Li Muyang Also Needs Companionship

"Brother, that Ning sister you like is quite the expert."

At dusk, beside the ridge of a field, Li Muyang opened his eyes to see his makeshift younger sister, Li Yuechan, who had just returned with a roasted chicken in hand.

"Although I had a few run-ins with her on the way to the sect, I never really got to know her."

"After spending the whole day wandering around with her, I finally realized just how incredible she is."

The young girl held the fragrant roasted chicken, sighing with genuine admiration.

"Your decision to give up on her was absolutely the right choice."

"I suspect that if you keep pining for her, you'll end up being played like a fish on a hook."

As she spoke, she watched Li Muyang with a mischievous grin, waiting for his reaction.

Li Muyang, however, merely swallowed hard, his gaze locked entirely on the chicken in her hand, completely unresponsive to her words.

This wasn't just an act; the chicken truly emitted an irresistible aroma.

Li Muyang widened his eyes and asked, "What kind of roasted chicken is this?"

How could it smell so good?

The scent alone was enough to trigger an uncontrollable appetite.

Li Muyang subconsciously thought of a delicacy from Cloud City.

The girl's playful answer confirmed his suspicion.

"This is the most famous Ginseng Wood Roasted Chicken from Cloud City. It's made by using spirit-infused ginseng wood as charcoal, sealing the chicken inside a clay stove to perfectly draw out the spiritual energy and aroma, locking it deep into the meat."

"They say the fragrance of this chicken is something even the immortals in the nine heavens can't resist!"

The girl giggled and handed the chicken to Li Muyang. "Eat it while it's hot, Brother. This chicken stays warm for two hours after coming out of the oven; it tastes best right now. Once it goes cold, it loses all its flavor."

Li Muyang didn't stand on ceremony, reaching out to take the fragrant bird. As he tore into it, he remarked, "The idea that immortals in the nine heavens can't resist it is pure nonsense, though I have heard of this chicken's reputation."

He hadn't expected it to be so magical; this really was a world of cultivation where common sense didn't apply.

Li Muyang had previously dismissed the rumors as mere hype—it was just a chicken, how could it be so captivating?

Now, the facts proved that this Ginseng Wood Roasted Chicken was truly bewitching.

Ignoring his image, Li Muyang sat right there on the field ridge, tearing into the meat the girl had brought and eating with gusto.

The meat, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, melted in his mouth. A strange, indescribable flavor—unlike anything he had tasted before—exploded across his taste buds. As he ate, Li Muyang couldn't help but sigh.

Good things really are everywhere in this world of cultivation.

He looked up at the girl beside him. She stood there with a gentle smile. "Just eat, Brother. I already tasted it with Ning sister; this one was brought specifically for you."

"Good," Li Muyang replied simply, not holding back as he enjoyed the entire chicken by himself.

After chatting briefly about their experiences in Cloud City, Li Muyang realized that this city was vastly different from Jiuyuan City, the hometown of his original self.

Jiuyuan City was a remote, backwater town in the eyes of most—a place of poverty that matched Li Muyang's expectations of ancient society.

The streets were filthy, dust filled the air, and the stench of excrement permeated every corner.

Yet, Cloud City, a metropolis with a population of a million, was clean and orderly everywhere. It had streetlights and sewers, feeling more like the towns in the fantasy games he had played in his previous life.

Hearing his sister's descriptions, Li Muyang felt a sudden urge to visit Cloud City and broaden his horizons.

But in the end, Li Muyang kept his composure and decided against going.

His game progress had reached a critical juncture.

Little Wild Grass's favorability had reached 39. He was only one point away from hitting 40 and unlocking the second-stage reward.

Li Muyang didn't intend to waste time wandering around the city now.

His sister, Li Yuechan, and that young lady from the Ning Estate, Ning Wan'er, often went to the city together.

The mountain gates were about to close, which would be followed by a year of seclusion.

For the girls, there was much to prepare.

The austere life of the outer sect couldn't compare to the bustling, vibrant Cloud City.

Every time Li Yuechan returned from the city, she would bring Li Muyang some food and share the interesting things happening there.

The hottest topic in Cloud City recently was a terrifying, mysterious figure.

This person's origins and appearance were unknown, but they had killed many demonic cultivators within the city.

Each victim had been drained of their blood and essence, losing all their demonic cultivation before dying—turning into horrific mummified corpses with gruesome expressions.

This terrifying method of killing carried a heavy deterrent, and although the death toll wasn't high, the city was in an uproar, with all sorts of wild rumors spreading.

Li Yuechan clicked her tongue in wonder. "To think that the stronghold of the Demon Refining Sect is being turned upside down by one mysterious person. I heard the elders above are furious and have sent their personal disciples into the city to hunt the culprit down."

"Brother, what level of cultivation do you think this mysterious person has?"

Having only just stepped onto the path of cultivation, Li Yuechan was incredibly curious about the world of cultivators.

She blinked her eyes, looking at Li Muyang as he sat on the ridge.

Li Muyang continued to tear into his delicious chicken as he replied, "Anyone capable of stirring up such chaos in Cloud City... they must be a grand expert of at least the fourth or fifth rank, right?"

"In any case, it's not something small fry like us can afford to provoke."

Li Muyang said this, then glanced at Li Yuechan again. "You know full well there's a mysterious figure wreaking havoc in the city, yet you go there every single day... aren't you afraid of dying?"

Li Yuechan replied with a grin, "I've made inquiries. That mysterious person only kills demonic cultivators at the Qi Refining stage or higher. Someone like me, who doesn't even have a cultivation base, wouldn't even be worth a glance."

After the girl finished speaking, she saw Li Muyang's unimpressed expression and sighed.

"Actually, I don't want to go every day either. It's exhausting."

"But when I left home, Second Uncle said that while our sect is holding its grand opening, a friend of his would be coming to Cloud City. He'd entrust his friend to bring some things over for us to use."

"Second Uncle said those items are very precious, and he was afraid it would be dangerous for a young girl like me to carry them on the road, so he had to send them via his friend."

The girl shrugged innocently. "So, my daily trips to the city are actually to wait for Second Uncle's friend."

The young girl explained her reasons, and Li Muyang frowned.

"Old Man is sending things over? He's just a rustic martial artist from the countryside; what kind of precious items could he possibly send?"

At most, it would be some cultivation materials at the low-grade spirit tool level.

A rustic martial artist of Li Damu's caliber couldn't possibly save up anything good.

Li Muyang didn't care at all about the things sent from his old home.

Right now, even the scraps of high-grade spirit rice that fell through his fingers would be enough to make his cheapskate father, Li Damu, pop his eyeballs out in shock.

After sending off his cheapskate sister and cooking a dinner of high-grade spirit rice, Li Muyang continued his monotonous but disciplined life.

When night fell over the mountains, he closed his eyes and entered the game.

The appearance of his cheapskate sister these past few days had indeed interfered with his game progress.

The time he spent chatting with Li Yuechan seemed to be getting longer and longer, causing his game progress to slow down accordingly.

In the small square of Black Cloud Stronghold, Li Muyang looked at Little Wild Grass before him and sighed.

Li Muyang, oh Li Muyang, you cannot go on like this.

Although chatting with a sweet girl was relaxing, for someone as reclusive and solitary as Li Muyang, having someone to talk to helped alleviate his loneliness and made him feel much happier.

But he couldn't let his real work slide!

Tomorrow, he couldn't chat with his cheapskate sister for so long. He had to work hard; he had to pull himself together!

He stared at the favorability bar in the top right corner of his vision: [Little Wild Grass: 39].

Li Muyang clenched his fists.

Starting today, he would pull himself together and return to the version of himself who poured all his time and energy into the game!

He was only one step away from breaking through the second stage of cultivation and claiming his reward.

At a time like this, how could he indulge in chatting with a sweet girl?

Li Muyang decided to change.

And so, the next day when his cheapskate sister returned from the city, his chat with her was finally... a few minutes shorter than usual.

After watching his cheapskate sister's back disappear once more, Li Muyang sat on the ridge of the field and scratched his head.

"Have I been isolated for too long? How could I spend so long chatting about such meaningless nonsense?"

Having intended to end the conversation quickly but failing, Li Muyang felt frustrated and depressed.

He realized he might have been alone for too long, to the point where it was hard to stop once he started talking to his cheapskate sister.

He seemed to be craving this interaction, this feedback from conversation.

"Humans really are social animals. If you stay alone for too long, you really will end up with problems."

Li Muyang muttered to himself.

He stopped trying to cut off his chats with his cheapskate sister.

He could afford to be a little slower in clearing the game, but if he developed a mental illness from being cooped up alone, the cost would outweigh the gains.

Fortunately, apart from his daily chats with his cheapskate sister, he spent almost all his time in the game.

As the saying goes, heaven rewards the diligent, and he did receive his reward.

On the third day before the Demon Refining Sect was set to close its gates, Li Muyang successfully completed the second stage of cultivation, raising Little Wild Grass's favorability to over 40.

[Little Wild Grass: 40 (She views you as a precious friend... or perhaps family?)]

The moment this favorability number appeared, Li Muyang couldn't help but clench his fist and pump it in the air.

This second stage was a real time-sink!

It had taken him nearly a month. During this time, he had relied on eating spirit rice to push his cultivation to the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, just to get Little Wild Grass's favorability up to 40 points.

But even though the daily tasks for this month were grueling, looking at the sweet-smiling Little Wild Grass in the game now, Li Muyang felt genuinely happy.

Because in his field of vision, the system's reward text popped up.

[Little Wild Grass's favorability has broken through 40 for the first time. Cultivation progress has entered the third stage (out of five stages).]

[Congratulations, Host. The second-stage cultivation reward is now available for collection.]

[Please select your second-stage cultivation reward (choose one of three)]

[Cultivation +1 (Qi Refining Stage Level 6 → Qi Refining Stage Level 7)]

[Taiyi Light-Splitting Talisman (Low-grade Spirit Talisman) x3]

[Mortal-grade Flying Sword x1]

The rewards popping up on the system screen filled Li Muyang with wild joy.

A low-grade spirit talisman... damn!

So this system's prize pool doesn't just contain secret manuals and weapons?

To think it even has rare items like spirit talismans... although spirit talismans are one-time-use items, their power is immense!

Even the lowest-grade spirit talisman possesses considerable might, capable of killing a Qi Refining stage cultivator in seconds with ease.

This system really knows how to surprise him; the rewards are so diverse, and every single one of them is a treasure.

Li Muyang stared wide-eyed at the second option, the low-grade spirit talismans, and chose to claim them without a moment's hesitation.