Chapter 4, Dual Cultivation

Changsun Qianxue seemed to quickly fall into a deep sleep, her breathing becoming slow and prolonged

This was undoubtedly a true surprise for Ding Ning

However, after closing the bedroom door, Ding Ning did not walk towards his own bed. Instead, he skillfully approached Changsun Qianxue's bed, quickly and deftly removing his outer garments and straightening the bedding.

The colorful vital energy in the sea of qi is becoming increasingly faint, the flames are about to extinguish, yet the azure ice sand continues to fall without pause

In the modest bedroom, there are two beds separated by a gray curtain. For an ordinary family without extra rooms, sharing a space with one's aunt is a perfectly normal situation.

For any practitioner who has transcended the second realm, unless there are deep-seated grievances or matters of life and death, all other concerns are entirely less important than the pursuit of cultivation

In just a breath, he awakened at a speed unimaginable to ordinary practitioners, opening his eyes.

As on many nights in the past, when he quietly lay down against the wall, Changsun Qianxue's figure emerged from the darkness and approached the bedside, lying down beside him fully clothed

This is what the practitioners refer to as the Jade Palace

After quickly rinsing his body clean and changing into fresh clothes, he carefully sliced a bowl of tofu, sprinkled it with chopped green onions, and drizzled it with sesame oil

Looking at her cold and frosty facial contours, a myriad of complex emotions surged in his eyes, and a faint bitter smile slowly appeared at the corners of his mouth. However, in the instant the message arrived, all the emotions in his eyes vanished, becoming exceptionally clear, and his expression turned extremely solemn and grave

Upon reaching this second realm, one can utilize true energy to confront adversaries externally, while internally one can refine the bones and cleanse the marrow, thereby attaining benefits that are unimaginable to ordinary individuals

He is also well aware that, according to the customs of the Monitoring Celestial Office, after confirming that there are no issues twice in succession, all investigation files related to him will be destroyed. For a long time to come, the gaze of the Monitoring Celestial Office will not fall upon him

To be able to speak of true essence indicates that one has at least reached the third realm. Ding Ning naturally understood the true level of her cultivation and was well aware of the dangers and urgency contained within her cold and calm words. However, everything he did was still without the slightest hint of panic, proceeding in an orderly manner

Beneath his feet lies a stretch of light blue sea, where the crystal-clear waters seem to conceal a translucent space, resembling a palace made of jade

This is also one of the true reasons why he deliberately appeared in the line of sight of Mo Qinggong and others today

In the quiet bedroom, a sound reminiscent of the stirring hot air from the stove began to resonate

However, her body became increasingly cold, and white frost began to slowly appear on the bedding

In her exhalation, even tiny blue ice particles appeared.

At the moment she coldly uttered these three words, a genuine chill began to emanate from her body

As she began to exhale the azure ice shavings, her eyelashes, submerged in darkness, trembled slightly, and her brow furrowed. It seemed that in the unconscious practice, her body instinctively sensed the pain

This is the energy sea of the practitioner

Above his head, amidst the colorful vital energy, there is a particularly bright space, which is known as the heavenly aperture

Ding Ning's chest and abdomen grew increasingly radiant in the wind and rain, his internal organs emitting a faint red glow, radiating warmth. However, to the surrounding wind and snow, it resembled a weak candle flame that could extinguish at any moment

The azure energy rising upward comes into contact with the moist air, instantly forming pure white snow and ice.

He did not look at his own body; in the darkness, he saw the wind and snow swirling around him, while a hard layer of ice had already formed on the surface of Changsun Qianxue's body

In fact, for his current physical condition, he could completely disregard missing this meal. However, he is acutely aware that even a minor oversight, such as merely purchasing sesame oil, could potentially lead the officials of the Monitoring Heaven Division to uncover some hidden truths.

Thus, around her body, it appeared as if countless ice flowers, with blue interiors and white surfaces, were growing on the bedding

With a crack, the hard ice shell on Changsun Qianxue's body shattered

Countless ice shards did not simply scatter across the bedding, but were instead shattered into countless particles even finer than powdered sugar by some force between the two individuals, drifting away.

The moment of physical contact, a piercing chill caused his face to turn extremely pale; however, in the next instant, his consciousness completely immersed itself in his own sea of energy.

... ...

Ding Ning closed her eyes with some concern

This space seems confined, yet it is remarkably vast, with vibrant energies cascading down.

He held tightly onto Changsun Qianxue, who had turned into an ice block, unconsciously tightening his embrace even more

Cultivation is a remarkable process

Each tiny, azure ice crystal that falls onto the cold, hard mattress produces a peculiar soft sound, transforming into a strand of azure energy that is even colder than ordinary ice and snow

In Ding Ning's perception, he is standing in an open space

Several flakes of ice fell from his eyelashes

This aura is very similar to that of the five great offerings holding black umbrellas in the narrow alley, as well as that of the practitioners who arrived shortly thereafter, though it appears somewhat weaker

To perceive the profound mysteries and unlock the secret pathways of the body, this is the first realm of cultivation, known as "Understanding the Profound." It marks the formal entry into the ranks of extraordinary and transcendent practitioners.

At this moment, however, there was no true energy condensing at the center of his energy sea; instead, strands of flowing multicolored primordial energy converged at the center and, after merging, transformed into an incredibly scorching flame

The faint sound of crackling continued to resonate on the bed, as the ice flowers on the bedding began to shatter. The visibly deep blue essence slowly started to seep into and nourish his body.

Upon reaching the ability to draw the primordial energy of heaven and earth into the body, merging it into true essence, one has attained the third realm of cultivation, the True Essence Realm

In the darkness, Ding Ning was still gazing at her

No breath flowed from his body, yet his body seemed to transform into a vessel of unique allure

Ding Ning's eyes were instantly filled with shock. Once he realized what had happened, he showed no hesitation and covered his body over Changsun Qianxue like a blanket.

How can ordinary joy be compared to the resolution of issues encountered in practice, or to the pleasure felt during the strengthening and transformation of the body

The three major secret points—Qihai, Yugong, and Tianqiao—can be comprehended and interconnected as one. The energy of the five internal organs will then flow continuously, transforming into true energy

The white frost danced around Changsun Qianxue and Ding Ning, creating a scene akin to a snowstorm within this confined space

After finishing two bowls of leftover rice that had not been heated through, accompanied by this bowl of scallion mixed with tofu, he finally walked into the bedroom in the backyard

The flame, clean and transparent to the extreme, carries a terrifyingly high temperature, scorching the heavens above, with an intensity that seems poised to burn through the entire atmosphere.

Apart from the coldness, there was no other emotion visible in Changsun Qianxue's eyes. During the process of lying down beside Ding Ning, she didn't even glance at him.

A unique aura, faint yet palpable, emanated from him, causing even the tiniest particles of dust in the air to be blown away from a distance. The space around him and Changsun Qianxue, just a few meters away, seemed as if it had been washed clean by countless streams of clear water

Let's get started

His skin began to feel hot and turn red

There are no two practitioners in the world with identical qualifications, even among twins born at the same time, as countless subtle differences begin to form at birth. Even with the assistance of a wise master during their practice, the master's keen eyes cannot fully comprehend the intricacies within the disciple's body. Therefore, the path of cultivation largely requires personal insight, akin to a poor swimmer feeling their way across a river by touching the stones in the dark, fraught with danger at every moment, with each realm proving more challenging than the last.

A layer of frost had formed on the surface of his body, yet his complexion grew increasingly red, and his body became hotter. The veins, usually hidden beneath the skin, swelled more and more, protruding visibly, and one could even faintly see the blood flowing rapidly within them.

The practice of inner observation, the unblocking of meridians, the five organs nurturing true energy, flowing continuously, and the circulation of energy throughout the body—this is the second stage of cultivation, refining energy.

However, countless azure ice sands continuously fall at the center of the Qi Sea. Each falling grain extinguishes a flame, and then a strand of transparent, heavy vital energy is generated, descending into the Jade Palace beneath the Qi Sea

Time flows slowly

Her body had almost no warmth, as if her blood had frozen; however, a breath of energy was still circulating within her, continuously blowing out tiny blue ice particles from her body

Yet, even if weak, it is sufficient to prove that he is a practitioner