"Ji Nanhong's background runs deeper than I imagined," Chen Guan thought to himself. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⚑fire.net
"Have you made your decision yet?" Ji Nanhong asked coldly, doing her best to appear indifferent about the dual cultivation itself.
"The text recorded here might not be effective. I've never heard of secret techniques that can be cultivated without using a technique core," Chen Guan deliberately played dumb.
"The words recorded here are genuine," Ji Nanhong stated without hesitation.
"How would you know?" Chen Guan looked at Ji Nanhong with surprise.
Suppressing the urge to slap Chen Guan and force him into dual cultivation to shut him up, Ji Nanhong said emotionlessly, "This secret technique was left by the Ancestral Emperor, so it couldn't possibly be fake. The effects described are absolutely true."
"Left by the Ancestral Emperor? Why would the Ancestral Emperor leave such a method in a place ?" Chen Guan now became certain that Ji Nanhong also knew about the Ancestral Emperor leaving The Epang Scripture here.
Ji Nanhong said patiently, "There's no time to explain in detail now. Just know that this Epang Scripture was created by the Ancestral Emperor - that much is certain."
"The Ancestral Emperor was a figure of such stature. Even if he left behind secret techniques, they would surely be supreme methods that dominate all realms. Why would he create a dual cultivation technique?" Chen Guan tried to extract more information from Ji Nanhong.
"I can tell you that the Epang Palace was indeed built by the Ancestral Emperor to commemorate a woman named Epang. Even this Epang Scripture was created by the Ancestral Emperor for Epang, not for his own cultivation. The dual cultivation chapter is just one part of the Epang Scripture, created so the Ancestral Emperor could live eternally with Epang," Ji Nanhong explained calmly.
Chen Guan was stunned. He only knew from Wang Lian that the Ancestral Emperor had created the Epang Scripture - a secret technique allowing humans to cultivate without technique cores. He never imagined this technique was created by the Ancestral Emperor for a woman. It was unbelievable, beyond comprehension.
"Where did you hear this unverified history? I don't know if it's true, but it's certainly wild. I've never heard of any woman named Epang by the Ancestral Emperor's side. If she truly received such favor from him, how could she remain completely unknown?" Chen Guan found Ji Nanhong's story hard to believe.
Instead of refuting, Ji Nanhong said lightly, "Because Epang was the Ancestral Emperor's first love, and she died shortly after he unified the realms. Otherwise, why do you think the Ancestral Emperor never took an empress in his lifetime?"
"That still doesn't make sense. By your account, Epang was already dead. Why would the Ancestral Emperor create a secret technique for her? How would dual cultivation work - with a ghost?" Chen Guan found too many holes in Ji Nanhong's story to believe it.
"Do you know why the Ancestral Emperor sought the elixir of immortality?" Ji Nanhong asked coldly.
Chen Guan froze: "You mean... the Ancestral Emperor sought immortality not for his own cultivation, but to revive Epang?"
"Believe it or not, that's the truth. Right now, this is our only possible way out alive. Otherwise, while I'm still recovering from my injuries, we could be killed at any moment. Think carefully," Ji Nanhong's mood had turned foul.
Though Chen Guan was quite handsome, and she wouldn't reject something happening between them if absolutely necessary, his repeated reluctance made it seem like she was begging for it, which wounded her pride.
Chen Guan paid no attention to Ji Nanhong's feelings, as his own mood wasn't great either. If Ji Nanhong spoke truthfully, then the Epang Scripture was essentially designed for women - men probably couldn't cultivate it at all.
If so, then even obtaining the complete Epang Scripture would be useless to him. The only part potentially useful for men might be this dual cultivation chapter.
Chen Guan also recalled how Wang family elders, after learning of this place, hadn't actively sought the Epang Scripture, showing little interest. Only after so many years did Wang Lian come searching. Had the Wang elder only told Wang Lian about this?
Compared to such speculation, the idea that the Epang Scripture was a technique only women could cultivate seemed more plausible. That Wang elder was male, so despite knowing the location, he made no effort to retrieve the scripture or send other descendants.
Ji Nanhong also knew about the Epang Scripture, and she too was a woman. Could all this be coincidence? The more Chen Guan thought, the more Ji Nanhong's story seemed possible - that the Epang Scripture was truly created by the Ancestral Emperor for a woman.
This realization did nothing to improve Chen Guan's mood. Having been determined to obtain the Epang Scripture, only to learn he lacked the fundamental requirements to cultivate it - anyone would feel frustrated.
"If the Epang Scripture truly can't be cultivated, then we'll need another plan," Chen Guan was thinking when the glowing characters lit up again. This time, the shadow on the mountain wall stood upright, holding a sword.
The sword was also a shadow, its style resembling a Qin dynasty sword. Chen Guan felt extremely uneasy, sensing the shadow still watching him. Now it seemed the shadow sword might strike at any moment.
As this thought crossed Chen Guan's mind, the shadow suddenly swung its sword. The sword's shadow flashed through the underground space like a circling shadow under lamplight.
Reacting instinctively, both Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong dropped to the ground. But they moved too slowly - the sword shadow had already passed over them by the time they hit the floor.
Chen Guan frantically checked his body, finding no injuries or pain, and sighed in relief.
"Look over there..." Ji Nanhong's voice came.
Chen Guan turned to see her pointing with a shocked expression. Following her finger, he saw the reunited Shituo King descending along a bone chain above them.
The Shituo King's long absence had been spent recovering its divided body, only returning now to trouble them. Though restored to its original yin-yang combined form, both heads were missing their upper halves - only the parts below the nostrils remained, with clean cuts as if sliced by a blade.
The Shituo King's body hung motionless like a hanged corpse, swaying slowly on the bone chain, appearing thoroughly dead. Chen Guan felt chills down his spine - that single shadow sword strike had slain such a powerful Shituo King.