【Where did you say the spring was?】 When they arrived at the summit of God Perch Peak, Shang Ke did not see the clear spring Yan Lu spoken of. There were only seven entrance-sized empty holes.
Yan Lu looked up at the starry sky and said, "Right here."
As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from below their feet and fog started to drift out of the seven holes. Following that, spring water bubbled out, emitting a silvery-white colored light. From above, they looked like the Ursa Major constellation.
Shang Ke asked in amazement, 【How did you know spring water was going to come out?】
"Intuition." Yan Lu stuck his walking stick into the ground and then took off his worn-out clothes. He selected a random spring and jumped in.
Intuition? Shang Ke had a thought. Yan Lu's cultivation was at Immortalization Stage before he lost his memories. If he cultivated a thousand years ago, then it was very likely he had been to the Origin Realm before. So even if he lost his memories, he may have subconsciously retained some impression of it.
Yan Lu soaked in the spring and spat out a breath of impure qi. Following that, he immediately placed the flower bud that was resting in his palm atop the water.
When the flower bud was placed in the water, it did not sink. Instead, it floated there like a small boat, swaying gently with the ripples.
Yan Lu leaned against the spring and closed his eyes. He extended his limbs and slowly entered a cultivation state. His true essence cycled and the spring water started to move rhythmically. Circle after circle of silver light floated out. After they touched the flower bud, they split and echoed against each other.
Shang Ke could vaguely feel a trace of cool air pouring into his soul, condensing and plentiful. Along with the increase of Yan Lu's cycling, the temperature within his body also began to rise higher and higher like there was a fire within him.
Just when Shang Ke thought that he was going to burn into ashes, the fire burst and turned into countless sparks, sprinkling everywhere.
Yan Lu seems to have felt it and slowly opened his eyes, only to notice that the flower bud on the water surface and already started blooming without his notice. The layers of petals were like a fire in mist, it was devilishly beautiful and moving.
In the center of the flower, a small elegant mushroom with a spotlessly white body that was translucent and bright emitted a glow like moonlight.
Yan Lu couldn't help but reach out to touch it. Just as his hands touched the light outside, the blooming Flaming Red Sky's petals started to open and turn into a dazzling white light that began to flicker.
When the white light dimmed, a familiar figure appeared before Yan Lu's eyes.
Shang Ke had only felt his consciousness become muddled and when he opened his eyes, he had already transformed into a human. He did not expect to be able to transform so quickly. It looks like these springs aren't exactly run-of-the-mill, ordinary pools.
Shang Ke raised his head to look at Yan Lu, his eyes gleaming with emotions. Within the entrance-size springs, two men intimately embraced and could feel each other's temperature.
Yan Lu treated him like a treasure as he gently caressed Shang Ke's cheek. His withered, wrinkled hands a stark contrast against Shang Ke's bright and smooth skin.
Yan Lu's movement suddenly stopped, he was unable to stop staring at his own hand.
Shang Ke held his hand and smiled when he saw that, "Yan Lu, I can transform again."
Yan Lu's eyes swept past his eyebrows, his eyes and finally landed on his lips. Using his old voice, he said, "I waited too long."
"I'm sorry." In Shang Ke's clear eyes, the old and gray-haired Yan Lu was reflected.
Yan Lu said gloomily, "Little Mushroom, now that both of us are on the righteous path, are you willing to dual cultivate with me?"
"Of course." Shang Ke replied without hesitation.
"Even if I'm old and withered? Do you not care?"
Shang Ke stared at his face for a while and said, at a bit of a loss, "I do care a little, how about you wear a mask in the future when we dual cultivate?"
Yan Lu: "...I don't like to wear masks."
Shang Ke sighed, "Then it can't be helped, I will wear one instead." Although he said that, there wasn't any disdain in his eyes. In his point of view, his mental age was actually not that different from Yan Lu's. He was also very familiar with Yan Lu, they had long passed the level of just looking at appearances.
Yan Lu's eyes rippled and he said, "There's no need for such trouble. Little Mushroom, tell me. Do you like a young and inexperienced adolescent or a sturdy youth? A steady middle-aged man or a wise and farsighted elderly?"
Shang Ke: "Ah? What do you mean?
Yan Lu explained, "With my constitution, once my cultivation enters a certain stage, I can reconstruct my appearance."
Ordinary cultivators would obtain the ability to change their appearance after they reach Nascent Soul Stage. Yan Lu had gone through the devil tribulation so his body was already out of the ordinary. If it weren't for the backlash of destroying his cultivation being too high, he would never have suddenly become old either.
Shang Ke's eyes widen. Since he can remake his appearance, why did he pretend to be some sloppy old man? Does he not know that in this world, where worth was so much based on looks, his appearance was the deciding factor in how he was treated!??!
Shang Ke stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke, "I think, I like the child look more."
"...You like children?" Yan Lu's expression was grave, in a seldom distressed mood. "It's not impossible to change into a child, but if I do that, there's a lot of dual cultivation positions we can't do. Unless, if we research some more techniques..."
"Halt!" Shang Ke finally understood, this guy really has no integrity to be spoken of, "Just turn back to how you were before."
Yan Lu's lips twitched. He dipped his head to peck Shang Ke's lips then submerged into the water. Not longer than a minute later, the spring water started to bubble and fog rose and their surroundings turned hazy.
Shang Ke was vigilantly keeping watch when he felt a large hand suddenly drag him underwater. Then his lips were blocked, a fiery tongue slipped through his lips. The two men were suspended in the water, their bodies tangled together like conjoined twins.
Right at this moment, several cultivators appeared above the spring.
One of them spoke, "Strange, this place is full of immortal qi, why can't we see the source?"
The other added, "Perhaps we came too late and someone else already took it?"
"Perhaps so."
The fog in the air blocked everyone's line of sight and they paid no mind to the seven springs at the summit. They also did not sense the two below in the spring who were dual cultivating. These seven springs were called "Seven Star Springs" and were linked together, assembling a special array. Only if one entered the middle of the array would one find the peculiarness, otherwise, it was very hard to notice anything strange.
The underwater Shang Ke and Yan Lu were less than fifty meters away from those cultivators and their sharp ears let them hear everything they said.
Shang Ke hand both arms around Yan Lu's neck and his legs around his waist—he didn't dare move.
But Yan Lu did not care, he entered and left as he pleased, enjoying himself. While he moved he kept in mind cycling his true essence so the yin-yang blended evenly.
Shang Ke was like a small fish that was being poked in the stomach, bubbles rose from his lips in thin streams. His body floated heavily in the water. Besides clinging tightly to Yan Lu, he simply couldn't do anything.
Shang Ke raised his head up to look out the spring. He couldn't help but complain: Just how long does that group plan to idle around and chat? He's about to be cooked into mushroom soup by a certain vigorous someone, alright?!
As if they had heard Shang Ke's complaints, the group of cultivators left God Perch Peak after their search ended up fruitless.
Shang Ke repeatedly slapped Yan Lu's shoulder, hinting at him to quickly go up. Yan Lu remained unmoved however and continued to hold his little mushroom and roll around underwater.
【I'm about to run out of breath.】 Shang Ke hastily used his divine sense to tell him.
Yan Lu looked at Shang Ke who was doing his best to hold his breath and asked strangely: 【As a mushroom... you do know that you can breathe underwater, correct?】
Shang Ke: ...He could do that?
Apparently Yan Lu felt that Shang Ke's current expression was far too cute and quickly imprinted it into his memory.
Shang Ke wrinkled his nose and took a cautious breath. He found he really could breathe fine underwater.
The spring water permeated his body and turned into nutrients that he absorbed. The more he absorbed, the more power he gained. The water seemed to contain some kind of energy that condensed their true essence bit by bit and allowed their cultivation to grow and become even more successful.
The two were like sponges, absorbing the water without end and turning it into power by way of dual cultivation.
He didn't know how long it had been when Yan Lu suddenly opened eyes that flashed a brilliant gold. The true essence in his body started to quickly condense, then spiral rapidly. Finally, a childish looking energy body formed in his dantain, turning into a Nascent Soul.
As for Shang Ke, the true essence in his body condensed into a golden dan, immortal qi covered him from tip to toe. At the same time, the Flaming Red Sky Flower on the right side of his right chest once again blossomed, burning brightly on his white skin—a dazzling red.
The two were covered by the golden light emitted from their bodies and entered a new stage together, greatly improving their cultivation.
Shang Ke did not even have the time to feel happy when he felt Yan Lushake and a warm flow enter his body.
It wasn't true essence, but... Shang Ke's cheeks went red as he glared at Yan Lu. Nevertheless, the other had a face of calm and did not have any plans of stopping once his high tide passed. He held Shang Ke and continued to "cultivate" until he cooked Shang Ke into an incredibly nutritious mushroom soup...
A couple of hours later, the spring water disappeared. Yan Lu flew out of the spring carrying a completely limp Shang Ke.
Shang Ke dressed quickly in a long gown, completely covering the bites and bruises that littered his body.
Yan Lu lowered his head and helped him tie his belt.
Although they remained silent, a faint tender feeling lingered around them.
Right at this moment, Heaven and Earth suddenly shook and a great pressuring power appeared. Everyone in the Origin Realm activated their true essence, doing their best to resist the overwhelming attack. However, after a short period of time, most of them were bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The true essence in their body was as chaotic as a small boat in a rainstorm, dangerously close to overturning at any time.
Nobody expected such a fearsome attack just as they prepared to leave the realm. It was the might of god, almost shattering every visitor's soul.
In the time it takes an incense stick to turn to soft, feathery dust, two-thirds of the cultivators were dying while a portion were already dead. For a comment, screams and explosions repeated one after another, alarming everyone.
Just as everyone was about to reach their limits, their surroundings twisted. Everyone in the Origin Realm was expelled from it.
In the sky, body after body fell like a meteor shower. Light bloomed and blood rained.
Most of them were heavily injured, their complexion a deathly white and they did their best to steady themselves as they staggered in the sky.
Only a small number of people stood tall and free of wounds. The outstanding ones shone with the splendor of the sun and moon, so brilliant that everyone focused on them as they proudly among the newly infirm.
The difference in levels of cultivations was clear.
While everyone was staring, a dazzling golden light bloomed in the sky.
Everyone covered their eyes at the same time, not daring to look at it.
Within the dazzling golden light, the silhouettes of two vague figures appeared.