29: Chapter 29 You big liar! You said that was the last time!

"Faner. I remember you saying before that when you went to find Leng Qingyue a few days ago, you first encountered Cao Kun at Lianxiang Peak. The two of you even came to blows."

Ye Fan nodded.

"That is indeed the case. At that time, that kid was being handsy with Junior Sister Leng, and I couldn't stand it, so I attacked."

"Did you see his cultivation and appearance clearly at that time?" Ye Ting pressed.

"I did," Ye Fan recalled for a moment. "He was at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment."

"And he had already returned to the appearance of a young man in his twenties. Otherwise, I wouldn't have failed to recognize him at a glance."

Slap!

Ye Ting slammed his palm onto the table.

The force was so great that it directly sent several cracks through the red sandalwood tabletop.

Wang Zhenshan was startled. "Brother Ye, what's the matter?"

Ye Ting stood up abruptly, a greedy and ruthless light erupting in his eyes.

"The timeline is wrong!"

"Today at the Affairs Hall, Leng Qingyue admitted it herself. She said she used her Top-grade Primal Yin to wash Cao Kun's marrow and temper his tendons, helping him Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, which allowed him to return to his youth."

"However!"

Ye Ting's tone grew heavier.

"According to what Faner said, when they first met—while Leng Qingyue still loathed him to the extreme—Cao Kun had already broken through to Foundation Establishment and regained his youth!"

Ye Fan was stunned.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through his mind.

That's right!

At that time, Cao Kun already had that pretty-boy look!

At that time, Leng Qingyue wouldn't even give him the time of day, so how could she have possibly engaged in Dual Cultivation with him?!

"Grandfather, you mean..." Ye Fan swallowed hard.

Ye Ting let out a cold laugh.

"Leng Qingyue is lying."

"To save this man's life, she didn't hesitate to use her own reputation as a shield to cover up his true secret!"

Ye Ting turned to look at Wang Zhenshan. The gazes of the two old foxes met in mid-air, instantly reaching a certain tacit understanding.

"A hundred-year-old man from the outer Sect with depleted blood and Qi, and a ruined Spiritual Root."

"Without Dual Cultivation. Without any external assistance."

"To actually reshape his Foundation within a few short days, cross the heavenly chasm to break through to Foundation Establishment, and even completely reverse the loss of his Lifespan!"

Ye Ting took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his voice.

"This isn't some sudden burst after long accumulation at all. This is Heaven-Defying Fate-Changing!"

"This kid must be hiding an extremely terrifying treasure! Or perhaps some ancient Legacy that points directly to the Great Dao!"

As soon as these words were spoken,

Wang Zhenshan's breathing also became heavy.

His greed was completely undisguised.

If it was truly as Ye Ting speculated,

Then the value of whatever was on Cao Kun's person definitely far exceeded a single fifth-grade barrier-breaking pill!

It might even change the entire landscape of the Qingzhou cultivation world!

"Faner."

A light flashed in Ye Ting's hand.

An inner armor emitting a faint golden glow floated in the air.

"This is my personal defensive item, the Quasi-Profound Rank Magical Artifact, the golden thread robe. Put it on."

"Tomorrow, when you step onto the Life-and-Death Platform."

"Don't waste words. Don't torture him. Take a Explosive Qi Pill right at the start and use your strongest killing move."

"Blast him to death immediately!"

"You must not give him any chance to turn the tables or surrender!"

Ye Fan nodded heavily and took the golden thread robe, killing intent boiling in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Grandfather! I guarantee he'll be dead as can be!"

Ye Ting turned and cupped his fists toward Wang Zhenshan.

"Brother Wang."

"On the Life-and-Death Platform tomorrow, the moment Cao Kun draws his last breath, you, as the referee, will immediately announce the end of the duel."

"Then, immediately use the excuse of examining the body to prevent an evil cultivator's Possession to seal off the arena on the spot!"

"While his Divine Soul has not yet dissipated, immediately perform the Soul Searching Art!"

"At that time, that Heaven-Defying secret will be in the palms of our hands!"

Wang Zhenshan stroked the beard on his chin and promised,

"Rest assured, Brother Ye."

"Everything is under control."

...

The sun rose high in the sky.

The Spiritual Qi at the herb garden in the back mountains of Lianxiang Peak surged violently.

It faintly formed a visible Spiritual Qi vortex.

The free-floating Spiritual Qi in the world seemed to be drawn by some force.

Simultaneously, it poured into the cracks of the second-floor windows of the pavilion.

Inside the room.

Cao Kun sat cross-legged on the cloud bed.

The aura around him rose steadily.

The Primal Yin power of the Top-grade Ice Spirit Body and his own Blazing Sun Spiritual Root merged completely.

The Spiritual Qi vortex within his Dantian continuously expanded and solidified.

The spiritual power that was originally liquid now became increasingly viscous.

Boom!

A muffled explosion rang out inside Cao Kun's body.

The invisible barrier obstructing his Realm shattered instantly.

A powerful wave of spiritual power swept outward in all directions.

It caused the gauze curtains in the room to flutter loudly.

Late Stage Foundation Establishment!

In just one night,

He had not only stabilized his originally somewhat superficial Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Realm,

But had even crossed the threshold of the minor Realm, stepping directly into the Late Stage Foundation Establishment.

If this speed of promotion were to get out, it would be enough to make the old monsters of the entire Qingzhou cultivation world drop their jaws.

[No wonder the Hehuan Sect could rank among the top demonic Sects back then; this method is indeed wild.]

[With just one night of preparation, I've crossed an entire minor Realm.]

Cao Kun restrained his aura and turned his head to look beside him.

At this moment, Leng Qingyue was staring blankly at the ceiling.

Her mouth kept repeating a single phrase.

"Liar."

"Liar..."

"Big liar..."

Cao Kun was amused.

He propped his head up with one hand, lying on his side next to Leng Qingyue.

"Junior Sister, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want."

"How can something between cultivators be called lying?"

Cao Kun's tone held a hint of grievance, along with a smirk he couldn't hide.

"Look."

"Not only did I help you greatly suppress the cold poison in your body, I even helped you clear your Meridians while I was at it."

"We were helping each other. And look, I accidentally broke through to the Late Stage Foundation Establishment."

"This is clearly a win-win. Why is my Junior Sister feeling aggrieved instead?"

Hearing this, Leng Qingyue's hollow eyes finally gained a flicker of focus.

"You said last night... it would be over soon!"

"You also said... that was the last time!"

"And the result? That 'last time' lasted until the sun came up!"

Leng Qingyue grew angrier as she spoke. She wrapped herself in the quilt, rolled over, and turned her back to Cao Kun, looking like she never wanted to speak to him again.

It was supposed to be just a simple pre-match state adjustment.

But as a result...

All sorts of strange knowledge had been forced into her originally pure mind.

Listening to the tearful accusations coming from under the covers, Cao Kun struggled to hold back his laughter.

[Only a fool would believe a man's words in bed.]

[It seems the 'nine-year compulsory education' of the cultivation world is still not widespread enough for my Junior Sister.]

Cao Kun reached out to grab the corner of the quilt and gave it a tug.

It didn't budge.

Leng Qingyue was gripping the inside of the quilt with surprising strength.

"Junior Sister, now you're being unreasonable."

Cao Kun cleared his throat and began to talk nonsense with a straight face.

"For a cultivator, a closed-door session can easily last for months or years."

"When I said 'soon,' by the time standards of the cultivation world, wouldn't half a night be considered 'soon'?"

There was no movement under the quilt.

Clearly, Leng Qingyue had no intention of entertaining this bastard's fallacious arguments.

Seeing this, Cao Kun slapped the bulge in the quilt with the back of his hand.

"Besides, since you're so convinced I'm lying to you,"

"In order to prove my innocence, why don't we do a live verification right now?"

As he spoke, Cao Kun deliberately exaggerated his movements, making a show of untying the belt of the outer robe he had just put on.

The rustling sound of the belt was exceptionally clear in the quiet wooden house.

Again?!

Someone will die! Someone will definitely die!

"Don't!"

"I believe you!"

"My cold poison has been suppressed very well! Your cultivation is also very solidly established!"

"There's no need for verification!"

Leng Qingyue tried her best to shrink into the corner of the bed, her eyes filled with weakness, piteousness, and helplessness as she looked at Cao Kun.

Watching the once high-and-mighty iceberg lotus now trembling with fear because of a single sentence from him,

Cao Kun felt a great sense of satisfaction.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the Jade Beast Leng Qingyue is experiencing extreme awe and submissiveness.]

[Leng Qingyue's taming value +5.]

[Current total taming value: 25/100.]

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: 500 task points.]

[Current Task Point balance: 7,200.]

The System prompt that rang in his mind at the right time made Cao Kun's mood even more pleasant.

"Fine. Since my Junior Sister believes me so much, we'll consider this matter settled."

Cao Kun stopped while he was ahead and let go of the quilt.

He re-fastened his half-removed outer robe.

Although his cultivation already crushed Ye Fan's, that kid had the Alchemy Pavilion Elder backing him, so there was no telling what kind of underhanded hidden cards he might have.

To ensure nothing went wrong, he still needed to get some insurance.

With a thought, Cao Kun summoned the System Mall.

The light screen unfurled.

A dazzling list of products appeared.

Cao Kun skipped over the Cultivation Techniques and Magic Treasures, locking his gaze on the single-use consumables section.

Magic Treasures required time to refine.

Talismans and props could be used as soon as they were obtained.

These were the real hard currency on a Life-and-Death Platform.

"Exchange: Advanced Great Strength Talisman, two copies."

"Exchange: Advanced Wind-Riding Talisman, two copies."

"And one... Substitute Paper Man."

[Ding! Purchase successful.]

[Deducted task points: 1,000.]

[Current remaining task points: 6,200.]

[Items have been sent to the System space; the host can extract them at any time.]

With a thought from Cao Kun,

Five shimmering Talismans appeared in his palm.

Advanced Great Strength Talisman: Increases Physical Body strength threefold!

Advanced Wind-Riding Talisman: Increases speed threefold!

And that yellow paper man with eerie runes drawn on it could perfectly block a single fatal blow.

"Perfect."

Cao Kun tucked the Talismans away close to his body, his sense of security maximized.

With these, even if that old geezer Wang Zhenshan personally stepped in to tilt the scales, he could handle it calmly.

Everything was ready.

Cao Kun pushed open the door, looked back at the bulge in the quilt on the bed, and said:

"Junior Sister, it's almost noon; I have to go to my appointment."

"You were overworked last night and lost too much fluid. Don't go to join the commotion; just rest here for a while longer."

A barely audible "Mhm" came from under the quilt, sounding like a response, but also like she was acting spoiled.

Cao Kun smiled and didn't linger any longer.

He soared through the air toward the Sect's martial arts arena.

Yu Linglong