42: Chapter 42 Telepathic Cheating? How to Counter This?!

Duan Gujin finished regulating his breath, and once his spiritual power had recovered, he quickly tidied his clothes to hide the traces of discussing Pill Formulas with Shang Ruoni at Danxia Garden last night.

He thought helplessly, "That woman, Shang Ruoni! Her appetite is getting bigger and bigger. I need to improve my cultivation quickly, or I'll be sucked dry by her sooner or later."

At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

A cold voice rang out:

"Husband! You're finally back!"

Duan Gujin's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately went to open the door.

Outside the door was Jiang Yuxue, who had just come out of seclusion.

She wore a moon-white long dress and had a cold temperament. Her eyes scrutinized Duan Gujin's face as if she wanted to scrape off a layer of skin.

"Wife, you've come out of seclusion? Congratulations on your progress in cultivation!" Duan Gujin forced a look of perfect surprise onto his face.

Phew! Good thing I just finished regulating my breath; my face shouldn't look too drained! This lady's eyes are way too sharp, aren't they?!

Jiang Yuxue nodded slightly, her cold gaze falling on him. "Your aura... seems a bit weak? Did you get exhausted outside?"

Alarm bells rang in Duan Gujin's mind, and he immediately put on a tired look, as if he didn't want her to worry.

"Thank you for your concern, Wife. There was a bit of an accident during this Secret Realm trip, so the consumption was a bit high. But it's fine; I feel much better after regulating my breath."

He briefly explained the encounter with the Demon Race in the Secret Realm, emphasizing his own hardships and gains.

Exhausted? Of course I'm exhausted! I was 'Alchemy'ed' by that female Devil Head Shang Ruoni for most of last night. How could I not be drained!

But this blame has to be shifted to the Demon Race. Mm, a good shift!

Finally, he took something out of his storage ring.

It was an ice-blue prism, emitting a bone-chilling cold and pure ice spiritual power.

It was exactly the top-grade Golden Core level ice-attribute Magic Treasure he had exchanged for, the cold marrow mirror.

"Wife, your cultivation has progressed, so you need a handy Magic Treasure."

"I specifically exchanged for this cold marrow mirror for you using the gains from this Secret Realm trip."

"It excels in both offense and defense, and is particularly good at freezing enemies. It best fits your Cultivation Technique and temperament, and will surely assist you."

Jiang Yuxue's gaze fell on the ice-blue prism, and the frozen lake in the depths of her eyes finally showed a clear ripple.

She could clearly feel the majestic power of ice within it, which resonated strongly with her Cultivation Technique.

She extended her slender fingers, which carried ice spiritual power, and gently touched the body of the mirror.

"cold marrow mirror..."

Jiang Yuxue murmured softly, a rare hint of satisfaction appearing in her eyes.

This Magic Treasure's attributes were a perfect match, and its grade was high enough.

"As long as you're satisfied! As long as you're satisfied! This is exactly the reaction I wanted!" Duan Gujin thought happily upon seeing this.

"This item is excellent. You were thoughtful, Husband." With a flick of her hand, she put away the cold marrow mirror.

[Triggered Hundredfold Return!]

[Congratulations Host, you have obtained the Nascent Soul level ice-attribute Magic Treasure: Moon Soul Cold Light Mirror!! Rewards have been sent to the System space!]

Watching the barely perceptible satisfaction in Jiang Yuxue's eyes, the heavy stone in Duan Gujin's heart finally fell to the ground.

The harvest from the Hundredfold Return was very sweet.

More importantly, he had temporarily appeased this Dao Companion with incredible insight.

He steadied himself, suppressed the wild joy in his heart, and looked at Jiang Yuxue's cold profile with a gentle smile, suggesting, "Wife, shall we proceed with today's Dual Cultivation lesson as usual?"

Dual Cultivation was also an important part of stabilizing their relationship and preventing her from becoming suspicious!

Mhm, and he could also conveniently borrow some of her ice-attribute spiritual power to improve his cultivation. A win-win! A guaranteed profit!

Jiang Yuxue's lake-like eyes lingered on his face for a moment before she finally nodded calmly. "Mhm."

Phew! I passed!

An hour later.

Inside the quiet room, the spiritual power settled.

A unique aura from the operation of the Dual Cultivation Technique still lingered in the air.

The warm flow of spiritual power brought by the technique slowly circulated within both their bodies.

Duan Gujin was the first to rise and tidy his robes, his face wearing a touch of perfect consideration and apology.

"Wife, you've just come out of seclusion and obtained a new Magic Treasure, so you need time to consolidate and nurture it. I still have some mundane affairs to handle, so I won't disturb you further."

Gotta run! While this lady is in a good mood and busy consolidating her Magic Treasure, she won't have time to think! I need to seize the time to 'fleece some wool'! There's only one chance a day; I can't waste it!

Jiang Yuxue sat cross-legged on the jade bed, surrounded by a lingering chill.

She had already begun to nurture the cold marrow mirror. Hearing his words, she only nodded slightly without even opening her eyes. "Mhm. Go attend to your business."

"Alright! You stay busy! This lowly one takes his leave!"

Duan Gujin performed a salute, turned around, and quickly left the quiet room.

It wasn't until he walked out of the courtyard and confirmed that Jiang Yuxue's Divine Sense wasn't following him that he let out a long, silent sigh of relief.

Alarm cleared! Perfect!

Today's main goal was finally achieved!

Gifting the cold marrow mirror successfully triggered the Hundredfold Return, landing him the Nascent Soul Magic Treasure, the Moon Soul Cold Light Mirror!

He had also temporarily stabilized the iceberg that was Jiang Yuxue.

"Now, it's time to find Hongling and the others."

A smug smile curled at the corner of his mouth as his pace unconsciously quickened.

How could he miss the daily Hundredfold Return opportunity!!!

He had to deploy it precisely to maximize the benefits!

His next target was locked onto that pair of famous twin sisters who had repeatedly made him hit a wall—Li Zhiyi and Li Jieju.

Tsk, these twin sisters were truly a love-hate relationship; they made his mouth water but also gave him a splitting headache!

The elder sister, Li Zhiyi, was as bright and beautiful as the midsummer sun, with a lively and jumping personality like a burning flame.

Every frown and smile of hers carried a scorching heat, bright and flamboyant, as if she could dispel all gloom and easily attract everyone's gaze.

The younger sister, Li Jieju, was as quiet as a cold pond in late autumn, with a cold and aloof temperament, like a secluded orchid blooming quietly under the moon.

She didn't speak much, but her thoughts were as delicate as hair and her insight was extremely strong; those eyes seemed able to see through people's hearts.

The most headache-inducing part, or rather, the thing that drove Duan Gujin most crazy, was that the two sisters were practically inseparable, like two bodies with one soul!

Whether it was meditating to Cultivate, discussing Dao methods, resting and tasting tea, or going down the mountain for experience and executing Sect missions,

The two always walked side-by-side, like twin lotuses on a single stalk, indistinguishable from each other and amazingly synchronized.

He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Do you guys hold hands even to go to the latrine?!

With you two being so inseparable, it's very hard for me to take a bite!!!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻]

Duan Gujin had tried many times to create opportunities, attempting to defeat them one by one.

Either by using the mystery of a fire-attribute Cultivation Technique as an excuse to try and get close to the passionate Li Zhiyi,

Or by using the excuse of asking for a way to break a complex Formation to try and strike up a conversation with the quiet-as-water Li Jieju.

However, no matter how carefully he planned or how skillfully he timed it, the other one would always arrive gracefully at the most critical moment, as if she had foreknowledge!

This was simply like seeing a ghost!

Either Li Zhiyi would suddenly appear, smiling beautifully while holding her sister's arm: "Senior Brother Duan, are you discussing Formations with my sister? I happen to have some insights too~"

Or just as he was racking his brain for a topic to have a deep exchange with Li Zhiyi, Li Jieju's cold voice would ring out from not far behind: "Sister, Revered Master is calling us."

After hitting a wall several times, he finally learned a piece of news from a gossipy fellow Disciple that made him almost despair.

There existed a mysterious type of Telepathy between the sisters; their hearts were in sync and their thoughts were connected!

What one person saw, heard, and thought, the other perceived almost simultaneously!

Holy crap! How am I supposed to play then! This is freaking cheating! It's a hack! It's a Heavenly Dao BUG!

Every time Duan Gujin thought about it, he felt it was incredibly troublesome, and his heart complained wildly:

"A bronze wall and an iron enclosure! Not a single leak! With this level of defense, not even a male mosquito could fly in, right?!"

"Want to hit on the elder sister? The younger sister's alarm is instantly maxed out!"

"Want to flirt with the younger sister? The elder sister immediately airlifts in to intercept!"

"How can I even do this? Is this young Revered Master supposed to conquer both at the same time? The difficulty level is straight off the charts!"

What made him even more wary, like a thorn in his back, and even made his spine go cold just thinking about it, was the towering iceberg behind them that he couldn't possibly bypass—Shang Ruoni!

The image of that deep discussion in the depths of Danxia Garden last night involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The Pill Furnace was misty with a strange medicinal fragrance, the woman coiled around him like a seductive poisonous snake, her hot body carrying an irresistible force, and that near-predatory demand for spiritual power that left his Dantian empty...

"Hiss... my lower back is starting to ache faintly again! This woman is definitely a Taotie! Even the Star-Sucking Art isn't as capable of sucking as she is!"

Duan Gujin subconsciously reached out to press his lower back, where a deep, bone-deep feeling of soreness and weakness peculiar to being over-extracted of spiritual power seemed to remain.

Shang Ruoni, this woman, had unfathomable cultivation and even more unpredictable thoughts. Her passion for researching special Pill Formulas was terrifyingly high, and she particularly liked using living people (specifically him, Duan Gujin) as a 'medicine primer'.

"In her eyes, I'm probably just a walking, breathing, spiritual-power-rich 'human-shaped great tonic'!"

And how could she allow others to easily lay a finger on the Disciples under her, especially those twin sisters whom she regarded as treasures, poured countless efforts into, and whose appearance and Aptitude were both top-tier?

If she were to sense that he had other intentions toward the sisters Zhiyi and Jieju, Duan Gujin shuddered violently, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

He could already foresee the miserable scene of being bound hand and foot and thrown next to that giant, weirdly bubbling Pill Furnace in Danxia Garden, his pure spiritual power being completely sucked dry by that woman using all sorts of unimaginable and evil-sounding 'Ten Essentials Great Tonic Pill Formulas', 'Yin-Yang Harmony Powders', and 'Nine-Revolution Essence-Absorbing Powders', until he was limp as mud, with a haggard appearance, sunken eyes, and wasted spiritual power.

"It's over, it's over, the imagery is too strong! I'll be sucked into a human jerky! Then I'll be thrown out like medicine dregs!"

That was absolutely a nightmare a hundred times more terrifying than facing an ambush by Demon Race elites!

"No, no! The risk is too high! Although this wool is good, if I don't fleece it well, I'll easily fleece myself right into the Alchemy furnace!"

"I need to plan this carefully! I need a foolproof plan! Or, should I change to a lower-risk target first?"

Duan Gujin brainstormed wildly as he walked quickly.