Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Tugging.

Qiu Changtian was exceptionally skilled at it.

The so-called "tugging" involved walking on a tightrope, ingeniously controlling the sense of measure and distance.

If too close, it would inevitably arouse the other party's springtime feelings, prompting them to shed their clothes and mete out justice on the spot;

If too distant, it would inevitably infuriate the other party, driving their beastly nature to take over and harshly exploit oneself.

Having mingled among the Demon Race for many years, Qiu Changtian knew all too well the importance of protecting one's genetic material as a male with extremely high talent; naturally, he wouldn't let the two dragon girls succeed, instead maintaining just the right sense of close yet evasive contact.

As for the psyche of the two dragon girls, he had already completely seen through it: on one hand, they were incredibly greedy for his body, while on the other hand, they were wary of the Chi Song Immortal's reputation from Kunlun, not daring to directly make a move on him.

The only way was to exert influence on an emotional level.

As long as Qiu Changtian took an interest in them, even if facing the Kunlun Immortal, at the very least he could speak on their behalf… but if Yu Ji insisted on forcing the issue, then after Qiu Changtian returned, he would certainly say nothing favorable, and the Chi Song Immortal would naturally deal a harsh blow.

Of course, this was precisely the idea Qiu Changtian was trying to instill in them: it was fine to talk about feelings, but they must never resort to force.

After a bit of polite evasion, Qiu Changtian managed to learn that the long-haired dragon girl was named "Shi Jinsuo," the elder sister; and the short-haired dragon girl was "Shi Yinqiang," the younger sister.

The sisters had spent nearly two hundred thousand years in this heavenly cave, and although they were the lords of this heavenly abode, they had no family or friends, just a bunch of clueless little demons, profoundly lonely and very isolated.

As for why they had lived for so many years, it was said that the two "Xiang Concubines," who originally lived here, fed them many miraculous medicines that prolonged life.

However, the purpose of prolonging life was also to raise them as spirit beasts, so they were not taught any dragon clan cultivation techniques, leading to the two dragon girls knowing nothing but their racial bloodline supernatural powers, and their progression in cultivation level was extremely slow.

"The person your lordship is looking for, by mistake, stumbled into our heavenly cave," Shi Yinqiang said outright, chattering away, "Seeing that he was clever and articulate, and could talk his way out of anything, we thought of sheltering him to avoid calamity."

"Who would have thought that man appeared good but was evil at heart, and even tried to steal treasures from the palace while we were away," Shi Jinsuo said with hostility towards Xu Yinglian and Luo Baiyuan, "When my sister and I discovered him, he even resisted desperately and tried to harm others. So we joined forces to injure him and then threw him into the dungeon to fend for himself."

"Where is this dungeon?" Xu Yinglian immediately asked.

The two dragon girls didn't even look at her, only sneering.

"May I ask the two noble ladies, where exactly is this dungeon?" Qiu Changtian, resigned, clasped his hands and asked, "The man carries with him objects stolen in a theft. Our purpose here is to recover the stolen items, hence our search for his whereabouts."

"Easy," Shi Yinqiang replied readily, with a smile, in the presence of a handsome man, "My sister and I can take you there."

Qiu Changtian followed the two dragon girls deeper into the palace, while Xu Yinglian and Luo Baiyuan quickly followed suit.

In the back courtyard of the deep palace, they led Qiu Changtian to a dry well, saying:

"We inflicted serious injuries on that man, and then we threw him down there."

"Down there is what?" Qiu Changtian asked in surprise.

"As stated by the Xiang Concubines, that place below is the watery grave of the Xiang River," Shi Jinsuo answered with a smile, "Your lordship must know, rivers and seas all have self-cleansing capabilities, no matter what kind of filth is dumped into them, it will gradually be washed clean."

"In fact, these impurities are carried by the river water to the watery grave, and then along the water network they reach 'Gui Xu,' where all the rivers and seas of the world converge."

Qiu Changtian: ..........

Oh, that place, I'm quite familiar with it.

"Since that's the case," he turned to Xu Yinglian and Luo Baiyuan and said, "we must follow this well down into the submerged ruins beneath the Xiang River."

"If my lord insists on going down," Shi Yinqiang said worriedly, "since this matter arose from my sisters and me, we are willing to accompany my lord on this journey."

"There's no need," Xu Yinglian said coldly, "We Kunlun Cultivators can go down by ourselves."

"Overestimating yourselves," Shi Jinsuo sneered, "The submerged ruins of the Xiang River are filled with all the filthiness of the river. The concentration of toxins is so intense that it has a strong corrosive effect on the flesh."

"My sister and I, being of the Dragon Clan, can still withstand the water's toxins with our fleshly bodies. You human Cultivators, if soaked in the water for a quarter of an hour without detoxification capabilities, would see all your limbs and bones corrupted..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Yinglian and Luo Baiyuan simultaneously executed the Universal Pure Tone Minor Illumination Technique, directly slapping it onto themselves.

"The two ladies need not worry," Qiu Changtian said with a smile, "We Kunlun Cultivators have our own marvelous detoxification methods."

Of course, not all Kunlun Cultivators possessed detoxification techniques, but the lineage of the Ziwei Master, owing to the practice of Immortal Sect's secret techniques and the extreme potency of their True Yuan, were completely fearless in the face of toxins.

Everyone applied their techniques and then plunged into the well.

After only a dozen meters or so, they fell into water.

The water here had a particular odor, akin to the fishy smell often found in seafood markets, which could easily induce vomiting if one inhaled it for too long.

The sisters of the Dragon Clan had already revealed their True Bodies, swimming agilely in the water. Qiu Changtian, Xu Yinglian, and Luo Baiyuan, on the other hand, relied on the Universal Pure Tone Minor Illumination Technique to encase their bodies, keeping the filthy water at bay as they followed downward.

As they descended deeper, the underwater space around them became increasingly vast—they had entered a submerged cave system.

Continuing downward along the cave, suddenly a dark shadow shot out from below.

Qiu Changtian was quick-eyed and deft-handed, as the Shangyang Sword Qi suddenly shot out from his sleeve, piercing the dark shadow directly.

Only then did everyone manage to see more clearly—the creature that writhed even after being pierced by the Sword Qi was, in fact, a strange fish with a rotten body and bulging white eyes.

"What is this?" Xu Yinglian frowned and asked.

"I haven't seen it before either," Luo Baiyuan shook his head.

"You should be careful," the Jiaolong transformed by Shi Yinqiang said. "This fish lives year-round in the ruins, and its teeth inject toxins into its prey while tearing flesh, which not only dissolves skin and muscles but also corrupts the Divine Sense and even contaminates the soul."

"You should have said this earlier!" Xu Yinglian said angrily, "Why didn't you say so when we descended into the well?"

Although she seemed to have blurted it out, Qiu Changtian understood the implied meaning:

Though these two dragon maidens lust after your body, it does not mean they will cater to your every desire; be careful of their reservations and hidden schemes.

"The last time my sister and I came down here was tens of thousands of years ago, how could we remember so clearly?" Shi Jinsuo said with a coquettish laugh, "The person you're looking for, even if his corpse has been completely devoured by these strange fish, at least the items he carried should still be around. Maybe they've been swept into some corner."

"Since that's the case, let everyone be a little more cautious," Qiu Changtian said gently, "and continue to follow the current deeper to see if we can find any traces."

On the other side, Long Xiaoqi also fell into the water, the girl's body somersaulted, and immediately transformed into a Jiaolong.

She looked around bewilderedly, only to see the huge Jiaolong transformed by Shi Yao, silently staring at her in the depths of the water.

"Master," Long Xiaoqi swam over, her normally indolent tone of voice gradually returning to normal, "where are we going next?"

"Follow me," Shi Yao said in a deep voice, "the space below is vast, and you mustn't get lost."