Chapter 173: Li Yuilan (Part 2)
"No, it's okay..." Li Yuilan replied and fell silent.
Since Xie Qing's wound had not yet healed, he had to walk around with his shirt off. At first, this caused some problems, but over time, everyone got used to it.
"Can I come in?" Xie Qing asked with a calm face, avoiding eye contact.
"Eh? Oh, of course..."
Although Li Yuilan was embarrassed, she trusted Xie Qing and did not think he had any ulterior motives. One could say she was very innocent.
Xie Qing nodded. His calm demeanor even affected Li Yuilan, allowing her to calm down. It seemed that the mental demons started to disappear around this man as if they were afraid of him.
"I heard from Lu Yin that you're having trouble with mental demons," the young man said, glancing at the bed with stuffed animals and then back to Li Yuilan. "Coincidentally, my older sister has a technique that can help you calm them down. I also found some natural resources that can be planted either in the garden or in a pot. They can help prevent the occurrence of mental demons."
"Is there such a thing?" Li Yuilan was genuinely surprised and unconsciously opened her eyes, but quickly covered them again.
"Oh, and there's also a pendant. It has similar properties and can help deal with mental demons."
Of course, all these items were bought from the System. Although there were similar items in specialized stores, they were all of lower quality and more expensive.
Of course, it was more cost-effective to buy from the System store.
"This..."
Li Yuilan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So many valuable resources! She was sure that everything mentioned was very expensive!
"I can't..." Li Yuilan began to say.
"You can. I can't return them anyway, right?" Xie Qing said indifferently and then took out a spatial ring and placed it in Li Yuilan's hand. "We're friends. I can't stand to see you suffer."
"This..."
Li Yuilan was touched and after a moment of silence, she nodded. Her head unconsciously leaned against Xie Qing's chest.
The young man was somewhat surprised.
"If I hug her, is that okay?"
Putting aside his doubts, the young man hugged her to comfort her. Interacting with Li Yuilan and Lu Yin... for some reason, he felt both more free and more restrained.
But with old monsters like Xu Mei and Lian Lin... he found it much easier to get along with them.
The next day, Li Yuilan's condition improved. She even managed to sleep well and rest. This pleasantly surprised her.
"Wow. Her mental demons are really gone," Lu Yin exclaimed in admiration and looked at the pendant with a silver and nephrite chain. "There's such exquisite engraving on the nephrite! It's not formations... something more ancient."
"Yuan symbols," Xie Qing said, who was meditating.
They were sitting on the grass in the garden. There were no servants around, so the trio could chat freely.
"Yuan symbols?!!" Lu Yin and Li Yuilan exclaimed in shock at the same time.
"Loud... my ears are about to burst," Xie Qing said, opening his eyes and frowning.
However, the girls seemed to be more preoccupied with examining the nephrite on the pendant.
And they were shocked.
"Yuan symbols are considered a legacy of antiquity! Finding even one symbol is considered a great breakthrough!" Li Yuilan said out loud and looked at Xie Qing with a complicated expression. "Now I'm really your eternal debtor. This one item alone could make the cultivation world tremble with excitement!"
"Really? Well, it happens," Xie Qing replied nonchalantly and closed his eyes. "However, it's in your best interest to keep the secret of this pendant. I wouldn't want any wild beasts to try and knock on your door."
"That's true," Li Yuilan nodded.
Deep night. Xie Qing was still sitting in the garden, meditating. Lu Yin and Li Yuilan were practicing nearby.
None of them spoke, but quietly practiced. For cultivators, this was a time when silence was extremely important.
For Xie Qing, at the moment, he needed to consolidate his cultivation.
After a few hours...
The young man opened his eyes. The girls were still training and learning the technique that he had taught Lu Yin.
"Any progress?" he asked, getting up from his spot.
His aura had become more stable and almost imperceptible. This was because he had begun to gradually improve his control over his Qi.
"Almost. I've been able to learn the basics," Li Yuilan said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"I've mastered the first part of the technique," Lu Yin said and, wielding her sword, used the technique.
With each second, she merged with the surrounding environment until she disappeared. This was the first part of Love of Moon Goddess – New Moon.
"Not bad," Xie Qing said with a smile and nodded. "You don't have to try to scare me, I can sense your presence."
"Damn!"
Lu Yin suddenly appeared behind him and twisted her mouth. Her displeased face was cute.
"Girl, I am the creator of this technique and I know all its flaws. For me to find you is as easy as taking candy from a baby," Xie Qing said, clapping his hands. "Alright, since it's come to this, I'll help you both train. Since Lu Yin has mastered the first part, it's only fair to help Li Yuilan first."
The girl nodded. The young man took out a bamboo training sword from his spatial ring and then began to explain.
"The Love of the Moon Goddess technique is actually quite simple. However, due to certain factors, it is not the most stable and is suitable for cultivators up to the Core Formation stage." Xie Qing explained and then made a vertical swing and then a swing at a 70-degree angle upward.
Seeing the confusion on Li Yuilan's face, he explained: "In this technique, the activation of the three techniques is performed either by sword swings that form special symbols or by Sword Aura, which consumes more energy."
"But isn't it more advantageous to use Sword Aura in terms of speed?" Lu Yin asked. Li Yuilan nodded.
"That's true. However, the special symbols will help you use the techniques more effectively," Xie Qing explained. "Let's continue. The technique is divided into three stages - new moon, half moon, and full moon."
The young man demonstrated the New Moon. Compared to Lu Yin, he immediately disappeared, and his presence was impossible to detect.
"The Full Moon helps you use the invisibility ability. Thanks to the influence of moonlight and Yin Qi, this technique works best at night."
"Eek!"
Li Yuilan screamed in fright when Xie Qing's voice sounded next to her ear. The girl almost fell to the ground, but Xie Qing managed to catch her by the shoulder.
Ignoring her offended look, he continued:
"Next is the Half Moon - an attack that can easily cut through even the hardest material." Xie Qing explained and, stepping back a bit, swung his sword.
With a soft sound, the attack in the shape of a half-moon rushed towards the stone. Upon meeting the surface of the stone, the arc easily cuts through the stone.
Fortunately, Xie Qing controlled the attack and did not let it spoil the appearance of the garden.
"Full Moon," Xie Qing said and plunged the sword into the air. A semi-transparent domed barrier appeared around him: "Creates a strong barrier. Depending on your level of cultivation, it can block one attack from a cultivator of a higher realm and up to twenty attacks from cultivators of the same or lower realm."
The girls listened carefully to his explanations and, after a few additional tips, they finally began to train.
Since Xie Qing had nothing to do, he took charge of their training.
It can't be said that the girls had any special talent, but they learned quite quickly and effectively, which satisfied Xie Qing.
After three hours of training, Lu Yin mastered the second part of the technique, and Li Yuilan excelled in the first part.
***
A week later, Liu Yang, Lu Yin's master, contacted Zhang Mei. That evening, Zhang Mei raised the token that glowed with a soft white light.
"Mei, I heard that you were trying to contact me," Liu Yang's voice rang out, full of gentleness and calmness. "Do you need something?"
"Elder sister..." when speaking with Liu Yang, Zhang Mei became more gentle and polite. She nodded: "Yes, to be honest..."
And she began to tell what was happening. Liu Yang did not interrupt and listened to Zhang Mei's story. Only then, when Mei finished speaking, the head of the Nine Pills Sect replied:
"Oh, so he's also playing the hero. Alright, no problem. He is Xu Mei's disciple, so I'll help him." Liu Yang said and, after a moment of silence, asked curiously: "What is this boy's cultivation level?"
"Him? Sigh..." Zhang Mei sighed and gloomily replied: "He's already at the Soul Integration stage..."
"Huh?"
A surprised sigh came from the token. Liu Yang was silent for a long time, making Zhang Mei think that the connection had been lost.
"This... is not normal," Liu Yang sighed. "My dear Lu Yin will be left behind in the cultivation realm by his powerful back... Sigh! They were born in the wrong era..."
"Well, it can't be helped. It's good that he has good talent and a righteous heart," Zhang Mei replied, brushing her hair off her shoulders.
"A righteous heart? Hehe..." Liu Yang smiled. "Your disciple is infatuated with him, isn't she?"
"They're young. It's their right."
"Hehe... but at their age, you kept men a hundred kilometers away from you."
"Hmph. I'm not interested in love."
"Right, right..."