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

Chapter 245: Joining Forces to Probe the Demon Heart

“The endless tide of vengeful spirits and fierce demons infesting this valley… their true origin is nothing more than a single wisp of aura leaking from that heart.”

A creeping chill washed down Zhou Kai’s spine. Beside him, Wu Hongxiao’s fists tightened instinctively.

In contrast, two brilliant pinpricks of light ignited deep within Shen Hanyi’s eyes. Her sword intent surged in response to her sudden desire, and a flash of dark red brilliance flickered in her gaze.

“Youci,” Shen Hanyi murmured, “that heart… my Suppress Demon Return to Ruins Sword Embryo needs it.”

Zhou Kai’s expression darkened instantly. “Absolutely not!” he snapped. “That thing is locked down by a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure! Even if we managed to find it, it’s far beyond anything we can handle.” A single misstep, a single brush against that concentrated aura, could grind their souls into nothingness. Eternal damnation would be a mercy.

Zhou Kai’s stern refusal only fueled Li Youci’s arrogance. The provocative curve of her lips deepened, her eyes gleaming with predatory excitement. “What are you so afraid of? I just told you it’s suppressed! We don’t have the strength to release it, so we’ll just skim off the top!”

She turned to Shen Hanyi. “Hanyi’s Sword Embryo desperately needs this exact type of ultra-pure demonic qi for tempering. We go in, siphon a little blood, absorb some residual demonic qi. What’s the worst that could happen? Besides, my Ten Thousand Soul Banner is missing a heavy-hitting main soul. An environment like this is guaranteed to breed Golden Core realm Ghost Kings. Snatching one would be perfect.”

Zhou Kai’s temples throbbed violently. This woman’s audacity was forged in Netherfire—stubborn and pitch-black. One wanted to temper a demonic sword; the other wanted to enslave a Ghost King. Letting these two loose together was like handing the King of Hell a carving knife and asking for a slice of the roast.

“And how exactly do we navigate?” Zhou Kai asked, attempting to inject some logistical reality. “The Demon Suppression Platform will be layered with Restrictions and lethal traps. We don’t even have a compass heading.”

“That’s easy!” Wu Hongxiao clapped her hands, her booming laugh shattering the tension. “We’re rendezvousing with my Senior Sister! When it comes to unearthing hidden secrets and charting safe paths, she’s a master!”

Zhou Kai mentally conceded the point. With her Spirit Ying Sacred Body and those Jade Soul Golden Pupils, Du Chuyao is undeniably the best tracker for a death trap like this.

Li Youci shot Zhou Kai a sharp look. Her voice slipped directly into his mind via Divine Sense. Wu Hongxiao mentioned Du Chuyao far too casually. Zhou Kai, do not tell me she is yours as well.

Zhou Kai ignored the bait, replying evenly, What’s wrong, Youci? Is there no room in your heart for others?

In an instant, three distinctly different gazes locked onto him, waiting for his final ruling. Shen Hanyi’s eyes were icy and resolute. Wu Hongxiao’s gaze burned with irrepressible battle lust. Li Youci’s stare dripped with undisguised jealousy.

To go, or not to go?

The risk was astronomical. One wrong move meant absolute erasure. But if they walked away…

He glanced at Shen Hanyi. Her Suppress Demon Return to Ruins Sword Embryo inherently harbored a demonic nature. If it gorged on that heart’s ultra-pure demonic qi, it would undoubtedly evolve, cementing her future power. He looked at Li Youci. The mere mention of a Golden Core Ghost King had her practically vibrating with anticipation. As for Wu Hongxiao, she was already gripping her imaginary spear, ready to slaughter hordes of demons.

Zhou Kai sighed inwardly. He wasn’t a coward, but he hated taking uncalculated risks. Yet… if Shen Hanyi’s Sword Embryo evolved naturally, it would save him millions of constitution points. If Li Youci secured a Ghost King, their odds of capturing the divine artifact skyrocketed. To Invest in them was to Invest in himself. The stronger his vanguard, the more he profited.

Screw it. The bold gorge themselves; the timid starve.

He tuned out Li Youci’s subsequent telepathic nagging and addressed the trio. “We go. But under my absolute command. No lone-wolf tactics. This is a high-level threat, and survival is our first priority.”

Shen Hanyi offered a cool nod. Wu Hongxiao grinned, slamming a fist into her palm. “You’re the boss!”

Seeing Zhou Kai cave so easily drained some of the rebellious fun out of it for Li Youci. She rolled her eyes. “Understood. Stop nagging.”

“Hongxiao, do you have a beacon to track your Senior Sister?” Zhou Kai asked.

“Obviously!” Wu Hongxiao fished a smooth jade pendant from her robes. As she injected her Qi, the stone emitted a soft yellow glow, projecting a needle-thin beam of light pointing dead north.

“Move out!” Zhou Kai commanded. He drove his Qi into the Spirit Boat. The vessel erupted into a streak of black light, tearing through the suffocating gray mist.

…

Miles to the north, Du Chuyao stood at the precipice of a jagged cliff. Though the surrounding valley howled with razor-sharp Yin winds and suffocating ghostly auras, the chaotic energies parted neatly, unable to encroach within three feet of her.

Her delicate brows pinched together. Deep within her Jade Soul Golden Pupils, faint golden divine brilliance ebbed and flowed. She wasn’t actively channeling a technique. Yet, the trajectory of every passing Yin wind and the flow of every spectral current mapped themselves effortlessly across her mind. This was the terrifying, innate perception of the Spirit Ying Sacred Body.

Moments ago, she had detected a massive, complex cluster of auras hurtling toward her position. She parsed them easily: a pure, tyrannical sword intent; a blazing, explosive battle intent; and a cold, unfamiliar ghostly aura. Binding them all together was a towering, furnace-like surge of Qi and Vitality.

Zhou Kai.

The man who had taken her Primordial Yin was closing the distance. In just over a decade, he had catapulted from the third layer of Foundation Establishment to the first layer of Golden Core. The speed was grotesque. Even with the Jade Flower Palace dumping its entire Sect treasury into her cultivation, she couldn’t match that pace.

Is the Creation Spirit Yang Body truly that broken?

Before she could finish the thought, the incoming aura solidified into a black streak on the horizon. Within seconds, the emerald Spirit Boat decelerated violently, hovering just off the cliff’s edge. Zhou Kai stood at the bow, his hands clasped loosely behind his back, his robes whipping in the gale. His gaze met hers, calm and unreadable.

For a fraction of a second, Du Chuyao didn’t know what to say. She saw Shen Hanyi and wasn’t surprised—Wu Hongxiao had already spilled the sordid details of that arrangement. What genuinely alarmed her was the suffocating density of the Sword Immortal’s aura. Shen Hanyi had clearly breached the Intent Tempering realm; her lethality was fully on par with a Golden Core expert.

Another gaze—sharp, calculating, and vaguely hostile—swept over Du Chuyao.

“Fellow Daoist Du. Your reputation precedes you,” Li Youci said, stepping up beside Shen Hanyi. The words were polite; the tone was venom.

“True Successor Li,” Du Chuyao replied, her gaze sharpening as she offered a crisp nod.

Zhou Kai cut through the friction. “Fellow Daoist Du, we’ve caught the scent of a major Fated Chance. We need your Spirit Pupils to lock onto the coordinates.” He smoothly omitted the apocalyptic detail about a living demon heart, framing it instead as the remains of an ancient demonic beast.

Du Chuyao listened in silence. She didn’t care about the demon corpse. She cared about his phrasing. He had just referred to the Calamity Abyss Valley’s untouchable heiress as “Youci.” Pairing that with Li Youci’s fiercely territorial glare, the truth crystallized in her mind.

Is this arrogant princess his woman too?

Her chest tightened uncomfortably. For a second, the ambient Spirit Qi flowing around her stuttered. An irrational, suffocating spike of jealousy clogged her throat. She drew a slow, microscopic breath, ruthlessly burying the emotion. When she blinked, her eyes were pools of absolute calm. She was the Master of the Jade Flower Palace; she dealt in transactions, not tantrums.

She met Zhou Kai’s gaze, her voice cool and authoritative. “If you have the lead, I can track it. The contract stands. However, if we are venturing into a lethal zone, my navigational judgment is absolute.”

“Step back,” she ordered softly.

Golden light erupted from her eyes. Her pupils transformed into miniature, burning suns. Liquid gold fractal patterns spider-webbed across her black sclera.

Jade Soul Golden Pupils, open!

To the observers on the boat, Du Chuyao’s entire presence shifted. Her aura expanded exponentially, seamlessly merging with the cliff, the wind, and the distant mountain ranges.

Through the Golden Pupils, the physical world dissolved. The solid illusions of rock, dirt, and timber peeled away, revealing the raw, rushing currents of “qi” underneath. The earth was no longer dead matter; it was a living, breathing organism comprised of thousands of subterranean spiritual veins, pulsing and weaving like the cardiovascular system of a buried titan.

This was the true form of Tongming Valley’s earth veins.

The geographical elevations manifested as violent “potentials”—some coiling like dragons, others crouching like tigers, grinding and colliding against one another. The Yin qi, ghostly qi, and demonic qi appeared as sprawling ink stains soaking into the ley lines. Far to the north, the ink coagulated into a pitch-black abyss, a localized black hole frantically devouring all ambient spiritual energy.

“Resonate with all things… listen to the earth and stone,” Du Chuyao chanted, her voice dropping into an ancient, resonant register.

The golden light spilling from her eyes traveled down into the ley lines, hacking into the memories of the ancient soil. The whispers of shattered mountains, the history of the dust, the scars of forgotten epochs—all of it converted into silent data that flooded her cerebral cortex.

Minutes later, the blinding gold receded, leaving her eyes in their natural, clear state. She swayed slightly, her complexion noticeably paler. The sensory overload had drained her heavily.

She raised a trembling hand, pointing a single finger toward the epicenter of the black abyss. Her voice was exhausted, but absolute.

“Underground. Follow me.”