49: Should I use seduction on him?

Inner Sect, Law Enforcement Hall dungeon, cold and damp.

Mu Wanqing was chained to the cold stone wall with rough iron chains, her originally brand-new Inner Sect Disciple robes long since tattered and stained with dark red blood and grime.

Her face was pale, her lips chapped, but her eyes held an unyielding stubbornness.

The joy of joining the Inner Sect herb garden had not yet faded; she hadn't even had the chance to report for duty before she was forcibly detained here by people from the Law Enforcement Hall on trumped-up charges of "stealing spirit plants from Elder Xia's Small World."

"I didn't steal anything! I've been wronged!"

Mu Wanqing's voice was hoarse as she repeated this over and over, but the only response she received was the dead silence echoing from the depths of the dungeon and the indifferent gazes of the guards.

The cell door was violently pushed open with a "clang."

Xia Yuxuan walked in, wrapped in an air of chill, her face showing undisguised irritation and malice.

She didn't even bother to mention the fabricated theft charge again, walking straight up to Mu Wanqing with a whip imbued with spiritual power appearing in her hand.

"Snap!" The whip's shadow tore through the air like a venomous snake, lashing fiercely across Mu Wanqing's shoulder, instantly tearing her skin and flesh.

The excruciating pain made her body jerk violently, and she gasped for air, but she gritted her teeth tightly, refusing to cry out.

"Bitch! Speak! What evil technique did you use?!"

Xia Yuxuan's voice was sharp, filled with heavy jealousy and venom. "A mere piece of trash at Qi Refining Level Four, how could you possibly jump to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining in such a short time?! How could you possibly enter the Inner Sect?! Speak! What kind of shady business are you and that old thing Lu Yang involved in?!"

"Snap! Snap!" Two more lashes landed precisely on the previous wounds.

Mu Wanqing's vision went black from the pain, and her body spasmed uncontrollably.

She knew that Xia Yuxuan wasn't jealous of her entering the Inner Sect at all; what she wanted was the secret behind her skyrocketing cultivation!

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." Mu Wanqing gasped weakly.

"You don't know?" Xia Yuxuan sneered, raising the whip again. "Let's see how long you can keep your mouth shut!" She targeted areas that wouldn't be fatal but caused excruciating pain, drawing blood with every lash.

The continuous torture and the suppression of her spiritual power finally broke Mu Wanqing's mental defenses.

After another tearing pain, she spoke weakly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "It... it's Junior Brother Lu..."

"What?" Xia Yuxuan stopped the whip, stepped closer, and demanded sharply, "Speak clearly! What about that old thing?!"

Mu Wanqing gasped for air with difficulty, saying intermittently, "Junior Brother Lu... he... he has a rare Pure Yang Body... and... and he has preserved a full sixty years of... Primordial Yang Qi. I... I only managed to absorb this essence by engaging in Dual Cultivation with him. That is why I was able to achieve consecutive Breakthroughs..."

"Pure Yang Body?" A sharp light erupted in Xia Yuxuan's eyes, filled with both shock and greed. "Proof! Empty words are groundless, why should I believe you?!"

Mu Wanqing struggled, and from the lining of her torn robes, she laboriously pulled out a neatly folded, blood-stained piece of paper—it was that exact cauldron contract.

"This... this is the contract signed between Junior Brother Lu and me... it has... his Divine Soul imprint and promise on it... it can... prove that what I say is true..."

Xia Yuxuan snatched the contract, scanned the contents quickly, and when she saw "Lu Yang voluntarily becomes a Cauldron" and the Divine Soul imprint, a look of realization and wild ecstasy finally appeared on her face!

So that was it! That old thing really was hiding a massive Opportunity!

A sinister plan emerged in Xia Yuxuan's mind.

(Time returns to the present)

In the same Law Enforcement Hall dungeon, after returning from Lu Yang's place, Xia Yuxuan immediately went to Mu Wanqing's cell, wanting to interrogate her about the Dual Cultivation matter once again.

The sound of the whip exploded in the dungeon again! "Snap!" This lash struck hard on Mu Wanqing's leg, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Speak! How exactly is it done?!" Xia Yuxuan's eyes burned with a flame of madness, mixed with an indescribable disgust. "That old thing is nauseating to look at! How did you... how did you manage to stomach it?! Tell me every single detail! If you hold back even a little, I will make you wish you were dead!"

Mu Wanqing trembled all over from the pain, cold sweat mixing with blood as it slid down.

She looked at the contradictory expression of both greed and extreme disgust in Xia Yuxuan's eyes, and a twisted sense of pleasure suddenly welled up in her heart.

"Heh..." She laughed weakly, with a hint of imperceptible mockery. "The Dao of Dual Cultivation is naturally like this, the mutual aid of Yin and Yang... what is there to find hard to stomach? If Junior Sister... feels disgusted, it is merely because... your Heart-Nature has not reached that level yet."

She paused, gasping for air, and continued, "Furthermore... Junior Brother Lu injured his Origin in his early years due to over-cultivation, leading to the decay of his body. Relying... relying solely on nature... it is simply difficult to achieve anything..."

"Then how?!" Xia Yuxuan asked urgently, her body leaning forward unconsciously.

Mu Wanqing lifted her weary eyes, which held a strange glint, and stared straight at Xia Yuxuan: "You must first use a charm technique... to lead him... into a state of passion. Then... then use special techniques to assist him in activating that Magic Treasure, and only then can you truly operate the Cultivation Technique to engage in that Dual Cultivation."

"Charm... charm technique?!" Xia Yuxuan was struck as if by lightning, crying out involuntarily. The color drained from her face instantly, leaving only extreme shock and uncontrollable disgust. "You... you want me to use a charm technique on that... that old geezer?!"

An image of herself displaying charms to Lu Yang's decrepit body seemed to appear before her eyes, and her stomach churned violently, making her almost want to vomit.

"Exactly..." Mu Wanqing watched Xia Yuxuan's pale face, the sense of vengeful pleasure in her heart growing even stronger. Her tone carried a hint of temptation and mockery. "This is the only path... if Junior Sister truly cannot accept it, then it proves that you are not fated for this Dao or this Opportunity. It would be better to... just give up. Let me and Junior Brother Lu go, and save us both the torment."

Mu Wanqing selflessly imparted her "experience," every word stabbing into Xia Yuxuan's heart like a needle, tearing the last remnants of her pride and dignity to shreds.

Xia Yuxuan stood frozen in place like a stone statue. The steps Mu Wanqing described echoed in her ears, and uncontrollable images of that nauseating scene played in her mind. Extreme disgust, like a cold tide, threatened to drown her.

She was the daughter of an Elder, a favored daughter of heaven; how could she... how could she do that to such a dying old man...

However, when her jealous gaze fell upon Mu Wanqing again, and she felt the other woman's aura—which, despite her disheveled state, was undeniably at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining—a more intense greed and desire, one that almost burned away her reason, suddenly crashed through everything!

Mu Wanqing could do it! A lowly Outer Sect Disciple could soar to the heavens by relying on that old thing! Why couldn't she, Xia Yuxuan, do it?! As long as she could achieve a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, or even higher... as long as she could possess stronger cultivation...

Mu Wanqing's cultivation, Liu Yan's transformation, the immense temptation of the pure Primordial Yang on Lu Yang's body... all intertwined and echoed in her mind like a curse.

"Cultivation... I need cultivation..." The last trace of struggle in Xia Yuxuan's eyes was replaced by madness, and she clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.

She stared fixedly at Mu Wanqing, as if seeing the source of power within her grasp through her. Her voice was dry and hoarse, carrying a sense of desperate determination: "Fine... I... I will learn!"