Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Guo'er, calm down.

In the ancient tomb's stone chamber, candlelight flickered.

A lone man and a lone woman, alone in a room, facing a secret martial arts manual that requires "complete honesty," inevitably create an atmosphere that is both alluring and awkward.

Yang Guo looked dignified and righteous, his hand already on his belt, seemingly ready to sacrifice himself for martial arts at any moment.

Little Dragon Girl, however, poured cold water on him.

You wish!

Her cool gaze swept over the inscription on the stone coffin lid, and she pointed to the smaller characters, saying, "Look carefully, this 'opening one's clothes' is a method for cultivating the final level of 'Jade Maiden's Pure Heart.' We haven't even entered the gate yet, why are we taking off our clothes?"

Yang Guo was taken aback and looked closely in the direction she was pointing.

Sure enough, those blush-inducing "naked practice pictures" were at the end of the article, preceded by long passages of breathing techniques and illustrations of moves.

"Huh? It has to be done in steps?"

Yang Guo's tone betrayed his disappointment as he awkwardly lowered his hand from his belt. "I thought that this divine skill would require... cough cough, I would have to go all out right from the start."

Undeterred, he asked, "Sister Long, can't we just practice the third step directly? I saw it written here; this is the essence! Look at this posture, so...so profound!"

Little Dragon Girl rolled her eyes at him, but didn't expose his little scheme.

"A tall building rises from the ground. Without a foundation, if you directly practice this final step, let alone dissipate heat, you'll probably die from broken meridians the moment you start circulating your energy."

"Moreover, this Jade Maiden Heart Sutra is profound and extensive, consisting of three steps."

Although Xiaolongnu had never practiced it, the annotations left by Lin Chaoying were extremely detailed. She only needed to follow the instructions: "The first step is to practice the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb Sect and become proficient in fists, feet and weapons; the second step is to practice the martial arts of the Quanzhen Sect; the third step is to combine these two nemesis-like martial arts into one, so that yin and yang can complement each other, and only then can one achieve great success."

At this point, Xiaolongnu frowned slightly and looked at Yang Guo: "I will naturally teach you the Ancient Tomb Sect's kung fu. But the Quanzhen Sect's kung fu..."

"I can!"

Yang Guo quickly raised his hand, "I stayed in the Quanzhen Sect for more than half a year, and I have memorized the Quanzhen Sword Technique and its mental cultivation formulas perfectly."

That's the truth.

Besides, even if Yang Guo didn't know, he could go back and ask his master or the old man Qiu Chuji. He didn't believe that the two of them would hide it from him.

"I'm glad you can."

Xiaolongnu nodded. "The essence of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra lies in the Jade Maiden Pure Heart Sword Technique. This sword technique requires two people to use it together. One person uses the Quanzhen Sword Technique, and the other uses the Jade Maiden Sword Technique. The Quanzhen Sword Technique is mainly for offense, and the Jade Maiden Sword Technique is mainly for defense, or vice versa. In short, the two people must be in sync and take turns attacking and defending in order to unleash the power of this martial art."

Yang Guo understood.

So, for the first half of the cultivation process, I was just a sparring partner?

Or to put it more bluntly, he was just a tool.

For Xiaolongnu to practice the Jade Maiden Sword Technique, she needed someone who knew the Quanzhen Sword Technique to train her and serve as a target, so that she could work out the flaws in the moves.

As for the final moment when "the heat is so intense that one must open their clothes," that can only be used when the two have mastered their moves and begun cultivating their internal energy.

"Alright."

Although Yang Guo felt a little regretful, he thought to himself that there would be plenty of time in the future.

This lone man and woman practiced swordsmanship together every day, and as they practiced, they developed calluses even without sparks flying.

"When shall we begin?" Yang Guo asked.

"No rush."

Xiaolongnu closed the coffin lid, regaining her usual aloofness. "I've memorized all the incantations and formulas. I need to comprehend the first two stages alone. Having you beside me will only distract me."

"Huh? You don't need me?"

"Not needed for now."

Little Dragon Girl turned and walked out. "I need to go into seclusion these next few days to cultivate the first level of the Qi-circulation technique. Find something to do and don't bother me."

After saying that, the figure in white floated away, leaving Yang Guo alone, staring blankly at the cold stone coffin.

"Well, now I'm really a kept man."

Yang Guo touched his nose and gave a self-deprecating smile.

But this is for the best.

With Xiaolongnu in seclusion, he was able to have some free time.

He had only figured out two of the eight large characters on the forbidden stone tablet; the sword intent hidden in the remaining six characters would keep him pondering for a while.

Moreover, he also needs to practice the One-Finger Divine Skill more intensively.

In the days that followed, the ancient tomb became unusually quiet.

Xiaolongnu stayed on the cold jade bed all day long, and rarely left the stone chamber except to eat.

Grandma Sun was also busy preparing food for the two of them, afraid that these two martial arts fanatics would go hungry.

Yang Guo, on the other hand, settled into a regular nine-to-five life.

During the day, without fail, he would go to the forbidden stone tablet outside the ancient tomb and "tamper with" the large characters deeply embedded in the stone.

In the evening, he would return to his stone chamber, sit cross-legged on the cold jade bed, and practice the internal energy of the One-Finger Divine Skill and the Nine Yin Manual.

Although life was monotonous, Yang Guo found joy in it.

The feeling of gradually getting stronger is absolutely captivating.

At this moment, in the grove of trees behind the ancient tomb.

Yang Guo stood in front of the broken stele, his finger inserted into the groove of the fourth character – “地” (earth).

"The Quanzhen Sect's forbidden area; anyone who trespasses shall be executed."

He had memorized the first three words: "complete," "true," and "forbidden."

In particular, the word "forbidden" contains an extremely strong sense of sealing off; the sword's momentum is like a net, dense and impenetrable.

But the character “地” is completely different.

The fingertips feel heavy and rough.

When Wang Chongyang carved this character, his fingers pressed down, the force penetrating the back of the stone.

With his eyes closed, Yang Guo seemed to see a Taoist priest in his mind, his long sword pointing to the ground, his figure as unshakeable as a mountain.

"The earth is receptive; a virtuous person should cultivate virtue and bear all things with generosity."

But this sword intent carried not virtue, but murderous intent.

This is the ultimate form of defensive counter-attack.

No matter how fierce the opponent's offensive, I will remain unmoved. When the opponent is exhausted, that will be the day the earth cracks and mountains crumble.

"What a heavy sword!"

Yang Guo suddenly pulled out his fingers and casually snapped off a branch as thick as his wrist.

He didn't use any fancy moves; he simply gripped the branch with both hands, mimicking that steady force, and slowly chopped downwards.

"call--"

A deep, muffled sound like thunder.

Dust flew everywhere.

The dead branch didn't break; instead, it smashed a deep trench in the ground.

To handle heavy tasks with ease, and light tasks with great care.

"It's done!"

A smile appeared on Yang Guo's lips.

With the sword intent of the character "地" (earth), plus the previous three characters "全真禁" (Complete Truth Forbidden), his swordsmanship has begun to take shape.

Attack has "truth," defense has "forbidden" elements, and stability has "ground."

Next, there are the remaining four words.

"Unauthorized entry will result in death."

These four words are the real killer feature of this stone tablet.

Especially the last word, "death".

Just looking at that word made Yang Guo feel a chill run straight to the top of his head.

The strokes were as sharp as knives, each one conveying a resolute and ruthless determination.

That was Wang Chongyang's lingering obsession after he saw through life and death during the Mount Hua Sword Tournament, yet he was still forced to kill.

Yang Guo took a deep breath, adjusted his internal energy, and extended his finger again.