Page 16

First Update.

As the sun set in the west, Yino lay flat on the stairs halfway up the mountain, unable to move a single bone in his body.

He had overestimated his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation and underestimated the challenge of the 2,700-meter altitude.

Forget about climbing vertically with lightness skills...

That anti-gravity technique not only consumed a lot of energy but also made his stomach churn. After climbing just a few hundred meters, Yino had already thrown up.

He had now climbed halfway up.

He was truly at his limit. Forget about the senior sister's reward or his manly pride; even if the Jade Emperor himself came down tonight, He wouldn't be able to get up.

"At this point, I might as well sleep," he thought.

Yino had long lost the strength to speak, let alone open his backpack to take out bedding. He simply lay down on the steps and called it a day.

– Ah, youth is wonderful – he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the ground.

"Get on the sword."

Suddenly, Yuyan's voice appeared again. Yino awoke with his eyes wide open.

An immortal lady in white robes stood on her sword, floating right in front of Yino.

Her face showed no playfulness, having returned to its initial cold indifference.

Yino no longer had the energy to banter with Yuyan as he had during the day. He obediently struggled to his feet and walked towards the Frost Chant sword.

He stood behind Yuyan, but she didn't take off immediately.

"You don't know the Wind Riding technique yet. You'll fall if you stand behind me," Yuyan said flatly.

But after she spoke, the young man behind her remained motionless. Then, a pair of hands cautiously encircled her waist.

"...?"

Yuyan raised an eyebrow.

But after a moment, she sighed and grabbed Yino's arm, pulling him from behind to in front of her.

Yino, now pulled away, once again snapped out of his daze.

"I... I didn't mean to..." he explained, somewhat confused.

Yino had been so exhausted that he was in a daze. When Yuyan said he would fall, he instinctively hugged her waist, perhaps out of habit from riding motorcycles in his previous life.

Fortunately, Yuyan's emotions remained stable, and she wasn't as harsh and unfeeling as one might imagine.

She didn't say much, just used her hand to support Yino.

"Stand firm, don't fall off," she said.

At these words, Yino instantly became more alert.

As soon as she finished speaking, a terrifying force pushed against his back. The wind howled, and the scenery before his eyes changed in an instant.

Yino's adrenaline surged, and he instinctively closed his eyes to resist the cold wind. But after a while, he didn't feel any stinging sensation on his face.

"This is the Wind Riding technique. It can split the cold wind," Yuyan explained quietly from behind him.

She supported Yino and continued, "But my Wind Riding technique can't help you counteract inertia, so you might fall if you stand behind me."

"I see..." Yino nodded thoughtfully.

He really didn't know about these details. After all, in his previous life playing games, as long as one reached the Core Formation stage and learned the sword flying skill, they could fly without considering so much.

"Are you hungry?" Yuyan spoke again as they approached the light source at the top.

Yino nodded, his gaze focused on the courtyard at the top of Ranmo Peak, which seemed to be emitting wisps of black smoke.

"Senior Sister, it looks like your home is on fire?" he said, his brow furrowing in confusion as they got closer to the light source at the peak.

Yuyan didn't answer along the way. It wasn't until the Frost Chant sword stopped in front of the courtyard gate that she jumped off the sword and walked into the house, trying to appear composed.

"It can't really be on fire, can it..." Yino stood outside the courtyard, sensing the smell of smoked meat.

He followed in his senior sister's footsteps, pushed open the door, and saw a bonfire that had just been extinguished by ice, and a plate of blackened grilled fish placed on a stone stool.

"What's this?" Yino's face showed discomfort at the sight of the poorly grilled fish.

Meanwhile, the white-robed woman casually waved her sword, summoning a gust of wind that dispersed all the smoke in the courtyard.

She cleared her throat and still placed the plate of grilled fish on the stone table in front of Yino.

Although she didn't speak, her eyes clearly indicated for Yino to sit down.

Yino obediently sat down, looking at the charred grilled fish in front of him.

"This can't be the reward, can it?" he asked, trying to smile politely.

The white-robed woman put away her sword, her lofty expression finally showing signs of cracking.

She closed her eyes and explained in a small voice tinged with slight resentment, "If I hadn't worried about you freezing to death and gone down the mountain to save you, this fish wouldn't have been overcooked."

"I see. Senior Sister is so kind..." Yino's eyes cleared a bit, and he no longer felt he could criticize the plate of grilled fish.

Meeting her burning gaze, he picked up his chopsticks, peeled back a layer of charred skin from the grilled fish, and brought a piece of tender meat to his mouth.

-It tastes awful...- Yino inwardly complained, but still tried to control his facial expression.

After swallowing the meat, he put on a smile and said, "It's delicious!"

He nodded earnestly in praise.

Yuyan's disappointed beautiful eyes finally flashed with a glimmer of starlight.

But she wasn't foolish. Knowing he was just being polite, she went back to the house and brought out two more small dishes and a small bottle of wine in a celadon pot to go with the grilled fish.

"Can cultivators drink alcohol?" Yino asked, somewhat surprised.

He felt this warm scene wasn't quite normal. He had thought Yuyan would despise him for being a weakling who gave up halfway.

But setting aside the taste, Yuyan had actually prepared grilled fish for him, along with two side dishes and clear wine. This was clearly treatment Yino had never experienced in the game in his previous life.

"I don't drink. This is for you," she said.

"Just for tonight, you can indulge yourself one last time."

"Starting tomorrow, you'll no longer be a young master of Luo City. I thought you might miss some worldly pleasures, so I prepared some wine and meat for you — I just didn't control the heat well."

Yuyan speech was still cold and clear.

Perhaps seeing that Yino was truly exhausted, she was no longer as harsh and sarcastic as she had been during the day.

Yino looked at everything before him, feeling overwhelmed and unable to speak.

He was just a pampered young master; how did he deserve to drink and eat meat on Ranmo Peak?

"You eat first," Yuyan said, then turned and went back into the house.

Yino didn't know what she would bring out next.

But his hungry body urged him to eat first.

Although the grilled fish wasn't tasty, it was at least large. Only the skin was burnt; the flesh inside was still tender enough.

Because there were no seasonings or marinades, the fish couldn't be called delicious.

-Doesn't she even know how to clean out the innards?- Yino's face showed discomfort again as he tasted a mouthful of fishy flavor halfway through.

But he still forced himself to eat it. After all, from a physiological standpoint, his body urgently needed this fish to replenish protein and calories.

"Senior Sister, what are you...?" After some time had passed, Yuyan came out of the house again.

This time, she had changed into a new silk dress. Above the simple, pure white skirt, there was an ink-wash style painting of mountains and flying cranes.

She had put away the Frost Chant sword and picked up an unknown ice sword.

Her beautiful face was covered with a light white veil. Under the hazy moonlight, only a pair of light pink eyes were clear as jade.

Yino was already entranced, his eyes became dazed, sitting in place somewhat at a loss.

The ink-robed woman, light as a swallow, danced with the moon.

The fabric of the dress was ample yet light. Although it covered her entire body, it also accentuated her figure. With the moonlight shining through, the immortal's graceful form was faintly visible beneath the dress.

She was more beautiful than any woman Yino had seen in this life.

But just as the immortal's beauty reached its peak during the climax of the dance, the scene before Yino's eyes gradually blurred—

"Is this..."

"The last feast?" he thought.

His eyelids were too heavy to keep open, as if every organ in his body was shutting down.

*Drip, drip...*

Yino felt something warm and wet sliding down his lips.

"Yino—?" The ink-robed immortal in the middle of her dance noticed the young man's abnormal state.

But before she could react, the next second, the young man fell face-first onto the grilled fish in front of him with a thud.

"?-?"