The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 172, 187: Wanwan has finally made something of herself!

As it turned out, Wanwan was not much braver than Dugu Feng.

She had only fought for a little over half an hour when she was already panting heavily, covered in sweat, her pretty face flushed, and even her toes turned pink.

"I can't do it anymore, I can't fight anymore!"

While fending off Lu Chen's swift sword, she begged for mercy:
"Can I take a break? Can I take a break?"

"Heh, didn't you boast that you were stronger than Feng'er?"

"She's better than her to begin with..."

"Then keep going. You asked for a full hour, so keep going for a full hour."

"Ke Wan'er is really beyond saving!"

"The fact that they still have the energy to speak means that their physical strength has not been completely exhausted and they can continue to persevere."

"..."

Wanwan quickly shut her mouth, not uttering a word, only gazing at Lu Chen with her bright, pitiful, and sorrowful eyes, which could melt even the hardest heart.

Unfortunately, it was useless against Lu Chen.

His sword continued its relentless attack, each move seemingly casual and spontaneous, yet unpredictable and elusive, its weight, strength, softness, feints, speed, and slowness utterly elusive, leaving Wanwan exhausted from parrying.

In fact, with Wanwan's skill level, even in a life-or-death battle with an equally matched opponent, she wouldn't be this exhausted in just half an hour.

After all, the Heavenly Demon Art has the ability to absorb and borrow force, which can save one's own power and make it extremely durable in battle.

But Lu Chen has a magical ability to stimulate and guide people's potential to the extreme during training battles, making people unconsciously immerse themselves in it and perform to the extreme, to the point that the consumption of their skills, physical strength, and mental strength is extraordinary.

Of course, the benefits are also obvious.

Under Lu Chen's guidance, each time he pushed himself to the limit, his martial arts skills would improve significantly.

Especially Wanwan, whose swordsmanship is relatively weak, always has a burst of inspiration when she spars with Lu Chen. She can immediately integrate it into her own swordsmanship, making her swordsmanship stronger and stronger with each battle.

In just half an hour of sparring, her swordsmanship improved by an amount comparable to five or six days of solo practice. Under Lu Chen's guidance, the "Thirteen Soul-Snatching Swords" also progressed rapidly down a complex and ever-changing path, like a sapling gradually growing into a large tree, becoming more and more luxuriant.

However, she overestimated herself and actually declared that she would fight for an hour.

In just half an hour and a quarter of an hour, she was already teetering on the brink of collapse. Begging for mercy was useless, and Lu Chen remained merciless, applying maximum pressure.

At this moment of extreme exhaustion, Wanwan had no choice but to squeeze out all her potential and try her best to keep up with Lu Chen's offensive rhythm and defend against his every attack.

Under such offensive and defensive conditions, Wanwan's swordsmanship and defensive skills also improved by leaps and bounds. The seemingly shaky sword light defense line actually had a hint of the impenetrable and watertight charm of Lu Chen's sword encirclement.

They fought for another half hour.

Wanwan finally couldn't hold on any longer. After barely blocking Lu Chen's sword, she staggered back two steps, gripping her sword with both hands and leaning on the ground, panting as she said:

"No, no, Brother Lu, please spare Wan'er."

Seeing her chest heaving and her originally flushed cheeks turning slightly pale, Lu Chen knew she had indeed reached her limit and nodded, saying:

"Alright, that's enough for tonight. Go back and rest."

Wanwan looked at him pitifully:
"Wan'er is so tired she can barely walk. Brother Lu, could you lend her a hand?"

Lu Chen glanced down and saw that her usually spotless white feet were now stained with specks of gray, indicating that her inner energy was insufficient and she could no longer protect her feet. He nodded, walked to her side, and was about to raise his hand to help her when Wanwan grabbed his hand.

They've held hands!
Wanwan inwardly cheered, her heart pounding. A faint blush rose to her slightly pale cheeks, but she maintained a composed demeanor and smiled sweetly at Lu Chen.
"Just hold him like this."

As she spoke, she quickly intertwined her fingers with his.

There's not much point in helping like this, is there?

Lu Chen gave her a strange look, but didn't say anything, and led her towards the main house.

"Lu Chen".

Ok?
He actually called me by my first name?

Lu Chen glanced at Wanwan again, feeling that something was off about her tonight.

Wanwan's delicate hands clasped tightly around Lu Chen's as they walked slowly forward, she whispered:
"Actually, my master also said something to me."

Lu Chen said calmly:
"I am listening."

“Master said that if Wan’er truly falls in love with someone, the best solution for her is to kill him with her own hands, otherwise it will affect her cultivation.”

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow:
"How did you respond?"

Wanwan turned her head to look at him, and smiled sweetly:
"Wan'er said, 'Master, you're making things difficult for me. Why don't you step in and help Wan'er one more time?'"

"And what did the Queen of the Underworld say?"

Wanwan's long eyelashes trembled slightly, her eyes sparkled, a smile played on her lips, and her tone was light and cheerful:
“The person Wan’er likes hasn’t even landed on the ship yet, and Master has already disappeared. It’s clear she doesn’t want to help me.”

Although she didn't say it outright, anyone who wasn't a fool would know who she liked.

For Wanwan, this was the best she could do, given her inability to interact normally with others.

Lu Chen turned his head to look at her, but Wanwan avoided his gaze and looked ahead. The hand holding his hand unconsciously tightened its grip.

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then said:

"The cultivation of the Heavenly Demon Art seems to have some strict requirements. The reason your master said those things to you was precisely because of those cultivation requirements, right?"

Wanwan smiled and said:
“Master certainly thinks so. But Wan’er feels that the original path of cultivating the Heavenly Demon Art may not be correct. Otherwise, why has no one been able to cultivate it to the eighteenth level since the First Ancestor?”

She turned her head to look at Lu Chen, no longer avoiding his gaze, and said softly:
"Do you still remember what Wan'er said to you that night when she was ordered by her master to deliver the gift to you?"

That night I was ordered by my master to deliver the gift?

We talked quite a bit that night, but since Wanwan brought it up, it must have been something special.

Lu Chen recalled carefully for a while, remembering that night when he had stabbed Wanwan between the eyebrows with a sword finger, trying to see if he could leave a sword spirit mark. As a result, he failed because Wanwan's sword cultivation was insufficient.

After that, Wanwan seemed to say to him, "Brother Lu, I need your help with my cultivation!" Yes, it's the tradition of the Yin Gui Sect, involving things like furnaces and cauldrons...

Wanwan stared intently at Lu Chen. Seeing that he seemed lost in thought, she knew he had remembered. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she quickened her pace, as if she instinctively wanted to run away.

But her fair, jade-like, delicate hands held Lu Chen's hand tightly, showing no sign of loosening.

Neither of them spoke after that.

Only after returning to the main house did Wanwan speak:
"I've worked up a sweat and my feet are a bit dusty, so I need to take a shower. Brother Lu, could you wait for me in Wan'er's room?"

Lu Chen reminded him:
"The path you've come up with may not be the right one."

Wanwan smiled sweetly:
“I am very confident. Brother Lu, would it be alright for Rong Wan’er to give it a try?” “As you wish.”

Lu Chen entered Wanwan's guest room, sat down at the table, and silently meditated and circulated his internal energy. Wanwan went to the closet to find a change of clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

About fifteen minutes later.

A faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps rang out.

Lu Chen didn't need to open his eyes; with just his subtle perception of the Heavenly Demon Technique, he knew that the newcomer was Wanwan.

Her delicate, bare feet trod on the polished floor, which could have been completely silent, but the slight sound of her footsteps was clearly intentional, meant to alert Lu Chen to her arrival.

"Brother Lu, I'm done washing."

When Lu Chen opened his eyes, he saw that Wanwan had changed into an apricot-yellow dress. Her straight, jet-black hair was still slightly damp, and her skin looked even more delicate under the moisture.

Those delicate feet, as if sculpted by nature and without a single flaw, have returned to their pristine state. The insteps are as white as snow, while the toenails and toes are a light pink, like peach petals.

She walked silently to the edge of the couch, sat down gracefully facing Lu Chen, gently swung her legs, and said with a soft smile:

"Our Holy Sect's philosophy is that human nature is inherently evil, and destruction and darkness are the most powerful forces in the universe. Therefore, the true energy cultivated by the Holy Sect's techniques, apart from the Flower Sect's unique talent, is extremely deathly. It is impossible for it to react positively with other true energies. In the event of a collision, it will either destroy you or you will obliterate me. There is basically no possibility of harmonious coexistence, let alone mutual complementation."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly realized:
"I see! My true energy can help you heal your injuries; this is an extremely rare phenomenon."

During the first healing session, Wanwan mentioned that her technique was unique and ordinary internal energy could not help her heal.

However, Lu Chen did not sense anything amiss and easily helped Wanwan heal her injuries.

Thinking about it now, the demonic sect's techniques believed that destruction and darkness were the most powerful forces, and the nature of the Heavenly Demon True Qi was indeed extremely yin and dark, with a heavy death aura.

His swordsmanship and true energy originated from the intent of the Immortal Slaying Sword.

The path represented by the Zhuxian Sword Intent is the ultimate destruction, slaughter, and end.

No wonder Wanwan's reactions were so strange after the two treatments; she kept clinging to his internal energy...

While pondering this.

Wanwan raised her hands and said with a smile:
"Brother Lu, is that alright?"

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then picked up a chair, went to the edge of the couch, sat down opposite Wanwan, raised his hand to hold her palm, and, just like when he was healing her before, converted his true energy into a warm and gentle yang attribute, slowly channeling it into her meridians.

This time, he didn't use the healing technique on his heart; instead, he wanted to see how Wanwan wanted to try.

Lu Chen's true energy was inputted.

Wanwan's delicate body trembled slightly, and she felt a strange sensation as if all her meridians and acupoints were being "melted" by this true energy.

This feeling, which should have represented deadly danger, actually pleased Wanwan, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

However, she did not become too engrossed in it. She circulated her Heavenly Demon True Qi, enveloping Lu Chen's True Qi within it, and they intertwined and merged in a strange rhythm.

Surprisingly, a new kind of vitality, different from the healing vitality, emerged afterward.

Half of this vitality remained within Wanwan's meridians, while the other half was actively pushed by Wanwan and fed back into Lu Chen's meridians and acupoints. In an instant, it was fused and refined by his sword dao true qi, transforming into a new sword dao true qi.

Sensing this new sword energy, Lu Chen's expression suddenly shifted slightly.

In terms of quantity, this true energy is not much; it is only slightly more than the true energy he consumed, so the benefit seems not to be significant.

But this new sword energy actually allowed him to comprehend a trace of the principles of "life and death".

Sword II has been imprinted with many principles, including the principle of "Yin and Yang," and he has gained a lot of insights into them. He has also achieved many results, such as the improved version of the Old Man's Fist, the pure Yin to Yang dual cultivation method, and the Yin-Yang Two Qi Sword.

The only thing that remains to be understood is the principle of "life and death," which few have grasped to this day.

Today, when his true energy merged with the extremely yin, dark, and deathly true energy of the Heavenly Demon, giving rise to that strange vitality, it actually made his understanding of the principles of life and death loosen a little!
"How is it?" Wanwan asked with a smile when she saw that Lu Chen's expression was different.

“Very good.” Lu Chen nodded.

"Wan'er feels great too. Her stagnant Heavenly Demon Art realm seems to have loosened up a little."

Wanwan winked at him, a hint of pride in her eyes:

"It seems that Wan'er's idea was correct. Your true energy and my Heavenly Demon True Energy are naturally compatible."

“Hmm.” Lu Chen said, “But the efficiency of you refining my true energy and generating life force is a bit low.”

Wanwan smiled and said:

“I’m using the Yin Gui School’s dual cultivation method, which is already the top true qi dual cultivation method in the world. The reason why it’s inefficient is because only I am circulating the qi. If you also use the same method and cooperate with Wan’er to circulate the qi, the efficiency will be doubled.”

Lu Chen said, "I also have a method for dual cultivation of true qi, which seems to be better than yours... Hmm, if we combine our techniques, perhaps we can achieve even better results?"

Wanwan smiled sweetly: "You can give it a try."

The two then each recited the mental cultivation method and began to comprehend it together.

Wanwan possessed exceptional comprehension, and Lu Chen was a master of creation. Working together, they successfully created a brand-new dual cultivation method at dawn, based on the "Pure Yin to Yang Dual Cultivation Method" and incorporating the essence of the Yin Gui School's dual cultivation method.

This method is still named "Pure Yin to Yang Dual Cultivation Method". When Lu Chen and Wanwan's palms face each other and they simultaneously circulate the new True Qi Dual Cultivation Method, their True Qi complements each other, and the effect of Yin and Yang generating each other is indeed much stronger than the original version.

Of course, this is not the most efficient way to operate.

When Lu Chen created the "Pure Yin and Supreme Yang Dual Cultivation Method," his goal was to achieve a dual cultivation that combined entertainment and practice, with the dual cultivation of true qi between hands being merely a side effect.

As for Wanwan's dual cultivation method...

How could the Yin Gui School's dual cultivation method be pure?
In essence, it is the same as Lu Chen's dual cultivation method.

Therefore, the fusion of the two dual cultivation methods is of the same nature as their predecessors.

However, Wanwan had finally achieved the feat of subtly confessing her feelings, taking the initiative to hold hands, and cultivating both internal and external energies, which had exhausted all the courage she had recently accumulated.

She spent the whole night discussing with Lu Chen and created a new, more efficient cultivation method, which made her even more satisfied. She really dared not "push her luck" any further.

Another significant achievement was the preliminary verification of the correctness of her envisioned path.

The reason for only saying "preliminary verification" is that we have only just begun to try, and the state of stagnation has only shown a slight sign of loosening.

She needs to try many more times to confirm that her level of skill can truly improve steadily without encountering bottlenecks before she can be sure that her path is correct.

Nevertheless, when a verification-based dual cultivation of true qi ended...

Wanwan could not contain her excitement and suddenly leaned forward to gently kiss Lu Chen's face.

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(End of this chapter)