Translator: THISBRO

Editor: Mimishijie

Proofreader: HappyBubbles

Coming out of the Main Hall, He Ku walked briskly, meeting several Palace of Bliss disciples all flying in the sky. Even the lowest outer court disciples were able to jump over ledges or walk horizontally on walls. Then he looked back to himself. He might be the Palace Master, but he could only pitifully walk on the solid ground; he even had to ask He Huan for directions from time to time. All of a sudden, he became depressed and begged He Huan to start teaching him how to cultivate. He Huan had already planned to do so, so why would he decline? Immediately taking control of the body, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of the spring below his QingYun Hall.

By the time He Ku reopened his eyes, he was face to face with the tumultuous steam rising from the spring waters. He wasn’t able to come back to himself for a while. “So fast? When I looked, it seemed pretty far.”

“It would take approximately four hours to walk from the Main Hall to here.” Carelessly flinging out a line that caused He Ku’s legs to cramp, He Huan saw that his heart for cultivation had become even more determined and laughed. “Disrobe1?and go into the spring, let me first start you on the basics and general knowledge of cultivation.”

Disrobe?

Hearing his choice in words, He Ku unconsciously retreated. But a moment later, he remembered that although He Huan liked to tease him verbally, it couldn’t be that he’d develop evil intentions towards his own body, right? After all, how many times had he seen it growing up? Moreover, as one of the peak cultivators in this world, He Huan must know more than what he, a complete newbie, knew. Thinking this, in the end, he didn’t do anything stupid like taking a dip while fully clothed. He stripped before jumping into the spring, confidently asking, “What do I do next?”

This turn of events made He Huan, who had already prepared to persuade him, pause. Even though the reason he told He Ku to disrobe was because clothing would hamper the process of gathering spiritual energy, for He Ku to not struggle or resist at all made him feel somewhat unexpected. He couldn’t help but to squint his eyes in delight. It seems that regarding cultivation, He Ku was very obedient..

He Ku originally thought that it would feel like boiling alive to soak in a hot spring during the summer, but who knew that the spring water was actually very cool. He also didn’t know where this steam came from, all he knew was that his body instantly felt rejuvenated, his hearing and vision cleared and even his mind became much more focused.

“I made this spirit spring by opening the leylines in the surrounding area, leading them here. This is now a place where spiritual qi naturally gathers and is generated, by cultivating here you can achieve double the results with half the effort.”

Just when He Ku was about to sigh at the limits these cultivators were willing to go to after hearing this explanation, he suddenly discovered that a naked man had actually appeared beside him! Looking at his appearance, it was clearly He Huan. He Ku couldn’t resist taking a step back. “Y-you, how did you come out?”

“The amount of energy here is concentrated enough that even you, someone with no cultivation whatsoever, are able to see my spirit.” Seeing him so surprised, He Huan was unexpectedly calm as he soaked in the spring as well. He’d truly seen his own body enough times that it really was hard to develop any of those untoward desires, but he wasn’t opposed to taking advantage of this opportunity to scare He Ku a bit. It was also good for this brat to be more apprehensive towards other people’s advances; after all, the number of demonic cultivators who specialized in stealing others’ cultivation through intercourse wasn’t small. Even if it was a man, he should also learn to guard against them.

“Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

See? Based on the warnings from before, He Ku had already raised his guard towards demonic cultivators to 100%. The moment he saw He Huan settling in, he immediately retreated backwards, but suddenly he tripped, almost falling in the spring.

Consequently, this series of actions tickled He Huan as he immediately laughed. “When you are operating my body, I can technically be considered your Yuan Ying; naturally, whatever you’re wearing is whatever I’ll be wearing. There’s no reason to be making such a big fuss. Though, you can even trip in a pond that’s only waist-high?”

Remembering that before, when He Huan was in the mirror, he was also wearing clothes identical to the ones on his body, He Ku recognized that he had made a mistake as he stood back up, pulling back some hair that had fallen loose into his face. Feeling something by his feet, he defended himself, “It was only because I stepped on something that I fell, what were you thinking, randomly throwing things into the pond?”

Saying this, He Ku really was able to pull something out of the spring. After closely examining it.. wasn’t this the bundle that he’d prepared before? He opened it to take a look and saw the clothes, sword, and jade, not one more and not one less. It seemed that on that day, when He Huan casually threw these things, they’d actually landed in the spirit spring.

“Thank goodness I have found this again. Compared to your pile of absurdly long robes, this one is much better.”

Having found his precious white robe, He Ku instantly beamed. He washed it a bit in the spring before hanging it on a decorative rock to dry, eager to try it on the next day. Rather, this time, seeing He Ku’s excited expression, He Huan sighed to himself. This really was.. bad luck.

As if he really thought that this was heaven’s will, in the end, He Huan didn’t stop He Ku, only eyeing that neglected mutton fat jade. Unhurriedly, he spoke up, “Didn’t you want to practice righteous cultivation? Inside that jade holds the strongest righteous cultivation technique.”

He hadn’t thought that there would actually be a righteous technique within a demonic sect, but thinking of He Huan’s previous act of throwing this bundle away, He Ku doubtfully asked, “You’re willing to let me learn this?”

But unexpectedly, He Huan – that bastard – just wouldn’t follow the script. Hearing He Ku’s question, he adopted the style and posture of an old man, calmly saying, “I originally wasn’t, but if you need to say something nice, then I might be convinced.”

Seeing him like this, He Ku knew that if he played along, he would only be gift-wrapping himself for He Huan to tease. Decisively ignoring him, he curiously asked, “What technique do you cultivate, then?”

“Technique of Bliss.” The techniques cultivators practiced were supposed to be a highly guarded secret, but He Huan didn’t care, openly answering.

He Ku was also ignorant of how it was between cultivators, so he completely didn’t catch onto how much trust He Huan had placed on him, only commenting on the technique’s name, “This name is so tasteless.”

“This technique was originally a Buddhist technique used to teach its practitioners to avoid delusion, greed, and hatred as they sought the path to the holy land of bliss. It was only until a few hundred years ago that this technique fell into the hands of a genius demonic cultivator. Going through numerous alterations, the part on enlightenment had been discarded, turning this technique into a demonic one that teaches its practitioners to indulge in pleasure.”

Seeing He Ku scoff at this top-notch demonic technique, He Huan still decided to give a small explanation. Seeing him still puzzled, he could only further explain, “Buddhist techniques are focused on cultivating the heart, the Technique of Bliss is the same. As long as the practitioner remains in a state of satisfaction, then they would make rapid progress in their cultivation, leaving everyone else miles behind. The only difference between how this is carried out is that, originally, one was supposed to accumulate satisfaction based on the good deeds they did; now, there is no correlation to outward results. As long as the individual alone feels satisfied, there is no limit on the method to achieve it. The one who practiced this technique before me loved to terrorize and abuse others, even he managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage easily. You can see how such a person, once they are no longer afraid of being threatened, will be completely uncontrollable; doing horrible deeds purely because it entertains him.”

He Ku finally recognized just how broken this technique was and sighed. “Aren’t you too lucky to have gotten your hands on this? As long as you eat well, drink well, and spend your time indulging with beauties, your cultivation would skyrocket. Looking at your entire sect full of handsome men and beautiful women, it’s no wonder that you’re able to make it all the way to Calamity Crossing.”

“Though it isn’t without flaws, the moment I feel that life is dull, my cultivation would cease to progress. So much so that if I feel worried or depressed, my cultivation would even start to regress. The more I feel sorrow or hurt, the faster my cultivation will dissipate.” Shaking his head, He Huan thought for a bit before still deciding to tell He Ku his lifegate2.

Although cultivating with demonic techniques lets you break through faster, its flaws are equally as great. The higher the cultivation, the more the inherent flaws within the technique become harmful to its practitioner. The prerequisite to practicing the Technique of Bliss is to completely waste one’s meridians to destroy their cultivation in order to express the determination of leaving behind all mortal affairs as you seek the holy land of bliss. The stronger the cultivation you destroy, the easier it would be to progress as you cultivated. Back then, if it hadn’t been for the fact that he had been forced into a dead end, he wouldn’t have given up on his boundless future to practice such an unstable technique.

He Huan had just been about to lament his past. Who knew that He Ku thought he was already starting to worry after seeing him like this. Hurriedly, he rushed over to comfort him, “Don’t dwell on unpleasant things, whatever you do, you mustn’t carelessly be over-sentimental. If you don’t want me learning that one, at most I’ll just learn another technique. Later, when your cultivation is gone, just call me out and I will fight instead.”

Ever since He Huan started to practice this Technique of Bliss, he had been adept at cheering himself up. So much so that it had already been decades since he had revealed a worried expression. To see it today, his heart moved. His eyes shifted before pretending to sigh in worry. “It’s too late. I was just thinking that you probably don’t like me. For me to have cultivated an entire century, only to have become someone I don’t like. Just thinking about this hurts my heart.”

He Ku had just learned that He Huan wasn’t a person that could afford to experience sadness, now seeing him acting like such, he panicked. He thought to himself, weren’t we just playing around? Teasing and joking with your friends was very natural, how old was He Huan? How could he take it to heart? What would you do if your cultivation really dissipated?

With this panic, the youth had forgotten all his previous timidity, only regretting that the other was a soul and therefore didn’t have a physical form, he could only scootch over and sit by his side, explaining, “Don’t, it’s not like I don’t like you. If I didn’t, then wouldn’t I be stupid to share a bath with you?”

Seeing He Huan had remained silent, He Ku became increasingly anxious, even letting out his true thoughts, “Look, you’re a Calamity Crossing expert and everyone is afraid of you, yet you are so good to me. You provide food, a place to live, and are even willing to teach me cultivation. I’m not a heartless monster, so how could I hate you? I’m just not used to your attitude towards men and women.. you demonic cultivators might already be used to things being like this, but think of those normal girls who still need to be wed, and you just, you know? This, I just don’t feel that it’s very upright—don’t be angry. In truth.. I’m just saying, but if you really can’t hold it in, then like with Yun Ce where both parties are consenting, who am I to stop you two from going at it..”

Speaking of such things, He Ku’s bashfulness didn’t allow him to finish. He sank a little deeper and submerged his chin in the water. Just as he was thinking of something else to say, his eyes wandered upward..

This bastard, how was that a worried expression? Clearly, those knitted eyebrows were from trying to hold back his laughter!

Suddenly understanding what it meant to mix within this world for an entire century, how could his heart be so delicate? Clearly, He Huan was just using this opportunity to tease him. Immediately angered, he shouted, “Fuck, you were playing me!”

“Alright alright, calm down. I really didn’t lie, my Technique of Bliss really does possess this flaw, as long as one has spent enough time in the Jianghu, they’d know. However, even though they know, in so many years, never had any of them been able to successfully take advantage of it and kill me.”

Seeing that he had been found out, He Huan frankly stopped trying to hide it and full-on laughed. Still, he hurried to appease He Ku once he saw the other’s angry expression. Tilting his head to the side, he whispered in He Ku’s ear, “He Ku, do you think racking one’s brains out in order to fawn over a woman from a respectable family, all for just a night of pleasure, or having a beautiful woman jump into your arms as you take in each other’s company would be more pleasurable?”

He Ku looked at him askance, internally still angry that the other played him, but he understood He Huan’s meaning. There were so many disciples within the Palace of Bliss that liked He Huan, that there was absolutely no need to go out and ruin some respectable young lady. For the righteous side to only scold him on this account, it was probably due to the fact that he almost never left his Palace of Bliss. Other than scolding his flirtatiousness, what else was there to scold?

Understanding this, He Ku nodded. “That makes sense, for you to cultivate this technique, it is impossible for you to wrong yourself just to coax some fling.”

Still, he felt that He Huan’s current lifestyle was too chaotic, thinking for a bit, he asked, “Have you never considered finding a nice person to settle down with? For example, dual cultivation or something like that.”

He Huan never thought that he would ask about this and could only helplessly say, “Think for yourself what kinds of people are currently in the Calamity Crossing stage.”

Fine, one was a monk and the other was an old cultivator. Without even considering appearance, just those ages weren’t He Huan’s type.

Of course, He Ku didn’t have any interest in increasing He Huan’s heavy taste and could only continue, “There should at least be a few that are below your cultivation that you like, right? With you to help them, it wouldn’t take long to raise them to Calamity Crossing stage.”

“But how would I know that they aren’t just catering to me for my higher cultivation? When their cultivation finally surpasses mine, I fear that the first thing they’d do is to swallow up my Yuan Ying to increase their cultivation further.”

He Huan answered easily. Looking at his knitted brows, he also didn’t elaborate.

In fact, within the Jianghu, it didn’t matter whether it was righteous cultivators or demonic cultivators, there were many who were willing to climb into his bed just requesting that he’d carry them through their tribulation. There also weren’t a small number of righteous cultivators who professed their love, calling ‘qianbei’3?and ‘gege’ in bed. But when they left, He Huan would be painted as the villain who took advantage of others using his position, the other partner only forced to comply.

When he was young, he used to love walking through the Jianghu, but now, he just stayed within his Palace of Bliss, precisely because he had become weary of such senseless playing. Although he, himself, never cared about his reputation, it was still better to leave these things out when talking to He Ku, lest it dirty his ears.

He Huan’s current feelings weren’t something He Ku could understand, he could only think of what he’d do in He Huan’s place. He quietly asked, “But isn’t it very lonely?”

“He Ku, the journey of cultivation is originally very lonely. If a cultivator wants to survive, then they can’t believe anyone other than themselves. They can never let others grasp a hold over their weakness.”

He Huan was rarely this serious, his response was also delivered very severely, but after seeing that He Ku had been intimidated, he quickly changed his tone and smiled. “However, you and I are originally of the same being, you can come to me to talk about anything. I won’t harm you.”

Hearing him say this, He Ku, who had submerged half his head into the water, finally came back out, sighing. “Actually, I never wanted to admit that I was your 18-year-old self.”

Not waiting for He Huan to respond to what he had said, he raised his hands to rub his face. Perhaps it was because he had stayed in the water for so long, but his eyes were moist as he continued talking stuffily, “If I truly am you, then wouldn’t that mean that I had already transmigrated here for 100 years? Then, wouldn’t that mean that my dad, mom, and friends are already..That’s why I had always hoped that you were lying to me, because that way, I would still have time. You’re already at Calamity Crossing stage, when you ascend, maybe I’ll finally be able to return. However, the more I talk to you, the more I can feel that perhaps you really aren’t lying to me.”

“Long ago, I understood that even if I had cultivated to be so powerful that I could shatter the heavens and cut through the world, I would still be unable to return. That is why I only continue to look forward.”

He knew deep down that He Ku would one day find out about this, so He Huan didn’t comfort him and give him any meaningless hope, only calmly saying, “As long as you diligently learn this Heaven Transcension Sword Technique, when both you and I have cultivated the ability to break through space and dimensions, we would sooner or later be able to go. At that time, even if our old friends aren’t there anymore, to be able to take care of their descendants would also be pretty good.”

Right from when He Huan explained their relationship, He Ku could already feel a faint premonition, only he had bottled it in and refused to think about it. Now that they had opened and addressed this issue was also good. Although, to completely accept this reality would take some time, perhaps in the dead of night, he wouldn’t be able to help feeling sad. In the end, it was as He Huan had said, they could only continue to look forward.

He Huan couldn’t feel sad, he also didn’t want the other man to worry for him, so he wore a set of excited eyes as he said, “So, you’re willing to teach me now?”

He Huan didn’t have the heart to point out his little intentions had been seen through, he just smiled gently at him. “You said you liked me, that made me very happy.”

Not expecting that even at a time like this, this fellow hadn’t forgotten to tease him a little, He Ku immediately rolled his eyes and raised a middle finger to this bastard. “Be serious! Practice! If you aren’t able to teach me to become an unrivaled master, how would you be able to apologize to that entire floor littered with your moral principles!”