After a “candid” conversation, the dual cultivation finally began formally. Anger remained on Gong Yuan’s face as she stared at Li Qingshan right before her.
Li Qingshan smiled. “That’s the kind of person I am. If there’s something I want to say, I’ll definitely say it. That also counts as my efforts towards our cultivation, doesn’t it?”
“You really are a bastard!” Gong Yuan ground her teeth. He clearly possessed such a powerful cultivation, but he did not possess the corresponding bearing at all.
“Bitch!” Li Qingshan did not hold back, getting back at her even over the smallest of details.
“You!”
“Alright, alright. Cultivation comes first. The storm waits for no one.” Li Qingshan grabbed Gong Yuan’s hands.
Gong Yuan sucked in a deep breath. Most of the time, her mind was always as placid as water. Rarely did she become so angered that she had to calm herself down. She took out the Heart of the Abyss, and after a moment of hesitation, she placed it in her mouth. In order to cultivate with Li Qingshan, they had to maintain a certain level of bodily contact, except she did not like the pose where he held her in his arms. Bringing their hands together was the simplest pose they could take.
The surging, dark waters gradually settled down. As she powered the Heart of the Abyss, the deep, deathly power emerged from Ruin’s End once again, and it was especially powerful in this deep abyss.
Her various feelings of anger, sadness, and even nostalgia settled down. Her emotions were vanishing, but people were not a stalk of grass or a tree. They could not go without emotions. Even Xiao An’s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty maintained a deep hatred for buddhism.
The feeling of “emotionlessness” was not something that regular creatures could withstand. The home, the peace, and the slumber that the spirit turtle searched for was no different from death in the eyes of regular people. In the world of Ruin’s End, they could enjoy longevity without night or day. It was far more terrifying than the constant devouring in the Hungry Ghost realm or the endless slaughter in the Asura realm.
Gong Yuan felt this great terror. The feeling of coldness gripped her soul firmly as if it wanted to drain the last bit of warmth from her.
“It’s just like what I said before. Trust me!” Li Qingshan’s voice rang out in her heart.
Gong Yuan furrowed her brows and let out a gloomy sigh, continuing to power the Heart of the Abyss and sending her mind into Ruin’s End. however, she found a hint of consolation within the great terror. She found a hint of warmth within the cold silence. Li Qingshan felt like he had become a spirit turtle, carrying Gong Yuan on his back as he swam through the world of Ruin’s End.
Time passed by slowly. On the South sea, a huge storm was gradually forming. Looking down from above, the clouds revolved, forming a huge swirl that enveloped a region of thousands of kilometers. It moved north and was growing larger and larger.
Ji Changfeng wielded the Feilian flag and stood in the cloudy sky, gazing at it with a frown. All he saw was the storm reach into the sky, drawing strands of atmospheric wind from the great altitude and merging it into the fierce winds. It grew more and more vicious while rain poured down.
The sea roared and churned. A colossal wave reached into the sky, but before it could even fall, a larger wave swallowed it.
The sea turned into a stage where mountains danced. The rumbling thunder and lightning criss-crossed the dark clouds, constantly illuminating the surface of the ocean!
“No matter how many times I see this magnificent view, I still feel insignificant. Perhaps only true immortals can truly gaze down at everything from above!” Ji Changfeng let out a long sigh before glancing at the sky again. He showed a hint of anticipation. “Once I get my revenge, I’ll wander the world with the wind and search for that path of immortality that leads beyond the heavens!”
The storm was like a legendary kunpeng that had flown who knew how many kilometers, travelling northwards and flying towards the nine provinces.
Below the surface of the sea, the ocean currents were like colossal dragons, dancing about madly. Even the deep sea abyss experienced a slight disturbance.
Within the pitch-black sphere constructed from the power of Ruin’s End, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan held each other firmly, sleeping in each other’s embrace. They seemed to have finally discarded their disdain and loathing towards one another and become intimate friends or even lovers.
But in reality, they were completely unaware of the shift in their postures. They just instinctively sought warmth from one another. They could sense something important that they lacked from the other. The process was not forced or unpleasant at all. Instead, it was extremely comforting and peaceful. For the first time in her life, Gong Yuan did not find the process of practising the All Water to Ruin’s End so painful and difficult. The inner demons that had troubled her for numerous years gradually faded away. Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to his dream home, where he no longer had to carefully avoid disaster like he was walking on a tightrope. There were no dangers and hardships left for him.
They had never experienced dual cultivation with someone else. This profound compatibility of their minds could not be compared to any materialistic pleasures. They were virtually intoxicated by it, never willing to separate again.
However, Li Qingshan’s heart was not just a spirit turtle’s heart. It was not as sedated as Gong Yuan’s. When an undercurrent arrived, he suddenly sensed it and opened his eyes.
Gong Yuan opened her eyes at the same time, filled with some discontent, blaming him for disturbing this beautiful dream. When she realised their current posture, a hint of shyness appeared on her face. In that moment, Li Qingshan was almost led to believe that the person in his arms was not the cold and proud Merfolk Queen, but his newly-wed wife. He sensed how she struggled and wanted to break free, so he embraced her even more forcefully. Through the thin, smooth silk, he could feel her smooth, cool skin and her curves. She was enchanting.
She no longer possessed her usual coldness and resolve. Unable to break free, she simply gave up. This was not the first time he had embraced her anyway, so she could let it slide. However, she understood the meaning of pushing his luck very soon.
Li Qingshan gazed at the beautiful face only inches away, the clean forehead, the deep eyes, the proud nose, and the thin lips below. He pursed his lips and suddenly kissed them.
Gong Yuan suddenly widened her eyes. Originally, she could have dodged. Originally, she should have dodged, but in that moment, his eyes gave off a power that made her tranquil, leaving her momentarily stunned. By the time she had returned to her senses, he had already forced a kiss on her.
I’m going to kill him! That was the first thought that appeared in her head. She had already wrapped her fingers around his neck from behind, but she was unable to muster the slightest murderousness.
They were still dual cultivating.
Li Qingshan had originally done it out of some mischief. Originally, he thought she would struggle and fight back, but it was so successful in the end that even he was extremely surprised. She was not a mortal, so it was impossible for her to not react in time. By proactively bringing her hand around his neck, that seemed to prove this even more. Don’t tell me she’s already been subdued by the intense charm I give off in such a short amount of time? Sigh, I really am something else!
Before Gong Yuan could even muster enough murderousness and forcefully end this state of dual cultivation, she felt his attempts to pry open her lips, almost driving her crazy. There were some mixed feelings as well. She calmed down soon afterwards and thought inside.
“Li Qingshan, do you know what a kiss means to a Merfolk?”
“What?” For some reason, Li Qingshan experienced a hint of uneasiness. If she had roared at him and tried to kill him, he would have felt a little more at ease.
“It’s a vow!”
“What vow?” Li Qingshan’s uneasiness grew heavier.
“To accompany one another and to never separate.”
Li Qingshan was so emotionally touched that he almost cried. Something like this regularly appeared in the novels from his past life. When the faces or feet of beauties were seen, or when they were seen showering, they had to be married to the person that saw them. Originally, he thought that was just some fantasy written up by some shut-in. He never expected something as great as that to actually be real in this world.
“Are you willing?” Gong Yuan then asked.
“I-” Right when Li Qingshan was about to answer, he saw her deep eyes and suddenly shivered inside. “What will happen if I agree to it?”
“You’ll have to remain in the South sea forever, right by my side. You are forbidden from approaching any other woman, or I’ll kill them, as well as you!” Icy-cold resolve flashed through Gong Yuan’s eyes.
Merfolk possessed a fine reputation for lovesickness, but that did not come without a price, which was absolute loyalty, without any leeway for betrayal. Otherwise, it would only end up as a life-or-death struggle. There were numerous horrific cases like this in the South sea. The most widespread story regarding Merfolk was: A beautiful mermaid had saved a fisherman who was stranded at sea, and she fell deeply in love with him. The two of them established their love for one another. The fisherman said he wanted to return to tell his parents he was safe and sound, but he never ended up returning. The mermaid shed tears to the moon and thought about him day and night. In the end, she transformed a pair of legs and went to find the fisherman on land, only to find out that he had already been wed. As a result, she ate the fisherman and returned to the sea with his head.
So-called lovesickness had always possessed many extreme elements. It was not something that regular people could endure.
Li Qingshan immediately raised his hands and cracked a joke. “My mind wasn’t too clear just then. You were too beautiful and enchanting earlier, so I made a thoughtless mistake. Just treat it like nothing happened at all, haha!”
“It’s already too late,” Gong Yuan said faintly, actually proactively extending her hands and holding his face, making him shiver inside.
