432: Surviving the disaster

Returning to the inn, Jiang Ning let out a long sigh of relief.

He knew in his heart that he was only able to return this time because the old man didn't want to kill him and had spared him; otherwise, he would have truly perished in the Spirit Ruins.

He lay on the bed, thinking of the person still in the room.

He got up.

Jiang Ning looked at A Cai and asked, "Young lady, when did you start following Gu Yanqing?"

"A long time ago."

A Cai's face was filled with sorrow.

Now that her great revenge had been exacted, A Cai instantly lost her direction, feeling lost and overwhelmed by life.

She explained some of the things that had happened between her and Gu Yanqing.

Jiang Ning's eyes widened.

In the original story, no woman could get within five steps of Gu Yanqing, except for Yun Qingyao!

This novel was labeled as Xuanhuan romance, but the Xuanhuan part was fake; it was filled with romance.

It was like a Xuanhuan version of "The Overbearing CEO Falls in Love With Me."

Jiang Ning hadn't expected that with Yun Qingyao gone, Gu Yanqing would fall for another woman.

This female Cultivator named "A Cai" didn't even have a single word of plot in the original story!

It was just that ridiculous!

Jiang Ning was pleasantly surprised that the plot had been completely disrupted, while also feeling disgusted by Gu Yanqing's "crazy," "paranoid," and pathological possessiveness.

He killed her original lover, killed her father, and then wiped her memory to make her love him and depend on him!

It had to be said, Gu Yanqing was a total beast.

Jiang Ning had a bold thought.

He had arrived, and with the plot being messed up like this, why did it feel like Gu Yanqing was the true final villain?

Could it be that he and the young girl would swap roles with Gu Yanqing and end up being the ones to save the world?

That couldn't be right; that would be too cliché.

Jiang Ning didn't have the slightest desire to save the world anyway.

"What are your plans for the future?"

Jiang Ning asked A Cai.

He had already done his best by bringing A Cai out of the Spirit Ruins; he couldn't possibly keep traveling with someone else.

Given the young girl's personality, if A Cai came along, who knew how she would throw a tantrum at him.

A Cai shook her head.

Her eyes were filled with confusion.

Jiang Ning sighed.

He understood this feeling.

Before attending university, his goal was to get into a good one.

Once he actually got into university, the spring that had been compressed for so long rebounded, and he instantly lost his objective.

He spent his university days eating, drinking, and having fun, and by the time he graduated, he had become a "standard piece of trash" of the "exam-oriented education system."

Now, this young lady was clearly lacking a goal.

Jiang Ning suggested, "Have you considered returning to your hometown to live? Or perhaps working hard on your cultivation, Undergoing Tribulation, and seeking Ascension?"

One was the comfortable route, the other the ambitious one.

Jiang Ning felt that one should either be ambitious or just rot away.

Being ambitious one day and rotting the next—when you're ambitious, you keep thinking about resting, and when you're resting, you feel guilty about not being ambitious after playing games.

This kind of state, neither ambitious nor rotting, was destined to achieve nothing.

A Cai hesitated for a long time.

She had no family left in her hometown; she was all alone now, so returning to her hometown or staying here made no difference.

But being ambitious... what was the point of that?

Those she loved and those who loved her had all departed; she didn't have the obsession to simply want to cultivate.

Jiang Ning wasn't anyone's life mentor.

The conversation ended there.

"Young lady, one does not live for others. The prerequisite for loving others is to love yourself first. As for how to love yourself, I don't know either. You should go, walk around, and think; perhaps you will be able to figure it out."

"Thank you, Senior."

A Cai bowed slightly.

She knew that he was asking her to leave.

A Cai pushed open the door and walked out of the inn.

Looking at the sky of the Lingxu Domain, the Cultivation World was so vast, yet she had no idea where to go.

"Then I shall just walk more."

A Cai gradually merged into the crowd and eventually disappeared.

Inside the room.

After A Cai left, Jiang Ning released Shen Jinhuan, Xiaobai, and Xiaohui from the Small World.

As soon as Xiaohui came out, it let out a howl, but after a glance from Jiang Ning, it stuck out its tongue, looking no different from a dog.

Shen Jinhuan hurriedly ran to Jiang Ning's side.

"Revered Master, what happened?!"

"It's a long story."

Jiang Ning hesitated about whether or not to tell Shen Jinhuan about the Demon Race elder.

Xiaobai jumped onto Xiaohui's back again.

"Xiaohui, let's go! We're going to get revenge!"

Jiang Ning smiled, "Go ahead. A Late Stage Deity Transformation Realm Cultivator is as docile as a child in front of that person."

Xiaobai flattened its ears.

"Ah? Revered Master, Revered Master, a gentleman takes revenge even ten years later, and I'm a fox, so I'm flexible. Revered Master, let's not take revenge yet. Wait until I become a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and reach the Mahayana Realm for Ascension, then we can talk about it."

Jiang Ning let out a "Heh."

Looking at how honest Gu Yanqing was, Jiang Ning was certain that even if they reached the level of Undergoing Tribulation and Ascension, whenever they saw that person, they would still be nobodies.

In the meantime, Jiang Ning had decided to tell the young girl about what had just happened.

Shen Jinhuan was not young anymore.

Not to mention that in this world, girls were considered adults at fifteen, but at eighteen, Shen Jinhuan was an adult young woman even by Earth standards.

She had the right to know.

Regarding choices, as her Revered Master, he could provide Shen Jinhuan with a few options, but the specifics would depend on what she thought.

Of course, if the young girl wanted to go down the wrong path, he certainly wouldn't allow it.

Jiang Ning started from Gu Yanqing's situation, to the appearance of the Deity Transformation Cultivator in the Lingxu Domain, and finally to the appearance of the Demon Race elder.

He told Shen Jinhuan everything in great detail, one thing at a time.

Of course, he omitted the elder's threat to him.

Otherwise, given Shen Jinhuan's personality, she would definitely want to make an enemy of this elder in the future.

Shen Jinhuan was a member of the Demon Race, and the elder could be considered her kin.

If a rift were created, Shen Jinhuan would lose a major source of support.

After listening, Shen Jinhuan was silent for a long time.

Then, she flashed a brilliant smile and patted Jiang Ning's head.

"Okay, okay, Revered Master did well. You understand my heart more and more.

I just want our family to be together. I don't want to go to the Demon Race, and I don't want to go back with that elder.

If Revered Master ever hears anyone trying to separate us in the future, you must not agree, or I will make a scene."

Jiang Ning swatted away Shen Jinhuan's hand.

After he had shrunk, Shen Jinhuan always treated him like a child, which made him feel rather uncomfortable.

Jiang Ning crossed his arms, looking stern.

However, with his current size, his "little adult" appearance looked quite comical.

"Huanhuan, don't be disrespectful."

"Did the Demon Race person just leave like that? He must have given Revered Master a hard time, right?"

Shen Jinhuan didn't follow up on Jiang Ning's previous point but asked instead.

She wasn't stupid; facing such a powerful expert, since Jiang Ning's answer was the opposite of what the elder wanted, he must have been given a hard time.

Shen Jinhuan's eyes darkened.

When she had the strength in the future, she would definitely make that person pay!

Jiang Ning waved his hand, "There was certainly a hard time, but the other party was very measured. He knew that we have a good relationship, and for the sake of having an explanation for you in the future, he didn't want to kill me."

Shen Jinhuan beamed with joy.

Jiang Ning said they had a good relationship!