Dual Cultivation In Martial Peak

Chapter 76: A Legend

"We're here…"

Su Mu guided Xia Ning Chang to the inn where he was staying, but the moment they entered his room, they were greeted by a bizarre sight.

"Mmh…! Let me go and play outside, you fatty! Now, you shall feel my wrath!"

Dong Qing Yan was sleeping on Su Mu's bed, hugging the pillows while cursing her brother.

"Rather than leaving, she decided to take a nap instead." From how it looked, the reality check Su Mu gave Dong Qing Yan had little to no effect on her.

Unlike most places in this small world, the Medicine King's Valley was even more bustling during the night, so after taking Xia Ning Chang away from Meng Wuya, Su Mu decided to roam around the town with her for a few hours.

While Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang explored the town together, Dong Qing Yan must have fallen asleep waiting for the former's return.

"Brother Su, she is…?" Xia Ning Chang seemed puzzled, but she didn't look surprised after seeing an unknown young woman sleeping in Su Mu's bed.

"She is Dong Qing Yan, an acquaintance of mine."

"Dong…" Xia Ning Chang pondered for a few seconds. "Last time, there was a member of the Dong Family who came to the High Heaven Pavilion. Is she related to 'that' Dong Family?"

"She is that fatty's sister. The Dong Family's Young Lady."

"Before our arrival, were you two…" Xia Ning Chang stopped mid-sentence as a light blush appeared on her face that even her veil couldn't hide.

She was no stranger to the concept of Dual Cultivation because of Su Yan's guidance, but discussing such matters still made Xia Ning Chang embarrassed.

Could it be that Su Mu seduced Dong Family's Young Lady because her brother caused trouble for him at the High Heaven Pavilion?

"Sister Xia, please don't make such crude jokes…" Su Mu looked at her with a bland face. "I would never cultivate with someone whose body isn't ready for dual cultivation."

"Ready for dual cultivation?" Xia Ning Chang was confused, and she slightly tilted her head.

"Engaging in dual cultivation before the age of sixteen is harmful to a human's body, and in some cases, it might even diminish their aptitude as dual cultivators, limiting what they could achieve in the future."

"Oh…" Xia Ning Chang nodded, and after a few seconds, another question appeared inside her head. "How did you know that Master and I arrived at the Medicine King's Valley?"

Xia Ning Chang had requested Su Yan not to inform Su Mu about her arrival as she wanted to surprise him, which made her wonder how he knew the moment she arrived. In the end, she was the one who was surprised at his sudden appearance.

"You know about the long-distance communication function of the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, right?"

"I do."

Although Xia Ning Chang hadn't reached a Minor Accomplishment in the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, she had learned what the Secret Art was capable of from Su Yan.

"The Secret Art also allows the practitioners to locate each other at great distances depending on their mastery and cultivation base." Su Mu explained, walking towards Dong Qing Yan. "Since you have started cultivating the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, I sensed your presence when you arrived at the Medicine King's Valley."

"Can I do it, too?"

"After your mastery of the Secret Art and cultivation base increases, yes." Su Mu answered Xia Ning Chang's question with a small smile. "For now, even I can't do much because of my limited cultivation base."

If Su Mu or any of his partners wanted to, they could choose not to be detected by others using the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, but there were two exceptions.

First, they could only hide from those with similar or lower versions of the Secret Art, as those with higher versions could still detect them.

Second, no matter who it was, they couldn't hide from Su Mu, the centre of the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, and Su Yan, who balanced the Secret Art.

Su Yan's role as the Head Wife was more significant than she currently realised, but there was no need for her to know that now.

Su Mu believed that Su Yan would understand everything by herself as her understanding of the Secret Art increased.

"I see."

Xia Ning Chang was satisfied with Su Mu's answer, and she watched as he leaned forward, bringing his mouth closer to Dong Qing Yan's ear.

"Wake up!"

"It wasn't me, I swear! It was all brother's fault—Huh?" Dong Qing Yan woke up with a loud shout and immediately sat on the bed with sleepy eyes.

"Hello…" Xia Ning Chang gave Dong Qing Yan an awkward nod when their eyes met.

"You are…?" The Dong Family's Young Lady looked confused, but her eyes widened when she noticed Su Mu. "Y-Young Master Su! Why are you inside my bed—Ouch!"

Thud!*

Bringing his hand forward, Su Mu gave Dong Qing Yan a rather painful forehead flick before she could finish her words, completely waking her up in the process.

"Who sneaked inside whose room?"

"Awww…! I'm sorry…" Dong Qing Yan rubbed her slightly red forehead with teary eyes, whining in pain.

Even though it didn't hurt much, as someone who had never once fought in her life, her pain tolerance was even worse than Xia Ning Chang's.

"So, do you have a way to visit the Pill Saint's Peak faster than simply visiting the Alchemist Summit?"

"Ah…!" Dong Qing Yan blinked at Su Mu's words, realising the reason she came to visit him in the first place. "Yeah, I do! But I want something in return…"

"And what would that be?"

"If you are an alchemist, then it's possible for you to reach the Pill Saint's Peak in a few weeks rather than two months. But in return, teach me alchemy!"

"I don't take in disciples."

Su Mu's blunt reply caused Dong Qing Yan's face to turn red in embarrassment.

"Who wants to be your disciple? Teach me so I can become the Disciple of Medicine King's Valley's Hidden Cloud Peak Elder, Xiao Fu Sheng! If I become Elder Xiao's disciple, it'll be possible for you to enter the Pill Saint's Peak!"

She was the Dong Family's first Young Lady, from small to large the family had spent a huge amount of effort and resources to cultivate her, whatever pill she wanted she could directly acquire it, so why would they allow her to learn Alchemy?

Therefore, even if she showed a strong interest in Alchemy, she still had very little practical experience.

Now that she had come to Medicine King's Valley, it was like directly ascending to Heaven, so Dong Qing Yan couldn't lose her chance to become Xiao Fu Sheng's disciple.

"How so?"

"Hidden Cloud Peak is not far from your objective, and if you can enter there…" Dong Qing Yan quietly implied. "Not to mention, the disciple exam will be conducted in two weeks. It's infinitely better than waiting for the Alchemist Summit for two months."

Although she wasn't wrong, Su Mu had no intention to teach her the Dao of Alchemy himself.

After that, Su Mu asked the inn's owner to open a room for Dong Qing Yan a good distance away from his, and the Dong Family's Young Lady excused herself.

"Sister Xia, your cultivation has improved a lot." Su Mu commented, sitting on the edge of the bed.

When he departed from the High Heaven Pavilion, Xia Ning Chang was at the 2nd Stage of the True Element Realm, but now, her cultivation was at the Peak of the True Element Realm, and she was only a step away from reaching the Immortal Ascension Realm.

Indeed, when it came to raw cultivation base, there weren't many Special Physiques that could compete with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body.

"It's because of the herbs Brother Su gave me." Xia Ning Chang replied with a sweet smile, taking a seat next to Su Mu while removing the veil from her face.

"You shouldn't look down on your hard work like that." Su Mu's body fell towards Xia Ning Chang, and his head landed on her thighs.

A light blush appeared on Xia Ning Chang's face, but she didn't say anything.

"By the way, what is the highest grade of pill you've refined after I left?"

If he wasn't wrong, her highest grade after the Heaven's Cave Inheritance was Heaven Grade Top Rank.

It was easy for him to tell an Alchemist's grade by simply looking at them once, but he couldn't do that with Xia Ning Chang, who had the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body.

"Mysterious Grade High Rank." Xia Ning Chang answered immediately with a proud smile.

"What about your success rate in refining Mysterious Grade High Rank?"

"About forty percent."

"Mid Rank and below?"

"I've never failed in Mysterious Grade Low Rank. As for the Mid Rank Pills, it's about sixty percent."

"You have improved a lot." Su Mu was somewhat surprised by Xia Ning Chang's growth as an alchemist, and he looked up at her face with a smile.

At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Xia Ning Chang had surpassed almost every alchemist within this Small World, including the elders of the Medicine King's Valley.

The two of them looked into each other's eyes for a few minutes, and soon, Xia Ning Chang opened her mouth.

"Brother Su, do you intend to teach Dong Qing Yan the Dao of Alchemy?"

From what Su Mu had previously told her, Xia Ning Chang was the only person he had ever taught Alchemy in both his lives, and if possible, she wanted it to stay that way. However, if he wanted to teach someone else, she wouldn't stop him.

"Of course not." Su Mu chuckled lightly, knowing what Xia Ning Chang was thinking about. "The only one I want to teach Alchemy to is Sister Xia."

While Dong Qing Yan had some talent in Alchemy, she wasn't good enough to inherit Su Mu's achievements in the Alchemic Dao.

Su Mu had little to no talent in the Dao of Alchemy, and all of his achievements were solely based on the thousands of years he invested in learning alchemy, so he wouldn't pass them down to someone he saw as unworthy.

"Really?" Xia Ning Chang seemed unnaturally happy at his words, and she gently ran her fingers through his hair. "But Brother Su told Dong Qing Yan to come back tomorrow."

"She will learn the basics of alchemy tomorrow, but I won't be the one to teach her." Su Mu gave Xia Ning Chang a knowing smile. "I'm sure Sister Xia can do it in my stead, right?"

"Me?" Xia Ning Chang tilted her head in confusion. She wouldn't mind doing it since Su Mu had asked her to, but his request confused her a little.

"You can refuse if you want to, but teaching someone is a good method to go over the basics." Su Mu calmly explained. "While teaching Jiao'er the Sword Dao, I also learned a few things that can improve within the Heavenly Sword."

The Heavenly Sword was one of the best Sword Techniques to exist, but after working on it from the start once again, Su Mu was sure that it could improve further, leading it to become a perfect Sword Technique.

"I don't mind teaching her." Xia Ning Chang answered. Since it wouldn't cost her anything, she didn't mind helping her fellow alchemist.

"In the meantime, we'll make sure that you can refine Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank Pills without fail. Old Man Meng's reaction to your rapid growth will be worth it."

"You enjoy messing with Master a bit too much, Brother Su."

"It's entertaining."

Xia Ning Chang giggled at Su Mu's words, and he smiled.

For the next few hours, they talked about their experiences since they had separated.

Xia Ning Chang explained about her travels with Meng Wuya to arrive at the Medicine King's Valley, and she almost passed out from embarrassment when Su Mu started explaining what happened between him and the Hu Sisters after they made it out of the Nether Mountains.

Indeed, Xia Ning Chang's reaction was priceless.

And in the blink of an eye, two weeks passed.

---

"Hsy, have you heard about the Standing Old Man?"

"Standing Old Man?"

"Yeah. From what I heard, an Old Man stood at the gates of the Medicine King's Valley for three days without even moving a little with a devastated expression."

"Huh? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"They say his disciple got snatched away by some youngster, and he couldn't accept the reality of it. And while there was a crowd of people around him, the old man suddenly disappeared."

Within the past few days, the legend of the 'Heartbroken Old Man' had become a hot topic among the people of the Medicine King's Valley, with many people creating imaginary scenarios around the old man to entertain themselves.

"I wonder what they are talking about…" Xia Ning Chang asked, walking through the streets of the Medicine King's Valley with Su Mu and Dong Qing Yan.

"Indeed. Who could that Old Man be?" Su Mu pretended that he didn't notice Meng Wuya's Divine Sense, which had been following him around for a few days now.

***

A/N:

At this point, I write more notices about unannounced breaks than chapters.

I started reading ORV and couldn't stop. My bad. I'll make up for the last month's chapters in this one…

So, I just opened and realised that we can now change the font to some extent. Nice.