27: madman

"Ha!"

Holding the wooden strip with both hands, Yin Chaoge executed a 'Cleaving Mount Hua' strike toward Gu Wanquan.

In Gu Wanquan's eyes, the Yin Chaoge holding the wooden strip with both hands was full of openings. He slightly shifted his body to dodge Yin Chaoge's strike, and with a flick of the wooden strip in his hand, he lashed it across Yin Chaoge's back.

"Sss..." The burning pain on his back made Yin Chaoge suck in a breath of cold air.

Although he hadn't completed his Body Tempering yet, with his Protective Aura protecting him, a regular wooden strip shouldn't be able to make him feel pain at all.

If he felt pain, it could only mean that this damned White Noodle in front of him had actually infused True Essence into the wooden strip!

"You dog-like thing, you actually sneak-attacked me?" Yin Chaoge whispered resentfully.

Gu Wanquan looked at Yin Chaoge, who was squatting on the ground, with a fake smile. With great interest, he said, "Oh? Just now, when Junior Brother used that 'Cleaving Mount Hua' move, I saw True Essence flowing on the wooden strip. I thought Junior Brother wanted This Elder Brother to be a bit more serious!"

Yin Chaoge, who had failed his scheme and suffered a loss, glared angrily at the beaming Gu Wanquan. He stood up, gripping the wooden strip with both hands, preparing to attack again.

Ever since Master had preached to them about the world's cultivation, the two had begun to comprehend each other's Dao separately.

Although progress was slow, it felt infinitely enjoyable.

Gu Wanquan looked at Yin Chaoge, who was holding the wooden strip with both hands, and said unhurriedly, "In half a month, you haven't even learned how to hack and slash. I'm afraid it might be a bit difficult for Junior Brother to comprehend the Nine Swords of the Sword Immortal within This Elder Brother's lifetime?"

Facing Gu Wanquan's playful provocation, Yin Chaoge's expression remained normal. After ten-odd days of cultivation, he clearly understood that he was a weapon idiot.

But what a Martial Cultivator lacked least was patience and persistence. In his past life, he had also relied on persistence, throwing millions of punches to reach the position of Demon Venerable.

The hardships, sweat, and pain involved were not something to be told to outsiders.

What? You're talking about the devouring ability of the Black Lotus Dao Foundation?

That was exchanged for by sacrificing his own father to the heavens; how could that not count as his own effort?

Thinking of this, Yin Chaoge suddenly looked at Gu Wanquan strangely and said sarcastically, "White Noodle, the backlash of the Black Lotus Dao Foundation doesn't feel good, does it?"

The Black Lotus Dao Foundation devours all things to nourish oneself, but for the one being nourished, it is equally painful.

Every moment, one must endure the pain caused to the body when the Black Lotus Dao Foundation provides feedback.

It was like putting a whole person into a millstone to be ground, with every inch of muscle and sinew being repeatedly crushed.

If one's Heart-Nature was even slightly lacking, they probably wouldn't be able to stand the pain the next day and would commit suicide to apologize to heaven and earth.

Hearing Yin Chaoge's words, Gu Wanquan nodded, his smiling face showing no sign of pain at all: "Junior Brother's Black Lotus Dao Foundation is truly overbearing. The pain is like ten thousand ants gnawing at one's bones at all times. I really admire how Junior Brother was able to endure it back then!"

"Then... you..." Yin Chaoge looked at Gu Wanquan suspiciously; the other's expression was as usual, with no sign of pain.

His own Physique was different from ordinary people, with powerful recovery abilities and vigorous blood energy, yet he still struggled to endure under the Black Lotus Dao Foundation.

But why did this Gu Wanquan act as if nothing was wrong?

Gu Wanquan seemed to see through Yin Chaoge's confusion. He walked up to Yin Chaoge with a smile, looking at Yin Chaoge, who was slightly shorter than him.

"What do you want to do?" Yin Chaoge tightened his grip on the wooden strip, feeling a bit nervous, fearing the other would suddenly attack.

Gu Wanquan leaned down slightly, the half-smile on his face becoming increasingly eerie: "Junior Brother, look at who I am!"

To Yin Chaoge's horror, Gu Wanquan's gentle and sunny face began to distort.

Before long, a white-clothed Yin Chaoge stood before Yin Chaoge.

Compared to the Yin Chaoge wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, the white-clothed Yin Chaoge opposite him had spirited eyes, and his face still wore that standard smile.

Yin Chaoge looked at the face identical to his own and asked gloomily, "The Black Lotus Dao Foundation inside your Dantian—how many grades has it bloomed?"

Gu Wanquan changed back to his own face and said modestly, "This Elder Brother is dull; at the moment, it has bloomed to the third grade!"

"Damn it... talent dogs all deserve to die!" Yin Chaoge's heart shook violently as he looked at Gu Wanquan in disbelief.

In his past life, he had endured inhuman pain for three whole years before barely reaching the third grade.

This White Noodle had actually reached the third grade in just half a month?!

How can I play this? Someone is cheating!

Wait, I used this cheat too. Why wasn't it so powerful?

A sense of frustration rose in Yin Chaoge's heart. His mortal enemy from his past life was now stepping on his head, yet he had no way to stop it.

Gu Wanquan said with a smile, "It's nothing. The Black Lotus Dao Foundation is merely using the Dao Foundation to temper the physical body, turning it into a container that can hold everything. Isn't it enough just to compress the Body Tempering and complete it all within these few days?"

Hearing Gu Wanquan's words, Yin Chaoge looked at him with an expression as if he were looking at a madman.

That extreme pain of tempering the body was like a steamroller crushing over one's body; every inch of the body had to endure the pain of being shattered and reshaped.

And the White Noodle in front of him had actually increased this pain by dozens of times!

It was like lying on the ground being repeatedly crushed by a steamroller, and all the pain had to be clearly perceived.

"Madman!"

"Are you fucking crazy?"

"One slight slip-up and you won't even be able to reincarnate!"

Even a Great Cultivator wouldn't be able to persist under such pain.

This was also why, although Yin Chaoge had a 'cheat' in his past life, he felt it was all well-deserved.

Every bit of progress in strength was accompanied by extreme pain. Why shouldn't it be considered well-deserved?

But the Gu Wanquan before him had actually accelerated and increased this pain by dozens of times, completing a year's worth of bitter cultivation in just half a month!

No one in this world knew the overbearing nature of the Black Lotus Dao Foundation, which was like a second life in his past life, better than Yin Chaoge.

Yin Chaoge understood exactly what kind of pain Gu Wanquan had been enduring during this half-month.

But looking back at these past days, Yin Chaoge hadn't noticed anything unusual about the other party at all!

That was the most terrifying part!

Yin Chaoge looked at Gu Wanquan and suddenly felt that the White Noodle before him had become a stranger.

Although the Gu Wanquan of his past life, who was always full of benevolence and morality, was hypocritical, he still acted with integrity and a clear sense of right and wrong.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been honored as the "gentleman sword"!

But the current Gu Wanquan was like a venomous snake in sheep's clothing, hiding lethal fangs beneath a docile exterior.

"Madman? Pain? Hmm, if described that way, it does seem a bit crazy!" Gu Wanquan nodded with a smile, agreeing with Yin Chaoge's words.

Recalling the pain he had endured over the past half-month, a pain that almost destroyed his personality and made him feel like he was dying and coming back to life at every moment.

But Gu Wanquan was somewhat intoxicated by that physical pain.

That indescribable extreme of pain was something he even missed a little.

A sickly flush appeared on Gu Wanquan's face. He lightly licked the corner of his mouth and said with a bright smile:

"But that feeling of being clearly aware that I am still alive is indeed intoxicating!"