Chapter 40: Announced in broad daylight.

While Shen Bingsi was meditating, Rong Xie was also meditating.

Overjoyed at gaining so much spiritual power from dual cultivation last night, Rong Xie couldn't wait to check his cultivation level.

Cultivation is divided into six levels: Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Division, Body Integration, and Dao Attainment.

Rong Xie is not one of them yet; he is still before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

There is a stage before Foundation Establishment, an informal level called Qi Refining. Qi Refining is divided into ten levels. When Rong Xie withdrew from the inner sect, he was stuck at the tenth level.

Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. Rong Xie still felt quite uneasy after not having meditated properly for so many years.

He thought that if his cultivation level was still around 5 or 6 points, that would be good; if it was 7 or 8 points, that would be a pleasant surprise.

After circulating his spiritual energy through a full cycle, Rong Xie was pleasantly surprised to find that his cultivation level was still at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and his meridians were in excellent condition with no major blockages. With such physical condition, it would be no problem for him to resume cultivation.

This is all thanks to the living conditions at Huanxue Mountain Villa.

It took Rong Xie two years to cultivate from the seventh level of Qi Refining to the tenth level.

At that time, every step forward was a challenge for him. Everything was unfamiliar and required trial and error. When he reached the ninth floor, he made a big mistake and took a detour for more than half a year before he finally corrected it.

This time was different; the three-level difference was something he was very familiar with.

Rong Xie estimated that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would be able to return to the tenth level of Qi Refining in at most six months.

Then comes the most difficult part: breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

...

The night passed, and dawn broke.

With a clear mind, Rong Xie straightened his back and his face glowed. Seeing that Shen Bingsi was still meditating, he tiptoed out and brought back breakfast.

Chef Sun's signature dishes, including crab meat lion's head meatballs, hydrangea tofu pudding, and stir-fried mugwort, make for a hearty lunch.

Rong Xie thought that Shen Bing Si might not know where she was going today, and might even want to leave the city, so it was always good to have a more substantial breakfast.

Around 7 AM, Shen Bingsi woke up from her meditative state and got out of bed.

"Why is it so lavish today?" Shen Bingsi raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw Rong Xie taking bowls and plates out of the food box.

Rong Xie set out the bowls and chopsticks, called him over to sit down, and said with a smile, "You woke up just in time, otherwise this heat-preserving spell would have lost its effect."

Is it really that fast?

"It wasn't the talisman you made; it was the incantation I cast myself," Rong Xie said with a smile.

"Oh? You're using it so soon?" Shen Bingsi touched the small white porcelain bowl containing the crab meat lion's head meatballs; it was indeed hot. "Not bad, you still remember."

Rong Xie smiled and didn't say much. He always had a good memory. Not to mention the heat-preserving spell that he used daily, he remembered all the other spells and incantations he had learned in class or read in books. As long as he had enough spiritual power, he could use them immediately.

"Try it, it should taste pretty good. If you like it, ask the kitchen to make more later, and we'll take it with us for lunch."

"Take it with you?" Shen Bingsi seemed a little puzzled. "Take it where?"

“It depends on where you want to go. Although we left the city a bit late today, it’s still okay if we stay out tonight. If you want to come back before the city gates close, you’ll have to hurry.” Rong Xie pondered and said, “I heard from the waiter that there are many historical sites around Shengjing, as well as sword furnaces and sword tombs left by ancient swordsmiths. I thought you might be interested, so I asked them for a map.”

"Oh, I've been there. It's nothing special, just the ruins of the Sword Forging Palace. Only the foundation is left. There's nothing to see," Shen Bingsi said.

"Ah, you've already been there." Rong Xie was slightly disappointed. He thought he had found a place that Shen Bingsi would be interested in, but he didn't expect that Shen Bingsi had already been there. Well, how could someone as impatient as Shen Bingsi not go to a place that he knew was related to "swords"?

"There are other attractions, perhaps..."

“We won’t go out today.” Shen Bingsi pressed down on Rong Xie’s shoulder, stopping him from continuing to search through the map. His voice was calm and resolute. “We will continue our dual cultivation.”

"Huh...huh?"

In broad daylight, under the clear sky, Rong Xie never expected to hear the words "dual cultivation" so suddenly.

A soft "bang" sounded in my ear, as if something had exploded.

The heat quickly spread to my entire ear and the surrounding skin, and even the side of my cheek felt burning.

"But...but it's daytime..." Rong Xie's voice became very soft.

"What happened during the day?" Shen Bingsi said confidently. "Cultivation should be done while the iron is hot. Now that we have succeeded once, we should consolidate our success immediately. Otherwise, after a while, we will become rusty and it will not be so easy to pick it up again."

I have to admit that Shen Bingsi makes a lot of sense.

In matters of cultivation, Shen Bingsi is the embodiment of the Dao itself.

After a great internal struggle, Rong Xie finally agreed.

He couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

Aside from his own sense of shame, dual cultivation has only benefits and no drawbacks in every aspect.

However, he still managed to salvage some space for his sense of shame.

He only agreed to dual cultivation in the room, and the windows and doors had to be sealed off. The barrier had to be three layers high: one outside the courtyard, one inside the courtyard, and one layer around the doors, windows, and walls.

Shen Bingsi quickly set up a barrier, so that people outside could neither see nor hear anything, and of course, could not get in.

“哢”.

Rong Xie inserted the last bolt into the groove, then turned around and checked all the doors and windows again before slowly walking to the bedside at the back.

Shen Bingsi had already taken off his inner garment, revealing his strong upper body. His muscles, as sharp as whips, were lean and powerful, every inch of which was the result of his hard work in battle.

Rong Xie lowered his gaze, not daring to look towards the bedside.

This was the first time he had ever done something like this in broad daylight. Without the cover of night or the obstruction of water, the two of them simply took off their clothes and stood naked facing each other, every detail of their bodies clearly visible, not to mention…

Rong Xie suddenly regretted it.

The moment he had the thought of running away, he was pulled toward him by a burning arm.

What happened next was crazy. Rong Xie didn't even know when he had taken off all his clothes. Shen Bing Si's progress in cultivation was always astonishing, whether it was serious cultivation or dual cultivation. This time, he didn't use a belt, but instead used water spirit to turn into a thin needle, which he inserted from the top to seal Rong Xie's body, preventing him from relaxing before the matter was over.

This was no better for Rong Xie. The even stronger urge made him arch his back, his toes curling up on Shen Bingsi's legs. His low sobs were almost constant. Sometimes he would forget that he was cultivating, and most of the time he couldn't even figure out who he was or where he was.

Shen Bingsi's domineering spiritual power surged into Rong Xie's Qi Sea. Fortunately, he had already refined a portion of it last night, otherwise there would have been no extra space to store it today.

...

As the sun moves from east to west, the light undergoes subtle changes, transforming from bright and clear to ambiguous and viscous.

The rosy light spread across the window paper, filtering down a layer of rouge, which evenly covered Rong Xie's eyelids.

Rong Xie frowned and slowly opened his eyes.

A warm red glow filled my field of vision.

"Hmm..."

He felt like a custard that had been broken and then put back together, spread out softly on the pan. Although everything looked fine on the surface, it was no longer the same custard it had been.

"You're awake." A familiar voice came from the bedside. It was Shen Bingsi. "Don't get up yet. Lie down and do as I say."

His voice seemed lower than usual, but it was steady and powerful, as if everything he said should be obeyed.

Rong Xie didn't have the energy to think about it at the moment, so he did as Shen Bing Si instructed.

Shen Bingsi began by guiding him through basic breathing techniques, then moved on to controlling the flow of spiritual energy, starting from which meridians and acupoints, passing through which points, and specifically where to linger and where to accelerate.

Under Shen Bingsi's guidance, Rong Xie quickly completed a small circulation of Qi, his body became light and comfortable, and his five senses and six senses were also greatly enhanced.

However, the impact of dual cultivation has not yet been alleviated.

Shen Bingsi was particularly frightening today. For some reason, even though it wasn't the first time, Rong Xie felt a little unfamiliar with her and a little scared.

Although it wasn't exactly brutal, there was no room for tenderness or waiting either. Every step was strictly in accordance with the standards of cultivation, domineering, decisive, and leaving no room for doubt.

This made Rong Xie feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Are you feeling better? You need to refine the spiritual energy you've absorbed as soon as possible to maximize your cultivation level," Shen Bingsi said.

"Hmm..." Rong Xie closed his eyes, "I want to lie down a little longer."

"Okay, you get some rest." Shen Bingsi stood up from the bedside, and Rong Xie heard him open the door and leave.

Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief, opened his eyes, and found himself alone in the room. That uncomfortable, empty feeling welled up in his heart again.

“This is what cultivation is like,” Rong Xie said to himself. “Do you expect anything else? Don’t forget why you did this.”

Foundation construction should be completed as soon as possible.

Only by establishing a foundation as soon as possible can the problem of spiritual energy depletion be solved, and more time and space be gained so that one does not have to rely on such dual cultivation.

Such a... dual cultivation without any feelings whatsoever.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window paper and fell on the headboard, and Rong Xie felt much better.

He continued meditating all night, circulating the spiritual energy he had gained this time, absorbing and internalizing it. His meridians and dantian were strengthened considerably, and he was faintly approaching the eighth level of Qi Refining.

The incredibly fast leveling speed diluted Rong Xie's sorrow. He even felt that he was being a bit dramatic. Shen Bingsi had only done this to help him reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Perhaps his gentleness a while ago had given him the illusion that Shen Bingsi also liked him.

Shen Bingsi will not like him. Shen Bingsi hates this kind of feeling the most. As a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Ruthless Path, a genius who is severing emotions and love, he will not like anyone until the Heavenly Demon descends and until the last moment when the Heavenly Mirror drags Rong Xie out to take the fall.

After thinking it through, Rong Xie also restrained his emotions and stopped making any unnecessary movements or taking the initiative to get close to Shen Bing Si as before.

However, Rong Xie's emotions did not subside even after he thought he had figured things out.

The next day, after breakfast, Shen Bingsi inquired about Rong Xie's progress in refining spiritual energy. After receiving a satisfactory answer, he once again proposed dual cultivation.

Since we succeeded twice, there's no reason not to try a third time.

Once we return to Huanxue Manor, the dragon vein will no longer be there to bless us, and whether we can succeed then is another matter entirely.

With the right timing, location, and people, let's just work a little harder and do it a few more times.

If things go smoothly, I might be able to advance to the tenth level of Qi Refining in the next few days and directly attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Shen Bingsi's words make a lot of sense. When it comes to cultivation, he never misses any opportunity to improve.

However, Rong Xie felt increasingly distressed. Overwhelmed by his emotions, even when he wasn't doing anything, he felt an urge to cry. More than once, he thought that if he had known that his trip to Shengjing would turn out like this, he would rather never have come to Shengjing.

On the morning of the seventh day, Rong Xie got up slowly, dawdled over washing up, and didn't come out of the house until the sun was high in the sky.

Shen Bingsi sat at a small table in the courtyard, on which sat a food box. Golden spiritual energy surrounded the food box to keep it warm.

Shen Bingsi seemed lost in thought, and Rong Xie approached without him noticing.

“I…I’m not hungry, I don’t want to today…” Rong Xie clenched his fingers, hesitating whether to speak.

“You’re up,” Shen Bingsi suddenly came to her senses and looked up at Rong Xie. “The Water and Land Dharma Assembly is almost over today, we can go to Xiangji Temple now.”