Chapter 257: The Three-No-Man

Lu Ling smiled and said, “I’ve only been here a short while. I saw you lost in thought and wondered when you’d notice me—then I heard you muttering ‘Li Yu’ in your sleep.”

“Ah!” Lu Fang exclaimed. Seeing Lu Ling’s mischievous grin, he immediately realized she was teasing him and gave her a fond scowl. “Stop making things up.”

Lu Ling pouted cutely. “Brother, I don’t mind. Actually, I hope you go find Sister Li Yu…”

Lu Fang cut her off. “Ah, thank you for understanding, but don’t say things like that again. Let everything take its natural course.”

He disliked this lingering attachment to Li Yu, so he resolved to forcibly suppress the stirring emotion.

Even if he found Li Yu, what then?

He couldn’t make decisions for her.

In any case, it all depended on her own wishes. If it was forced, both of them might regret it later—and it wouldn’t last.

If that’s the case, better to suffer a short pain than a long one.

Seeing Lu Fang didn’t want to discuss this, Lu Ling sighed inwardly but put on a bright smile. “By the way, the first two parts of ‘Elegant Tales: Journey to the West’ have been serialized in the Great Zhou’s nineteen provinces’ official gazettes.”

“I hear it’s won many admirers. Since this Elegant Tale came out, many Confucian scholars are analyzing it word by word.”

“Numerous essays on ‘Elegant Tales: Journey to the West’ have already been written—some continue the story, others analyze its content.”

“I read your Elegant Tale, Brother. It’s excellent. Xiao Tao and I were completely absorbed. That’s why I came specifically to see if you had any unpublished drafts.”

“None.” Lu Fang answered honestly. “The Dao’s restrictions on me are growing stronger. I tell others that writing Elegant Tales requires slow, careful planning—but that’s not true. The full content is already in my mind.”

“But to write it all out will still take a great deal of time.”

“Unlike my previous Elegant Tales, this one—every single character I write is excruciatingly difficult, draining immense mental energy.”

“Lately, I’ve noticed something: the further I write, the harder it becomes. Clearly, the Dao’s restrictions on me are intensifying.”

“So that’s why the Dao is restricting you so severely,” Lu Ling murmured. Suddenly, she remembered something and hurried on, “This isn’t trivial.”

“I heard before that your Dao restrictions are extreme, so recently I asked someone specifically about this.”

“The Dao’s restrictions don’t just slow your cultivation—they can also expose you to all kinds of dangers. I heard they can even cause sudden death.”

“Didn’t you say yesterday that a small upper realm was discovered in the Scorched Lands? Why not go there to claim some unclaimed fortune? It might ease your situation.”

Lu Fang shook his head. “I’ve been to the small upper realm. Even before its upgrade, the demonic beasts’ realms and power exceeded what I could handle. Now that it’s upgraded further, I doubt I could manage it alone.”

“Even if my strength were sufficient, it still wouldn’t be ideal.”

“Killing one beast of my own realm yields only a tiny amount of unclaimed fortune—nowhere near enough to counter the Dao’s restrictions on me.”

He had a feeling that this time, the Dao’s restriction targeted his writing of Elegant Tales above all else, with cultivation speed being secondary.

This was indeed a very dangerous matter.

Even if Lu Ling hadn’t mentioned it, he’d planned to bring it up himself—to use the method of the Dao of Destiny Man to deceive the Dao.

Of course, unclaimed fortune was also vital. So before embarking on his trials, he had indeed intended to visit the small upper realm in the Scorched Lands.

But that place might be dangerous—at least in Lu Ling’s eyes—so Lu Fang decided not to go there. Instead, he planned to suppress part of his memory and power, then venture into the mortal world for trials.

After explaining this plan, Lu Fang looked at Lu Ling’s worried face. “Don’t worry. This secret technique is safe. If I ever face mortal danger, the seal will break automatically.”

“Even if nothing happens, the seal will fully dissolve within about three months.”

Lu Ling fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “There’s no other choice.”

She feared for his safety—but leaving the Dao’s restrictions unchecked terrified her more.

She didn’t know when it had happened, but she realized Lu Fang had become her entire world. She couldn’t imagine a life without him.

Even though her heart ached to stay with him longer.

In the face of this, she could only yield.

“I’ll wait for you at home. If you don’t send me a message within three months, I’ll come find you,” Lu Ling said firmly.

Lu Fang affectionately ruffled her hair and laughed. “Alright, alright. At most three months—I won’t contact you for no longer than that. As soon as I have time, I’ll send you messages every day. Are you satisfied now?”

…

Half a month later.

Lu Fang, having emerged from the small upper realm in the Scorched Lands, set his course toward the region’s exit.

After deciding to act swiftly against the Dao’s restrictions, he returned to the Wen Guan Marquis’s mansion in Shangjing, spent a few days playing with Lu Ling, then immediately traveled from the Wenyuan Academy to the Scorched Lands.

As planned, if he could obtain abundant unclaimed fortune, he wouldn’t miss the chance.

So he went straight to the small upper realm. It had indeed upgraded—but the demonic beasts there were few, and each one was stronger than the last.

If Lu Fang teamed up with soldiers from the Luo Sha Kingdom or Great Zhou, hunting these powerful beasts would waste too much time—and any unclaimed fortune gained would have to be surrendered.

Thus, he could only venture alone.

It was even more time-consuming and difficult than he’d imagined. The upgraded small upper realm was vast beyond measure; he had no idea where the beasts might be.

Merely exploring and traveling took up enormous time.

And even when he encountered beasts, killing them alone was difficult. His strength was indeed formidable—certainly among the top of the fourth-rank realm—but the beasts of the upgraded realm were absurdly powerful.

Far beyond what any normal fourth-rank cultivator could face.

Altogether, the rate of gaining unclaimed fortune was far too slow. After several days and seeing the situation was unfavorable, Lu Fang immediately withdrew, planning to seal part of his memory and power, then enter the mortal world for trials.

The exit of the Scorched Lands lay within a remote mountain range in the northern border of Great Zhou—a place that fell into the three-no-man’s-land region.