In less than a day, the power of the Heaven and Earth Conjoining Ode had taken root as though it had always been there, woven deep into their very marrow.
It had melded completely with their own cultivated power, indistinguishable from it, no different from their original foundational technique. To forcibly tear it out now would be no small matter. Dropping several realms would be the least of their concerns; far more likely, it would damage their Dao Foundation and sever their path of cultivation forever.
"This..." Li Fan sat cross-legged on the floor, tried for a long time, and finally gave up with a grim expression.
Senior Sister Zhao's delicate brows were knitted tight. "The demonic arts of the Xuantian Sect are truly something else. It seems we can't easily be rid of it."
She paused. "There is one possibility. The Taishang Sect's Taishang Primordial True Scripture is said to allow a cultivator to change their techniques at will. If we could practice it, perhaps we could expunge the Heaven and Earth Conjoining Ode."
"The Taishang Primordial True Scripture?" Li Fan's brow furrowed slightly. He had never heard of it, yet felt an inexplicable flicker of familiarity.
Even as she spoke, Senior Sister Zhao shook her head and let the idea go. "A pity. Like our own sect's Heaven-Slaying Great Dao Scripture, it's a supreme secret of the Taishang Sect, never passed to outsiders.
"Within the sect itself, only those in the direct lineage of the sect leader can cultivate it. For people like us, it's out of the question."
Seeing the helplessness on her face, Li Fan drew her into his arms. "What's done is done. Let's take it one step at a time.
"The Xuantian Sect has been destroyed for ages, and the Heaven and Earth Conjoining Ode is only a dual cultivation technique. I doubt the elders would notice anything."
Senior Sister Zhao nodded, but the worry in her eyes didn't leave.
The two rested and recuperated in the secret chamber of the ruins for half a month, using the power gained from their previous dual cultivation session to thoroughly consolidate their realms. Only then did they set out for the Great Dao Sect.
Before leaving, Senior Sister Zhao drew her sword and swept the area with crisscrossing strikes, reducing the ruins to nothing.
Upon arriving back at the mountain gate, they found that the extinction of Qin Shou's life lamp had long since thrown the sect into an uproar.
After discussing the matter privately, Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao concluded it was impossible to conceal.
They decided to face their master together and confess the truth: how Qin Shou had secretly followed them with ill intent, and how they had ultimately joined forces to turn the tables and kill him.
They omitted certain details, including any mention of the Xuantian Sect, stating instead that at the brink of life and death, they had broken through in the midst of the array, which had allowed them to strike back and slay their opponent.
Zhang Wangshuang, however, seemed to have already known. He showed little surprise.
He sentenced them to ten years of confinement, placing them under protective custody in the rear mountains.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
The storms and troubles of the Great Dao Sect had nothing to do with the two within the confinement chamber.
In the beginning, they were hesitant about practicing their dual cultivation technique within the sect.
But by the third year, they both hit a bottleneck in their cultivation. Summoning their courage, they practiced the Heaven and Earth Conjoining Ode together once more.
Perhaps it was like rain after a long drought, or perhaps their own cultivation had progressed further, but the effects this time were even more potent than three years prior.
Senior Sister Zhao broke through to the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, and Li Fan's cultivation advanced to the mid-stage Golden Core realm.
The speed of their progress left them both quietly shaken.
Worry surged in their hearts. They knew that an occasional breakthrough could be explained as a fortuitous encounter. But if their progress continued at such a rapid pace, exceeding what could be accounted for by natural talent, it would surely arouse suspicion.
If they were discovered to possess the demonic arts of the Xuantian Sect, their fates would be utterly miserable. Having their cultivation crippled would likely be the least of their punishments.
After a difficult discussion, the two resolved not to engage in dual cultivation unless absolutely necessary.
The plan was sound. But after another five years passed, that same strange bottleneck appeared once more. No matter how they cultivated, they could not advance a single step.
They struggled and persevered for a full year, not resting for a moment, pouring everything they had into cultivation. They tried to break through the bottleneck by sheer force of will.
It was futile.
The despair of stagnation tormented them both. And both Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao were individuals utterly devoted to the Dao, who would never allow themselves to remain forever at their current cultivation levels.
Thus, in the ninth year of their confinement, they could bear it no longer and engaged in dual cultivation for the third time.
Like dry tinder meeting a fierce flame, the ecstasy was even more intense than before.
As expected, the bottleneck vanished without a trace afterward. Their cultivation advanced another step. They did not break through on the spot, but they were close.
When the passion faded and calm returned, the two were afraid.
First, they feared their practice of the Xuantian Sect technique would be discovered. Second, because this Heaven and Earth Conjoining Ode was so bizarre, they worried they might be controlled by it for the rest of their lives.
Both were proud individuals who could not bear such a prospect.
For a time after that, they did not cultivate. Instead, they spent their days together, living simply, like an ordinary mortal couple. At the same time, they studied ways to break free.
"Heaven gives birth to all things, hence the saying of the Heavenly Father and Earthly Mother in this world. Every living being, from the moment of its birth, carries the imprint left upon it by heaven and earth.
"It is said the Xuantian Sect stole the authority of heaven and also grasped the power to bestow and alter this imprint.
"Even an unarmed mortal, once conferred by the Xuantian Sect, could become no different from us cultivators today.
"Moreover, it is said the Dharma Kings of the Xuantian Sect even possessed the so-called Fruit of Eternal Life. Whoever obtained it could gain eternal life, living as long as heaven and earth."
Senior Sister Zhao recounted the secret knowledge she had gathered from various sources.
"Attain eternal life..." A strange light flickered in Li Fan's eyes. "Senior Sister, are you saying the techniques of the Xuantian Sect also carry the power of this imprint?"
Senior Sister Zhao sighed softly. "It's only speculation. In the world today, only fragments of the Xuantian Sect remain. Yet even reading between the lines, one can vaguely grasp how terrifying the sect once was. Its doctrines were as strict as heavenly decrees. It dominated the world, and none dared disobey.
"Though this is just the stirring of dead ashes, it will not be easy for us to escape its grasp."
Li Fan grasped his senior sister's hand, his gaze firm. "Don't worry. We will find a way."
Time flew. Soon, the ten-year confinement period was over.
The sealed door rumbled open. With anxious hearts, the two walked out of the confinement chamber.
They had been somewhat worried that their rapid progress over ten years would arouse suspicion.
But upon returning to the mountain sect, they were stunned to discover that their cultivation progress was utterly insignificant by comparison.
In the second year of their confinement, a so-called "new methodology" had begun to circulate in secret.
Draw upon the spirit of heaven and earth, borrow the Curios of heaven and earth, peer into the laws of heaven and earth... defy the principles of heaven and earth.
It stood in stark opposition to the current path of perceiving the Heavenly Dao and cultivating in harmony with heaven. This was a path of plundering heaven and earth, ruthless in its means. Yet its practical results far surpassed those of the established cultivation arts.