, if mastered, it can still unleash seventy percent of its power."
"If that's the case, we won't be afraid when we encounter those two people from the Heavenly Eye Main God Cult again!"
Hearing him say that it wasn't about practicing the Peerless Yin Yang Technique together, Zhou Ruoxi felt a strange sense of loss. Her expression became unnatural. She casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her earlobes turning a soft pink, making one feel an urge to bite. "Alright, then let's try practicing it together after we recover from our injuries."
"Okay."
Wan Yunting nodded, then put down the Peerless Swordplay and continued to sift through the box. They counted them, and the box contained a total of twelve martial arts manuals. There were also two books on alchemy from the Xiaoyao Sect. This made Wan Yunting open them up for careful study, as he was still interested in alchemy…
After looking through these, Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi surveyed the stone chamber again. Besides the bronze oil lamp, there were no other important items.
"Junior Brother Wan, can this pill really be eaten?"
Zhou Ruoxi looked at Wan Yunting holding the wooden box containing the Yuan Replenishing Pills, still feeling a bit worried.
"Yes, it can be eaten."
Wan Yunting took out a Yuan Replenishing Pill. It was about the size of a thumb, black all over, with a not-so-smooth surface, exuding a rich medicinal aroma. He smiled at Zhou Ruoxi, "I'll try one first…"
"Perhaps you shouldn't…"
Before Zhou Ruoxi could stop him, Wan Yunting popped the pill into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.
"Junior Brother Wan, you actually ate it."
Zhou Ruoxi, coming back to her senses, looked at him with concern, seeming a bit anxious. She hadn't expected Wan Yunting to eat it just like that.
"Mhm, it tastes quite good."
Wan Yunting smacked his lips and smiled. Immediately, his eyes widened slightly, and he soon felt a medicinal force melting in his stomach, surging into his meridians like a tide, causing his whole body to tremble. Without a word, Wan Yunting hurried towards the cold ice bed, climbed onto it, and sat cross-legged, quickly circulating the inner energy in his dantian to merge with the medicinal force of the Yuan Replenishing Pill…
"Junior Brother Wan, how are you?"
Zhou Ruoxi followed him and watched him cultivating cross-legged on the cold ice bed. Wan Yunting said, "I'm fine, Senior Sister Zhou. I just didn't expect the medicinal force of this Yuan Replenishing Pill to be so potent. I need to cultivate to refine it. By the way, Senior Sister, quickly take that Yuan Replenishing Pill and cultivate with me on this cold ice bed."
"Alright…"
After confirming he was fine, Zhou Ruoxi nodded. She then turned around, picked up the box from the stone table, and took out the other Yuan Replenishing Pill. Raising her delicate eyebrows, her autumn eyes paused, and she finally put it into her mouth and chewed. The bitter medicinal taste made her frown. She chewed a bit and then swallowed with difficulty…
The next moment, Zhou Ruoxi's autumn eyes widened slightly, and she also hurried to climb onto the cold ice bed, sitting cross-legged beside Wan Yunting. She quickly circulated her energy to her meridians, refining this thick medicinal force…
For a time, both of them sat cross-legged on the cold ice bed with their eyes closed, cultivating. Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi hadn't expected the medicinal force of this Yuan Replenishing Pill to be so abundant and powerful. It was like a flood surging into their meridians, almost overwhelming them and causing them to explode…
It was now past nine o'clock in the evening. The rain in the valley outside had stopped. In the hot spring pool, as the rainwater dripped from above, ripples spread across the water's surface. However, the temperature in the valley remained very humid and cold…
An hour passed in a blink. In the stone chamber inside the cave, Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi, sitting cross-legged on the cold ice bed, had cultivated to refine the medicinal force of the Yuan Replenishing Pill. Wan Yunting soon felt that his internal injuries had healed by more than half.
Opening his eyes, he couldn't help but exclaim with joy, "I never expected a single Yuan Replenishing Pill to have such a miraculous effect! Not only are my internal injuries mostly healed, but my cultivation has also increased significantly, seemingly nearing the condensation of an energy pill!"
Wan Yunting observed his internal dantian. The pale green inner energy was condensing around the dantian, taking on the form of an energy pill, but it hadn't fully condensed yet!
However, he had now stepped into the mid-stage of the Dan Jin realm. If Wan Yunting hadn't used most of the Yuan Replenishing Pill's medicinal force to heal his injuries, and if it had all been used to increase his cultivation, he might have already become a mid-stage Dan Jin realm expert.
"Hmm, why is it a bit hot…"
Wan Yunting wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, puzzled as to why his body felt slightly warm.
Logically, sitting cross-legged on the cold ice bed to cultivate should not make him feel hot, but now his body felt inexplicably warm, making Wan Yunting feel that something was amiss.
"Could it be that the Yuan Replenishing Pill really has other side effects?"
Wan Yunting was somewhat puzzled. He turned to look at Zhou Ruoxi, who was sitting cross-legged beside him. Her fair forehead and delicate swan-like neck were also beaded with sweat, and her face was flushed, similar to the rosy glow that appears after drinking alcohol…
Next, Zhou Ruoxi, who had also finished refining the medicinal force, exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly opened her beautiful eyes. She was also somewhat delighted. The Yuan Replenishing Pill had increased her cultivation, and her injuries were also slowly healing. The cold ice bed beneath them had played a significant role in achieving such effects…
"Senior Sister Zhou, do you also feel very hot?"
Wan Yunting, while wiping his sweat, looked at Zhou Ruoxi's flushed face and the sweat beading on her hot forehead. Her body was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, making him feel worried…
"Mhm…"
Zhou Ruoxi nodded slightly. She also felt very uncomfortable, continuously wiping the sweat from her forehead and swan-like neck. Her autumn eyes looked at Wan Yunting's flushed face and said, "Junior Brother Wan, your face is so red…"
"Oh."
Wan Yunting touched his burning face, his brow furrowed, and his worry intensified.
Zhou Ruoxi also touched her burning cheeks and said, "Junior Brother Wan, what exactly is going on? Why do we feel so hot?"
Wan Yunting shook his head and said, "I don't know, but that Yuan Replenishing Pill is definitely, definitely fine…"
"Mhm…"
Zhou Ruoxi nodded with a slightly unnatural expression. She felt her body getting hotter and more uncomfortable, especially her mind. For some reason, the image of the conjugal illustration from the Peerless Yin Yang Technique manual she had seen earlier appeared in her mind, making her pretty face turn increasingly red. She bit her lower lip, her watery autumn eyes lowered, not daring to look at Wan Yunting beside her…
At this moment, Wan Yunting's mind also inexplicably recalled the illustrations from the Peerless Yin Yang Technique manual he had seen earlier. His brow furrowed tightly, and he felt that something was increasingly wrong.
"This feeling, it's like being drugged!"
That's right, Wan Yunting's current feeling was like the impulsive feeling he had when he was drugged by Chen Tao, and even his eyes were starting to turn red.
"No, something must have gone wrong!"
Wan Yunting immediately jumped off the cold ice bed and went to the stone table to search through the more than a dozen martial arts manuals. Finally, he found the Peerless Yin Yang Technique and opened it. Each incantation was accompanied by a conjugal illustration, deeply imprinted in Wan Yunting's mind, making him unable to forget it, and his emotions became increasingly agitated…
Suddenly, Wan Yunting picked up the book and sniffed it vigorously, discovering that the Peerless Yin Yang Technique emitted a very faint, special scent!
"Could it be… the scent of love flowers?"
Wan Yunting's eyes widened. His emotions were somewhat chaotic now. He knew he must have been drugged with some kind of aphrodisiac, which was causing him those impulses!
And this drug was hidden within the Peerless Yin Yang Technique manual. It released a faint yet special aroma that Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi had completely overlooked when they first opened it.
"Junior Brother Wan, I… I feel so uncomfortable…"
At this moment, Zhou Ruoxi, who had collapsed onto the cold ice bed, had a flushed complexion, her watery autumn eyes hazy, and her consciousness gradually blurring. Her body was burning with heat, and her hands began to tear at her clothes…
Seeing this scene, Wan Yunting's eyes widened, and his mind was filled with the illustrations from the Peerless Yin Yang Technique manual, as if Zhou Ruoxi looked exactly like that…
For a moment, Wan Yunting's consciousness also gradually blurred. Unconsciously, he climbed onto the cold ice bed and embraced Zhou Ruoxi. The two of them held each other close…