Chapter 42: For World Peace! Let’s Practice Dual Cultivation!

(42)

During his free time in the sect, Shen Changyi still practiced quietly every day.

The solitary mountain where he had gone to endure the pain of childbirth was where he practiced on a daily basis.

No disciples would pass by, and there was only the red plum tree on the lonely mountain for company. The place was remote and quiet, very suitable for self-cultivation.

Before Li Shanglu recovered, the sect leader said that he would not give him any more tasks and asked him to stay with his wife and children.

However, Li Shanglu did not need him all the time. When he felt annoyed with him, he would send him away to practice.

Shen Changyi meditated under the plum tree, clearing his mind of all distracting thoughts, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth entered his blood with every breath.

Suddenly, the long-held realm seemed to hint at a breakthrough. Above the lonely mountain, floating clouds and purple mist gathered, radiating bursts of rosy light, as if a miracle had descended.

When he was only one step away from a breakthrough, Shen Changyi suddenly stopped.

He was awakened from his desire to break through, and when he came to his senses, dark thunderclouds had gathered in the sky. If he had really broken through that last shackle just now, the heavenly thunder calamity would have come.

After being stunned for a while, Shen Changyi slowly stood up and walked down the mountain.

He is not going anywhere. He has a wife and children on earth. What's the point of ascending to heaven for him?

"Zhu Xuan."

His feet suddenly stopped, his body stiffened, and he didn't look back.

The sound seemed to come from the depths of the world, ethereal and vague, with no one knowing how far away it was.

"Good and evil coexist and counteract each other, balancing each other. If the righteous path in the human world becomes too strong, the evil path will also become stronger. Come back, Zhou Xuan, you shouldn't be so greedy for the human world."

Looking up, Shen Changyi stared at the distant and boundless sky. After a while, he withdrew his gaze and left resolutely without looking back.

His name is not Zhu Xuan, his name is Shen Changyi.

*

“It’s raining!”

"How can it rain in the middle of winter? It's really strange. There were purple clouds floating in the sky just now, and the spiritual energy was overwhelming. Could it be that someone is making a breakthrough?" The noisy voices of the disciples came from outside the window. Li Shanglu wrapped himself in his clothes, got out of bed and walked to the window. He looked up and saw that the sky was indeed covered with dark clouds. There was a drizzle in the winter. The snow on the ground was washed away by the rain and would soon turn into solid ice.

It had rained, and the already cold weather had become even colder.

Li Shanglu quickly closed the window, tucked the corners of the quilt for the two kids, and crawled back into bed.

Which damn god would bring rain at this time? He must be crazy.

She can't catch a cold. What if she gets hurt and gets sick?

The warm jade in the quilt emitted heat, gradually warming Li Shanglu's hands and feet.

The doctor said she has recovered well recently and should keep up the good work.

Shen Changyi stewed three bowls of bird's nest soup for her every day, for her to drink in the morning, noon and evening. Elder Teng also sent her the pills he made from time to time to nourish her body. Li Shanglu only needed to take care of herself and not catch a cold.

She followed the doctor's advice carefully. Except for the times when she really couldn't help but want to get out of bed and walk around, she stayed in bed obediently to recuperate after giving birth.

The cubs were very well-behaved today. They fell asleep without crying or making a fuss after drinking milk. Xiao Huang stayed by the crib the whole time, and became the temporary wet nurse for the two cubs.

In a daze, when Li Shanglu was about to fall asleep in the warm quilt, he vaguely felt someone approaching him.

She opened her eyes and saw Shen Changyi sitting silently beside the bed, looking at her.

"Are you back?"

Li Shanglu turned over without paying much attention and continued to sleep with his back to him.

I heard the rustling sound of clothes, and soon a person crawled into the bed.

His body was not cold, as if it had been specially warmed by spiritual energy. Instead, it was scalding hot, like a heater.

Li Shanglu slept more comfortably when he suddenly heard a low voice from the person next to him.

"Shanglu, I seem to be ascending."

In an instant, she opened her eyes.

Li Shanglu turned around, stared straight into his eyes, and said word by word, "You dare."

Shen Changyi lowered his eyelashes and cautiously tried to hold her hand, but Li Shanglu dodged him.

"Today, I seem to have seen the Way of Heaven."

He whispered,

"The Way of Heaven tells me that good and evil coexist in balance. If my cultivation is high enough to ascend, but I remain in the human world, the good will become too strong and the balance will be lost. Then those evil cultivators will surely become stronger."

If he had known this, Shen Changyi would not have practiced.

He never thought about ascending to heaven. At first, he practiced just to be able to run and jump like a normal person. Later, he practiced so as not to lose important people again.

The reason for practicing has always been simple, not for the sake of the righteous path.

But Shen Changyi didn't want to see the world suffer because of him.

Hearing his words, Li Shanglu's face remained gloomy. He grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. "I'm telling you, if you dare to ascend to heaven after I give birth, when I die and go to the underworld, I will tell my parents everything you've done—your parents, and mine too. You can handle it yourself."

Shen Changyi lowered his eyes and looked at her. His angry look was also very touching. He couldn't help but stepped forward and kissed her, "I know."

His forehead was kissed lightly. Li Shanglu pressed his mouth and pushed him away, sneered coldly and turned away.

What a bullshit Heavenly Law, taking away the father of the son and the husband of the wife. Why should the price of world peace be that she has to raise two children alone? Such Heavenly Law should die.

"Shang Lu, you've been smarter than me since childhood," Shen Changyi's gentle voice came from behind him, and his fingertips poked his shoulder, "Can you help me think of a way to resolve this?"

Been smarter than him since childhood?

Li Shanglu felt it was strange no matter how she listened to it, as if it was a mockery of her. It was obvious that Shen Changyi was the one who was praised more since he was a child. Whether it was his teacher or his parents, everyone who had met Shen Changyi would praise him.

She didn't say anything.

But I couldn't help but think of the solution in my mind.

If even emotional tribulations can be resolved, then this is nothing difficult.

"You are too strong so the demon cultivators become stronger. Wouldn't it be better if you became weaker?"

Li Shanglu said somewhat uncomfortably.

Shen Changyi was stunned for a moment, then stood up and looked at her, "Why did you become weaker?"

Is he going to be like Zhu Xuan, breaking his limbs and shattering his bones in order to be reborn into the mortal world without hurting his mother?

He was silent for a moment, as if he could only think of this possibility.

Li Shanglu glanced at him as if he were a fool. "Don't you know how to study the spell of transferring pain? Is it difficult to study the spell of transferring spiritual power?"

Hearing this, Shen Changyi looked at her in surprise, "Shang Lu is so smart."

Why didn't he think of such a good idea?

It’s just… “Who should I transfer it to, and who would want it?”

Hearing his words, Li Shanglu's heart skipped a beat and he pursed his lips slightly.

——She wants it.

If she were not a mortal, how wonderful it would be to have the same eternal talent and spiritual power as Shen Changyi, Qiu Hanyu and others. This kind of thing must not be just her. All mortals in the world, even cultivators, would think so.

It is human nature to want to become a genius like Shen Changyi.

But facing Shen Changyi's thoughtful expression, Li Shanglu wanted to say something but hesitated several times and couldn't open his mouth.

If Shen Changyi said that your aptitude is too poor and spiritual power is useless to you, she would knock herself unconscious on the spot.

She pinched her fingertips into her palm and said casually, "Give it to Xie Du. He's your disciple anyway. Once you give it to him, you can let him go out as a disciple."

Hearing this, Shen Changyi shook his head, "Xie Du is still young and needs to grow up slowly and cultivate his character. Giving him spiritual power at this time is tantamount to harming him."

Hearing that he would not give it to Xie Du, Li Shanglu felt relieved. "Then give it to Shangjun or Hanyu, both are good."

Shen Changyi still shook his head.

The Lord is not talented enough to ascend to heaven, and even if his spiritual power is divided, he will not be able to become an immortal, which will only make the righteous path stronger.

The same goes for Qiu Hanyu. They are already very powerful, and with his spiritual power, the balance between good and evil will be even more out of balance.

Seeing that he rejected them one by one, Li Shanglu couldn't think of any other candidates, so he simply stopped talking and left the difficult problem to him.

After a while, Shen Changyi poked her shoulder again, "Shanglu."

"What?"

He leaned forward and whispered, "How about I share my spiritual power with you?"

Li Shanglu's eyelashes trembled, but he didn't look back at him.

"How can you give it to me? I don't have any talent, and my bones are weak. I can't bear your spiritual power at all."

"That's why I should give it to you. I'll find a way." The more Shen Changyi thought about it, the more he felt that it was a good idea. Firstly, Shang Lu would not go out to eliminate demons, so he couldn't be considered a righteous person. Secondly, Shang Lu had no talent, so giving her spiritual power would not cause an imbalance between good and evil.

Li Shanglu said calmly, "Then what are you going to do?"

The first step in cultivation is to cleanse the marrow and strengthen the bones, followed by refining Qi and building the foundation. If Li Shanglu had practiced with Shen Changyi when he was young, even if he could not achieve a very high level of cultivation, he would still be able to reach the Qi Refining stage.

Now she is twenty-one years old, and it is impossible for her to continue practicing in the world of cultivation.

"Actually, cleansing the marrow and thinning the bones isn't difficult." Shen Changyi's ears blushed slightly as he stole a glance at her expression. "I just don't know if you're willing."

There actually is a way. Li Shanglu suppressed his excitement and said calmly, "Speak."

Shen Changyi pursed his lips and whispered in her ear, "Dual cultivation."

Li Shanglu: “…”

"I read in ancient books that dual cultivation can cleanse the marrow and strengthen the bones, although I haven't tried it." His voice gradually became quieter, and his face became hot. "Would you like to try it?"

She suspected that this was made up by Shen Changyi himself.

"Really?" Li Shanglu narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to look at him. "Couldn't there be a better way, but you kept it a secret and only talked about the dual cultivation method?"

Shen Changyi's face turned even redder, and he stammered, "I, I don't have any. Forget it, I'll think of another way."

It was so hot inside the soft quilt that his body felt terribly hot.

Being so close, how could Li Shanglu not notice his reaction?

This idiot is really... Why didn't I realize that he had this side of me before? He just said a few words casually, but he actually moved me.

"Have you secretly learned the dual cultivation method?"

Li Shanglu pushed him away a little, his face flushed a little.

Shen Changyi turned his face away shyly and whispered, "Not yet. I put it on the bookshelf. Does Shang Lu want to read it?"

Li Shanglu also started to feel hot.

“…Bring it here.”

After a while, the two of them snuggled in the soft quilt and flipped through the secret book of dual cultivation like thieves.

It turned out to be a picture.

Li Shanglu had never seen such an unrestrained picture in her life. The overlapping figures kept changing into obscene postures. She suddenly closed the book.

Shen Changyi swallowed his saliva, "No, you don't want to learn anymore?"

After a moment, Li Shanglu gritted his teeth and forced himself to open the book.

What's there to be ashamed of? It's not like I haven't done it before, and I've done it several times!

-----------------------

The author has something to say: There will be a second update.