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

Chapter 214: Taking Stock of the Loot, Hanyi Actively Seeks Family Discipline!

Zhou Kai offered a respectful bow to the remains of the Senior, fulfilling the necessary etiquette before reaching for the Storage Bag at the skeleton’s waist.

Suddenly, the withered finger bones of the corpse twitched.

A remnant of cold, violent demonic power coalesced into a spectral claw, slashing viciously toward Zhou Kai’s wrist!

“Still trying to act up?”

Zhou Kai’s gaze turned icy. He didn’t dodge. His protective spiritual light flared automatically, the Five Elements cycling in a tight orbit. With a dull thrum, the remnant demonic force was shattered into harmless dust.

Having resolved this minor annoyance, Zhou Kai detached the Storage Bag. He swept his Divine Sense inside, and even with his current wealth and perspective, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

The internal space was colossal—and it was nearly packed solid with Spirit Stones.

Low-grade Spirit Stones were piled up like common gravel. The glow of Middle-grade Spirit Stones formed a shimmering river. And dotted among them like brilliant stars were hundreds of High-grade Spirit Stones, radiating blinding spiritual pressure!

This was a fortune that would drive any Golden Core cultivator into a frenzy. Was this Senior a Nascent Soul powerhouse?

Aside from the currency, the bag was empty. Any powerful Dharma Treasures or rare Pills had likely been consumed or destroyed during whatever fatal pursuit led the cultivator here.

Zhou Kai’s fingertips brushed against a lone jade slip. He sank his Divine Sense into it, and a row of ancient, imposing characters seared into his mind:

《Heavenly Demon Return to Origin Art》

It was a top-tier cultivation method pointing directly toward the realm of a Shapeshifting Great Demon!

Realization dawned on Zhou Kai. No wonder the Earthfire Ant King could cast crude spells; it must have inherited a fragment of this legacy from its ancestor.

He pocketed the jade slip and turned his gaze to the three Jade Arm Mantises on his shoulder.

Since entering the cavern, the three little guys had been vibrating with excitement. Now, they were happily gnawing on the charred limbs of the Earthfire Ants, their mouthparts coated in black shell fragments.

“You three… were you excited because of this?” Zhou Kai waved the jade slip in front of them.

The crunching stopped. Three pairs of compound eyes locked onto Zhou Kai. Their mouthparts clicked open and shut, but no sound came out. A moment later, gluttonous instinct overrode curiosity, and they buried their heads back into their meal.

Zhou Kai frowned playfully. “Then why were you buzzing so much when we entered?”

Before he finished the sentence, three emerald shadows blurred into motion.

Whoosh!

They flew off and returned seconds later. Each mantis held a freshly killed Earthfire Ant corpse in its forearms, presenting them with proud, jerky movements like trophies.

They dropped the “snacks” in front of Zhou Kai and resumed eating with loud crunch-crunch noises.

Beside him, Chen Ziyi covered her mouth, her laughter sounding like wind chimes. “Husband, they don’t understand Fated Chances. They are just greedy.”

“Gluttons,” Zhou Kai scolded without heat, flicking each of them lightly on the forehead.

“Consider it dumb luck that you found a cultivation method tailored for your bloodline. Or rather… it was my luck that brought you to the right place.”

Shen Hanyi’s cool voice cut in. “The Heavenly Demon Return to Origin Art cannot be cultivated by humans. Does this mean the Senior’s… true form was a Great Demon?”

Zhou Kai nodded, his gaze shifting to the massive, silent teleportation array. His eyes darkened with thought.

“A teleportation array of this scale… the transmission distance is likely beyond our imagination. Do you think he might have escaped from the Northern Demon Domain?”

Northern Demon Domain.

The term caused the air to stagnate.

Northwest of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, across the vast Dead Sea, lay the Northern Demon Domain.

Unlike the Eastern Region, where demons were in decline and humanity dominated, the Northern Demon Domain was a land of monsters. Great Demons ruled supreme, and the war between humans and demons was eternal and complex.

Zhou Kai’s mind involuntarily flashed to Fang Lizhe and his mysterious great-grandfather. The ancestor of the Fang family—that Spirit Cicada—could it have also come from the North?

“Forget it. Speculating won’t change our reality.” Zhou Kai shook his head, ejecting the chaotic thoughts. “For now, let’s clean up this ant nest.”

At his command, the Split Back Katydids surged out again. They became a black storm of death, sweeping through the cavern. The shrieks of dying ants and the cracking of shells echoed for a while before fading into silence.

Deep within the nest, they discovered a staggering number of Earthfire Ant eggs piled into a small white mountain.

“Husband has gained more helpers!” Chen Ziyi’s eyes lit up.

Zhou Kai shook his head. “I don’t plan to raise ants. They are fearless, but they are ground-locked. I need Spirit Insects capable of flight to maintain tactical flexibility.”

He paused, scanning the pile. “However, we can select the ones with the highest aptitude to bring back to the Asking Star Sect.”

His Divine Sense spread out like an invisible net, scanning the genetic potential of thousands of eggs.

The techniques of the True Explanation of Spirit Controlling flowed through his mind. Filtering the data, he selected over a hundred eggs with the most vigorous life force and purest bloodlines, sweeping them into a brand-new Spirit Beast Bag.

It took ten days to thoroughly scour and sanitize the cavern. Once they confirmed nothing was left, they sealed the entrance with massive boulders, erasing all traces of their presence.

A Spirit Boat rose from the valley, transforming into a streak of light as it sped back toward Shangqing City.

On the deck, Zhou Kai stood against the wind, looking at Shen Hanyi. He suddenly grinned.

“Hanyi, I estimate that in three months, I can attempt to break through to the Golden Core. Regarding our bet… I believe you have lost.”

Shen Hanyi went silent.

Then, she turned. Her movement was slow, deliberate—a shifting of lotus steps. She actively closed the distance between them.

In her usually cool, detached eyes, a vortex of dark red light flashed and vanished. The corners of her mouth hooked up into a rare arc—three parts cunning, seven parts bewitching.

Her entire aura shifted. The sharp, cold edge of a sword melted into the intoxicating allure of a poisonous demon flower.

“Husband~”

Her voice dropped an octave, magnetic and sultry, the tail end of the word hooking upward.

“I lost. But… you never specified the penalty. Or perhaps… how you should compensate me?”

Zhou Kai blinked, his blood heating instantly at this sudden, aggressive shift in demeanor. He laughed.

“Is this you being a sore loser? A session of ‘Family Discipline’ is unavoidable.”

“Punishment is acceptable.”

Shen Hanyi’s fingertip traced a slow line down Zhou Kai’s chest. Her eyes were hazy, half-lidded.

“However… if Husband wants Hanyi to serve you better in the future, to stand by your side as we conquer the world, you must provide some benefits, correct?”

“I want Barrier Breaking Pills. And Condensation Pills for solidifying the foundation.”

She leaned in, her lips grazing his ear.

“If you can provide them… forget one session of Family Discipline. I would willingly endure ten.”

Zhou Kai wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He lowered his head, grinning.

“I have the Condensation Pills. As for the Barrier Breaking Pills… I don’t have stock currently. But after we return and conclude your ‘punishment,’ I will find a way to refine them for you.”

The banter faded. His expression turned solemn, his gaze burning into hers.

“Hanyi, I am not joking. When my body and cultivation both reach the Third Realm, I will not stay in Shangqing City.”

“The debt to the Li family must be repaid at the Golden Core stage. When that time comes, we may be fighting true powerhouses to the death.”

“We both cultivate the Lawless No Word Heavenly Scripture. You have known this was our path from the beginning, haven’t you?”

The languid, fox-like aura vanished from Shen Hanyi instantly. She returned to her natural state—cool, sharp, and unbreakable. She leaned quietly into Zhou Kai’s embrace, meeting his gaze with absolute clarity.

“Good.”