As the demonic qi surged into her, the yin-yang Taiji Disk within Jian Dan's dantian began spinning rapidly. It absorbed the incoming qi through her meridians, channeling it into the yin-side sea of demonic qi, which in turn fed the demonic core at the yang center.
As the core steadily grew in size, Jian Dan's aura intensified. Then, at last, the demonic core shattered.
The surrounding demonic qi surged violently, wrapping around her like a tide. Amid the chaotic rush, a demon Yuányīng swiftly took form—a miniature version of Jian Dan, clad in a black robe with a decorative emblem on her forehead.
The two miniature Jian Dan—one on the yin side and one on the yang—opened their eyes and exchanged a smile. They pressed their palms together. Spiritual and demonic energies flowed between them, forming a self-sustaining cycle. The demon Yuányīng solidified rapidly, and their cultivation climbed to the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage.
Above the Demon Abyss, black clouds blotted out the sky. Violet-black lightning split the heavens and struck the cliff face again and again, as if trying to pierce through the barrier and annihilate its target. But no matter how many bolts fell, they could not locate the one meant to be struck.
After three strikes, the lightning ceased, though the dark clouds churned above like a furious sea, unwilling to dissipate. Within that roiling storm, bolts of lightning continued to build, as if silently declaring: I am waiting for you to emerge.
Outside the abyss, the black-robed warriors of the Heavenly Demon Palace remained on alert. Ma Rong, startled by the strikes above, instantly recognized the signs—this was a lightning tribulation triggered by a cultivator's breakthrough. Judging by the pressure in the air, it was undoubtedly a Nascent Soul tribulation.
Cautious as ever, Ma Rong ordered the squad to retreat outside the strike range. Since the lightning had yet to lock onto its target, there was no point in risking being caught in it by accident.
Meanwhile, Jian Dan, having formed her Yuányīng remained blissfully unaware. She was still immersed in the ocean of cultivation.
Her demon Yuányīng had not yet endured the tempering of heavenly lightning and remained slightly plump and soft. But this didn't affect the quality of her cultivation. Inside her dantian, the two miniature versions of herself, one black and one white, floated above the Taiji Disk with their palms pressed together, qi and demonic energy flowing in a steady exchange.
After breaking through, the demonic qi around her briefly paused, then gradually resumed its flow. It seeped into her skin, flowed through her expanded meridians—now twice their former width—circulated in a full cycle, then returned to her dantian.
Once refined, the qi flowed into the yin side of the Taiji Disk, repeatedly filling the demonic sea. From there, it was compressed and funneled to the demon Yuányīng. After strengthening the demon Yuányīng's body, the energy passed through their joined palms into the spiritual Yuányīng on the yang side.
The spiritual Yuányīng, in turn, grew stronger and fed the spiritual energy ocean on the yang side. Thus, the loop continued—a cycle of mutual reinforcement.
This round of cultivation lasted one full century.
By the time Jian Dan reached the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, her progress plateaued. She slowly opened her eyes.
A trace of confusion flickered across her gaze. She blinked, then blinked again. A sharp gleam of clarity returned. Glancing inward at her cultivation level, she was stunned.
Had she swallowed some kind of high-speed breakthrough pill? Why had her progress surged so quickly?
Just as she prepared to investigate, the ground beneath her gave way. Jian Dan immediately activated her demonic power and tried to take flight, but the pull beneath her feet intensified without warning. She was dragged downward at a terrifying speed, unable to escape no matter how hard she struggled.
Elsewhere, in a completely separate space, Mò Su Zhēnjūn was experiencing the same thing—sucked downward by an invisible force.
They fell for nearly half an hour before—
ThumpThump
Two impacts echoed across the space. Jian Dan and Mò Su Zhēnjūn landed one after the other, both slammed to the ground.
Jian Dan, sturdy as ever, sprang to her feet and brushed nonexistent dust from her robes. She began surveying her surroundings.
Mò Su Zhēnjūn stood as well. He spotted the female demon cultivator opposite him—Jian Dan. A quick glance at her cultivation level made his brow rise. Then he spread his divine sense outward.
They were standing on a circular platform. Beneath them, steps descended into a dark, formless void. Above, only pitch-black sky.
Jian Dan and Mò Su Zhēnjūn exchanged a glance. Both extended their divine senses—hers, already honed by late Divine Transformation—probing into the unknown.
A voice suddenly echoed in the air.
"Oh? What an interesting pair."
Both Jian Dan and Mò Su Zhēnjūn heard it clearly. Instantly, they moved closer, standing back to back in a defensive posture. Jian Dan drew her Mò Xī Sword, and Mo Su Zhēnjūn gripped his Cold Moon Blade, each covering the other.
"Heh. One cultivates both the Dao and the demonic path. The other possesses a pure yin physique. Interesting, indeed."
Shock flickered across both of their eyes. Their deepest secrets—ones carefully hidden from the world—had been exposed with ease. Just who was this speaker?
Jian Dan ran her fingers along her sword and smiled sweetly. "Senior, it's rather rude to call out someone's secrets like that. By the way, when do you plan to return my Mó Yuè Zhǎn?"
The moment she had entered this space, Jian Dan had reached out with her divine sense to summon her weapon. But Mó Yuè Zhǎn seemed sealed far away, completely out of reach.
Mo Su Zhēnjūn's already pale face turned even whiter. But seeing that Jian Zhenjūn didn't seem concerned, he hesitated. Was she truly uninterested in his secret, or just pretending? Now wasn't the time to find out. So he said nothing.
Jian Dan turned and gave him a dazzling smile.
"There's no need to worry, Zhēnjūn. I swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao. If I reveal your secret to anyone else, may I never advance in cultivation for the rest of my life."
Her bright eyes sparkled as she gave him a quick once-over, then added teasingly:
"Honestly, Zhēnjūn, I'm a woman. Why would I covet your pure yin body? You should be more concerned about your future partner. Perhaps someone with a pure yang physique—whether woman or man."
This time, Mo Su Zhēnjūn's face darkened noticeably. But the situation was too unclear to lash out. He understood she was only trying to put him at ease. Hostility between them would only make things worse. So, with a cold snort, he said nothing more.
Neither of them realized that her casual teasing would turn prophetic.
The mysterious senior made no attempt to stop their banter. Instead, his next words made Jian Dan's jaw ache from frustration.
"Your cultivation is too low. You'll need some training. The real trial begins now. Show me what you're capable of. I'm waiting at the top of the stairs."
Then silence.
Jian Dan and Mo Su Zhēnjūn nodded at each other, tightened their grips on their weapons, and stepped onto the first stair.
The weight hit them instantly—at least tenfold gravity. Both nearly fell to their knees.
It took them a full quarter-hour to adjust. Only then could they manage to raise their legs and descend further. Jian Dan held up better thanks to her physical training, which let her endure far more pressure than most of her peers.
Step by step, they made it to the second stair. The surroundings blurred like ink bleeding through rice paper.
Then came the sound.
Chitter chitter chitter...
From the shadows, a flood of black beetle larvae surged toward them like a tide.
===
Within her, both Yuányīng—one formed from spiritual energy, the other from demonic essence—had begun to resonate with each other. In essence, they had initiated dual cultivation on their own, independent of her conscious will.
In cultivation theory, dual cultivation generally falls into two categories: intimate and non-intimate. What occurred between her two Yuányīng clearly belonged to the latter—an internal harmonization, a merging of yin and yang without any physical entanglement. Still, the image it conjured was hard to ignore.
Even if it was just the "casual" kind of dual cultivation, I couldn't help but feel a little amused by the situation. You understand, don't you?
Even if no taboo had been crossed, the thought lingered: two aspects of herself quietly cultivating together inside her core, as if to say, "Who needs a partner, when I can literally dual cultivate with myself?"
More detailed notes on dual cultivation theory and physique can be found in the attached comment section and on the 'Author's Thought' below, for those curious about the technical side.