Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Although the Taixu Sword Technique was only used for a short time, it completely exhausted Zhou Chu's true energy, causing him to lose consciousness.

When Zhou Chu opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a clean bed.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the entire room.

Outside, an unknown bird chirped sweetly.

"Where am I? Have I time-traveled again?"

"Am I dressed up as a rich young master this time?"

Zhou Chu's memory was still stuck in the centipede cave under the mountain god temple, and he couldn't remember how he got there.

Footsteps were heard outside the door, and then the door was pushed open.

Zhou Chu sat up and saw Xie Ning walking towards him carrying a small blue-and-white porcelain bowl, followed by a white fox.

"You're finally awake. If you hadn't woken up, I would have had to prepare for your funeral." Xie Ning handed the small porcelain bowl to Zhou Chu.

"Drink your medicine quickly."

Zhou Chu frowned upon smelling the pungent medicinal odor and said:

"What kind of medicine is this? It smells awful!"

"tonic."

Xie Ning scooped out a little medicinal soup with a spoon, blew on it slightly with her lips, and fed it to Zhou Chu.

"The doctor said that your internal energy has been depleted, and whether you can wake up is up to fate."

Excessive consumption of vital energy? It turns out that the heat flow in the body is called vital energy.

I thought I was already very powerful at the peak of Body Tempering, but I never expected that using the Taixu Sword Technique once would leave me so weak.

My internal energy is still insufficient; I need to find a cultivation method to further improve my physique and internal energy.

The Taixu Sword Technique is no ordinary skill; it should never be used lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, with the blessing of the mountain god's spirit constantly practicing the Dragon Form Guiding Technique, and with Xie Ning's timely rescue, he managed to save his life.

"Where is this?"

Zhou Chu drank the medicinal soup, and a bitter, astringent, sour, and slightly pungent taste raged in his mouth.

He frowned, held his breath, and forced it down his throat.

"Wuyang City, Golden Palace Tower," Xie Ning replied.

In Zhou Chu's memory, Jinque Tower was the first-class inn in Wuyang City, and those who stayed there were either rich or noble.

"Not bad, it must be expensive, right?"

Zhou Chu looked around as he spoke.

The furniture in the house, including tables, chairs, and beds, is all made of mahogany.

The brocade and embroidered curtains and the elegant paintings on the walls truly make this a top-class room.

"It's not expensive, only two taels of silver a day." Xie Ning said nonchalantly.

"Two taels! Where did you get the money?"

Zhou Chu had a bad feeling. He remembered that Xie Ning had said in the Centipede Cave that she had run out of money, so she had to go and kill a demon to earn a reward from the government.

"I sold the contents of your bundle and got forty-six taels of silver."

"ah?!"

Zhou Chu estimated that the bundle of gold, silver and jade artifacts could be exchanged for at least eighty or ninety taels of silver!

That stupid woman!

"The pawnshop manager only offered thirty-six taels, and it took me a lot of effort to get him to give me ten more taels," Xie Ning said smugly, raising her chin.

"How much silver is left?" Zhou Chu asked through gritted teeth.

Xie Ning counted on her fingers:

"We stayed here for three days, and each room cost three taels of silver per day, totaling twelve taels;

I spent five taels to have a doctor prescribe medicine for you, and ten taels to buy the medicine for you.

Me, Xiaobai, and you spent six taels on clothes. And then there's the daily food...

There should be five taels left...

Huh? What's with that expression?

I'm just spending your money to do your thing.

"It's just a few dozen taels of silver, is it really worth it?"

Zhou Chu's face turned bright red, and he almost fainted.

That's the money I use to make a living here!

Oh well, now that I have a skill, making money won't be difficult.

Zhou Chu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and changed the subject:

"How did I get out?"

"It was Xiaobai and I who carried you out. You're as heavy as a pig; I couldn't have lifted you up by myself."

Xie Ning blushed as she recalled that day.

Zhou Chu felt embarrassed.

That day at the Centipede Cave, I wasn't wearing proper clothes; I was only wrapped in Xie Ning's cloak.

When the body is lifted, some things that shouldn't be exposed are inevitably revealed.

For example, some strengths and smoothness.

Xie Ning had seen it once by Mingyang Lake, so I won't go into details.

Now there's another newbie.

Who is Xiaobai?

Xie Ning pointed to the white fox on the ground: "This is Xiaobai, and I named her Hu Xiaobai."

The white fox leaned forward and nuzzled its little head affectionately against the hem of Xie Ning's dress.

She then turned to face Zhou Chu, her eyes curving into two crescent moons, her mouth slightly open, her expression resembling a gentle smile.

"Didn't it transform into human form? How did it turn into a fox again?" Zhou Chu asked in confusion.

"It can only transform into human form for six hours a day, half the time as a human and half the time as a fox."

As Xie Ning spoke, she gently stroked the white fox's soft fur.

Women are such strange creatures. Just a few days ago they were clamoring to kill the fox demon, but now they treat it like a pet...

After Xie Ning finished feeding Zhou Chu his medicine, she put away the bowl and spoon, stood up, and said:

"Are you hungry? I'll order some food for you."

Zhou Chu nodded. He hadn't eaten a proper meal for three days, and his stomach was full of bitter medicine. It would be strange if he wasn't hungry.

"Wait."

Xie Ning got up and walked towards the door.

The white fox didn't follow her; its furry body rubbed against Zhou Chu's hand that was sticking out of the bed.

"noob!"

Xie Ning shouted loudly, and the white fox was startled and turned to dart outside.

After the man and the fox left, Zhou Chu closed his eyes and entered the illusion.

Open the first page of the "Tai Xu Wu Xiang Tu".

【Dragon Form Guiding Technique (Ultimate Realm)】

[Having cultivated for 168 years]

During his coma, the guiding technique was broken through from perfection to extreme by the mountain demon's soul.

Presumably, it was after using the Taixu Sword Technique that his true energy was exhausted, and he broke through the bottleneck in his cultivation realm.

Zhou Chu's consciousness turned to the third page:

Mandrill (Three Realms)

[Talent: (Great Strength) (Climbing)]

Lifespan: 84 years

In just a few days, his lifespan of over five hundred years has dwindled to only eighty-four years.

This method of training is fast, but it's too taxing on demons.

Zhou Chu opened his eyes, his consciousness returned, and he felt the flow of true energy within his body.

The scalding true energy that was originally flowing through the limbs and bones was now concentrated in the lower dantian.

He channeled his inner energy, concentrating it in his right fist.

A faint blue dragon shape could be seen appearing and disappearing on the fist, and the sound of a dragon's roar could be heard in the ear.

This power was unleashed in the final punch that killed the mountain god.

Now that the Dragon Form Guiding Technique has reached its peak, it can easily unleash such power even in ordinary conditions.

Moreover, the true qi in the lower dantian was significantly more than before, as if it were inexhaustible.

Unexpectedly, the difference between the extreme state and perfection is so great.

I just don't know if there are any higher realms after the peak of the Dragon Form Guiding Technique.

If there were even higher levels, wouldn't the Taixu Sword Technique be usable at will?

A short while later, the door was pushed open again.

Xie Ning came in carrying a bowl and chopsticks.

Hu Xiaobai, who had transformed into human form, followed behind, carrying a food box.

"Young master, there's something delicious to eat. Come and get out of bed to eat." Hu Xiaobai swayed her hips and quickly walked a few steps past Xie Ning, placing the food box on the table.

Xie Ning frowned slightly, then raised her hand and slapped Hu Xiaobai's round and perky buttocks:

"How many times have I taught you to walk properly and not wiggle your butt like that?"

"Okay, sister." Hu Xiaobai replied with a wronged expression, then turned to Zhou Chu, who was lying on the couch, and made a face at him.

"Stop winking!" Xie Ning raised her hand to hit her again.

Hu Xiaobai darted to the other side of the table, repeatedly saying, "I won't do it again, I won't do it again..."

After saying that, he quickly helped Xie Ning put the food from the food box on the table.

Zhou Chu got up and stretched his body. Finding nothing amiss, he sat down to eat.

Xie Ning brought six dishes and three bowls of rice.

The six dishes, including both meat and vegetarian options, are exquisitely presented and whet the appetite.

However, each dish was too small; the entire table of food wasn't enough for Zhou Chu to eat alone.

A moment later, Zhou Chu put down the empty bowl:

"Another table, please."

Zhou Chu ate almost all the food on the table, but his stomach was like a bottomless pit, and he was still hungry.

Xie Ning and Hu Xiaobai shoveled the barely eaten rice from their bowls, staring at the clean plates of vegetables, speechless for a moment.

Xie Ning took out one tael of silver and gave it to Hu Xiaobai, asking her to order another table of food.

Zhou Chu reached out to stop him, saying, "This little bit of food costs one tael of silver?"

Xie Ning nodded.

"Fine, just give me the money." Zhou Chu felt a pang of regret.

One tael of silver, if used to buy meat buns, could last for more than a month.

"After we finish eating, let's head out of the city to slay the demon!"

The gold and silver that Zhou Chu brought from the mountain god temple had been squandered by this woman, and it was uncertain whether it would be enough for his food and lodging expenses for the next day.

Xie Ning seemed to remember something, put down her chopsticks, and took out a red cloth bag from her bosom:

"This is what I got from the Centipede Cave that day, take a look."