After being interrupted, Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue felt a bit awkward. For the first time in three days, they began to talk. Feng Yingyue counted her years spent in the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. Because of her great talent and relentless work, she had become the best student of the entire institute. As such, she had been protected from most of the war. In fact, she had barely left the institute since she had entered. Honestly, she didn't like that very much, but she also understood the reasons why she had to be protected. For that very reason, she wanted to cultivate as fast as possible. Thus, she had thoroughly lost herself in her studies of alchemy and her cultivation.
As an alchemist, she could have sped up her cultivation process with pills, but she had kept that to a minimum. Even Director Hua advised her not to overdo it, as it could ruin her potential. But Feng Yingyue needed none of that, she already knew that it would be a terrible idea. Besides, Cao Yun's mind cultivation was incredibly helpful.
For the three days they had been together, their very souls had touched. Both of them had been able to sense the level of their respective soul and mind cultivations. Although Cao Yun's soul cultivation was higher, it was mostly due to the fact that he had a Soul Embryo. The young man, and even Dian Mo, had been surprised to realize how far Feng Yingyue had pushed 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'. Her Five Aspects were just as refined as Cao Yun's, except for her Shen the Fire Spirit, it was even more advanced. The difference wasn't that apparent, but Cao Yun had mastered this method so he could tell quite easily.
Her Nine Soul Peaks weren't as sturdy as Cao Yun's though. Indeed, Cao Yun had the help of the world tree seed to strengthen them. However, the nine chambers of her Upper Dantian had reached the pinnacle of what a Mortal Warrior could achieve. Maybe her Chamber of Mysterious Elixir was lacking just a little, but her Chamber of Ultimate Truth and Chamber of Moving Pearls were paramount. Of course, it helped her a lot in her studies. After all, the Chamber of Ultimate Truth was related to memory and knowledge. To be fair, her Chamber of Jade related to wisdom and intuition didn't lag behind either.
What truly surprised both Dian Mo and Cao Yun was her Turbid Demons. All of them were completely under her control. Each one was very similar to Cao Yun's. Although they weren't as strong as his, they were clearly suppressed to the highest degree. With Cao Yun's blood cultivation, it was obvious that no human could develop stronger Turbid Demons, even humans with inner demons. However, it didn't mean that Feng Yingyue's Turbid Demons were inferior. In fact, she probably had more subtle control over them. If she had the same level of cultivation as Cao Yun, they would pose him a real threat in a fight. Thankfully, he didn't see any scenario in which they would actually have to fight.
With such control over her seven Turbid Demons, Feng Yingyue probably had no problem performing the fourth and last layer of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks', 'Seal All Demons'. And, as it turned out, she had none. The moment she broke through to the Spirit Warrior realm, she would probably increase her cultivation extremely fast. Even a great cultivator from the eras before the Dao Forsaken Era would need around a century to go all the way from 1st-grade Spirit Warrior to being a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior ready for the Greater Tribulation. Feng Yingyue might be as fast as Cao Yun. It was difficult to tell, of course, as many things could happen along the way, both good and bad.
Anyway, they talked about cultivation and lost themselves in the conversation. Cao Yun had much knowledge from the author of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks', as well as personal insights. On the other hand, Feng Yingyue only had her personal experience, but it was still very helpful. The two of them shared everything they knew and all their experiences about their soul and mind cultivation. Then, they talked about alchemy and cultivation in general. As a matter of fact, they exhausted every technical subject. They squeezed as hard as they could, every single technical domain they could think of, they spoke about it. It was as though they were actively trying to avoid any personal topics, as they were actually avoiding them. They even talked about martial arts.
While Cao Yun was absolutely impassioned about martial arts, Feng Yingyue didn't really care much. That being said, Cao Yun began to talk about his current problem with 'Dragon General of the South Obeys the Celestial Mandate'.
"I see, you have a hard time harmonizing those elements... I think you're looking at it the wrong way. All five elements are always in all things, even in themselves. There is no such thing as absolute Wood or absolute Water, and so on. Wood is in Water and Water is in Wood. But Fire is also in the two of them, so is Metal and so is Earth. If you focus too much on the main elements, you might forget the other elements. In your technique, your posture itself could be called Earth, your weapon is Metal and your intent is Fire. All five elements are actually present, even when you think you're only using one of them. And, at every single moment, the elements are moving around, shifting, changing. You must accept that your technique is as much alive as you are. Although it has no will of its own, it is ever changing and moving, like the world itself, like the Dao. Either you accept this change and embrace it or you block it in some way. Your best course of action is to let it move on its own to understand it. Only then could you hope to direct the flow of the movement. If you try to alter the course of a river without knowing how its flow behaves, you're setting yourself up for failure after all."
Since they had just found a perfect topic of conversation, they also went as hard as they could for as long as they could. Besides, this truly was a fascinating subject with no clear answer or solution. They could talk about it for days, or even weeks. And it was mixing Cao Yun's favorite subject with Feng Yingyue's. However, neither of them could completely disregard the elephant in the room. As the conversation kept on going, a weight was weighing them down, and it was getting heavier and heavier. At some point, it was even hard for them to look at each other, because they felt so compelled to talk about it.
At last, Cao Yun cracked first.
"All those years, I've been thinking about us... I mean, not all the time, but... Well, that's not what... It's not important. I mean the subject is important but not the... Anyway! I don't know how to say it in any other way than to be as direct as possible. I care about you a lot, I love being with you, and we do have great chemistry. However, I do not actually know what it means for us. I can't tell you exactly how I feel. We were only kids when we met, and the situation had been so extreme."
Hearing Cao Yun's words, Feng Yingyue's face lit up. At that moment, she realized what was in his mind, and more than that, what was in his heart.
"Do you feel what you feel with me for any other woman?"
"I... no. But I don't feel what I feel with Sister Mei Hua for any other woman, and she's just a great friend, a sworn sister."
Feng Yingyue chuckled a little.
"Come on, that's really not the same thing... I also had those doubts myself. Maybe I only fell for you because you saved my life and after that, I felt some kind of social obligation because we had been intimate. I also pondered over the question. I also wondered whether it was fair to you. After all, you're a great hero of mankind. But in the end, I reached a conclusion. It doesn't matter. The truth is that I do feel this way for you and I will embrace it completely. What do you think?"
Her words echoed in Cao Yun's mind for quite some time. With his soul cultivation, he emptied his mind and studied his emotions. When they had been lying together, there had been no doubt in his mind or heart, it felt as natural as breathing. Only when he was trying to think deeply about it did his mind get clouded. He was thinking about her reputation and what was acceptable or not in society. Maybe he was just being pressured to feel a certain way because he had been intimate with her and it wouldn't be good to abandon her after that. Many maybes were coming to his mind. But when he stopped thinking about all of that and simply enjoyed his time with Feng Yingyue, he never wanted it to end.
As Cao Yun's answer was taking too long to come, Feng Yingyue smiled and took his hand.
"Chen Guo, we're cultivators. We are actively going against the natural order, studying it so that we can break free from its shackles and reach true immortality. We have no reason to be bound by anything, anything at all."
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. She was absolutely right. Just by hearing her voice tell him things that he already knew deep inside made them come up to the surface and sound truer than ever.
"There are things I will have to tell you about my past and my future, but I can't do it outside of absolute secrecy. For now, just know this. I absolutely love being with you. When I'm close to you, I just want to lose myself in your embrace. I don't want to lose that, but I have duties as well. And they are extremely dangerous. Many people I cared about were already slaughtered, and I couldn't bear for you to be one of them. Besides, there is something more as well. I won't be shackled down by this world. In the end, my true inspiration, the thing that motivates me after my goals are achieved is to explore more and more of reality itself. I won't stay on this Piaolu planet, but I won't even stay in this realm. There are many things I want to explore, to discover, to experience. Unfortunately, I'm not sure you could follow me on this path, and I don't want to take you away from your own path. I can't ask you to let go of everything you care about for me. And I won't be able to let go of what I care about for you."
"And neither should you. I just told you. We're going up against the Dao itself. Every act toward cultivation is an act of defiance against some great cosmic order. We study it so we can subvert it in an even more elegant and grand way. I won't ask you to let go of anything, and I won't let go of anything myself. We do enjoy each other's company, and each other's... conversation, as my senior brother called it. There is no reason to let go of that either, I'm not asking you to, and I don't want to either."
The two of them got closer and closer, until they finally kissed once more. This time, though, it seemed even more tender, but also much shorter.
After their lips parted, they looked at each other and stayed immobile for a short moment as their eyes were locked. Feng Yingyue broke the silence first.
"You should go meet your sister for now. I also have other matters to attend to. That being said, I studied a manual about dual cultivation. Of course, I altered it a little to better suit the two of us. I'd like you to study it and maybe we could take a few weeks to practice it. To be honest, I was thinking about using it for my Lesser Tribulation. Since I've learned of your return, I've thought about it. It genuinely could help me break through in the most perfect manner possible, and it would also push your Soul Embryo further and further."
She gave him a manual with very explicit imagery all over it. Just looking at them, Cao Yun couldn't stop himself from imagining Feng Yingyue with him, performing everything that was described and drawn. At that very moment, she knew that they would indeed take some weeks to dual cultivate. The manual was called 'Twin Flesh Furnaces, Soul Cauldron'. Although there were heavily technical passages, the gist of it was still to let the flow go naturally. It was very paradoxical, control yet abandon.
"I will indeed study it, very thoroughly. Unfortunately, I don't know how much time I'll have. For now, I have a very important Spirit pill to refine." Cao Yun thought for some time about it. "But, to be fair, just preparing everything for it will take a lot of time. According to everything I know, I should have enough time in my schedule. Once I get everything in order with Spirit Master Xiao Xuefeng and Director Hua Fenfei, we should talk about it some more."
From what he just saw, this manual would indeed have great implications for their cultivation. Putting aside the carnal desires he obviously had, Cao Yun was wondering how far it could actually push him. Dual cultivation was a strange affair altogether. The manuals were quite rare to begin with, and unfortunately, most of them were about abusing one's trust to gain more during the act. Thankfully, it wasn't the case for this manual. In 'Twin Flesh Furnaces, Soul Cauldron', both partners would reap much benefit. However, it also depended on their affinity. As it turned out, Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue were very compatible, and even more so after their deep conversation from earlier.
Maybe this 'Twin Flesh Furnaces, Soul Cauldron' manual could completely change Cao Yun's cultivation. For sure, it could push Feng Yingyue all the way to 1st-grade Spirit Warrior. But it might even help Cao Yun break through as well. On his way to see Mei Hua, the young man pondered over the manual. In fact, he actively imagined them performing this dual cultivation technique. More and more, he couldn't suppress it. They absolutely had to try it. First of all, it wouldn't alter his schedule and his plans very much. But it might make him even more formidable. He realized that he was already thinking about his plans and almost forgot Feng Yingyue, but her face immediately popped up in his mind and he couldn't, nor did he want to, get rid of it.