Chapter 80: The Strange Behavior of Chu Huaizhou

What is happening? Is this really Cheng Qingshuang, the awe-inspiring and strong-willed heroine from the game “Black Abyss” that she was familiar with?

Why does she look so pitiful and coy right now?

If this had happened earlier, it would be understandable—her cultivation base was sealed, and she was under the influence of the Netherworld Sect’s evil, yin energy.

It was her first time being so weak, so it would be natural to feel insecure. But she had clearly recovered her cultivation now.

Yes, he had sensed it just moments ago: after Xu Liangcai’s arrogant display, Cheng Qingshuang had suffered extreme agitation.

This stimulation caused cracks to appear in the seal that would have otherwise taken her some time to break through.

Once the cracks appeared, it was easy to guide a sliver of spiritual power. It was like water seeping through a crumbling wall, becoming increasingly fierce until it breached the dam within seconds.

Cheng Qingshuang’s strength was fully restored!

Yet, for some reason, her behavior and actions remained as if she hadn’t recovered at all.

Perhaps this cold, yin energy was still too potent, and a Golden Core cultivator could not fully resist it.

“Thump-thump!”

Cheng Qingshuang caught the faint scent of Ye Feng’s presence. Her heartbeat was deafening—not because of Xu Liangcai’s insane actions, but because of the figure watching over her chest.

‘Why has it become like this?’

Her other thoughts were much like Chu Huaizhou’s.

Her perception of images in the outside world was somewhat fragile and easily stirred.

But even with her cultivation restored and her heart cultivation methods circulating to resist the evil invasion, why did she still blush uncontrollably when looking at Ye Feng’s concerned gaze?

She even felt a burgeoning desire in her mind to continue pretending that her cultivation hadn’t recovered, wanting Ye Feng to keep… doing what he was doing.

In reality, she was doing exactly that.

Realizing that her mindset was still “not right,” Cheng Qingshuang finished her sentence and hurriedly lowered her head, afraid her strange behavior would be noticed.

She wasn’t a blockhead. While no one would call her highly clever, she knew that this feeling in the bottom of her heart—this panic—was the prelude to becoming cultivation partners.

Cheng Qingshuang clutched her chest with one hand, forced to attribute these inexplicable, heart-fluttering sensations to the influence of the strange environment here.

‘Master said that love is indeed an obstacle on the path of cultivation and must be abandoned.’

Chu Huaizhou, however, saw her clearly recovered strength—she could have become dominant—yet she continued to feign a sealed cultivation, acting coy and in need of protection.

Combined with what she had just said, a bold hypothesis formed in his mind.

Wait, this isn’t right.

Is she going to follow the classic “beauty saves the hero” trope from the game? Is she about to say something like “I have no way to repay such a great kindness, so I can only offer myself…”?

He thought of his two disciples and the fox, all of whom held inappropriate feelings toward him.

For a moment, he felt a bit…

‘What am I afraid of? Is my charm really that powerful?’

He clearly only wanted to teach the Netherworld Sect a lesson and find a method to cure his amnesia and restore his cultivation.

How did he end up harvesting a fan-girl?

No, he had to refuse! He was the Sect Master of the Tianyuan Sword Sect; becoming overly involved with a core disciple of the strongest orthodox sect—no matter how you looked at it—would be bad!

Besides, the reason she was acting like this was likely because the yin energy here had amplified her emotions. It couldn’t be real.

Cheng Qingshuang was one of the original game heroines. If he created any unexpected intersections with her, it might cause a huge impact…

Wait, there didn’t seem to be a problem. He had already flapped his butterfly wings, changing the cultivation world beyond recognition.

If she hadn’t come to the Netherworld Sect at this time, she—who was destined to become the next Sect Master—might have died here.

No, no, how could he think like that? This was definitely not okay. To even have such thoughts, he felt too pathetic!

Chu Huaizhou nodded internally, deciding that no matter what she said later, he would refuse, refuse, and refuse.

Cheng Qingshuang shook her head, took a deep breath to disperse the distracting thoughts, and raised her head with a solemn expression.

Seeing this, his internal guess became more certain. He swallowed hard, preparing to decline.

“Brother Ye has helped me a great deal. If there is an opportunity to escape this place, when we meet at the Shenghua Secret Realm, Cheng Qingshuang will definitely team up with Brother Ye.”

“To help Brother Ye, in repayment—”

“Hah, sorry…”

‘…Hm?’

‘Wait? How is this different from what I imagined? What is Cheng Qingshuang saying?’

The script was wrong. Why wasn’t she confessing?

‘Wait, why am I disappointed? Isn’t this how it should be?’

Realizing the situation was different from his imagination, Chu Huaizhou quickly shook his head.

“I really cannot agree… to you doing that.”

If Chu Huaizhou remembered correctly, the treasures in the Shenghua Secret Realm—both in quantity and rarity—far exceeded the outside world. It was a paradise.

Every time the core disciples of the major sects entered for the first time, as long as they weren’t particularly incompetent, they would reap significant rewards.

He remembered when he took his disciples in, he had been at the late Golden Core stage.

He had fought various geniuses, broken through many strange arrays, even bullied others, and stolen spiritual herbs guarded by Spirit-Transformation beasts.

He had even exchanged supplies with the local inhabitants, obtaining a pile of heavenly treasures.

His cultivation had even broken through from the late Golden Core stage to the early Nascent Soul stage—and that was the result even with the plot going out of control.

Chu Huaizhou really hadn’t expected that Cheng Qingshuang, simply because he had helped her a few times, would be willing to abandon one of the greatest opportunities she might encounter in her life.

This was likely the greatest repayment she could offer at the moment. She had clearly made a firm decision, and this showed her character was just as it had been in the game—unaffected by his “butterfly effect.”

Really, what was he thinking about in his head?

Chu Huaizhou silently apologized to the earnest Cheng Qingshuang in his heart, his gaze intense as he said:

“The Shenghua Secret Realm only opens once every hundred years, and it is set so that only cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and below can enter. Unless something unexpected happens, you can only enter once.”

“Giving up such a precious opportunity for me is simply not worth it.”

Chu Huaizhou reached out, pulled Cheng Qingshuang up from the ground, and straightened her clothes for her.

Cheng Qingshuang: “But… but Brother Ye has helped me too much. If I don’t repay you, my heart…”

As they spoke, the distance between them grew closer. Bai Li didn’t think much of it, assuming this was just social etiquette as people often discussed, and didn’t think in other directions. She continued to treat Xu Liangcai with a “big-sister” attitude, her movements infused with a hint of spiritual power to stimulate the other person’s soul back to a normal state.

But their little “green tea” Xia Baiqian, who hadn’t seen this scene, clearly wouldn’t think that way.

Chu Huaizhou: “It’s okay, we cultivators…”

“Sss!!”

He was smiling as he responded, but halfway through, his expression suddenly turned strange.

His brain was suddenly flooded with information, but it was still within the range of tolerance, so he continued to finish his sentence.

However, not even two seconds later, a strange itching sensation came over him, causing him to cry out in surprise.

He then couldn’t stop himself from sliding downward, clutching his stomach with his hands.

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