Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Having completed their daily cultivation practice, each person then took a Foundation Establishment Pill, which dissolved in their stomachs, and the tremendous Spiritual Energy instantly spread to their limbs and bones.

Continue Qi Refinement! Refine fiercely!

Xie Ruoxi felt like crying but had no tears, thinking that she wasn't against staying up late, but wasn't this overnight cultivation a bit too much like overworking a horse?

Even if it was staying up all night grinding in a mobile game, although it was at the cost of her health, at least she had fun!

Breathing and refining Qi... Such tedious and dull affairs were far from interesting, just like an old donkey going round and round in circles. How on earth could you all keep at it for so long?

But Yan Yu didn't call a halt, and she didn't dare to get off the bed on her own, so she just sat there, going through the Grand Circulation over and over again, secretly thinking that when she read CEO novels, she thought the domineering male lead was so handsome and awesome, but reality wasn't like that at all.

How annoying! Can't you respect my personal wishes?

It was around five in the morning when Yan Yu finally slowly opened her eyes and temporarily stopped the cultivation.

The mighty medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill had been initially refined through the primary channels of the twelve regular meridians. There was still a small part scattered in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians that needed the persistent effort of water polishing to be fully absorbed.

Zhao Yuanzhen got out of bed with slippers on and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Yan Yu turned her head to look at Xie Ruoxi and saw that she was sitting cross-legged without moving. Divine Sense over her revealed that the Grand Circulation was functioning, and her True Yuan was flowing ceaselessly; there was no slacking off.

Huh, how does this pretty waste have such determination? Wait, let me look again...

Yan Yu scanned again with her Divine Sense and was instantly shocked:

What the fuck, she's asleep!

Could this be the legendary cultivation in dreams?!

Yan Yu was immediately astounded and didn't dare to interrupt her meditative state, carefully getting out of bed.

"Yan Yu." Zhao Yuanzhen poked her head out from the bathroom, "Can't squeeze any toothpaste out..."

Before she could finish, Yan Yu covered her mouth.

After communicating secretly, the two of them tiptoed to the bed, gazing at Xie Ruoxi on the bed with the reverence one might have for an Immortal Venerate, then exchanged glances.

"Have you seen this before?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked via secret transmission.

"No, have you?" Yan Yu thought to herself that in her two lifetimes, she had never seen sleep cultivation, truly a prodigy.

"I've heard that in ancient times, there was a true person who could do it," Zhao Yuanzhen composed herself and said, "He cultivated in Mount Shaohua, each time sleeping for three to five months, breathing and refining Qi day and night without stop."

"That must be a special Qi Refinement technique!" Yan Yu transmitted back, "This must be achieved simply by her talent."

"Well, I don't know about that," Zhao Yuanzhen hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying, "Didn't your master... mention her?"

"Are you joking?" Yan Yu countered, "If it weren't for his old man's instruction, why would I go to the trouble of bringing a girl from out of town here?"

"Oh, right," Zhao Yuanzhen thought indeed. After all, Xie Ruoxi had absolutely no prior experience in cultivation. It could only have been that powerful individual who was adept in divination who could foresee her unparalleled talent in this area.

Master, oh, master, as Yan Yu's Dao companion, I have always been faithful to your disciple and never harbored a second thought. Since you, old man, calculate even the smallest details, please arrange some fortune for me in the future as well, Miyuan here thanks you in advance.

"Yan Yu, are you done..." Lin Ning's knock came from outside, quickly pulled in by Yan Yu.

And so, the group observing Xie Immortal Venerate's cultivation beside the bed grew to three.

"Can this way of cultivation be effective?" Lin Ning scanned Xie Ruoxi's body with Divine Sense and felt a tingle on her scalp, "Isn't it said that after a dozen or so Grand Circulations, the increase in True Yuan is minimal?"

"But what if one cultivates for several hours in a row?" Yan Yu said meaningfully, "What about half a day? An entire day? Even if the efficiency of each round drops to one percent of the usual daily increase, if she unknowingly performs a hundred Grand Circulations, doesn't she still gain a day's worth of cultivation more than you?"

Lin Ning was at a loss for words. Automatic practice problems in one's dreams, efficiency aside, the key was fully utilizing the long hours of sleep, a terrifying realm that problem solvers dared not even imagine.

"I'll let Yun Jin and Ling Yun know," she said while taking out her phone, "so they keep quiet when they come later, to avoid interrupting Ruoxi's cultivation."

Soon, the entire Zhenhai Team gathered in Yan Yu's bedroom.

"Why is she in your room?" Su Yunjin asked via secret transmission.

"In her own room, do you think she'd willingly cultivate?" Yan Yu retorted.

"Let her come to my room next time," Su Yunjin continued, "After all, she's a girl, it's not good for you to keep her locked in a room like this."

Secretary Su did have a point, and Yan Yu didn't want to keep an eye on this pretty waste all the time, the more she saw her lazy, salted fish attitude, the angrier she got. She responded via transmission:

"Okay, then you will be in charge of her daily practice from now on."

Seeing that Xie Ruoxi had not yet awakened, everyone went downstairs to the living room to have breakfast first, rest for a moment, and then resume their cultivation after resetting their mental state.

Chen Lingyun went to grind coffee beans, while Lin Ning headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. Zhao Yuanzhen sat on the sofa with snacks, starting to prep her stomach for breakfast, and Su Yunjin swept the floor, tapping Yan Yu's foot:

"Lift your shoes."

"Stop sweeping." Yan Yu said exasperatedly, "I just had the cleaner come yesterday to clean up, the floor isn't dirty at all."

Su Yunjin tilted her head, and Yan Yu followed her gaze, only to see Zhao Yuanzhen's eyes glued to her phone while she nonchalantly ate chips, crumbs crackling as they fell to the ground.

Yan Yu's anger flared up instantly, and he snatched away her chips, saying angrily:

"Dare to snack before a meal? If you gain weight and slow down because of that, I'll make you go hungry for three days!"

"How could I get fat when I'm a cultivator!" Zhao Yuanzhen, driven by her food-guarding instincts, immediately tackled him to take back her chips, but because of her size, she ended up pressing right onto Yan Yu's face. The chips in his hand also fell to the floor with a smack, scattering everywhere.

Su Yunjin, still holding the broom, silently watched the added mess on the floor to sweep, Yan Yu being almost suffocated with his face covered, and Zhao Yuanzhen's desperate gaze fixed on the chips on the floor. Suddenly, she displayed a skin-crawling, faux-warm smile that was anything but comforting and instructed:

"Clean it up."

"Oh, okay." Zhao Yuanzhen got up conscientiously, took the broom from Su Yunjin's hand, and obediently started to sweep.

Yan Yu was also taken aback. The fearsome Demonic Sect Enchantress, who even a powerhouse like me had to keep in check with constant reminders, was subdued by a mere sentence from Su Yunjin?

"Why must the captain pick on Sister Zhao?" Su Yunjin looked at Yan Yu, her face still holding a polite smile, and asked in a calm demeanor, "Is it because you have nothing else to do at home?"

"I…" Yan Yu slowly stood up, "I'll go help Lin Ning cook."

It wasn't that he was scared of her seemingly explosive demeanor; he just thought it wasn't right for Lin Ning to be busy in the kitchen by herself, so he decided to help her.

After Chen Lingyun finished making the coffee, she came back with a cup in her hand, only to see Yan Yu and Lin Ning busy in the kitchen, Zhao Yuanzhen sweeping the floor earnestly, and Su Yunjin wiping the furniture, her expression unassuming, but the aura she emanated seemed to freeze the air around her.

"Why be angry?" Chen Lingyun chimed leisurely.

"I'm not angry," replied Su Yunjin.

"Then give me a smile," Chen Lingyun teased her.

Su Yunjin sighed, finally showing a somewhat melancholic expression and said weakly:

"Stop worrying about me."

"Mm-hmm." Chen Lingyun smiled gleefully, "I think some things, instead of keeping them bottled up, it's better to speak them out."

"How so?" Su Yunjin murmured despondently, "Am I worthy?"

"Haha." Chen Lingyun laughed, some mockery in her smile, "Worthy or not, who gets to decide? Him? Why should he?"

"Not for any reason." Su Yunjin lowered her eyelids, "It's just that I care."

"Then you're really asking for trouble."

"That's why I said stop worrying about me," Su Yunjin uttered somberly.

"Alright." Chen Lingyun, holding her coffee cup, walked a circle around her, as if savoring her fragile and gaunt demeanor.

After she leisurely appreciated it, she spoke with a smile:

"Even so, there are ways around it."

"Like what?" Su Yunjin looked up in surprise.

"Yan Yu's behavior is actually quite easy to understand." Chen Lingyun put out a finger, playfully wagging it, "If you attack, he will defend staunchly."

"Reverse the thought process, if you don't want to be forcefully rebuffed, then don't truly launch an attack."

"You mean…" Su Yunjin, sharp as ever, began to look contemplative, feeling as though she had grasped some sort of thread.

"First keyword: Salami Tactics," Chen Lingyun said with a sweet smile, "slice by slice strategy."

"Second keyword: Genghis Khan, Mangudai Tactics."

"Third keyword: Foot In The Door Effect, the doorstep effect."

"Hmm." Su Yunjin pondered, "I'll think about it."

"You're so smart, Yun Jin, you'll definitely be able to come up with a methodology to deal with him." Chen Lingyun said with a smile, glanced at Yan Yu who was flipping eggs in the kitchen, and added, "You might not beat him on the battlefield, but in certain matters..."

"...We girls are the ones with the upper hand."