C9 He Was Young and Did Not Understand the Meaning of Romance but He Was Worried about the End of th

"Little rascal, let go!"

As Yue Yang's mind finally steadied, a scolding voice rang in his ears.

Yue Yang heard it distinctly; it was the voice of his Senior Sister Yue Yu, only this time it lacked its usual iciness and carried a tenderness and shyness he couldn't quite understand.

Releasing the branch he was holding, Yue Yang turned to see Yue Yu standing up and realized he had mistakenly grasped his Senior Sister's wrist.

"Senior Sister, Junior Brother, are you pleased with my 'Priceless Pavilion'?"

Yue Yang heard the voice as if it were emanating from all around him, yet it seemed to resonate within his own heart.

"That despicable Yue Feng, once I get out, he'll regret not fearing the wrath of my 'Bone Corrosion Poison'."

Yue Yang was puzzled; he hadn't seen his Senior Sister speaking, so how could he hear her voice?

"It must be the effect of the 'Two-Hearted Knowledge'. Yue Feng has surely ground the 'Two-Hearted Knowledge' insect into powder and mixed it with the incense here. Whenever one of us harbors a thought, the other is bound to sense it."

"Enough of this, I'll deal with him later. Now, watch as I demonstrate my cultivation technique. I'll only show you once, so pay close attention."

Yue Yang watched as Senior Sister Yue Yu shed her Daoist robe, revealing a white undergarment, and began to dance gracefully before him.

"She is truly beautiful."

Barely had the thought crossed Yue Yang's mind when Yue Yu's reprimand followed.

"Where are your eyes wandering? Focus on my cultivation technique. If you get distracted again, I'll have your head."

"How can such a stunning woman be as ferocious as a wild wolf or tiger, ready to devour someone at a moment's notice?"

Yue Yang, with barely a month of cultivation under his belt, was clueless about how to maintain his focus. Watching Yue Yu's enchanting movements, he couldn't help but be filled with distracting thoughts, especially since Yue Yu's technique was meant for dual cultivation. To Yue Yang, it seemed as if Yue Yu was wearing less and less.

"Wake up!"

A stern shout jolted Yue Yang back to reality. Hadn't he just been watching his Senior Sister dance? How had he ended up back in the hall, seated and being awakened by his master?

"Hehe, it seems Senior Sister's allure is as potent as ever."

Yue Feng was connected by blood to the Daughter's lineage. Although the Daughter's lineage had the power to shield from sight and sound, making them invisible to others, he could still faintly perceive it. That's why, when he saw his senior sister leading Yue Yang out, he realized that this attempt was futile, serving no purpose other than giving him, the junior brother, quite the spectacle.

A streak of green light flashed by, and suddenly Yue Xie's mouth was sealed shut.

"It's merely to keep him quiet for a few days. He'll recover naturally in three days," the female Daoist stated icily.

"Yue Yang, how are you feeling?" his master inquired.

Yue Yang candidly reported still feeling somewhat groggy. The assembly atop the grand hall, all at the late stage of Foundation Building or higher, could tell Yue Yang was not feigning his lethargy; it was clear he wouldn't be able to observe the cultivation technique again that day.

"Hold on a moment."

As the Sect Leader was about to conclude the session and postpone further trials until the next day, Yue Yang rose to his feet.

"I managed to remember some parts before I passed out. I think there are some areas Senior Sister could modify."

Yue Yang, tasked by the master in his dreams with the growth and prosperity of the Order of Duality, was fully committed to the cause. He knew that as a mere Qi Refining novice, he couldn't achieve much alone. But if these elders all attained the Golden Core state, and with a Nascent Infant realm ancestor, the Order of Duality could rise to the ranks of a second-tier sect, fulfilling his dream master's trust.

Taking pen and paper from a fellow disciple, Yue Yang marked the sections he believed were incorrect. His brushstrokes were modest, but his depiction was inspired.

After finishing his drawing, Yue Fan felt quite pleased with himself, though he noticed an odd tension in the air, particularly from Senior Sister Le Yu, who was blushing profusely as she faced him. Most notably, Le You, also known as Zhuge Xuanzang, had retreated to the farthest pillar in the hall, as if in a moment of penance.

"Cough, cough. Le Yu, take these and give them a try when you return. If it proves too challenging, don't push yourself," the Sect Leader advised with a light cough before dismissing everyone to return to their respective peaks for rest.

"Here you go, you've got quite the nerve, kid."

Before departing, Zhuge Xuanzang, following Le Yu's guidance, entrusted a black jade box to Le Yang.

"Master, I'm not exactly courageous."

Le Yang passed the box to his master without a second glance, aware that the treasure was never meant for him; it was simply part of a prearranged agreement.

"You think you're not brave enough?"

Le Yang eyed the skeletal old monster leading the way, his confusion growing. It wasn't until he and the old monster returned home and began to change out of their tattered clothes that he realized he had forgotten to draw any of the circulation diagrams for his techniques.

It wasn't a big deal that he hadn't drawn clothes, but he had based his drawings on his senior sister's, capturing her essence so vividly that it was no surprise Zhuge Xuan had fled so hastily.

Yet, Le Yang quickly put such trivial concerns behind him; he had more pressing matters to attend to.

The day's battle replayed in his mind. He had emerged victorious, but he knew that if his opponent had discovered the location from which he deployed the Bone Soldiers even once, victory would have been out of reach. Thankfully, he had convinced his adversary that victory was assured once Le Yang's cultivation was depleted, granting him the opportunity for that final, decisive move.

"Is my cultivation still too weak?"

Submerged in water with only his head above the surface, Le Yang reached this sobering conclusion.

Without achieving Foundation Building, he would ultimately return to dust.

Le Yang closed his eyes, contemplating methods to rapidly advance to Foundation Building. Yet, after much thought, he realized there were only two paths available.

One was through persistent cultivation and daily practice, building up the cultivation within. With ten years of cultivation, one could break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining. Another twenty years would lead to the late stage, and thirty years beyond that would allow one to reach the initial stage of Foundation Building.

Currently at the middle stage of Qi Refining with just ten years of cultivation, Le Yang was still seen by others as being at the initial stage, which was not incorrect.

The second approach involved harnessing the treasures of heaven and earth, transforming the spiritual essence within these treasures into his own cultivation base. This was similar to the technique he had previously used to amass ten years of cultivation within his body, but it was no longer an option for him. Back then, he had the audacity to fully absorb the essence blood of Hua Yunshang because he relied on the robust physical condition he achieved after breaking his muscles and cleansing his marrow.

Yue Yang gave a wry smile. Even if he were presented with an elixir or spiritual fruit containing a century's worth of spiritual Qi, he wouldn't dare to consume it unless he was willing to forsake his body and follow in the footsteps of his master, the Skull Monster, on a dark path of ghostly arts.

After much deliberation, Yue Yang concluded that he had no choice but to select an appropriate cultivation method to accelerate the rate at which he increased his cultivation. The speed at which one accumulates cultivation varies with the technique practiced, and this ultimately manifests as differences in the level of one's cultivation.

Typically, during the Qi Refining stage, a low-tier cultivation technique allows a cultivator to accumulate one year's worth of cultivation in the same timeframe. A mid-tier technique could enable a cultivator to amass two years of cultivation in one year, while a high-tier technique might allow for four years of cultivation to be accumulated within a single year.

Once a cultivator enters the Foundation Building stage, the pace at which they accumulate cultivation becomes tenfold what it was during the Qi Refining stage. As such, cultivators who seemed to have only slight differences in their abilities could find those gaps widening rapidly after just a few years in the Foundation Building stage, largely due to the varying tiers of cultivation techniques they practiced.

Consequently, cultivators around the world vie desperately to join sects, driven by the desire to learn superior cultivation techniques during the Qi Refining stage, thereby saving precious time.

Yet, the vast majority of cultivators practice low-tier techniques, either because they've been forsaken by their sects or because they've embarked on the path of cultivation later in life. For those with a clear direction in their cultivation journey, the road to immortality seems wide open.

Yue Yang sighed. He was far better off than those solitary cultivators. Having received the legacy of the dream masters, his mind was filled with all the recorded techniques of the Order of Duality's orthodox teachings. He had access to an abundance of mid-tier techniques, and even thirty-six high-tier techniques, not to mention the supreme techniques that even disciples of the great sects longed for but could never attain.

Yue Yang had the opportunity to choose from three exceptional cultivation techniques, yet he selected none of them.

He even discarded the high-grade cultivation technique "Sun and Moon Twins," which he had practiced in his dreams. The classification of a cultivation technique's grade isn't solely based on the speed at which one can accumulate their cultivation base. The Dao Arts that can be executed through the technique are equally crucial. Middle-grade cultivation techniques require the Foundation Building Stage to unleash their power, while the Dao Arts of high-grade techniques need the Golden Core Stage to be effectively used.

The more potent the Dao Art, the greater the cultivation base required to wield it.

The ultimate Dao Art of the "Sun and Moon Twins," which Yue Yang had once mastered, could create a personal time zone spanning a hundred miles. Within this zone, enemies bathed in sunlight would be incinerated, while those shrouded in moonlight would be frozen into dust.

Yue Yang had fantasized countless times about unleashing this formidable Dao Art upon his foes, but now, he had a change of heart.

"Starlight Splendid."

The image that filled Yue Yang's mind was not of the three superior cultivation techniques. His Dream Master had advised that with his talent, forcibly cultivating a top-grade technique would yield quick results but no sustainable path to the ultimate Dao.

It wasn't a high-grade cultivation technique, nor was it even a middle-grade one. It was a mere low-grade cultivation technique, rudimentary to its core.

Yet, this unassuming low-grade technique contained a Dao Art that captivated Yue Yang from the moment he laid eyes on it.

"Star Record."

This Dao Art was linked to the celestial stars. As described, a cultivator of this technique could ignite stars within their Qi Sea. Each ignited star would double the speed of Dao cultivation. Thus, lighting up three stars would match the cultivation speed of a high-grade technique, while seven stars would rival that of a top-grade technique. And if more stars were lit...

Yue Yang was lost in contemplation. Surely, such a technique should be considered at least high-grade, if not top-grade. Why then was it classified as low-grade?

A revelation struck Yue Yang. Hidden among the low-grade techniques was one of immense power, so extraordinary that it was inconceivable, yet it had been discarded by all cultivators.

The practice of this technique would lead a cultivator to usher the entire world into an apocalyptic realm.

It was a technique heralding the end times.

It was a technique of obliteration.

Le Yang had once come across a Daoist scripture that recounted end-of-the-world techniques which had previously unleashed bloodshed and chaos, nearly destroying the fabric of time itself.

Take, for instance, Bloodthirsty Horizon. Practitioners of this method didn't need to engage in tedious meditation to build their cultivation. They had no need for consuming natural treasures or taking miraculous elixirs. By killing a mortal, they would gain a year's worth of cultivation. Eliminating someone in the Qi Refining realm would net them ten years of cultivation, while defeating a Foundation Building practitioner would yield a hundred years. Vanquishing a Golden Core adept would grant them a millennium of cultivation.

Consider Devour the Heavens and Earth. These cultivators were insatiable, consuming anything in sight. Once sated, they would slip into a deep slumber, awakening only to achieve a significant breakthrough in their realm. They would then resume their voracious consumption, their appetite ever-growing, their intake ever-increasing, in a relentless cycle.

Then there's the Great Light Sacred Art. Practitioners who followed this apocalyptic path abhorred even the slightest shadow. Favored by the Fire Dao Techniques, they could unleash a might far beyond that of ordinary fire methods. In combat, they would willingly set themselves ablaze to ensure mutual destruction with their foes. Yet, they would always rise from the ashes, stronger than before, intent on plunging the entire world into a state of brilliant light and flame.

…

Each emergence of such end-of-days methods spelled a major catastrophe for the world.