A Surprising Act of Trust

Yuan Xing naturally knew those people would try to double-cross him. So when he proposed the cooperation agreement, he was already prepared to counter any betrayal.

It was because of this plan that he deliberately hid his true strength and tried everything to find out theirs.

He treated Xiao Siyu the same way.

Even though their brief time together had made him quite fond of her, even moved, he knew these feelings were probably just wishful thinking on his part.

The genes of cultivators had already determined their selfish nature. Every action was for their own benefit. Under these circumstances, it was almost impossible to develop genuine feelings for another person.

But there were exceptions to everything. For example, in the mortal world, although ordinary people carried genes for reproduction, theoretically willing to give up everything for their offspring or loved ones, there were still a few who were so selfish they would sell anyone out.

The same logic applied to the Eight Wastelands. No matter how selfish the mainstream was, it didn’t rule out the possibility of someone who could genuinely like another.

Of course, such people were extremely rare. Yuan Xing didn’t think he would ever meet one. So no matter how fond he was of Xiao Siyu, he remained constantly on guard, keeping everything under his control.

Now it was the same. If Xiao Siyu kept all three fruits for herself and tried to kill him, Yuan Xing wouldn’t hesitate to double-cross her back, kill her, and take the fruits and everything else she had.

In this world, you had to be darker than others to survive longer.

But what Yuan Xing didn’t expect was that Xiao Siyu actually shared the fruits with him.

This caught him completely off guard.

So when he took the fruit, he stood there stunned.

“What, happy silly?” Xiao Siyu waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Oh… yeah.” Yuan Xing closed his fist around the fruit. When he looked at Xiao Siyu again, his eyes were much softer.

“By the way, I heard you came looking for Morning Dew because your lifespan is almost up and you need it to extend your life.” Xiao Siyu remembered this fact. With a flick of her finger, she produced another fruit from her storage ring and handed it over.

“Eating Morning Dew directly can only add at most twenty years of life, and it has no other benefits. That’s such a waste.

“This is a Renmian Fruit. It can add five years of life. Eat this first to buy some time. Strive to reach the late stage of Qi Refining within five years. Then use the Morning Dew to break through to Foundation Establishment. That will give you forty extra years, and your realm will also increase. That’s the best way to maximize its use. Don’t be stupid and eat it now.”

Xiao Siyu shoved the Renmian Fruit into Yuan Xing’s hand, chattering away like an elder teaching a disappointing younger generation.

“Oh…” Yuan Xing took it, finding it somewhat amusing. Xiao Siyu explaining things earnestly revealed a different kind of cuteness.

“Alright, now let’s start cultivating.”

Having dealt with the distribution, Xiao Siyu walked to an open space and sat down cross-legged. She spread her palms on her legs, revealing several objects. They were all spirit fruits and immortal herbs.

These were the materials needed for Foundation Establishment. She had already collected the others; she was only missing the Morning Dew. Now that she had it, she could begin breaking through.

She closed her eyes, clasped all the herbs between her hands, and a faint glow emanated from her body, enveloping them.

Not far away, Yuan Xing watched in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Xiao Siyu to trust him enough to attempt Foundation Establishment with him right there.

The process of Foundation Establishment left one completely unaware of the outside world. In other words, it was the time when she was most defenseless, most vulnerable to attack.

That was why cultivators typically found an absolutely safe place before breaking through.

And now, while this cave might be safe, there was still an outsider here. Even if he was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, if he had ill intentions, Xiao Siyu would be in great danger.

Of course, Yuan Xing understood why she had to undergo Foundation Establishment now. She was already at the late stage of Qi Refining, stuck at a bottleneck. If she didn’t break through, no amount of cultivation would improve her. If she didn’t take advantage of this excellent spirit vein immediately, she would have to watch it slip away.

So she had to break through now.

The safest course would have been to kill Yuan Xing first, then undergo Foundation Establishment.

But Xiao Siyu chose to take the risk rather than kill him. This move already set her apart from ordinary cultivators.

Could it be that he was so lucky to have met someone who wasn’t extremely selfish?

Or was it simply that Xiao Siyu wasn’t smart enough to think that far?

Either way, his opinion of her had completely changed.

He found a flat spot nearby, sat down cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

Such a blessed cave was not to be missed.

As soon as he entered the cultivation state, he felt a rich, comfortable aura surrounding him. Without any effort on his part, as soon as his technique started, the spiritual energy surged in. In the past, absorbing spiritual energy had felt like a small stream. This time, it was like a great river or waterfall, dozens of times more efficient.

Soon, he too became immersed in it.

On Xiao Siyu’s side, after an unknown amount of time, she slowly exhaled and opened her eyes.

The whole world seemed renewed. She sensed that it was because her senses had become sharper: not just sight, but hearing, touch, and all other sensations.

Her internal state had also changed significantly. Her spiritual power was much more abundant.

She nodded in satisfaction, then seemed to remember something. She quickly turned her head to look around. When she saw Yuan Xing still deeply absorbed in cultivation, she let out a sigh of relief and smiled slightly.

It wasn’t that she had completely dismissed the possibility of Yuan Xing taking advantage of her. But this cultivation opportunity was too rare, and Yuan Xing’s previous behavior had given her enough confidence to take the risk of breaking through in front of him.

Now, he hadn’t disappointed her. Yuan Xing had indeed shown no sign of ill intent.

Being with him gave her a sense of peace.

Turning her attention back to herself, Xiao Siyu sensed a sticky layer on her body. It was very uncomfortable.

That was the impurities expelled from her body after the marrow cleansing.

She quickly used a water current to wash it off, then hastily constructed a mirror of ice crystals to examine her current appearance.

The love of beauty was universal. This was not just a saying in the mortal world; it applied to the Eight Wastelands as well.

But the difference was that in the mortal world, loving beauty might be about attracting the opposite s*x. In the Eight Wastelands, loving beauty was about confirming one’s own health status.

After all, even in the mortal world, human beauty was a standard of health.

Why did people prefer beautiful partners? It was genetic selection. The better the genes and the healthier the body, the more beautiful the person appeared. Choosing a more beautiful partner was to ensure better, healthier genes for the next generation.

So to some extent, beauty represented health.

The same principle applied in the cultivation world of the Eight Wastelands.

By observing one’s own external beauty, one could confirm one’s health.

Thus, the love of beauty was really about loving one’s own beauty. Knowing that one was healthy naturally brought joy.

In fact, the same was true in the mortal world. Seeing oneself as beautiful also brought happiness; it was instinct. But mortals would use makeup and adornment to hide their flaws in order to attract the opposite s*x, deceiving themselves.

The cultivation world was different. Beauty was for confirming health, so they could not adorn themselves. They had to rely on natural appearance to more objectively observe their condition.

Now, the reflection in the water mirror showed Xiao Siyu after just washing. Her thin clothes clung to her body, fully revealing her figure. It was perfectly proportioned: not too fat, not too thin.

“Hehe.”

Xiao Siyu smiled contentedly. She leaned closer to the mirror to examine her skin.

Her skin was even more flawless than before, like a newborn baby’s, with not a single blemish.

She couldn’t help pinching her cheeks, pouting, and sticking out her tongue. The mirror reflected her beautiful pink lips and small tongue.

“Hmm?”

When she saw her tongue, she couldn’t help thinking of the feeling of Yuan Xing kissing her that night. At the same time, she also recalled the sensation of breaking through just now and compared them.

“How… could breaking through feel even worse than that?”

Xiao Siyu muttered to herself in confusion.

The gene for immortality, in order to motivate people to cultivate and pursue longevity, would reward them when their cultivation increased. Breaking through a realm was the highest reward within that realm.

Xiao Siyu had cultivated from the early stage of Qi Refining to this point. Although she hadn’t deliberately pursued that reward, having built up anticipation for so long, she had naturally been looking forward to that legendary breakthrough sensation.

Especially after that night with Yuan Xing, when she experienced a similar but peak pleasure, she became even more expectant.

If even a technique from a mere early Qi Refining cultivator could give her that ultimate experience, wouldn’t the feeling of breaking through to Foundation Establishment be even better?

So she broke through with high expectations, and…

This was it?

Although it was stronger than the usual sensation, compared to that night with Yuan Xing…

— It didn’t even measure up to being kissed by him, let alone that peak pleasure that had blanked out her entire mind.

“That kid…”

Xiao Siyu looked at Yuan Xing again, her expression complicated.

The saying ‘no comparison, no harm’ was true. Now she only felt an emptiness in her heart.

At that moment, Yuan Xing’s expression shifted slightly. He slowly exhaled, clearly finishing a cycle and about to wake up.

Xiao Siyu thought for a moment, then walked over and sat down opposite him, waiting for him to awaken.