"Respected Demon Sovereign, did you bring any spirit stones with you this time?" Yao Ranran asked with sincere curiosity.
According to the original plot, when Li Luoqi learned that Yao Ranran had been punished and sent to Guling Mountain, his first reaction was to send someone to lure her into the demonic path.
In the novel, Yao Ranran's heart was already in ashes by that point. Without thinking, she accepted the cultivation method the demon cultivator brought. Demonic techniques were known for their rapid progress. It hadn't taken the original Yao Ranran long to recover her former cultivation.
She had left Guling Mountain to find her birth father, who had abandoned her, and with his help, she returned to Wuxiang Sect to once again stand against the heroine. But hatred had blinded her. She ignored the hidden flaws of demonic arts, especially since the technique Li Luoqi gave her was one he had carefully chosen—a dual-core demonic technique.
Without realizing it, she had become Li Luoqi's puppet.
Every day she cultivated, part of her gains would be transmitted to Li Luoqi.
She knew nothing of it.
The more dependent she became on this demonic art, the stronger Li Luoqi grew.
In the later stages, she became nothing more than a vessel for storing his demonic energy. As the true controller of the technique, he could reap the fully ripened fruit of his cultivation experiment at any time.
"You keep asking if I have spirit stones. Planning to smash Shen Yuefu to death with them?" Li Luoqi's tone carried a hint of impatience.
Yao Ranran's eyes widened in surprise. "That's my dream!"
Who wouldn't want to be smashed to death by money?
Even in death, she would go with a smile.
Li Luoqi flicked his sleeve, and the window slammed shut with a snap. In the room across the way, Xiao Rong rolled over in his sleep, a faint trail of drool at the corner of his lips, resting soundly.
"Yao Ranran, have you been locked up here so long that you've gone stupid? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Yao Ranran tilted her head back to meet his gaze. "The old Yao Ranran is dead. Standing before you now is the Noble Little Fairy, Yao Ranran of the Niugulu Clan!"
Rustle—
Snap—
A sudden gale swept through the room. An unseen force pushed Yao Ranran to sit obediently at the foot of the bed, unable to speak or move, left only to glare at him in defiance.
Li Luoqi withdrew his power and calmly lowered his hand back into the wide sleeve of his robe. "Looks like your madness runs deep. Only a demonic technique can save you."
Snap—
A book fell onto the bed.
Yao Ranran's gaze shifted to it. Several bold characters were written across the cover.
Waste's Counterattack: Heaven-Defying Demonic Art
She bit her lip, trying her hardest not to laugh aloud.
Li Luoqi noticed the slight tremor of her shoulders, and a wickedly enchanting smile curved his lips.
The prey had taken the bait.
"I know you will never be content to stay trapped here forever. This is a secret technique I never pass on. If you can master it, rebuilding your foundation in thirty days will be no dream."
Yao Ranran blinked slowly.
This sales pitch… it sounded just like the way she had tricked Xiao Rong before.
She looked up at him. "Respected Demon Sovereign, I hate Shen Yuefu, but I hate demon cultivators even more! In this life, I, Yao Ranran, will never coexist under the same sky with demon cultivators, gambling, or… yellow literature!"
???
How do you cure insanity?
Li Luoqi silently cursed himself for coming too late.
"Yao Ranran, do you really want to stay here your entire life, watching your beauty fade and your life wither away?"
Hesitation flickered in her expression.
As if his words had reached her.
Li Luoqi's eyes curved faintly in a smile.
"So, she was still afraid of aging and death after all."
"Today, I am in good spirits. Seeing your fine aptitude and firm will, I think you are a rare genius for demonic cultivation. I will gift you this technique."
"I don't want it." Yao Ranran shook her head.
Li Luoqi's hands clenched within his sleeves. With a stiff smile, he enunciated each word. "What… will it take… for you… to accept it?"
"Unless…" Yao Ranran glanced at him, her gaze drifting now and then toward his waist, as if searching for something, but timidly looking away.
Li Luoqi relaxed his fists, realizing her meaning. "I brought spirit stones today."
As expected.
Her eyes brightened slightly.
The light was fleeting, but he didn't miss it.
Li Luoqi reached into his robes, then paused for a heartbeat.
Damn. He had left in a hurry. This trip hadn't been planned, so he didn't have many spirit stones with him. Would it be enough to secure her agreement?
Gritting his teeth, he caught the faint expectancy in her expression and took something from his storage ring, placing it on the bed along with the spirit stones.
Looking at the small pile of stones, Yao Ranran's expression shifted subtly. The look she gave him seemed to say—
That's it?
Li Luoqi caught the message, coughed to maintain his dignity, and let a lump of black crystal float into the air with a swirl of demonic qi. "Spirit stones are only useful for buying cultivation supplies. This is Dark Underworld Marrow. Keep it by your side while cultivating demonic arts, and it will speed up your progress.
This item is beyond price. It is the only one in my possession."
He deliberately stressed the last two sentences to emphasize its rarity.
Yao Ranran studied the Dark Underworld Marrow for a while, thinking, "So he really only brought these spirit stones. The marrow's effect is mediocre, but it would fetch a high price on the black market. Not a bad trade."
Li Luoqi searched her gaze but couldn't read any clear intention.
A moment later, Yao Ranran bared her teeth in a fierce expression.
"Shen Yuefu destroyed my cultivation, cut off my path, and still wants to live blissfully with Pei Qianqiao. I cannot tolerate it!
I will have revenge! I will kill them both!
I will master this demonic art and make Shen Yuefu and Pei Qianqiao crawl at my feet!"
Silence filled the air.
The man before her seemed entirely unmoved.
Li Luoqi's calm expression didn't waver.
Yao Ranran began to suspect her acting skills weren't as good as she thought. Perhaps she wasn't ready for the Best Actress award after all.
She quietly rescinded the imaginary award she had given herself.
Li Luoqi cast her a cool glance, inwardly uneasy. "To think I just found her expression a little cute earlier… I must have been infected by her madness. This place is no longer safe to linger."
"Enough. I'll leave these here. I expect you to have formed your core by our next meeting."
The window swung open without wind. Li Luo Qi turned in a flourish, his figure dissolving into a swirl of black mist that vanished into the night.
Snap—
The window closed again.
The spirit stones slipped from Yao Ranran's hands to the floor. Pressing a hand to her chest, she muttered, "That bastard hadn't left yet. I couldn't hide my love for spirit stones just now. He must have seen it. But… it doesn't matter."
She dove into the bed piled high with spirit stones, rolling in them with unrestrained joy.
After a long while, she surfaced from the pile, one hand gripping the Dark Underworld Marrow, the other holding the demonic technique.
"Dark Underworld Marrow. Dual-core demonic art. Hah. As if I'd ever cultivate this."
===
Ranran, please stop it. I get second-hand embarrassment.