Tianyan, Third Rank

Summer gave way to autumn; a whole season had slipped by. The Qionghua Mountain Range rolled on without end, peaks upon rugged peaks. Aside from the Vault Palace on the main peak, man-made structures were scattered here and there across the surrounding summits, home mostly to long-standing clans of the sect. The sect members here didn't care for living in cave dwellings; like the aristocratic clans of the outside world, they favored elegant pavilions and courtyards. Xu Yuan's residence was perched atop a hillside. It was not large, covering roughly one mu. Surrounding it was a flat expanse of lawn where a crooked-neck peach tree grew. The scenery was picturesque; standing on the bamboo pavilion in the southwestern corner of the courtyard, one could gaze far out over a secluded pool nestled in the valley below. A breeze swept across the lawn, rustling it with a gentle caress. Two figures descended from the sky, landing on the grass before the entrance with a faint rustle. His face black and blue with bruises, Xu Yuan glanced back at the girl in light red palace dress, who wore a look of complete innocence. Noticing his gaze, Tianyan immediately asked with apparent concern, "Jinghe, did I hit too hard again?" "..." Xu Yuan snorted softly and ignored her, dispelling the ward on the manor and walking straight inside. To maximize the effectiveness of his training, he had always insisted on not circulating his cultivation art during his sparring sessions with Tianyan. And without circulating his cultivation art, he was no match for her. Yet with a top-tier expert like Tianyan as a sparring partner, his practical combat abilities had improved immensely. Far more than they ever had in Wuxuan Courtyard. The only problem was that, compared to the muscle-bound brutes at Wuxuan Courtyard, this woman always seemed to carry a bit of personal grudge whenever she struck. The courtyard was quiet; aside from the pair's footsteps, there wasn't a single sound. Flanking the stone path were blue fragrance herbs and redbud flowers that Tianyan had planted in her spare time. In his leisure time, Xu Yuan liked reading, whereas Tianyan enjoyed pottering about with these flowers and plants. Over the course of the summer, their courtyard had turned into a swath of blue and purple, exuding pleasant wafts of fragrance. "I'm about to break through." The girl's voice was soft, and came out of nowhere. At her words, Xu Yuan halted his steps immediately and looked back. The girl, standing barefoot on delicate jade feet, stood quietly beside him, looking down at the flora she had planted along the path as though she hadn't spoken at all. "..." After a long pause, Xu Yuan finally spoke. "What did you say?" Tianyan slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "I said, I'm about to break through to the third rank." "So fast?" "I'm originally at the Origin Realm. Breaking through to the third rank doesn't require comprehending the Dao anew; it's merely an accumulation of Source Qi." She spoke with utter nonchalance. Having inherited cultivation at the peak of the fourth-rank Body Integration, and having reached the Origin Realm in her own right, breaking through to the third rank held no bottleneck for her; it was as simple as drinking water. Hearing this, Xu Yuan fell silent. Tianyan breaking through to the third rank was both good and bad news for him. Under their current circumstances, the stronger Tianyan became, the greater their chances of surviving in this illusion. Yet by the same token, the stronger Tianyan became, the more his cultivation advantage over her would dwindle. At present, while circulating the Huanyang Art and without relying on the new trump cards he had developed, the outcome of a fight between him and Tianyan favored him roughly seventy to thirty. If Tianyan reached the third rank, it would be like a mother beating her child. After a quiet spell, Xu Yuan sighed and murmured, "Then let me congratulate you in advance." Tianyan stared at Xu Yuan, her beautiful golden eyes twinkling with amusement. "Aren't you scared?" "Of course I am." Xu Yuan shrugged and resumed walking forward. "But there's nothing I can do. I'm just a pseudo-third-rank who hasn't even comprehended the Dao. The stronger you are, the higher our chances of survival." A Third-Rank Grandmaster comprehends the Dao; a Second-Rank Origin Realm practitioner integrates the Dao into the body to enter the realm; and a First-Rank Transcendent projects a Dao domain outward. In reality, Xu Yuan was merely at the seventh rank; something like the Dao was far too remote for him, roughly equivalent to asking a freshman who just entered university to research nuclear fusion. They didn't know how much longer they would have to stay in this illusion, and Tianyan's strength would inevitably continue to grow. He wouldn't be able to keep her under thumb forever. Hearing this, Tianyan looked mildly surprised. Crossing her arms, she lightly tapped her delicate cheek with a slender jade finger. "I thought that once you learned of this, you'd pull some underhanded tricks on me." "Underhanded tricks?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. Tianyan said matter-of-factly, "Like detonating the restriction inside me and miring me in aphrodisiac poison so I can't cultivate." "We're allies right now." "Don't you know what kind of person you are?" "..." Xu Yuan clicked his tongue and reached out to pat Tianyan's shoulder. Tianyan didn't dodge or pull away from his touch. After so long, she had grown used to this gesture of his. Just as the thought crossed her mind, Tianyan suddenly felt the restriction inside her body gradually dissolving under Xu Yuan's touch. The look she gave Xu Yuan turned strange. With an eye toward the future, the two had reached an understanding to work together to purge the aphrodisiac poison from her body, but the price was allowing him to plant a restriction within her. Later, when they realized the Meishen flower poison couldn't be completely eliminated, this bastard had immediately swapped it for another restriction— a restriction known as the "Passion-Stirring Incantation." This kind of restriction was mostly used on dual-cultivation cauldrons. It was an unorthodox secret technique Xu Yuan had found on the fifth floor of Wenyuan Pavilion. As a secret technique from the fifth floor of Wenyuan Pavilion, aside from being exceptionally difficult to unravel once planted, the Passion-Stirring Incantation held no other advantages. Its passion-stirring effect was rather feeble; anyone in the fifth-rank Soul Condensation Realm circulating their cultivation art could neutralize its seductive influence. Now, however, the Meishen flower poison and the Heavenly Desire aphrodisiac poison inside Tianyan's body could not be purged. The Passion-Stirring Incantation was practically a fuse; once ignited, it would cause both poisons to violently erupt and spread through her body. Yet now, he had dissolved it himself. Tianyan stared at Xu Yuan, suspicion in her voice. "What are you doing..." Xu Yuan drew his hand back, his voice very quiet. "Do not suspect those you employ, and do not employ those you suspect." "..." Tianyan didn't say a word, merely eyeing him with utter distrust. After months of spending every waking moment together, whatever trust might have existed between people was long gone. The man before her would never be this kind-hearted. She suspected he was setting another trap for her. Sighing softly, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "We've been living together for nearly three months now. Consider this a gesture of good faith from me." "Good faith?" "You told me about this of your own accord, so naturally I should show some sincerity." "Really?" "Really," Xu Yuan said, looking at her earnestly. A gentle breeze stirred the smooth black tips of the girl's hair. Then, she suddenly smiled. "Are you afraid I'll get back at you after my breakthrough?" Xu Yuan flatly denied it. "Why would I be afraid? It's not like you can kill me." Under the brilliant sunlight, Tianyan's beautiful eyes curved into two shimmering crescents. "I indeed can't kill you. But fortunately, you taught me something. Do you want to know what it is?" "..." Xu Yuan retorted, "I didn't teach you that. Ran Qingmo did." "Yet I learned it from you." "..." "..." Five days later, Tianyan broke through to the third rank.