Dual Cultivation

A few hundred meters above the clouds, a small wooden boat soared through the blue sky like a shooting star, fierce and easily missed if one as much as blinks their eyes.

And sitting on this wooden boat that gave off the impression of an Immortal’s treasure were two young figures, a handsome young man with a young lady sitting beside him with her head resting on his shoulder intimately, looking like a couple on a love boat.

These two had been splitting the heavens with their speedy boat for two days straight now, yet neither of them opened their mouth to speak to one another after all this time.

However, despite the silence, neither of them showed any signs of awkwardness or displeasure with the stillness. As a matter of fact, one of the two was smiling gently, looking like a child during a blissful moment.

Suddenly, the young lady opened her eyes and spoke: "Father, I have a question..."

"What is it?"

Qiuyue turned to look at Su Yang, and with a curious gaze, she spoke: "How did you meet my mother?"

Hearing her question, Su Yang closed his eyes with a nonchalant expression.

"It was during the Moonlight Festival that is hosted by the Sacred Moon Temple every thousand years," he said a moment later, his voice filled with melancholy. "This was many thousand years before you were born."

"The Moonlight Festival..." Qiuyue pondered.

The Moonlight Festival was a tradition in her family with the purpose of increasing their Bloodline, and they would host this grand event every thousand years.

Qiuyue herself had been chosen to participate in the Moonlight Festival, but because she ran away before she could participate the next one, she doesn’t know much about it besides what was told to her by her mother, Yuehai.

"We had barely spoken to each other at the time, but that was the beginning of our relationship," said Su Yang, his expression filled with a feeling of nostalgia. And inside his head appeared the image of a young woman with profound similarities to the current Qiuyue standing in front of a large moon that illuminated her beauty by many folds.

"We wouldn’t see each other again until a few hundred years later," he continued. "And she was on her deathbed at that time."

"What?!" Qiuyue looked at him with disbelief clearly written on her face. Her mother was on her deathbed? How is that possible? There was never any signs of her ever being sick or injured to the point of dying.

"What happened to her? Why was she on her deathbed?" Qiuyue asked him.

Su Yang shook his head. "I will tell you when it is the right time," he said, refusing to tell her any more details.

"..."

Qiuyue was speechless. What is he not telling her? Why does the time have to be right? She really wanted to find out, but alas, knowing Su Yang, he definitely wouldn’t tell her no matter how much she begged.

"Hmph... Then what do you love about my mother?" she showed an unpleasant expression before changing the question.

Su Yang smiled, and as his eyes flickered with a beautiful light, he spoke: "Everything— from her charismatic characteristics to the way she breathed. I loved her sharp gazes, her every graceful movement, her clear voice, her soft skin— everything."

Qiuyue was slightly taken aback by Su Yang’s seemingly endless praises for her mother. When she first learned of her mother’s relationship with Su Yang, she almost didn’t believe it because they never showed any indications that would suggest such an intimate relationship between them.

However, as baffled as she was by his expression, Qiuyue was also relieved to hear such words from him. In fact, she could even feel the vast affection Su Yang had for Yuehai just from his tone alone.

"I see..."

A relieved smile broke out on Qiuyue’s face, and her arms suddenly wrapped itself around Su Yang’s arm, hugging it tightly.

"Now if only you stop embracing every girl that you see with your dangerous eyes..." Qiuyue mumbled, causing Su Yang’s expression to stiffen.

However, Qiuyue was not finished with her questions, and she continued to ask him: "About them... do you also love them?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, with a nonchalant expression, Su Yang spoke: "I am already at the age where I cannot fall in love easily with anybody, much less these little girls that have yet to truly experience the real Cultivation world. And it’s not like they have qualities that I haven’t already seen or tasted."

"Then why did you choose them? Is it purely for the sake of Cultivation? Do you even enjoy it?" Qiuyue continued to ask him.

"Indeed, it is purely for the sake of Cultivation. As for whether I enjoy it or not... Would you be able to enjoy eating plain bread when you’ve already tasted the world’s best cuisine countless times? Cultivating with the people here is akin to playing with children. If I don’t hold back, I am afraid that I might hurt them..."

"So if we were to leave this world and return to the Four Divine Heavens today, you would not feel anything?"

"..." Su Yang closed his eyes. "While it is true that I hold no attachments to this place nor its people, it is also true that I have accepted a select few into my embrace."

After a moment of silence, he continued in a low voice: "Though, there is one little girl that I cannot leave alone..."

"A little girl?"

For her to catch the attention of an Immortal like Su Yang, she must be one very unique individual.

"She reminds me of my first wife, who died as a Mortal," said Su Yang with a bitter smile. "I may be selfish for doing this, but I want to make sure that she reaches the Divine Realms before we leave this place."

"A special one, huh... how lucky..." Qiuyue thought to herself silently, wondering about this ’special’ one.

The two continued to talk with Su Yang recollecting many of the memories he had spent with Yuehai, and Qiuyue would listen with a bright expression, looking as though she was a child listening to heroic stories.

Time quickly passed.

And before they realized, they have arrived at their destination, the Northern Region.

When the wooden boat came to a halt, Qiuyue sighed inwardly, disheartened that she no longer has a reason to stick to Su Yang like wet dough. Despite using the slowest flying treasure she had just so she could stay closer to Su Yang for a little bit longer, they still arrived relatively fast.

"This is the Northern Region?" Su Yang gazed at the land from above the clouds.

There was nothing but trees and green in his view.

"Can you sense this Legacy Tomb with your Spiritual Sense?" He turned to ask Qiuyue.

"No, I cannot," she shook her head.

"However, I can sense a large crowd of people a few dozen miles to the south," she continued.

"Good, let’s travel by foot now. Flying treasures are too attention-grabbing here," said Su Yang.

Qiuyue nodded, and the wooden boat began descending towards the ground.