Upon arriving at the bamboo house, Tu Longjian quickly greeted his third senior sister, whose eyes were red from crying, as she came out. He then took a deep breath and stepped inside.

On the way here, she learned from An Lan that Yan Xiuzhu had guarded the barrier for her for twenty years, researching day and night how to break through the Lingxu Ancient Realm.

While the other elders had given up on their disciples, only he and Master Huaimei remained unwilling to give up.

For some reason, he seemed to be physically exhausted and had fallen ill from overwork. He could only rest quietly in the bamboo house, verbally instructing Master Huaimei to lead the elders to continue attacking the weak points of the barrier.

Persistence pays off; they finally managed to open the barrier a little, though it wasn't big enough for cultivators to enter or exit. This was probably the anomaly that Nachin and his sister discovered in the sky.

When Tu Longjian broke through to the Golden Core stage and broke through the Spirit Void Ancient Realm in one fell swoop, Yan Xiuzhu was overjoyed to hear the news and fell ill.

An Lan turned around and went out to look for Song Liqing, leaving Tu Longjian alone in the bamboo house.

The fragrance of bamboo seemed less intense, and the bamboo grove, which had always warmly welcomed her visits, had withered.

She looked at the thin Yan Xiuzhu lying on the bamboo couch, sat quietly beside him, and took his hand.

"Ah Jian, you're here." Yan Xiuzhu opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his pale face, as warm as ever.

"Master, thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm truly grateful. But you didn't have to go to such lengths. Please think more about yourself, okay?"

Yan Xiuzhu lowered his eyes, a bitter smile creeping onto his face. "I've already considered my own needs a lot."

"But my conscience is troubled..." The last sentence was spoken very softly, and Tu Longjian did not hear it clearly.

She could only sigh and whisper, "You know I don't easily trust others. Is it really worth it to be so good to me?"

"Actually, I've always been very self-aware. Even though I was touched when I saw you lying here for my sake, I wasn't as moved as most people would be."

"Perhaps I am cold-hearted by nature, or simply selfish..."

Yan Xiuzhu extended his slender fingers to interrupt her words, his eyes revealing complex emotions.

"Don't think like that, you've already done very well. I don't want to burden you with shackles, I just want to unlock them for you."

“I know what kind of world you’re going to face.” He glanced at the sky, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

“When you truly face Him, I am powerless to help you. All I do is fill my own conscience. You don’t need to feel burdened or afraid of being stopped by anyone. Go forward bravely.”

"I really... really hope you can... survive." Yan Xiuzhu's voice trembled slightly, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Tu Longjian looked deeply at Yan Xiuzhu and hugged him, who was as thin as a rake. His skin was a little rough to the touch, unlike the muscular feel of before.

"I will survive, we will survive together."

Yan Xiuzhu was stunned by Tu Longjian's abrupt actions. His little apprentice was approaching him for the first time, and he felt gratified, ashamed, and even a little sweet.

At that moment, he even thought that dying for her might not be such a bad ending.

He gently broke free from Tu Longjian's embrace and said with a smile, "Master is too thin now, I hope you won't feel uncomfortable."

Tu Longjian obediently released him and solemnly said, "Master, how can you get better? I can help when I have free time."

Yan Xiuzhu shook his head upon hearing this: "My illness is essentially caused by the loss of spiritual energy. It is incurable. I can only recuperate quietly in the bamboo forest and slowly cultivate back to normalcy."

Spiritual energy loss? Tu Longjian found it very strange. How could spiritual energy be lost for no reason?

For bamboo spirits, spiritual essence is like the lifeblood of human cultivators, an extremely precious source.

Unfortunately, Yan Xiuzhu was unwilling to discuss it further, so Tu Longjian had no choice but to stop asking. However, during her long period of learning divine arts, she learned of a divine art for nurturing plants, which could be used on her master.

However, since she doesn't possess divine power, the effect of her actions will be greatly reduced, but it will also allow him to recover more quickly.

Without further ado, Tu Longjian arrived at the bamboo forest and used divine magic on his master's true form, the green bamboo, to form a continuously operating recuperation array using array flag techniques.

Sure enough, Yan Xiuzhu was in much better spirits. He strolled into the bamboo forest and looked at the busy Tu Longjian with surprise in his eyes: "This is... an ancient divine technique? How did you master it?"

“It’s quite a coincidence.” Tu Longjian turned around and smiled, then continued to make arrangements. “I have already set up the formation. Master will recover faster by recuperating in his true form.”

"Ah Jian, you're so thoughtful," Yan Xiuzhu said with a smile, but in her heart she was thinking, "She's mastered divine arts so quickly? It seems she might not be far from becoming a god."

He just remembered that his little apprentice first possessed a divine status, and only later learned divine arts. How come it's reversed now?

I don't know if I can escape that death. Since reality has deviated from what the book of fate says, it seems that the prophecy will be disrupted by anomalies.

Yan Xiuzhu stared at Tu Longjian's back, his mind filled with thoughts.

He didn't want to die, but he didn't want her to die either.

He was becoming increasingly greedy; he wanted them all to live well together on this virtual peak, to spend their whole lives together.

After leaving the bamboo house, Tu Longjian quickly found Gan Xiuming.

He saw her from afar, but instead of smiling and greeting her as usual, he turned his head away with a displeased expression and silently took a detour.

"Xiu Ming."

Hearing her call, Gan Xiuming was startled. His steps, which had been moving away, seemed to turn back uncontrollably. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, am I that pathetic?"

He tucked the poison from his sleeve and forced a smile, asking, "Xiangxiang, where have you been?"

"My senior brother kindly taught me swordsmanship, and I couldn't refuse."

"Is...is that so? You two have a harmonious relationship, so why would I have a problem with it?"

Tu Longjian raised an eyebrow and teased, "Are you jealous? He's just my senior brother. You should remember, you're the one I've chosen as my Daoist partner."

"Don't forget how difficult our journey from the mortal realm was. Our bond is incomparable to that of outsiders."

Secretly activating the medicinal properties of the Heartbreak Grass, sure enough, Sasuke's sweet words caused Gan Xiuming's favorability to rise sharply, returning to its original position.

His eyes were filled with a crazy infatuation as he stared intently at Tu Longjian, as if afraid that she would be taken away by someone else. "As long as you don't leave me, I don't care about anything else."

"Good boy." Tu Longjian patted his shoulder, it seemed the matter was resolved.

But she noticed that Gan Xiuming's gaze suddenly swept past her and looked behind her, his expression revealing a hint of smugness.

Gan Xiuming's favorability +5, current total favorability 100 (maximum)

"Is that the senior brother standing over there?" Gan Xiuming smiled, walking past her and heading straight for the frozen figure.