Chapter 233 - 232: Cultivation World: You’re No Good Either

Lai San had originally intended to use the incident that almost made Li Jingxuan a Fallen Demon to provoke him, hoping he would fall under the control of his Heart Demon more quickly.

But things took an unexpected turn. The Demonic Qi around Li Jingxuan had indeed grown more substantial.

However, the scene Lai San had imagined—Li Jingxuan being controlled by the Demonic Qi—never materialized. On the contrary, Li Jingxuan had mastered the Heart Demon.

It was less about control and more about acknowledgment, about making the Heart Demon a part of himself.

Under such circumstances, the Heart Demon, as a concept, ceased to exist for him.

But clearly, this was not the outcome Lai San wanted. Changing his plan on the fly, he had pulled Chu Liangyu into the mix as well.

Sure enough, his plan worked. The more pained Li Jingxuan’s expression became, the more excited Lai San grew.

Even if his plan failed, he wasn’t going to let this "son of fortune" get off easy.

He still remembered the whipping Elder Yu had given him, and this petty revenge was nowhere near enough to satisfy him.

But before he could savor his glee for long, Li Jingxuan suddenly stared at him and asked, "So, what is your objective?"

Lai San’s mind went blank for a second. As he came to his senses, he was just about to figure out how to answer.

But before he could come up with anything, a sound reached his ears—a longsword plunging into flesh.

Lai San froze. He subconsciously turned his head and saw Li Jingxuan holding the Taichu Sword, half of its blade already buried in his body. Li Jingxuan was staring at him with an indifferent expression.

The pained expression from moments ago now seemed like a figment of Lai San’s imagination; the change was incredible.

"I was kind enough to warn you, how could you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lai San’s body dissolved into motes of light and vanished into the air.

Li Jingxuan knew what he had wanted to say and stated flatly, "You’re no saint yourself."

With Lai San’s disappearance, the Illusion Realm instantly shattered like a broken mirror.

Before the Illusion Realm completely disintegrated, Li Jingxuan subconsciously glanced at the figure in mid-air.

Chu Liangyu, still reeling from the sudden turn of events, met Li Jingxuan’s complex gaze.

Before she had time to ponder its meaning, she lost consciousness.

When Chu Liangyu awoke again, she found herself back in her room at the inn.

As for Lan Zhaozhao, she was gone.

"I’ve figured out that guy’s identity! He’s actually the Guardian of the neighboring Little World, Lai San!"

The voice of the Heavenly Dao rang in Chu Liangyu’s ears, but it was telling her something she had already learned in the Illusion Realm.

After hearing the Heavenly Dao out, Chu Liangyu raised a more pressing question. "I already know that. In the Illusion Realm, Li Jingxuan ran Lai San through with his sword. I don’t know if he’s dead or if he just went back to his own world."

"What was here was just his projection, imbued with some of his power. If what you say is true, then even though it was an Illusion Realm, the attack could still harm his real body. I expect he’s retreated to his own Little World."

Chu Liangyu breathed a sigh of relief, but she also felt a sense of helplessness. It seemed her mission was now impossible to complete.

"Thanks to Lai San’s meddling, your ’son of fortune’ now knows I’m not from this world. I’m afraid I can’t help with his Heart Demon anymore."

The Heavenly Dao’s tone, however, was strange. "Hasn’t Li Jingxuan already faced his inner self and resolved his Heart Demon? Are you just being modest?"

Just as she said that, the Heavenly Dao seemed to recall something else and shouted, "What did you say? He knows you’re not from this world!"

The Heavenly Dao had stressed this point time and time again, yet her identity had been exposed in the end.

After her outburst, her emotions gradually calmed. She asked Chu Liangyu hesitantly, "So... what was his reaction?"

"Well... I couldn’t quite read him."

Chu Liangyu couldn’t figure out how much of Li Jingxuan’s behavior at that moment had been an act and how much had been a genuine display of emotion.

So it was no wonder she had answered that way.

"After just a few days together, he couldn’t have developed deep feelings, could he?"

Chu Liangyu didn’t quite catch that last mumbled phrase. She frowned, feeling that the Heavenly Dao had been deliberately unclear.

"Let’s leave it at that for now. Don’t worry about Li Jingxuan anymore. Hurry up and get the Polar Spring from the Demon Realm, and I’ll send you home."

"Very well."

Chu Liangyu agreed, but she still had many things to stock up on. It would take some time before she could go back.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Just as Chu Liangyu was speaking with the Heavenly Dao, a knock came at her door.

Chu Liangyu’s heart skipped a beat. She had a good idea of who it was. She said nothing, simply watching the shadow outside her door.

The person outside seemed to know she was awake. With a push from the hands resting on the door, it swung open the next second.

Meeting Chu Liangyu’s direct gaze, Li Jingxuan’s hand, still on the door, stiffened for a moment before he quickly withdrew it.

"You’re the person I made a deal with before, aren’t you?"

With his very first words, Li Jingxuan exposed Chu Liangyu’s true identity.

Chu Liangyu fell silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes, that’s me."

After that exchange, the room fell quiet. For a long moment, neither of them spoke again.

"This time..."

"I..."

Speaking at the same time, both of them seemed surprised by the coincidence.

In the end, Chu Liangyu said, "You go first."

"Thank you for helping me resolve my Heart Demon. I only just realized that you aren’t her. I apologize for anything I did these past few days that was out of line."

His attitude was extremely earnest, almost doggedly so. Chu Liangyu couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

She recalled the recent events and shook her head, her tone light. "I have to say, I didn’t expect this reaction. I thought you might be angry enough to want to kill someone."

"You don’t owe me a thing in this matter. In fact, it’s thanks to your help that I was able to escape the Illusion Realm."

"Since this is more or less resolved, it’s time for me to leave. Lastly, I wish Mr. Li success in your cultivation and a swift Ascension."

Her reflection was mirrored in Li Jingxuan’s eyes. He said nothing, only watched as she walked, step by step, out the door.

Not until her figure had vanished from sight did Li Jingxuan’s hands, hanging at his sides, clench tightly. His thin lips also tensed unconsciously.

After leaving the room, Chu Liangyu had planned to head straight for the Demon Realm. However, feeling it wouldn’t be right to just leave, she stopped by Wen Yan’s room and left him a letter.

The letter roughly explained that she and her master had urgent business and would no longer be going to the Demon Realm. Since they were leaving in a hurry, she hadn’t been able to say goodbye in person and hoped he wouldn’t mind.

Chu Liangyu wasn’t actually skipping the trip to the Demon Realm; she just didn’t want Wen Yan to take the risk.

Wen Yan might have had his own plans to go to the Demon Realm for training and to find medicinal herbs, but definitely not while he was only at the Golden Core Stage of his cultivation. He would wait until he broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage, at the very least.

Chu Liangyu had treasures to protect herself, so traveling alone was actually the easiest for her. This was one of the reasons for her lie.