"Ha! Youluo, do you really think this is all I've got?" Ye Lingtian sneered aloud, while frantically calculating escape routes in his mind.
Youluo was momentarily startled, his eyes flashing. *Could this brat still have a trick up his sleeve?* he thought. *Yet he is poisoned with my Spirit-Dispersing Poison; there is no way he can channel any spiritual power within twenty-four hours! Still, I mustn't let him back me into a corner. This brat is ruthless enough to drag someone down with him even in death—he never accepts a loss. I cannot lower my guard!*
"Then hand over the body-refining divine art, and I'll let you live!" Youluo demanded, thinking to himself: *Hmph! Once you hand it over and lower your guard, I'll deliver a fatal blow to eliminate any future trouble.*
"Fine! A deal's a deal!" Ye Lingtian replied, though internally he scoffed: *Hmph, old man, do you take me for a toddler? Trying to trick me? Not in this lifetime!*
"Heh heh! Naturally!" That sinister voice rang out again, with Youluo thinking: *He fell for it!*
As the magnetic male voice spoke, he pulled a book from out of nowhere and prepared to hurl it toward the man called Youluo.
Yanan checked her watch and saw it was already 2:25 AM. *Goodness, it's already this late!* she thought darkly. *It's pitch black, I can't even see what these two look like! And I have no idea if this magnetic-voiced guy is handing over the real book or a fake. Even I can tell that the moment he gives this body-refining divine art to the spooky guy, the magnetic guy is a goner. Please, please don't be a bronze-tier idiot!*
While Yanan still had the mental capacity to worry about someone else's life, she failed to realize that she was already drenched in cold sweat, too terrified to even draw a full breath! These men were clearly extraordinary figures; how could an ordinary girl possibly meddle in their affairs?
Suddenly, the magnetic-voiced Ye Lingtian hurled a book swiftly toward Youluo. To the naked eye, the book was enveloped in a ring of bright orange halo—truly mystical! Youluo caught the book and eagerly flipped it open, his weathered face turning pitch black instantly. There, glaring up at him, were six characters: *Modern Version of Jin Ping Mei*, accompanied by several explicit illustrations!
The very instant Youluo flipped the book open, Ye Lingtian surged forward like a whirlwind, driving a palm straight toward Youluo's dantian. A closer look revealed three white-glowing silver needles concealed between his fingers!
"You dare play with me? You... Ah... Ah..." Before Youluo could finish, he clutched his lower abdomen and shrieked in agony! Ye Lingtian's silver needles had pierced two inches below Youluo's dantian—his vital gate. The needles instantly burrowed inside, churning relentlessly.
"Hmph! Being toyed with by me is your honor!"
"Ah... If you ruin me, I won't let you off easy either!" Youluo roared. An orange glow enveloped his entire body, and he began to swell instantly!
"You're out of your mind!" Realizing what Youluo intended to do, Ye Lingtian hurriedly summoned a magical artifact to protect his body!
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion echoed as a living man was instantly blown to shreds and scattered meat! Desperate for revenge, Youluo had chosen to detonate himself. Even though Ye Lingtian had blocked the blast with a Heaven-tier magical artifact, the poison in his system combined with the shockwave severely damaged his meridians. He was left covered in soot and tattered rags, looking utterly wretched.
"Damn it! That stubborn old bastard is ruthless!" With that, he closed his eyes and began running a micro-cosmic orbit to treat his damaged meridians.
*Blech!*
A mouthful of blood spewed forth. Even though she was standing some distance away, Yanan was caught in the shockwave, which rattled her heart meridian.
"Cough, cough! Why am I so unlucky? Caught in the crossfire while just minding my own business!" A weak mutter reached Ye Lingtian's ears, and a pair of dark, faintly shimmering eyes snapped open.
"Someone's there?! Who is it, come out!"
Terrified out of her wits, Yanan—who had never witnessed anything so bloody—dared not make a sound!
"If you don't come out, I'll split you in two with a single palm!" At that moment, Ye Lingtian couldn't even raise his arms or stand; he was merely trying to scare her.
"No, no, no! I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything! I'm just a passerby, totally innocent, I know nothing at all. Please just treat me like a fart and let me go! Wuwu..." Yanan's mouth was stained with blood, her clothes disheveled, and her hair a mess; anyone stumbling upon her would have thought she had been violated.
Ye Lingtian frowned. *What a coward. Even if I wanted to do something to you, I'm completely powerless! What is there to be afraid of?*
Little did he realize—what else was an ordinary person supposed to be afraid of if not this? Besides, who was the one threatening to split someone in two just a moment ago? Hmph! Bullying a wife is fun for a moment, but chasing her afterward costs a fortune in funeral expenses!
"Cough!" Ye Lingtian said awkwardly. "Do me a favor and take the jade bottle out of my pants pocket."
Yanan froze. *Huh? So this guy can't even move his hands? And he was just sitting there threatening me? Hmph, should I take advantage of his helpless state... and do him in?* Don't get any wrong ideas—she meant striking first out of self-defense. If she waited for him to recover and silence her, wouldn't she miss tomorrow's sunrise?
Seeing the young woman standing frozen, he urged, "Hey! What are you thinking?" *Is she scared out of her mind?*
These two weren't even on the same wavelength!
"Ah? Oh!" *Whatever. I'm a good citizen; I've never even killed a chicken or a fish, how am I supposed to murder someone? Better negotiate some terms first!*
She pulled out the bottle and opened it. Inside lay three milky-white pills emitting a refreshing, invigorating fragrance.
"It smells so good!" Yanan couldn't help exclaiming.
Ye Lingtian smiled smugly. "Naturally. This was refined from fifty-eight precious herbs including Tianshan snow lotus, five-hundred-year-old deep-mountain ginseng, and Spirit Beast essence blood. It is extremely precious, and I only have three left. As long as you have a single breath left, taking one will restore you by seventy or eighty percent within half an hour, and furthermore..." *Stop right there! Dammit, why am I spilling my guts without any guard in front of a strange woman? Is my brain damaged from these heavy injuries?*
"Furthermore what?" Yanan was listening with rapt attention when he suddenly stopped. What a buzzkill!
"Ugh!" Meeting the sparkling, pitch-black eyes of the strange girl that seemed capable of pulling a person right in, Ye Lingtian felt deeply awkward! Was he supposed to tell her that this pill also acted as a potent aphrodisiac for tonifying the kidneys and extending endurance?
"Why is your face so red?"
"N-nothing! Feed me a pill!"
"Fine." Yanan brought the pill halfway to his lips, then stopped. With the man's mouth still hanging open, she pulled her hand back!
"What?" *Could this woman be getting ideas now that she knows how precious and effective the pill is?* His eyes narrowed instantly.
"I can give you the pill, but you have to agree to a few conditions!" Yanan said leisurely.
"State them!" Let's see what game she's playing.
"I know you're not an ordinary person, and I don't want to know your secrets, but I suffered unmerited disaster purely because of you guys."
"Mm!" Fair enough, that's true.
"Three conditions. First, my heart meridian is injured, so I need one of the pills.
Second, in your current state, any enemy could easily kill you. By giving you the pill, I'm saving your life—I'm your benefactor, so you cannot repay kindness with enmity and silence me!
Third, since I'm saving you, your life must be worth quite a bit, right? As long as you give me one million, from here on out, we go our separate ways and remain even!"
With one million, she would finally have enough money to buy a nice apartment, bring her parents to live in a brand-new home, and lead a good life. She'd even have leftover capital to start the small business she always wanted! Hehe!
Watching the slightly upturned corners of the woman's lips and her sparkling eyes, Ye Lingtian found her utterly adorable. *I suppose the third condition is the real point here, you little money-grubber,* he thought. After a moment of thought, he said, "Deal!"
Yanan took one of the pills and swallowed it. It melted on her tongue, sending a cool, refreshing sensation straight to her lower abdomen and soothing her entire network of meridians. Truly miraculous—it felt like stepping straight into a fantasy novel!
"Transfer the money to me first, then I'll feed you the medicine!" she stated bluntly, without a hint of shame or a blush.
"Here!" Murmuring something unintelligible, an Apple phone suddenly materialized in Yanan's hand!
*Incredible! Could it really be like the fantasy novels I used to read, where this guy has a storage ring or some sort of magical artifact? Whatever! Sometimes knowing less is safer.*
"Open your Alipay and transfer it yourself. The password is six eights," Ye Lingtian said nonchalantly.
"Okay!" Moments later, one million had been transferred to her account. Yanan's little heart hammered wildly. *Is this massive sum of money actually mine now? Please don't let this be a dream!*
"Can you feed me the pill now?" *If I don't take it soon, I'm going to kick the bucket. This woman is a real torment! But what else can I do?*
"Alright!" The moment the pill entered his mouth, Ye Lingtian felt truly alive again, the severe weakness fading away. He immediately crossed his legs and went into meditation.
Seeing the man meditating, Yanan tiptoed toward the exit. *Are you kidding? What if this guy goes back on his word and chops me to pieces? Who would I cry to? This place is not safe, time to evacuate!*
"Hold it right there!" barked the man, his mesmerizing eyes suddenly snapping open.
Her left foot, already mid-step, slammed on the brakes. *Did this guy really go back on his word?!*
*No way! Before he fully recovers, I'd better unleash my specialty—a hundred-meter sprint!* Action followed thought, and Yanan bolted forward like a shot. Only a fool would stand around and obey!
In the blink of an eye, the man caught up to her. *As if! Even injured, how could a spiritual cultivator fail to outrun an ordinary person?*
He grabbed her right wrist and said, "My injuries aren't fully healed, and I fear my enemies might track me down. I'll take temporary refuge at your place, you—"
Suddenly, the man's expression twisted dramatically, morphing into a look of shock and bizarre disbelief. The moment his hand touched her wrist, Ye Lingtian sensed that Yanan possessed the legendary Yin Body, a constitution that appeared only once in a millennia... And this very constitution happened to be the absolute best shortcut for spiritual cultivators seeking to advance rapidly... through dual cultivation!
The stages of cultivation are divided into four realms: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit to Return to Void, and Returning to Void and Merging with the Dao. Beyond those lie the immortal ascension realms: Xiantian, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Divine Separation, Returning to Void, Integration, Tribulation, Great Vehicle, Immortal Venerable, and Deity. Above Deity lies the Supreme Realm.
Each stage is further divided into nine tiers. Ye Lingtian was currently twenty-one years old. Having started cultivation at age thirteen, it took him a mere eight years to climb from the first tier of Refining Essence into Qi to the ninth tier of Refining Qi into Spirit. Peers his age typically lingered around the fifth or sixth tier of Refining Essence into Qi, while fifty-year-olds often stalled out at the fifth or sixth tier of Refining Qi into Spirit, or remained stuck there for life.
The further one progressed, the slower the advancement, highlighting just how arduous cultivation truly was.
Yet why would someone with a Yin Body appear in this small county? The cultivation speed of a Yin Body bearer was dozens of times faster than that of ordinary cultivators. For instance, Ye Lingtian himself was a cultivation freak whose growth rate was ten times that of average geniuses in the cultivation world—yet a woman with a Yin Body cultivated ten times faster than *him*!
One could only imagine: dual cultivating with a woman possessing such a Yin Body was the ultimate dream of every practitioner, something worth fighting and dying for! And this once-in-a-millennium Yin Body had fallen right into his lap? What kind of immense karmic fortune was this? Deep down, Ye Lingtian found himself torn...