Chapter 163
“Dao Qi?!” Chen Huai'an frowned.
This was the first time he encountered a situation where the heavenly mechanism could not be deduced.
He switched to another question: “What is Dao Qi?”
【This is the fourth deduction today, which will cost you 10,000¥. This deduction will not increase your luck loss tier.】
Damn, that’s expensive?!
Chen Huai'an fell silent for a moment, then glanced at Su Qinian, who was meditating in the opposite room. With a glint in his eye, he said, “Su Pavilion Master, come here for a moment. I want to test you.”
…
“Su Pavilion Master, what is Dao Qi?”
“Uh, Dao Qi is a spiritual tool that possesses a trace of Dao principles. These types of spiritual tools or treasures have various marvelous uses... There’s also a saying that cultivators with exceptionally strong luck and talent can be refined into Dao Qi, but usually, it’s the old monsters from the demonic sects who use it for possession when their lifespans are nearly up.”
“Not bad. It seems your knowledge is solid. You can go now.”
Su Qinian’s smile froze: “Ah, um, aren’t you going to ask anything else?”
Chen Huai'an closed his eyes: “No questions.”
Su Qinian: “???”
Wait, what about his opportunities?
What about the guidance from the ancestor?
He asked a question that any Transformation Stage cultivator would know, and now he was being sent away?
So ruthless, huh?!
He looked at the ancestor, who had resumed his meditation, wanting to say something but ultimately chose to remain silent.
Perhaps the ancestor had his own thoughts; after all, he was a powerful Dongxu cultivator, and every action had its deeper meaning.
This was not something he could speculate on; he just needed to obey.
Su Qinian pouted, feeling dejected as he returned to his mat, casting resentful glances toward Chen Huai'an from time to time.
Chen Huai'an sensed Su Qinian’s gaze.
He pretended not to see it.
“Now I understand why the deduction couldn’t proceed,” Chen Huai'an pondered. “My heavenly mechanism deduction should also be at this level of Dao, and the opponent’s Dao Qi is at the same level. It all depends on who strikes first. That old dog has already set up his turtle shell, so if I want to force a breakthrough, I’ll have to pay a greater price.”
This was quite troublesome.
But as Chen Huai'an thought it over, he realized.
Dao Qi was ultimately an external object; keeping the turtle shell up must consume resources, right?
Besides, his heavenly mechanism deduction was free once a day, and he could do it anytime, anywhere.
So he would check once a day to see if that old dog’s Dao Qi could hold up or if his heavenly mechanism was more enduring.
“Perfect! An unnamed juvenile Dao Qi, get ready to endure my endless harassment, hehehe!”
Excited by the thought, Chen Huai'an couldn’t help but lick his lips, revealing a silver smile.
…
…
------------
Chapter 175: This Goes Against Humanity!!
“Speaking of which, now that that demonic cultivator is gone, Li Qingran’s survival rate in her instance should have improved, right?”
Chen Huai'an opened the main quest panel and Li Qingran’s status panel, and was immediately taken aback.
Her favorability with him had dropped to 19?!
Upon closer inspection, the status bar seemed different from before.
【Li Qingran Favorability: 19 (Crush)】
What does that heart icon mean? Does it imply that a favorability of 100 turns into a heart?
But why is the heart gray?
It’s as if a game item has been consumed.
Chen Huai'an scratched his head. Whatever, as long as he knew that Qingran had a crush on him, that was enough.
As for why they didn’t clarify their feelings?
Heh, that’s a narrow view.
Isn’t being secretly admired a delightful experience?
Just imagine—when twilight creeps up the window sill, the girl’s gaze always awakens before the evening bell. That look is like cherry blossoms soaked in morning dew, just about to brush against your neck before shattering, leaving only fluttering eyelashes on her porcelain-white cheeks, casting a flurry of butterfly shadows...
Such a splendid scene can only be seen in the eyes of a girl harboring a secret crush!
It’s definitely not because his actual combat power is too weak, making him afraid of losing face in front of Li Qingran.
His attention shifted back to the main quest.
【Li Qingran Instance Survival Rate: 82%】
Killing a mastermind raised it from 61% to 82%. Is that right? Should it be like this?
Moreover, even if we take a step back, what’s the difference between 82% and 0%?!
“I can’t, there must be other ways to improve.”
Chen Huai'an squinted.
Continuing to deal with the mastermind was temporarily impossible; the opponent had already donned their turtle shell.
Li Qingran’s strength couldn’t be rushed either; the game didn’t have that feature.
Although many auxiliary cultivation items could be bought, he had already maxed out the pills and spirit gathering formations for Li Qingran. This path had to be taken step by step; after all, this was a real cultivation world—haste makes waste.
His gaze swept around and instinctively landed on Yue Qianchi, who was outside drinking and dozing off.
It was known that Yue Qianchi and many disciples from the Sword Pavilion were Li Qingran’s teammates.
What does it mean to be teammates? Helping and protecting each other!
Thus, enhancing the strength of teammates equates to increasing their protective capacity.
According to the principle of incremental safety, the more reliable the teammates, the safer Qingran would be.
Chen Huai'an had a plan.
“Yue Qianchi!” He waved at the drunken girl outside.
“Eh?” Yue Qianchi, hazy from the alcohol, blinked and raised her flushed face, confusedly pointing at herself: “Hic—! Ancestor, did you call me?”
“Yeah, I’m calling you.”
Though puzzled, Yue Qianchi straightened her clothes and tightened her belt, making her already impressive figure even more pronounced, as if her short shirt might burst open any second. She didn’t notice this, just somewhat unsteadily walked over to Chen Huai'an and gave a wobbly bow.
“Ancestor, hic~ you, hic~ called me over for something?”
Chen Huai'an remained silent, simply consuming items from the electronic girlfriend store.
A set of high-grade Dahuandan, 100 pills, buy!
A set of mid-grade spirit stones, 100 pieces, buy!
A set of high-grade recovery pills, 100 pills, buy!
A mid-grade flying sword? Buy! Let’s get three of those bad boys.
Mid-grade thunderfire talismans and Xuanjia talismans? Buy, let’s get 100 of each.
After a spending spree, he piled all these items in front of Yue Qianchi.
With a wave of his hand, he declared, “These are for you!”
Yue Qianchi stared blankly at the pile of resources in front of her, dazed for a while, then raised her hand and slapped herself across the face, the sound crisp and clear, clearly done with great force, causing half her face to flush instantly.
Chen Huai'an’s mouth twitched.
Before he could say anything, Yue Qianchi dropped to her knees, bowing her head in reverence.
“Ancestor, hic~ even though you must be at least a thousand years old, hic~ since you want it, Qianchi wouldn’t dare to disobey you. This servant... Qianchi, will do it!”
Chen Huai'an: “???”
Wait, what?
That’s not what I meant!
Li Qingran, who was meditating with her eyes closed, frowned slightly, as if about to awaken from her insight prematurely. Seeing this, Chen Huai'an quickly cleared his throat: “Nonsense! I didn’t mean that!”
Li Qingran’s brow relaxed, and a slight smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Yue Qianchi was taken aback, the alcohol sobering her up a bit, her lips trembling: “Ah? Could it be that Ancestor, you want to take me as a goddaughter, and then... No way, Ancestor, that goes against humanity!”
Chen Huai'an felt a chill run down his spine.
Turning around, he saw Li Qingran’s brow furrowed as if a storm was brewing.
“Shut up! I see you as a promising junior, just granting you a bit of opportunity, don’t overthink it!” He said, reaching to take back the resources in front of him.
In the next second, Yue Qianchi was already sprawled over the pile, grinning like a rogue: “Thank you, Ancestor~ Long live the Ancestor! May the Ancestor be blessed, I’ll bow ten times for you!”
Chen Huai'an turned to look at Li Qingran.
The thin ice on the girl’s face melted, and a sweet smile spread across her brows.
Chen Huai'an’s expression darkened, and while he felt relieved, he couldn’t help but scold:
“Focus on your insights, keep your eyes and ears open, and don’t get distracted!”
Li Qingran’s neck stiffened, as if pecked by a little bird, her back straightened like a green bamboo, her pretty face turning serious.
“Alright, take these resources and step back. Stay humble and diligent in your cultivation,” Chen Huai'an said wearily, rubbing his temples, and waved at Yue Qianchi, who was looking at him eagerly.
Table of Contents
