Chapter 208: Pre-battle Special Training! This is nowhere near warming a bed; it is clearly a torture session!

Saintess Ji Wushuang bit her lower lip fiercely, completely unaware even as a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Her peach blossom eyes glared fiercely at Gu Lan, filled with warning, resentment, and an unmaskable trace of worry.

The meaning could not be more obvious: If you dare to happen anything with this Old Hag, this Palace will definitely snap you in two!

But facing the terrifying coercion of Ye Hongzhuang at the Soul Transformation Stage level, even with her noble status as Saintess, she could only swallow this grievance into her stomach.

"Subordinate… takes leave."

Saintess Ji Wushuang squeezed these four words out through her teeth with difficulty, abruptly turned around, and strode out of the military tent.

The heavy animal-skin door curtain fell heavily, completely isolating the violent wind and snow outside from the sound of Saintess Ji Wushuang's footsteps.

Inside the spacious and luxurious military tent, only Gu Lan and Ye Hongzhuang were left.

The air was filled with a peculiar, subtle fragrance baked out from the warm sun jade.

Several fist-sized night-luminescent pearls emitted a faint, cold light, making Ye Hongzhuang's peerlessly beautiful and bewitching face appear even more dangerous.

"Gulp."

Gu Lan swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Although he now possessed the Divine Sense of the Nascent Soul Stage and had much more confidence, saying that his heart wasn't creeping out when facing this fickle Female Demon Lord alone would be a lie.

"Hon… Honored One."

Gu Lan rubbed his hands together and gave two dry laughs, "In the dead of night like this, with a lone man and woman, is the 'special training' you mentioned… proper special training?"

Ye Hongzhuang did not answer immediately.

She lazily leaned sideways on the soft couch and lightly hooked her finger.

"Whoosh!"

The belt around Gu Lan's waist seemed to have a life of its own, instantly scattering apart.

Following that, a gentle yet irresistible Devilish Qi directly stripped the black-gold robe from his body and threw it onto the distant carpet.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Lan was left with only a thin undergarment.

His sturdy and well-built upper body was completely exposed to the air.

Because of the Top-grade Pure Yang Body, a faint, lustrous glow even faintly radiated from the surface of his skin.

"Holy cow! Honored One, what are you doing?! This subordinate sells skills, not my body!"

Gu Lan instinctively crossed his arms over his chest, looking vividly like a decent woman about to be raped by a bully.

"Shut up, come over."

Ye Hongzhuang coldly spat out four words, leaving no room for doubt.

Gu Lan could only bite the bullet and edge toward the soft couch step by step.

"Sit down."

Gu Lan obediently sat cross-legged on the edge of the soft couch.

The moment he sat down, Ye Hongzhuang suddenly pressed up against him from behind.

That soft, icy touch pressed closely against Gu Lan's scorching back.

The intense temperature difference caused Gu Lan's entire body to stiffen abruptly, and even his breathing halted.

He could even clearly feel the cold fragrance exhaled by Ye Hongzhuang spraying against the back of his neck.

Before his mind could wander, a jade hand as icy as ten-thousand-year glacial ice pressed without warning onto his Dantian position!

"Boom!!!"

An extremely tyrannical and bone-chillingly cold black Devilish Qi, like a sharp ice cone, directly pierced through Gu Lan's skin and savagely rushed into his Meridians!

"Ah——!!!"

Gu Lan instantly raised his head, the veins on his forehead bulging one by one, letting out an irrepressible miserable scream.

Pain!

An excruciating pain that could not be described with words!

Wherever that extremely Yin Devilish Qi passed, Gu Lan felt as though his Meridians had been frozen into brittle glass, only to be heavily shattered by a sledgehammer!

That chill spreading from the depths of his bone marrow seemed as though it wanted to completely freeze his Soul.

"Can't handle this already?"

Ye Hongzhuang's voice rang out beside his ear, carrying a hint of cruel indifference.

"The extreme Yin devilish fiends in Wanmo Cave are ten times colder and more chilling than the Devilish Qi I am using now!"

"If the Pure Yang Qi inside your body does not adapt to this kind of impact in advance, you will turn into an ice sculpture in less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick tomorrow, without even a trace left!"

"Guard your mind and heart for this Throne! Guide your Pure Yang Qi to resist it!"

So this fucking thing was special training!

This is nowhere near special training; this is clearly a torture session!

Gu Lan bit his teeth hard, tasting a strong scent of blood in his mouth.

He did not urge the Green Lotus Core Flame and Red Lotus Karmic Fire hidden within the black stubborn stone, because once the strange flames erupted, his trump cards would be completely exposed before Ye Hongzhuang.

He could only rely on his remodeled Pure Yang Physical Body to forcefully endure it!

"Hum——!"

Gu Lan forcibly mobilized the surging Pure Yang Qi and blood inside his body, transforming them into torrents of scalding heat, and slammed them head-on against the ice cone formed by the extreme Yin Devilish Qi.

Extreme Yin and extreme Yang unfolded a tragic slaughter inside Gu Lan's body.

A thick layer of white frost condensed on the left half of his body, emitting a bone-piercing chill; while the right half turned scarlet like blood, and wisps of white smoke even emerged from the surface of his skin, astonishingly scalding.

The dual heavens of ice and fire!

This extreme tug-of-war caused Gu Lan's entire body to spasm uncontrollably from pain.

Yet he stubbornly didn't utter a single sound, firmly guarding his spiritual platform clear and bright, and using that Nascent Soul-level Divine Sense to precisely control the path of every wisp of Pure Yang Qi and blood to repair those Meridians torn apart by the Devilish Qi.

"This brat…"

Ye Hongzhuang, who was pressed against Gu Lan's back, flashed a trace of extreme shock in her eyes.

She originally just wanted to give this small undercover agent who spoke wild words a lower-hand warning, and incidentally widen his Meridians.

In her view, Gu Lan could at most endure for half an incense stick's time before fainting from pain.

But now a full half-hour had already passed!

Although Gu Lan was trembling all over and sweat poured like rain, the surging masculine Yang Qi inside his body seemed endless; not only was it not crushed by her Devilish Qi, but instead, it grew more courageous with every setback, faintly possessing a charm of endless regeneration.

What made her feel even more inconceivable was that Gu Lan's control over True Essence was actually even more precise and terrifying than some old monsters of the Golden Core Late Stage!

"He truly is a monster."

The corners of Ye Hongzhuang's mouth curled into a stunning arc.

The so-called Prodigies she had seen in her life were countless, but a man like Gu Lan who was ruthless enough to himself and exuded a crazy wolf-like vigor deep in his bones was the very first.

"Since you can still endure, this Throne will add some ingredients for you!"

Ye Hongzhuang's gaze turned stern, and the jade hand pressing on Gu Lan's Dantian suddenly tightened.

"Rumble!"

An even more colossal, extremely pure Origin Devilish Qi poured crazily into Gu Lan's body like river water breaking through a dam.

If the Devilish Qi just now was an ice cone, then the Devilish Qi now was an iceberg crashing down!

"Puff!"

Gu Lan finally could no longer bear this terrifying impact, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, directly splashing onto the carpet ahead.

He felt as though his Dantian was about to burst from being stretched, and that Purple Extreme Golden Core disguised as a stubborn stone was trembling violently, as if it could shatter at any moment.

"Old Hag! Do you want to play me to death?!"

Gu Lan cursed bitterly in his heart.

But he could not retreat.

He knew that this was not only a torment, but also an excellent opportunity for him to perfectly disguise himself and win the trust of the Demon Lord.

As long as he survived this wave, his Half-step Golden Core cultivation would be completely consolidated under this extreme oppression, laying the most solid foundation for a true outbreak inside Wanmo Cave tomorrow.

"Refine… for me!"

A low roar like that of a wild beast emitted from Gu Lan's throat.

He no longer blindly used Pure Yang Qi to resist, but instead actively opened up a portion of his Meridians, allowing those extremely cold Devilish Qi to scour his bones and flesh.

Utilizing Ye Hongzhuang's Origin Devilish Qi to temper his own Physical Body!

This was an extremely crazy and suicidal approach!

With the slightest carelessness, he would completely degenerate into a mindless demon monster.

"Are you crazy?!"

Ye Hongzhuang noticed Gu Lan's intention, and her complexion changed noticeably.

She wanted to stop, but found that the Meridians inside Gu Lan's body seemed to have generated a huge suction force, biting tightly onto her Devilish Qi and not allowing her to withdraw it.

"Honored One… since it is special training, then… let it be more fierce!"

Gu Lan bit his blood-red teeth and turned his head.

Those eyes were covered in bloodshot veins, yet they burned with a spine-chilling, crazy Battle Intent.

Ye Hongzhuang looked at this handsome face close at hand, slightly distorted by pain.

Her heart skipped a beat inexplicably.

"Good! Since you are seeking death, this Throne will grant your wish!"

Ye Hongzhuang was also provoked by the demonic nature deep in her bones.

She no longer held back, and the terrifying Soul Transformation Stage-level demonic essence surged out endlessly.

Inside the military tent, two streams of black and red light crazily intertwined and collided.

The surrounding air was compressed to make tooth-aching air-explosion sounds, and those precious jade vessels and ornaments shattered into powder one after another under the impact of this energy wave.

Time passed bit by bit.

This special training worse than death lasted for an entire night.

At the same time.

Inside an independent small military tent not far from the main tent.

Saintess Ji Wushuang did not sleep all night.

Wearing thin clothing, she walked back and forth in the military tent like an ant on a hot pan, and the snow-fox fur carpet on the ground was almost worn bald by her pacing.

"This dead Gu Lan! Stinky Gu Lan!"

"He has been inside for a whole night! Why hasn't he come out yet!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang bit her thumb nail, her eyes filled with anxiety and unease.

Although she knew that Ye Hongzhuang taking Gu Lan inside was with high probability for the matter of Wanmo Cave tomorrow, the moment she thought of those two people, a lone man and woman, sharing a single room for an entire night, various unsuitable-for-children images uncontrollably popped up in her mind.

That Old Hag was so good at seducing people, and that big pig's trotters Gu Lan was full of hot blood and vigor; what if he couldn't hold back…

"No way! This Palace is going to go take a look!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang really could no longer endure this torment.

She grabbed the soul-locking whip on the table, lifted the door curtain, and rushed out.

As soon as she rushed into the wind and snow, she ran head-on into the Shadow Guards commander responsible for patrolling.

"Your Highness Saintess, it is almost dawn. Where are you going?"

The commander respectfully blocked her.

"Step aside! This Palace is going to the main tent!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang said angrily.

"Your Highness, calm your anger. The Sect Master has given an order that during the special training period, no one is allowed to approach within a hundred zhang of the main tent; violators… will be executed without mercy."

The commander answered neither servilely nor overbearingly, with no intention of giving way at all.

Saintess Ji Wushuang gripped the whip tightly, her eye sockets even turning red.

She stared fixedly at the black main tent in the distance enveloped by the Formation, her heart feeling achingly sour, yet she was helpless.

"Gu Lan, if you dare to do something that lets me down, I… I will definitely not spare you!"

She viciously stamped her foot toward the direction of the main tent, turned around, and ran back to her own military tent.

Inside the main tent.

The first glimmer of dawn struggled through the heavy Formation and spilled onto the carpet.

The Devilish Qi that had run amok for an entire night finally gradually subsided.

"Hoo…"

Gu Lan heavily collapsed onto the soft couch, panting heavily in large gasps.

There was not a single dry spot on his entire body; sweat mixed with the black Impurities discharged from his body made him look as if he had rolled around in a mud pit.

But those pitch-black eyes were even brighter than the cold stars in the night sky!

Through this inhuman torment of the night, the strength of his Physical Body was elevated by another notch once more.

Those Meridians that had been repeatedly torn apart and repaired now became incomparably tough and as wide as a river.

Under the stimulation of the extreme cold devilish fiend, the Pure Yang Qi within his body completely converged to the extreme, resembling an active volcano ready to erupt at any time.

The Half-step Golden Core Realm was already as stable as it could possibly be!

As long as he entered Wanmo Cave, he had absolute certainty to instantly condense a true Purple Extreme Golden Core!

"Not entirely useless yet."

A slightly hoarse and weary voice came from beside him.

Gu Lan turned his head sideways and saw Ye Hongzhuang leaning against the bed rail.

A strange pallor showed on her peerlessly beautiful face, and faint blue shadows also surfaced under her eyes.

The output of demonic essence this night was by no means a small consumption for her, a Soul Transformation Stage powerhouse.

Yet beneath that exhaustion, Ye Hongzhuang's gaze looking at Gu Lan held an extra trace of… appreciation and a trace of inexplicable throbbing that even she herself hadn't noticed.

"Many thanks to the Honored One for fulfilling this."

Gu Lan smiled weakly, trying to crawl up.

"Snap."

An icy thing smashed onto his chest.

Gu Lan looked down and saw a Medicinal Pill that was pitch-black all over and exuded a rich medicinal fragrance, as well as a palm-sized, cicada-wing-thin black inner armor.

"Eat it. Wear this 'netherworld armor' closely against your body."

Ye Hongzhuang stood up, draped the oversized snow-fox cloak over herself once more, turned her back to Gu Lan, and her tone recovered its past haughty coldness.

"Go wash yourself clean. Half an hour later, assemble at the entrance of Wanmo Cave."

Having spoken, she strode outward.

When she walked to the door and was about to lift the door curtain, Ye Hongzhuang's footsteps paused slightly.

"Gu Lan."

She did not look back, her voice appearing somewhat ethereal inside the quiet large tent.

"After entering Wanmo Cave, stay close to this Throne."

"Don't die."