Dual Cultivation

"Indeed, I am cultivating one of the seven Heavenly Sublime Scriptures, the Celestial Body Refining Scripture. If I want to consume the Sovereign-grade medicines, I will have to be at least within the Earth Spirit Realm," said Su Yang.

"You must have gotten it from the Heavenly Emperor, right? I didn’t know you were so friendly with the exalted ruler of the Four Divine Heavens... but then why did he send you to the Eternal Retribution Cliff?" asked Qiuyue with skepticism on her face, who unaware of the real reason behind his sentence. "Don’t tell me it was because you stole it from him?"

However, it was natural for her to not know the reason, as the Heavenly Emperor had kept the story of Su Yang sleeping with his daughter under the rug so that it wouldn’t cause a ruckus within the world.

Su Yang laughed loudly: "The Heavenly Emperor is one of the strongest existence in this universe— how could I possibly steal from him when I was barely considered a peak cultivator in my previous life? I had naturally obtained it legitly!"

His gaze suddenly narrowed, and he mumbled: "However... even I did not expect her to give me the Celestial Body Refining Scripture at that time..."

"..."

Qiueyue, who heard his mumble, did not ask him about it. Although she has been with him since she was just a baby, there are still many things about him that is shrouded in mysteries.

How did he meet her mother? How did he end up staying at the Sacred Moon Palace as a tutor, eventually becoming someone like a father figure to her?

"Speaking of body refining..." Su Yang turned his gaze to look at Qiuyue, and he said: "Qiuyue, although you cannot do anything about your cultivation base here, what about your Heavenly Constitution, the Lunar Eclipse? You were able to create two moons the last time I saw you, how many can you create now?"

The Lunar Eclipse is an Emperor-grade Heavenly Constitution unique to the families within the Sacred Moon Palace, and Qiuyue, who is the direct descendants of the Moon God and the Goddess of Moon, would naturally have it.

And in comparison to Xie Xingfang’s Royal-grade Hundred Poisons Body, it was three grades superior.

Qiuyue felt a drop of cold sweat slide down her forehead as she heard his question.

"T-Three..." she said in a timid voice.

"Only three?!" Su Yang exclaimed loudly. "What have you been doing for the past thousand years?! And you are the daughter of Yuehai, who had one of the most powerful Heavenly Constitution within the family?! I can only imagine the disappointed face she’d make if she were here!"

Despite the difference in their cultivation bases, Su Yang lectured Qiuyue as though she was just a child.

Qiuyue lowered her head and received his lecturing without uttering a single complaint, as she was used to being lectured by him in the past when she’d screw up.

And strangely, although she was being lectured by Su Yang, there was a smile on her face. In Qiuyue’s mind, it was a parent’s job to lecture their kids, so being lectured by Su Yang made him look more like a father in her eyes, and that gave her a feeling of joy.

"What are you smiling about? Do you think I am joking with you? Listen here, Qiuyue. When your mother was alive, I made a promise with her that if something happens to her and she could no longer be here to guide you anymore, I will be here for you until I am confident in leaving you alone!"

Su Yang’s words quickly wiped the smile of Qiuyue’s face, and she stared at him with trembling wide eyes. Even though he was treating her like a child who could not walk by herself despite being two millennia old, she could not help but cry tears of joy from hearing his words.

"Hmph. To think you were so brave and domineering just a few hours ago when we first met, you are still just a little brat!" Su Yang laughed, and then he retrieved a jade box from his storage ring.

"Here, take this Extreme Yin Flower that I’d found by chance. It should help your Heavenly Constitution even if just a little," he said to her with a nonchalant expression.

"Thank you, Senior Su..."

Qiuyue— who was already aware that he had one in his possession— chuckled upon accepting the flower he’d taken from her without being aware that it was hers.

"Su Yang. We are no longer at the Sacred Moon Palace, so just call me Su Yang from now on," he suddenly said to her.

"Su Yang...?" she said with a stiff expression, feeling a bit awkward to use his name after calling him ’Senior Su’ for so long.

"Or you can just call me ’father’... hahaha!" Su Yang said jokingly.

However, his joke was taken seriously by Qiuyue, who has been wanting to say these words to him ever since she was young.

"I understand, father..." Albeit it sounded shy, there was a sense of joy and pride in her voice.

Su Yang looked at her with a surprised expression, but he didn’t correct her, thinking it would be better for her mentally.

From that point forward, the two began talking about random things.

The two spoke to each other without stopping throughout the entire night, only stopping when the sunrise arrived.

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When the morning arrived, Su Yang walked out of the room, leaving Qiuyue inside to cultivate the Extreme Yin Flower he gave her. Although she had requested to follow him, he quickly denied her and told her to focus on cultivating herself while he walked his own path as a disciple in this Sect.

While Qiuyue was strong enough to avoid any danger in this world, the same could not be said for Su Yang, and he was not willing to shamelessly throw away his dignity as her mentor and his pride as a man by using Qiuyue as a shield whenever danger would arrive.

Su Yang stood outside his house, feeling more refreshed than he’s ever been since arriving at this world, and it felt to him as though a large mountain was lifted from his back after speaking with Qiuyue.

Then, he began walking toward the center of the Sect, where the Examination Halls was located— a place where Outer Court disciples go to take exams if they wished to become Inner Court disciples.