Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

Cui Xiu's hand, which was pressed against his lower abdomen, suddenly froze. He didn't reply, nor did he glare at her as usual and tell her she was talking nonsense.

His eerie face paled even more, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

Yu Luoning's expression also changed.

Cui Xiu's behavior these days has been very strange; she really seems to be pregnant.

But how can a man get pregnant?

Yu Luoning swallowed hard, looking at Cui Xiu's handsome face, her voice a little weak, "You're not really pregnant, are you?"

"Shut your mouth!"

Cui Xiu forced out these words through gritted teeth, her face still deathly pale.

He certainly didn't think he was pregnant; he wouldn't even entertain such an absurd idea.

He assumed it was just the lingering effects of two months of bad luck that were causing him such distress.

Cui Xiu straightened up, glanced at her, his brows furrowed with a hint of fierceness, his entire face cold and aloof.

"I need to go into seclusion for a while. During this time, please take good care of yourself at Zhexue Peak."

Before she finished speaking, Cui Xiu raised her hand and cast a spell on Yu Luoning, and a beam of blue light entered Yu Luoning's body.

The next moment, Yu Luoning felt a warm sensation coursing through her meridians.

Cui Xiu said, "The wind and snow on Zhexue Peak never cease, and ordinary disciples cannot ascend. This magic seal is imprinted on you. When you return to the peak later, just go straight to the summit; these winds and snow cannot harm you."

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the Ice Palace without waiting for further questions.

Yu Luoning stood there, feeling inexplicably guilty.

Cui Xiu probably knew that she would definitely go down the mountain to find Shi Shangxu during his seclusion, which is why he deliberately left her a key to go home.

She quickly teleported behind Cui Xiu and reached out to wrap her arms around his waist from behind.

"I won't leave. While you're in seclusion, I'll stay on the snow-capped peak and cultivate on my own."

Cui Xiu sneered, her purple eyes darkening slightly.

"They just spout nice-sounding lies."

Yu Luoning: "..."

"Here's what we'll do. I guarantee that when you come out of the pass, I'll be the first person you see. If I fail to do that, you can do whatever you want with me."

Cui Xiu turned around, looked at her wrinkled upturned nose, and a hint of helplessness appeared between her brows. "Okay, I've got it."

The secret chamber door inside the Ice Palace slammed shut, and Cui Xiu sat down cross-legged, his face ashen.

He mobilized all his spiritual senses to examine every part using the method of internal vision.

Finally, deep within his own primordial spirit, he saw a chaotic vortex.

This vortex was very well concealed, as if it was very familiar with his own spiritual fluctuations and even felt a sense of intimacy and dependence on him.

What on earth is this thing? And when was it planted in his body?

"This is the creation of a seed by the Dao." Another ethereal voice in his sea of ​​consciousness seemed to be responding to his doubts.

Cui Xiuzi narrowed her purple eyes. "I almost forgot about you. This Creation Seed, could it be that you implanted it into my body?"

A sneer came from Yue Qi's mind, "You've cultivated with me before?"

Choi Soo: "..."

Your jokes aren't funny.

Yue Qi's voice remained as icy as a zither, his tone carrying a hint of restrained impatience, "Legend has it that those who have consumed the Yu Ling Spring water will, after dual cultivation, condense a Dao Seed within their bodies, representing the endless cycle of Yin and Yang."

Choi Soo: "So? What exactly is this thing?"

"Your child."

At that moment, a thunderclap rang in their ears, and all sound fell silent.

Cui Xiu's eyes widened, and she laughed in a panic.

"You're not trying to trick me, are you? How can a man get pregnant? This whole thing about the Dao creating a seed, you've made it all up, haven't you? Are you planning to completely assimilate me once this thing is successfully conceived? Hahahaha..."

Yue Qi's voice remained completely calm. Amidst Cui Xiu's incoherent ramblings, he decisively severed the connection between the two.

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Xiu calmed down.

How could he, as an evil corpse, actually give birth while pregnant?

With a thought, Cui Xiu immediately mobilized all the evil energy in his body, attempting to refine and destroy the Dao Seed deep within his Qi Sea.

But when the creature sensed danger, it let out an extremely aggrieved cry.

Cui Xiu felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow, and he vomited a mouthful of blood on the spot.

"..."

Yu Luoning didn't know how long Cui Xiu would be in seclusion, but she knew she had to go down the mountain. A full 30 sect contribution points were hanging on her identity jade tablet, and she couldn't rest easy if she didn't spend them quickly.

Meanwhile, wrapped in the ice and snow magic seal given to her by Cui Xiu, she secretly slipped down Zhexue Peak.

The inner sect is vast, and now that she is an inner sect disciple, she can move freely without hindrance.

She flew straight toward Sword Peak, and before she even got close to Shi Shangxu's cave, she could hear the continuous sound of sword energy coming from the platform in front of the cave.

A cold, aloof figure was wildly wielding arrows, his sword energy extremely violent and filled with suppressed pain.

Yu Luoning hid under a dense foliage, quietly watching him, then scratched her head helplessly and sighed softly.

Seemingly sensing something, Shi Shangxu sheathed his sword, turned around abruptly, and found Yu Luoning standing not far away.

In that instant, the joy in his eyes was impossible to hide.

The thought of Yu Luoning's current status made it seem as if there was an insurmountable chasm between them, and he could only force himself to suppress his overwhelming joy.

"Ningning, it's been half a month. How have you been at Zhexue Peak? Has he... made things difficult for you?"

Yu Luoning smiled and reassured her, "It's all good. Cui Xiu is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. He's actually very dedicated. He's been teaching me cultivation for the past two weeks and supervising me every day. Look, thanks to him, I've already broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Shi Shangxu was startled.

On one hand, I was happy for Yu Luoning's rapid breakthrough, but on the other hand, my heart was bleeding.

Cui Xiu and Ning Ning spend every day together, day and night...

Sadly, he couldn't bring himself to hate them.

Getting close to her means getting close to pain; staying away from her means staying away from happiness...

He could only swallow his bitterness.

The two lingered tenderly for a while, then Shi Shangxu's eyes reddened slightly, and his voice was hoarse with urgency, "Ningning, do you still remember Chu Chen?"

Yu Luoning nodded.

Shi Shangxu continued, "He invited me to an ancient, secret realm for an adventure, and Lu Feishuang will be going with me. It's tomorrow. Do you... want to come along?"

Just as Yu Luoning was about to agree, the image of Cui Xiu's cold and aloof gaze before her seclusion flashed through her mind inappropriately.

She had also promised Cui Xiu that she would be the first person she would see after she left the pass.

Yu Luoning looked conflicted. Tempted by beauty and experience, she took a deep breath and ultimately shook her head in refusal.

"I'm sorry, Shang Xu, I can't go to the secret realm with you this time. I have to go back to cultivate."

Shi Shangxu's hand fell limply to the ground. He chuckled and said, "Alright, cultivation is the most important thing. We should all work hard to cultivate and become stronger as soon as possible."

Yu Luoning bid farewell to Shi Shangxu and turned to leave.

Behind her, Shi Shangxu watched her retreating figure, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He needs to become stronger quickly. Once he becomes strong enough, even if Cui Xiu's cultivation level is extraordinary, he can stand confidently by Ning Ning's side to protect her.

Instead of the way things are now, where the other party can just wave their hand and take someone away.

Moreover, Ningning may have feelings for Cui Xiu, but those feelings clearly contain a trace of fear that even Ningning herself is unaware of.

Isn't Shi Shangxu the same? Faced with a top-tier figure who has extraordinary abilities and controls life and death, there is very little he can do now.

~

If she's really pregnant, it will be a conscious vortex of light, not a large belly.