Chapter 32: Heart Demon Arises

Seriously?

You’re not even pretending anymore?

Not even trying to hide it?!

“I know you can hear me! From now on, stop controlling my phone, and stay out of my private life, or I’ll sue you!”

Chen Huai’an’s voice was stern, his anger palpable.

【The Pulse Opening Needle Technique is highly dangerous. Using it on a suitable target will greatly improve proficiency.】

【This session will grant 20% proficiency and reduce the chance of disability by 20%.】

【The technique’s powerful effects can help your Virtual Girlfriend train faster and stabilize a cultivator’s foundation.】

He calmed down and his gaze instinctively fell to his right leg.

Well… it’s not entirely impossible, right?

After all, his right leg was already messed up—what’s the harm in messing it up a little more? Besides, this was just a game prop! What’s the worst that could happen? It’s probably just exaggerating the risks.

From its perch on the couch, the black cat watched Chen Huai’an tapping away at his phone with suspicion.

It needed to stay close to absorb the Spiritual Qi radiating from Chen Huai’an’s spirit stones, but it didn’t dare get too close, wary of the ancestral dragon aura protecting him.

【What’s this brat messing with now?】

The black cat edged closer, its curiosity piqued.

【Wait a second. Could it be… all the treasures this human has come from that black box? If I steal it, his fortunes will become mine!】

Its eyes gleamed with a dangerous glint. The cat crouched lower, one eye fixed on Chen Huai’an’s phone and the other watching his movements.

Suddenly, Chen Huai’an picked up the silver needles. The black cat’s ears perked up, thinking it might finally be its turn to get some acupuncture.

But to its shock, Chen Huai’an drove the needle straight into his own right leg.

“MEOW?!”

A piercing scream echoed through the hotel room, loud enough to rattle the windows. Thankfully, it was midday; otherwise, the neighbors would’ve come knocking.

“Holy sh*t, that hurts!” Chen Huai’an glanced at the spot where the needle had pierced his skin, now bruised purple.

Then he noticed something unusual.

The area he’d just jabbed had been completely numb before, but now he could feel pain—a clear sign the needle was working!

“Well, it’s just a bit of pain. I’m not scared of that!”

He gritted his teeth and continued, driving in another ten needles in quick succession.

The black cat, seeing him absorbed in his “self-mutilation,” prepared to pounce on the phone.

As the final needle went in, the black cat leapt forward with a loud “MEOW!”

But just as it reached Chen Huai’an’s thigh, his injured leg jerked upward in a sudden, reflexive motion. The force was like lightning.

BAM!

The black cat was sent flying in a perfect arc, landing neatly back in its shoebox, which closed tightly on impact.

“Wow, it really hurts, but I can feel it again!” Chen Huai’an exclaimed, rubbing his leg in delight.

The Pulse Opening Needle Technique was designed to clear meridians and circulate blood and Qi. His leg’s numbness had been caused by a combination of fractures and tumor pressure. Whether by coincidence or design, the needle treatment seemed to be working.

“Wait… did I just hit something with my knee?” He glanced around the room but saw nothing unusual. Shrugging it off, he returned to studying his leg.

Meanwhile, in the Cangyun Realm, Li Qingran’s cultivation speed was advancing at an astonishing rate.

Last night, she had broken through to the eighth level of the Qi Refinement stage. By this afternoon, she was nearing perfection in the stage, thanks to the unmatched quality of her Supreme-Grade Dantian.

Her cultivation base had skyrocketed due to its enormous capacity for Spiritual Qi, despite her lack of a Spiritual Root.

In the cultivation world, those with single-attribute Spiritual Roots were considered the most talented, with variant roots being even better. Meanwhile, five-element and rootless cultivators were seen as the worst.

For most rootless cultivators, their rapid cultivation speed was offset by low-quality Qi and difficulties breaking through bottlenecks. Li Qingran had resigned herself to these limitations… until now.

“The Supreme-Grade Dantian bestowed by my benefactor is incredible,” Li Qingran thought as she observed her dantian, brimming with purer and greater volumes of Spiritual Qi than she’d ever had.

Her excitement grew as she prepared to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

But just as she was gathering her strength, an excruciating pain erupted in her mind, and a suffocating darkness swallowed her whole.

In the darkness, an elder in a green robe appeared—Daoist Qingxuan, her former master.

“Li Qingran! You harmed your junior sister—how unrighteous!”

“You neglected my teachings and tarnished the sect—how unfilial!”

“You bullied outer disciples after being demoted—how unjust!”

“And you dared to think of betraying the sect for another master—how disloyal!”

His booming voice echoed through her mind, shattering her focus and scattering her Qi.

The shadow of her senior brother, Lu Changtian, loomed beside Qingxuan. He sneered coldly.

“Li Qingran, someone as treacherous as you dares to dream of advancing? Ridiculous!”

Other figures followed, each one hurling accusations and insults.

“No… I didn’t…” Li Qingran clutched her head, curling up in the freezing darkness. She wanted to refute them, but a thousand shadowy hands silenced her, leaving her isolated and unheard.

The specters of her sect’s members continued to accuse her, their voices drowning her protests.

Among them, her sixth junior sister, Mu Baishuang, stood beside Lu Changtian, shielded by the crowd’s approval.

She smiled softly, her lips moving just enough for Li Qingran to hear her whispered words:

“Senior Sister Li Qingran… just disappear.”

“Someone like you doesn’t deserve to live.”

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