Everyone watched, dumbfounded.

Lu Xingzhou had specially customized a dan for Sheng Yuanyao’s Wind-Thunder Body, never expecting such a potent growth-promoting effect.

This wasn’t just a breakthrough and upgrade; it pushed the body tempering of her Wind-Thunder Body to a higher level, generating Wind-Thunder Wings.

It wasn’t merely the medicinal power of the dan; it was as if the Danlu had evolved the special effects of the dan by a notch, implying, “Since you have such special effects, let’s make them even more special.”

It was a motherly Danlu.

But Sheng Yuanyao looked so cool like this. A’nuo’s eyes were full of little stars: “Sister Yao looks so heroic!”

“Ahaha, really?” Sheng Yuanyao, who had been a little nervous, puffed out her chest with joy after A’nuo’s praise: “This General is naturally the most heroic! Come on, A’nuo, let’s go for a flight.”

With that, she flapped her wings, grabbed A’nuo, and with a whoosh, they vanished.

Lu Xingzhou and the others gasped. This speed was quite something… and those wings weren’t just illusions; they could actually flap?

Pei Chuyun quipped, “Look at that silly display.”

Then she quietly said to Lu Xingzhou, “Refine one for me too.”

Lu Xingzhou couldn’t help but smile: “What kind do you want, little succubus?”

Pei Chuyun bared her teeth.

How silly would real succubus wings be? But she didn’t know what she wanted either; she just thought Sheng Yuanyao looked so cool and felt jealous.

“Don’t worry, I’ll refine them all. Though I don’t know what properties this Danlu will ‘explode’ with… for example, Yuanyao’s was Wind-Thunder body tempering, and it enhanced in that direction. But what about cultivation that isn’t body tempering? Anyway, refining more should help us figure out the pattern.” Lu Xingzhou eagerly began selecting medicinal ingredients, intending to refine one for Pei Chuyun as well.

However, Pei Chuyun truly didn’t have a special direction for enhancement; her focus was on her divine soul. The majority of the Channü Hehuan Sect’s techniques revolved around mental control and soul power, not even dealing with the Five Elements. Many of their combat techniques were designed for seduction, much like Tianxuan Nü that day… now, a significant portion of Pei Chuyun’s close-combat techniques came from her family’s inherited teachings.

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and decided to continue refining divine soul-strengthening medicine for Pei Chuyun, to keep guarding against the risk of possession.

That day, Tianxuan Nü had merely tried to control Pei Chuyun by triggering a “seed,” but due to pre-prepared intervention, she only tasted it superficially and couldn’t go deeper. What if one day they encountered something more targeted? This remained the top priority.

Thus, when Pei Chuyun took this immortal dan, there were no external changes at all, and she drooped her head, feeling very frustrated.

Lu Xingzhou found it genuinely amusing, pinching her cheek: “What are you frustrated about? When your life is on the line, you still care about whether it looks good or not?”

Pei Chuyun retorted matter-of-factly: “Looking good is a lifelong affair.”

“So, how do you feel about your cultivation now?”

Pei Chuyun hesitated a little. Matters of the divine soul were difficult to explain in words. After a moment of thought, she tried to give Lu Xingzhou a wink.

Lu Xingzhou was startled, and suddenly felt his love surge. The little demoness, whom he already liked very much, now seemed like a goddess worthy of worship. He wished he could turn into a dog, barking and wagging his tail, kneeling to lick her toes, just hoping to make her smile.

“Damn…” The technique quickly receded, and Lu Xingzhou felt a lingering fear.

This was a typical method of the Channü Hehuan Sect, infinitely magnifying the inherent affection in the other person’s heart, turning normal love into an improper sycophancy, allowing the demonesses to manipulate them at will. Of course, some people didn’t need to be subjected to such a technique to act this way; they thought they were normal, in which case, there was no cure.

This time, it was certainly because he was completely unguarded against Pei Chuyun that he fell for it. However, due to the peculiarity of his cultivation, this move should have been largely ineffective against him before. Now, just a wink had such a significant effect; it was a bit terrifying. He felt that Tianxuan Nü was far from this level, otherwise everyone would have a much harder time fighting Tianxuan Nü.

Tianxuan Nü had to expose her body and tear her clothes to charm others, not accomplish it with just a wink.

Pei Chuyun was very pleased with Lu Xingzhou’s reaction: “It’s not that my technique’s effect surpassed Master’s; it’s truly because you already love me deeply, so the amplification is evident.”

Lu Xingzhou: “…But originally, my cultivation was related to Yin-Yang, so my resistance to this technique should be different. So, what’s the additional effect of this dan?”

“A suppressive effect of the same kind, meaning unique and singular,” Pei Chuyun said seriously. “It’s precisely because your Dahuanxi Jile Jing has similar effects that it was suppressed. For others, it might not be as effective.”

Lu Xingzhou’s heart stirred: “Can it even suppress Tianxuan Nü? Given such a large cultivation gap?”

“It’s certainly not enough against Master… but if she tries to control me, it should also be more troublesome for her.”

Everyone turned their heads to look at the Danlu again, their eyes sparkling.

This treasure was even more useful than they had initially imagined, a significant boost in the hands of a high-grade Dan master.

Of course, everything has its rules. Frequent use of similar dans would lead to a kind of “drug resistance,” rendering them meaningless. Even dans simply used to increase cultivation would have diminishing effects the more they were consumed, and would also accumulate dan poison. And these special-effect dans should only be effective for the first one or two; it’s unrealistic to expect to stack effects by consuming more.

But currently, these were only first-grade dans. When refining super-grade, or even higher-grade ones in the future, the effects could again be amplified. And everyone could also explore other different effects; the potential was still vast.

Lu Xingzhou was enthusiastic and began refining for Shen Tang and himself.

“What effect do you want to enhance, Tangtang?” Lu Xingzhou asked. “According to the attributes of the Huangji Jingshi Jing, how about enhancing imperial qi and dominance, or extending your lifespan?”

Shen Tang blinked: “No, I want to refine my sword intent.”

“Why? Your main practice is the Huangji Jingshi Jing, not the Tianxing Jian Jue.”

“Precisely because my main cultivation technique is the Huangji Jingshi Jing, my sword intent is overbearing and fierce, lacking in sharpness and flexibility. No matter what sword I use, it feels like I’m wielding a heavy sword. I want to harmonize it… or rather, I’ve always wanted to improve the Huangji Jingshi Jing.”

“Uh…” Lu Xingzhou scratched his head.

Shen Tang chuckled: “What’s wrong?”

“That request has stumped me. I’m just an alchemist; I can only affect your body or spirit, but I can’t change the essence of your cultivation technique.”

Shen Tang leaned in and whispered: “Then add some resilience to my body tempering, lay a foundation… mm, it’ll be useful at night too…”

Pei Chuyun’s eyes widened from the side.

Am I the Hehuan demoness or are you the Hehuan demoness? How can you be even more sultry than me?

Lu Xingzhou was already happily going to prepare the medicine.

Shen Tang subtly glanced at Pei Chuyun, silently letting out a “hmph.”

Sheng Yuanyao was someone she, Shen Tang, had agreed to and even encouraged, so there was nothing to say; Pei Chuyun, however, was someone Lu Xingzhou had dallied with outside on his own, and Shen Tang was displeased. You think you’re the only demoness, the only one who can charm? You even used charm on my husband in front of me just now. For the next few days, I’ll make sure you get no share of anything.

Pei Chuyun understood Shen Tang’s little look, and a “yoo-hoo” sounded in her heart as she began to scheme.

Pei Chuyun also felt her luck was strange. Why did she feel like everyone’s enemy even in Lu Xingzhou’s backyard?

A’nuo was close to everyone but fought with her; Shen Tang, who claimed to be magnanimous, just found her displeasing; as for Dugu Qingli, don’t even mention it. Their initial acquaintance was because she ambushed that little white-haired one, and then she was brutally burned by the guy surnamed Lu. Because of Dugu Qingli, the Imperial Advisor couldn’t possibly look upon her favorably and hadn’t said much to her until now. And with Sheng Yuanyao, they used to clash upon meeting, only becoming闺蜜 (guīmì) after being stacked together.

As for Yuan Muyu, don’t even bring her up; who understands the value of breaking Yan Jun with one hand?

After much thought, there was only one reason… they were jealous that she got in earlier than them, a bunch of weaklings.

How could Shen Tang know what the little demoness was scheming? Lu Xingzhou’s dan was ready, and she happily took it.

She had expected no external manifestations, just like Pei Chuyun. But as the dan entered her stomach, purple qi rose behind her. The majestic purple qi condensed behind her, gradually forming the shape of an ancient sword.

Even the dharma body was forced out…

Lu Xingzhou and Pei Chuyun watched, dumbfounded, as the ancient sword-shape soared into the sky, tearing through layers of clouds. Heavenly light suddenly appeared, illuminating the ancient sword-shape, connecting heaven and earth as one with the sword-form, achieving the unity of heaven and man.

Sheng Yuanyao, who had flown out for a stroll with A’nuo, hurriedly flew back: “What’s going on, what’s this? The whole capital is looking at our house.”

Lu Xingzhou didn’t know what was happening, only that Shen Tang’s aura was growing prodigiously. She had reached the edge of first-grade after dual cultivation and was temporarily unable to break through, but now she furiously broke through first-grade with power to spare.

But this dan was not meant for increasing cultivation, nor for breaking through realms; it was merely to harmonize the resilience of her body…

Could it be that harmonizing the excessive rigidity of the Huangji Jingshi Jing was the path to the unity of heaven and man? The theory seemed plausible, but it shouldn’t be that simple…

Oh, right, Shanhe Ziyan, Huangji Jingshi, had special enhancements.

The heavenly light faded, and the ancient sword dissipated.

Shen Tang’s flowing long hair fell back into place, and her closed eyes opened. A purple gleam flashed in her eyes, like a god or a demon.

Shen Tang, first-grade middle stage.

Everyone: “…”

The sheer power of this cheat was so overwhelming that Sheng Yuanyao’s cool Wind-Thunder Wings no longer seemed as appealing.

Inside the imperial palace, Gu Yiheng looked up at the heavenly light and purple qi, clicking his tongue: “Such a perfect Huangji Jingshi, the Way of Kings, aligning with heaven… Actually, if they had pushed Shen Tang to ascend earlier, that would have been the most perfect sacrifice. What a pity they were sensible and avoided this trap.”

Hai Ruyuan, beside him, whispered, “It doesn’t seem too late?”

“Hard to say now… mainly, Shen Tang herself has no intention of sitting on this throne… it’s a bit troublesome.”

“Whether she wants to or not, who knows? Who can be indifferent to the throne? Perhaps it’s hidden in her heart, feigning magnanimity.”

Gu Yiheng also smiled: “That’s true, then we shall wait and see.”

Over there, Lu Xingzhou was asking: “So, have you improved your cultivation technique or something?”

Shen Tang silently introspected for a moment, then smiled slightly: “The essence of the cultivation technique hasn’t changed, but all aspects are more coordinated and adaptable… The Huangji Jingshi Jing is too overbearing and fierce, not the true Way of Kings. It requires our own thoughts to harmonize it, only then can it be both firm and flexible, conforming to heaven and responding to people. Just like some Buddhist and Daoist killing techniques, they need Buddhist dharma and Daoist scriptures to resolve their fierce energy, the principle is similar… Everyone cultivates the Huangji Jingshi Jing, the technique is not wrong, but the person is.”

Everyone looked at her as if she were a celestial being, remaining silent.

Could you blame Gu Zhanting for being wary of you? You are too outrageous. It’s a good thing he’s dead now, otherwise, this would be tantamount to pointing at his nose and saying, your emperors are doing it wrong, I should be the one to do it.

Lu Xingzhou was also struck by his wife’s genius. He silently divided the fire seeds, sharing them equally between himself and A’nuo: “No more alchemy today, let’s refine the fire seeds and rest.”