Chapter 84: Life Is But a Dream; Aspiring to Reach the Sky to See the Moon

Perhaps everyone faces moments of loneliness. It’s not just you and me—we all get tired. We all need company because we’re not saints.
A waning moon appeared in the starry sky, emitting a silver glow that illuminated the dark land. Liu Yi and Qi Yue built a fire on the ground. Given Liu Yi’s cultivation level, he wouldn’t need to rest while riding on his sword and could reach the skies above Changbai Mountain in about three days. But Qi Yue couldn’t. Her cultivation was still weak, and after less than a day of riding on the sword, she could hardly hold on. To take care of her, Liu Yi had to stop and rest.
Liu Yi lay on the grass, holding the ‘Sorrowful Dream’ sword, gazing at the vast starry sky, seemingly lost in thought. Meanwhile, Qi Yue sat beside him and said, “Hey, aren’t you hungry?”
Liu Yi didn’t speak.
Qi Yue looked at him and asked, “Are you even human? You don’t seem tired at all. And you’re not eating either. My stomach is already growling.”
Liu Yi still remained silent, but after a short while, he stood up and headed deeper into the forest.
Qi Yue called after him, “Hey, where are you going?” Watching his disappearing figure, she stomped her foot in anger. “Damn him! Where’s he going in the middle of the night?”
As Qi Yue sat there sulking, a dark figure flashed by, and Liu Yi reappeared beside her. This time, he had something in his hand—a snake about ten feet long, seemingly a type of large serpent. Liu Yi threw the snake into the air, quickly drew his sword with his right hand, and a white light mixed with black energy flashed across the snake before disappearing.
Liu Yi swiftly sheathed his sword and reached out to catch a section of the snake’s body. As he caught it, the snake’s skin peeled off in the middle. He picked up a sharp branch from the ground, skewered the piece of snake meat, and roasted it over the fire. Then he said, “I entered the forest and didn’t see anything else, so I found this snake. You’ll have to make do with it.”
Qi Yue stared at Liu Yi roasting the snake, feeling dazed. It felt so familiar. Ten years ago, on that underground island, hadn’t that scholar also roasted snake meat for her in the same way?
It seemed both of them had their own worries. Time passed, and soon the aroma of roasted meat filled the air. While roasting the meat, Liu Yi said, “Don’t let its ugly appearance fool you. Snake meat is actually fragrant and delicious. You have to try it.”
Qi Yue suddenly turned to look at Liu Yi. Those words—“Snake meat is actually fragrant and delicious”—she had heard before. On that underground island, that scholar had said the same thing. She couldn’t believe her ears. She strained to see clearly the person before her, but the silver mask became a barrier between them.
Liu Yi handed the roasted snake meat to Qi Yue and said, “Try my cooking. How’s it? Is it tasty?”
Qi Yue took a gentle bite, but she no longer had an appetite. That second sentence—“How’s it? Is it tasty?”—had also been said by that scholar. Every word he said reminded her of him.
Qi Yue replied, either intentionally or not, “If someone who’s extremely hungry and has no food has no choice but to eat human flesh, I guess it must taste really good too.”

Suddenly, Liu Yi was shaken. Those words seemed to echo from the past, as if showing him July on that underground island. Liu Yi slowly lay down again, continuing to gaze at the stars in the sky, especially the brightest and loneliest one.

July asked while eating, “Don’t you need to eat?”

Liu Yi replied casually, “No. Eating is just a formality. What I need now is the energy of chaos.” He then changed the subject and asked, “Is the highest martial art of your demon clan the ‘Lanerfina Qing’?”

July paused for a moment and asked in surprise, “How do you know? That’s the highest martial art that only the Demon Lord can learn.”

Although Liu Yi’s expression couldn’t be seen, his “hmph” revealed his utter disdain for the so-called Demon Lord. Liu Yi continued, “I also know that the highest level of your clan’s ‘Lanerfina Qing’ is only level nine.”

July suddenly put down her food, remembering something, and asked, “Could it be that the martial art you use is ‘Lanerfina Qing’?”

Liu Yi didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said, “Do you want to learn it? If you do, I can teach you ‘Lanerfina Qing’ up to level nine.” He had noticed that July’s progress over ten years had been slow—she could only fly for less than a day before running out of energy. If she learned level nine of ‘Lanerfina Qing,’ she could at least reach the level of a clan leader, at which point ordinary people wouldn’t be able to harm her.

July was suddenly stunned. The highest martial art of the demon clan, ‘Lanerfina Qing,’ was only practiced by successive clan leaders, while their subordinates used a different martial art. Who was this person before her? ‘Lanerfina Qing’ was the supreme martial art of the demon clan, extremely tempting to anyone, even July.

July regained her composure and asked, “Do you really know ‘Lanerfina Qing’?”

Liu Yi still didn’t answer her question. He simply said calmly, “Just tell me whether you want to learn it or not. Give me an answer.” His words were concise and forceful. Even Liu Yi felt that he had changed a lot.

July quickly nodded and said, “I will learn it. Of course.”

Liu Yi sat up gently and said, “Don’t tell anyone that I taught you. Also, don’t use ‘Lanerfina Qing’ unless you’re in life-threatening danger.”

July nodded, feeling a bit nervous, but mostly excited and thrilled. Was she about to learn that legendary martial art?

Liu Yi suddenly stretched out his black right hand, turning his palm into a finger. A green glow flashed in front of his finger. He then pointed at July’s forehead. July felt darkness ahead, as if she were floating, but there was nothing around her.

July shouted, “Where is this?”

A flash of black light appeared, and the mysterious figure showed up before her. He said, “This is your mind. Look around. Those are the ‘Lanerfina Qing’ techniques I implanted in your brain. Every day, you just need to shut down your six senses and use your spiritual sense to practice here. This will allow you to train ten times faster than others.”

July looked around. Sure enough, green characters floated in the darkness around her, glowing with a green light. She turned to the mysterious figure in black clothes with white hair and said, “Thank you.”
Liu Yi replied, “I’m leaving. You practice here.” With that, the black shadow disappeared in an instant. Back in the outside world, Liu Yi saw July with her eyes closed and softly said, “I hope you won’t be harmed by anyone in the future. This is all I can do.”
Liu Yi closed his eyes, feeling the vastness of the world, and gradually merged himself into this infinite expanse…