Rushing back to his room in a hurry, Fang Zhou locked the door and downed several pots of tea before he managed to suppress the burning desire within him.
That woman was too terrifying; it was a good thing he was on guard at all times, otherwise, he would have been seduced in his confusion.
But this trip wasn't without its gains. Looking at the line of text in front of him, Fang Zhou revealed a smile.
[Successfully resisted the temptation of the enchantress]
[Reward: Masculinity*2, White Card*1]
A pure white card was slowly spinning in Fang Zhou's mind.
[White Card: Use to randomly obtain a common quality item or skill, with a low chance of drawing a higher quality item or skill]
Is this a card-drawing game after all?
Fang Zhou couldn't help but rub his hands together and then clasped them, starting to chant.
"May the Jade Emperor, Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, The Bodhisattva Guanyin, Buddha, God, Jesus, Maria, and his holy mother bless me with a miracle single draw!"
After finishing the invocation, a gleam flashed in Fang Zhou's eyes, feeling the universe's blessing descending upon him.
He focused all his consciousness on the card and chose to use it.
The card spun rapidly, bursting into a bright light, turned into countless particles, which then re-formed into an eye.
[Illusion Technique: Causes a single target to fall into an illusion, spiritual resistance shortens the duration]
He actually drew a skill card; he really was a lucky emperor.
Fang Zhou opened the system joyfully.
Name: Fang Zhou
Realm: None
Cultivation Method: None
Skill: Illusion Technique
Strength: 1+
Speed: 1+
Physical: 1+
Spirit: 1+
Masculinity: 2
The quest reward added two points of masculinity; the pluses appeared behind each attribute, which he could probably use to increase attributes.
Fang Zhou thought for a moment and added the masculinity to his strength and spirit, the spirit would help him resist the temptress Li Ruyu's seduction, while strength could improve his currently feeble body.
Name: Fang Zhou
Realm: None
Cultivation Method: None
Skill: Illusion Technique
Strength: 2
Speed: 1
Physical: 1
Spirit: 2
Masculinity: 0
After increasing his strength and spirit attributes, Fang Zhou immediately felt a noticeable change.
His body felt as if it had endless energy, strength suddenly enhanced, and the change in spirit was particularly evident. The dizziness and sluggishness when seduced by Li Ruyu were swept away, and his spirit became invigorated and clear.
"Young master, are you there?"
At this moment, Fang Zhou's male servant happened to be knocking on the door outside.
Fang Zhou let the male servant in and then cast the Illusion Technique on him.
The male servant immediately fell into a daze, as Fang Zhou began to count the time, meanwhile waving his hand in front of the servant, "Hey, can you hear me speaking?"
The male servant was indifferent to Fang Zhou's actions, remained motionlessly standing for a few seconds and then suddenly started wriggling like a teddy bear.
What kind of vision did this damn guy see?
Fang Zhou didn't know what someone under an illusion would see, but it was clear that this guy caught sight of something inappropriate for children.
In the next moment, the male servant let out a heavy breath, looking enlightened like a sage who has comprehended the ultimate truth that all is vanity.
Fang Zhou gave a bewildered look and hurriedly kicked the servant out of the room with a swift foot.
This guy really isn't reliable, better to test it on someone else.
Fang Zhou left the room and secretly found a few isolated servants to test on, quickly figuring out the effects and limitations of the Illusion Technique.
Ordinary people under the illusion would stay affected for about a minute; simple sounds and touches wouldn't wake them, only a greater stimulus would do the job.
For those who have practiced cultivation, the duration of the Illusion Technique would be shortened and they could be awakened by smaller stimuli.
Releasing three illusions would exhaust Fang Zhou's spirit, forcing five could completely deplete him, almost emptying his body. This was after he had strengthened his spiritual power; without the enhancement, he might have only managed two or three.
Although the skill didn't seem very powerful, at least it gave Fang Zhou some power to resist, so he wouldn't be entirely at others' mercy.
...
Li Ruyu and her entourage stayed at the Fang Mansion for ten days, during which Li Ruyu harassed Fang Zhou almost daily, finding all sorts of excuses to make physical advances.
Fang Zhou matched wits and courage against this enamored woman, taking the opportunity to extract more information about the Cultivation World from her and even asking Li Ruyu to demonstrate a cultivator's power.
Seeing Li Ruyu easily split a large rock in two with her longsword, Fang Zhou got a clear understanding—Li Ruyu could kill him with just the poke of a finger.
This realization created a sense of crisis in Fang Zhou's mind. Inside Fang Mansion, Li Ruyu still had to maintain some semblance of propriety, but who knew whether she would force herself on him during the trip to Xuanji Sect. By then, crying for help would be useless, pitifully small and helpless to her whims.
Once, Fang Zhou tentatively asked if he could learn some basic Cultivation Methods from Xuanji Sect beforehand.
Li Ruyu flatly refused, telling him not to be anxious and to wait until they reached Xuanji Sect.
How can I not be anxious, you deranged woman who could poke me to death?
The ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Fang Zhou had to bid farewell to his family to start the journey back to Xuanji Sect with Li Ruyu.
"Zhou'er, remember to come back and visit your father!"
At the gate of Fang Mansion, Fang Zhou's father cried, his face smeared with tears and snot, clinging to his mother's embrace, while a few aunts sobbed in a huddle.
His mother had tears in her tiger's eyes, but as the head of the family, she couldn't reveal her childlike demeanor, only telling Fang Zhou, "Go ahead, don't worry about the family matters."
Fang Zhou had to feign a deep sorrow, but his heart remained calm.
He had only crossed over for a few weeks and naturally had no affection for the Fang Family, yet occupying their son's body, he still managed to squeeze out a few tears.
Li Ruyu, riding on a horse, smiled and said, "Auntie Fang, please don't worry. I will ensure that junior brother reaches Xuanji Sect safely. After he meets our Master and has practiced cultivation for three years at Xuanji Sect, he'll be able to come down the mountain and visit home."
Fang Zhou's mother could only wave: "That's good then, go on, don't delay any further."
Li Ruyu saluted with her hands, then turned her horse's head around and began the journey with the carriage.
Fang Zhou's father tiptoed, waving a handkerchief vigorously towards the carriage with tear-blurred eyes: "Zhou'er, remember to come back!"
Fang Zhou waved from the carriage window, then retreated back inside.
...
Although Xuanji Sect is also within Jingnan State, the journey is long and requires over a month by horse-drawn carriage.
The trip could be much shortened by horseback, but Li Ruyu, concerned about Fang Zhou's lack of cultivation and fearing the journey would tire and harm him, chose the carriage instead.
However, Fang Zhou felt that Li Ruyu's reasons weren't so simple; she likely wanted to prolong the time on the road.
After leaving Wu City, Li Ruyu's gaze towards Fang Zhou no longer contained any disguise, it was naked covetousness, like a hungry tiger eyeing a caged lamb, almost drooling.
Fang Zhou suspected that on the road, this obsessed woman would definitely make her move, so he prepared himself secretly to prevent being ruined by her before even reaching Xuanji Sect.
Then again, birds of a feather flock together, and Li Ruyu from Xuanji Sect had this thirsty demeanor and was said to be highly valued within the sect; it was hard to believe that the atmosphere of Xuanji Sect was pure and full of positive energy.
Fang Zhou feared that the moment he entered Xuanji Sect, he would be devoured completely, bound in chains at the limbs, with a gag ball, locked in a dark room, subjected to the whims of a bunch of crazed women every day.
Damn, even thinking about it is terrifying.
Sure enough, as expected, Li Ruyu became more and more brazen on the road; before, she had to find some excuse to touch him, but now she didn't even bother with a pretext and just did as she pleased.
Every time the caravan stopped to rest, Li Ruyu would crawl into the carriage to make advances on Fang Zhou, her true face as a lust demon fully revealed.
Fang Zhou pretended to comply on the surface, but he maintained his bottom line and never let the femme fatale succeed.
Li Ruyu wasn't in a hurry, enjoying the feeling of teasing a respectable young man.
After leaving Wu City, the caravan headed south and after several days of travel, crossed the Jingchu River, stayed for two days in the well-known Liuhe City, and then continued south along the main road, entering the Yun Mountain Region of Jingnan State.
Yun Mountain Region, an economically underdeveloped area in Jingnan State, had inconvenient transportation and sparse population; Cultivation Sects favored these deep mountains and old forests because of their abundant Spiritual Energy, conducive to Cultivation.
After entering the Yun Mountain Region, the roads became narrow and rugged, Fang Zhou felt like his rear was being bumped into eight pieces inside the carriage.
There were also very few pedestrians on the road, only occasionally meeting fully-armed merchant caravans, each person appearing vigilant.
Danger lurked outside, with the risk of bandits and demons abducting travelers in the wilderness—only by hiding in villages with the protection of local deities or city gods could one be safe.
One day, Fang Zhou sat in the carriage, opened the window to let in some air, and looked at the distant undulating mountain ranges, standing tall like giant bamboo shoots with peaks piercing the heavens.
According to Li Ruyu, Xuanji Sect was located in those steep mountains, a place akin to an Immortal Realm; he wondered if it was all just boasting.
During this time, Fang Zhou had been trying to trigger a new task, but to no avail.
Suddenly, a whistle broke Fang Zhou's contemplation.