Chapter 34: Simulating Immortal Life

In Lan Ling'e's thatched hut, Li Changshou's only officially recognized junior sister sat cross-legged on a cushion behind the low table, holding a steaming teacup and quietly contemplating.

Glancing to the left, she saw the icy beauty Youqin Xuanya, who was maintaining a kneeling posture with her eyes closed in meditation, patiently waiting for her senior brother to appear.

Glancing to the right, Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu was lying on the table, snoring softly, looking severely sleep-deprived.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

How could they all be here to find her senior brother?

Had her senior brother really been "targeted" by those two female cultivators after just one trip to Beijulu Continent to gather herbs?

If it was the training assembly next year and he went out again, wouldn't her place be completely packed?

Lan Ling'e sighed softly in her heart, completely unable to figure out what made her senior brother so appealing. He was so cautious, timid, and afraid of death—how could any other women be interested besides herself?

Moreover, the one on the left was the most dazzling star among their generation of disciples.

But, thinking seriously...

"Youqin Senior Sister is truly beautiful, even when sitting she's so charming. If I were senior brother, I definitely couldn't resist her allure.

Uh, but that's not right—senior brother might simply like..."

Lan Ling'e turned her head again to look at the right side, where Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu was lying sideways on the table, and...

Then, Ling'e looked up at the bronze mirror behind the door and couldn't help but cover her forehead with one hand.

She still had opportunities to develop in the future, right?

Probably.

Setting aside senior brother's issues, as the owner of this thatched hut, Lan Ling'e felt she couldn't let the atmosphere remain so awkward...

"Youqin Senior Sister," Lan Ling'e said with a smile, asking softly, "How do you have time to come to our Xiaoqiong Peak?"

Youqin Xuanya opened her eyes and answered softly:

"After returning to the mountain last time, I was punished to reflect in seclusion at Potian Peak and didn't get the chance to thank Changshou Senior Brother.

Today, after waking from meditation, I learned that the punishment period had ended, so with Master's permission, I came to Xiaoqiong Peak to formally thank Changshou Senior Brother."

Lan Ling'e tilted her head slightly. "Did my senior brother do something... worthy of your thanks, Senior Sister?"

"He saved my life," Youqin Xuanya said, gently pursing her lips and nodding slightly, her bright eyes like gems flashing with a hint of light, "and it was twice."

Lan Ling'e blinked...

This expression from Youqin Xuanya was the same one she often had when thinking about senior brother in front of the bronze mirror!

With one Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu already putting pressure on her, now another Youqin Xuanya had suddenly appeared!

Lan Ling'e couldn't help but cover her forehead with one hand, her tender heart alternating between indignation and sorrow, leaving her feeling quite unsettled.

Indeed, she had to use any means necessary to secure senior brother quickly and avoid prolonged uncertainty...

"Hmm? Xiao Ya, why are you here too?"

Jiu Jiu asked groggily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

Youqin Xuanya respectfully repeated what she had said earlier, stood to greet Jiu Jiu, and after receiving permission, sat down again.

Then, Jiu Jiu looked at Lan Ling'e, covered her mouth with a yawn, and asked, "Has the great array been opened yet?"

Lan Ling'e replied hurriedly, "Not yet, Martial Uncle. It seems senior brother is refining pills or cultivating—I shouted at him with a transmission talisman and got no response."

"Okay, it's the scheduled pill refining time... maybe he had some enlightenment."

Jiu Jiu glanced at Lan Ling'e, then at Youqin Xuanya, as if suddenly remembering something, and said with a smile:

"Just right, Xiao Ya is here too, Ling'e—let's play that!"

Lan Ling'e asked softly, "Which one are you talking about, Martial Uncle?"

Jiu Jiu's eyes brightened. "The one we played with your senior brother last month!

Isn't that a reserved activity of your Xiaoqiong Peak?"

"This one, of course we can, Martial Uncle—just wait a moment." Lan Ling'e lightly tapped her fingers and pushed the low table in front of her to the door, creating a large empty space among the three.

She took a clean beast skin from her storage instrument and laid it in front of them, on which was drawn a long "cloud road," divided into small grids with many mountains and lakes painted along the way.

Lan Ling'e asked, "Youqin Senior Sister, do you want to play together?"

Youqin Xuanya hesitated slightly, looking at the "map" with some confusion.

Jiu Jiu added, "This was made by Xiao Changshou—it's quite interesting."

Upon hearing this, Youqin Xuanya immediately nodded. "If it's a work of Changshou Senior Brother, please let me join in."

"Senior Sister, please look—the rules are written here."

Following Lan Ling'e's finger, Youqin Xuanya saw the familiar handwriting and read it softly:

"Dengxian Road, also known as 'Simulated Immortal Life' or 'Immortal Realm Monopoly'...

Participants will place their own puppets at the starting point of the immortal road, use dice to roll numbers and move the puppets forward, with each landing point triggering various events on the Dengxian Road.

At the start, each person gets three hundred spirit stones, represented by numbers. The first to reach the eternal life endpoint wins, or when participants want to end the game, the one with the most spirit stones wins.

Note: Do not use any immortal sense or spiritual sense to probe the treasure chests, and do not use any magic power to control the dice."

Youqin Xuanya finished reading, and Lan Ling'e had already placed several colorful wooden boxes nearby, containing many square cards with various labels.

Then, Lan Ling'e took out three small colored puppets and placed them at the starting point of the cloud road, along with a six-sided die.

Now everything was set.

Youqin Xuanya had never seen anything like this and was a bit puzzled.

Jiu Jiu laughed. "We'll play once and you'll get it, Xiao Ya! Come on, start—I'll go first!"

Lan Ling'e said hurriedly, "We have to decide the order with rock-paper-scissors."

"Okay, okay—you two little ones don't know how to respect your elders. Rock-paper-scissors it is!"

Youqin Xuanya looked at the lively Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu and the serious Lan Ling'e beside her. Although a bit unadapted, she still cooperated in playing rock-paper-scissors to decide the order...

And she even won.

Youqin Xuanya went first, rolling a five, and moved her small puppet five steps forward on the cloud road, seeing the label under the puppet's feet.

"You performed well in cleaning the mountain gate steps and received a reward of twenty spirit stones from the sect elders."

"Senior Sister, add twenty to your spirit stone count!"

"Oh, good." Youqin Xuanya did as told and basically understood the rules.

Beside her, Jiu Jiu grabbed the die, blew on her palm, and threw it carefully.

Seeing a three facing up, Jiu Jiu grinned and moved her puppet three steps, landing on a square with a purple pentagram.

"Quick, bring the purple treasure box—draw a card!"

Lan Ling'e handed over the purple box, and Jiu Jiu reached in, fumbling around before pulling out a wooden card.

"Good thing, good thing!

Ling'e, it's your turn—roll quickly! Get me a big golden pill back!"

Youqin Xuanya carefully looked at the wooden card and saw four big characters on the front: Wo Ye Yi Yang, and on the back: two sentences of explanation:

"After all participants' actions in this round are completed, it automatically triggers. The owner can forcibly copy any other participant's earnings for this round."

"My turn! Hehe!"

Lan Ling'e rolled a two, landing on a blank square with no gains.

Jiu Jiu looked disdainful and held up the card toward Youqin Xuanya, shouting, "Wo Ye Yi Yang!

What, I finally drew this card, but it's only twenty spirit stones."

Youqin Xuanya couldn't help but chuckle lightly, then naturally picked up the die and rolled, this time triggering a random event and drawing a bamboo card from a blue wooden box.

"Fated Encounter: You found your lifelong dao companion, held a banquet, and can collect one hundred spirit stones as gifts from each other participant."

Jiu Jiu and Lan Ling'e immediately complained...

Youqin Xuanya, however, softly praised, "Can I take a look at these cards? Changshou Senior Brother truly has wonderful ideas."

The two beside her, full of interest, paused the game and showed Youqin Xuanya the bamboo cards, wooden cards, copper cards, and jade cards in the boxes.

There were twelve types each of the four kinds of cards, corresponding to "skills," "positive random events," "negative random events," and "treasures."

Like...

"I'm So Hard: You reflect on the hardships of your cultivation path, lamenting how hard-won your cultivation is, overcome with emotion; others comfort you by each giving you fifty spirit stones."

"Enlightenment: Advance one space."

"Obsessed with Miscellany: You become obsessed with poetry, songs, dancing, and rap, neglecting cultivation, losing the next two rounds of dice rolls."

"Great Bluff Card: You cast the spell 'Great Bluff Technique,' successfully bluffing the previous action's target, gaining two hundred spirit stones or any one treasure from that person."

And so on...

"Are all these made by Changshou Senior Brother?"

Youqin Xuanya asked, full of surprise, and the two beside her nodded repeatedly to confirm.

"Don't look anymore, Xiao Ya—let's continue!"

"Yes, Martial Uncle, I was a bit carried away. This object is truly exceptionally interesting."

"Tsk tsk, watch me! Haha, another draw! Come out, Wo Ye Yi Yang!"

"Jiu Martial Uncle, no cheating, okay."

"As if I would—do I need to cheat against you two juniors?"

Gradually, the thatched hut was filled with laughter, and the earlier awkwardness was gone.

In the evening,

Li Changshou, who had just broken through a minor realm by glancing at the first volume of the Wuji Jing, walked leisurely from the forest.

He had been in the secret room before and now had stabilized his aura, so no one could detect any flaws.

From afar, he heard the laughter from the thatched hut and spotted Youqin Xuanya's figure with his spiritual sense.

Poisonous... why did she come?

Thinking about it, Li Changshou silently turned around and walked back to the pill room, with the laughter chasing after him on the wind.

Jiu Jiu's laughter was bold: "Hahaha! Wo Ye Yi Yang! This Martial Uncle is rich now!"

Youqin Xuanya's laughter was restrained, and it was rare to hear her complain: "Alas, truly a bit unlucky—this disciple is obsessed with miscellany again."

Lan Ling'e, who had won that round, smiled triumphantly and said to the two, "I'm So Hard—time to collect spirit stones."

Li Changshou couldn't help but chuckle, activated the outer array, and thought that in a few days he would go to the East Sea.

Let me check my reserves again.

In recent years, with Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu's help, he had refined many pills that could poison true immortals, and later he needed to process these poison pills into poison powder or poison liquid for battles.

Although this time there might not be a use for them, it was always good to be prepared.