Chapter 20
Li Qingran held the elixir in her hands. Even though she had crossed her own limits, she was determined to find a way to make amends.
Gazing at the ceiling, she raised one hand, holding up three fingers to represent the three talents of heaven, earth, and humanity. She declared loudly, “Today, as a junior, I, Qingran, have received the assistance of my seniors and obtained the divine medicine to restore my dantian. I feel deeply ashamed and unable to repay this kindness. In the future, should my seniors require anything from me, even if it means traversing mountains of knives or seas of fire, or enduring endless purgatory, I will not hesitate to face death a thousand times.”
Li Qingran swore not only to the heavens but also to her own heart.
Each word came from the depths of her soul, and her vow resonated with the heavenly Dao. The surrounding spiritual energy surged, lifting her flowing hair and revealing her steadfast gaze.
With her oath spoken, she felt unburdened and raised both hands to consume the elixir.
She had entrusted herself to her seniors; this was all she could offer.
The celestial-grade Hunyuan Restoration Pill melted upon entering her mouth, transforming into a stream of pure energy that surged toward Li Qingran’s shattered dantian. From Chen Huai'an's perspective, it appeared as a golden thread moving toward her lower abdomen, while everything in the room began to swirl around her, creating a vortex that expanded outward, eventually forming a tornado that connected to the sky.
“Is this the spiritual energy whirlwind?” Chen Huai'an pondered. Given that the game was set in a realm of cultivation, Li Qingran’s current state must be one of absorbing a vast amount of spiritual energy, serving as fuel for the Hunyuan Restoration Pill to take effect.
“Speaking of which, this commotion is quite something, isn’t it? Don’t we need to cover it up a bit?”
The spiritual energy tornado stirred the clouds in the sky, creating a gaping hole.
The red dots on the map, resembling headless flies, began to converge toward this location as if they had found their organization.
【Li Qingran has consumed the celestial-grade Hunyuan Restoration Pill, causing a phenomenon in the world. Would you like to spend 28¥ to conceal the heavenly secrets for Li Qingran?】
“Are you kidding me?!”
Chen Huai'an was both amused and exasperated.
Why drag this out? Why not just get to the point?
Despite his frustration with the game’s recharge system, he begrudgingly spent the 28¥.
…
In the Wanquanshan Mountains—
“Over there! Over there!”
“What a terrifying wave of spiritual energy! The divine pill has indeed appeared!”
“Hahaha, I’m going to become an immortal!”
Suddenly, the spiritual energy tornado lost its momentum, dissipating like a flame snuffed out by a giant hand.
The treasure-seeking cultivators were left in confusion once more.
“What the hell! Where did it go again?”
“Seriously? Are we being toyed with?”
“Forget about that! Let’s search over there. Don’t miss anything we come across, even if it’s a pile of dung, pick it up and take a whiff!”
…
Meanwhile,
Chen Huai'an was happily admiring the meditative Li Qingran.
She sat quietly, two strands of hair cascading over her shoulders, swaying gently in the flowing spiritual energy. Her simple attire matched her elegant and unadorned demeanor. Usually, there was a hint of heroism in her brows, but now, with her eyes closed and brows slightly furrowed, her pale face bore a hint of fragility, evoking a sense of tenderness.
Chen Huai'an was a science student.
He didn’t have any flowery language.
But he was willing to use the simplest words to praise Li Qingran’s beauty.
“Wow, she looks amazing!”
He couldn’t look any longer.
If he kept staring, he’d be too embarrassed to face his teacher later.
He had drawn from the luck pool a thousand times, and he hadn’t even had a chance to check what he got in the last five hundred draws.
Chen Huai'an opened his backpack, which was already full with twelve slots. From left to right, they contained: low-grade spirit stones, mid-grade spirit stones, communication talismans, Thunderfire Talismans (Common), Thunderfire Talismans (Mid), Thunderfire Talismans (High), Thunderfire Talismans (Absolute), Thunderfire Talismans (Celestial), Xuanjia Formation, Intermediate Gathering Spirit Formation, Su Xian Sword, and a golden jade slip.
“Seriously? Can’t they just fit one Thunderfire Talismans in a single slot?”
Chen Huai'an was fuming. He couldn’t just give all the Thunderfire Talismans to Li Qingran; what if she got controlled? He’d need to support her from the sidelines!
The most frustrating part was that expanding the first slot of the backpack required 188¥.
“Forget it, forget it. I’ll just give her whatever I don’t need later.”
Chen Huai'an focused on the last item.
The jade slip, a golden item.
It looked like a good treasure!
------------
Chapter 21: Sword Classic
The moment he opened the golden jade slip,
A wave of top-tier item aura rushed at him.
【“I am the madman of Chu, laughing at Confucius. With a three-foot sword in hand, I point straight at the sorrow of the nine heavens.” The Qinglian Sword Classic was created by the Qinglian Sword Immortal, containing 36 foundational sword techniques and 12 sword forms. It is classified as a celestial-grade item. Anyone with connected meridians can practice the Qinglian Sword Classic, but to reach the pinnacle, one must possess sword bones, sword spirit roots, and a sword heart!”】
The item was indeed a top-notch treasure.
However, after reading the introduction, Chen Huai'an wore a strange expression.
Could this Qinglian Sword Immortal be Li Bai?
Wasn’t Li Bai the immortal poet?
When did he become a sword immortal?
“Whatever, these days, reimagining things is too common. Even Tang Seng can wield a Gatling gun, so it’s not surprising if Li Bai becomes a sword immortal.” Chen Huai'an shook his head. He remembered that Li Qingran used a sword, so this Qinglian Sword Classic would be perfect for her.
Celestial-grade sword techniques should be quite powerful, right?
At this moment, the Qinglian Sword Classic had opened to the first page. Chen Huai'an initially thought it was just a game item, but he found that the first page actually had text and illustrations of little figures drawn with a brush.
“Whoa—! Is this a small workshop? Terrifyingly detailed!!”
【Sword Chapter One: Crane Stance: Stand with legs together, bend one knee and raise one foot, forming a crane stance (beginners may skip raising the leg). Keep the body straight, the sword held upright in front of the body parallel to it, the sword hilt horizontal to the ground, the sword body close to the arm and vertical, breathe steadily, calm the mind, and focus on the fusion of the sword and one’s breath…】
There was an accompanying illustration to clarify the specific operation of this sword chapter.
Chen Huai'an continued flipping through the pages and found more.
【Sword Chapter Two: Pine Spread】 also had explanations and illustrations.
【Sword Chapter Three: Holding the Edge】
…
【Sword Chapter Thirty-Five: Returning to One】
【Sword Chapter Thirty-Six: Carefree】
He didn’t believe in evil and kept flipping to the end, discovering that each sword chapter was accompanied by illustrations and text, with no filler whatsoever!
At this moment, Chen Huai'an was in awe of the dedication and hardcore nature of the game developer. The frustration from having spent so much money before was somewhat alleviated.
The 36 sword chapters seemed to be foundational material.
There were still 12 sword forms to go.
Just as he was about to turn the page, a prompt appeared on the screen: 【You have not learned Sword Chapters One to Twelve, and cannot read the sword forms!】
“What the heck? I have to learn? How do I learn?” Chen Huai'an instinctively looked for the recharge window but couldn’t find it; it seemed the Qinglian Sword Classic wasn’t upgraded through spending money.
【Would you like to start learning Sword Chapter One?】
Chen Huai'an didn’t hesitate and selected yes.
He wanted to see how this game worked.
【Camera is flipping on】
The game screen vanished, the camera automatically opened, activating selfie recording mode, while the game window continued to float above.
【Please begin practicing according to the Qinglian Sword Classic, Sword Chapter One: Crane Stance. Current progress: Initial Glimpse (0%)】
“Wait, what? Seriously, dude?”
Chen Huai'an watched as the corners of his mouth twitched wildly on the screen.
If he wasn’t mistaken,
The game meant for him to do the Crane Stance right now, didn’t it?
And he had to record it and upload it?
So they’re just going to mess with people if they don’t spend money, huh?!
Chen Huai'an felt that if he followed the game’s demands, he’d truly be out of his mind.
By the way, did the game developers have some twisted sense of humor? Did they just enjoy watching players make all sorts of ridiculous poses while they sat on the server, munching on takeout and laughing hysterically?
“I, Chen Huai'an, will not let you succeed.”
Chen Huai'an snorted coldly.
At this moment, he had seen through the game developer’s intentions.
All he needed to do was refuse, and soon enough, a recharge button would appear.
It was all a trap!
Just like some games that offer particularly grindy rewards, when players can’t grind anymore, they naturally choose to spend money to buy in.
However, after waiting for a long time, Chen Huai'an still didn’t see the recharge button.
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