The Stakes Were Set Too Wide Open

Jiang Chen looked back over the recording and discovered—

Liu Ruyan had indeed followed him invisibly to Stubborn Stone Peak, only leaving after he had refined qi.

After that, he left the sect and settled in the barren mountains to the west. No one followed him again.

Only then did Jiang Chen breathe a sigh of relief.

Though this outcome had entangled him with a Demon Sect spy, he had successfully refined qi.

Once he had refined qi, he could ride a sword at high speed... The Ascending Dragon Continent was vast beyond measure; there would always be a place for a cultivator to shelter.

It had to be said that Jiang Chen had achieved a relatively perfect outcome this time.

With the second outcome as a safety net, he could approach the third simulation in a much more relaxed state of mind.

Thus, he immediately decided: for the third simulation, he would have to be bolder and broaden his horizons to see whether he could reap even greater rewards!

Jiang Chen considered the second outcome nearly perfect. If he had to name a hidden danger—

If Liu Ruyan reported his existence to her superiors, then although he had escaped, his name and appearance had been remembered, leaving a certain degree of risk.

Perhaps he could try to establish a more intimate relationship with Liu Ruyan to protect himself.

For example, confessing his love to his senior sister!

He could both test Liu Ruyan's strength and danger level, and test how much dual cultivation improved one's cultivation.

During his two years since entering the sect, Jiang Chen had done his utmost to avoid crowds and conceal his appearance and aura.

Yet in the eyes of certain lovestruck junior and senior sisters, he was like a firefly in the pitch-black night—bright and impossible to ignore.

Several times, female outer disciples had pursued him in return, willing to build a nest of love with him and improve together.

In the end, Jiang Chen had rejected every one of them.

Jiang Chen thought, he had not even refined qi yet. Where would he find the energy to talk about love and waste his nutrients?

Moreover, if one formed a household too early on the path of cultivation, cultivation would gain shackles. A cultivator would gain weaknesses as well, making it difficult to pursue the great Dao of defying the tide and stopping at nothing.

In cultivation, feelings were what one had to stay farthest away from. Women would only affect the speed of your leveling up...

Except powerful women!

Liu Ruyan had been caught like a turtle in a jar by a Peak Golden Core disciplinary elder inside her cave dwelling on Sunset Glow Peak, yet she had held out for quite a while before being captured. She should not have been weak.

Could she help him refine qi in a single day?

Take a gamble, and a bicycle might become a motorcycle. With the second outcome as a safety net, it did not matter even if he failed.

With that thought, Jiang Chen immediately began the third Plot Simulation!

[Beginning the third Plot Simulation!]

At the start, Jiang Chen came to Sunset Glow Mountain just as he had in the second simulation.

He helped Liu Ruyan locate the formation eye in an extremely short time, then predicted what she had been thinking.

The two soon arrived at Little Cricket Peak.

Liu Ruyan was startled inwardly, but her face remained as still as an ancient well. She was far calmer than an ordinary female cultivator.

The plan to set fire to the mountain and locate the formation eye had been devised by her alone. It had not even been put into action, yet someone had predicted it in advance.

Could this be the legendary highest realm of illusion arts—the Deduction Art?

She had always been the one deducing others. Never before had anyone deduced her...

Unable to see through the other party's identity for the moment, she could only probe cautiously.

"Senior, since you have lent a hand to our Demon Sect, do you seek something from the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

Jiang Chen nodded slightly and spoke calmly.

"Do not be fooled by the somewhat ethereal air of this body of mine. In truth, it is all surface and no substance. My talent is mediocre; after cultivating for years, I still cannot refine qi. This time, I wished to find a demoness as a cultivation partner, clear my spiritual veins, and improve my roots and bones. What does Senior Sister Liu think?"

What kind of demonic thing was that to say...

Liu Ruyan thought she had misheard. Her pure, lovely face stiffened slightly as she said in a low voice,

"Aren't you afraid the Demonic Flame will devour you alive?"

Jiang Chen could not be bothered to fawn over women. He confessed directly.

"Who doesn't like demonesses? Besides, you don't want the Demon Sect's plan to miscarry either, do you?"

A chill flashed through Liu Ruyan's eyes. She should have killed this lecherous brat with a single sword strike.

But this boy had anticipated her at every turn and knew the Azure Mist Sect and Demon Sect like the back of his hand. He was certainly no ordinary man.

For the Demon Sect's assault on the mountain, and for her own plan, she needed to uncover this man's background as quickly as possible.

Why not agree to him for now, cultivate with him in the illusion realm first, and see whether he could see through it?

Besides, his looks and bearing were both exceptional. Other than his unimpressive cultivation, she was not exactly making a sacrifice.

Having thought this through, she suddenly put on a stern face and said with a faint touch of coyness, her voice cold.

"If you cannot withstand the Demonic Flame and die, you can only blame yourself."

Jiang Chen froze. He had not expected that taking a gamble would really turn his bicycle into a motorcycle!

It seemed that courting women still required a direct approach. Leave the rest to good looks and silver.

Even after Liu Ruyan agreed to become cultivation partners, Jiang Chen did not immediately show his delight. Instead, he asked,

"I can be reborn. Aren't you afraid that this old man will seize your body?"

Liu Ruyan shook her head and smiled sweetly.

"With a mortal body and no soul arts, if Senior could seize my body, then you would be an immortal reborn. Why would you covet this demonic body of mine?"

Jiang Chen nodded, finally revealing a smile. Rising to his feet, he took Senior Sister Liu's little hand and said,

"Shall we go through a cultivation-partner ceremony?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Ruyan was even more uninhibited than he was.

"Life is short, while the long night stretches on. Why fuss over such trivial formalities? Come with me."

Jiang Chen was stunned inwardly. He stared blankly at Liu Ruyan's graceful back, then quickly followed after her.

His horizons had successfully broadened... perhaps a little too broadly.

Within the Azure Mist Sect's inner sect, Tranquil Heart Peak.

Under the moonlight, the mountain scenery was especially serene.

Liu Ruyan's cave dwelling was located among the core disciples' residences at the rear mountain. Flowing water murmured there all day, and a hundred herbs grew in abundance.

The cave dwelling was drum-shaped. It contained a vinewood bed, a warm-water pool, an Eight Immortals table... and several little rabbits.

At the center of the cave dwelling lay a round meditation mat over three meters wide, wreathed by a spiral pink formation.

Not a trace of demonic qi could be seen inside or outside the cave dwelling.

It was Jiang Chen's first time entering a woman's cave dwelling, so he was somewhat restrained. He soon slipped into the warm-water pool and began meditating.

Fortunately, Senior Sister was also a woman of action.

Black Demonic Flame swiftly engulfed Jiang Chen...

Liu Ruyan's Demonic Flame came from the Demon Shrine.

She was not a true demoness. Otherwise, she could never have entered the mountain-protecting formation.

True demonesses were also prone to revealing traces of themselves, making them unsuitable as spies.

Cultivating in the hot spring, Jiang Chen felt his body and mind flow freely. He seemed to stroll amid clouds, floating as if immortal, dying and living again beneath the devouring Icefire Demonic Flame.

Fortunately, Liu Ruyan did not dare ruthlessly kill him while he was completely defenseless. She could only withdraw the Demonic Flame and merge her spiritual veins with his...

Perhaps Liu Ruyan had held something back, or perhaps her cultivation had not been that high to begin with.

Dawn arrived.

Jiang Chen still had not refined qi.

Yet Liu Ruyan looked exceptionally radiant. Even her features and expression had gained a touch more sweet purity.

In the morning, she personally made him some spiritual food... while secretly testing his constitution as well.

After eating and drinking his fill, no matter how Liu Ruyan examined Jiang Chen, he was an utterly ordinary mortal.

"Can you tell me your true identity now?"

Jiang Chen smiled and answered frankly.

"I lied about being a former elder. I have lived two lives, yet I am not even thirty when added together. I should be calling you Senior Sister."

Liu Ruyan stared at Jiang Chen in surprise, yet could not detect the slightest trace of a lie.

"What do you mean, lived two lives?"

Jiang Chen wore a mysterious expression and smiled.

"I am from beyond this realm."

Jiang Chen had not accidentally exposed his identity as a transmigrator. He simply felt that calling himself someone from beyond this realm sounded far more impressive than claiming to be a former elder, and it would be easier to intimidate Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan's gaze sharpened as she stared directly at Jiang Chen. Within the rippling light in her eyes, a thread of inexplicable melancholy stirred.

Only then did she prepare him a cup of tea.

Jiang Chen had failed to refine qi throughout the night, but fortunately, he still had a full day.

During the day, Jiang Chen dragged his exhausted body around a nearby town with Liu Ruyan. They ate mortal snacks, listened to little songs of the human world, and bought beautiful clothes and jewelry...

Though each harbored their own thoughts, they acted no differently from a couple in love.

After night fell, the two returned to Tranquil Heart Peak and continued cultivating.

This time, Jiang Chen learned the truth: Liu Ruyan possessed only Foundation Establishment cultivation, relying on all manner of high-grade demonic artifacts to conceal herself.

Foundation Establishment cultivation was not low, but it was still too difficult for her to help him refine qi within a single day.

Jiang Chen could not help sighing.

"Have you ever considered this? Suppose the world we live in is a script that evolved within the sea of consciousness of some great power, and it will abruptly end at a certain moment. What would you want to do in the final moments of your life?"

Within the hazy mist of the spring, Liu Ruyan's eyes shifted slightly, her heart touched.

She stared blankly at the handsome mortal before her, boundless desolation rising within her heart.

Then, she gathered her spiritual power and performed her true method...

The sound of water was soft, fragmented, and silver-bright.

Midnight.

Jiang Chen refined qi once again!

The third simulation ended.

The system immediately prompted:

[You have completed three Plot Simulations. Please choose one outcome to overwrite your real path!]

[Notice: After a simulated outcome overwrites your real path, reality will strictly unfold according to the selected simulated plot. You will be placed under control for twelve hours and cannot alter your actions midway, regaining freedom only after twelve hours.]