Plan A
Furnace 16
[Refresher: Qi Refining stage → Foundation Establishment stage → Golden Core stage → Nascent Soul stage → Divine Transformation stage → Void Refining stage → Body Integration stage → Great Accomplishment stage]
Jing Yueru tried hard to control herself, to keep calm, and used the small rod tied with red silk to lift that piece of red bridal veil.
Su Xin’s face was lightly powdered. The bridal makeup further enhanced her unparalleled beauty1. As the saying goes, her glancing eyes sparkled, her jade-like face glowed; words unspoken, her breath was like the subtle fragrance of orchids2.
This illusionary realm simply couldn’t be more realistic, Jing Yueru sighed again in her heart. Even the makeup was done so well.
Very beautiful. Even knowing that this moment was all fake, the person in front of her was real. So what if this was an illusionary realm? So what if the surroundings were all an illusion?
“Shuangling…”
Jing Yueru’s voice was gentle and lingering. Su Xin raised her eyebrows, smiled at her for a moment, and stood up.
On the table were two cups of nuptial wine3. Jing Yueru looked over, wondering if she should pick them up.
She didn’t know what was in them, whether it was safe to drink.
This illusionary realm still hadn’t broken.
Su Xin gestured for Jing Yueru to take the wine. Jing Yueru nodded and brought them over from the table.
Lord Fourteen, there shouldn’t be anything in this wine, right?
【Contains a slight aphrodisiac component, nothing else.】
Su Xin felt relieved and drank the cross-cupped wine with Jing Yueru.
Tying the knot as husband and wife, loving each other without doubt4.
After drinking this cup, you are mine.
Jing Yueru thought so boldly in her heart, but on the surface, she dared not reveal a single bit of it.
After drinking the cross-cupped wine, the surrounding space distorted. The bridal chamber was still the same bridal chamber, and there seemed to be no change around them, but two cultivation manuals appeared on the bed.
“This place is truly interesting.”
There was no other inheritance, only two books left behind. And the way to enter actually required a wedding ceremony. This senior was probably some ancestor from the Hehuan Sect, right?
There were two cultivation manuals on the bed. One was for dual cultivation.
After glancing at it, Su Xin gave it to Jing Yueru. After Jing Yueru carefully read this manual, she fell into a thoughtful state. Although some things in it made her blush, the essence it contained made her ponder. This was real; it could mutually promote the growth of both parties’ cultivation levels. However, it required the two people to be Dao companions, or rather, the two people must be of one mind. If one person had ulterior motives towards the other, this cultivation method could not be successfully practiced.
This was indeed a good thing to test the loyalty between partners, but Jing Yueru’s heart was pounding a bit because she and Su Xin were not Dao companions.
Su Xin, however, was focused on the other cultivation manual on the bed. This was what she was looking for.
If the one just now was used to test harmony, then this one was completely unorthodox5.
It was also dual cultivation, but the one she held was of the plucking-replenishing type6. It didn’t require being with a fixed person. During their exchange, both parties could achieve progress in their cultivation together, but afterward, most of the cultivation power would be transferred back to her. This meant it just treated the other party as a spiritual vessel for storing and converting energy. The other party wouldn’t gain any benefit in terms of cultivation power and might even lose a little.
This wasn’t actually that harmful in a crooked or evil way; it was just one party helping the other. If it fell into the hands of someone without bad intentions, it wouldn’t feel harmful at all. But if it landed in the hands of someone with ill intentions, then it would very likely bring disaster to an area.
“This one? I feel it’s indeed more suitable for your current situation than the one I have. Shall we start now?”
Jing Yueru also carefully read the manual Su Xin was holding. Comparing the two, she found this one more suitable for Su Xin’s situation. The cultivation manual she held required both parties to have comparable strength; even if there was a gap, it couldn’t exceed a small stage. Currently, Su Xin was at the third layer of Qi Refining, while she was in the mid-to-late stage of Foundation Establishment. The difference in their strength was a bit too large.
“Let’s start now.”
Su Xin surveyed the surroundings and asked Fourteen to keep an eye on the situation outside, telling her immediately if there was any sign of trouble.
Jing Yueru suppressed her excitement, set up the formation array, and sat on the bed waiting for Su Xin, letting Su Xin fully understand the manual before they began.
The red candlelight flickered, illuminating Su Xin’s side profile. She was earnestly reading the book in her hand, the light in her eyes reflecting countless stars.
Hibiscus flowers cannot match a beauty’s makeup; from the water palace, wind carries the fragrance of pearls and jade; for a thousand autumns, no peerless beauty7.
“I’ve finished reading. We should be able to start.”
Because the effect of the illusionary realm had disappeared, their robes reverted to what they were wearing when they entered.
Xilou sensed that something was not quite right, slowly crawled out from Su Xin’s wrist, and slithered under the table.
Jing Yueru was very satisfied with its perceptiveness and began cultivating with Su Xin.
Better to marry and be like mandarin ducks8.
Snow piles into peaks, speak not of creamy congealed fat9, jade-like roundness and pearly fullness are even more abundant10.
Jing Yueru leaned down, her black hair cascading, and buried her face in Su Xin’s neck, giggling.
“Remember to circulate your spiritual energy.”
Su Xin poked Jing Yueru’s shoulder. Don’t get too carried away.
Jing Yueru responded with a sound and wiped the sweat from Su Xin’s forehead with her fingers.
Where silk robes are undone, it’s a sight to behold; two points of charm are truly the most captivating; like by the side of a flower stamen, lightly adorned with tortoiseshell; at the high peak of a jade mountain, a small coral is embellished11.
Su Xin toyed with Jing Yueru’s fingers, playing with the slender, soft jade.
Jing Yueru’s hands were very beautiful, like melting spring ice, like finely carved cool jade12.
Su Xin yawned, her body automatically converting and absorbing spiritual energy.
The secret realm was open for four months, which happened to not overlap with the date Shang Huai required, and even gave her an extra month.
Su Xin didn’t know if Shang Huai could enter here, but regardless, she just needed to raise her cultivation to her expected level within three months and then get that thing out for him.
After such wild abandon for more than two months, Su Xin’s progress was as fast as a rocket, whoosh whoosh, successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment realm.
Before that, she had to pass a lightning tribulation.
Jing Yueru was channeling spiritual energy into her body to regulate Su Xin’s condition.
Su Xin’s progress was too rapid. Jing Yueru was afraid it would damage her foundation. If the foundation wasn’t stable, no matter how high her cultivation became later, it would be hollow and easily defeated.
Su Xin closed her eyes and began to comprehend and integrate her gains.
Now she somewhat understood why many people liked to take unorthodox paths, not following the good, correct road, but instead taking risky shortcuts13. Because this feeling of reaping rewards without effort was actually quite wonderful.
Su Xin chose an open area to undergo her lightning tribulation. Jing Yueru originally wanted to give Su Xin all her defensive magical artifacts, but Su Xin refused, saying one or two would be enough.
She refused to believe this lightning could strike her dead. To be honest, she actually quite wanted to try the feeling of being struck by lightning; she heard it could lead to very special insights.
Jing Yueru thought about it and realized this was also good. Because Su Xin had rapidly advanced her cultivation, if the lightning tribulation was completely blocked, then the path ahead would become increasingly difficult. She would have to face these things sooner or later, so it was better to temper the toughness of her meridians now.
Jing Yueru actually didn’t want Su Xin to get hurt or suffer, but this was a necessary path for every cultivator. If one couldn’t endure hardship, how could they continue on the path?
Jing Yueru thought, she wanted this person to walk down this path with her, or to put it another way, she wanted to accompany this person all the way.
One can never be satisfied with their cultivation at a certain stage, regardless of whether they are currently weak or strong, because a wider world lies ahead.
Jing Yueru stood not far away, watching the dark clouds gather above Su Xin’s head. It was just a tribulation cloud for the Foundation Establishment stage, not particularly grand. The powerful experts guarding outside the secret realm were not surprised, as there had been many such instances in the past where Qi Refining disciples on the verge of Foundation Establishment obtained their own fortuitous encounters in the secret realm and established their foundation there.
After only half a day, Su Xin had passed it safely.
She felt her condition was fine, perhaps because the magical artifacts she carried had absorbed some of the power. There wasn’t much pain, and it was fleeting.
What Su Xin didn’t know was that because she had been tempered once a few months ago, this lightning tribulation wasn’t a big problem for her.
After cleaning herself completely with a cleaning spell, Su Xin changed into a new set of clothes. Of course, the clothes still belonged to Jing Yueru.
After she finished her tribulation, Xilou crawled back onto her body, but this time it didn’t stay on her hand, instead choosing to slither towards her neck.
Su Xin quickly pulled the snake off and touched her neck. She really didn’t like the feeling of having something occupy such a vital spot.
Her wrist was tolerable, but her neck was not to be touched casually.
Xilou had no objections and obediently stayed on her wrist again. It just felt that the neck area was warmer.
“So it was you undergoing tribulation here. I actually guessed it was you.”
A male voice, carrying a familiar tone, came from not far away.
“Zhuo Nan? Why are you with him?”
Su Xin looked up and saw her former pursuer. The four of them meeting, no matter how you looked at it, it felt awkward.
What was stranger was, wasn’t Zhuo Nan quite annoyed with Xiu Yan before? Why were the two of them sticking together now?
The current situation was: Zhuo Nan was Su Xin’s former pursuer, Su Xin was Xiu Yan’s former pursuer, Xiu Yan was Jing Yueru’s current pursuer, and Su Xin and Jing Yueru were in an ambiguous relationship, neither having made it clear.
Of the four people present, three knew what was going on in their hearts; only Xiu Yan was out of the loop.
Zhuo Nan was overjoyed. More than two months had passed, and they were about to leave. After waiting for so long, he finally stumbled upon a good show. This was quite unexpected, meeting them under such circumstances.
“Well… ahem… we were going the same way.”
Zhuo Nan desperately suppressed the joyful expression on his face, not wanting the nearby Xiu Yan to notice anything.
Xiu Yan was actually very happy too and had no mind to pay attention to Zhuo Nan beside him. His eyes were fixed on Jing Yueru. When he saw Su Xin, his expression was still a bit unnatural.
“What a coincidence, we meet again. You’ve already reached Foundation Establishment, congratulations.”
Xiu Yan congratulated Su Xin. Su Xin nodded and said thank you.
Su Xin glanced at Zhuo Nan and knew what little schemes14 he was up to. Wasn’t he just waiting to see a good show involving him? But this was indeed in line with his character; he really couldn’t stand Xiu Yan.
“Miss Jing, where are you heading? Why don’t we travel together?”
“Indeed.”
Zhuo Nan nodded.
Xiu Yan turned his head and gave Zhuo Nan a look. Zhuo Nan played dumb, looking at him innocently.
“Xiu-xiong15, is your eye twitching?”
Xiu Yan was annoyed. This guy was doing it on purpose, right? He had been following him from the very beginning until now. Didn’t he like Wei Shuangling? She’s right here, hurry up and take her away, honestly, so clueless about romance.
If Zhuo Nan knew what Xiu Yan was thinking, he would definitely retort sarcastically: who exactly was clueless about romance, who exactly was the blockhead.
“Is there anything you want?”
Su Xin looked at Jing Yueru. Her side of things was pretty much settled. She had accompanied her in the secret realm for so long and hadn’t gotten any good things yet.
“Let’s just wander around. If it’s a fortuitous encounter, it will eventually appear.”
“Okay.”
Luck, in the cultivation world, was also a rather mysterious thing. Some people had bad luck, but others had luck that was heaven-defying.
Heavenly treasures that some people searched for endlessly but couldn’t find, others might just stumble upon by chance.
For example, Jing Yueru.
If this were a novel, Su Xin felt that Jing Yueru definitely had the protagonist’s script, no doubt about it.
The four of them were walking when they stopped, because Jing Yueru had stopped.
“Why do I feel like I stepped on something?”
Jing Yueru lifted her foot and saw a small blue flower that she had already trampled and wilted.
“Maybe it’s just a wildflower?”
Zhuo Nan looked at the small flower, his mind having no record of such a thing.
“Probably not. If I just stepped on an ordinary flower, I wouldn’t have such a strange feeling.”
Jing Yueru tried to pull the small flower up but found she couldn’t.
“Huh?”
Jing Yueru pulled again, still unable to move it.
“There seems to be something underneath.”
“This thing…”
Su Xin mentally reviewed her knowledge and found a match.
“It’s a good ingredient for alchemy. Let me.”
Of everyone present, besides her, no one had a wood-element spiritual root.
This thing could only be pulled out by someone with a wood element; others couldn’t. If forcibly pulled, it would only be damaged.
Su Xin complained internally, why did something the protagonist couldn’t pull out have to appear under the protagonist’s foot.
Maybe I’m the protagonist, hehehe.
Su Xin picked the herb, Jing Yueru handed her a box; the two cooperated with great tacit understanding.
“Why do I always feel like there’s something strange between those two?”
Xiu Yan muttered to himself from behind, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what that thing was, yet he subconsciously felt something was off.
Zhuo Nan had a profound, inscrutable look on his face, as if he had ‘already seen through everything.’
Jing Yueru actually didn’t like having two tag-alongs16 following her and Su Xin. Although it wasn’t a huge impact, it was just an eyesore.
They were disturbing their private world for two. Jing Yueru felt she needed to take the opportunity to shake them off.
Jing Yueru conveyed this thought to Su Xin via voice transmission, her words filled with disdain.
“You don’t like them following behind?”
“I don’t.”
When looking for good things, can’t they just look for their own? If they want to team up, they can team up. This place isn’t very dangerous. Although it’s an unknown place, the danger level is very low. Even if there is danger, it’s only because they encountered something relatively good. Why must they follow the two of them?
“Do you like Xiu Yan? Do you still want him to be your Dao companion in the future?”
“I don’t.”
“He likes you, but you can never like him, right?”
“Right.”
Jing Yueru and Xiu Yan could never be together. They were not the same kind of people from the start. Those with different principles cannot travel the same path; it’s impossible for them to walk the same road.
“I have an idea that can make him leave automatically. Cooperate with me later.”
“Okay.”
It got dark.
They could have camped anywhere, but they happened to find a cave.
This cave was clearly man-made, not naturally formed. It should have been carved out by someone who entered the secret realm before to rest.
Nothing much happened today. They each sat cross-legged in the cave dwelling and entered meditative concentration.
Zhuo Nan was the first to secretly open his eyes, pretending to be very serious about his meditation, but he was actually paying close attention to the surroundings.
Who knew what might happen tonight. If he missed it all because of cultivation, wouldn’t his wait of over two months be in vain?
Xiu Yan intended to cultivate seriously, but he rarely had opportunities to be in close contact with Jing Yueru, so he couldn’t quite calm his mind to enter meditation.
Su Xin and Jing Yueru were meditating in the innermost part of the cave, while Zhuo Nan and Xiu Yan were outside, with some distance between them.
In the dead of night17, it was the perfect time to do something.
Xiu Yan felt like he heard some movement and quickly opened his eyes to look inside. This cave wasn’t very deep, as it was just a place someone had opened up for rest. Plus, cultivators could naturally see in the dark, so he clearly saw the situation inside.
Jing Yueru stood up and sat down next to Su Xin.
Although the strange feeling in Xiu Yan’s heart deepened, he didn’t think in other directions. Maybe it was just that the two girls had a relatively good relationship, and even when meditating, they wanted to sit together.
But what happened next shocked Xiu Yan, and his heart fell into extreme turmoil.
He saw his beloved, secretly planting a kiss on Wei Shuangling’s lips.
?????
What was going on?
This could no longer be described as two girls having a good relationship.
This…
Su Xin knew Xiu Yan must have seen it, but this wasn’t her ultimate goal.
To cut off some people’s improper thoughts, of course, one had to go all the way.
Su Xin reached out her hand, wrapped it around Jing Yueru’s neck, leaned in, and exchanged breaths with her, intimately close.
From Xiu Yan’s angle, he could only see Jing Yueru’s back and couldn’t see what was happening between them, but anyone with a brain could guess what the two of them were doing.
Xiu Yan wasn’t stupid; he was actually a very smart person. After abandoning his preconceived notions, he immediately realized that things were not right.
This realization left him devastated. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, so he could only look away, forcing himself not to look over there.
His mind was full of questions, but he didn’t know where to start asking.
Xiu Yan felt his shoulder being patted. It was a smiling Zhuo Nan.
“Brother, look on the bright side. Anyway, neither of them is your woman.”
Zhuo Nan sent the voice transmission fearlessly, not worried that the two over there could hear.
Waiting for more than two months, wasn’t it all for this scene?
Zhuo Nan thought Xiu Yan should be furious, but strangely, this person didn’t seem very angry.
Was Xiu Yan angry? Of course, he was angry. But he wasn’t angry at Su Xin and Jing Yueru; he was just angry at himself for having such poor judgment, for not even noticing such an obvious atmosphere.
If Jing Yueru had ever given him a promise, he might indeed be very angry, feeling deceived. But he was a reasonable person, a very logical person, and wouldn’t be too emotional.
Miss Jing had never given him any promises, never given him hope, just treated him as an ordinary friend. He just thought that if he persisted, he could definitely melt this iceberg. Actually, his admiration for her outweighed his romantic liking for her.
He just felt she was a very outstanding young woman with a limitless future.
He was now in a very confused state. Why had it become like this?
How was Wei Shuangling better than him? Clingy, and very self-righteous, always doing things he didn’t like.
Xiu Yan didn’t reply to Zhuo Nan’s voice transmission. No wonder, he thought, why this person had been shamelessly sticking by his side for the past two months, refusing to leave, and always sizing him up with a very strange gaze.
So it was all to wait for this moment. He must have known the truth of the matter long ago, must have known about the relationship between the two of them long ago, so he followed him around just to watch his misfortune.
Xiu Yan lifted his eyelids. How could his misfortune be so easily witnessed?
He couldn’t let him get his wish so easily.
“Don’t be too sad.”
Zhuo Nan sent another voice transmission. Although he was comforting him on the surface, in his heart, he was already eager to pound the ground and laugh out loud.
Hahahahaha, dumbfounded, right! Stunned, right! Didn’t expect it, right! The person who used to like you and the person you like got together! Surprised! Unexpected! Happy!
Anyway, Zhuo Nan was very happy. Xiu Yan’s expressionless face, in his view, was just him forcing himself to act tough, forcibly suppressing the grief and indignation in his heart.
“Oh.”
Xiu Yan responded very coldly.
Su Xin and Jing Yueru separated. Jing Yueru tidied her hair, her chin resting on Su Xin’s forehead, holding Su Xin in her arms, and sent her a voice transmission in her mind.
“Did they see?”
“They should have. Although they couldn’t see our actions, they should be able to guess.”
“Will he believe it?”
“Probably.”
Anyone who isn’t an idiot should, right?
“Otherwise, shall we kiss a little longer?”
Jing Yueru suggested, her heart very excited.
The soft, sweet, warm taste.
“Actually, you want this yourself, don’t you?”
Su Xin shot Jing Yueru a sideways glance. Not bad, you’ve learned to be bad, even knowing how to fight for your own benefits.
Jing Yueru smiled shyly, very embarrassed.
Zhuo Nan couldn’t control his facial expression, a look of suppressed laughter that Xiu Yan observed carefully.
“Buddy, look on the bright side. This is pretty good too, isn’t it? At least she didn’t get together with another man.”
“Didn’t you like Wei Shuangling?”
“I stopped liking her long ago. I wish her happiness.”
Zhuo-ge expressed his indifference; anyway, he had never successfully wooed her.
“I want to tell you a secret.”
A smile actually appeared on Xiu Yan’s face. He felt he might be a bit abnormal right now, the thoughts in his mind reaching an extreme point. Seeing Zhuo Nan’s expression, he was about to explode.
Although he wasn’t being doubly NTR’d18, what was the difference between this feeling and being doubly NTR’d! His heart was very unhappy! And it was Wei Shuangling who intercepted19 her. The feeling was simply indescribable! Being snatched by anyone else would have been more bearable, but by Wei Shuangling! And there was someone who had persistently followed him for over two months just to watch his misfortune. Just how much did this person dislike him?
Zhuo Nan perked up, anticipating the secret.
Immediately after, he was dragged out of the cave, pressed against the wall outside the cave, and under the moonlight, he was wall-slammed20 and forcibly kissed.
“Xiu Yan! Are you f#cking crazy!”
“Want to see my misfortune, hmm?”
Jing Yueru hadn’t even gotten her benefits yet when she discovered such a turn of events.
Su Xin inwardly tsked. Xiu Yan’s move was quite something.
The author has something to say:
Zhuo Nan: Suffocating
Xiu Yan: Hehehe
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