Whenever Xu Yuan set out to do something, he liked doing it methodically. He liked planning ahead. So now that he knew the odds of dying while cultivating the Blood Origin Heartfall Art were this high, he naturally took his preparations even more seriously.
As his training with Ran Qingmo deepened, Xu Yuan gradually broke the process of preparing to cultivate the Blood Origin Heartfall Art into five steps.
The first step was to learn the basic knowledge of cultivation in this world, and have Ran Qingmo teach him a simple technique so he could get used to how cultivation arts operated.
The second step was to begin trying, while fully conscious, to guide his source qi along the circulation route of the Blood Origin Heartfall Art.
The third step was to adapt to a near death state with Ran Qingmo’s help, while still remaining conscious.
The fourth step was to begin circulating the Blood Origin Heartfall Art while in that near death state, again with Ran Qingmo’s help.
And the fifth step was to begin cultivating it for real.
After a full month, Xu Yuan had already completed the first two stages of preparation. If someone gave him another month, he was confident he could carry out the rest of the plan perfectly, just as he had envisioned it. But with only five days left on the countdown to death, there was no longer enough time to proceed through the remaining three steps in an orderly way.
And when there was no road left to retreat down, Xu Yuan never hesitated. There was no more time for him to slowly adapt. He had to take the risk.
The cramped cave dwelling fell silent for a moment.
Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan’s calm but serious expression, then slowly nodded.
“All right.” After a pause, her voice carried a hint of hesitation. “But why?”
Xu Yuan lifted his eyes toward the dim cave ceiling. After a long silence, he answered, “To save both your life and mine.”
“But my injuries are already healed.” A flicker of confusion passed through Ran Qingmo’s eyes. Since she was healed, she could take him out. That was the confidence behind her words.
Xu Yuan turned his gaze slightly and said softly, “I know your injuries are healed, but have you ever met Xu Changge?”
Ran Qingmo’s beautiful eyes flickered for a moment, then she shook her head. “He has always been in the Imperial Capital. I’ve never met him. Are you saying he came too?”
Her master had once told her that the eldest son of the Chancellor’s Manor was someone even more gifted than she was.
Just like her, Xu Changge had broken into the Grandmaster Realm at the age of sixteen. Unfortunately, he had made no further breakthrough after that, and had now been stuck at the first stage of the Grandmaster Realm for more than fourteen years. With fourteen years of accumulation behind him, Xu Changge should be extremely strong. Even so, she still felt she could barely handle him, and at worst, she could escape.
Xu Yuan’s meridians could now barely withstand her qi. If she sent her qi into his meridians, it could temporarily protect him from being harmed by the crushing air pressure caused by moving at extreme speed. So yes, she could take him and break out even if the other side tried to surround them.
And on top of that, because of the Nine Reversion Pill and the month she had spent cultivating here, her strength had advanced greatly compared to a month ago.
“Yes, he really did come.” Xu Yuan looked at her with a hint of helplessness, his voice mild. “But do you know something?”
“Know what?” Ran Qingmo asked.
“Xu Changge had already reached the Source Awakener Realm ten years ago.”
The instant those words fell, the cave plunged into dead silence.
Ran Qingmo’s quiet eyes lowered slightly.
Xu Yuan watched her expression and smiled faintly, almost as if sighing to himself. “Actually, Miss Ran, your idea of using Xu Changtian’s life to threaten that man would work to a certain extent. The Chancellor really does care about his family. Otherwise, he would never have sent Xu Changge here.”
After a pause, he looked straight into her eyes. “Do you still think you can escape? Even if you use my body as a hostage, that still counts.”
Ran Qingmo did not answer.
Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and also fell silent.
The air in the cramped cave dwelling turned thick with despair.
Back in Azure Point, the boss that players could only beat by cheating was none other than the Chancellor’s eldest son, Xu Changge.
Driven by the Chancellor’s monstrous fury, that eldest son had hunted Ran Qingmo all the way across the land, and in the end cornered her near the ruins of a mysterious little village called Burial Village, right on the border of the Great Flame Empire.
The fight ended quickly. With the first punch, the three-foot black sword in her hand was knocked straight out of her grasp. With the second punch, Ran Qingmo was sent flying backward and landed on the ground barely clinging to life.
Two moves. That was the end of the fight. She had not even been given the chance to swing a single sword before she was gravely wounded by the eldest son. The gap in strength was enough to make a person suffocate.
No one knew how long that deathly silence lasted inside the cave dwelling.
“Miss Ran, let’s begin.” At last, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His voice was soft, but absolutely firm. Only by cultivating that technique could he survive.
Ran Qingmo’s eyes flickered. Her red lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she only gave a small nod and said softly, “Thank you.”
Xu Yuan shook his head. “I told you before, don’t say thank you. That word is useless.”
Ran Qingmo stared at him with complete seriousness. After two seconds of silence, she said, “Then I’ll owe you another favor.”
Xu Yuan smiled at that and answered in a low voice, “Once someone owes too many favors and can’t repay them, the only thing left in the end is to give away themselves. Besides, you’re helping me with this too, and I’m taking this risk for my own life. So there’s no need for you to owe me anything.”
Ran Qingmo’s eyes flickered for a moment, but she insisted, “No. I have to.”
They looked at each other in silence.
“Fine. Up to you.” Xu Yuan let out a breath. “There’s not much time left. Can we start now?”
Ran Qingmo nodded and slowly raised one slender hand to grasp his wrist. The chill of her skin passed into him at once.
Xu Yuan glanced at her hand and asked calmly, “What method are you planning to use?”
Ran Qingmo explained softly, “I’ll use my qi to create mystic ice and seal it over your body. Afterward, I’ll heal you by channeling qi into you.”
Xu Yuan thought for a moment. At this point, now that there was already qi inside his body, the two of them could indeed use qi-based healing. His thoughts settled, and he gave a slight nod to show he was ready.
No more words were spoken. A sinister cold burst into the cramped cave dwelling in an instant. The icy mist spreading outward was so intense that even the small spiritual spring inside the cave froze over with a thin layer of frost.
Xu Yuan only felt a freezing chill, the kind that seemed to pierce straight through bone and marrow, spreading rapidly from his wrist. From wrist to arm, from arm to the entire right side of his body, until at last his whole body felt as though it had been thrown into ice that had lain frozen for ten thousand years.
As the cold spread, Xu Yuan could clearly sense his consciousness slowing at a visible rate. The breath of death climbed over his heart like a parasite that would not let go.
Second by second, time slipped past.
Everything before his eyes gradually sank into darkness. He did not know how long passed before he slowly woke again. Staring at the dim cave ceiling, he remained silent for a long while.
Back in that previous cave, he had thought the hypothermia that made him pass out had already counted as near death. Only now, when true nearness to death descended on him, did Xu Yuan realize that fainting from exposure had been nothing by comparison.
He had only endured for a few minutes before his consciousness dropped completely into darkness.
His voice, slightly dry, sounded softly in the silent cave. “How long was I out?”
“Four hours,” Ran Qingmo’s cool voice came from beside him.
Xu Yuan pressed a hand against his brow and rubbed hard. With only about five days left, he had to keep at least two full days in reserve for actually cultivating the Blood Origin Heartfall Art. If each attempt took four hours, then that meant he had at most about twenty chances left to adapt.
Xu Yuan slowly sat up and looked at her. He did not waste words. “Again. If possible, wake me up as soon as you’re done healing me. I don’t need to rest.”
Ran Qingmo looked at his weak but resolute eyes, pressed her lips together lightly, and silently reached for his wrist once more.