Chapter 70: Controlling the fire in one's mind

'Reversing Two Universes Dance' consisted of some strange positions between two partners. By putting specific points in contact and by performing a special breathing, the woman would absorb much of the man's essence and turn it into Qi within her own body. This practice would weaken the man of course, so no cultivator would agree to do it without a profound reason. This kind of method was considered to be part of the Evil Path. In the orthodox path, dual cultivation was always supposed to enlighten both partners. Some selfish dual cultivations were also accepted in times of crisis, but they were exceptional.

For example, to help the woman you loved, this cultivation would be tolerated by the orthodox path so long as both partners were fully aware of its consequences and approved of it. Trying to steal someone's essence was akin to forcing yourself on someone. And it was strongly frown upon, even by Lu Meihan herself.

Sadly, she had become desperate. She was not yet ready to abandon all pretense, but means she never would have even considered before were now acceptable options. Thus, she still felt scared that something had gone wrong with Cao Yun. First of all, she didn't want him hurt. And getting him hurt would make using 'Reversing Two Universes Dance' impossible. But, also, if he got hurt in her chambers, an inquiry would be conducted. None of these options seemed good at all.

She had used an array formation built from incense sticks and their fragrance. This was a very specific type of array formation. The man who had built it was a true genius and the array formation was very easy to activate, even for Lu Meihan. All she had to do was ask her servant to put incense sticks at specific spots. Then, to activate the array formation, you just had to burn these incense sticks.

Hence the array formation was pretty short lived but its effects would last as long as the fragrance was within the room. It also meant that were would be no proof of this array formation as all proof literally burned away. In return, it wasn't that powerful. But its effects targeted the mind. As long as someone was not wary when entering the formation, they had no chance of resisting unless they were a Spirit Warrior. And indeed, Cao Yun had the strongest mind in the outer disciples thanks to his mind cultivation, and yet the tranquil atmosphere of this place had made him fall for this trap.

No matter how much she looked, there was nothing wrong with Cao Yun.

"Junior Chen, are you alright?" Lu Meihan was trying to gauge out whether he was fully awake or not. Was there still a chance for her to perform 'Reversing Two Universes Dance'? Did he realize what had happened?

According to the expert who had built this array formation, once its effects spread through someone, they would affect their memory and they would have no recollection at all.

-

Deep within his sea of consciousness, Cao Yun was now controlling the entire medicinal essence gathered in a ball within his Lower Dantian. More medicinal essence kept on entering his body through his nose and he quickly condensed it with this ball.

He had an idea in mind. This medicinal essence was very similar to the Praying Demon Pill in nature. It was full of Fire element as its goal was to excite and arouse. He was a bit worried to try out his idea, but he had to find a way to get this medicinal essence out of him anyway. Right now, he hadn't learned to control his acupoints, so sending it out from his meridians was pretty difficult.

Usually, he needed to go find his instructor. Meng Jia would have no problem at all taking this medicinal essence and purging it. But he had a better idea. He could use this essence to temper his Shen character. Indeed, he was very close to reach Perfection. The Praying Demon Pill had allowed him to increase a lot in a very short time. What he was most worried about was not the Drop of Wrath taking over during his training, but the people around him.

He split a part of his intent to extend his senses outside. His body was standing completely still and Lu Meihan affected a worried look on her face. They were still both alone in the room and the woman was clearly too weak to do anything at all. Lu Meihan did not seem to realize that he had countered the medicinal essence. She probably thought that something went wrong with the array formation.

Cao Yun did not want to reveal his cards right now. He had no idea what she wanted to do to him but her face showed him it wasn't to physically harm him at all. After all, there were many witnesses who saw him get inside. With Xiao Xuefeng as a support, hurting him in full view of the public was akin to suicide. Xiao Xuefeng would probably kill Lu Meihan even before a trial.

"Miss Lu, I'm sorry. I suddenly felt strange. I apologize but I have to meditate right now." Cao Yun used a fraction of his mind to speak and then sat cross-legged right there on the floor. To the surprise of Lu Meihan, he really started to meditate.

In his Lower Dantian, the medicinal essence was condensed in a small fiery ball. He controlled a small part of it and sent it through his spine toward his mind. In his sea of consciousness, a very small red dot appeared from nowhere and joined with the Shen character. Cao Yun drawn the character using this dot but it was too small. However, the heat around the character still increased slightly.

Now that he had proof that his idea would work, he controlled more of the medicinal essence. As he was controlling it, more medicinal essence was coming in his body. It was taxing on his mind as he had to control the new essence, manipulate the one he was sending up his spine and also circulate the Shen character to temper it.

This process was also teaching him how to control medicinal essence with his Qi. No alchemist under the Mortal Warrior realm had ever done so. But he was also thinking of other ways to emulate this process without any danger.

In a matter of minutes, the fragrance that flooded the room had completely disappeared within the Shen character. The incense sticks were burnt away and no proof of the array formation was kept.

For Cao Yun, this trap was a big opportunity. He had finally reached Perfection. Now, the Shen character was a perfect piece of cinnabar carved in the form of the character. This Fire Spirit character was surrounded by a very light flame.

All three characters got closer to each other, closing in on the Drop of Wrath. On this drop, the Shen character was now engraved in fire. This character was also perfectly reflected by the vast ocean below. The Shen was like a general and it floated a little bit higher than the other two.

Right now, Cao Yun knew he could perfectly draw the Shen character, just as it was in the manual. He had reached Perfection in three of the five characters. Only half of the first layer was mastered and yet his mind was already his trump card. It was really the reason of his fast progress in all other fields. Without this powerful mind, he would still be a talented fighter, but he probably would have needed at least three months to forge the Neck Star. Thanks to it, he did it in less than 6 weeks. Similarly, he never would have gotten any alchemy rank at all.

Mind cultivation was way more important than he had thought. Finding this obscure manual in a private library from such a small city like Yinmen was truly a gift from heaven. The Drop of Wrath and the 'Cultivation of Wrath' were also great gifts, but the first always tried to take over his mind and offered very few advantages. The Drop of Wrath could only be used to back up his intent. However his Yi the Earth Intent, was way stronger than the intent from the Drop of Wrath, especially when combined with Zhi and Shen, even more so now that all of them had reached Perfection.

The 'Cultivation of Wrath' was only a cultivation method. Even though it seemed more powerful and faster than the 'Universal Law of Immortality', it wasn't something he could advance as fast as he wanted. Cultivating was always a slow process and every stage took usually longer and longer. Even his mind cultivation would inevitably slow down in the later stages.

-

Finally, Lu Meihan saw Cao Yun open his eyes and get back to reality. She had realized that her plan had failed for a long time but this was definite proof right there.

"Junior Chen. Are you alright?" Affecting a very concerned look, Lu Meihan used all her talent in performance to convey her sincerity. Of course, Cao Yun knew she was the one who planned all this. After all, she had requested for his presence. It was her room. And she had made sure that everyone else was out. Moreover, the incense sticks were ignited just before he came in. He really needed no other proof to know for sure that she was the one behind this trap.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lu. There was just something that troubled me. Maybe I just overworked with some ingredients earlier. I almost saw things. I sincerely apologize for my behavior, coming in your faction residence and just starting meditating out of the blue..." He tried to find a plausible explanation. This array formation assaulted the mind. By reminding her of his alchemy position, he could both pressure her and explain why his mind could resist. He also provided a way to make her believe he was none the wiser to her trap. An alchemist having visions because of medicinal essence could indeed explain it as a byproduct of his work.

Cao Yun had almost no information so he was going to keep the few things he knew to himself. He had no idea why he was attacked, why he was targeted, if the target was him personally or his faction, what she wanted to do with him or who knew about this.

Did Wang Mei know?

On the other hand, Lu Meihan knew the answers to all these questions. The only thing she didn't know right know was whether Cao Yun was aware of the trap he just thwarted. Naturally, she was suspicious but what he said made sense. Maybe he had absorbed too much medicinal essence. Maybe it had even clashed with the incense and this was the reason of the failure. Maybe he thought that the assault on his mind was due to this medicinal essence and not the incense. Everything was plausible, but Lu Meihan was a faction leader. She knew to always be careful or all her influence and power could be lost in a single moment. During her five years in the sect, she had seen it happen to many, hence her desire to recover as fast as possible without anyone noticing her weakness in the meantime.

She was also a performer, so she knew how to put up an act. "Junior Chen. I'm so sorry that your first visit would bring you such discomfort. I have many girls who could soothe your mind with various means. Do you prefer music, singing, dance... ? Tell me what would be to your liking?"

"Miss Lu. I'm really fine. I'll just get some rest later." Cao Yun got a little closer. "But I'm intrigued. Why did you want to see me?"

"Junior Chen is very direct. Good." For a while, Lu Meihan closed her eyes as if she was struggling to say her next words. "As you see, I'm terribly weak. During my cultivation, I tried to forcibly open some of my acupoints to break through into the Mortal Warrior realm. Since then, some important meridians have been terribly damaged and I have difficulty moving my Qi through them. Even simple movements can become impossible because of my state."

She had no intention of letting the truth get out, but she now had no other choice. She had been careless. With the array formation in place, she was confident that Cao Yun would be under her charm. Beforehand, she had pondered about using a pill to temporarily increase her stamina. But the aftershock of the one she had used during the entrance examination was still affecting her. Now she was cornered because her weakness was exposed for Cao Yun to see.

Hence, she quickly decided to be truthful about her condition. "I asked many physicians about it... They all agreed that there was nothing to do. I know that you are close to Guest Elder Xiao, so I wondered if you could petition her to help me. I know it's far-fetched, but I'm very desperate." There was no way that Xiao Xuefeng could help her. She had been able to get the help of a 3-star Heaven physician. Even a 5-star Heaven alchemist was not as proficient in matters of health as a 1-star Heaven physician. So if her higher-ranked expert told her there was nothing to help her, Xiao Xuefeng would find nothing either.

"I see. What Miss Lu has told me is indeed terrible. Guest Elder Xiao is very busy, but I will ask her in person if she can examine you. I cannot promise anything though." In truth, Cao Yun had no intention whatsoever of doing so. Lu Meihan had tried to use him against his will for some nefarious plan, he wasn't going to help her just like that. However, this information was useful to him. By watching her, her weakness was obvious. And with his mind cultivation, Cao Yun did not detect any falsehood in her statement up to the point she talked about Xiao Xuefeng.

Clearly she asked him to come for something else and only used Xiao Xuefeng as an excuse. Cao Yun was also aware that even though alchemists had some notions, they were not physicians. In the matter of poison, an alchemist could rival a physician of the same level, but not on wounds or diseases.

Using this information, Cao Yun gathered that she wanted to use him in order to heal. The only thing he could think about was some kind of dual cultivation. After all, this array had caused him to see the woman he loved in a very lascivious way. Given her beauty and her status, she could also have used her own charms to seduce him. The fact that she did not meant that this dual cultivation was not that simple. Most likely it wasn't part of the orthodox way.

In Cao Yun's mind, a conclusion appeared and then a question. Was Lu Meihan part of the demonic cultivators? Probably not. But she had maybe come into contact with one. He had targeted the demonic cultivators of the Lunar Marsh in an attempt to gain information and now he had another chance. He couldn't expose her. If she was a demonic cultivator, she would be tried and Cao Yun could not speak with her alone anymore. On the other hand, if she only got in contact with one, the true demonic cultivator would simply run away.