512: Double Set Meal

Shang Wan Ning's gaze swept over their eye-catching hairstyles. She tapped her finger on the armrest of the soft couch twice: "I ask you, if there's an opportunity that allows you to break through to the seventh rank within two years, with the cost being pain on the level of scraping bone to cure poison, even having to dig into the very foundation of your cultivation, would you dare to try?"

Hei Jing's crossed leg slammed to the floor. He tilted his head and shook his skull earring: "Scraping bone? Like Guan Erye's method?"

"Something similar, perhaps even more brutal. It targets the very foundation of your divine soul."

Bai Xuan's back instantly straightened, the glitter on his explosion-style hair dazzling: "Two years to reach the seventh rank, this Subordinate is willing to try."

Hei Jing turned to look at him, grinning: "Brother Xuan says try, then we try! What's a little pain? It's better than being stuck in this broken realm!" He turned back, "Your Majesty, how exactly does it hurt? Give us a heads-up so this Subordinate can prepare."

Shang Wan Ning said no more, pointing her right hand into the void.

A light screen unfolded in response, and the System Mall interface popped out, directly locking onto three items.

"See for yourselves, pick a suitable one."

Hei Jing sprang up with a 'whoosh,' his studded boots thudding on the carpet. He took a few steps to the light screen, his dark green curly hair almost touching the display. Bai Xuan also rose, walking steadily to the other side.

The details of the first item popped up.

Nine Nether Soul Refinement Cave (Duo Package)

Price: 240 billion incense points

Description: A secret realm for soul refinement built with Nine Nether Dark Flames. Dual soul resonance can share the suffering.

Effect: Divine souls are refined by Dark Flames, physical bodies are soaked in Profound Nether Cold Liquid, a tempering of ice and fire. Two years in the outside world, fifty years of perception within the cave. Soul body strength reaches seventh-rank standard.

Note: Pain Index ★★★★☆. Duo mode reduces by half a star, requires extremely high tacit understanding.

"Double heaven of ice and fire..."

Hei Jing stared at the words "Dark Flames refining the soul," and his Adam's apple bobbed. "Brother Xuan, we've worked together for a thousand years, is our tacit understanding enough?"

Bai Xuan was expressionless, and the light-up sign on his neck happened to flash the words "Evil Spirits Begone": "What do you think?"

"Then we choose this one?"

"Let's finish reading first."

Shang Wan Ning gestured in the air, and the second item unfolded.

Yin-Yang Twin Tribulation (Partner Custom Edition)

Price: 280 billion incense points

Description: Draws on Yin and Yang qi to simulate a complete ascension heavenly tribulation. Partners bind their cultivation and bear the tribulation power together.

Effect: Experiences nine layers of lightning tribulation, inner demon tribulation, and karma tribulation. Passing all nine tribulations grants immediate seventh-rank. Two years in the outside world, thirty years of perception within the tribulation.

Note: Pain Index ★★★★★. If one person gives up, the other suffers double the backlash.

"Good heavens, a full lightning tribulation meal right away?" Hei Jing clicked his tongue, "Nine layers... This thing won't blast us to smithereens, will it?"

"The note says it's a simulated heavenly tribulation." Bai Xuan pointed, "But the pain is real."

"Five-star full pain! Even more brutal than the Soul Refinement Cave!"

The third item then appeared.

Life-Death Cycle Disk (Duo Seating)

Price: 230 billion incense points

Description: A cultivation instrument that concretizes the Law of Reincarnation. Experience nine complete cycles of life and death, comprehending the essence of life through extreme suffering.

Effect: Each "death" strips away old cultivation, each "rebirth" infuses pure spiritual essence. After nine successful cycles, cultivation leaps to the seventh rank.

Note: Pain Index ★★★★★+. Pain stacks, the ninth cycle is twenty-seven times that of the first. May cause cognitive dissonance of "I am dead."

The details of the three items floated side-by-side, the eerie glow of the light screen reflecting on their faces.

Hei Jing turned his head left and right, his dark green curly hair swaying with him, while Bai Xuan stood still, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the three items, his silver explosion-style hair unmoving.

Shang Wan Ning picked up the cold tea and took a sip.

After about half a cup of tea, Bai Xuan spoke first: "Your Majesty, do all three of these require dual cultivation?"

"Indeed. Your foundations are similar, and your cultivation methods share the same origin. Dual cultivation will be more efficient and allow you to share some of the hardship."

Hei Jing scratched his face, smudging a small area of his smoky eye makeup: "The Soul Refinement Cave is a slow boil of ice and fire, and two people can reduce some pain; the Yin-Yang Tribulation is heavenly lightning striking, once bound, we live and die together; the Cycle Disk is dying nine times, getting more brutal each time..."

He counted on his fingers: "Pain ranking: Soul Refinement Cave four and a half stars, Yin-Yang Tribulation five stars, Cycle Disk five stars and up. The time outside is two years for all, while inside it ranges from thirty to fifty years."

Bai Xuan took over: "The Soul Refinement Cave focuses on the foundation, it's solid but takes the longest; the Yin-Yang Tribulation breaks and then builds, with the highest risk; the Cycle Disk comprehends life and death, the pain is unpredictable, and the risk is also the greatest."

"And the price! Soul Refinement Cave is 240 billion, Yin-Yang Tribulation is 280 billion, and the Cycle Disk is the cheapest at 230 billion!" Hei Jing turned to Bai Xuan, "Brother Xuan, which one do you think is suitable for us?"

Bai Xuan was silent for a moment, then his explosion-style hair subtly tilted towards the Soul Refinement Cave: "The soul body foundation is fundamental. Although the path of Dark Flames combined with Profound Nether Cold Liquid is extreme, the foundation it tempers is the most stable."

"But that means enduring for fifty years!" Hei Jing cried out with a bitter face, "A whole fifty years of perceived time! No watching videos, no going to the new restaurants on Yin Street to satisfy cravings, Brother Xuan, how is this any different from being locked up for fifty years?"

"Only two years pass in the outside world." Bai Xuan's tone was flat.

"But the perception is fifty years!" Hei Jing raised his voice, "By the time I come out, my inspiration for trends will be completely depleted."

The light-up sign on Bai Xuan's neck flashed again, the words "Evil Spirits Begone" shining brightly: "Cultivation inherently requires enduring loneliness."

"What about the Yin-Yang Tribulation?" Hei Jing pointed to the second option, "It sounds intense enough, and we only stay for thirty years inside, twenty years less than the Soul Refinement Cave."

"No, the risk is too high." Bai Xuan directly rejected, "If one person can't hold on and gives up, the other has to bear double the backlash. No matter how deep our tacit understanding, with five-star full pain, no one can guarantee holding on until the end."

Hei Jing wilted, his dark green curly hair drooping: "You're right, if I chicken out first, wouldn't I drag you down?"

His gaze shifted to the third option: "The Cycle Disk? Nine cycles of life and death, painful as it is, but it has a forced wake-up device, and it's the cheapest."

Bai Xuan stared at the words "pain stacks twenty-seven times" in the notes, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly: "The risk of cognitive dissonance is too high. Twenty-seven times the pain... that's not something one can endure with just willpower."

"Cheap naturally has its reasons..."

"Those reasons are beyond what we can bear."

Hei Jing fell silent, standing with his arms crossed, the rivets on his leather jacket digging painfully into his arms. He looked at the light screen, then secretly glanced at Bai Xuan, finally turning to Shang Wan Ning, drawing out his words with a wronged tone: "Your Majesty... you have more experience, could you point us to a clear path? Which one should we choose?"

Shang Wan Ning put down her teacup, the bottom clinking lightly on the table: "I told you, choose yourselves."

"But I can tell you, choose the one you can endure the most."

"The one we can endure the most?" Hei Jing blinked.

"Mm." Shang Wan Ning leaned slightly forward, her gaze as sharp as a knife.

"The Soul Refinement Cave is a continuous ice and fire torment, like cutting flesh with a dull knife, painful for a long time but even; the Yin-Yang Tribulation is bursts of pain, coming fiercely and leaving quickly; the Cycle Disk gets more brutal each time, with increasing intensity, and by the end, it might exceed your imagination."