Dual Cultivation System: My Cultivation Was Crippled, So I Rely on Intimacy to Level Up

Shen Hanyi accepted the jade bottle and pulled the stopper. Inside lay two pills the size of longan fruits, radiating a soft, pulsing halo—True Condensation Pills. One possessed a particularly lustrous sheen, marking it as a superior-grade treasure.

She then uncorked the second bottle. Instead of a refreshing medicinal aroma, a peculiar, dry, and heated scent filled the cave. A hundred small blue pills tumbled into her palm.

Yang Locking Pills.

Zhou Kai: “…”

He remembered with painful clarity that he had separated the True Condensation Pills into two bottles for convenience. How had the Yang Locking Pills ended up there? It must have happened during the chaotic looting of those two Chen family lackeys; he must have stuffed the blue pills into his bag without looking, then grabbed the wrong bottle in his haste to act the hero.

A mistake. A catastrophic mistake.

Predictably, Shen Hanyi’s gaze drifted from the blue pills back to Zhou Kai’s face. Her eyes were as calm as an ancient well, but the temperature in the cave seemed to plummet.

Zhou Kai’s mind raced. He steeled his heart and decided to double down—the pot was already cracked; he might as well smash it and see what happened. The awkwardness vanished from his face, replaced by a perfectly calibrated expression of pained reluctance. He let out a long, heavy sigh, his gaze lingering wistfully on the True Condensation Pills.

“Ah, Fairy, you may not realize the cost,” he began, his voice thick with feigned gravity. “Refining True Condensation Pills—especially superior ones—is a monumental task. The materials are rare treasures of heaven and earth. One must hunt for specific earth-fires and expend immense mental effort. If it weren’t for you…”

He trailed off, leaving the implication hanging: These didn’t fall from the sky. You think you can just take them for free?

Shen Hanyi watched his “heartfelt” display with detached calm. “So that is how it is,” she said flatly. “From the start, you presented these together. You mentioned the ‘mutual nourishment of yin and yang’…”

Her gaze felt like it was physically peeling back his skin, making Zhou Kai shift uncomfortably. Then came the earth-shattering question.

“You want me to be your Cultivation Vessel?”

“Pfft—Cough! Cough! Cough!”

A Cultivation Vessel?! Zhou Kai’s brain nearly short-circuited. I see you as a long-term romantic partner for sustainable development, and you think I want to use you as a disposable battery?!

But before he could correct her, Shen Hanyi continued, her tone clinical. “My constitution is unique. I was born with an Innate Sword Embryo. Before I reach the Spirit Shaping realm, my Primordial Yin cannot be broken.”

She knew that if her foundation were destroyed now, she would never leave Crouching Tiger Mountain alive, and her path to the Great Dao would be severed forever.

“Once I achieve Spirit Shaping,” she said, looking directly at Zhou Kai with a look that wasn’t shy, but rather like a merchant signing a contract. “Today’s kindness in helping me repair my Sword Embryo—I will repay it. Whatever you seek in return, so long as it does not involve excessive Plucking and Replenishing or violate my heart’s Great Dao.”

Repay… repay me?

Zhou Kai’s logic failed him again. Does this mean… she agreed?!

Though the process was a mess of misunderstandings and wild assumptions, the result had somehow converged on his desired destination.

Having stated her terms, Shen Hanyi ignored the petrified Zhou Kai. She took the bottle of True Condensation Pills, swallowed the superior-grade pill without hesitation, and closed her eyes. The medicine dissolved into a gentle, vast stream of warmth that surged toward her fractured Sword Embryo.

She entered a meditation posture—Five Centers Facing Heaven—and began refining the power.

The cave fell silent, save for the crackling fire and Zhou Kai’s ragged breathing. He loosened his grip on the Flight Escape Talisman, his heart hammering. This Sword Fairy’s logic was beyond mortal comprehension.

I’ve hit the jackpot! he rejoiced inwardly. It’s a bit weird, but she basically gave me an advance booking! A long-term investment! He looked at her exquisite profile, softened by the firelight. That face, those legs… absolutely worth the wait.

A day and a night passed in an instant. When Shen Hanyi opened her eyes, their luster had returned. Between the True Condensation Pills and the “friendship sponsorship” of Zhou Kai’s Spirit Gathering Pills, she had recovered seventy to eighty percent of her strength. Her cultivation remained at Sword Control Layer Six, but her Sword Embryo was finally stable.

Suddenly, faint footsteps and hushed voices drifted from outside.

“…Have we checked over here?” “No, the vines are too thick…” “Be thorough! The sect wants her dead or alive!”

Heavenly Spring Sect pursuers.

Zhou Kai’s face paled. He looked at Shen Hanyi, terrified she would charge out and start another bloodbath.

Shen Hanyi narrowed her eyes. “Before I repay your debt, I will not throw my life away.”

Zhou Kai exhaled. What a girl! She stays alive specifically to pay me back! “Don’t worry,” Zhou Kai whispered, a surge of protectiveness washing over him. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He handed her his last Flight Escape Talisman. “Take it. If you’re cornered, use it to teleport away.”

Shen Hanyi looked at the talisman, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “And you?”

Zhou Kai felt a swell of sweetness—she was worried! He adopted a troubled expression. “I’m here on orders to find you. If I return unscathed while the others are dead, the Chen family will suspect me. I need an excuse.”

A hint of cunning flashed in his eyes as he leaned closer, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper. “Hanyi, do me a favor. Give me a sword strike.”

Hanyi? Her fingers paused on the talisman. She didn’t correct the address, given the urgency.

“Don’t kill me,” Zhou Kai coached, pointing to his chest. “Hit me here, a bit off-center. Make it look serious—lots of blood and sword qi—so I can say I survived a fierce battle.”

Shen Hanyi wasted no time. Her fingers formed a sword-sign, and a cold light gathered at the tip.

Squelch.

Zhou Kai’s chest went cold, followed by an agonizing, heart-rending pain. He looked down to see a line of blood spurting from a wound that had missed his heart by perhaps half an inch. A sliver of icy sword qi invaded his meridians, making his vision darken.

“You…!” he gasped, grimacing. Is this your ‘bit off-center’?!

Shen Hanyi’s eyes were cool. “Is this enough?”

“Enough… plenty…” Zhou Kai gritted out. That injury was going to take weeks to heal.

“Take care,” she said. Without another word, she erupted from the cave in a flare of golden-white light.

Zhou Kai slumped to the ground, panting through the pain as the voices outside grew louder.