Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

The three of them entered the large cave.

Yang Guo walked at the very front.

Lu Wushuang followed behind, holding Yang Guo's clothes with one hand and gripping the willow-leaf scimitar with the other.

Cheng Ying walked at the back, holding a jade flute, wary of the snakes behind her.

The smell inside the cave is different from that outside.

It wasn't the smell of snakes, but rather the sour, putrid odor of poultry droppings mixed with fermenting rotten grass.

This smell indicates that large birds have been living in the cave for quite some time.

Yang Guo stopped in his tracks.

Lu Wushuang lit the flask.

The firelight illuminated an open space.

A large pile of dry branches lay on the ground, each as thick as an arm, forming a large round depression about ten feet wide.

The nest was lined with yellowed hay and black feathers.

Each feather is half a foot long, and the quill is thicker than a chopstick.

Lu Wushuang's mouth dropped open: "Husband, with such huge feathers, how big must this bird be?"

"A hairy beast that has lived for decades, raised on snakes."

Yang Guo squatted down, picked up a feather, weighed it in his palm, squinted and examined it for a moment before putting it down.

A pile of bones lay beside the round hole.

Yang Guo walked over and kicked it with his foot.

The bones were whitish and thicker than a person's thigh.

Judging from the shape of the skeleton, it is all snake bones, some of which are unusually thick and have a smooth, golden surface, completely different from the bones of ordinary venomous snakes.

Yang Guo's gaze lingered on those golden snake bones for a couple of breaths.

The Bosqu snake is entirely golden in color, and its bone structure differs from that of ordinary snakes.

These few golden bone fragments prove that the Divine Eagle was indeed hunting the Bodhi Serpent.

The strange serpent is located in this valley.

The nest is empty; the eagle is not home.

There are even darker passages deeper inside the cave.

Yang Guo took the tinderbox and walked more than ten steps inside, where some deep scratches appeared on the cave wall.

These marks are arranged in an orderly manner, with even spacing between them, and each mark penetrates about an inch into the stone surface.

Lu Wushuang leaned closer to look. "Husband, why are there so many marks on this stone? It looks like it was cut with a knife."

Yang Guo reached out and touched it.

Run your fingertips down the scratches to feel the unevenness of the stone surface.

The traces still held an extremely brute force.

The force was unpretentious, just pure heaviness and pressure.

Unlike what he learned in the Chongyang Palace sword formation, Wang Chongyang's swordsmanship emphasizes rules and spirit.

The sword here is defined by only one word: power.

"It's not a knife, it's an unsharpened heavy sword, the kind of sword someone has practiced with here for a long time."

Yang Guo withdrew his hand, and the sword intent he had comprehended from the Chongyang Stone Tablet within his body fluctuated slightly.

Although they are not from the same origin, they may have crossed paths in terms of the word "overlap".

He searched the surrounding area again, but did not see the sword or the grave.

The cave was too deep for the light from the tinderbox to reach the end.

Yang Guo turned his head and glanced at the sky outside the cave entrance; it was completely dark.

Fog rises at night in the valley below.

The fog was not ordinary water vapor; it was miasma emanating from years of rotten leaves mixed with snake venom.

Even a master with innate inner strength can protect their meridians from erosion, but in this environment, their eyesight is greatly reduced, making them prone to missteps.

"Let's not go any further in today. We'll rest here for the night and continue our search tomorrow," Yang Guo said.

Lu Wushuang deftly sheathed his sword, ran to the cave entrance, and moved several large stones to form a circle around it.

He went out and brought back two more trips to collect dry branches, which he piled in the middle of the stone circle and lit with a fire starter.

Flames leaped up, brightening the cave considerably.

The smoke escaped through the cracks in the stone wall and did not accumulate inside the cave.

Lu Wushuang took out some dry rations from her package, broke one in half, and handed it to Yang Guo.

Yang Guo took it and took a bite; it was dry and tasteless.

He unscrewed the kettle, took a sip, and then shoved the pancake down his throat.

"If we find that golden snake tomorrow, what are you going to do with it?" Lu Wushuang asked, chewing on a biscuit.

"Get the snake gallbladder; it's very useful for strengthening muscles and bones. However, this snake is extremely fierce, a hundred times more difficult to deal with than any other poisonous creature outside. Tomorrow, neither of you should get close."

"Can my husband manage alone?"

"The eagle ate it for so many years, and it's still alive and kicking."

Yang Guo swallowed the last bite of the biscuit. "I'm not any worse than a bird."

Cheng Ying stood about two zhang away from the fire.

She held a jade flute in her hand, her face turned towards the cave entrance.

The sound of snakes swimming outside drowned out the wind in the valley, a constant rustling sound.

A night wind blew into the cave from the bottom of the valley, carrying a damp and cold chill.

Cheng Ying shrank back.

Yang Guo swallowed his dry rations, glanced at her, and said, "Why are you standing so far away? Afraid I'll eat you tonight?"

Cheng Ying didn't respond.

She'd rather be standing in the wind than sit with this person.

Several spotted snakes crawled up the rock wall to the cave entrance, raising their triangular heads to peer inside, their red tongues particularly conspicuous in the firelight.

Cheng Ying took two steps back, her heel hitting a rock.

After finishing her pancake, Lu Wushuang brushed the crumbs off her hands. "Cousin, come warm yourself by the fire. This valley floor can freeze you solid at night. If you get sick, Sister Rong will scold me later."

Cheng Ying gritted her teeth, looking at the snakes outside and then at the flickering fire.

Finally, she moved over and chose the seat furthest away from Yang Guo.

Lu Wushuang stood between the two.

Yang Guo didn't look at her again, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and sat in meditation.

The Nine Yin Manual's method of circulating internal energy emphasizes the simultaneous rotation of forward and reverse movements.

The red and black primordial energy beads in his dantian spun slowly, and the pure yang energy of sixteen years circulated along the twelve meridians.

After each complete cycle, a layer of heat emanates from his body, warming and drying the surrounding three feet of ground.

This heat is merely a side effect of cultivation for practitioners, but it is extremely effective for those who do not cultivate internal energy or have weak internal strength.

Lu Wushuang leaned against the stone wall. She had been climbing the mountain all day and was already exhausted.

He tilted his head to the side and quickly fell asleep, his breathing long and steady.

The cave fell silent, save for the occasional crackling sound of burning firewood.

The night deepened.

Most of the firewood in the bonfire had burned down, the flames had died down, and the temperature inside the cave had dropped considerably.

Cheng Ying opened her eyes.

cold.

The cold, damp air seeped upwards from the ground, creeping along the soles of the feet and into the crevices of the bones.

She was only wearing a light green long gown, and the sweat from traveling during the day had soaked through her inner garment, which now clung to her body like ice crystals.

What's even more troublesome is the yang energy imprint within the body.

During the day, Yang Guo used his Nine Yin Manual to suppress part of the problem, but it was not completely cured.

In the latter half of the night, the flow of Qi and blood in the twelve meridians slows down, the suppressive force weakens, and the mark begins to move again.

There was a burning sensation deep in my lower abdomen.

The heat doesn't rise; instead, it travels downwards along the Shaoyin meridian, penetrating and settling within the thigh meridians.

My thighs feel sore, weak, numb, and itchy.

Cheng Ying squeezed her legs together and placed her hands on her knees.

She tried to suppress it by drawing upon the true energy of the Peach Blossom Island cultivation method.

As soon as the Lesser Yang True Qi began to circulate, that strange heat immediately rushed towards him.

The two types of internal energy clashed with each other in the meridians, and instead of being suppressed, they made things even more chaotic.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

Half of my body was stiff and cold, and the other half was limp.

The combination of two extreme sensations is more unbearable than either cold or heat alone.

She glanced to the side and saw that Lu Wushuang was sleeping soundly.

Looking across at Yang Guo, he was sitting upright, without even an outer garment, and a slight mist rose from his face.

The closer you are to him, the warmer the air feels.

That warmth was the result of pure Yang energy overflowing.

The yang energy imprint within her body was derived from the same set of cultivation techniques.

When an imprint encounters an energy of the same origin, it will instinctively gravitate towards it.

This is the most insidious part of the Qiankun Technique.

After the mark is placed, the person being controlled will feel comfortable around the caster, and will only feel uncomfortable after leaving.

Over time, the body will develop a dependence.

Cheng Ying understood everything.

She was so angry she could have teeth.

I understand it, but my body can't take it anymore.

She leaned against the stone wall, trying to stand up, intending to walk deeper into the cave and get further away from Yang Guo.

At the very least, I can't let myself make a fool of myself in front of this person.

As soon as I lifted my leg, my knee buckled.

She couldn't stop.

He fell forward and landed directly on Yang Guo.

As Yang Guo practiced his martial arts, he felt an external force impacting him. He slightly parted his legs to stabilize his stance.

Cheng Ying's face slammed into Yang Guo's stomach, and the jade flute slipped from his hand and rolled far away.

Her mind was in chaos. She tried to get up, but her limbs were weak and she couldn't muster any strength.

The heat in his lower abdomen immediately subsided upon contact with Yang Guo's pure Yang internal energy.

The tingling, numbness, swelling, and itching sensations have mostly subsided.

Yang Guo felt so warm; his muscles and bones felt incredibly comfortable from the gentle care.

Cheng Ying knew she should get up.

But she didn't move.

She stretched out both hands and hugged Yang Guo's waist, her cheek pressed against his Taoist robe.

The rough cloth rubbed against my cheeks, beneath which lay the warmth of my body.

"cold."

She uttered a single word in a muffled voice.

Yang Guo opened his eyes and looked down.

Huang Yaoshi's last disciple was lying on top of him, his arms wrapped around his lower back, his entire upper body weight pressing down on his legs.

"Miss Cheng, what are you doing?"

Cheng Ying's body stiffened for a moment.

She knew exactly how ugly she looked.

But she dared not let go, for if she did, the chill and tingling sensation would return.

"I'm cold, let me lean against you for a while."

She closed her eyes, not daring to look at him.

Yang Guo placed his hands on his knees and did not touch her.

"If you're cold, go add firewood. What's the point of sticking to me like that?"

"The fire is almost out, it's no use."

Cheng Ying lowered her head even further, her nose touching Yang Guo's belt.

"Stop rubbing against me," Yang Guo said in a low voice.

"You came to me yourself; I didn't even lift a finger. If Wushuang sees this, how are you going to explain it to him?"

Cheng Ying's eyes burned, and tears streamed down her face.

She, a dignified disciple of Peach Blossom Island, has fallen to this state.

Not only was she marked, but her body also stopped obeying her commands.

"Don't mention her," she said hoarsely. "Please don't."

She felt hatred in her heart, but her body craved the warmth.

She curled up her right leg and placed it on Yang Guo's thigh, finding a position where she could gain leverage.

The pale green skirt was half-lifted.

Yang Guo glanced down but didn't reach out.

Cheng Ying pressed her cheek against his leg, adjusting herself to a comfortable position.

The internal heat flowed towards Yang Guo along the contact surface, and the soreness gradually subsided.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

He was breathing heavily, and his chest heaved a few times.

Yang Guo spoke up: "Miss Cheng, the way you're breathing is going to wake your cousin."

Cheng Ying tensed up.

The sound of Lu Wushuang turning over came from the side.

Lu Wushuang smacked her lips, changed her sleeping position, and didn't wake up.

Cheng Ying was so frightened that she bit her lip and suppressed her breathing.

"You're pressing down on my leg, move aside," Yang Guo said.

Cheng Ying didn't move.

"Don't push me, just stay here for one night, I'll get up at dawn."

Instead of giving way, she squeezed herself closer to the center, pressing her entire upper body weight against him.

Yang Guo didn't say anything more.

He closed his eyes and continued practicing.

The only sounds in the cave were the occasional cracking of firewood and Cheng Ying's labored breathing.