The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei asked, "Miss Bai, what happened?"

"The medicinal power of the petals is insufficient. Your golden core is cracked too deeply; the three petals can only narrow the crack, not completely eradicate it."

Shen Yifei lowered his head and looked inward.

The three cracks are still there, though much thinner than before, they are still clearly visible.

Bai Lu stood up and looked at Leng Shanyue.

As Leng Shanyue was putting the jade box into her bosom, she noticed Bai Lu staring at her and immediately became alert.

"Why are you looking at me? We agreed that the rest is mine."

"Give me two more slices."

"No."

"His golden core hasn't been repaired. That area was only temporarily stabilized; the cracks are still there. If this drags on any longer, all our previous efforts will be in vain."

Leng Shanyue flicked its tail.

"What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies?"

Bai Lu took a step forward.

"Leng Shanyue, you guarded the flower for three hundred years in order to break through. Now that the flower is in your hands, give it two petals. The remaining five petals and lotus seeds are enough for your breakthrough."

"Bai Lu, don't push your luck. You agreed on one piece, and I gave it to you. Now you want two? Do you think this is a vegetable market?"

"His golden core hasn't been repaired; that piece he just ate was a waste."

"So what if I'm eating for free? What does it have to do with me?" Leng Shanyue stuffed the jade box into his robes. "I've guarded this place for three hundred years, waiting for these few petals to help me break through. You want to take three petals with just one bite of your mouth? Why don't you just take my life?"

Bai Lu took a step forward, and the two were now only an arm's length apart.

"Your breakthrough requires five petals and nine lotus seeds, that's enough. Two more or two less petals won't make a difference."

"Who says there's no difference? Two more pills increase the chances by 20%, two fewer pills decrease them by 20%. Breaking through to Mahayana is no joke; if I fail, who can I complain to?"

"If you fail, I'll collect your corpse."

Leng Shanyue flicked her tail angrily, pointing at Bai Lu's nose, "You fat-headed snake, you've even abandoned all shame for a man."

Bai Lu grabbed Leng Shanyue by the tail and pulled her off balance.

"I want flower petals, I don't care about my reputation. Will you give them to me or not?"

Leng Shanyue broke free from Bai Lu's grasp, her nine tails exploding into a fan shape behind her. She took two steps back, clutching the jade box in her arms, guarding Bai Lu as if she were a thief.

"No way! Come and take it if you dare!"

"Go ahead and grab it!"

With a flick of its tail, Bai Lu the snake transformed into a streak of silver light and lunged at Leng Shanyue. Leng Shanyue simultaneously unleashed all nine of its tails, nine beams of red light weaving a net that covered Leng Shanyue's head.

Two demon kings at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage were locked in a fierce battle by the icy pool. Silver and red lights mingled together, and the pool water was shaken so much that it exploded three zhang high.

The hundreds of onlookers were stunned. The two demon kings had been fighting side by side just moments before, but in the blink of an eye, they were at each other's throats.

Shen Yifei leaned against a rock and called out, "Gentlemen, could you please stop fighting for a moment?"

The two women were engrossed in their conversation, and no one paid him any attention.

Bai Lu reached for the jade box in Leng Shanyue's arms with one claw, but Leng Shanyue dodged to the side, wrapping her tail around Bai Lu's snake tail and pulling her back. Bai Lu staggered half a step, then grabbed Leng Shanyue's neck and slammed her to the ground.

"Give me the petals."

"No!"

Leng Shanyue bit Bai Lu's wrist. Bai Lu winced in pain and let go. Leng Shanyue then flipped over and straddled her, pressing her tail against Bai Lu's tail and her hands against her shoulders.

"You fat-headed snake, you'd fight me over a man!"

"If you don't give me the flower petals, I'll take action."

Bai Lu straddled Leng Shanyue, one hand gripping her neck, the other reaching for the jade box in her arms.

Leng Shanyue desperately protected the jade box, wrapping her tail around Bai Lu's waist and pulling her back.

"Fathead snake! You're going to fight me to the death for some random guy!"

"Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"No!"

Leng Shanyue slammed his knee into Bai Lu's lower abdomen. Bai Lu groaned and loosened his grip. Taking advantage of the situation, Leng Shanyue flipped over, pinning Bai Lu beneath him, his nine tails firmly locking her snake tail.

"You snake, four hundred years of friendship can't compare to a man you slept with?"

Bai Lu scratched Leng Shanyue's face with her claws. Three red marks ran diagonally from her forehead to her chin.

"Say it again?"

Leng Shanyue retaliated with a claw, leaving three marks on Bai Lu's face.

"I knew it! You fat-headed snake, you're a traitor who'd betray his principles for the sake of a pretty face!"

The two rolled around in a ball by the pool.

The onlookers were completely dumbfounded. Two demon kings at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage were fighting without using any magic weapons or demonic power, just like two village women scratching each other's faces and pulling each other's hair.

Several Nascent Soul cultivators were itching to see if they could snatch the jade box.

Two people even crossed the line drawn by Leng Shanyue!

While Leng Shanyue was wrestling with Bai Lu, she glanced over and saw someone crossing the line. With a flick of her tail, the two people who had crossed the line instantly turned into dust and disappeared without a trace!

The dozen or so people behind him immediately knelt down. The rest scrambled back fifty paces.

Leng Shanyue turned around and found that Bai Lu's hand was already inside her bosom. Bai Lu pulled out the jade box, opened it, and saw that the nine lotus seeds were still there, but only three petals remained.

"What about the other six pieces?"

Leng Shanyue pulled out six flower petals from somewhere in her bosom and waved them in front of Bai Lu. Before Bai Lu could reach out, she stuffed them all into her mouth, chewed them twice, and swallowed.

Bai Lu's face turned black.

Leng Shanyue smirked smugly. "Go ahead and try to take it again."

Bai Lu didn't bother arguing with her. She took a petal and four lotus seeds from the jade box and tossed the rest to Leng Shanyue. Turning back to Shen Yifei, she squatted down and put the petal into his mouth.

"I ate them all!"

Shen Yifei chewed twice and swallowed. The coolness rushed to his dantian again, and the cracks on the golden core became thinner, but the deepest crack was still there, and the golden core had not yet healed.

Bai Lu fed him another lotus seed.

The lotus seed dissolved in the dantian, and a warm power enveloped the golden core. The cracks stopped shrinking, but the dark gold layer on the surface of the golden core brightened, and spiritual energy stopped leaking out.

"Is that enough?" Leng Shanyue walked over, the three claw marks on his face had disappeared, leaving only a few faint red marks.

"Not enough." Bai Lu said without turning her head. "The deepest crack is still there."

"Even this can't fill that crack? What is his golden core made of? It's so hard to please!" Leng Shanyue was somewhat surprised!

"Try getting burned by the black flames." Bai Lu's voice turned cold.

Leng Shanyue had also seen cultivators burned by the black flames. Nine out of ten turned to ashes on the spot, and the one who survived by sheer luck became a cripple.

Shen Yifei is already a monster for surviving such severe burns.

Shen Yifei leaned against the rock, feeling the spiritual energy in his dantian slowly recovering.

Although a dark mark still remained on the golden core, at least it no longer leaked spiritual energy. The meridians were already slowly healing, and the healing speed was accelerated by the medicinal power of the flower petals and lotus seeds.

Leng Shanyue glanced at Shen Yifei's lower body and clicked her tongue.

"Bai Lu, you've really struck gold! You're still intact after burning like that."

Bai Lu ignored her, packed up the remaining lotus seeds, and stuffed them into Shen Yifei's arms.

"Keep it until you can circulate your spiritual energy before you eat it."

Leng Shanyue sat by the pool, her tail slapping the water's surface. She had eaten six flower petals, and the medicinal power surged in her dantian, bringing her to the Great Ascension stage, but she just couldn't cross that line.

It seems that once the medicinal properties of these flower petals are absorbed, the lotus seeds will also need to be used.

"Fat-headed snake, how far are you from achieving Mahayana enlightenment?"

"The front line."

"I've been on the front line for three hundred years, just one line away. It's so frustrating."

Bai Lu didn't reply. She knew in her heart that for demon cultivators like them, once they reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, the key to advancing further wasn't arduous cultivation, but rather a stroke of luck.

The Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus is an opportunity, but now that it's used to heal Shen Yifei, the remaining amount is simply not enough for the two of them to break through.

Both Leng Shanyue and she knew the truth, but a sliver of hope remained in their hearts.