376: A math problem?

"What's wrong with a little touch? Don't you have any sincerity in your apology?" Liu Xuan tried to grab her jade-like hand as she pushed him away.

Liu Xuan's display of such eagerness was not driven by his hormones, but rather by a specific purpose.

Most of his secrets, including his cultivation and Bloodline, were known to this woman. Currently, he was only temporarily fooling her with a fabricated background; over time, she would likely discover some clues.

To prevent her from having second thoughts before the effects of the Love Gu intensified, the best way was to persuade her and let her taste the sweetness of Dual Cultivation, forming a community of shared interests.

However, Peach Blossom Demon Lord didn't think that way. What she wanted was to use Liu Xuan to curry favor with the great power behind him. How could she easily let Liu Xuan have his way?

"Young Master Liu, if you keep this up, I'll take action!" Peach Blossom Demon Lord slapped away Liu Xuan's wandering hand and said indifferently, "You've intentionally hidden your cultivation and background; I presume you don't want everyone to know about them?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"You could interpret it that way!" Peach Blossom Demon Lord paced to the side, took a chair out of her Spatial Ring, and sat down.

"This seat is a Demon Lord, after all. I'm here to discuss cooperation, not to sell my body!"

The more eager Liu Xuan appeared, the more disgusted Peach Blossom Demon Lord became. If not for his background, she would have intended to give a foul man like Liu Xuan a lesson just now.

'What's so good about men? How can they be as cute as fragrant, soft women?'

Although Liu Xuan was indeed better-looking than any male she had ever seen, he still couldn't compare to the status of Lüluo and Bai Leng in her heart.

"Cooperation? How do you want to cooperate?"

Liu Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, his previous eager state vanishing as he regained the appearance of a refined Young Master.

"Young Master Liu has kept a low profile for many years, all for the sake of developing forces, nurturing children, and strengthening your Family. I guess these are all tasks given to you by your elders?"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord stared into Liu Xuan's eyes as she spoke, wanting to verify if her guess was correct from the changes in his gaze.

Seeing that Liu Xuan neither admitted nor denied it, she continued, "If this seat assists you in secret, the development speed of your Liu Family will increase by at least several times. Moreover, no one will dare to move against you, not even the Southern Courtyard of the Beast Taming Sect!"

She emphasized the words 'Southern Courtyard of the Beast Taming Sect'. Seeing that Liu Xuan still had no reaction, she went on:

"The South Courtyard's Academy Head, True Lord Haoran, has unpredictable thoughts and extraordinary strength. Do you think you can rest easy just by becoming his disciple?"

"He is different from me. Behind him is the Gentlemans Academy's Yaoguang Demon Saint and the colossus that is the Beast Taming Sect. If your identity were known by him..."

Peach Blossom Demon Lord didn't know why Liu Xuan was hiding his identity or why he was developing his Family's forces, but she knew the elders behind him certainly wouldn't want him exposed; otherwise, why bother hiding?

Liu Xuan gave a faint smile. "It's not as serious as you think. I just don't want any unexpected complications. However, cooperation isn't out of the question, but... what do you want to gain from me?"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord's brows smoothed out as she said seriously, "I'm afraid you can't make the decision on what I want. I want to meet your elders!"

"Meet my elders? I'm afraid that won't do!"

"Why?" Peach Blossom Demon Lord asked urgently.

Liu Xuan also took out a chair and slowly lay down on it. After a while, he said indifferently:

"This world does not allow such powerful beings as my elders to descend. If you want to see them, wait until you undergo Ascension and achieve Immortal Ascension!"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord was stunned! She stared blankly at Liu Xuan. She had thought he would find an excuse to refuse, but she never imagined such an absurd reason.

However, judging from Liu Xuan's Bloodline, which was so high it exceeded her understanding, it didn't seem like he was entirely lying to her.

"Don't worry!" Seeing that Peach Blossom Demon Lord didn't quite believe him, Liu Xuan continued, "What you seek is nothing more than a Breakthrough to Soul Transformation. There's no need to see my elders; I can make that decision!"

"Follow me, and a mere Soul Transformation is guaranteed within two hundred years!"

"Guaranteed within two hundred years! Do you know what you're saying? Why should I believe you?"

What Peach Blossom Demon Lord sought was merely a Soul Transformation Opportunity with a slightly higher chance of success; she would be satisfied with a ten or twenty percent success rate.

Guaranteed! This was too exaggerated, especially coming from the mouth of Liu Xuan, who was only at the Golden Core Stage. It was no wonder she didn't believe him.

In the entire Cultivation World, even the Nascent Soul Peak successors nurtured by those old monsters in the Beast Taming Sect would be lucky to have a thirty or forty percent chance of Breakthrough. Who would dare say it's guaranteed?

"Why?" Liu Xuan chuckled and asked, "Do you know how long it took me from starting my Cultivation to Core Formation?"

He held up three fingers. "Only thirty years!"

"In less than fifty years, I'll achieve Nascent Soul Formation. In two hundred years, I'll be at least at the Nascent Soul Peak, or even achieve Soul Transformation. How hard would it be to help you with Soul Transformation?"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord slowly shook her head. "The further you go in the Realm of cultivation, the harder it becomes. It doesn't work the way you're calculating. Even if you reached Core Formation in thirty years, it's absolutely impossible to achieve Nascent Soul Formation in fifty, let alone Soul Transformation in two hundred!"

A Nascent Soul True Lord has a Lifespan of three thousand years, and a Spirit Transformation Dao Lord has ten thousand years. Ten thousand years! Those are truly great powers who can sit and watch the stars rotate.

Breaking through to Soul Transformation at two or three hundred years old was as absurd as a two or three-year-old child achieving Foundation Establishment.

Liu Xuan shrugged helplessly. "Believe it or not, the Opportunity is right in front of you. It's up to you whether you can grasp it!"

To Liu Xuan, it didn't matter if Peach Blossom Demon Lord believed him or not. The point was to keep her steady for a while.

The longer time dragged on, the more his cultivation would improve, the smaller the gap between him and Peach Blossom Demon Lord would be, and the stronger the effect of the Love Gu would become.

Furthermore, the Love Gu needed time to brew; the longer it lasted, the deeper its effect, until finally, she wouldn't be able to extricate herself.

Peach Blossom Demon Lord's brows were tightly knit. The Beast Taming Sect's war was imminent, and she didn't have extra time to verify whether Liu Xuan was boasting.

If she didn't believe Liu Xuan, she would have to proceed according to her original plan: force a Breakthrough within a few years before the final battle, fighting for that pitifully small chance of success.

If she believed Liu Xuan, she would have to find a way to escape from the war and then follow him wholeheartedly. Doing so might grant her a greater chance of Breakthrough, but she might also lose even that previous sliver of Opportunity.

Ultimately, it was all a gamble. Specifically, whether to gamble on a certain but tiny Opportunity or a larger but uncertain one. She couldn't make up her mind in a short time.

However, there was no rush to decide. The Southern Courtyard of the Beast Taming Sect's general offensive was still a few years away; she only needed to make up her mind before then.

"Young Master Liu, I'm sure you are clear about my current situation."

Peach Blossom Demon Lord's gaze was sharp, her aura as deep as an abyss, and her voice slightly cold. "If you dare to lie to me, I'll make you pay the price even if you are the Son of a True Dragon! A person in a desperate situation is capable of anything!"

"I don't believe you're capable of *anything*. How about this? I'll give you a mathematics problem."

"A mathematics problem???"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord was about to ask Liu Xuan what a mathematics problem was when she suddenly looked out the window and said urgently:

"I cannot leave the Sect's Secret Realm for too long. I'll come back to discuss the details with you next time. Remember what I just said!"

After speaking, a pink aura surged from her body, a spatial vortex reappeared, and she stepped through. Her entire being vanished along with the vortex.