【Completion of the diary, reward: Constitution +3, Strength +2, cultivation level increased by one tier. Current cultivation: Early-stage Dongxu.】
Finally, I’ve broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and reached Dongxu. It feels like I’ve taken half a step into the world of the strong.
It hasn’t been easy, but this is the reward for all my hard work.
Looking back, if I had relied solely on myself, even if I knew where the opportunities were or which cultivation techniques were the best, and even if I had improved my cultivation at the fastest possible speed, I still wouldn’t have been able to reach this level at this point in time.
My innate talent was fixed from the start, and no amount of resources could change that. I simply couldn’t absorb them.
After a brief moment of celebration, Su Luo returned to his usual calm demeanor.
He then headed out to meet the Demon Lord, intending to give her the first half of the plan as a surprise.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Yun, who was idly playing with Xiao Pa.
Tsk, why is she copying me? Copying me won’t get her anywhere. How can she just laze around like this?
“Hey, Yun, I can afford to slack off, but can you?”
It suddenly occurred to Su Luo that he had never really seen Yun cultivate.
Although the strength of a Beast Tamer largely depends on their spirit beast, the tamer themselves shouldn’t be too weak either.
Some Beast Tamers are even more ferocious than their spirit beasts.
Hearing this, Yun suddenly had an epiphany: “You’re right! I need to work harder too. Xiao Pa, let’s train!”
Xiao Pa: “......”
But Yun only sent Xiao Pa off to train, while she herself continued to laze around.
Su Luo: “Uh......”
Clearly, Yun had misunderstood. He meant for her to work harder, not Xiao Pa.
Oh well, let her be.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Su Luo sensed something unusual about Yun.
“What’s wrong?” Yun asked, noticing Su Luo staring at her for a long time.
“Nothing, just an illusion.”
“What illusion?”
“I thought you looked prettier for a moment.”
“Oh, Su Luo, when did you become so smooth-talking? You’re making me blush!”
Yun covered her face with her hands, pretending to be shy.
Of course, she hadn’t actually become prettier; she still looked the same.
But Su Luo had felt something strange about her—a faint, elusive mist, perhaps?
It was gone in an instant, and Yun was back to her usual self.
Su Luo didn’t think it was an illusion. He suddenly recalled that Yun was a spy from the Seven Stars Sword Sect.
That might explain it.
Su Luo guessed that what he had sensed was some kind of concealment technique bestowed upon Yun by a powerful figure from the Seven Stars Sword Sect.
For a brief moment, he had seen through it.
He had never noticed any concealment techniques on Yun before, but now that he had broken through to Dongxu, he could sense a slight anomaly.
If it weren’t for his experience spanning dozens of lifetimes, Su Luo might have dismissed it as an illusion.
This concealment technique was no ordinary feat.
Although he had always known Yun wasn’t simple, this seemed to exceed his expectations.
So, Yun also had a powerful backer. He had thought she was just an ordinary spy.
“Yun, I think I’ve discovered one of your secrets.”
“What secret?”
“If it’s a secret, of course I can’t tell you.” Su Luo decided to play the enigmatic card.
“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”
“Just giving you a heads-up, so you don’t think I’m completely in the dark someday.”
One day, Yun would return to the Seven Stars Sword Sect, and Su Luo didn’t want her to think she had fooled him all this time.
“Well, in that case, I know a secret of yours too—no, not just one, but many, many secrets.” Yun spread her arms wide to emphasize just how many secrets Su Luo had.
“Hahaha, alright, alright. I’m sure you won’t tell me, so I won’t ask.”
Su Luo figured Yun was just trying to turn the tables on him.
But he wasn’t going to fall for it. He wouldn’t ask.
Besides, what could she possibly know about him?
Ridiculous. Sure, he might seem lazy at times, but he never let his guard down when it mattered.
Waving at Yun, Su Luo turned and left.
“Where are you off to, Demon Lord’s Chosen? Do you need me for anything?” Yun asked curiously.
“No, this is something you can’t help me with.”
“Alright.”
After reading the diary, Yun knew Su Luo was going to see the Demon Lord.
Thinking about the Demon Lord’s current situation, Yun felt a twinge of pity—just a twinge.
The Demon Lord probably thought Su Luo was doing this for her sake, but in reality, he was just following the script.
In essence, Su Luo was no different from the Left and Right Protectors or the Four Heavenly Demons—he was deceiving her. As Su Luo had written in his diary, she always seemed to meet the wrong people.
But no matter what, Nangong Xiyun wouldn’t feel too much sympathy for the Demon Lord. They were on opposite sides.
The real question was, what secret had Su Luo discovered about her?
Yun thought about it for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything, so she let it go.
Nangong Xiyun was confident in her concealment techniques.
In her eyes, Su Luo’s cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage. Although he had some special tricks, his cultivation was undeniably at the Golden Core level.
At the Golden Core stage, there was no way he could see through her concealment techniques. Even someone at the Dongxu stage would find it extremely difficult.
So how could Su Luo have seen through it? He must have discovered some other, less important secret.
......
Su Luo made his way to the Heavenly Demon Palace with ease.
Familiar with the place and having just broken through to a higher cultivation level, sneaking in was a piece of cake.
Soon, he arrived at Jiang Ningshu’s room.
“Who’s there?”
Jiang Ningshu was as sharp as ever. Perhaps this was a side effect of losing her strength—she was constantly on edge.
Despite being engrossed in the method Su Luo had given her to recover her strength, she still managed to sense his presence. That was no small feat.
“It’s me.”
Su Luo stepped out of the shadows.
Seeing it was Su Luo, Jiang Ningshu relaxed a little.
“What brings you here?”
Jiang Ningshu had been tirelessly following Su Luo’s method to regain her strength and hadn’t noticed the diary update yet.
“You don’t seem very welcoming.”
“You know I’ve been busy trying to recover my strength.”
“So, how’s the progress?” Su Luo asked, already knowing the answer.
“It’s working, and it’s going well.”
Indeed, although the progress was slow, it was still better than the complete stagnation she had experienced before.
Back then, Jiang Ningshu had tried everything to recover her strength but saw no results. It had been a time of despair.
“You seem happy.”
“I am.”
“Do you want to be even happier?”
Jiang Ningshu: “?”
Su Luo didn’t tease her further and got straight to the point: “I’ll be leaving the Heavenly Demon Sect for a while, so before I go, I’m giving you the second half of the method.”
“Oh? What do you need me to do?” Jiang Ningshu knew nothing in this world came for free.
“Nothing. Since you’ve kept your end of the bargain, I think it’s time to give it to you.”
“I see. If there’s anything you need help with, just ask.” Jiang Ningshu didn’t refuse. She wouldn’t turn down such an offer, but she also didn’t want to owe too many favors.
“Not for now. Let’s begin.”
Jiang Ningshu nodded and listened intently as Su Luo explained.
But as he spoke, both Su Luo and Jiang Ningshu suddenly said in unison: “Someone’s coming!”