Chapter 4864 — Cultivating Together

And now the East Sea Divine Nun was finally preparing to get serious. Once the limits of that sponge physique were forced out, the very thought of what might happen was almost inconceivable.

Wei Zhao, by contrast, faced the far more daunting task of pushing himself to Nascent Soul great-perfection in such a short span. He was only at the late Nascent Soul stage as it was; to do it without Nurturing Essence Pills meant climbing two full stages in a row, which was simply unrealistic.

"Heh, have you forgotten how we did things back in the mortal realm?" Wei Zhao's mouth curved into a smile.

"You mean..." Wang Xinyan's heart skipped. Her long lashes quivered, and only then did she say, cheeks faintly flushed, "You... want to hold me while we cultivate?"

"Exactly, just that!" Wei Zhao nodded. Cultivating in tandem with Wang Xinyan would send his strength surging, and on top of his already heaven-defying cultivation speed, gaining two stages in three months was no dream at all—it was entirely within reach.

"Oh. All right." Wang Xinyan nodded, face crimson, her voice as soft as a mosquito's whine, and felt a small bud of anticipation stir in her heart. Truthfully, she rather missed the feeling of cultivating alongside Wei Zhao. But they had been ten thousand li apart, able to meet only in dreams—and now, at last, the chance to relive it had come. Of course she would not refuse. She was too busy being giddy for that.

"With the two of us cultivating together and two Nurturing Essence Pills in reserve, our chances of breaking through to Nascent Soul great-perfection within three months are at least nine in ten. We need only wait for the day we set off for the Road of Giants together!" Wei Zhao laughed, brimming with confidence.

That confidence came only because Wang Xinyan was here. With anyone else, he would not have been so sure; he might even have had to find some way of scrounging up a few more Nurturing Essence Pills.

At the words "cultivate together," Huang Xiaotao, standing nearby, could not help her eyes lighting up with longing. Alas, she was no sponge physique like Wang Xinyan, and her strength now fell far short of Wei Zhao's—this was a thing she could only dream about.

Once Wang Xinyan was settled, Wei Zhao turned to Huang Xiaotao and said, "As for you, Xiaotao, we can set those seven Nurturing Essence Pills aside for now. First I'll help raise your strength to Golden Core great-perfection."

"Oh." Huang Xiaotao answered reflexively, then a moment later her pretty face went crimson. "Then... doesn't that mean... taking my clothes off..."

She had been through this once before. Back on North Island, Wei Zhao had personally raised her strength to Foundation Establishment great-perfection so she could attempt a perfect Golden Core. Now this was round two—she could be called practiced at it.

Even so, Huang Xiaotao was too bashful to lift her head. A moment ago she had been envying Wang Xinyan for getting to cultivate with Wei Zhao; now, before she knew it, her turn to undress had come first, and her face flushed so hot she thought it might drip blood.

Had it not been for the seriousness of the matter, Wei Zhao might well have taken both women then and there. Their air of wanting to resist yet welcoming him was simply too alluring; even one of Wei Zhao's restraint found it hard to bear.

Especially Huang Xiaotao, who before his very eyes, luscious and dewy, peeled off her clothes one piece at a time until not a thread remained. Wei Zhao very nearly spurted blood at the sight.

In the end, it took a great effort of will before Wei Zhao finally steadied his breathing, and as planned, raised Huang Xiaotao's strength to the realm of Golden Core great-perfection.

Wei Zhao's ability to directly elevate another's strength still applied at the Heavenly Dao realm; it was only that he did not wish to display it lightly, save in special circumstances.

For ordinary underlings, even if their strength was temporarily low, Wei Zhao would not simply raise it for them—such a thing bred dependence far too easily. Two cultivators of the same realm, and the one who had broken through on his own would surely prove stronger in a real fight. At most Wei Zhao would supply them with pills.

Huang Xiaotao and Shangguan Lan'er were the exceptions. Back on North Island, he had raised Huang Xiaotao's strength because the inner-sect tournament was imminent; not only did they face Xu Lingchong and his lot returning in force, but above all they had to contend with the two-person challenge rule. Wei Zhao needed Huang Xiaotao to break through to a perfect Golden Core as quickly as possible so she could fight at his side—there had been no choice. As for Shangguan Lan'er, she was purely along to soak up the experience; making her cultivate on her own was basically out of the question.

It was the same now. The Road of Giants was close at hand, and Wei Zhao was uneasy about letting Huang Xiaotao brave it alone later on. Better to stake everything now than leave her to that—at least this way they could look out for one another and avoid any threat to their lives.

Since the leap this time was not large, Wei Zhao soon raised Huang Xiaotao's strength to the very limit of Golden Core great-perfection, and only stopped once she had touched the final barrier. Naturally, the whole process was full of every kind of amorousness and temptation; had Wei Zhao's willpower not been strong, he truly might have failed at the last step—and that would have been no laughing matter.

What Huang Xiaotao had to do next was take a Nurturing Essence Golden Pill. Of course, Wei Zhao had also prepared a great basin of Star Ink Milk for her. Hers was a perfect Golden Core, and with this chance before her, she naturally had to keep pace with Wei Zhao and forge the strongest Nascent Soul!

Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan exchanged a glance and withdrew from the room. This crucial step of condensing the Nascent Soul could only be undertaken by Huang Xiaotao herself; Wei Zhao could not help much. However heaven-defying his abilities, he could not do such a thing on her behalf.

"Now it's our turn," Wei Zhao said to a blushing Wang Xinyan. He had left seven Nurturing Essence Pills with Huang Xiaotao; once she successfully condensed her Nascent Soul, taking the pills would let her ride the current onward all the way to Nascent Soul great-perfection.

"Then... should we tell my master first..." Wang Xinyan said, red-faced.

"Of course. Didn't you say she'd prepared some special training for you?" Wei Zhao nodded. In all fairness, there was no going around the East Sea Divine Nun on this matter; it was just that making a girl like Wang Xinyan do the asking was a little awkward.

To cultivate with Wei Zhao, Wang Xinyan was willing to risk it all. She ran to the East Sea Divine Nun and, crimson-faced, stammered out a whole jumble of words—and in the end failed utterly to make herself clear...

Seeing the East Sea Divine Nun still looking utterly baffled, Wei Zhao had no choice but to step forward and put it bluntly: "Senior East Sea, what Xinyan means is that the two of us intend to engage in dual cultivation."

"Dual cultivation?" The East Sea Divine Nun's eyelids twitched. She looked at Wang Xinyan in disbelief and for a long while could not speak.

She had long known that both of her treasured disciples were tangled up with Wei Zhao in no small way, and as their master she had never stood in the way—in fact, she had rather gone along with it. Otherwise she would hardly have let Wei Zhao stay at East Sea Pavilion; that was treatment reserved for one of their own.