Chapter 340

Chapter 340: Taking Control

Shen Sang Ruo looked proper on the surface, but she actually had a wicked sense of humor and a sly, sneaky streak. The Dodder Flower Sprite knew this very well.

So when Qi Yan said, “If I’m touched by fire, I can’t move,” it knew he was done for.

What was the difference between that and handing himself over like a toy to Shen Sang Ruo? See? This is what happens.

The Dodder Flower Sprite swayed its vines like a seasoned elder.

Hearing her answer, Qi Yan felt a tight knot in his chest and almost couldn’t breathe.

She said, “You’re the one who said it. I didn’t expect Qi Yan, one of the Five Divine Beasts and a Young Master, to lie.” Her tone sounded innocent.

[If you ignored the very obvious smile on her face.]

Because of those people from the Flying Cloud Sect, she didn’t like the word “pouting,” but Qi Yan right now really looked like a rebellious kid sulking at the Heavenly Dao.

Qi Yan was a Divine Beast with a very hard mouth.

While the Glazed Flame burned him, Qi Yan built up a bellyful of anger, yet even as he complained, he still secretly cooperated with the Glazed Flame to clear the Devil Qi’s influence on him.

Three days passed, and after one good outburst, Qi Yan slowly calmed down.

It felt like the pent up anger in his heart finally exploded. In that instant he thought he would burst, but after it was out, he felt calmer than before.

At this point, he also felt like the jar was already cracked, so why not let it be. Who wouldn’t want to be a normal member of the Five Divine Beasts? If he had to get slapped in the face, then so be it.

He glared at her and snapped, “Still pretending?” But the threat in his eyes wasn’t the same as before.

Anyone could tell he was a lot better than he had been.

She smiled and said: “See? Don’t bottle things up. Letting it out helps.”

At worst, just go find someone to yell at. Don’t make yourself suffer to spare others.

He snorted and said with a scowl: “I don’t need you to lecture this Young Master. Either way, this Young Master will never forgive Him.”

She answered smoothly, changing the topic without a hitch: “All right, then wait until you clear the Devil Qi’s influence and go ask Him for answers yourself. So, how much of the Devil Qi has been cleared? How is the Glazed Flame working?”

At that, Qi Yan curled his lip and complained: “Your flame isn’t great. This Young Master was burned for three days and three nights, and the effect is only a tiny bit.”

It really was very faint. If he weren’t sensitive to it, even he wouldn’t have noticed.

At this rate, it might take tens of thousands of years to fully clear it.

She gave him a meaningful look and teased: “Some people say they want to turn dark, but they actually care a lot. You even endured three days and three nights of burning for that tiny bit of effect.”

His face flushed at having his secret called out. Was that the point?

She spread her hands and said: “I didn’t know my flame could do that either. Complaining to me won’t help.”

She truly hadn’t known her flame was special enough to clear the effects brought by Devil Qi.

She thought back to when the Immortal Maiden Azure Luan met that fierce, evil Devil Qi and her flame still didn’t have this effect. [She considered the changes in herself during this time. Could it be that after she broke through to Mid Nascent Soul Stage, she unlocked a new function? If so, will the clearing ability rise again after the next breakthrough? And why is her Spiritual Power flame special in the first place?]

Countless questions rose in her mind.

Seeing her look distracted, Qi Yan thought she was going to ignore him, so he couldn’t help saying: “Shouldn’t you be thinking of a way? I am one of the Five Divine Beasts after all. Saving this Young Master would be very good for all of you.”

He added with a huff: “Weren’t you saying to hand me over to the Radical Faction’s Devil Cultivators and tell them I’m not Ya Lan?”

She said, “That was angry talk from the moment. Do you really have to bring it up again and again?”

Shen Sang Ruo nodded very seriously.

[Of course she wouldn’t tell Qi Yan this was a desensitization process. With someone this stubborn, you have to break his guard again and again. Absolutely not because it was fun.]

Just as Qi Yan was about to explode like a kicked ball, she said: “Maybe after my next breakthrough, the clearing ability will improve too. Be patient and wait. Who knows, as my cultivation rises, the Devil Qi’s influence on you might clear all at once.”

No matter what, draw the big pie first.

Qi Yan eyed her with suspicion, stared for a long moment, and only nodded after he was sure she wasn’t teasing him.

He bit into the big promise she painted and even thought it tasted good.

“Fine, I’ll trust you this once.”

They had reached a basic agreement and were now standing on the same side for the time being.

She said, “All right, I should go back.”

Three days had passed. Those Radical Faction Devil Cultivators were probably panicking. If she didn’t return, everything would fall apart.

Qi Yan had brought her to a very hidden place. No one could find it within Shadowmist Ravine.

[She also had to return to the Conservative Faction before the ten-day deadline. With Qi Yan, she wasn’t worried about convincing Ling Hu Min.]

Qi Yan clicked his tongue and said: “This Young Master will take you back.” He didn’t seem very interested, but he grabbed her and in a blink they vanished.

A few Demonic Beasts returned to the sea of her consciousness.

After a while, Qi Yan’s eager, hopeful voice sounded beside her: “It’s been so long. Well? Did you break through?”

Shen Sang Ruo: [?]

She slowly popped out a question mark in her head.

She turned to look at Qi Yan. He looked very serious, not like he was joking. He truly thought she should have broken through.

She hesitated, then finally said flatly: “Do you think breaking through is easy?”

He asked, surprised: “Isn’t it? When this Young Master broke through before, it was two days for a small stage and three days for a big one.”

Shen Sang Ruo: […]

She had forgotten this guy was one of the Five Divine Beasts, born with cheats.

She said, “That’s you. I’m just a normal Cultivator. I don’t have that kind of heaven-defying speed. You’ll have to wait.”

Qi Yan hissed through his teeth and sucked in a breath. He’d been too anxious and treated Shen Sang Ruo like his kind.

He asked, “Then how long until your next breakthrough?”

She said, “It depends. As short as half a year to a year. As long as a few decades.”

After Nascent Soul Stage, cultivation becomes hard. Many people spend their whole lives stuck at Nascent Soul Stage.

A few decades was already considered short.

Qi Yan was shocked and blurted: “That long?”

He knew human cultivators were slower, but he hadn’t thought it was this slow.

He thought about layer after layer of breakthroughs and realized it might take thousands of years to clear his influence at that pace. He asked, “Is there any way to cultivate faster?”

She said, “There is, but we call them Heretic Cultivators. It’s really punished.”

He said, “Then how about this Young Master transfers my cultivation to you.”

She shook her head: “No. The Heavenly Dao is watching.”

He asked, “What about someone else’s cultivation?”

“Also no.”