Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

After finishing the barbecue.

The group then returned to the ancient tomb.

Lu Wushuang and Granny Sun naturally returned to their respective addresses.

Yang Guo, however, always stayed three steps behind the woman in white.

Xiaolongnu finally stopped at a corner, turned around, and her cold gaze fell on Yang Guo's face: "Why are you still following me?"

Her tone was calm, yet carried a faint hint of bewilderment.

Yang Guo smiled: "Didn't Miss Long promise to teach me the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra? Since the bet has been made, I must fulfill it."

He paused, then added, "Besides, I did indeed learn the Nine Yin Manual inscribed on the stone wall of that secret chamber—Wushuang's foot injury and the Soul Transfer Technique are proof of that. Surely Miss Long wouldn't go back on her word?"

A faint blush quickly swept across Xiaolongnu's fair cheeks.

She shifted her gaze towards the stone chamber that belonged to her deep within the passageway.

After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Come with me."

Inside the Jade Bed Stone Chamber, the chill was three times stronger than in other parts of the ancient tomb.

The bed, carved entirely from a block of black ice, gleamed with a faint blue light, and even the air seemed to be filled with tiny ice crystals.

As soon as Yang Guo stepped into the stone chamber, he felt a pure, cold energy emanate from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Although I came once during the day, that was done secretly.

Now we can come openly and legitimately.

"What a nice bed," he genuinely complimented.

Little Dragon Girl had already sat cross-legged at one end of the cold jade bed, her white robes spread out like a snow lotus.

She looked up at Yang Guo: "The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra was created by the Grandmaster. It emphasizes the perfect understanding between minds and the seamless coordination of moves. At the beginning of cultivation, two people need to sit facing each other, palms touching, and use their internal energy to explore the flow of meridians and become familiar with each other's true energy characteristics."

She spoke these words with a calm expression, as if she were recounting the essentials of martial arts.

However, the lingering blush on her ears betrayed that this cultivation method was not entirely unaffected by her.

Yang Guo readily agreed and sat down opposite her.

The two were three feet apart, just within arm's reach.

"Palms touching?" he asked, as if confirming.

"Mmm," Little Dragon Girl responded, stretching out her hands.

Those hands had long, slender fingers, and their skin was almost transparently white under the dim light of the cold jade bed. Their nails were neatly trimmed and had a healthy pale pink hue.

Yang Guo also stretched out his hands and slowly reached out to meet him.

The moment their four palms touched, Xiaolongnu trembled slightly.

Xiaolongnu's hands were cool and soft, while Yang Guo's hands were warm and steady.

The temperature difference caused a strange shiver to run through the skin that came into contact with it.

More importantly—when the palm fits completely.

Xiaolongnu felt a gentle, mellow, yet unfathomable flow of true energy slowly passing through Yang Guo's palm.

That true energy was extremely pure, subtly containing the profound mystery of the rotation of Yin and Yang, and also carrying the unique balance and tranquility of the Nine Yin Manual.

However, with just a touch, it gently enveloped the soft, feminine internal energy of the Ancient Tomb Sect that she was tentatively releasing. Instead of rejecting it, it blended with her naturally, like a stream flowing into the sea.

"You..." A look of surprise flashed in Xiaolongnu's cold eyes.

She has practiced the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra for many years and knows that this skill requires an extremely high degree of compatibility between the internal energies of the practitioners.

Ordinary martial artists, even those from the same sect, always have subtle differences in their internal energy attributes, and it takes a long time to get used to each other before they can achieve initial integration.

But Yang Guo's internal strength and hers seemed to be a perfect match.

"My martial arts are compatible with the vast majority of internal energies in the world," Yang Guo explained with a smile, noticing her confusion. "In addition, I have just comprehended the Nine Yin Manual, and the essence of 'harmonizing Yin and Yang' and 'inclusiveness' in it is exactly in line with this."

He paused, then added, "Moreover... Miss Long's internal energy is pure and clear, without any impurities, so it's naturally easy for us to merge."

This statement was part explanation and part praise.

Xiaolongnu lowered her long eyelashes slightly, said no more, and calmed her mind.

Begin by following the basic mental techniques of the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" to guide internal energy along specific meridians.

Yang Guo also calmed his mind and used his spiritual sense to perceive every subtle change in the flow of her true energy, and adjusted his own internal energy frequency to synchronize with hers.

For a moment, the stone chamber was completely silent.

Only when their palms touched did the two different yet wonderfully intertwine true energies circulate repeatedly, gradually forming a complete internal energy circulation.

The cold air from the jade bed was slowly absorbed and refined by this cycle, transforming into pure energy to nourish the meridians of the two people.

Before we knew it, half an hour had passed.

Little Dragon Girl suddenly spoke, her voice even softer than before:

"Next, it's about the coordination of moves. The moves of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra require two people to use them together, one to attack and the other to heal, one to advance and the other to retreat, just like one body."

As she spoke, she withdrew one hand and made a gesture in the air as if she were starting a fight.

Yang Guo had excellent eyesight and memorized the trajectory after only one glance.

At the same time, he extended his other hand and naturally followed the direction of her move, adding a connecting motion.

"No," Little Dragon Girl shook her head, "your method is too rigid. The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra emphasizes gentleness with resilience, and a hidden strength within softness. Look..."

With a slight movement, she rose gracefully from the cold jade bed, her white robes blooming like lotus flowers in the dim light.

A seemingly light palm strike was delivered, but it suddenly accelerated halfway through, with a sharp burst of energy appearing at the edge of the palm.

Yang Guo's eyes lit up, and he stood up almost simultaneously. His left hand reached out like a butterfly flitting among flowers, not to block, but to guide and push along the edge of her palm strike.

Their arms crossed in the air, their sleeves brushing against each other.

The force of Xiaolongnu's palm strike was cleverly deflected, striking empty air.

After Yang Guo's initial guidance, he followed up with an extremely gentle finger strike, aiming at a barely perceptible opening in her previous palm technique.

"This time it's right." Little Dragon Girl rarely showed a very faint smile, her cold face like an ice lotus just blooming.

She turned again, unleashing an even more complex set of moves.

Yang Guo was completely focused, imprinting every move and technique into his mind with the martial arts prowess and comprehension of a grandmaster.

They used the profound principle of "The Way of Heaven is to take from the excess and give to the deficiency" from the Nine Yin Manual to understand, coordinate, and even optimize this dual cultivation martial art.

The two practiced their moves one by one in the not-so-spacious stone chamber.

At first, it was a bit awkward, but after three or five rounds, it gradually got into the swing of things.

White and green robes intertwined, palm strikes and finger shadows danced wildly, yet they always maintained a certain wondrous rhythm and harmony.

At one point, Xiaolongnu attacked Yang Guo's chest with a move called "Xi Shi Holding Her Heart," but Yang Guo neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he met the attack with a move called "Hongyu Striking the Drum."

Just as their moves were about to collide, the two simultaneously changed tactics—Little Dragon Girl switched from offense to defense, while Yang Guo switched from defense to offense.

One step back, one step forward; one soft, one hard—they complement each other perfectly.

During the use of the move, the two were positioned very close together.

Xiaolongnu's back was almost pressed against Yang Guo's chest, and Yang Guo's right arm was wrapped around her waist.

Her left hand and right hand were crossed in front of her chest, forming an extremely intimate and perfect offensive and defensive posture.

Their breaths mingled at that moment.