My Love Life With The Sect Masters in Xianxia (Patreon)

Chapter 144: What If I Am the Heavenly Dao?

In the end, Lin Langyue couldn't bring herself to sit directly on Li Ran.

Instead, she knelt sideways beside him, carefully massaging his shoulders.

Li Ran didn’t mind.

He had no particular thoughts about Lin Langyue.

The only reason he made this request was for his own amusement.

Having the proud and untouchable goddess in the sky kneeling beside him, giving him a massage—this kind of situation brought an inexplicable sense of satisfaction to a man.

Besides, in this secret chamber, there were only the two of them. It wasn’t like her reputation would be tarnished.

Lin Langyue’s face was flushed red, nearly dripping with color.

Li Ran’s robe was thin. Even through the fabric, she could clearly feel the warmth of his body. It was as if they were in direct contact, a sensation that made her heart tremble.

She tried silently reciting the Purity Sutra to calm herself, but it was completely useless.

Without her cultivation, even her Dao heart seemed laughably fragile.

If Yi Qinglan saw this scene—her proudest disciple massaging a man—she would probably faint on the spot.

Lin Langyue sighed inwardly. Master, I’m sorry… I have failed you.

At that moment, Li Ran spoke, “A little lower, and use more force.”

“Got it.”

Lin Langyue worked even harder at massaging him.

After all, when you take someone’s food, you owe them, right?

<+>

In the Ten Thousand Mountains

Yue Jianli and Qin Ruyan scoured the area around the waterfall, searching in a grid-like pattern.

But aside from the traces of battle, they found nothing.

As night fell, the dense forest was filled with the howls of beasts, and the demonic creatures grew restless.

The two women regrouped at the waterfall, their faces slightly pale.

Searching without rest had nearly depleted their spiritual energy.

“Did you find anything?” Qin Ruyan asked.

Yue Jianli shook her head. “Nothing in the southeast. They shouldn’t have gone that way.”

The Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion had special tracking techniques. Even if Li Ran had taken flight, they would have been able to find some clue.

But now, there was nothing.

Qin Ruyan sighed. “There’s no trace in the northwest either.”

The two exchanged a glance, frustration written on their faces.

It was as if Li Ran’s presence had simply vanished into thin air.

They had no idea that behind the roaring waterfall lay a hidden chamber.

Qin Ruyan clenched her fist. “Could it be that Gan Ye…”

“Impossible.”

Yue Jianli shook her head. “Li Ran is far stronger than you think. Even if he couldn’t defeat a Soul Division Realm cultivator, someone like Gan Ye would never be able to hold him down.”

She had witnessed Li Ran’s strength firsthand.

That mysterious golden altar, the sky-shattering thunderbolts—even at the Golden Core Realm, he had survived the collapse of a secret realm.

Now that he had formed his Nascent Soul, how could a mere Gan Ye defeat him?

Qin Ruyan furrowed her brows. “If that’s the case, then there are only two possibilities left.”

“Either he concealed his presence and is hiding somewhere with Lin Langyue…”

“Or a powerful cultivator intervened and took them away.”

Neither of these possibilities was reassuring.

Yue Jianli sighed, at a complete loss.

Qin Ruyan’s delicate brows knitted together, worry clouding her heart.

“Holy Son Li… where are you?”

<+>

Meanwhile, in the Secret Chamber

“Ah, yes, perfect. Step right there.”

Li Ran lay face down on the bed, looking completely relaxed.

Meanwhile, Lin Langyue was diligently stepping on his back, massaging him with her feet.

Without spiritual energy, her strength was only slightly better than an ordinary person’s—barely enough to make an impact.

So instead of using her hands, Li Ran had her stand on his back, which turned out to be much more effective.

Lin Langyue wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Holy Son Li… how much time is left? I… I’m getting exhausted…”

It was hard to tell time in here, but it had to have been at least an hour.

Seeing that she was struggling, Li Ran finally nodded. “Alright, that’s enough.”

“Phew…”

Lin Langyue let out a deep breath, stepping off him and sitting by the bed, panting heavily.

Li Ran shook his head and sighed. “Young people these days have no stamina. It was just a simple massage, and you’re already exhausted?”

Lin Langyue rolled her eyes at him. “Why don’t you try it then?”

Li Ran shrugged. “If you don’t mind, I wouldn’t mind giving it a go.”

Lin Langyue suddenly thought of something and quickly shook her head, blushing. “Forget it.”

How could she possibly let a man knead her legs the way she had kneaded his?

Leaning against the bedside, she sighed. “I swear, I’ll never eat your roasted meat again. As delicious as it was, the price is just too high.”

“That’s what you say now, but don’t come crying to me later,” Li Ran teased.

“Uh…”

Lin Langyue seriously considered it and then said, “Of course, if my stomach objects in the future, I might respect its wishes.”

The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Li Ran chuckled. “I have to say, Fairy Lin, it hasn’t been that long, and you’re already becoming shameless.”

Lin Langyue wrinkled her delicate nose. “When you stay near cinnabar, you turn red; when you stay near ink, you turn black. Holy Son Li, maybe you should reflect on yourself first.”

Li Ran looked at her playful expression and couldn’t help but nod. “I think I like you better this way.”

Lin Langyue turned her head away, a flicker of hesitation flashing through her eyes. “I’m still me. How am I any different from before?”

“There’s a difference.”

Li Ran spoke casually. “Outside, you are the number one prodigy, the Head Disciple of the Central Heaven Sect, and the successor of the Path of Detachment. But the one thing you are not is Lin Langyue.”

“Only in this chamber, where there is no spiritual energy and no Dao techniques, can you truly be yourself.”

“The hardest thing on the path of cultivation is not ascension. It is being yourself.”

Lin Langyue was stunned. “The hardest thing… is being yourself?”

A ripple flickered in her eyes as if she were lost in thought.

After a long silence, she shook her head with a bitter smile. “Holy Son Li, are you trying to ruin my cultivation?”

She had almost been led astray.

Her path was the Path of Detachment. The whole point was to sever all emotions and desires, to completely cut off the self.

But Li Ran’s words… they were clearly the philosophy of the Path of Pleasure.

Li Ran didn’t seem to care. “If your cultivation is so fragile that it can be ruined with just a few words, then maybe it was never the true path to begin with.”

Lin Langyue’s expression grew serious. “Holy Son Li, I cultivate the Heavenly Dao. In my heart, there is only the Heavenly Dao.”

Li Ran remained indifferent. “Then go ahead and cultivate your Heavenly Dao. What? Are you afraid I’ll drag you into the mortal world?”

Lin Langyue’s heart clenched. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of!

In just these few hours of being with Li Ran, her Dao heart had already wavered multiple times.

This man… he had some kind of strange power.

“But,”

Li Ran suddenly smiled. “What if I am the Heavenly Dao?”

“…What did you just say?” Lin Langyue thought she must have misheard.

Li Ran’s voice was calm, yet it echoed through the chamber like a divine decree.

“If I stand beneath the heavens and wear the stars like a robe, then you, little moon, wouldn’t you naturally fall into my palm?”