Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Dongfang Muqing Is No Longer a Novice

“Can you stay here with me forever?” asked Dongfang Muqing, who had been crying all night, resting her head on Luo Sheng’s lap.

Her azure hair flowed gracefully around her, smooth and soft. Her small, exquisite bun was adorned with a crimson tassel, accentuating the beautiful cascade of blue-green hair.

Her skin, white as snow, was exposed, revealing her delicate earlobes. A few strands of hair fell onto her blushing cheeks, her figure slender and graceful.

Luo Sheng gently stroked her small bun, speaking with a tone of resignation, “I wish I could stay with you forever, but I must leave periodically, just like the Cowherd and Weaver Girl who can only meet once in a while.”

Dongfang Muqing’s ears quivered slightly, showing her contentment.

Then she asked curiously, “Cowherd and Weaver Girl?”

“It’s an ancient tale.”

“I want to hear it!”

As Luo Sheng gently caressed her hair, he began to narrate:

“Legend has it that long, long ago, a fairy secretly came down to earth to play. Soon, she fell in love with a mortal, and they quickly married, living a life of farming and weaving. Unfortunately, fate was not on their side, and the Jade Emperor who ruled the heavens discovered them.

So he confined the fairy, preventing them from meeting. But their love moved the magpies, so every year on the 7th day of the 7th month, the magpies would form a bridge, allowing them to meet once a year across the divide between immortal and mortal realms.”

Dongfang Muqing furrowed her delicate brows and sat up immediately.

“That’s not right! The Jade Emperor is too cruel. How could he separate lovers like that?”

She clenched her small pink fists angrily.

Luo Sheng shrugged, “Such are the rules of heaven. Immortals and mortals are not allowed to fall in love. He’s merely enforcing the rules.”

“Then I’ll rebel against heaven’s rules and overthrow the Jade Emperor,” she declared righteously in her sweet voice.

“I look forward to you breaking the rules of heaven, but you can’t stop it now. So when the time comes, I must leave,” Luo Sheng said, leaning over with a rather helpless tone.

“I’ll train hard. One day, I’ll make sure we can be together until the end of the world!” Dongfang Muqing showed her little canine teeth, almost patting her flat chest as she spoke.

“However…” she hesitated, “You must swear by the Heavenly Dao that you won’t fool around outside!”

So Luo Sheng, with a serious face,

Skillfully,

Solemnly,

Gravely and majestically,

Swore by the Heavenly Dao, touching his barely existent conscience: “I swear by the Heavenly Dao that in this world, you will be my only love, for life, until the seas dry up and stones crumble, I will never break my word!”

As for when Luo Sheng returned to his original world,

That would be beyond the Heavenly Dao’s jurisdiction.

He’d eat what he wanted, drink what he pleased.

Seeing his serious demeanor, Dongfang Muqing was actually moved. Luo Sheng swore without hesitation, something many cultivator couples couldn’t do.

In the past, many cultivators who pursued her hesitated for a long time before making a Heavenly Dao oath.

How wicked!

Dongfang Muqing also swore by the Heavenly Dao.

Then two beams of light descended, and the oath was complete.

Luo Sheng estimated that upon leaving the Card World, he would gain another one-time use 【Heaven’s Oath】.

“You must wait for me. Wait until I become stronger and find an immortality elixir for you!” Dongfang Muqing said with great determination, her bright eyes full of resolve.

In the following days, she threw herself into cultivation, frantically practicing the Azure Phoenix Zither Demon Giant God Technique.

However, she was stopped at the first hurdle.

After all, she wasn’t considered a genius in the Azure Phoenix clan. Although her qin skills were exceptional, she wasn’t good at cultivation, making her an oddity among the Azure Phoenix clan.

In the end, Luo Sheng had to step in. He spent about 10 days learning the Azure Phoenix inscriptions, then began to analyze the Zither Demon God Technique, taking about a month to decipher the first level.

But that was enough for her to cultivate for a while.

Luo Sheng’s spiritual power could analyze all the techniques in the Card Master world.

He also analyzed that the foundation of power in this world was “spirit energy”. By condensing spirit energy and gathering it in the dantian, then cultivating various mental techniques and incantations, one could become an immortal cultivator.

The system of this world was different from Bai Moxue’s world. Bai Moxue’s world was based on “years of cultivation”, similar to determining strength by tree rings, belonging to a world of gods, ghosts, and monsters.

But Luo Sheng wasn’t a member of this world, so he couldn’t cultivate the immortal cultivation system of the Card World.

In daily life,

Dongfang Muqing’s current relationship with him

was above friendship, but not yet lovers.

They would hold hands and pat heads daily, but she was still very resistant to going further.

After all, the Azure Phoenix clan had long lifespans. Even the most ordinary Azure Phoenix could live for a thousand years, so courtship also required a long time for compatibility.

Dongfang Muqing had spent over 300 years to transform into human form and roam the world with her grandfather.

To her, she was still quite young.

What a pity.

Time flew by, and another month passed.

When it was time for Luo Sheng to leave, he said, “I’m going now. Take good care of yourself, and run quickly if you encounter danger. Don’t worry, I’ll find you when you need help the most.”

“Really? You better not lose me, or hmph, I’ll never play the zither for you again!”

Dongfang Muqing said coquettishly.

But in her heart, she was reluctant to part, watching as Luo Sheng disappeared into the horizon.

……

Luo Sheng, back in his room in the Card Master world,

Watched the evolution of the 【Dongfang Muqing】 card world.

After his departure, Dongfang Muqing strengthened her resolve, determined to be self-reliant and not depend on others for everything.

So she spent most of her time in secluded cultivation.

2 months later, she made some progress.

She could actually control a puppet to fight for her through zither music, as the simplest means of self-defense.

The konghou zither, tempered by Fairy’s Tears, produced a sound that was incredibly captivating. Just a light performance would make all living beings turn to listen to the beautiful and enchanting music.

Soon, melodious zither music could be heard daily in Yuquan Town.

Originally, only the town residents enjoyed it, but as its fame gradually spread, more and more people came from the surrounding areas to listen to the zither in the small town.

Even many literati exclaimed: “This tune should only exist in heaven, how rare to hear it in the mortal world?”

Subsequently, it became famous throughout the land.

The unexpected began here. The Nangong family tracked down Dongfang Muqing’s location through these scattered pieces of information.

So they sent people to capture her.

But Dongfang Muqing was no longer a novice.

She fought by controlling puppets with her zither music. This battle lasted a day and a night, and in the end, Dongfang Muqing achieved a bitter victory.

This was another proof of her increased strength.

However, the Nangong family didn’t give up. They would continue to send people endlessly, even dispatching elders with silver-level strength.

Dongfang Muqing looked at the mansion where she had spent a wonderful time with Luo Sheng, reluctant to leave. But enemies would come at any time and grow increasingly powerful, and she couldn’t fend them off yet.

A tear of sorrow rolled down Dongfang Muqing’s cheek. One day, she would stand at the pinnacle of the world and no longer have to live a life of wandering.

She left.

She left Yuquan Town.

She headed deep into the forest to continue her secluded cultivation, leaving clues along the way, hoping Luo Sheng would follow them and not forget her.

“This girl, she can barely take care of herself,”

Luo Sheng said with a helpless smile as he listened to the continuous evolution of the card world, but felt very sad.

If he were strong enough, perhaps she wouldn’t have to suffer so many hardships.

Now he could only deal with the Black Tiger Gang, but it was difficult to shake the Nangong family, because he had sensed earlier through his spiritual power that there were many hidden silver-level experts in the Nangong family.

“I will also become stronger. Wait for me, wait until I eliminate all those who stand in our way!” Luo Sheng gritted his teeth, making a firm resolution.

Finally, Dongfang Muqing’s scene froze on an image of her slowly playing music by a lake in the center of a forest.