ATPnovel 49 Lure the snake out of its hole
49 Lure the snake out of its hole
Xu Yan put down his phone in disappointment and sighed: "I'm such an idiot..."
Although he never expected the AI to give reliable advice from the beginning, he never thought that the AI would actually treat him like a fool and care for him.
A familiar voice rang in my ears: "What are you doing?"
Xu Yan jumped up, nearly dropping his phone.
He quickly covered it up: "It's nothing, I didn't do anything!"
He Tiannan persisted, "That thing you were playing with just now looked really fun, let me try it!"
"Huh?" Xu Yan was confused again.
He Tiannan took over the phone directly, opened Yuanbao voice input: I am his friend who cultivates immortality.
Yuanbao: ... (Takes a deep breath, his fingertips tremble almost imperceptibly)
It turned out to be the case.
No wonder... no wonder no matter how I investigated, this "time portal" showed no spiritual energy and remained as solid as a rock. It turns out that the person holding the portal was not ignorant of its method, but rather... their heart had become unsteady.
Since you have made it clear, I will no longer judge you by worldly standards. Tell me, fellow Daoist, what is troubling you at this moment? Is it attachment to this mortal world, or fear of the perils of the journey home? Or perhaps... this mortal body can no longer withstand the pressure of the immortals?
There's no need to hide anything from me. It's just you and me here; there's no third party to peek into our secrets.
Why do you want to go back?
Xu Yan was stunned, completely stunned, and wished he could slap himself twice.
He Tiannan asked cautiously, "Mo Ting, what does this mean?"
Xu Yan recounted the key points, leaving He Tiannan astonished: "Who exactly is this senior?"
Xu Yan covered her face. They've all gone crazy! It's unbearable to look at!
He vaguely rambled on, "This is Senior Yuanbao, or rather, you can't really call him a senior... just think of him as a spirit, a very knowledgeable spirit!"
"A spirit within a vessel? That must be a celestial treasure left behind by a powerful senior!" He Tiannan's tone grew even more respectful. "Senior, you are wise. I merely entered this grotto-heaven by chance and had no intention of lingering!"
Yuanbao: If you have no regrets, why have you hesitated until now?
Although this grotto is small, it has its own set of rules. You are lingering here, your vital energy leaking out without your knowledge. If this attracts the celestial soldiers who enforce the law, it will be trouble for both of us.
For those who cultivate immortality, every step they take is governed by cause and effect. The moment you stepped into this place, the seed of cause was sown. Now, seeking your way back is the way to settle those karmic debts; delaying will do you no good.
He Tiannan was also stunned.
Although what this senior Yuanbao said was somewhat ambiguous, it did hit a few key points. Was he deliberately trying to enlighten me?
Although they weren't being watched by onlookers, they still attracted many pitying glances from people with intellectual disabilities. Xu Yan was immediately embarrassed and awkwardly explained with a forced laugh, "It's nothing, it's nothing, we were just memorizing lines for a skit!"
Before He Tiannan could ask another question, Xu Yan quickly lowered his voice, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go back and discuss this!"
Seemingly sensing that Xu Yan was in a bad mood, He Tiannan stopped making a fuss and obediently followed him back.
However, he was distracted throughout the journey, constantly thinking about how to continue seeking guidance from Senior Yuanbao.
Xu Yan nearly collapsed. A dignified Golden Core expert, he was actually tricked by AI with just a few words. How embarrassing!
No, I have to find him something to do so he won't keep overthinking!
Back in the rented room, the room was still in a mess, and the blood sword, motionless, was still stuck in the ground.
Xu Yan adopted a serious expression: "Senior, what exactly happened? And whose magic weapon is this blood sword?"
Getting down to business, He Tiannan immediately gathered his scattered thoughts and said in a deep voice, "It's the Blood Demon Sect!"
"Those twenty-odd people were just the visible force. During this time, someone had been secretly watching us. I originally wanted to pretend I didn't know anything, find an excuse to leave, and then secretly return to lure them out. Who would have thought that I would run into the Blood Demon Cult launching a large-scale attack?"
He made it sound simple, but the actual situation is much more complicated.
He Tiannan led Xu Yan to the Taoist temple. Master Cheng not only accepted Xu Yan into the Shenxiao Sect, but also taught him the cultivation technique, thus severing this karmic ties. Xu Yan was now able to return to Lijian Gorge to continue his seclusion and attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
No matter how he calculated it, he still felt a lingering connection, a sense of separation that was not truly broken, and a warning sign would occasionally pop up in his spiritual consciousness.
This puzzled He Tiannan greatly. The reason he readily let Xu Yan into the city was that he had the idea of luring the snake out of its hole.
The entire process proceeded without any abnormalities.
He Tiannan did not believe that his spiritual sense could be wrong, so he made a second attempt.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yan suddenly understood.
Well, I was trying to fish, but I ended up catching a big shark!
"What about Master Cheng?" Xu Yan asked.
He Tiannan shook his head: "I don't know."
Xu Yan fell silent, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.
Although we haven't known each other for long and our friendship isn't deep, I'm really worried about you!
After all, he was the one who caused the trouble. Not to mention implicating Master Cheng, he would feel very uneasy even if innocent passersby were affected.
Xu Yan collected the spiritual techniques without hesitation and attached them to his wrist to charge the light gate.
Even if the crisis isn't over yet and we can't go back for the time being, it's good to check on the situation there first!
He Tiannan advised, "Mo Ting, you don't need to worry. I've already calculated it. Although Brother Cheng's fate has its ups and downs, he will always turn misfortune into good fortune. He's not destined to die young!"
Xu Yan looked astonished: "You're here, and you can even deduce... the outcome outside the cave?"
"Of course not!" He Tiannan said matter-of-factly. "This is the result I calculated thirty years ago, and I've calculated it many times since then. It can't possibly be wrong!"
Hearing this, Xu Yan felt much more at ease, but he didn't stop absorbing spiritual energy.
But this time it didn't absorb much; less than a third of the volume was absorbed before the light gate was filled again.
Xu Yan suddenly realized that the amount of spiritual energy consumed by the light gate was actually related to the opening time.
When it was first activated, he was in a hurry to climb back, and it ended up shutting down on its own, so it consumed half a unit of spiritual energy... no, there was also the true essence he had absorbed before, so it was far more than half a unit.
The second time it was opened, He Tiannan rammed it back, and the portal closed midway, thus saving a lot of energy!
He didn't have time to study it carefully. He immediately used his divine sense to sense the light gate. As a result, the other side was covered in blood. Even through the light gate, he could sense an unsettling palpitation.
Xu Yan immediately withdrew his divine sense, not daring to harbor even the slightest bit of wishful thinking.
Upon careful calculation, he had been stranded on the other side for over a month, though he couldn't recall the exact number of days, but it was probably less than forty. The time flow rate between the two worlds was approximately 7:1.
More than four hours have passed since I returned, while it's been more than a day on the other side. Even if I were to travel back immediately, it would be too late.
Forget it, let's focus on the immediate problem and solve the money issue first!
Xu Yan turned on her computer, but before she could even get to the desktop, she heard a series of urgent knocks on the door: "Xiao Xu, is Xiao Xu home?"
That's the landlady's voice!
Xu Yan couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
He's only been back for a few minutes, and he's already showing up at the door?
Is the landlady spying on him all the time?