Closing his eyes in contemplation, Lu Li searched through the vast inherited memories in his mind.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the answer finally emerged.
‘Yin and Yang are imbalanced…’ Lu Li savored the answer and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
He was originally a man, with abundant Yang energy in his body.
Although he had cultivated the Yin-Yang Reversal Art, each time the technique required several days to solidify and allow his body to adapt further.
This was also a form of self-protection.
But earlier, during the Saintess Enthronement Ceremony, he had maintained a female form for a full month, which led to an imbalance of Yin energy.
Then, in the Foundation Building Trial, when picking the Heavenly Fire Fruit, he absorbed too much Yin energy.
Later, he reverted to male form through the technique, but a considerable amount of Yin energy had stagnated.
Moreover, to weather the Heavenly Tribulation, he transformed back into a female, and ultimately the tribulation lightning struck him, depleting his Yin energy and causing Yang energy to flourish.
That was the first imbalance.
After entering Foundation Establishment, his True Yuan carried the power of the tribulation lightning.
Lightning is Yang, so naturally he maintained his male form.
But earlier, to defeat the Three-Tailed Demon Beast, he had poured out all his lightning-infused True Yuan.
The stagnant Yin energy then flooded his entire body, rendering the Yin-Yang Reversal Art unusable.
‘In the end, it’s the constant shifting back and forth that completely messed things up.’
‘On top of that, coming to the Northern Domain, where the Yin-cold force is strong, makes it hard for Yang energy to rise. I estimate I’ll have to stay this way for forty-five days.’ Reaching this conclusion, Lu Li felt a headache coming. ‘I finally descend the mountain after Foundation Establishment, thinking I could walk as a man—how did I turn back into… pfft, become a woman again?’
‘Though there are ways to restore myself… finding a milder Yang Element Stone is very difficult in the Northern Domain… or I could use plunder… No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not!’
Lu Li quickly shook his head. While there were indeed similar Dual Cultivation techniques in his sect, for the sake of his purity and whatever little dignity he had left, it was better not to take that crooked path.
‘On the flip side, if I spend these forty-five days purely gathering Flower and Grass Dew, I can earn a huge amount of spirit stones.’
At this thought, Lu Li felt somewhat comforted.
‘When I’m in male form, I have to kill demon beasts and hunt for demon cores… Ah, right—Sword Zen.’
Remembering this, Lu Li immediately took out the Yin Yang Sword, placed it on his lap, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in it.
Before long, the vast valley appeared before him again.
However, when A Yi caught sight of him, he sighed deeply and tossed his hammer aside.
“This old iron staff, don’t blame me, eh. You’re the one who made Master unleash Mountain-Splitting Strike, causing the Yin-Yang imbalance.” Wan Wan lay languidly among the flowers, plucking petals and playing with grass.
“Of course, if Master is willing, this concubine still has many magic techniques…”
“I know that, but recently I want to focus on swordsmanship.” As Lu Li spoke, A Yi picked up the iron staff from the ground and walked toward the nearby gorge.
“A Yi, I…”
“I know.” A Yi gently lifted his long sword, then brought it down.
It struck the cliff face.
Silently, it shattered.
The hundred-zhang-tall mountain split open with a huge gap.
“This is the complete Mountain-Splitting Strike.” A Yi said, then returned to the forge and pointed at the large mountain. “Practice, and you’ll get it.”
“Yes!” With a thought, Lu Li drew the Yin Yang Sword and aimed at the cliff.
Then, he swung the sword down.
Unlike A Yi’s sword strike, when Lu Li’s sword fell, his True Yuan burst forth and Sword Intent surged.
But on the cliff face, only a one-zhang-wide gap appeared.
“Hmm… the Sword Intent exerted in female form is equal, but the power is only one-third of that in male form.” Lu Li sensed the discrepancy. “Also because the Charm Spiritual Root is divine grade and the Sword Spiritual Root is upper grade, the suppression is greater.”
“But I can continue to study the Sword Intent within.”
In the world of Sword Zen, time did not pass.
Only True Yuan and Divine Sense were consumed.
“Master, this concubine has a word, if I may speak.” When Lu Li had cut a gap in the mountain range, Wan Wan also stood up from the flowers. “Your usage just now…”
“It’s not suitable, I know.” Lu Li wiped the sweat from his brow and unfastened his outer robe.
“But I have to stay in female form for a full forty-five days, so I need to study the Sword Intent a bit. I can’t just rely on the Charm Spiritual Root forever.”
“Master speaks the truth… but in this concubine’s view, that’s wasting a precious gift.” Wan Wan rarely debated with Lu Li.
“It’s like someone with a Fire Spiritual Root constantly practicing turning water into ice. True, a cultivator’s True Yuan combined with a technique can achieve that, but it’s ultimately unsuitable.”
Lu Li was silent for a moment.
It was precisely because he understood the power of the Charm Spiritual Root that he avoided it.
“I understand. I’ll practice everything.” Lu Li gave a faint smile. “I’m not that stubborn… I just need time to accept it. The training method for the Charm Spiritual Root is rather special…”
“Isn’t it nice? Master, just now your smile was enchanting—how wonderful.” Wan Wan leaned back against the cliff. “Then I’ll wait for your next Sword Zen, Master.”
“Yes, next time.” Lu Li let out a long breath. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a somewhat unfamiliar bed.
“Mainly I’m worried I won’t be able to go back…” Lu Li possessed the Saintess Inheritance of the Yin Yang Sect and the Charm Spiritual Root, so he naturally knew the upcoming cultivation path.
Fragrance Holds—to fill his body with a unique, alluring fragrance.
No matter who approached, they would smell exactly what he wanted them to smell, and become completely infatuated.
Combined with Bewitch Heart and Enchanting Sound, it could create an incredibly realistic illusion.
Very useful for covertly killing enemies or facing large hordes of demon beasts.
Bone Entwining—to trace unique Spirit Patterns into his skin and flesh, so that whether he touched someone or they touched him, they would feel weak and limp, completely losing the ability to resist.
The final move, Soul Capture, could directly control an opponent’s Spirit Soul, killing without drawing blood.
“It’s just that the results of cultivation are really hard to accept.” Lu Li read through the cultivation Dharma Formula for Fragrance Holds in his mind.
“Let’s wait a few days. First, I need to earn enough spirit stones.”
The next few days were the most relaxed and enjoyable time Lu Li had ever spent.
Every morning after finishing cultivation, he would condense Flower and Grass Dew, then go to the Market Square to sell it and earn a large number of spirit stones.
Each evening, Liu Qingxi would arrive, always smiling as she watched Lu Li wearing a different style of dress, or gazing at his lightly powdered face.
Lu Li was helpless about this.
His current body was, after all, a woman’s. Moreover, most of the customers buying Flower and Grass Dew were women.
If he were unkempt, probably no one would patronize him.
What troubled him even more was that after a few days, quite a few people in the Market Square had already remembered her.
Whenever the market opened, female cultivators would wave from a distance.
“Fairy Lu, do you have any new flower dew today?”
At first, Lu Li wanted to correct them, but for the sake of spirit stones, he temporarily accepted it.
“Sister Lu, not saying you’re a man today?” As night fell, Liu Qingxi helped Lu Li pack up his stall. “You do smell quite strongly of flower dew.”
“Yes, not saying it today.” Lu Li was wearing a pink dress today, and even, “for the sake of business,” had applied rouge to his lips.
Under the sunset glow, the rouge and pink dress complemented each other, making his face even more radiant.
Thus, he attracted many customers.
In that situation, Lu Li temporarily gave up arguing with Liu Qingxi about his gender.
But an occasional teasing remark was still a bit amusing.
“And you, the Saintess, you’re pretty free. Doesn’t the Heavenly Deduction Sect have anything to do?” With a flick of his wrist, Lu Li put away all the bottles and jars.
“Exactly. In fact, if I, the Saintess, get busy, that would be a real crisis.” Liu Qingxi yawned.
“Daily fortune-telling is fine, but if it involves life and death or major shifts in the situation, I might fall into the Ocean of Karma.”
“What’s that?” Lu Li asked.
“Because that’s no longer the realm of cultivators. It’s already the world of immortals or gods. Predicting the future is an attempt to interfere with the future. But that kind of interference… would cause us to disappear from this world.” Liu Qingxi gave a cheerful smile.
“But that’s only happened once in the last few hundred years. In this era, there’s no such big event.”
“True. At most, it’s a Beast Tide, or some predictable conflict between the Yao Race and the Human Race.” As Lu Li spoke, he felt the Mystic Token in his bracelet vibrating. “Ah, sorry…”
But before he could finish that sentence,
Liu Qingxi also took out a Jade Disk, and her Mystic Token vibrated as well.
The name flashing on it made both of them frown.
Ascending Heavenly Palace.
Giant Spirit Gate urgent summons.