Looted clean.
Sick?
For as long as she could remember, Lu Qing’an had never been sick. Even when breaking through cultivation realms, she had never felt as flustered and lost as she did now.
It was clearly just a simple, ordinary gesture. Fellow female disciples had held her hand before. Others had praised her skin for being delicate and smooth.
So why did today feel so different?
When Cheng Huan touched her and praised her, her heart panicked and she lost her composure.
Could it be that she was really sick?
Lu Qing’an raised a hand to touch her cheek. Apart from some warmth, her body felt no discomfort.
Seeing the flush on Lu Qing’an’s cheeks, Cheng Huan thought she had a fever. She held her hand and sent spiritual power into her.
Lu Qing’an felt a stream of pure spiritual power surge into her body, enveloping her internal organs. It was as if she was sinking into a clear lake, her body feeling released from the inside out.
“What are you doing?” Lu Qing’an asked, puzzled by Cheng Huan’s sudden transmission of spiritual power.
Seeing Lu Qing’an’s complexion improve, Cheng Huan released her hand. “I saw your face looked off, with a strange flush. I thought you had a fever, so I helped cool you down. Do you feel better now?”
Lu Qing’an’s expression softened. “Much… much better. Thank you, Senior…”
Seeing Cheng Huan’s brows furrow instantly, she corrected herself, “Thank you, Cheng Huan.”
Cheng Huan smiled. “It was nothing.”
“Oh, right. Weren’t you about to rest?”
Lu Qing’an shook her head. “No. That was just a lie to make the Elder leave faster.”
Cheng Huan asked, “Then do you want to come with me somewhere?”
“Okay.”
Cheng Huan was stunned. She deliberately tried to scare her, saying fiercely, “You agreed so readily? Aren’t you afraid I’m taking you to your death?”
The corner of Lu Qing’an’s mouth lifted slightly. “Would you?”
As soon as the question was asked, both of them paused.
Lu Qing’an felt her words were too presumptuous. They had only just exchanged names, yet she was already so certain that Cheng Huan would not harm her.
Cheng Huan felt Lu Qing’an truly lived up to being the Female Lead. Look at this courage, this spirit, this fearless composure.
It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she took Lu Qing’an’s hand. “No.”
Lu Qing’an looked down at their clasped hands.
Cheng Huan explained, “We need to teleport there. I have to hold onto you to bring you along.”
Lu Qing’an pressed her lips together and nodded. “Alright.”
Cheng Huan tightened her grip. With her other hand, she tapped the air.
Before them, ripples like those on a lake’s surface appeared in the void.
“Let’s go.”
Cheng Huan pulled Lu Qing’an into the watery ripples. Their figures instantly vanished into the room. The ripples evaporated and disappeared as soon as they were gone.
Teleportation usually brings physical and mental discomfort.
The last time Gu Chuan used a Teleportation Talisman, Lu Qing’an had felt a wave of nausea. It was tolerable, but unpleasant.
But this time, Lu Qing’an felt no discomfort, and the teleportation was very fast.
When Cheng Huan said they had arrived, Lu Qing’an felt like only a few seconds had passed.
Lu Qing’an opened her eyes and looked at the incredibly familiar scene before her. She cried out in shock, “The Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss?!”
Cheng Huan smiled. “Yes, the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss.”
Lu Qing’an did not panic. She simply looked at Cheng Huan and asked, “What are we doing here?”
Cheng Huan’s smile was full of cunning. She raised an eyebrow. “Naturally, we’re picking up some souvenirs.”
Lu Qing’an: “??”
Picking up what?
Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss: “!!”
You bastard!
Lu Qing’an thought Cheng Huan was joking with her. After all, what souvenirs could there be in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss?
Then Cheng Huan handed her a small booklet detailing countless rare treasures and told her she had to learn to be “quick of eye and swift of hand.”
Lu Qing’an: “…”
Rumors said the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss was perilous, a place of certain death. But there were also rumors that it held countless spirit treasures and spirit grasses.
Lu Qing’an had witnessed the first rumor. She now witnessed the second.
A Flaming Bird at the Saint-Rank, Earth-Shattering Stage, which guarded Blazing Flame Grass, was plucked bald by Cheng Huan. It hid behind a boulder, sobbing pitifully as Cheng Huan stripped its entire patch of Blazing Flame Grass clean.
A Cyclone Eagle at the Saint-Rank, Heavenly Fiend Stage, which guarded Saint Spirit Fruit, had its wings broken by Cheng Huan. It prostrated on the ground, begging for mercy as Cheng Huan robbed it blind of its Saint Spirit Fruits.
…
Lu Qing’an followed behind Cheng Huan, watching her kick Saint-Rank spirit beasts and snatch precious spirit grasses throughout the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss. She even took the entire pool of Divine Autumn Water from beneath the cliff and skinned and deboned the Flood Dragon sleeping in its lair.
Wherever Cheng Huan went, there was devastation, wailing ghosts, barren land, and no trace left behind…
Lu Qing’an had once feared the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss. Now, she felt a bit of pity and sympathy for it.
Cheng Huan brought out a Jade Bear’s Beast Core and handed it to her, letting out a long breath. “That’s about it.”
Lu Qing’an took it and placed it into her already bulging Storage Bag. “It’s almost full.”
“Full?”
Cheng Huan glanced at it. It really was almost full.
Lu Qing’an’s Storage Bag was not very spacious. It hadn’t taken much to fill it.
“Once we get out, I’ll get you a Storage Ring. This Storage Bag is too primitive. It won’t be convenient later,” Cheng Huan said.
Because Storage Rings were difficult to forge, even the smallest one sold for over a thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones. They were extremely precious and rare.
Hearing Cheng Huan say she would get her a Storage Ring with such a relaxed tone made it sound effortless.
Lu Qing’an shook her head. “No need.”
Cheng Huan had already given her too much.
“It’s fine. Getting a Storage Ring for you will make things more convenient. Otherwise, how will you carry all this stuff?”
“All this stuff?” Lu Qing’an listened. It sounded like Cheng Huan intended to give her all these rare treasures.
Before she could ask, Cheng Huan answered her unspoken question.
“I can’t use any of these things. You keep them. They’re good for your cultivation. They’ll quickly raise your cultivation and spiritual power.”
Lu Qing’an was stunned. “This… this is too valuable.”
“No matter how valuable, they’re useless to me,” Cheng Huan said truthfully. “But they’re very useful to you.”
“Take them.”
Lu Qing’an felt a bit dazed. Puzzled, she asked, “You came to this dangerous Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss for these, yet you don’t want a single one. Don’t you find it a pity?”
“Who says I came to the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss for these things?” Cheng Huan tilted her head. The corner of her mouth curled as if smiling. “I came because of you.”
Lu Qing’an: “…”
In that instant, her heart was thrown into utter chaos. She even felt the blood moon of the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss was incredibly gentle and lingering.
The two of them looted the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss clean. Cheng Huan then escorted Lu Qing’an back to Jing’an Peak of the Primordial Pavilion.
Although a Storage Bag, no matter how much it held, even when full, never changed in weight…
At this moment, Lu Qing’an felt the Storage Bag in her bosom was heavy.
Cheng Huan sent Lu Qing’an to the entrance of her residence on Jing’an Peak. “You’ve been busy all day without proper rest. Go get some sleep now.”
They had spent an entire day in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss. Luckily, Jing’an Peak was rarely visited.
Otherwise, the people of Primordial Pavilion would have discovered their Eldest Senior Sister had vanished from their territory.
Lu Qing’an looked at her. “Are you leaving?”
Cheng Huan’s original goal in coming to Primordial Pavilion was twofold: first, to verify the effect of the Persona Card, and second, after confirming it was useless against the Female Lead, to sweep up all the treasures in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss.
Now that everything was done and all the treasures were given to Lu Qing’an, Cheng Huan felt she had successfully accomplished her mission.
“Yes,” Cheng Huan said. “Or why else would I stay here?”
“Do you still need me to do something?”
As long as the Female Lead could quickly achieve her goal and let her leave this Retirement Experience World sooner, Cheng Huan would spare no effort.
Lu Qing’an bit her lower lip. A look of conflict flickered across her face before she shook her head. “…No.”
She had no reason, nor dared she find a reason, to make this person, who seemed like a celestial being, stay.
Yet, Lu Qing’an was somewhat reluctant to see the person before her leave so soon.
And besides her name, she knew nothing else about her.
Seeing the Female Lead had no business, Cheng Huan was about to turn and leave.
Her sleeve was gently tugged. The movement was so light it felt like a breeze brushing by.
“What is it?”
Lu Qing’an’s eyes were clear. Under the moonlight, they seemed like a pair of pearls shining with light.
She asked softly, “Will you come find me again?”
Cheng Huan nodded. “Yes.”
She was still counting on the Female Lead to complete her goal quickly, so she would naturally keep a close watch on her cultivation progress.
Thinking of this, Cheng Huan felt she needed to give the Female Lead some motivation.
“How about this? Let’s set a small goal first, shall we?”
Lu Qing’an was puzzled. “What goal?”
Cheng Huan coaxed gently, “You are currently at the Late Golden Core Stage. You’re just missing an opportunity to break through. If you can…”
Cheng Huan calculated the time. “If you can break through from the Golden Core Realm and reach the Nascent Soul Realm within two months, I will reward you with a wish.”
“A wish?” Lu Qing’an’s eyes lit up.
Cheng Huan nodded. “Yes, a wish. Whatever wish you make, I will fulfill it.”
“Don’t you feel very motivated?”
Cheng Huan was not boasting or exaggerating. With her identity in this world, it was entirely within her power.
Lu Qing’an nodded. “Extremely motivated.”
The temptation was equally huge.
Lu Qing’an had touched that threshold several times but always lacked something to break through.
Now, she was just missing that motivation to risk it all.
Cheng Huan smiled. “Then you must work hard. I believe you can definitely break through.”
Motivation was needed. Encouragement was also needed.
Both methods were necessary to force rapid growth.
[Host, you can’t use that idiom in this context,] the Little Hedgehog informed.
Cheng Huan dismissed it. “Don’t mind the process. Just look at the final result.”
Cheng Huan had roughly calculated that with her help, the Female Lead could reach the Great Ascension Realm within fifty years. The Tribulation Transcendence stage after that would require some opportunity and luck.
At that point, she would bring the Female Lead to Penglai. She could definitely help her achieve the final goal within a hundred years—attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality. Then she could make a perfect exit.
“I will work hard,” Lu Qing’an said, full of confidence. “If I break through… how will I find you? How will I tell you?”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Cheng Huan said with confidence. “If you break through, I will definitely be the first to know.”
Lu Qing’an’s heart pounded like thunder. She blinked. “W-why?”
“Because I’m always paying attention to you.”
“…”
Lu Qing’an felt her heart make a ‘pop’ sound, like a calm lake surface suddenly bubbling up.
Cheng Huan watched as Lu Qing’an’s cheeks flushed red. She reached out to touch them. “Why is your face red again?”
Clearly, the Female Lead’s body wasn’t ill. So why did this girl blush so easily?
Was there some hidden ailment within the Female Lead?
Should she switch to helping the Male Lead instead?
