Extremely Astounding

After having breakfast in the room, Xiao Yao leaned back against the head of the bed with Yin Xiaoya resting her head on his chest. Holding the beauty in his arms brought him an indescribable sense of ease and comfort.

"I felt a bit hazy last night, but it seemed like I could feel a current flowing through my body, and it was so wonderfully comfortable. Was that just my imagination?" Yin Xiaoya asked with some uncertainty.

Since he would have to tell Yin Xiaoya about his cultivation sooner or later, Xiao Yao decided not to hide it. "Your feeling was correct. What was flowing through your body wasn't just an ordinary current, but true qi."

"True qi?" Yin Xiaoya instantly sat up. "You mean the kind of true qi found in martial arts novels?"

"Something like that. The true qi I cultivate is even more magical than what is mentioned in martial arts novels."

Yin Xiaoya was astonished. "Aren't the martial arts in novels just made up? Are you really that skilled at martial arts?"

"The martial arts in novels are indeed inventions of the authors, but various cultivation techniques do exist in reality. It's just that we are now in the Dharma-ending age, making cultivation techniques that have been passed down to the present day extremely rare, and most of them are incomplete. The technique I practiced with you last night is a dual-cultivation method called the 'Grand Hymn of Heaven, Earth, Yin, and Yang.' It is a top-tier cultivation technique. If you persist in practicing it, it has a very pronounced effect of preserving one's youth and beauty. Would you like to learn how to cultivate it as well?"

For a woman, preserving her youth and beauty was far more tempting than possessing formidable martial prowess. Xiao Yao intentionally used this to entice Yin Xiaoya, hoping to spark her interest in cultivation.

"Does it really have the effect of preserving youth and beauty? You aren't tricking me, are you?" Yin Xiaoya remained skeptical.

"Why would I trick you? Not only does it work, but the effect is also remarkably obvious. You can look in the mirror right now and see if your skin isn't much better than it was yesterday."

Yin Xiaoya had already noticed this when she was washing up in the morning, but she hadn't connected it to this. She had simply assumed her skin had become fairer and more radiant because she was being nourished by love.

"I already noticed it when I was washing up this morning. My skin really has become smoother and more delicate. Is this the effect of that dual-cultivation technique of yours?" Yin Xiaoya was quite curious about legendary cultivation methods.

"Indeed it is. Look how obvious the effect is after just one night. If you cultivate it for a long time, the effect of preserving your youth and beauty will definitely be even more striking. Once we have some free time, shall I teach you?" Xiao Yao pressed his advantage while the iron was hot.

"All right then! Since the effect is so obvious, I'll definitely practice hard. I just wonder if it's difficult to learn?" Yin Xiaoya had never been a particularly clever person since childhood, and she always learned things rather slowly, leaving her lacking in confidence.

"This is a dual-cultivation technique. With me guiding you as we practice, you'll easily pick it up. Do you feel a bit better now? Shall we try it out right now?" Xiao Yao sat up and, extending his arms, pulled Yin Xiaoya back into his embrace.

Yin Xiaoya felt as though she was about to be scalded by Xiao Yao's burning breath. Her entire body felt weak and sore, and she didn't dare provoke Xiao Yao at all. She quickly gave him a push and said, "It's broad daylight, and I don't have skin as thick as yours! If you mess around anymore, I'm leaving immediately."

"Very well, I'll let you off for now. I'll teach you the cultivation technique tonight instead." Xiao Yao felt a great deal of tenderness for the little creature in his arms; he was only trying to scare her and couldn't bear to actually hurt her.

Yin Xiaoya quickly shook her head. "Tonight won't do either! I didn't come home last night, so I have to go back tonight. Otherwise, my parents will definitely come looking for me."

Not being able to be together every single night was a serious problem for Xiao Yao.

After a moment of thought, he said, "I don't think there's any need to hide things between the two of us from your parents. You can bring it up with them after you go back. If there's anything they're worried about, I can come over to visit your family tomorrow morning. What do you think?"

"My mother is extremely strict with me. If she finds out I've been kept by you as a mistress, goodness knows how angry she'll get. Can't we wait a while before telling them about us?" Yin Xiaoya furrowed her brows, unsure of how to face it.

"You always phrase things in such an unpleasant way, calling yourself a gold-digger and saying you're being kept. Can't you use a different way to describe it?" Xiao Yao said with utter helplessness.

"This is the truth, anyway. Even if I describe it differently, the essence remains the same. Even if other people don't say it out loud, they'll definitely think it in their hearts," Yin Xiaoya argued with conviction.

"We are of a similar age, neither of us is married, and we took a liking to each other and decided to live together. It is clearly a proper romantic relationship—how could it possibly be considered being kept?" Facing such a blunt and straightforward girlfriend, Xiao Yao was quite helpless.

"You unilaterally give me so much money, and I accept it. Isn't that precisely what being kept is? I am very clear on this point myself."

Looking right at Xiao Yao, Yin Xiaoya said very seriously, "I know very well that I am not your proper, traditional girlfriend, but I don't regret it. I truly, truly like you. Even if I am being kept, I still feel very happy."

Xiao Yao stroked Yin Xiaoya's long hair with his large hand and replied with equal seriousness, "I will make you happy for the rest of your life."

After discussing it, Yin Xiaoya was ultimately persuaded by Xiao Yao and agreed to tell her parents about their relationship that very evening.

As it happened, Yin Xiaoya's parents had their day off tomorrow, and Xiao Yao prepared to pay a formal visit tomorrow morning.

After lunch, Yin Xiaoya went home.

After checking out of the hotel, Xiao Yao drove northward all the way until he reached the foot of North Mountain.

Parking his car by the roadside, Xiao Yao hiked up the mountain on foot.

After walking for a stretch until there were no more signs of human presence, he decided to test just how formidable his personal martial prowess had become now that he had reached the Xiantian realm.

Coming before a boulder as tall as a man, he raised his foot and kicked out into empty air. This immensely heavy boulder was actually sent flying by his single kick, soaring five meters away before crashing into another massive rock, whereupon it shattered with a loud boom, sending tiny stone fragments scattering in all directions.

He was thoroughly satisfied with the strength behind that kick!

The Xiantian realm was the first threshold for a cultivator, and his current physical condition far exceeded the strength limits of an ordinary human.

Taking a few steps forward, he found another cyan boulder. Raising his hand, as if without using any force at all, he delivered a seemingly effortless palm strike toward the boulder.

That weightless-looking palm strike appeared completely devoid of any threat, but the result was utterly astonishing.

As his right palm lightly tapped against the boulder, a series of sharp cracking sounds rang out. In an instant, the entire half-man-tall boulder shattered into countless pieces, with every single fragmented pebble being no larger than an egg—it was simply staggering to the extreme!