When Ye Ran returned, Lu Li was just emerging from the cave. The moment he saw her, he stopped and opened his arms, as he always did, waiting for her to embrace him.
But this time, Ye Ran only stood before him, looking at him in silence.
“Where did junior sister go?”
Seeing that she didn’t want to hug him, Lu Li walked over, tossed the system out of her arms, and pulled her into an embrace himself.
“Let’s go inside. I have something to ask you.”
Ye Ran still didn’t move, and her voice was cold.
“Alright.”
Lu Li paused for only a moment, then lifted her and carried her back into the cave.
“What does junior sister want to ask me?”
He set her down on the soft couch she liked best. The moment he finished speaking, Ye Ran grabbed his collar and yanked him down so he was close to her face.
“Are you planning to use the Blazing Spirit to destroy the entire cultivation world?”
“Why would junior sister ask that?”
Lu Li’s surprised expression seemed genuine. Ye Ran hesitated, wondering if she had misunderstood. But knowing the system wouldn’t lie about this, she tightened her grip on his collar.
“Just tell me: do you have that intention or not?”
As she spoke, her voice began to tremble. Tears welled in her eyes.
Lu Li had promised to go with her to her world. Yet he still hadn’t abandoned the idea of destroying the cultivation world—and himself with it. It felt like he was planning to abandon her.
Ever since she was a child, she had been the one abandoned. Only her grandmother had wanted her. After she died, Ye Ran went back to being unwanted.
She had always feared being abandoned—especially by someone she cared about.
At the thought, her eyes grew moist.
Lu Li panicked. He fumbled for a handkerchief and wiped away her tears, his expression turning serious.
“I have no such intention, junior sister. Be at ease.”
“Then why did you deliberately expose yourself at the foot of the mountain?”
Ye Ran steadied herself. Even knowing Lu Li wouldn’t lie to her, his recent strange behavior suggested he was still plotting something.
“I just want to lure Lingxu and others who covet the Blazing Spirit here.”
With that, Lu Li looked away, avoiding her eyes. Ye Ran grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her gaze.
“And then use the Blazing Spirit to destroy them all—and yourself with them?”
In an instant, everything made sense.
Perhaps Lu Li had never intended to destroy the world. He only wanted to use the Blazing Spirit to annihilate his enemies. But its power was so great it would take the entire cultivation world with them.
His panicked eyes confirmed her guess.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, beyond her control. “Why do you want to die with them? Are you abandoning me too?”
“Of course not. I just—”
He stopped mid-sentence. His gaze at her was complicated. In the end, he said nothing, only pulled her quietly into his arms.
“If senior brother wants to kill them, I can help. But can you not use a way that will kill you too? You don’t like this place. Let me take you away—to my world. Is that alright?”
Ye Ran didn’t understand why he felt he had to die with them. All she knew was that she couldn’t accept losing him.
She stared at him, unwavering.
She had already decided: if he still chose to die with them, she would go with him. Failing the mission would mean death anyway.
“Alright. I won’t die with them. I’ll find other ways to kill them.”
After a long silence, Lu Li finally agreed.
Overjoyed, Ye Ran hugged him tightly.
“Then I’ll tell you a secret, senior brother. I’m not from this world. If you don’t destroy the cultivation world, I can take you back to mine. I want to introduce you to my grandmother.”
“Alright. Whatever junior sister says.”
Lu Li took out the handkerchief again and wiped her tears. Ye Ran clung to him, unwilling to let go.
He lay down with her on the small couch, gently patting her back until she finally fell asleep.
Feeling her breathing even out, Lu Li looked down at her, his expression complicated. He kissed her lips, then carefully rose from the bed.
As he neared the cave entrance, he spotted a sneaky, round figure peeking inside.
The moment he approached, it darted away and hid in the bushes.
But its body was too fat. Only its head went in; the rest remained exposed.
The next moment, a hand grabbed it by the scruff.
Meeting Lu Li’s calm gaze, the system looked especially guilty. It quickly offered him a fawning smile and tried to act cute.
“Meow~”
“Did you come here to stop me from destroying the cultivation world?”
Lu Li was direct. Caught off guard, the system let out a sudden, unkempt yowl that it couldn’t suppress.
Only when it saw Lu Li’s brow furrow did it quickly cover its mouth with its paw, then tentatively nod.
“Yes. The Blazing Spirit’s power is too great. If the cultivation world is destroyed, other worlds will be affected too.”
In the previous seven mission attempts, the system would never have dared say such things to Lu Li.
But this time was different. Meeting Ye Ran had changed him. His killing intent had faded, and his temper had softened considerably.
The system’s fear of him had slowly diminished. Sometimes, it even dared to sleep on his lap.
And now, it knew that telling him the truth carried no risk. In fact, for Ye Ran’s sake, he might even abandon his plan.
The system stared at Lu Li. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Will her world be affected?”
“Of course. Not only will it be affected—but if the host fails her mission, she will—”
The system stopped abruptly.
It realized it couldn’t bring itself to say what would happen to Ye Ran if she failed. It didn’t even have the courage.
“What will happen?” Lu Li’s expression grew grim.
After a long hesitation, the system whispered:
“She will die.”
Silence fell. The system shrank back, not daring to look at him.
But soon, his voice came from above.
“Let’s make a deal.”
With that, Lu Li and the system vanished from outside the cave.
…
After promising Ye Ran he would no longer try to destroy himself, Lu Li stopped disappearing. Instead, he stayed on the mountain, setting up formations.
Though the formations he added were still killing arrays, they no longer required the Blazing Spirit’s power to activate.
At the base of the mountain, Lu Li set up many barriers. Should Lingxu or his people step foot on the mountain, they would be trapped. They couldn’t leave unless Lu Li opened the barriers willingly.
He worked quickly. In just a few days, the entire mountain was covered in formations.
With everything ready, Lu Li only had to wait for Lingxu to take the bait. In the meantime, he continued cultivating with Ye Ran.
Since that day, Ye Ran had grown clingy. She wouldn’t let Lu Li leave her for long.
Even when cultivating, he had to stay by her side. The moment she finished meditating, she needed to see him.
This day was no different. After finishing her meditation, Ye Ran immediately looked for Lu Li.
Usually, he sat beside her, waiting. But this time, she couldn’t find him.
Panic rising, she stood up and called for the system.
“System, where did Lu Li—”
Before she could finish, his figure appeared before her.
“Senior brother!”
Joyfully, she ran to him and threw her arms around him.
“Where did you go?”
“I went flower-picking and lost track of time. I’m sorry.”
Lu Li patted her head reassuringly. Curious, Ye Ran became interested in these flowers.
She hadn’t known Lu Li enjoyed flower-picking.
“What flowers did you pick, senior brother?”
She let go and looked him over, but saw nothing.
“Hold out your hand, junior sister.”
Lu Li extended his hand to her first.
Wondering what he was up to, Ye Ran obediently placed her hand in his.
The next moment, he slipped a bracelet onto her wrist.
Amazed, Ye Ran raised her wrist to examine it.
The bracelet was translucent, like crystal. Inside was sealed a small yellow flower shaped like a rose.
“So these are the flowers senior brother picked?”
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