The small courtyard had a stone table, where many stories had unfolded.
Wan Lei beckoned the servants to bring up wine and food, then sat down opposite Fang Xiaoyu.
"My dear wife, come, your husband will share a drink with you."
Wan Lei politely raised his wine cup with both hands. Seeing his earnest expression, Fang Xiaoyu chuckled, also raising her cup.
"Here's to you, husband, bottoms up. Not drinking isn't being a man."
"..."
"Drink it then, are you raising fish?"
"Can't you not ruin the atmosphere?"
"Hmph, you think I'm not romantic? Your little romantic lover hasn't gone far yet, hurry up and call her back."
Young Master Lei narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing in them.
He stood up, walked to Sister Xiaoyu's side, gently pulled her up, placed his left arm around her slender waist, and drew her close to him. His right hand expertly moved to a familiar spot.
*Slap!*
"Ah."
"Dare you not to behave?"
"Has Man Yaoyao been to this place before?"
Sister Xiaoyu's question completely shattered the imposing aura Young Master Lei had painstakingly built.
"Uh..."
"Did Man Yaoyao go into that room?"
"Uh..."
"That bed..."
"Absolutely not, never."
Young Master Lei immediately patted his chest, making a solemn vow.
"Heh,"
Fang Xiaoyu glanced at Wan Lei with a knowing smile.
"Did you do it on the ground? Wasn't it cold?"
"Hiss..."
Young Master Lei gritted his teeth and slapped her again.
"What are you thinking? Can't your little brain think of something less... dirty? We only cultivated our natal lightning essence together."
"Oh, so you cultivated through dual cultivation."
"Little girl, I think you're asking for a beating today."
Young Master Lei scooped up Sister Xiaoyu, kicked open the door, and walked in...
(Ten thousand words omitted here, if I say I'm not padding the word count, then I'm not padding the word count)
The next morning...
Young Master Lei and Sister Xiaoyu woke up.
Stepping out of the room, Young Master Lei looked at the sun in the south and couldn't help but complain.
"This darn author, it's already noon and calls it early morning? How can they use words like that?"
"Where are we going today?"
"The cave dwelling of True Master Tao Dian, the Lightning Refining Pool."
Wan Lei, holding Sister Xiaoyu's hand, left their home and walked onto the street.
He enthusiastically explained the plants, trees, bricks, and tiles here to Sister Xiaoyu. Sister Xiaoyu feigned great interest, listening with relish.
To satisfy this young man's vanity.
After all, if the desire to share is gone, a relationship is almost at its end.
"Look, that's Sui Xiaohang's house. They're already hanging lanterns and streamers. Honestly, Sui isn't anxious, but Old Sui is."
"We came here on the wedding day. I'm so looking forward to it."
The two strolled out of the city.
"There are so many marks of bombardment on the city walls. Was it from when you fought here before?"
"Yes, once when Second Master's family rebelled, and once when the other three families attacked us.
Both times, it was thanks to me that we achieved victory."
"Really? That's amazing."
"..."
"Can you at least put some effort into it?"
"Hehe."
About twenty miles further ahead was a very familiar old place.
"In the illusion, you rescued me from the city and we fled here. But then all the big trees here were ghosts, and they all wanted to kill me. Fortunately, you saved me."
"You said that all the places we went to in the illusion were the places that left the deepest impression on you. What story happened here?"
"There are many stories here. The first time I took Sui Xiaohang to cross the Heavenly Tribulation was here. Look, there are still traces of lightning strikes.
There was also a rainy night when I came here to draw lightning to strengthen my cultivation. Unexpectedly, Qi Manyao came to kill me. This was the second time she tried to kill me.
But before she could make a move, the assassins hired by Second Master appeared. She and I killed all the assassins together.
It was also on that occasion that I heard the voice of the little yellow dog. The little yellow dog acted all mysterious, like a peerless powerhouse, and gave me a purple lightning strike, which allowed me to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
As he spoke, Wan Lei lightly tapped the dog on the head.
"Shut up, I am the peerless powerhouse!"
"Back then, I never imagined that this mysterious expert was actually a dog, hahahaha.
Oh right, the last time I came here, I killed Second Master. It was at the place where he sent people to ambush me. He died here."
"Before that, the dog guided me, saying, 'Young man... there's a Lightning Refining Pool to the south... there's Golden Lightning in the Lightning Refining Pool... go get it quickly... go quickly...'."
Wan Lei's imitation was vivid, and Fang Xiaoyu laughed so hard she could barely stand. The dog, facing this public humiliation, wished it could burrow back into its hammer.
"This isn't over yet. I said, 'Senior, who are you? Can you come out and meet me?'
Guess what the dog said? 'Young man... you are not yet qualified to see me... when you are qualified to stand before me... you will be qualified to see me.'
I asked, when would I be qualified?
It said, you have to win first place in the clan competition. Then, you will naturally be able to see me.
At that moment, I swore that I would defeat Wan Liuchuan and win first place, so I could meet this mysterious expert."
The two chatted as they flew, and soon arrived at the territory of the Duanmu clan.
"We went to the Lightning Refining Pool, and here, we met Man Yaoyao killing Duanmu family members. I saved her, and we teamed up to go to the Lightning Refining Pool."
"You fought side-by-side quite a few times."
"No, no, it's with you that I've fought the most."
The two flew south, soon passing through the Duanmu family's territory. Here, they circled a few times to confirm they weren't being followed, then entered Guannan Commandery and arrived at the former cave dwelling.
"Here, we encountered a large python and also Tian Suanzi. We teamed up, but were pursued by the Core Formation experts of the Duanmu family. Fortunately, my father came to our rescue."
The numerous demonic beasts, mechanisms, and hidden weapons that had been troublesome back then were like child's toys to the current Wan Lei, who easily neutralized them one by one.
They reached the deepest part of the cave dwelling.
Wan Lei used his jade slip to open the barrier, then set up a new formation outside to make the disguise even better.
Entering this independent space, lightning still filled the air.
"Back then, when you were here, did nothing happen? Did you not bully Man Yaoyao?"
"No, how could that be?"
Young Master Lei's old face blushed as he resolutely denied it.
Recalling the past...
Cannot recall, cannot recall.
The core area of lightning, which Wan Lei had to fight for his life to enter back then, now felt as comfortable as water in a hot spring. Wan Lei set up a spirit energy conversion formation in the center. This formation could automatically absorb lightning and convert it into spirit energy.
Then, he also set up a defensive formation covering the entire space, making it impregnable.