Chapter 4: Paired Cultivation

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 4: Paired Cultivation

The first realm of cultivation, Profound Understanding, involves sensing profound mysteries and unlocking the body’s secret points. This will leave the mortal realm and step into the cultivator realm.

The second realm of cultivation, Energy Refinement, was the ability to look within one's own body and mind, open all meridians, produce energies in the five organs, and circulate them through the body.

When one reached realm two, externally they could use their physical energy to fight enemies. Internally, they could cleanse their bones and body, and receive benefits unimaginable to ordinary people.

Any cultivator who passes realm two would have nothing more important than cultivation unless they had great hatred or a life-and-death problem.

How could ordinary pleasures compare to the joy of feeling one's body strengthen and transform, or of solving a cultivation problem?

When they were able to absorb the primal energies of the universe into their bodies and produce vital energy, they reach realm three of cultivation, the Vital Energy Realm..

No two cultivators in the world had exactly the same talents and qualities. Even twins born at the exact same time would have countless subtle differences from the moment of birth. Even if one received the help of a wise teacher on their path of cultivation, a teacher's eyes could not see infinitely into a disciple's body. So, the path of cultivation requires one to understand it for themselves, like a person who was not very good at swimming, swimming across a river on a dark night by touching the rocks. Every moment was dangerous, and each realm was more difficult than the last.

Those who speak of vital energy were at least realm three or higher. Ding Ning certainly knew what level of cultivation she had reached. He also knew the danger and urgency contained in her cold and calm words. But everything he did was calm and methodical.

After a quick bath and putting on clean clothes, he carefully cut a bowl of tofu, sprinkled chopped green onions, and poured sesame oil.

After eating two bowls of leftover rice that was not yet fully warm with this bowl of tofu with this bowl of tofu mixed with green onions, he walked to the bedroom at the back of the building.

To be honest, with his current body, he did not think much of skipping this meal. However, he knew very well that the small mistake of not using sesame oil after buying it could lead to the officials of the Bureau of Astrology discovering some hidden truth.

His fellow knew this too. According to the habits of the Bureau of Astrology, after confirming that there were no problems twice, the Bureau of Astrology would destroy the case files they had regarding him. For a very long time, the Bureau of Astrology’s attention would not be on him.

This was also one of the reasons he deliberately appeared in front of Mo Qinggong and the others.

 

There were two beds in the simple bedroom, separated by a gray curtain. Living with his aunt like this was quite common for families without extra rooms.

However, after closing the bedroom door, Ding Ning did not walk to his own bed, but familiarly made his way to Zhangsun Qianxue's. He quickly took off his outer robe and straightened the blankets.

Just like the previous nights, when he had been quietly lying against the wall, Zhangsun Qianxue moved through the darkness and lay down beside him.

“Let's begin.”

Apart from a hint of coldness, there was no emotion in Zhangsun Qianxue's eyes. In the process of lying beside Ding Ning, she did not even look at him.

And as she spoke those words, her body radiated a palpable coldness.

In the darkness, Ding Ning stared at her.

Seeing her cold and frosty appearance, complicated emotions surfaced in his eyes. A grimace lingered at the corners of his lips. However, in the next moment, all those emotions disappeared from his eyes. His gaze cleared, and his expression became extremely solemn and serious.

A unique presence seemed to radiate from his body. Even the smallest dust particles in the air were blown away. Water seemed to purify the air within a few meters of him and Zhangsun Qianxue.

This presence was similar to the five academians holding umbrellas in the alley, and the cultivators who arrived later, but slightly weaker.

Although weak, it was enough to prove that he was a cultivator.

Zhangsun Qianxue seemed to quickly fall into a deep sleep, her breathing becoming long and slow.

However, her body grew colder and colder. White frost appeared and spread across the blanket.

Tiny particles of blue ice even appeared in the air with every breath she exhaled.

Each tiny particle of blue ice would make a strange ‘poof’ sound when it landed on the blanket. They would transform into a sky-blue energy, colder than even snow.

The rising blue energy met the moist air and quickly formed white snowflakes.

Countless blue and white ice flowers appeared on the blanket surrounding her.

At the same time, she began to exhale these blue ice particles. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she frowned. She seemed to be cultivating unconsciously, feeling pain.

Ding Ning worriedly closed his eyes.

A layer of frost appeared on the surface of his body, but his complexion became increasingly red. His body grew hotter. The blood vessels usually hidden beneath his skin suddenly bulged. One could almost see his blood rushing through his blood vessels.

A rhythmic sound of a furnace emanated from the silent bedroom.

No presence emanated from his body, but it seemed to become a vessel with a unique attraction.

A slight cracking sound came from this bed. The ice flowers on the blankets started to shatter. The blue energies visible to the naked eye slowly seeped into his body.

White frost danced around Zhangsun Qianxue and Ding Ning's bodies, forming a snow storm in this narrow room.

Ding Ning's chest grew brighter and brighter in the wind and rain. His organs seemed to radiate red light and heat. But to the surrounding wind and snow, this was nothing but a weak candle flame that could be extinguished at any moment.

Cultivation was a wondrous process.

In Ding Ning's perception, he was standing in a vast and empty space.

This space seemed to be dim and enclosed, but also very vast with five-colored energies tumbling.

This was the energy sea of a cultivator.

A light blue ocean stretched beneath his feet. There seemed to be a crystal chamber beneath the seawater, pure and clean, like a palace made of jade.

This was the jade palace often spoken of by cultivators.

Above his head, amidst the five-colored energies, there was a dazzlingly bright space. This was the celestial aperture.

If the energy sea, the jade palace, and the celestial aperture could be comprehended, and one could sense and connect them, the energies from the five organs would continuously circulate, forming physical energy.

However, at this moment, no physical energy was forming in the center of his energy sea. The threads of five-colored energies flowing toward the center would become a blazing flame after merging.

The flame, extremely clean and transparent, burned with terrifying heat as it roasted the celestial aperture. It seemed as if it would burn through the entire energy sea.

Countless blue ice particles fell through the center of the energy sea. Each particle would extinguish a glimmer of flame. Then, a transparent and heavy threads of physical energy would fall down to the jade palace at the bottom of the energy sea.

Time passed slowly.

The five-colored energies in the energy sea grew dimmer and dimmer. The flame was almost extinguished. However, the faint blue ice particles did not stop and continued to fall.

For Ding Ning, this moment was truly something of a shock.

In an instant, he woke up at a speed unimaginable for ordinary cultivators and opened his eyes.

Shards of ice fell off his eyelashes.

He did not look at his body. In the darkness, he saw that snow was still falling around him. A hard layer of ice had formed over Zhangsun Qianxue’s body.

Her body barely retained any heat, as if her blood had frozen. However, energy still flowed through her body, still emitting blue ice particles.

Ding Ning’s eyes filled with shock. He realized what was happening. Without any hesitation, he covered Zhangsun Qianxue’s body like a blanket.

The moment their bodies touched, the cold energy turned his face pale. In the next moment, his consciousness fell into his own energy sea.

He hugged Zhangsun Qianxue, who had become a piece of ice, and subconsciously held her even tighter.

His skin began to turn hot and red.

With a cracking sound, the hard ice shell around Zhangsun Qianxue shattered.

Numerous pieces of ice fell onto the blanket. A certain force between them shattered the pieces into fine powder that floated away.

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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