By the fire, the weakened Yan Xiaoru made a shocking statement.
The “Ghostly Demon Technique” was an ancient legacy that Yan Xiaoru had obtained by chance, and it was the foundation of her standing.
Even her direct disciples had only received part of this legacy.
She managed to become an Elder of the Demon Sect at the age of 29, and this mysterious ancient demon cultivation technique was indispensable to her rise.
Now, facing Li Muyang, Elder Yan actually took the initiative to offer to pass on the entire “Ghostly Demon Technique” to him.
Li Muyang was momentarily stunned, almost wondering if he had heard incorrectly.
“Uh… Elder Yan,” Li Muyang hesitated cautiously, his tone much gentler: “Are you tired? Do you need to rest for a while?”
Not only was his expression careful, but his tone had also become much more tender.
He suspected that Elder Yan’s brain had been fried, causing her to be delirious and start talking nonsense.
However, Yan Xiaoru looked at him with a cold expression, her breath feeble but her tone extremely firm.
“…You only need to answer whether you are willing or not.”
Yan Xiaoru’s expression was as cold as usual, her gaze steady, clearly lucid and not speaking nonsense.
Only then was Li Muyang certain that Elder Yan truly intended to pass on the demon technique to him.
But…
“Elder Yan, we are currently in a secret realm, with our cultivation restricted. Even if you teach me the demon technique, I can’t practice it,” Li Muyang reasoned, spreading his hands: “As for memorizing what you dictate… I am quite confident in my comprehension and memory, but without more than two months, I can’t memorize a whole book.”
Yan Xiaoru’s offer to teach him the cultivation technique was simply not feasible at the moment.
Not to mention that if he were to follow her to memorize the content of the demon technique by rote, it would greatly delay the time he could spend practicing the Startling Swan Sword Technique.
This woman was on the brink of death, and Li Muyang was running out of time!
Li Muyang was somewhat anxious, wishing he could return to the game right away and continue practicing the sword technique.
Considering that the current mental state of Elder Yan seemed to be problematic, and worried that she might take her own life prematurely, Li Muyang had to set aside the game to pay attention to this “lonesome Elder” who nobody cared for.
He briefly chatted with Yan Xiaoru, trying to find out why she suddenly wanted to pass on the demon technique to him.
Was it because she feared that the demon technique would be lost?
Yan Xiaoru looked at him with a cold expression and said, “The ‘Ghostly Demon Technique’ coming into my possession was merely an accident, and it wouldn’t be a pity if it perished with me.”
“But recently, you’ve been sleeping all day, spending all your time asleep… Are you tired of my nagging, so you’re avoiding me? Or did you also get hurt before and need to recuperate?”
Yan Xiaoru’s cold voice asked, her questions cutting to the core.
“Uh… well…”
Li Muyang hesitated, caught off guard by the directness of the Elder’s questions.
Scratching his head, he said, “It’s not that I’m hurt, nor am I tired of it. It’s just simple boredom; there’s nothing to do in this secret realm, and I can’t cultivate, so I can only sleep every day to pass time. Sleeping is the quickest way to waste time.”
“Who knows, maybe when I open my eyes, the Sect Master and the others will have broken through the secret realm and taken us out.”
Li Muyang casually made up an excuse.
His behavior of falling asleep right after eating every day did indeed look a bit odd to outsiders.
After Li Muyang finished speaking, Yan Xiaoru gave him a cold glance, as if evaluating the truthfulness of his words.
Seconds later, Yan Xiaoru nodded.
“I understand.”
After she spoke, she got up and left, walking towards the edge of the bamboo forest.
This was the first time in several days that the gravely ill Yan Xiaoru had left the side of the fire.
Seeing the woman, who could barely walk steadily, attempting to leave, Li Muyang was about to get up and go after her to persuade her to stay when Yan Xiaoru’s detached voice floated gently over.
“I’m going for a walk, no need to worry about me seeking death.”
The woman’s breezy comment directly choked off all of Li Muyang’s persuasions in his throat.
Watching Yan Xiaoru’s figure, clearly frail and exhausted, yet still determined to leave, Li Muyang scratched his head, at a loss for what to make of it.
This Elder always maintained such a cold distance, the archetypal ‘Three Nos’; her inner thoughts were utterly inscrutable.
Even when she initially buried him in the ground, her expression had remained calm and indifferent, as if devoid of any sentiment.
They say a woman’s heart is as hard to fathom as the depths of the ocean, but the mind of Yan Xiaoru, this Elder of the Demon Sect, was even more profoundly mysterious.
Therefore, Li Muyang just gave up on trying to figure her out.
Assured that she wasn’t seeking death, Li Muyang temporarily set aside his worries and closed his eyes to continue playing his game.
Yan Xiaoru’s condition was worsening day by day; he had to seize every moment to master the Startling Swan Sword Technique.
At the very least, he had to be adept at wielding the Startling Swan Immortal Sword, allowing the sword to open the entrance to the secret realm and release both of them.
In the game’s Nanjiang City, Li Muyang, wielding the head of the Human Puppet Master, was on a slaughter spree, practicing the Startling Swan Sword Technique.
Several hours passed this way, and when Li Muyang exited the game and returned to reality, night had already fallen over the secret realm.
In the bamboo forest, the light of the fire pit had dimmed to its last, leaving only a few sparks among the ashes.
The fine snow fell through the bamboo, yet Yan Xiaoru’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
After adding some dry firewood to the fire pit, Li Muyang got up curiously.
Normally, around mealtime, the food-loving Yan Xiaoru would take the initiative to call him to roast bamboo shoots, never late.
Accustomed to being reminded, Li Muyang had been engrossed in his game until dusk fell, only to find that mealtime had long passed.
He got up, rubbing his growling stomach in confusion.
Outside the bamboo forest, the snowfall was much heavier.
In the midst of the falling snow, the graves of the Immortal Maiden and her husband lay quietly nestled in the snowscape.
The untended Startling Swan Immortal Sword stood guard in front of their graves, protecting the celestial couple.
And about ten paces from the grave, in the vast expanse of white snow, lay a motionless figure.
It was indeed Yan Xiaoru.
She lay with her face up in the snow, motionless.
Falling snowflakes continuously landed on her, almost burying her completely.
Li Muyang, upon seeing this scene, was greatly alarmed and hastened through the snow towards her.
Although the woman lying in the snow had her eyes open and her breath was even, as if she was lucid,
Li Muyang, who knew Yan Xiaoru well, understood that the woman had lost consciousness!
A hint of dark purple could be seen on her face, indicating poisons coursing through her body.
When his fingers touched her body, he felt an icy chill to the bone.
Not only had the woman fainted, but she had also lain in the snow for who knows how long. Her body, which should have been immune to heat and cold, was now as cold as ice.
The dual assault of poison and cold had successfully breached her defenses for the first time, causing her to lose consciousness.
In a panic, Li Muyang hoisted the woman up, carrying her into the bamboo forest and placing her next to the fire pit to warm her by stoking the flames.
At the same time, he called out anxiously.
“Elder Yan? Elder Yan? Wake up, please!” Enjoy more content from empire
“Elder Yan? Yan Xiaoru!”
Li Muyang’s urgent calls echoed through the bamboo forest.