Chapter 47: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (V)

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Chapter 47: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (V)

After leaving the Voidheaven Secret Realm, Shang Ke took out all the treasures they had obtained and asked Yan Lu, “Is there anything you want?”

Yan Lu had originally been curious to see how Little Mushroom intended to “divide the spoils,” only to discover that Shang Ke apparently lacked even the most basic selfish instinct to look after his own interests. With so little wariness toward others, if no one kept an eye on him, sooner or later he would probably be devoured without even a scrap left behind.

Yan Lu examined the treasures one by one, his face revealing neither joy nor disappointment. Even when he found something that interested him, it seemed incapable of stirring much enthusiasm. To him, everything beneath heaven was simple: keep what was useful, discard what was not. There was no reason to waste thought on material things.

Seeing him examine several jade slips containing cultivation techniques, Shang Ke asked, “Did you find a technique that suits you?”

Yan Lu handed one to him. “Not bad.”

Shang Ke curiously examined it, then gave Yan Lu a strange look. “You think this one is good?”

Yan Lu nodded.

“If I’m reading this correctly, isn’t this a dual-cultivation technique?” Shang Ke pointed at the jade slip, his expression solemn.

Yan Lu said, “If you dual cultivate with me, your cultivation speed will increase severalfold.”

Shang Ke immediately shook his head. “No, no, absolutely not. I’m a demonic cultivator. I can’t dual cultivate with you.”

“Then I’ll cultivate the demonic path too.” Yan Lu clearly saw nothing wrong with that solution.

Shang Ke had gone through enormous trouble to stop this man from becoming a demon. How could he possibly let him walk straight back onto the same path?

“No. Absolutely not.” Shang Ke’s tone was unwavering.

Yan Lu did not insist. He merely toyed with the jade slip containing the dual-cultivation technique, looking thoughtful. Was this the first time Little Mushroom had ever refused something he wanted?

“Immortal Luo He collected only superior cultivation techniques. Why don’t you look through some of the others?” Shang Ke urged.

Yan Lu swept his gaze over the treasures once more. In the end, he chose only a flying sword and two jade slips, leaving everything else for Shang Ke to handle.

“That’s enough? You don’t want a few more?” He was a future Demon Lord, yet treasures held no attraction for him whatsoever? Was being this detached from worldly possessions really reasonable?

“Keep them. You need them to protect your life.”

Shang Ke felt as though an arrow had struck him squarely in the knee.

That night, Shang Ke returned to being a mushroom while Yan Lu took out one of the jade slips and studied it carefully. Although he no longer remembered his past, his comprehension of cultivation techniques was extraordinary, as though he had practiced them hundreds or thousands of times before.

Yan Lu mobilized the true essence within his body and circulated it through several complete cycles. He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid qi as light shimmered around him and his aura grew increasingly imposing. Once the glow faded, he turned toward Little Mushroom in the corner, his dark gaze unreadable.

For several months, Yan Lu devoted himself entirely to cultivation. Shang Ke was immensely gratified. Every day, he prepared different delicious foods for him and diligently guarded him while he cultivated, almost as though he could already see the dawn of mission completion.

Because everything had been progressing far too smoothly, Shang Ke almost forgot that this former—or perhaps future—Demon Lord had never been a good man who played by the rules.

One day, Shang Ke was soaking in a hot spring, enjoying what he jokingly considered a mushroom-soup bath, when a faint, intoxicating fragrance drifted over from somewhere nearby. He unconsciously breathed it in several times, and before long his thoughts grew hazy and his consciousness clouded.

Through the haze, he vaguely saw a figure enter the hot spring and slowly approach him.

Yan Lu? Shang Ke was dizzy and weak, his limbs almost powerless as his body began sinking uncontrollably beneath the water. A pair of strong hands lifted him up and drew him into an embrace, repositioning him until the two were closely entwined.

Amid the steaming mist, Shang Ke’s cheeks were faintly flushed and his eyes unfocused. His slightly parted lips, dampened by the vapor, resembled cherries after rain. His head tilted back, exposing his slender pale neck as crystalline droplets slowly traced downward and disappeared silently into the spring.

Yan Lu lowered his eyes and studied him intently. This seemed to be the first time he had observed his Little Mushroom from so close. His features were delicate, his allure seemingly innate. He truly was a beautiful little mushroom.

There was no obvious desire in Yan Lu’s eyes, only curiosity and deep concentration. Supporting Shang Ke’s lower back, he lowered his head and pressed their lips together, transferring a stream of true essence into him.

Shang Ke absorbed it unconsciously, a pleased expression appearing on his face.

The corners of Yan Lu’s mouth lifted slightly as he continued transferring qi.

As Shang Ke absorbed more and more true essence, the tension gradually left his body. His skin took on a luminous white sheen, his phoenix eyes grew misty, and his already enchanting appearance became even more bewitching.

After a while, Yan Lu drew back. Shang Ke unconsciously followed the familiar breath, moving closer until his nose brushed Yan Lu’s jaw and he breathed softly against the side of his neck. The warm breath against his skin stirred an unfamiliar tingling sensation within Yan Lu.

Yan Lu’s gaze darkened. He gathered true essence within his dantian, lifted Shang Ke, and began the physical union required by the dual-cultivation technique.

Shang Ke frowned and made a low sound, instinctively trying to retreat, but Yan Lu restrained him firmly and forced the act to continue.

“Ah…” The sudden physical strain was uncomfortable at first. But as a current of warm true essence entered his body, Shang Ke gradually adjusted and began circulating his own true essence according to the cultivation method.

True essence circulated continuously between them, faster and faster, until even the spring water began to churn and boil. Waves rippled across the surface as countless droplets splashed upward amid a cacophony of sound.

The noise brought Shang Ke partly back to his senses. When he finally realized the nature of the “intense exercise” he and Yan Lu were engaged in, his mind went completely blank.

“Mm…” True essence poured through his entire body, sinking into every limb and bone. The combined rush of rapidly increasing strength and involuntary physical release was difficult to resist. Even the long-dormant demon core within him seemed to be infused with new life, blazing brilliantly.

The demonic qi Shang Ke had suppressed for more than a century was unleashed by Yan Lu in a single night. Only after experiencing dual cultivation himself did Shang Ke understand how overwhelming its effects could be—and how dangerously easy it might be to become dependent on it.

What Shang Ke found even harder to accept was that, through dual cultivating with him and merging with his demon aura, Yan Lu had stepped onto the demonic path once again.

More than a hundred years of painstaking companionship and guidance had seemingly gone up in smoke. His body reacted involuntarily to the cultivation, but his heart was filled with anguish.

A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye, his involuntary physical response tangled painfully together with emotional distress.

Yan Lu suddenly stopped. A faint ripple appeared in his deep, ordinarily still eyes, as though something within him had been touched. An emotion he had never experienced before rose unexpectedly in his heart.

“Little Mushroom…” he murmured softly before resuming the dual cultivation.

As true essence continued circulating between them and the physical effects overwhelmed his thoughts, Shang Ke gradually lost himself in the process…

It was over. This time, it probably wasn’t just Yan Lu—even Shang Ke might end up falling completely into the demonic path.

Their dual cultivation continued for three days, until the entire pool of spring water had evaporated under the true essence leaking from their bodies.

Yan Lu possessed exceptional talent for demonic cultivation, while Shang Ke’s demonic spirit body happened to be perfectly compatible with his. This was one of the reasons Yan Lu had chosen dual cultivation in the first place. In his view, the method suited both of them extremely well.

Little Mushroom constantly restrained himself with principles and refused to cross even the slightest boundary, causing his strength not merely to stagnate but to decline. If this continued, then after hundreds or thousands of years, he would inevitably be beaten back into his original form. Since Little Mushroom refused to break his own rules, Yan Lu had decided to “help” him do it.

Besides, the physical experience of dual cultivating with Little Mushroom had been far more pleasurable than Yan Lu expected. Even after the cultivation itself was complete, he continued for several more hours, no longer for cultivation but purely to satisfy physical desire.

Yan Lu sat beside the stone bed, looking down at the sleeping Shang Ke while his fingers unconsciously toyed with a lock of his hair. His eyes were dark and unreadable…

Shang Ke woke after only two or three hours of sleep. The abundant power filling his body left him energetic, and his recovery speed had increased dramatically. From this one prolonged session of dual cultivation alone, his strength had improved severalfold and was now comparable to that of a Golden Core Stage cultivator. (Cultivation stages: Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Transformation → Body Integration → Mahayana → Tribulation.)

But Shang Ke did not care about his increased strength. What mattered was whether he could still complete the mission. He absolutely could not fail again, or the mission difficulty would rise once more. Difficulty ×2 had already nearly exhausted him; if it increased severalfold again, he feared he truly might fall into an endless cycle of death and reincarnation.

As for chastity or anything like that, compared with life and death, it was all nothing more than floating clouds.

While he was deep in thought, something suddenly stirred in his awareness. Shang Ke instinctively turned toward the cave entrance, and moments later, Yan Lu appeared within his field of view.

It seemed some kind of connection had formed between him and this man.

Yan Lu was dressed entirely in black, his long hair falling loosely down his back as he walked with unhurried ease. His bearing had changed greatly in only a few days, and he already faintly resembled the Demon Lord he might one day become.

“Awake?” Yan Lu’s voice was low, carrying what seemed to be a hint of pleasure.

Pleasure? This man, who had been born with almost no emotions at all, was actually capable of feeling pleased?

“What exactly did you do?” Shang Ke asked through clenched teeth.

“What’s wrong?”

He still had the nerve to ask what was wrong?! Shang Ke exploded, “I told you I didn’t want to dual cultivate with you!”

“So what?” Yan Lu saw nothing wrong with forcing the dual cultivation if it allowed both of them to merge their energies and increase their strength.

“You…” Do my feelings not matter to you at all?

Shang Ke suddenly stopped. He remembered the strange fragrance he had smelled while soaking in the hot spring. That scent had almost certainly been responsible for clouding his mind. If he had remained fully conscious, he could simply have transformed back into his original mushroom form and prevented the dual cultivation entirely. Yan Lu had clearly anticipated that possibility—which was why he had deliberately drugged him.

At that realization, Shang Ke truly wanted to kill this demon! Compared with the man he had encountered in previous worlds, this Yan Lu was utterly unscrupulous and willing to use any means necessary, enough to drive him insane. But Shang Ke also knew anger would solve nothing. The most important thing now was finding a way out of the current predicament.

Yan Lu had once again chosen the demonic path, and his cultivation had already reached the Golden Core Stage. Once he formed a demonic Nascent Soul, there would be no turning back. Shang Ke would never receive a second opportunity to stop his tribulation.

“Little Mushroom, we’ll dual cultivate once every three months until I form my Nascent Soul,” Yan Lu suddenly said. “In the meantime, we’ll go wherever people gather and collect the vital essence of living beings.”

Go by yourself if you want to! I’m not going! Shang Ke thought furiously.

Then a thought struck him. That was right—they were practicing dual cultivation. That meant if one partner deliberately dropped the ball, the other would inevitably suffer too!

He could absolutely be the one who sabotaged the whole thing!

Shang Ke’s eyes gradually began to shine as he stared at Yan Lu. O wicked future Demon Lord, prepare yourself for your teammate’s magnificent counterattack! Little Mushroom is about to activate Deadweight Combat Mode!

Shang Ke had forgotten one small problem: no matter how determined he was to become deadweight, control over their “dual cultivation” had always rested firmly in Yan Lu’s hands. It was not something Shang Ke could sabotage simply because he felt like it…

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