Chapter 512: Fellow Travelers (First Update)

White hair, a hair color different from ordinary people.

But Ren Yidao's white hair was not the result of turning white overnight from excessive grief, nor was it a sign that his time was running out, much less some side effect of gaining style points after turning evil.

The reason is very simple...

Ren Yidao is a white fox; he was born with white hair.

It's just like telling the Buddha that someone was born with a smiling lip shape; it's purely natural, and not a bit of technology was used.

The only problem is that in Li Qiushui's impression, his hair color suddenly changed from black to white today, which makes it hard for her not to overthink it.

"Did you overdraw your life for my sake?" Li Qiushui gently twisted his hair, pursing her lips, her eyes filled with sadness.

She thought of one possibility.

The passing of life force.

When Ren Yidao acted as a human transformer, Li Qiushui saw with her own eyes the shattering of his physical body and understood that he had suffered immense pain.

During the time she was gaining enlightenment, Ren Yidao suffered alone at the bottom of the valley, enduring the ravages of terrifying Sword Intent, repairing himself time and time again.

Li Qiushui shook her head and sighed softly: "I will help you recover."

Or rather, is now the right time to tell her the truth?

I'm afraid... it's not the time yet.

Her reaction actually made Ren Yidao feel uncharacteristically embarrassed.

And what is needed to repair the physical body is not just Dharma Power, but a massive amount of life force!

Then where does this life force come from?

This life force will not appear out of thin air, and it will not come without any cost.

"Don't you want to ask for the reason?"

This woman, who had always been as sharp as a sword, appeared exceptionally fragile at this moment.

The matter had already occurred, and Li Qiushui did not believe that a word or two of apology would be enough to compensate for his loss.

Afterwards, he was even worried that she would find out, so he deliberately stayed in the valley alone to adjust, only coming up after everything was over.

Ren Yidao laughed easily, then activated his Heavenly Talent, causing the hair color on his head to change rapidly, from white to black, from black to white, switching back and forth several times.

Li Qiushui was initially a bit strange, thinking that Ren Yidao was deliberately performing to hide the truth so she wouldn't be sad, but her eyes changed quickly.

They can be unaware of the truth, but they shouldn't be deceived.

Instead of crying, it would be better to truly help him find some heavenly treasures to restore his life force and repair these losses.

The two were so close, yet she hadn't detected any fluctuations of Dharma Power on Ren Yidao.

Although her heart ached, if Ren Yidao didn't take the initiative to speak, she didn't intend to ask any further.

Then, the only explanation was that Ren Yidao was overdrawing himself, struggling at the cost of his lifespan, and holding on until she woke up.

When you are still hesitating whether to hide something from the other person, but the other person is wholeheartedly considering things for you, it really makes one feel ashamed.

Should he just let her continue to misunderstand?

"Hehe, this feeling is actually quite nice."

Ren Yidao thought for a moment, then quickly abandoned that idea.

It's not very scientific, but it is very cultivation-like.

Ren Yidao felt Li Qiushui's tender, pained caress, turned his head to press his cheek against her, and rubbed it, feeling a bit hesitant in his heart.

Huhu, I am clearly not a scumbag, so why do I feel a bit guilty?

However...

Li Qiushui:???

There is giving, and there is receiving; there is receiving, and there is giving.

But even if he didn't tell Li Qiushui the truth, how could he explain it to her implicitly?

Because saying more with his mouth was of no use.

What he did was just like a bathhouse attendant standing by the pool, naked, whipping himself with a white towel, making it snap, and his life force would be restored.

If it were not necessary, he would try his best not to deceive those around him.

Ren Yidao was silent for a while, then suddenly noticed Li Qiushui's gaze.

The life force Ren Yidao obtained really did come like a tidal wave...

There was no heroic sacrifice.

"..."

What are you doing?

I'm still feeling heartbroken for you!

"Hmm?"

Ren Yidao smiled and shook his head, then opened his arms, hugged Li Qiushui, who was still feeling heartbroken, and with a lift of his hands, hoisted her high into the air.

"Why must you be so foolish..." Li Qiushui raised her hand and gently stroked Ren Yidao's cheek, wanting to perceive the details he was hiding on his body herself.

The Ninth Princess was lifted up, looking completely bewildered, blinking incessantly at the man below.

"Qiushui, you're overthinking it. Actually, I have always been white; the black was actually a disguise."

Li Qiushui had thought a great deal, imagining Ren Yidao's heroic posture as he struggled to hold on, but the truth... really wasn't as she had imagined.

"..."

"This isn't a Daoist Art, but rather..." Li Qiushui raised her hand to stroke the top of Ren Yidao's head, feeling the supple Dharma Power slip from her fingertips, and whispered, "a Heavenly Talent?"

"Right, a Heavenly Talent." Ren Yidao set her down and nodded with a smile, "I just forgot to disguise it earlier; it wasn't that I paid any price."

"So that's how it is, that's great." Li Qiushui finally let out a sigh of relief after hearing this, but soon frowned slightly, "Does this have anything to do with the secret on your body?"

"Yes."

Li Qiushui saw the clue in Ren Yidao's calm expression and asked with tacit understanding: "Is it that you cannot tell me?"

"Not right now."

After Ren Yidao finished speaking, he saw that Li Qiushui was somewhat disappointed, so he grabbed her hand and whispered: "My strength is not enough yet; even if you knew this secret, it would only harm you."

If not for the appearance of the Butian Alliance, Ren Yidao might not have been so cautious, but now the sudden emergence of the Butian Alliance has thrown the world into a mess, and even greater turmoil can be foreseen in the future.

Spirit Transformation strength is indeed not weak, and in most situations, one can protect oneself, but if one encounters a Heaven Realm cultivator, one would have no power to fight back.

Ren Yidao is very clear about one fact: not everyone is as special as he is.

This is not arrogance, but an extremely clear understanding of others and himself.

And even he, when at the Spirit Transformation stage, would not take the initiative to provoke Heaven Realm cultivators other than Jing Yueqin...

Now, knowing his secret brings Li Qiushui a hundred harms and no benefits; it is better to just keep things as they are.

"But one day, when everything is appropriate, I will tell you the truth. I promise you."

Li Qiushui looked deeply at Ren Yidao, felt his sincerity and concerns, and without throwing a tantrum, she nodded gently.

"Mm, at that time, you must explain it to me properly... hm?"

Then, just as she was about to say something, she suddenly tilted her head and turned her ears toward the direction of Wan Jian Xia.

Ren Yidao blinked, also hearing some clanging sword sounds, but unfortunately, he did not understand this foreign language; he could not understand anything at all, only feeling that they sounded quite pleasant.

After listening intently for a while, Li Qiushui suddenly turned her head back with a strange expression and looked Ren Yidao up and down carefully.

Ren Yidao was made to feel a bit strange by her gaze, tilted his head in confusion, and asked: "What's wrong?"

"Uh, no!" Li Qiushui also realized her actions were too obvious, turned her head away with a blushing face, and whispered: "Nothing, pfft! Cough, cough..."

???

What do you mean?

It's fine to look at me, but what's with laughing out loud?

"Wait, what exactly did they say?"

"Cough, cough! Cough!"

"That..." Li Qiushui tightened her face and spoke slowly: "They said you weren't wearing clothes just now, and were running around the bottom of the valley with your bare butt..."

Ren Yidao:???

Damn it!

There's a peeping tom!

You bunch of swords, how are you still peeping at me streaking!?

"My innocence!" Ren Yidao clutched his chest and let out a shrill cry of grief.

"Hahahaha, you, you stop talking! Hahahaha!" Li Qiushui was stimulated by this sentence, completely unable to keep a straight face, and squatted down holding her stomach, laughing loudly.

"They also said you, hahaha..."

A flash of light appeared before the entrance of the Secret Realm, and Ren Yidao stepped out from within.

As he walked out, he silently whispered in his heart: "This woman, she has really gone too far, actually laughing so happily; this is truly too much."

He had spent quite a while in the Wan Jian Xia Secret Realm berating that group of tens of thousands of useless swords that had been peeping at him.

Ren Yidao only focused on outputting; anyway, he couldn't understand the words of the useless swords and wouldn't be hurt, but the useless swords could understand him!

He outputted unilaterally for half a day, almost angering the useless swords into another riot, and it was only by relying on Li Qiushui coming forward that they were suppressed again.

After Ren Yidao's transmission and help, and after absorbing the Sword Intent at the bottom of the valley, Li Qiushui's strength was completely stabilized at the Spirit Transformation Late-stage, and her control over these useless swords reached a higher level.

Li Qiushui was now not far from the Transformation Spirit Peak, and could almost touch the threshold of Void Refinement; she could not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so she chose to remain in the Wan Jian Xia Secret Realm to gain insights.

Her breakthrough would take as short as half a year or as long as several years, and Ren Yidao could not wait here forever, so he left in advance.

The two's parting this time was quite plain; there were no sad tears, no crying in each other's arms, and they didn't even make any grand vows, just parting plainly after a kiss.

They are Dao companions, and even more so, fellow travelers on the path of cultivation; they have enough long time to spend the rest of their lives.

They are not heartless people who have cut off all emotions and desires, but they are also not fools who would give up cultivation for a moment of intimacy.

Still the same saying: if the love between two people is long-lasting, why does it need to be day and night together.

And when Ren Yidao walked out of the Secret Realm and handed the token to the gatekeeper of the Secret Realm, before he could even go to find Senior Sister and the others, he was intercepted by two people waiting outside.

This was a very special combination; it was actually Ying Tengjiao and Mo Yushuang.

"Yo? This combination of yours is quite rare." Ren Yidao looked up and down at the two people standing far apart in front of him and teased: "What wind blew you two here?"

Ying Tengjiao's mouth twitched, and he turned his head wanting to explain something, but before he could speak, he saw Mo Yushuang frown upon hearing this and move two steps to the other side, silently stating her position; in the end, he could only close his mouth awkwardly.

Ren Yidao naturally knew that these two just happened to meet here, and he was only teasing, so he took the initiative to walk outward: "This is not a place to talk; let's go out."

Mo Yushuang followed with a frown, and Ying Tengjiao took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and followed as well.

One person in front, two behind, with a distance between them, the three stood in a triangle.

Ren Yidao walked leisurely with his hands behind his back, while the two followed like dependents.

He did not speak, and those two did not take the initiative to speak either, walking like this for quite a while.

After a long time, Ren Yidao felt the time was about right, and finally spoke first without looking back: "Fellow Daoist Mo, you are waiting for me here, is it for that matter?"

"That's right." Mo Yushuang nodded; she was naturally here for the exchange the two had before the competition, and for his promise.

"Why didn't you come before? I waited for a full half-month."

"I originally thought you would leave with the people of the sect from the Sword Casting Hut; if I were here... I feared complications."

Mo Yushuang's low words made Ren Yidao suddenly realize.

Also, Ren Yidao himself had a good relationship with the Sword Casting Hut, but for Mo Yushuang, the Sword Casting Hut had a completely different feeling.

Being forced to contribute to the Sword Casting Hut because of the matter of Gongsun Changsheng, it would be good enough not to be treated as an enemy.

"Oh, so that's how it is, I understand."

Ren Yidao understood her concerns and nodded in realization, "Then wait a moment; we will be leaving the Sword Casting Hut tomorrow, so how about we travel together then?"