Whenever Xu Yuan did something, he always liked to keep everything in good order and prepare for a rainy day.
So, knowing full well how high the death rate was for cultivating the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art, Xu Yuan naturally attached even greater importance to the preparations beforehand.
As his cultivation under Ran Qingmo's guidance deepened, Xu Yuan gradually divided the preparations for cultivating the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique into five steps.
The first step was to learn the basic knowledge of this world and have Ran Qingmo teach him a rudimentary technique, so he could practice and familiarize himself with how it worked.
The second step was to try, while fully conscious, to guide Source Qi along the cultivation route of the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique.
The third step was to adapt to being on the brink of death with Ran Qingmo's help, while remaining conscious.
The fourth step was to begin circulating the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique while on the brink of death, with Ran Qingmo's help.
The fifth step was to begin cultivating in earnest.
After a month, Xu Yuan had completed the preparations for the first two steps.
If he had another month, Xu Yuan was confident he could perfectly carry out the plan he had made. But with only five days left on his death countdown, there wasn't enough time to proceed through the remaining three steps in an orderly fashion.
With no way back, Xu Yuan's decision came without the slightest hesitation.
There was no longer time for him to adapt little by little.
He had to take a risk.
The cramped cave abode fell silent for a moment.
Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan's calm, serious gaze and slowly nodded.
"Alright."
After a pause, her voice held a hint of hesitation.
"But why?"
Xu Yuan lifted his eyes toward the dim ceiling of the cave. After a long silence, he said,
"To save both our lives."
A trace of confusion flashed through Ran Qingmo's eyes.
"But my injuries have already healed."
Because her injuries had healed, she could take him out.
That was the confidence she had in herself.
Xu Yuan turned his eyes toward her and said softly,
"I know your injuries have healed, but have you ever met Xu Changge?"
Ran Qingmo's beautiful eyes flickered for a moment before she shook her head.
"He's always been in the Imperial Capital. I've never met him. Are you saying he came too?"
Her master had told her that the Prime Minister's eldest son was even more talented than she was.
Like her, Xu Changge had reached the Grandmaster realm at the age of sixteen.
Unfortunately, he had made no further progress afterward, and Xu Changge had now been stuck at the first level of the Grandmaster realm for over fourteen years.
With fourteen years of accumulated strength, Xu Changge should be formidable, but she could still deal with him, more or less. At the very least, she could escape.
Xu Yuan's meridians could now just barely withstand her Qi. By sending Qi into his meridians, she could temporarily protect him from the "air pressure" caused by moving at high speed.
So she could take Xu Yuan and escape even if they were surrounded by the other side's people.
Besides, thanks to that Nine Return Pill and the month she had spent cultivating here, her cultivation had advanced considerably compared to a month ago.
"Mm, he really did come."
Xu Yuan gave her a somewhat helpless look and spoke gently.
"But do you know?"
"Know what?" Ran Qingmo asked.
"Xu Changge had already reached Origin Beginning ten years ago."
As his words fell, the cave instantly sank into complete silence.
"..."
Ran Qingmo's clear eyes lowered slightly.
Looking at her expression, Xu Yuan smiled faintly and said as if with a sigh,
"Actually, Ran, your plan to use Xu Changtian's life to threaten that man could work, to a certain extent."
"He really does care about his family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Xu Changge here."
After a pause,
Xu Yuan gazed into Ran Qingmo's eyes.
"Ran, are you still confident you can escape? You can use me as a hostage to threaten him, too."
"..." Ran Qingmo didn't answer.
Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and fell silent as well.
An air of despair filled the narrow cave abode.
Back in Cangyuan, the boss players had to cheat to defeat was the Prime Minister's eldest son, Xu Changge!
Under the Prime Minister's thunderous fury, the Eldest Young Master pursued Ran Qingmo relentlessly, finally cornering her near the ruins of a mysterious little village called "Burial Village," on the border of Great Yan.
The battle was over quickly.
With the first punch, the three-foot Black Sword in her hand flew away.
With the second, Ran Qingmo was sent flying and lay on the ground, her breathing faint as a thread.
Two moves, and the fight was over.
She hadn't had the slightest chance to fight back. Ran Qingmo hadn't even had the chance to strike with her sword before the Eldest Young Master left her gravely injured.
The gap in strength was so vast it was suffocating.
No one knew how long that deathly silence lasted in the cave abode.
Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
"Ran, let's begin."
His voice was soft, but resolute.
Only by cultivating that technique could he survive.
"..."
Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered. Her red lips parted, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she only gave a slight 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 seriously. After a couple of seconds, she said,
"Then... I'll owe you another favor."
Xu Yuan smiled at that and said quietly,
"Ran, when you owe too many favors and can't repay them, you often end up having to give yourself in exchange. You helped me with this, too, and I'm taking this risk for my own life, so you don't owe me a favor."
Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered for a moment, but she insisted,
"No. I'll owe you one."
Silence. Their eyes met.
Xu Yuan let out a breath.
"Suit yourself."
"We don't have much time. Can we begin now?"
Ran Qingmo nodded and slowly raised one slender hand to grasp Xu Yuan's wrist.
The icy touch of her hand immediately spread across his skin.
Xu Yuan glanced at her and asked calmly,
"What method are you going to use?"
Ran Qingmo explained quietly,
"I'll use my Qi to create black ice and cover you with it. Afterward, I'll help you recover by transferring my cultivation."
Xu Yuan thought it over briefly.
Now that Qi was already in his body, the two of them could use methods to heal by circulating their cultivation.
The thought ended, and Xu Yuan nodded slightly to signal that she could begin.
Without a word, a sinister chill instantly filled the cramped cave abode. The cold mist spread so far that even the surface of the Spirit Spring inside the cave froze over with a thin layer of frost.
Xu Yuan felt a bone-deep chill rapidly spread from his wrist.
From his wrist to his arm, then to the entire right side of his body, until his whole body seemed to sink into ten thousand years of ice.
As the cold spread, Xu Yuan felt his consciousness grow sluggish at a visible speed. The aura of death clung to his heart like a bone-deep parasite.
Time passed, second by second, and everything before his eyes gradually sank into darkness.
At some point, Xu Yuan slowly came to again. He stared at the dim ceiling of the cave, remaining silent for a long time.
He had thought that the loss of consciousness caused by hypothermia in the cave had already counted as being on the brink of death. But when the true sensation of nearing death descended, Xu Yuan realized that passing out from the cold hadn't been anything at all.
He had lasted only a few minutes before his consciousness sank into darkness.
A slightly hoarse voice rang softly through the silent cave abode.
"How long... was I unconscious?"
"Two hours," Ran Qingmo's calm voice came from beside him.
Xu Yuan pressed his hand to his brow and rubbed it hard.
Two hours...
With roughly five days left, he had to save at least two days to formally cultivate the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art.
At two hours per attempt, that meant he had, at most, about twenty chances left to adapt.
Slowly sitting up, Xu Yuan looked at her and said nothing more.
"Continue."
"If you can, wake me as soon as you've finished healing me. I don't need to rest."
"..."
Ran Qingmo looked at his weak but resolute gaze, lightly pressed her lips together, and silently grasped his wrist once more.
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