An Eternal Bond

"High Heavens!" Xie Lian exclaimed. "What was that?!"

As the bond took effect, she had snapped out of her daze and was now holding a hand over her chest as she felt her swiftly beating heart. Su Yan wasn't any different, still feeling that peculiar sensation that he had now identified as arousal. He shook his head and breathed out.

"That was the bond forged." He explained. "Now we are effectively partners in life and death."

"So wait, if either of us dies, will the other die also?"

He frowned and shook his head. "No, it's not that type of bond. It's more along the lines of shared harmony than a soul bond."

"But we like said that oath; what even was that about?" She asked. "Is it like marriage?"

"No." He denied. "And stop comparing it to marriage. It's more than that. It's an eternal vow to the heavens, ourselves, and each other."

Xie Lian still seemed to struggle with the concept. If Su Yan had to guess, she was probably also dealing with the feelings of arousal. Judging by her flushed face, he would give himself decent chances.

Xie Lian noticed his gaze and quirked a brow, "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head, smiling. "That said, now I need to transfer the cultivation art to you so that you can start on your cultivation. So we might need to repeat what we just did."

"What? Like kissing and all? Even Oath?"

Su Yan shrugged. "Not the oath, and no kissing if you don't want to. Just touching foreheads will do."

She looked at him silently for a moment and then crawled over. "Well, we can't take any chances. So just to be sure, we will exchange a kiss."

Su Yan didn't let a smile form on his face even if he would've very much liked teasing her about it. Instead he watched as she closed her eyes and brought her face close. She looked cute with her face flushed and lips puckered in anticipation. He wasn't going to let her wait.

As their lips met for the second time, a bond came into existence. Urges tried to take over, but he quashed them all and instead focused on the technique that would let him transfer the knowledge to her. Since he hadn't started cultivating using the technique yet, they could easily complement each other and advance together.

Xie Lian still had her eyes closed, but now a frown marred her features. Su Yan himself felt a strain take hold, though it felt more like an ache to an unseen part of his being. Just as he finished transferring the last of it, he reeled back and clutched his head.

On the other hand, Xie Lian was groaning and rubbing her forehead as she shook from left to right. Su Yan felt his headache recede and moved to hold his partner just as she was about to fall off.

The effects lasted for about ten minutes before she was able to open her eyes. There was sudden clarity in them that she had lacked before. She met his gaze and promptly sprung upward.

Su Yan let her sit beside him without saying any word. Despite looking fine outwardly, he was worried she might be feeling a bit disoriented slightly. After a minute had passed in silence, and as he was debating whether to speak, Xie Lian opened her mouth.

"What the fuck was that?"

He raised a brow at the rude remark but chose to answer her question instead. "Well, it's a technique that lets me transfer information and knowledge to another person whose mind is in sync with me."

She shook her head and blinked rapidly. "It's just so weird. I suddenly have this knowledge in my brain, and it's like a fog. Every time I try and reach out, I feel the beginnings of a headache, and if I try harder, the pain spikes."

That was a cause for consternation, and Su Yan wondered what he needed to do to fix it. He postulated that since the technique required their minds to be in sync, then maybe there was some disconnect lingering there. That was the only thing conjecture he had, and it was as good a guess as any.

"Ok, let me try something." Holding her hands in his, he circulated his Ninefold Genesis Ascension Art. A trickle of Qi traveled alongside his meridians and into her body. Just then Su Yan also initiated Yin-Yang Unification Art, and without any prompting, Xie Lian followed suit, as if purely on instinct. Su Yan smiled as he realized his theory turned out correct.

"I can now understand bits and pieces!" Xie Lian exclaimed in astonishment. That was to be expected. The information he had transferred still held a weird connection to his mind, and if he had to guess, it was probably related to that jade slip that had merged with his mind. Whatever the case, his dual cultivation method was able to bridge the gap by bringing their minds into synchroneity.

For the next half an hour the duo sat and cultivated in silence. As the half-an-hour mark drew near, Xie Lian let out a breath and pulled her hands from his. "I understand everything now."

Su Yan smiled. "That's good."

Yin-Yang Unification Art was by no means the greatest cultivation method under his disposal, but neither was it mediocre. In fact, it boosted a great foundation, but it lacked compared to some truly specialized method in his head. However, due to it being an auxiliary method, one could always adopt a new method without any harm to their foundation.

Nevertheless, he chose to keep silent and refrained from making any promises. As much as he liked Xie Lian, trust took time to form, and as long as there still existed a divide between them, he wouldn't hand over one of those top cultivation manuals inside his head.

Of course another was because he simply couldn't. Unlike normal cultivation or utility arts, there was something about these top methods. They carried a metaphysical weight with them, and if he had to guess, it was probably something like Primal Genesis Energy. Unless he learned to transfer that, Xie Lian wasn't getting a supreme cultivation manual.