To go, or not to go? It was a question that barely had time to form.
Lü Yang's agonizing was cut short because he had no choice. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, Senior Sister Yu Suzhen made her move. With ruthless efficiency, she tore at his robes, her movements more predatory than passionate, her teeth sinking into his shoulder with a sharp, claiming bite.
"Hiss—!" Lü Yang gritted his teeth, a strangled protest escaping him. "Senior Sister, wait! At least… somewhere else—!"
"Unnecessary. Right here is fine."
Refusal was impossible. Remembering the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes in his mental inventory—his ultimate safety net—Lü Yang went limp. He stopped resisting.
What followed was not lovemaking, but a vicious, lopsided battle.
On one side, a true demoness of the sect, steeped in dark arts. On the other, a transmigrator with nothing but a pretty face and a cheat code waiting to be used.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn later…
Yu Suzhen frowned, her expression one of profound dissatisfaction.
"That's it?"
"What a waste."
She clicked her tongue in irritation, her earlier allure replaced by cold scorn. "A face like a jade carving, but the vitality of a sickly kitten. You spent yourself far too quickly."
"Useless. Trash!"
Almost simultaneously, Lü Yang's face drained of all color.
A terrifying emptiness surged from his core. He felt it then—every last drop of his vital essence, the very force of his life, had been siphoned away into Yu Suzhen. His already thin frame withered further, leaving him feeling hollow and frail.
'The Ode to the Great Joy of Yin and Yang…'
The cultivation manual he'd received flashed in his mind. The realization struck him like a physical blow: the so-called 'trial' of the Pleasure Union Hall was just this. They were being used as cultivation fodder, like poison insects in a jar, forced to replenish each other until only the strongest survived to become true disciples.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister Yu!"
Several other disciples hurried over, their faces plastered with obsequious smiles. "With this last bit of essence, Senior Sister should be able to consolidate her Qi and complete the breakthrough!"
"Once you enter the Qi Refining Realm, you will transcend the mortal coil!"
"We are at your service, Senior Sister! Please remember us when you rise!"
Watching this scene unfold from the cold ground, Lü Yang suddenly laughed.
"Heh…"
The weak, drained discard suddenly laughing—it instantly drew every eye. Yu Suzhen glanced down at him, her voice calm. "What is so funny, Junior Brother?"
"I am laughing from relief, Senior Sister." Lü Yang's voice was earnest, though a strange light flickered in his sunken eyes. "I was worried for your health. But now, it seems my worries were unnecessary."
"Worried for my health?" Yu Suzhen's brow furrowed.
"Yes." Lü Yang sighed, the picture of remorse. "Before I joined the sect… I was a frequent visitor to the brothels. I contracted a rather… persistent affliction. You were so… enthusiastic earlier, Senior Sister. I didn't get a chance to mention it. But since you're breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm, a little mortal disease like mine should be nothing to you, right?"
Yu Suzhen: "…"
[Yu Suzhen, in her fury, will kill you.]
[Remaining Pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 99]
[Beginning a new life. You may choose one reward from your previous life:]
[1. A Treasure.]
[2. Cultivation Base.]
[3. Lifespan.]
[4. Forfeit all gains to randomly awaken a Talent based on your life's experiences.]
"The person whose name I call will step forward."
Lü Yang opened his eyes. The black-robed priest stood on the platform, holding his roster. He was back. Back on the assignment plaza, at the very moment his name was first called upon entering the First Saint Sect.
The experience he had just lived through was undeniably real—the taste of the demoness, the feeling of his life draining away. Yet now, it was all reset, the past events receding like a vivid, brutal dream. The stark contrast left him stunned for a long moment before his mind cleared.
Amazement and a fierce, secret delight warred within him. The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes was truly a heaven-defying treasure!
Composing himself, he focused on the four options before him.
He skipped the first three. He had possessed no treasures, no cultivation base, and his lifespan had been cut brutally short. Only the fourth option held any value.
[Settling your past life's experiences…]
[After draining your essence, Yu Suzhen broke through to the Qi Refining Realm. However, plagued by a stubborn and vile affliction, her True Qi became corrupted and uncontrollable. She was bedridden for months before finally succumbing to the illness.]
[To follow Heaven's will is easy; to defy it is the true challenge.]
[Martial prowess is no match for supernatural power. The chasm between mortal and cultivator is vaster than that between heaven and earth.]
[Yet you, a mere mortal, entered the game. With cunning and the very dual cultivation art meant to consume you, you killed a cultivator. This was an act of rebellion. A Defiant Act!]
[You have awakened the White-Grade Talent: Dual Cultivation Prodigy.]
[Dual Cultivation Prodigy: Your comprehension of dual cultivation techniques is peerless. No cultivator of the same realm can successfully absorb your essence; any attempt will trigger a severe backlash.]
The text on the ephemeral panel shifted.
[Name: Lü Yang]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Talent: Dual Cultivation Prodigy (White)]
[Manual: Ode to the Great Joy of Yin and Yang (Beginner)]
[Supernatural Ability: None]
[Treasure: None]
[Remaining Pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 99]
Lü Yang let out a long, deep breath. He felt a surge of warmth and strength flood his Dantian, instantly replenishing his vigor. His weak body began to firm, the lingering exhaustion washing away.
"The 'affliction'… seems uncured. But my stamina is undoubtedly better."
He assessed his new state carefully. Beyond the physical restoration from his new talent, profound insights into the Ode to the Great Joy of Yin and Yang flooded his mind. Practical experience, especially experience of that nature, far outweighed dry theory. Now, combined with his talent, his understanding was on another level entirely.
The script that followed remained unchanged.
His handsome face once again caught Yu Suzhen's eye at the entrance to the Pleasure Union Hall. Her gaze, hungry and possessive, landed on him immediately.
'What a marvelous art the Yin-Yang Great Joy is!'
This evil technique that devoured vitality could absorb not just primordial Yin and Yang, but also knowledge, cultivation insights, and even the very fabric of one's spiritual power!
With this realization, Lü Yang redoubled his… efforts.
One day passed. Then two. Then three.
As time stretched on, the expression on Yu Suzhen's face slowly morphed from rapturous enjoyment to dawning confusion, then to palpable fear. Her previously flat abdomen began to swell, distending unnaturally.
"Enough… enough! Stop for a moment!"
"I said… stop! Ah—!"
"I'm sorry! It was my fault! Just wait—!"
Ignoring her increasingly desperate pleas, Lü Yang continued to circulate the Great Joy Art, his consciousness submerged in the euphoric currents of cultivation. And within that process, he felt it for the first time—the presence of Qi.
It resided within Yu Suzhen's body, a pulsating knot of energy. Had they not been joined in this most intimate of hells, he might never have sensed it.
'This… belongs to me now.'
The thought was crystal clear. Without hesitation, Lü Yang reversed the flow of the Great Joy Art. Instead of giving, he took. He seized that knot of Qi and wrenched it from her very core, pulling it into himself.
"NO!!!"
A final, agonized scream was cut short as Yu Suzhen's head lolled to the side, her eyes vacant.
In the next instant, Lü Yang felt his own essence, spirit, and that stolen Qi violently merge within him. A powerful tremor shook his being, followed by a sensation of an immense, invisible door being blown open.
Inspiration struck. 'I've broken through!'
The fusion of spirit and Qi—this was Qi Refining!
As a long-standing disciple of the Pleasure Union Hall, Yu Suzhen had been a hair's breadth from this breakthrough. In the previous life, she had used his essence to cross that final step. In this life, he had used hers.
From this day forward, he was a cultivator of the First Stage of Qi Refining.
A single breakthrough, the transition from nominal disciple to a true disciple of the sect—a status that elevated him to the heavens. It seemed straightforward, yet this very step had buried countless others over the years.
"How delightful," Lü Yang murmured, standing up and looking down at Yu Suzhen's lifeless form. A complex smile touched his lips. "I'll remember your… contributions, Senior Sister Yu. For the rest of my lives."