Chapter 80

"Understood." Tanggu's heart tightened, and he answered without hesitation.

"Look into my eyes." Ning Qingjun, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly turned around. Her hands rapidly intertwined in front of her chest, forming a series of strange hand signs.

"The sea may dry, but love will never fade. Since we have met, how can we bear to part easily?"

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly burst with myriad strange lights. These lights, dreamlike and illusory, intertwined and spun, eventually transforming into two pale purple beams that condensed into two small, pale purple nets.

Tanggu's heart instantly trembled. He then felt an endless stream of information flood his mind, like a river pouring into the sea, rushing into his head.

"When will the sky grow old? When will love cease? Deep in my heart, there are a thousand knots."

A strange, cross-shaped red mark suddenly appeared on Ning Qingjun's forehead, emitting a brilliant light. Her hands moved even faster, creating a blur of motion.

"Affection is deep, love is intense. A thousand threads of the heart, woven into a single knot."

Ancient characters appeared one by one, and all the purple nets instantly entered Tanggu's heart. A similar red mark slowly appeared on his forehead, just like the one on Ning Qingjun's.

Instantly, sweat the size of soybeans appeared on Tanggu's forehead, as if something was being drawn out of him, leaving him with a peculiar feeling of weakness.

Across from him, Ning Qingjun's face suddenly turned pale, as if this action had cost her a great deal of strength.

"Open your heart!"

With a loud shout, Ning Qingjun's fingertips suddenly split, and two blood-red beads, like red beans, appeared. She sucked one of them into her mouth, while the other instantly turned into a red light and shot into Tanggu's mouth.

It was both sweet and pungent, with a peculiar fragrance.

Tanggu's heart trembled, and he no longer hesitated. He immediately lowered all his defenses, and a strange red light instantly entered his heart, condensing into a small, blood-red dot that lay dormant.

At the same time, a red light from Tanggu's heart was drawn to Ning Qingjun's heart, and a sudden sense of mental connection was felt.

Across from him, Ning Qingjun, despite her weakness, shouted, "Face yourself, let everything flow like water, all thoughts are not thoughts, all imaginations are not imaginations."

Tanggu silently followed her instructions, opening his heart. The two hearts merged, and Tanggu felt as if he were in warm water, in a strange new world. Ning Qingjun's thoughts and feelings were all reflected in his mind, and his own thoughts could not be hidden from her.

Time passed minute by minute. After a full hour, the light in the cave dimmed, and the transmission ended. The two hearts suddenly separated, and the sense of mental connection vanished.

However, a strange connection remained between them, a subtle link that could be felt with the slightest touch, connecting their souls.

This feeling was very peculiar, somewhat like the Heart-Link technique from ancient soul spells, but with significant differences.

The two looked at each other, both feeling very complex. The feeling of entrusting one's heart to another was very uncomfortable, as if the most secret part of oneself had an eye that could always watch. This was something that only the closest of people could do.

But now, due to the circumstances, they had no choice but to do so.

Ning Qingjun explained, "This technique can be performed by a man and a woman holding hands, instantly allowing their minds to connect and their powers to combine, temporarily giving one person the full strength of both."

"This way, although we are two people, we can temporarily give one person the strength of a Fifth Stage Qi Dao practitioner. With this, we can fight that Fifth Stage beast if we seize the right opportunity."

"However, this time is very short, and since we are not truly connected, the duration and power of this technique are very limited. We must seize the opportunity, or we risk failure and danger."

"Understood." Tanggu was amazed that such a powerful technique existed, where the strength of two people could be combined in one. No wonder Ning Qingjun was so serious.

...

A day later.

On a small hill, a man and a woman were engaged in a fierce battle with a silver-armored pangolin.

At first, they were at a disadvantage, being beaten quite badly. But after a moment, they seized an opportunity, and the young man and woman's hands suddenly clasped together. Instantly, a green light flowed from the young man's arms to the young woman's body.

Her aura suddenly intensified, and she stepped in a strange pattern, instantly turning and bringing the young man to the silver pangolin's back. She thrust her green sword forward.

"Rip!" A tearing sound echoed through the air as the green sword pierced the silver pangolin's throat and emerged from its back.

The silver pangolin, the size of a small hill, let out a mournful cry, its eyes losing their light, and it fell with a loud thud, sending dust flying.

The young man and woman's hands dropped, and they both floated in front of the silver pangolin. They were Tanggu and Ning Qingjun.

After a day of testing, they found that this technique was indeed very powerful. As long as they didn't encounter a Fifth Stage beast, no beast could withstand their combined attack.

At first, they were a bit clumsy, but now they were very familiar with it.

Tanggu bent down, happily taking out a golden knife to quickly harvest the silver pangolin's materials, while Ning Qingjun stood aside, indifferent to the low-level materials, letting Tanggu collect them alone.

Tanggu had no choice but to do it himself.

The two looked at each other, and Ning Qingjun said to Tanggu, "This is the last Fourth Stage beast. We'll rest tonight and head to the Yuming Valley tomorrow."

"Once we defeat that Fifth Stage beast, we can obtain the 'Millennium Orchid' to cure the 'Heavenly King Poison.' Then our strength will be restored."

"Alright, I'll follow your lead."

Tanggu had no objections and answered directly.

The two returned to the cave and rested. No one spoke, and they quietly meditated. The night passed quickly.

As the sky turned a pale white, the two opened their eyes almost simultaneously, their expressions serious.

"Before, we were just practicing against Fourth Stage beasts. With our strength, we could defeat them even without using the 'Heart-Link' technique. But now, we face a Fifth Stage beast. One mistake could cost us our lives."

Ning Qingjun turned to Tanggu, "Are you ready?"

Tanggu nodded, "No problem, everything is ready. We can go."

"Good, let's go!"

The two didn't say much more, and they left the cave, heading straight for the Yuming Valley. Following the safe path they had established the previous day, they soon arrived at a green, winding valley.

At the entrance of the valley, a waterfall cascaded down, like thousands of silver pearls, creating a beautiful scene and forming a large, emerald cold spring at the bottom.

Ning Qingjun pointed to the valley entrance, "It's in there. The Millennium Orchid grows on the stone wall behind the cold spring, but a hundred-year-old dragon-like creature lives in the spring, making it very difficult to deal with."

"I didn't need the Millennium Orchid before, so I only glanced at it and didn't bother to take it. If you're sure, we'll go in now. I'll take the lead, and you'll defend."

"Alright, let's go!"

Tanggu smiled and answered, not worried about the dangers ahead. Ning Qingjun's eyes flickered with surprise but said nothing. The two held hands and entered the valley.

Sure enough, a large, cold spring, about a hundred feet in diameter, stood quietly. Following Ning Qingjun's guidance, Tanggu soon found a small, red orchid swaying in the wind on a stone wall about a hundred feet above the spring, emitting a strange fragrance.

"Millennium Red Orchid!"

Tanggu's eyes lit up, knowing this was the antidote to the poison they had inhaled. However, he didn't act rashly, knowing that a hundred-year-old dragon-like creature still lurked in the spring.

If they rushed to take the orchid now, the creature could suddenly attack, and they would surely die. So their first priority was to kill the creature.

Tanggu's left palm drew in a fist-sized rock from the ground and threw it into the depths of the cold spring with a "plop."

"Plunk!"

Amidst the splashing water, a gray dragon-like creature angrily rose, its eyes like copper bells, with horns on its head, scales on its body, and two black, sharp claws, emitting a cold, menacing light. Except for the lack of dragon whiskers, it was almost as formidable as a true dragon, exuding a terrifying aura.

Tanggu and Ning Qingjun both felt a chill and quickly retreated.

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