Chapter 11

The first hour began.

Mu Cheng was stopped a total of forty-six times.

The first time, Lian Yunzhi lost control and flung him away. Fortunately, Lian Yunzhi quickly reacted, pulled him up from the carpet, and apologized sincerely, saying he was sorry and telling him to continue.

The second time, Lian Yunzhi pushed him away. This time, Lian Yunzhi’s reaction was even more intense. He turned his head and panted heavily, his body trembling slightly. Mu Cheng wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and told him, “You can stop me anytime.”

Thus, in the following half hour,

Lian Yunzhi stopped him a total of thirty-nine times.

Mu Cheng: “…”

…

Mu Cheng had never endured anything so difficult in his life. He even forgot the pain of having his Spiritual Root extracted and his bones shattered. He stiffened his body, propping himself motionlessly over Lian Yunzhi, watching his own sweat droplets fall into Lian Yunzhi’s neck hollow. In that instant, he wondered if he was made of flesh and blood or carved from stone.

On the forty-second stop, they had clearly entered a good rhythm, but Lian Yunzhi panted as he pushed him away, his voice hoarse as he said he seemed to have misremembered a line of the incantation. Yet when Lian Yunzhi’s trembling fingertips landed on the scripture, checking it word by word, he discovered he hadn’t misremembered after all.

The forty-third and forty-fourth stops used the same excuse, yielding the same result.

On the forty-fifth stop, Mu Cheng finally couldn’t endure it. He roughly snatched the book from Lian Yunzhi’s hand and tossed it away. While continuing, he recited the incantations word for word into Lian Yunzhi’s ear and gritted out that he hadn’t misremembered.

“Stop… stop… stop! Stop!”

On the forty-sixth stop, Mu Cheng didn’t listen.

“Mu Cheng, stop!”

[Mu Cheng, stop!]

And so there was no forty-seventh time.

The Forced Command pierced his mind like a sharp sword. Accompanying the command was an even more unyielding, voiceless directive that struck straight into his soul.

Mu Cheng’s body shuddered. He lowered his head in disbelief.

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi seemed not to have anticipated this either. He froze for a moment, then quietly let out a breath of relief. He pushed Mu Cheng away. “Alright, you can rest for now. I need to circulate my energy to absorb your Primal Yang.”

Mu Cheng: “…”

Mu Cheng looked at Lian Yunzhi in disbelief. “You said you wouldn’t use the ‘Forced Command’ from the Beast Taming Contract to control me anymore!”

Lian Yunzhi’s gaze flickered guiltily for a moment before he straightened up righteously. “Who told you not to listen to me?! And when did I ever make that promise? What I said was—I would never lightly use the ‘Forced Command’ from the Beast Taming Contract to control you. ‘Not lightly’—do you understand those words? It means if you don’t obey, I’ll still use it!”

Mu Cheng: “…”

Mu Cheng’s face flushed green then pale. He shoved Lian Yunzhi away harshly and got off the bed, shrouded in chilliness.

Lian Yunzhi watched his departing back and asked, “Where are you going?!”

Mu Cheng didn’t turn his head. “To bathe!”

Lian Yunzhi shouted after him, wrapped in the quilt, “Go wash in the river yourself! Don’t use my hot spring pool!”

“Splash—”

Lian Yunzhi heard the sound of Mu Cheng jumping into his hot spring pool without hesitation.

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi pursed his lips, wrapped the quilt tighter around himself, and muttered comforting words to himself. “Whatever, fine.”

Anyway, Mu Cheng’s dirtiest parts had already…

Lian Yunzhi took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, entered meditation, and circulated his spiritual power to refine the Primal Yang from the Spirit Washing Body within him.

…Mm, indeed extraordinary.

.

When Mu Cheng returned after bathing, Lian Yunzhi was still cultivating.

The dual cultivation had also replenished the spiritual power in Mu Cheng’s Dantian, so he could clearly sense countless strands of spiritual power continuously gathering toward Lian Yunzhi through the Spirit Gathering Array in the Cave Mansion.

But it seemed not quite enough.

Mu Cheng stood by the bed for a while. Confirming that Lian Yunzhi’s state was stable and wouldn’t be easily interrupted, he picked him up entirely and carried him to the hot spring spiritual pool behind the Cave Mansion.

The hot spring pool with the Spirit Marrow Condensing Pearl brimmed with spiritual power. Under Lian Yunzhi’s active absorption, the spiritual power in the pool water surged into his body like a whirlwind, aiding him in refining the Primal Yang within.

Lian Yunzhi’s tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

.

Mu Cheng left midway for a bit. When he returned, Lian Yunzhi had finished cultivating and had unknowingly leaned against a piece of white jade stone, falling asleep.

His position was a bit low. As the wind blew past his side, the pool water swayed up and down, lapping at his shoulders, his neck, his lips.

By the time Mu Cheng waded in, the water nearly reached Lian Yunzhi’s nose tip. Before Lian Yunzhi could frown, Mu Cheng scooped him up and held him in his arms.

Lian Yunzhi still didn’t wake.

The sky was gradually brightening now. Morning light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling on Lian Yunzhi’s slightly flushed face. His eyelashes were long and fine, his lips parted slightly, his fine brows relaxed and peaceful. He looked obedient beyond belief.

Just like when he was little and asleep.

…And very clean, very fragrant.

Before the age of nine, Mu Cheng’s two biggest troubles were: why people smelled so bad, and why the Black Mist behind people was so ugly?

After nine, he had only one trouble—why was Lian Yunzhi so clean, so fragrant? Could he set aside their past grievances and be friends with him?

After confirming that Lian Yunzhi really disliked him and would never be friends with him, the young Mu Cheng had been angry, dejected, and given up.

He had once thought angrily that Lian Yunzhi had a terrible personality—he didn’t deserve to be so clean, didn’t deserve to smell so good!

He had also fantasized wildly: if there was one Lian Yunzhi in the world, was there a second? Would there be someone else as clean as Lian Yunzhi, as fragrant as him, but without his bad temper, willing to be friends with him?

Even if not human, best if it was an obedient little animal that wouldn’t leave him, wouldn’t dislike him, and could be carried around anytime.

Thus, Little Mu Cheng began his search.

But there was none.

In the vast Four Directions City, in the vast Xiaoze State, Mu Cheng had traveled countless places, seen countless mountains, crossed countless rivers, passed countless towns and villages, but never seen another being with a snow-pure cleanliness and a heart-refreshing fragrance.

There was only one Lian Yunzhi.

He was the most precious, the most special, unique in all the world.

.

Mu Cheng held the world’s most precious, most special, utterly unique Lian Yunzhi in his arms. His nose tip gently nuzzled Lian Yunzhi’s neck hollow, his cheek, his lips.

After a few breaths, he pulled back a little, only to give in again and lean forward to kiss Lian Yunzhi’s lips.

It was a fragrance more intoxicating than mere sniffing, nearly driving one out of their senses.

Mu Cheng couldn’t hold back. He licked, sucked, and nibbled lightly.

His actions finally woke Lian Yunzhi.

Lian Yunzhi had slept deeply. He opened his eyes in a daze, his mind still foggy. He seemed unaware of what Mu Cheng had done—or if he knew, he didn’t care much.

When Mu Cheng leaned in to kiss him again, he didn’t get angry. He just turned his head to dodge the second kiss. His fingertips landed on the faint blue pattern on Mu Cheng’s shoulder, and he asked in confusion, “…What’s this?”

“It’s a Furnace Cauldron Inscription with temporary effects. I drew it using juice from Spirit Capturing Grass mixed with Spiritual Ink. It can only be used for three days. With it, you won’t need to silently recite the incantations anymore.”

Lian Yunzhi’s eyes widened slightly.

“Want to try it, Master?”

Mu Cheng’s hand slid down from Lian Yunzhi’s back.

“Mm…”

The Furnace Cauldron Inscription was indeed miraculous. Not only did it eliminate the need to silently recite the incantations, but under its enhancement, Lian Yunzhi didn’t even need to deliberately guide his spiritual power—his spiritual energy circulated on its own within him.

Midway, Mu Cheng kissed him again.

But this time, Lian Yunzhi didn’t dodge. He discovered that kissing facilitated the spiritual power’s flow between their bodies even better.

The Spirit Washing Body lived up to its name. During the previous dual cultivation, Lian Yunzhi had felt the gaps in his body mending and his scattered spiritual power gathering back.

But this time, he found his body fully repaired, with spiritual power no longer dissipating. Instead, it circulated through Mu Cheng’s body before returning to his own. With each complete cycle, his spiritual power was refined like it had been washed clean—purer, more solid, more stable.

To accelerate the flow, Lian Yunzhi even climbed onto Mu Cheng’s neck, initiating the kiss himself and not allowing him a moment’s escape.

This time, Mu Cheng was very obedient, without a hint of complaint.

Lian Yunzhi was very satisfied with this.

.

Lian Yunzhi and his exclusive Human Cauldron’s first dual cultivation lasted a full three days.

Aside from the beginning, the rest was perfect.

Perhaps because his spiritual power had been replenished during the dual cultivation, and he’d taken a Fasting Pill in advance, Mu Cheng never felt hungry, fatigued, or lacking in strength.

He didn’t even need to use the Tenfold Great Tonic Pill.