Su Chan gazed pleadingly at Ao Wushuang, whispering, "Master, if I won't go, you surely must? That's Yun Dong's sincere offering."

Ao Wushuang snapped, "I'm not going, and neither are you! Do you think I don't know what scheme you're hatching? You merely want to..."

Before she could finish, Li Yundong's voice called from outside the door, "Senior Ao Wushuang, Ziyuan has picked out some clothes for you. See if they fit?"

Hearing this, Su Chan's eyes darted around. She tentatively offered, "Master, you don't want what Yun Dong offers, but surely you can't refuse what Sister Ziyuan picked out? You have to grant that much face, right?"

Ao Wushuang was furious, "No, I don't want any of it! Absolutely none of it..."

No sooner had her words fallen than Liu Yuehong knocked on the door, complaining, "Junior Martial Sister, what are you doing? What could be so important? Didn't I hear you conclude your meditation just minutes ago? To refuse the earnest intentions of the Sect Leader and True Person Ziyuan—that really isn't right of you!"

Ao Wushuang was helpless. She shot Su Chan a vicious glare, then rushed to the door, yanked it open, and shot like a gust of wind to Li Yundong, snatching the bag from his hand. Gritting her teeth, she managed, "Thank you!"

Then, she dashed back just as swiftly.

Li Yundong and Ziyuan stood dumbfounded, exchanging glances. Li Yundong's eyes were fixed, asking, "What's wrong with her? Who offended her?"

Ziyuan giggled softly, "That's mine, and your things are in my hands..."

Ao Wushuang returned to the room with an icy expression, only to find the little girl sitting upright in the dantian area, cross-legged in meditation, seemingly absorbed.

Ao Wushuang paused, couldn't help but nod slightly, thinking to herself: A promising pupil!

Wanting to test Su Chan, she shook the bag in her hand and said, "Chan'er, want to know what's inside?"

But Su Chan remained still as a stone, utterly unresponsive.

Ao Wushuang was momentarily stunned. She knew her disciple's nature intimately, realizing Su Chan could never remain so unmoved. A flicker of suspicion crossed her mind, swiftly followed by rage. She pointed a finger toward the dantian area where Su Chan sat.

As expected, Su Chan's form suddenly dissolved with a whoosh, leaving only a Six Jia Yin Spirit Talisman slowly drifting down from the air.

Ao Wushuang roared, "Rebellious disciple, daring to pit wits against your master!"

She abruptly spun around, intending to rush out and seize Su Chan, but then paused. Forcing pleasure rarely yields sweetness. Su Chan's penchant for excitement and revelry made her cultivation a headache. If this continued, what would become of her?

The thought made Ao Wushuang's head ache severely. A sudden notion flashed through her mind: Could it be that this one method is unavoidable? ...

Su Chan had used the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell trick to slip outside. However, shortly after escaping, she began to regret it. Upon secretly spying what Li Yundong had bought for her, she crept back inside.

As she entered, she saw Ao Wushuang sitting cross-legged in place, motionless, like a clay bodhisattva.

Su Chan noticed her Six Jia Yin Spirit Talisman lying quietly on the ground and knew her ruse had been exposed. Her heart sank. Just as she prepared to rush forward, employ her endlessly reliable tactics of feigned childishness and foolishness to smooth things over, she heard Ao Wushuang sigh.

Ao Wushuang opened her eyes, which were filled with disappointment. With an air of wishing the steel were not so soft, she said to Su Chan, "Chan'er, do you still wish to advance on the path of cultivation? Do you truly want to end up being Li Yundong's burden?"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Su Chan lowered her head, fiddling with the corner of her robe, and whispered, "I don't want to, Master. I truly don't..."

Ao Wushuang sighed again. "As Li Yundong's companion, if you don't strive for improvement in your cultivation, have you considered what happens if you encounter an enemy in the future and they target you? If you are captured, even if Li Yundong possesses heaven-shaking abilities, he will be forced to surrender and become fodder for slaughter!"

As she spoke, Ao Wushuang's eyes suddenly reddened, and she choked up, "Do you know how Wang Yuanshan was finally captured? He was the youngest Golden Body expert under heaven at the time; everyone said he would be the world's number one. But it was because of me—because my cultivation was too low—that I was captured by the Zhengyi Sect. They then used me to lure Wang Yuanshan into their trap, which ultimately led to me having to live out my days in lonely old age, and him..."

At this point, tears streamed down Ao Wushuang's face uncontrollably.

Only then did Su Chan understand why her Master had been pressuring her to cultivate. She felt a pang of empathy, and her own heart ached. She instinctively reached out and gripped Ao Wushuang's hand, tears plopping down her cheeks.

Ao Wushuang sighed. "Chan'er, do you know why, among all the disciples of the Fox Zen Gate, I singled you out for favor back then? It’s because you were most like me! Equally playful, equally innocent and carefree! I simply didn't want you to follow the path I took, to fall into the same trap as Wang Yuanshan and me!"

Su Chan burst into uncontrollable sobs and threw herself into Ao Wushuang's embrace, crying, "I'm sorry, Master, it was my fault. I will cultivate diligently from now on."

Ao Wushuang held Su Chan's hand and said, "If you are to cultivate, you must return to the mountains with me, far from this mortal dust. Only then can you calm your heart and focus on your practice. Can you do that?"

Upon hearing this, Su Chan's crying instantly stopped. Her eyes widened, and she thought: Am I supposed to separate from Yun Dong? How can I possibly do that? Without Yun Dong, how will I live?

Su Chan stared at Ao Wushuang with wide, tear-filled eyes and cried, "Master, I... I cannot live without Yun Dong. Without him, my heart feels empty, as if my soul has been lost. I definitely won't be able to cultivate like that."

Ao Wushuang gazed at Su Chan steadily. After a long moment, she sighed and shook her head. "It's a curse, truly a curse! I knew it would be like this. But continuing like this is no solution. When you are near him, you are too fond of play and excitement, with no mind for cultivation. When you leave him, you are consumed by longing, which also prevents cultivation. What can be done?"

Su Chan froze, her head bowed. After hesitating for a long while, she slowly raised her head, her face flushed, and said hesitantly, "As long as Yun Dong cultivates to the Golden Body realm, we... we can..."

Su Chan stammered, and Ao Wushuang couldn't help but snort and finish for her, "You can dual cultivate, is that it?"

Su Chan's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and she gave a faint hum, barely audible like a mosquito's whine, and nodded slightly: "Mm."

Ao Wushuang couldn't help but sigh. "Golden Body, ha! Golden Body! There are hundreds of thousands of cultivators in this world; how many reach the Golden Body realm? You can count them on one hand! He's only been cultivating for a little over half a year; how can you expect him to reach the Golden Body realm anytime soon?"

Su Chan gathered some courage and dared to look up at Ao Wushuang, saying, "But... but didn't Wang Yuanshan also reach the Golden Body realm at such a young age?"

Ao Wushuang sneered. "Wang Yuanshan began cultivating in the womb; he was administered spirit-enhancing elixirs before he was even born. He achieved Great Perfection of the Yang Spirit at fourteen and struggled until he was thirty before cultivating a Golden Body. Do you know how many elixirs he consumed in those sixteen years? The dregs from his medicine alone could pile up to form a Tianlong Mountain! If he hadn't possessed immense willpower and great wisdom, even with two mountains of medicine, he wouldn't have succeeded!"

"Furthermore, do you think the Golden Body realm is easy to achieve? Since ancient times, anyone who reaches the Golden Body realm must possess transcendent cultivation talent, coupled with an immense flood of spiritual elixirs to sustain them. Even slightly lesser talent is useless, no matter the pills, unless they possess the Earth Origin Spirit Elixir! Hmph, if you gave the Earth Origin Spirit Elixir to an imbecile, he could reach the Golden Body realm too—but is the Earth Origin Spirit Elixir so easily refined?"

"For Li Yundong to reach the Golden Body realm, he either needs a mountain of medicine or the Earth Origin Spirit Elixir! Back then, Wang Yuanshan nearly bankrupted the entire Linggong Sect's fortune trying to reach the Golden Body realm. If the Zhengyi Sect Leader, Celestial Master Zhang, hadn't seen his potential and constantly provided funding, and if his junior martial sister hadn't worked tirelessly to raise funds, how could he have persevered?"

Su Chan listened, completely crestfallen. "Then what do we do? Am I really supposed to just get used to being a burden after I turn twenty..."

Ao Wushuang looked at Su Chan and sighed. "It’s not that there are no other ways for your cultivation to advance, it's just that..."

Su Chan's eyes lit up, and she quickly pressed, "What way?"

Ao Wushuang hesitated for a moment, then stated, "Dual Cultivation!"

Su Chan instantly deflated like a pricked balloon, saying dejectedly, "That's like saying nothing at all! Right now, Yun Dong's cultivation is so much higher than mine, and he hasn't even reached the Golden Body realm yet. How can we dual cultivate?"

Ao Wushuang glared at Su Chan. "Where did your mind wander! I'm talking about minor dual cultivation!"

Su Chan was briefly stunned, but quickly became disheartened again. "I thought of that too, but every time it ends up being me absorbing his Qi, and if he keeps this up, his power level will regress."

Ao Wushuang laughed in exasperation. "What do you know? There are many different schools within minor dual cultivation. One technique from the Shu region Daoist schools is the 'Thousand-Mile Divine Union, Ten-Thousand-Mile Heart Link' secret method of dual cultivation. For example, the Qingcheng Secret Records mention methods like the Yin-Yang Reversal Method, the Qian-Kun Return Method, the Great and Minor Anointing Methods, the Hè-Pì Heavenly Mystery Method, the Three-Warm Crucible Method, the Nine-Warm Crucible Method, and the Essence Absorption Secrets—all of which are methods beneficial to both male and female, allowing mutual gain without breathlessness; they are truly divine arts."

Su Chan's eyes shone with excitement. She couldn't help but exclaim happily, "Master, you know this, right? You absolutely know this, don't you?"

Ao Wushuang shook her head decisively. "I do not!"

Su Chan was greatly disappointed. "Ah? You don't know? How can you not know? If you don't know, then how did you..."

Before Su Chan could finish the latter half of her question, Ao Wushuang flared up in anger. "Nonsense, what are you implying! My cultivation was achieved through painful reflection after Wang Yuanshan was captured! Back then, Wang Yuanshan gave me his Eight Desolations Sword because he saw my cultivation was too low. Otherwise, with his Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies Twin Swords in hand, how could he have failed to escape when he was captured? Do you think my cultivation came from dual cultivation?"

Su Chan lowered her head, looking pitifully at Ao Wushuang. "I'm sorry, Master... Then if you don't know, who does? What do we do?"

Ao Wushuang shook her head. "Pointless chatter. Since it's from the Qingcheng Secret Records, naturally, the Qingcheng Sect knows it!"

Su Chan blinked. "Ah? The Qingcheng Sect? Didn't we have some trouble with that sect? What if they refuse to let us borrow it?"

Ao Wushuang chuckled slyly. "You call yourself foolish, but you truly are! If they won't lend it to us, humph humph, won't we just take it ourselves!"

Su Chan's eyes lit up. The large and small fox exchanged glances, both grinning mischievously.