Several hours later.
Upon the brocade couch, everything was already in a state of utter disarray.
Xia Qinghe's rebukes, initially filled with fury, had gradually become hoarse and weak. Every sentence carried a heavy nasal tone and that inescapable term: "Rebellious Disciple."
Naturally, seeing that scolding this Rebellious Disciple had no effect, Xia Qinghe began to plead with Gu Yanchen, using her gentlest tone to ask him to let her go.
"Disciple... I beg of you... stop..." Her eyes were misty with tears, her voice soft and broken. "Ma-Master cannot take any more..."
But what kind of person was Gu Yanchen? He was a true villain; facing his Master's pleas and every cry of "Rebellious Disciple" only served to make him more excited.
And so, he redoubled his efforts.
Finally, everything subsided.
Gu Yanchen casually threw on his red Daoist robe, leaving the sash untied, revealing a lean, sturdy chest and well-defined abdominal muscles.
He stood at the edge of the Spirit Gathering Array, eyes closed as he felt the surging, brand-new power within his body.
At his Dantian, a perfectly round and brilliant Golden Core was slowly rotating, emitting majestic fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.
The Golden Core Stage!
Gu Yanchen opened his eyes, a golden light flashing briefly within his pupils.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host. The main quest progress for the first quarter has reached 25%.]
With a thought, Gu Yanchen opened the villain system panel.
[Main Quest: Dual Cultivation with the four Great Peak Masters of the Hehuan Sect — Progress: 25%]
[Completion Reward: 10,000 villain points]
"Once I complete this main quest, I must buy a Cultivation Technique for running away," Gu Yanchen thought to himself. "Otherwise, without any life-saving measures right now, I'm afraid one slip-up might land me in a coffin."
Gu Yanchen's gaze slowly turned toward the corner.
There, Xia Qinghe was curled into a ball.
The moon-white Flowing Cloud wide-sleeved dress she wore was no longer as pristine as before, stained with a bit of dust.
Her slender arms tightly hugged her still-trembling knees.
Her long hair was scattered over her pale shoulders, with several strands stuck to her cheeks by tears and cold sweat.
That face, which had once caused countless Cultivators in the Lingxiao Continent to be smitten, was now as pale as paper.
Those "beautiful lips" were also somewhat red and swollen.
Her hollow eyes had been staring blankly at a point in the void, but they jolted violently the moment she sensed Gu Yanchen's gaze.
Seemingly sensing Gu Yanchen's eyes on her, Xia Qinghe involuntarily trembled slightly and subconsciously curled up even tighter.
She tried to use her curled posture to shield herself from Gu Yanchen's gaze.
"Heh..."
An extremely light chuckle broke the stagnant air.
Gu Yanchen unhurriedly straightened his sleeves.
"Master."
He spoke, his voice as warm as jade, yet every word was like an icicle piercing into Xia Qinghe's ears.
"What should be seen... your Disciple has seen it all."
He paused intentionally, his gaze slowly wandering over her disheveled yet still exquisite body.
"What should be tasted... has also been thoroughly tasted."
Gu Yanchen leaned down, drawing close to her ear.
"What use is there in hiding like this?"
"Besides—" He reached out, his fingertips gently brushing away a strand of damp hair from her cheek, "I, your Disciple, am not a bad person. I was merely... helping you, Master, 'resolve' that life-threatening backlash."
"If it weren't for me, back when your Spiritual Qi went haywire and your Meridians reversed that night, you would have already exploded and died."
"Rebellious Disciple!"
A cry of extreme shame and indignation burst from between her arms.
Xia Qinghe suddenly looked up, glaring death at Gu Yanchen.
"You... you will die a horrible death!"
Looking at her like this, Gu Yanchen felt no guilt whatsoever; instead, a sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
"Does Master wish to Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul?"
He straightened up, looking down at her from above. "If you do, then your Disciple shall assist you in reaching the Nascent Soul. How about it?"
"With just you? You, a Rebellious Disciple who betrays his Master and ancestors, are worthy of talking about helping me Breakthrough?"
"Oh?" Gu Yanchen raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe your good Disciple?"
"Who is your good Disciple?"
Xia Qinghe reacted instantly. At this moment, she was both furious and ashamed, and she quickly added, "Bah! Who is your good Disciple!"
"Naturally, I am your good Disciple, Master."
"You are nothing but a vile Disciple who betrays his Master and ancestors!"
"Hehe." A slight smile played at the corners of Gu Yanchen's mouth.
"Then if..." Gu Yanchen slowly crouched down to eye level with her, "your Disciple truly helps you Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul, Master shall become my wife. How about it?"
The air suddenly froze.
Xia Qinghe's pupils constricted violently, and then her entire face turned beet red, filled with both shame and rage.
"Rebellious Disciple! Who... who would be your wife! You're delusional—"
Before she could finish her sentence.
Gu Yanchen suddenly moved.
He extended his right index finger, its tip gathering a faint layer of pale blue light. It seemed gentle, yet it carried an irresistible force as it accurately tapped Xia Qinghe's forehead.
"You...!"
Xia Qinghe was shocked and enraged, instinctively wanting to retreat, but her heavily injured and weakened body simply couldn't keep up with her consciousness.
She only managed to tilt her head an inch before that finger followed her like a shadow.
The moment the fingertip touched her skin—
Buzz—!
A surge of Spiritual Qi blasted from Gu Yanchen's fingertip into Xia Qinghe's Sea of Consciousness!
"Ugh—!"
Xia Qinghe let out a short cry of pain, her body trembling violently as if struck by a heavy blow.
This power was overbearing and tyrannical, yet it weirdly resonated with the Yudian Dual Cultivation Great Law she had cultivated for many years within her body.
In truth, it was because the version Gu Yanchen practiced was the God Rank Yudian Dual Cultivation Great Law.
This technique was bizarre and powerful; not only could dual cultivating with the opposite sex increase one's cultivation level,
but even more terrifyingly, once one reached Minor Achievement in this technique, they could control the cultivation changes of any Cultivator practicing the Saint, Heaven, Earth, Profound Rank, or Yellow Rank versions of the Yudian Dual Cultivation Great Law. (The target's cultivation must be ≤ the controller's cultivation). This rank suppression was exceptionally dominant. Naturally, dual cultivating with them could also increase his own cultivation!
Every entry-level Disciple of the Hehuan Sect would Cultivate the technique Lingxi Hehuan Jing, but no one knew that this Lingxi Hehuan Jing was actually the Profound Rank version of the Yudian Dual Cultivation Great Law! (Except for Gu Yanchen). It had simply been given a different name.
When Gu Yanchen first transmigrated to this world, he drew this God Rank technique from the System's newbie gift pack.
Following the System's instructions, he found a way to join the Hehuan Sect, relying on the absolute suppression and absorption characteristics of this God Rank technique.
Through this technique, Gu Yanchen continuously absorbed the cultivation of male Cultivators on Mandarin Duck Peak and then dual cultivated with the Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters of Mandarin Duck Peak to increase his own cultivation.
With this two-pronged approach, his cultivation skyrocketed, allowing him to stand out and successfully become a Personal Disciple under the beautiful Master, Xia Qinghe.
Through his covert operations, the number of male Disciples on Mandarin Duck Peak gradually decreased—all of them having had their cultivation sucked dry. The Sect Elders wanted to investigate, but no matter how they searched, they could never trace it back to Gu Yanchen.
With the decrease in male Disciples, combined with Gu Yanchen's extremely handsome appearance and diverse cultivation methods, female Cultivators who wanted to become his Dao Companion and "Cultivate" together with him flocked to him in an endless stream.
And Gu Yanchen almost never refused, taking them all in.
In his own words: "The Great Dao should not be so narrow, and Dao Companions should not be so few."
This was why Xia Qinghe experienced such a resonance in her Cultivation Technique.
Finally, the Nascent Soul barrier that had troubled Xia Qinghe for a long time, after experiencing a moment of soul-tearing pain—
"Crack."
A slight but clear sound of shattering echoed from deep within her Dantian.
The barrier had broken.
The Spiritual Qi accumulated over many years was like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, frantically surging toward the blurry figure rapidly condensing in the center of her Dantian—the Nascent Soul prototype!
Soon, a faint Nascent Soul phantom emerged—a small figure only three inches tall that looked exactly like her, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, breathing in Spiritual Qi.
Boom—!
An aura several times stronger than the Golden Core Stage suddenly erupted from Xia Qinghe's body!
The spiritual light of the Nascent Soul Initial Stage soared into the sky, turning into a beam of crystalline white light that pierced through the rock layers at the top of the cave, blooming in ripples of spiritual power across the night sky.
Her pale complexion regained its rosy hue at a speed visible to the naked eye. Her dress fluttered without wind, snapping loudly.
A crystalline white light radiated from within her, forming a hazy halo around her body.
She had broken through! It was done. She had succeeded!
However.
There was no joy.
Only an even more surging, heaven-toppling rage!
The return of her power instantly awakened the dignity and majesty belonging to a "Master."
"Rebellious Disciple, die—!"
A fierce light exploded in Xia Qinghe's eyes. All her grief, indignation, humiliation, and hatred were transformed into killing intent at this moment!
She didn't even hesitate for a second.
The newly condensed Nascent Soul power surged frantically into her right palm, and that slender, fair hand was instantly enveloped in crystalline white light.
Broken Jade Pin