In the void, aboard the airship—
[Detecting damage to Ye Chen’s fortune value. Rewarding host with 3,000 fate points and the Dao Palace Realm’s Kidney Extreme Stage.]
[Deducting 1,000 fate points for purchasing the Formation Compass. Current balance: 2,000 fate points.]
Lin Luochen awoke from meditation with a puzzled feeling in his heart.
I already left, so why did his fortune take a hit instead?
He didn’t dwell on the thought and instead asked the system via transmission, “The cultivation you gave me—can I really use it? Will it destabilize my Dao foundation?”
[System-quality guaranteed, always premium. No worries, host~]
Lin Luochen nodded slightly and accepted the system’s gift without guilt.
After all, the system was bound to him—it wouldn’t harm him.
With that in mind, he calmly accepted the reward, and his cultivation instantly broke through to the peak of the Dao Palace Realm.
[Detected host has reached the peak of the Dao Palace Realm. The rewarded Kidney Extreme Stage has been distributed.]
The mechanical voice echoed in his sea of consciousness. Spiritual energy within a hundred kilometers surged toward him like rivers flowing into the sea.
Half a day later—
Lin Luochen stopped absorbing energy. He could feel that his five organs had undergone a tremendous enhancement, achieving an unusually deep resonance with the vital energy of the heavens and earth.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a face of peerless beauty.
The young girl with violet eyes blinked at him. Her purple dress fluttered, ethereal and naturally beautiful like a fairy.
“Fellow Daoist Qi, why are you staring at me like that?” Lin Luochen stepped half a pace back.
“Breaking through two minor realms in just half a month—your talent’s not bad.” Qi Qi withdrew her gaze and gracefully tucked her hair behind her ear with slender fingers. Her beauty was dazzling enough to outshine heaven and earth.
“Fellow Daoist Qi overpraises me. Compared to you, I’m nothing but a firefly next to the moon.”
Lin Luochen spoke sincerely, unable to help but sigh inwardly.
Though the girl looked about his age and seemed harmless, after spending half a month together, Lin Luochen had discovered with shock that she was actually a Holy Lord-level cultivator at the 2nd stage Immortal Platform Realm!
Even across the entire Northern Dipper Star Domain, that was enough to terrify anyone. No constitution or divine ability could produce such a prodigy… unless someone had forcefully imbued her with power.
But that was clearly impossible—her aura was flawless, with not a trace of instability.
Qi Qi gently shook her head. “Though we seem the same age, I’m already several hundred years old.”
Lin Luochen was surprised, as if something occurred to him, though he didn’t dare confirm it. “What do you mean, Fellow Daoist Qi?”
Qi Qi smiled, a smile that could topple nations.
She had already guessed what he was thinking, and gently said, “You’re right. The law of time. I cultivate within my master’s Dao ground—one day outside equals a month inside.”
“To reach the 2nd stage of the Immortal Platform Realm in just a few hundred years is already astonishing.” Lin Luochen’s praise came from the heart.
Qi Qi didn’t respond, only smiled again—enchanting and unforgettable.
If she revealed all her cards, the boy in front of her would probably have his Dao heart shattered.
“Traveling with a man like you—rare in this world—isn’t so lonely after all.”
Her violet eyes sparkled with quiet charm.
After spending time with Lin Luochen, she had come to understand what kind of person he was. This kind of companionship brought her a rare comfort.
[System has detected Qi Qi’s favorability progress toward host has increased to 67%.]
“Why is it progressing so fast?”
Lin Luochen frowned slightly and asked the system in his sea of consciousness.
It had started at 50%—he found it strange how easy she was to win over. Even sheltered noble daughters weren’t like this.
[It’s because of that face, host~ She was your true love in a past life.]
“…Can you not be so ridiculous? Once a person dies, that’s the end. Where’s this talk of past lives?”
Lin Luochen truly didn’t believe in reincarnation. In his previous life, he had already stood at the pinnacle of cultivation and had never witnessed such phenomena.
[Host will understand in time~]
…
That night—
“So delicious!”
Qi Qi hugged the roasted Azure Luan, eating it greedily, violet eyes twinkling, completely forgetting any fairy-like elegance or restraint.
“Slow down. No one’s competing with you,” Lin Luochen said helplessly as he handed her a sizzling, crispy, and juicy roasted rabbit.
These “ingredients” were no joke—some were once terrifying beasts of the Immortal Platform Realm. But before this delicate girl, they could only yield and become food.
“I don’t mean to be like this, but your cooking is exactly to my taste. I’ve had countless delicacies, but never anything this good.”
Qi Qi accepted the rabbit meat with her jade-like hand, her violet eyes filled with satisfaction as she complimented him without reservation.
Watching her like this, Lin Luochen couldn’t help but chuckle.
[In my past life, I learned to cook to please my senior sisters, even though they never loved me.]
Qi Qi’s violet eyes narrowed, and her brows furrowed in displeasure as she heard his thoughts.
Over the past half month, she’d heard his inner voice many times. Those so-called senior sisters had thoroughly crushed his heart.
It made her angry.
How could people treat him like that!?
Too cruel. If he were my junior brother, I’d spoil him to the heavens!
And then she had a flash of inspiration.
Right! She could bring him into the Moon God Hall.
But… the Moon God Hall didn’t accept male disciples. What now?
No! Her master adored her—she’d definitely make an exception!
“Fellow Daoist Lin, would you be willing to join my sect?” Qi Qi looked at the handsome young man in white, her violet eyes shining with anticipation.
Lin Luochen paused, clearly caught off guard by the question.
[Join another sect again? I’m really tired… I’m just scared of being abandoned again.]
“Forget it. I’m just a rogue cultivator, used to walking alone.” Lin Luochen exhaled softly, showing a relieved smile.
Qi Qi fell silent.
Suddenly, the roasted azure bird in her hands didn’t taste as good anymore.
“The Moon God Hall is fair and just. They wouldn’t look down on you for your status,” she said gently, with divine clarity in her eyes and a touch of sympathy on her jade-like cheeks.
“Your talent is excellent. But if you walk the path alone, it will be hard to make it far.”
Lin Luochen sighed, “I only plan to head to Central Province. I have no intention of joining any sect. But thank you for the offer.”
[I can’t take betrayal or hurt anymore. In this world, I have no one. Maybe I’m meant to live alone forever.]
“What are you going to Central Province for?”
Suddenly, a voice like celestial music, enchanting to the soul, echoed through the mountain forest.
Lin Luochen’s pupils shrank to needles, and a pain stabbed through his chest.
That voice… he would never forget it.
Its owner… was the woman he once loved…
Under the moonlit night, Yun Wangshu’s starlike eyes shimmered with brilliance. Her black hair flowed like silk, her slender waist easily encircled by a single hand. She wore white, peerless in grace.
Her flawless jade-like legs peeked through the hem of her skirt—slender, smooth, glowing, more delicate than sheep-fat jade.
“Chen’er, why did you leave?”