My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

Wen Qianyi explained softly, "If this Ice Spirit Jade Lake were to be publicized, it would surely attract many people. The dark blue liquid in the lake contains extremely pure energy. If the coldness can be removed, it can be used directly for cultivation."

If one is a practitioner of icy techniques, one can ignore the coldness and directly absorb the pure energy within to quickly improve one's cultivation level.

However, there is a major drawback here: in addition to the extremely harsh environment, the cold air, once inhaled, will linger in the body like maggots clinging to bones.

If we're going to give an example, fire poison is the best example. In the words of our predecessors, this is cold poison. If you inhale too much of it and don't cleanse yourself of it, you'll eventually die from the poison.

Many academy elders have died here, and I couldn't save them no matter how hard I tried because they were too deeply poisoned. I really didn't want to look at their pale, even dark blue, blood-stained corpses any longer.

So later the academy forbade anyone from cultivating here. My older sister used to come here often, so her strength improved relatively quickly. But now she doesn't come anymore; you can see that no one has been here for a long time.”

After listening to Wen Qianyi's explanation, Lin Ran finally understood why the people in the academy avoided this place like the plague. It turned out that although this place was a treasure trove, it had huge side effects. Compared to improving their strength, their lives were more important.

Having only heard the brief description of dying from the cold poison outbreak, Lin Ran felt a bit terrified. He didn't want to become that kind of person. But then a question suddenly occurred to him, and he looked at Wen Qianyi with curiosity, asking, "Qianyi, you have Heavenly Fire, so you should be able to come here often, right?"

"Me? I rarely come here to cultivate. I mostly cultivate by refining medicine, and occasionally I spar with the elders of the academy to hone my fire control skills. I've never actually tried cultivating here before!" Wen Qianyi said shyly.

"It's alright, we can try it today. If you have Heavenly Fire protecting you, it can filter out that cold air. I have a dual cultivation technique here. If we cooperate, we might be able to use this treasure land to quickly improve our strength!" Lin Ran felt that he was really smart. He suddenly had a brilliant idea. If he could use this place, he might be able to reach the peak of Nirvana Realm very quickly, and even breaking through to the Dragon Transformation Realm was not impossible!

"What? Dual cultivation!"

Upon hearing this term, Wen Qianyi immediately thought of the ancient books she had read about dual cultivation. Her face turned bright red, her head felt like it was about to explode, and her mind became a jumbled mess.

"Senior... how could you have thought of this? Should I agree or not?" Wen Qianyi wondered to herself.

Although the Ice Spirit Jade Lake was extremely cold, Wen Qianyi felt feverish all over, like a shrimp in a steamer, bright red...

……

Chapter 106 Cultivation Attempt at the Ice Spirit Jade Lake

The term "dual cultivation" always carries a lot of connotations. Wen Qianyi's understanding of the term "dual cultivation" mainly comes from the many ancient books she has read. Without exception, those related to dual cultivation involve those unspeakable things between men and women, and are even marked with evil and heretical teachings.

In addition, there is a notorious evil sect called the Sun Moon Sect in the dangerous triangle area. They specialize in dual cultivation between men and women, using unspeakable acts to improve their strength. The relationships between men and women there are extremely chaotic, with all kinds of play available. Even most of the brothels in the dangerous triangle area belong to the Sun Moon Sect, and some famous courtesans are their disciples.

If it weren't for the fact that Wen Qianyi had always had a very good impression of Lin Ran, when she heard others propose to cultivate with her, her first thought would probably not have been whether to agree or not, but rather she would have angrily used her "Azure Dragon Heavenly Flame" to burn the other party to ashes.

Wen Qianyi stared wide-eyed at Lin Ran, her face flushed crimson, her teeth clenched, and she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Senior...I...I agree!"

She still chose to trust her senior's character. He had never done anything out of line before, so this time it must be the same—just normal cultivation, right? Although she wasn't entirely sure herself…

"That's great, Qianyi!"

Lin Ran excitedly waved her fist and said, "If such a treasure land can be developed, our strength will definitely increase rapidly. You have the Heavenly Fire protecting you, and I have a dual cultivation technique. Try it and see how efficient it is to absorb and transform this energy with the blessing of the Heavenly Fire!"

Lin Ran definitely couldn't deal with the cold poison here, but Wen Qianyi was different. She possessed the Heavenly Fire, a powerful force that could surely suppress the cold poison.

Wen Qianyi felt her whole body burning hot. She glanced at the deep blue water of the Ice Spirit Jade Lake, and after a long while, she whispered, "Senior... could you turn around? I need to go into the lake now, and I need to... need to take off my clothes..."

As she spoke, Wen Qianyi felt her head spinning and dared not look at Lin Ran.

"Ah, oh, this place is indeed like this... Well then, I'll go outside and wait for you!"

Lin Ran saw the lake and understood Wen Qianyi's idea. After all, if her whole body caught fire during cultivation, or if her spiritual power exploded, or if she was affected by the extreme cold in the lake, her clothes would be gone. It was better to take them off in advance and put them back on after cultivation.

"Senior...you don't have to do that. Just close your eyes and turn around. If anything happens, you can help me in time!" Wen Qianyi said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Ah...that works too..."

Lin Ran silently turned around and closed her eyes in deep thought.

Seeing Lin Ran like this, Wen Qianyi gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, and then gently unbuttoned her dress with her slender hands, revealing a fair and delicate, curvaceous body.

When Wen Qianyi looked towards Lin Ran and saw that Lin Ran still had her back to her, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned around, and her delicate, jade-like toes lightly skimmed the deep blue lake water. She looked like a mermaid about to enter the water from the shore, extremely beautiful.

Wen Qianyi clenched her teeth and plunged into the lake with a "plop," her alluring body submerged in the deep blue water.

Wen Qianyi, her small head peeking out, still had a faint blush on her cheeks. She was circulating her spiritual energy to resist the surrounding chill. After glancing at Lin Ran, she closed her eyes tightly, sat cross-legged in the lake, and began cultivating, forming the hand seals...

Meanwhile, Lin Ran was torn between two conflicting thoughts. He had just heard the rustling sound of clothes being undressed, followed by a "thump," and he felt the image flash through his mind. He was momentarily distracted, but at the same time, he thought of the awkwardness of dual cultivation.

Not everyone is Meng Qing. No matter how much Meng Qing looks at a woman or how much he tries to touch her, he will only give her a cold look and say a harsh word: "Be prepared to pay the price!"

"This place can't be like the place where Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo cultivate among flowers. Qianyi definitely can't be treated the same way as Meng Qing. This is really a headache!"

Lin Ran looked at this precious land, yet couldn't cultivate there. It was like having a girl you like in front of you, but no matter how hard you try, you can't get close to her.

"We can only wait for Qianyi's results and see if the two of them can cultivate that dual cultivation technique!"

All Lin Ran can do now is wait silently.

Time passed by, and Lin Ran was idly drawing circles on the wall when suddenly a strong shockwave erupted from behind her, startling her.

Lin Ran quickly turned around and looked behind her. At the Ice Spirit Jade Lake, a small whirlpool had appeared on the water, centered on Wen Qianyi, at some point.

As the vortex accelerated, the deep blue energy in the lake water seeped into Wen Qianyi's body. With a layer of Azure Dragon Heavenly Flame acting as a filter, the cold poison within the deep blue energy was skillfully removed by Wen Qianyi, and the pure energy was added to the elixir in her dantian.

As streams of pure energy entered Wen Qianyi's body, her aura continued to rise. Suddenly, an aura slightly stronger than before erupted from within her, causing towering waves to surge in the lake.

In that instant, Lin Ran saw a scene that made her blood boil. It has to be said that this was indeed a scene that "looks different from different angles and perspectives."

The burst of energy lingered for a long time before slowly receding, eventually entering Wen Qianyi's body. A flash of azure flame appeared in Wen Qianyi's eyes, but it quickly subsided.

Wen Qianyi looked at Lin Ran with joy, lightly leaped up from the lake with her toes, and landed gently in front of Lin Ran. She said excitedly, "Senior, I have broken through to the fourth level of the Spirit Core Realm! My Heavenly Fire can easily refine the cold poison here!"

Seeing Wen Qianyi like this, Lin Ran quickly looked away and said awkwardly, "Qianyi, why don't you... put on some clothes first..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Qianyi looked down at her fair and delicate body, her pretty face instantly turning into a fiery red, which quickly spread to her neck. She quickly took out a set of clothes from her spatial ring and hurriedly put them on.

After Wen Qianyi finished dressing, Lin Ran looked at her and deliberately changed the subject, saying, "How did you break through to the fourth level of the Spirit Core Realm so quickly after passing through this Ice Spirit Jade Lake?"

Wen Qianyi was still in a daze. When she heard Lin Ran say that, she replied softly, "I was already close to breaking through, but after trying to cultivate here, I found that my cultivation speed is actually so fast!"

"That's enough. Growing too fast isn't a good thing. Besides, it's very difficult to improve one star in the Spirit Pill Realm. If I hadn't had that fortuitous encounter, I probably wouldn't even be in the Nirvana Realm now. You're already very impressive!" Lin Ran couldn't help but praise.

Hearing Lin Ran's words, Wen Qianyi felt a little sweet inside. She gently pinched her loose hair. Lin Ran's praise made her even happier than when she broke through to the fourth level of the Spirit Pill Realm. Maybe... she should agree to the senior's request for dual cultivation?

With that thought in mind, Wen Qianyi suddenly asked, "Then... senior, when... shall we... begin... dual cultivation?"

After saying this, Wen Qianyi quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Lin Ran. She was afraid that her senior would think that what she said was not like a girl's, or that she would think that she was not ladylike enough...

"Dual cultivation!"

Lin Ran's eyes lit up. Although he really wanted to improve his strength as soon as possible, he knew that it couldn't be rushed. He smiled and said, "Let's skip it today. Wait until you go back and stabilize your strength. Then I'll give you that dual cultivation technique. After you've comprehended it, we'll try it together!"

"Oh fine!"

Wen Qianyi was slightly disappointed, but she quickly put on a smile and invited Lin Ran to visit the inner courtyard.

Lin Ran readily agreed, as he still needed to begin making some reforms to the inner courtyard.

.....

Linghua Academy, Outer Courtyard, Qiu Qingzi's private office.

At this moment, in the office, Qiu Qingzi was entertaining people from Songling Academy and Tianli Academy. The person from Songling Academy was Yue Lei, who had competed with Qiu Qingzi for Lin Ran last time.

The person from Tianli Academy was a somewhat slovenly middle-aged man who sat upright in his chair, his entire being like a sharp sword, giving off a fierce feeling.

This is Chen Tianhui, the vice dean of Tianli Academy and a one-star expert in the Dragon Transformation Realm!

Qiu Qingzi poured tea for both deans of the academies, her face adorned with a charming smile, and her voice melodious as she said, "I don't know what brings you here today, but the vice deans of Songling and Tianli academies have both come to visit me. Please forgive me for any shortcomings in our hospitality."

Yue Lei, an old acquaintance, didn't stand on ceremony with Qiu Qingzi. He tilted his head back and drank his tea with the air of someone who would drink with someone else, and laughed loudly, "The fact that you came to see Vice Dean Qiu today must mean you have something to discuss. Let's not waste any more words. Vice Dean Qiu, do you remember the secret realm we talked about at the meeting of our five academies a while ago?"

"Oh, is there some new news again?" Qiu Qingzi crossed her legs, took a sip of tea, and said in a sweet voice.

"This news has already spread to Zhongzhou and the surrounding major states. This is something that our five academies can no longer handle!" Yue Lei said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing Yue Lei's words, Qiu Qingzi paused, her brows furrowing. "How come everyone in Zhongzhou knows?"

"Not only that, but this time there may be quite a few super sects that will send their most outstanding talents down for training. At that time, Jiezhou will be in turmoil," Yue Lei said.

"So what do you want to do..."

Qingzi Qiu had already figured something out.

Yue Lei continued Qiu Qingzi's words, saying, "That's right, Vice Dean Qiu. Vice Dean Tianhui and I came here together this time hoping to win over Linghua Academy. When the battle in the secret realm begins, our three academies can join forces to fight against them and gain more benefits in the secret realm!"

……

Chapter 107 The Heavenly Ranking Competition of Tianli Academy

"I'm sorry, I need to consult with the dean first, I can't give you an answer right away!"

After thinking for a moment, Qiu Qingzi did not immediately agree to the cooperation. Their Linghua Academy was too weak. Although cooperation would indeed benefit them, it did not mean there would be no downsides. Who knew if they would stab each other in the back because of their interests?

Seeing Qiu Qingzi like this, Yue Lei wanted to say something more, but Chen Tianhui, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Vice Dean Qiu, the Sword Sect will also be here this time. Our academy has always had a good relationship with the Sword Sect. With the Sword Sect here this time, and with the three academies joining forces, we may not be unable to contend with other forces."

"Sword Sect..."

Qiu Qingzi was naturally quite familiar with the super sects of the Central Region. If the Sword Sect were present, their Linghua Academy, by joining forces with the Sword Sect and the Songling and Tianli Academy camps, could indeed contend with many powers. However, relatively speaking, their autonomy would be...

"Say yes to them!"

A familiar voice rang in Qiu Qingzi's mind. Qiu Qingzi paused, and her previously hesitant attitude immediately became firm. She stretched out her hand and said with a smile, "Let's join your camp. We hope we can cooperate sincerely in the future!"

"Sincere cooperation!"

Vice Deans Yue Lei and Chen Tianhui shook hands with Qiu Qingzi in turn, discussed some specific matters, and then left Linghua City.

When Qiu Qingzi saw the two vice deans off and returned to her office, she found Wen Bixuan, dressed in a white dress, already there. Wen Bixuan's cold and beautiful face seemed to make the office feel even colder.

When Qiu Qingzi saw Wen Bixuan, she said bluntly, "Bixuan, why should we agree to their alliance? This way, our Linghua Academy might become their henchmen and cannon fodder."

"Won't we become cannon fodder if we go it alone?" Wen Bixuan asked Qiu Qingzi with her cold eyes.

This stumped Qiu Qingzi, making her realize that going it alone would indeed make her cannon fodder. Compared to the Sword Sect, their Linghua Academy was no match for them, or rather, there was no comparison whatsoever.

In this battle for the secret realm, going it alone will most likely only result in joining the fun, while joining the Sword Sect's united base might allow you to get some benefits.

Seeing Qiu Qingzi standing there in a daze, Wen Bixuan continued, "Don't take this secret realm too seriously. There are too many competitors. There are only a handful of us. We'll just go symbolically to give the elders of the academy or the talented students a chance to broaden their horizons and gain experience."

It's good to have some gains, but it's okay if you don't. Just don't let a situation like last time happen again, understand?

"Yes, I'll arrange it!"

Qiu Qingzi nodded, then suddenly asked curiously, "Bixuan, aren't you going to compete in the secret realm?"

Wen Bixuan shook her head and said, "According to the latest news from over there, only those below the Dragon Transformation Realm can enter. Even those in the Nirvana Realm will have their strength suppressed and will not be able to unleash the power that belongs to the Nirvana Realm!"