50: System upgrade
Jiang Xun was in a state of daze.
He wanted to roar, to vent, to make a scene.
But soon, these emotions would be overtaken by another gentle, love-filled feeling.
He could do nothing.
His body and mind no longer completely belonged to him.
That night, the two lay together as usual.
Yan Qingning had long since ceased needing sleep, but since Jiang Xun needed to, she lay there with him.
Inside the canopy, it was very quiet; they could hear each other's steady breathing.
"Are you still blaming me?" Yan Qingning suddenly asked.
The moonlight was bright.
Jiang Xun could see the curves of Yan Qingning's body under the thin quilt.
He kept his eyes closed. "No."
"Lying to me again."
A hand rested gently on his chest. "I can feel it... there is resentment in your heart."
Jiang Xun opened his eyes, looking at her blurred silhouette in the dimness.
"Shouldn't I be resentful?"
"You shaved my bones, made me foolishly practice that Sword Scripture, and gave me this ice phoenix bone that others would die for—did you ever ask if I wanted it?"
Yan Qingning was silent for a moment.
"I only... gave you the best things I could think of."
"..."
After a long while, an inexplicable emotion rose in both their hearts.
"Yan Qingning, in your heart, am I a person, or just a toy you want to control?" Jiang Xun said.
Yan Qingning did not answer his question, but said instead:
"If you truly loved me, I wouldn't have gone this far."
"Only this way can I have a little sense of security..."
Yan Qingning pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Jiang Xun remained silent.
A sense of security?
His feelings for Yan Qingning always made Jiang Xun feel like a thief.
All of her love did not belong to Jiang Xun.
Jiang Xun thought back to during the day when he saw his reflection in the lake; his face, which originally only bore an eighty percent resemblance to the game character, now looked exactly like him.
The current Jiang Xun was identical to the model of Dao Xun in the game.
Yan Qingning, in the end, the one you've always been thinking of is that person from a thousand years ago.
In the room, it was so quiet that only the sound of their breathing remained.
Like a couple who had just finished an argument.
In the end, it was the wife who compromised.
"I will let you do whatever you want to me," Yan Qingning leaned closer, her breath brushing against his ear, "as long as you aren't angry."
Her tone held a rare, cautious hint of pleasing him.
Jiang Xun just closed his eyes and said helplessly, "And what could I possibly do to you?"
He thought for a moment and asked the question he had suppressed for a long time:
"The one driving you to do all this... is it you, or the self corpse?"
Yan Qingning froze for a moment.
She rested her face on his arm and thought for a long time.
"I don't know," she finally said. "By the time I thought of it... I had already done it."
Your execution is certainly high.
Ever since that question, Jiang Xun felt more and more that something was wrong with Yan Qingning.
She became exceptionally clingy.
She had to watch Jiang Xun almost every moment.
Cultivate had to be under her watchful eyes, meals had to be eaten by her side, and even sleeping at night required him to use her arm as a pillow.
She even wanted to deprive him of his last bit of private space in the latrine.
She began feeding Jiang Xun a special type of Spiritual Food that melted in the mouth and left no residue.
When Jiang Xun headed toward the latrine once again, she gently pulled him back:
"No need to go."
Jiang Xun was stunned. "What?"
"I adjusted the menu," she said as if it were only natural. "You won't have those needs anymore."
Jiang Xun looked at her calm face and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Finally, Jiang Xun could take it no more.
He said to Yan Qingning:
"You said," he tried to keep his voice steady, "that you wouldn't stop me from going wherever I want."
"Mhm."
"Then I want to walk around the Sect." He looked into her eyes. "Is that okay?"
Yan Qingning was silent for a long time.
So long that Jiang Xun thought she was going to go back on her word.
"Fine," she finally spoke, her voice somewhat tight. "But you must return before sunset."
She struggled and added:
"Otherwise... I can't guarantee what I will do to you."
Jiang Xun nodded. "Don't worry."
The han hong sword unsheathed, bringing with it a clear, crisp hum.
This was Yan Qingning's personal sword from her early years, a Rank Six Magical Artifact. The blade was slender, and the whole thing emitted an icy blue light.
It was given to him by Yan Qingning to use for sword practice.
A spiritual sword of this Rank would make even Nascent Soul Cultivators envious, yet now it was in the hands of Jiang Xun, who was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
He still couldn't fully control it; when his Qi was injected, the blade would vibrate slightly, like an untamed wild horse.
But for sword-riding flight, it was enough.
Jiang Xun stepped onto the blade and glanced back.
Yan Qingning stood at the edge of the cliff of Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, peerless and solitary.
She didn't speak, only watched him quietly.
Jiang Xun turned and circulated his Qi.
The han hong sword turned into a streak of light, carrying him into the sea of clouds.
As he passed through the outer barrier of Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, he felt a slight resistance around him, like passing through a cold film of water.
And then—
Everything opened up.
Mountains spread out beneath his feet, mist flowed past him, flocks of cranes flew in the distance, and even further away, the silhouettes of other peaks were faintly visible in the morning light.
The scent of freedom rushed toward him.
Jiang Xun almost wanted to let out a long cry to the heavens.
But the moment that thought arose, his heart suddenly tightened inexplicably.
It wasn't his own emotion, but an external surge of anger, like a fine needle pricking him lightly.
It was Yan Qingning.
She was angry—angry that he was happy as soon as he left her side.
Jiang Xun immediately focused his mind, suppressing all emotions and turning himself into a pool of calm, rippleless water.
He couldn't think, couldn't feel; he couldn't let her "sense" it.
He composed himself and urged the Flying Sword toward the depths of the Sect.
Xuanxiao Immortal Sect was vast.
The seventy-two peaks were scattered like stars, with countless waterfalls, springs, pavilions, and towers among them.
Disciples riding swords passed through the air in twos and threes; seeing Jiang Xun's unfamiliar face, most cast curious glances.
Jiang Xun didn't stop, just flying aimlessly.
Passing over Tianshu Peak, he saw hundreds of Disciples practicing their swords on the square, their Sword Qi crisscrossing in a grand display.
Passing by the Scripture Pavilion, he could smell the faint scent of ink in the air.
Passing over the Spirit Beast Garden, several clear animal cries pierced through the clouds.
This was how a cultivation world should look.
Bustling, vivid, and full of Life Qi.
Not that exquisite, silent prison of Jade Void Grotto-Heaven with only two people.
Just as he had flown about a hundred miles from Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.
[Ding!]
A crisp notification sound rang out in his mind without warning.
Jiang Xun's feet trembled, and the han hong sword almost spun out of control.
He steadied himself, his expression becoming extremely vivid.
Good!
This cowardly turtle of a System had been playing dead for a whole year, and now that he was just a short distance from Yan Qingning, it popped up?
"You finally show yourself?" Jiang Xun gritted his teeth in his heart. "I thought you were going to hide for a lifetime."
[Ding! Detected that the host has left a high-risk environment. System reactivated.]
The voice was flat and emotionless.
"High-risk environment?" Jiang Xun almost laughed in anger.
"You only realize now that it was a high-risk environment? I was locked up by her for a year! Had my bones swapped! Where were you then?"
[Ding! The threat Rank of the host's environment at that time was too high; System intervention was temporarily unavailable.]
"So you just played dead?" Jiang Xun landed his sword on a remote cliff and found a rock to sit on. "You're the most spineless System I've ever seen."
[Ding! System's primary duty: Ensure the host's safety.]
[If the System provided options in a high-risk environment, the host might have been killed.]
[Ding!]
[Upon detecting that an "Invader" was attempting to seize control over the host, the System triggered the underlying protection protocol and entered a dormant upgrade state.]
Jiang Xun was taken aback.
"Invader? Control?"
[Ding! It has been determined that the target "Yan Qingning's" actions constituted a total invasion of the host's body and mind, crossing the System's red line.]
[The System has completed its upgrade.]
Jiang Xun became interested. "What was upgraded?"
[Ding! The upgrade details are as follows:]
[1. Shielding Function: After the host moves a certain distance away from the "Invader," the System can shield the host's emotional perception and basic location from them.]
[2. Task Revision:]
[1. For targets with a favorability rating below 80, related tasks are converted to "Side Quests," which the host can choose whether to execute.]
[2. For targets with a favorability rating above 80, related tasks are converted to "Main Quests," which are mandatory.]
Jiang Xun looked at the light blue interface appearing before him and didn't speak for a long time.
After a while, he slowly let out a breath.
The shielding function was no different from a beam of light shining into his dark life.
System, I'll never curse at you again.
"So now... I'm considered temporarily free?"
[Ding! The shielding function is not activated. It is not recommended to turn it on yet; once the Invader senses that their control over the host has failed, it may result in an endless pursuit.]
"System, you're finally reliable for once."
Jiang Xun stood up and looked toward the direction of Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.
He tried hard to suppress his excitement.
He definitely had to go to the Cangwu Secret Realm.
"Yan Qingning, I must draw a clear line between us."