Chapter 54: Dispelling Cultivation

"Senior, have you been to Tianquan City before?"

"Senior, look at this, it's so interesting. My parents bought it for me when I was little…"

"Senior, do you have any favorite foods? I know of a really great restaurant here… Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you've already achieved fasting."

"Senior, this road leads to Feilong Pass. My parents used to say that those who leave from this road probably won't ever come back…"

Li Qingran turned to face Chen Huaian, but she only lowered her head, her fingers nervously playing with the hem of her clothes. The strands of hair in front of her forehead swayed in the breeze, and beneath her eyelashes, there was a flicker of something unspeakable.

Tianquan City, Li Qingran's former hometown.

Now, it had long since changed dynasties, and the city lord had been replaced twice.

Standing in front of the city gate, facing the bustling traffic,

Li Qingran's voice carried a tinge of sadness.

"Senior, you…"

She didn't dare to look up.

Afraid that her senior would see her reddened eyes.

"This venerable one… sigh—"

Chen Huaian was at a loss. Because his current behavior was no different from parents who throw their children into daycare just to make their own lives easier.

The daycare, in this case, was actually a sect.

Li Qingran no longer had a sect, and according to the plot, she needed to find a sect for protection. At first, Chen Huaian didn't understand, but then he saw the time on his experience card gradually running out.

He, understood.

In this world where everyone was practically a superhero,

Li Qingran, with her perfect dantian, Yin Physique, and single water spirit root, was like a walking treasure chest.

As soon as her special traits were discovered by someone with ill intentions, she would immediately be in danger, and her pitiful Qi Refining peak strength offered no means of self-defense. A rogue cultivator with no power but a body full of treasures had no chance of survival in this world!

He also couldn't stare at his phone 24/7. He still had to participate in shows to earn money. So, a sect that could temporarily provide shelter for Qingran was absolutely necessary.

And as her cyber boyfriend and guardian,

His job was to help Li Qingran establish herself in the new sect.

That's why he brought Li Qingran to Tianquan City.

From the slightly upper-left center of the map to a spot slightly to the right of the center.

This was a large mortal city far enough from Qingyun Sect, already outside the densely populated spiritual prosperity zone. The spiritual energy here was very thin, which also meant it was relatively safe.

"This venerable one is only leaving temporarily."

In truth, he wasn't going anywhere.

It's just that the time for this avatar was about to run out, and it was hard to explain.

"Senior…"

Li Qingran saw the hesitation on Chen Huaian's face.

Her fingers, which had been gripping the hem of her clothes, slowly loosened.

What was wrong with her?

She shouldn't keep troubling her senior.

Senior had his own things to do, a hundred female disciples waiting to be nurtured.

Senior had already given her so much support. What more could she ask for?

"This junior understands. This junior will obediently find a place to stay."

Chen Huaian glanced at Li Qingran in surprise.

He thought the girl had come to her senses and the conversation was over, but then he saw her lowered eyes reddening, like a kitten about to be abandoned, pitiful and helpless.

Just earlier, during her sword fight with Lu Changtian, she had been so heroic and spirited.

"Forget it, let this venerable one explain in detail!"

Standing around here wasn't going to solve anything.

Chen Huaian took Li Qingran into a restaurant, casually ordered some food from the nervous waiter, and then seriously explained to Li Qingran: "I… ahem, this venerable one is very busy, with many things to do. I don't have time to look after you."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran's lips immediately quivered.

Chen Huaian quickly abandoned the cool way of speaking and, with a hand gesture, inserted something into Li Qingran's mind. Under her dazed gaze, he added, "You see, this venerable one can't touch you. This venerable one is an avatar because my main body is currently battling a super powerful demon!"

Li Qingran's expression immediately turned tense. "Will senior be in danger? Is it a very troublesome demon?"

Well, that wasn't wrong. Cancer was indeed very troublesome.

Chen Huaian nodded helplessly. "Very troublesome. This venerable one has been poisoned by that demon, and it's very hard to cure. My life might be in danger."

He thought, how much could a game character understand? What good would it do to tell her about cancer? Although this game was very free and the characters were AI-driven, it probably couldn't reflect genuine human emotions, right? That was something AI lacked.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran's face instantly turned pale. Her ears buzzed, and her mind was in chaos. Her heart tightened violently, as if a hot iron had pierced a hole through it. Her fingers, clutching the hem of her clothes, turned white.

Senior, with his unparalleled cultivation, couldn't even cure the poison. How ferocious must that demon be?

Just as she had thought, senior was a great hero, always fighting to protect the Cangyun Realm. Even though he was so busy, he was still willing to take time out to accompany her to Qingyun Sect. Yet here she was, clinging to him and not wanting him to leave.

"Senior, this junior was wrong." Li Qingran, with tears streaming down her face, walked up to Chen Huaian and knelt down with a thud, startling him.

"What are you doing?" Chen Huaian's hands hovered awkwardly.

Even though Li Qingran was already being lifted by an invisible force, she stubbornly remained kneeling in mid-air.

She was 'lifted' by Chen Huaian, and the two of them stared at each other in a strange, level gaze.

"Senior, this junior has a single water spirit root and is also suited for alchemy. There are so many alchemy recipes in the Cangyun Realm. No matter what, this junior will definitely refine a pill that can cure senior's poison!"

Li Qingran's tone was resolute.

Her thoughts were naive and laughable, but she still held onto a sliver of hope.

She thought that although senior's cultivation was unparalleled, the methods he sought were likely the precious recipes circulating in the market. But sometimes, the solution to a problem lay quietly in the libraries of ordinary sects.

Senior would look for the grand solutions, and she would do her utmost to find the small ones.

That way, they could cover all bases, ensuring nothing was missed.

Seeing Li Qingran's reaction, Chen Huaian couldn't help but feel moved.

He even suspected that Li Qingran wasn't an AI character at all, but a dedicated GM playing this role, handling the voice acting, facial expressions, and everything else, offering one-on-one service exclusively to him.

He could see the deep sadness and reluctance in Li Qingran's eyes.

But more than that, there was fear and terror.

This girl in front of him was afraid of him leaving, terrified that he might die.

Eyes couldn't lie.

He didn't know how much acting skill it took to convey such emotions through a gaze.

300,000 yuan, truly worth it.

Just as he was about to leave this world,

It could still make him feel warmth in his heart.

He smiled and couldn't help but comfort the girl in front of him: "Don't worry, I'm a Unity Realm cultivator. How could I be so easily killed by a mere demon's poison? You focus on your cultivation, and becoming the strongest cultivator in the Cangyun Realm will be the greatest comfort to me."

Li Qingran noticed that senior had stopped referring to himself as "this venerable one."

But she felt that this made him seem more approachable.

The senior who had seemed so distant and untouchable now felt within reach.

Even though, she couldn't touch him.

"Senior, I want to become an alchemist. I will definitely become an alchemist. I have a single water spirit root. Lingxi Valley will accept me."

Lingxi Valley was a famous alchemy sect in the Cangyun Realm, also known as the Valley of Sacred Medicine.

It was filled with alchemists and healers who could bring the dead back to life.

At this moment, Tianquan City was hosting a grand Dao Inquiry Assembly, where major sects screened mortals for talented individuals with spirit roots to recruit into their sects. Among them was Lingxi Valley. However, considering that Li Qingran had already cultivated the Chiyun Art, which was incompatible with alchemy, he hadn't considered Lingxi Valley as Li Qingran's future "daycare" destination.

"Qingran, I understand your intentions, but you've already cultivated the Chiyun Art…"

Chen Huaian paused mid-sentence.

Because he saw the determination and resolve in Li Qingran's eyes.

He was suddenly struck by a realization.

"You…"

"Senior, the Chiyun Art is fire-aligned and focused on killing, which is incompatible with alchemy. This junior is well aware of that."

Li Qingran cupped her hands in a salute, then raised her eyes to meet Chen Huaian's gaze.

"Besides, the water spirit root and the Chiyun Art don't match anyway."

The corners of her lips curved into a warm, sunny smile,

As if the one being comforted wasn't her,

But Chen Huaian.

"In that case…

This junior will just dispel my cultivation."

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