novelraw Chapter 271: "Do you... want to be my Dao companion?
Chapter 271: "Do you... want to be my Dao companion?
System: [Your friend ’Si Xuan’ has invited you to join their party. Accept/Decline?]
Xu Su almost mistook it for another invitation from Ge Feifei and nearly hit decline. Thankfully, she stopped her hand just in time and clicked accept.
Si Xuan lowered his Jade Flute. "Collect your items, absorb the venom, and take the Meteorite Pill. I’ll stand guard for you."
The pleasant sound of his voice made Xu Su pause again. She looked at her resurrected character and remembered that the first time they met, she had also been revived by his Soul Revival Song.
’He’s a real lifesaver!’
He had saved her three times now. Xu Su was overcome with gratitude. "Thank you for saving my life, Sect Leader. I almost thought I’d be stuck in the Foundation Establishment Realm forever."
As she spoke, she quickly controlled her character to pick up her dropped items, then walked over to the venomous spider’s corpse and began to absorb its venom.
Soon, the absorption was complete. She quickly took the Meteorite Pill and waited for her character to form a Golden Core.
Sika was still waiting for an update in the group chat. Xu Su finally had a moment to type a reply: [It’s okay, the Sect Leader arrived just in time. I’m already forming my Golden Core.]
Sika: [Ahhh! You and the Sect Leader are totally fated to be! He’s saved you so many times, Susu! You have to repay him for saving your life!]
Xu Su was speechless. ’Why would a top-tier player like Si Xuan need a small fry like me to repay him?’
’But whether he needs it or not is one thing; I still have to show my gratitude.’
Xu Su repeatedly thanked the White-clothed Cultivator standing guard in front of her Female Sword Immortal character.
Si Xuan seemed to be busy. After his initial sentence, he didn’t say anything else. Xu Su said a few words of thanks, but then stopped, afraid she might be disturbing him.
Only after her Golden Core successfully formed did Si Xuan speak his second sentence: "Pick up the items on the ground. Don’t let them go to waste."
There was still loot on the ground dropped by Yan Yue and Ge Feifei. Xu Su had only picked up her own things earlier. Hearing Si Xuan’s words, she didn’t stand on ceremony. An expert like him might not care for these items, but she certainly wasn’t going to turn them down.
’Gear dropped by a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator!’
Xu Su profusely thanked him again.
Si Xuan: "Do you... want to become my Dao Companion?"
There was a clear hesitation in his voice.
!!!
Xu Su’s eyes widened. "What?"
"We’re on the sixteenth stage of our sect mission, and we need to go to the bottom of Tongxin Cliff to retrieve the Fiery Flame Double Lotus. Don’t worry, once the sect mission is done, we can cancel our Dao Companion relationship after a month."
’Tongxin Cliff...’
Xu Su quickly racked her brain. Tongxin Cliff was a forbidden zone in the Immortal World game. Only a male and female player who were Dao Companions could find its entrance.
The lore behind the forbidden zone was set in ancient times when Immortals still walked the earth. An Earth Immortal, betrayed by their Dao Companion, had died a tragic death there. The dense, resentful energy had materialized, staining the bottom of the cliff black. Any Cultivator below the Body Integration Realm who drew near would be affected by this energy and gradually suffer from cultivation deviation.
This resentful energy was only kinder to the female Cultivator in a Dao Companion pair; very few female Cultivators were ever troubled by it.
The sect mission required someone to go to the bottom of the cliff. In the Qingxuan Sect, only Nanyang and Liu Yun had broken through to the Body Integration Realm, and they had only just done so. Therefore, to be on the safe side, it would be far more foolproof for the Mahayana Realm Sect Leader, Si Xuan, to make the trip himself.
’But the Sect Leader doesn’t have a Dao Companion!’
And Tongxin Cliff could only be entered by a pair of Dao Companions.
’So...’
Xu Su blinked. She understood the reasoning, but she didn’t understand why he had chosen her.
’She was certain Si Xuan had no romantic interest in her. They had barely exchanged a few words, and his help in the game was likely just a small favor, done because she was Nanyang’s disciple...’
After thinking for a moment, Xu Su asked directly, "Can I ask why you chose me? With my current strength, I’ll only drag you down on the sect mission."
’There were eight or nine women in the Qingxuan Sect’s elite chat group. In terms of realm and seniority, it should never have been her turn to become Dao Companions with the Sect Leader.’
Si Xuan: "You have a boyfriend. For the mission, you just need to click ’follow.’ I’ll handle the rest."
"Ah..." It instantly dawned on Xu Su. She quickly replied, "Okay, I agree."
’So he really isn’t interested in me...’
’It was because she had a boyfriend. He wouldn’t have to worry about her getting attached, refusing to break off the relationship after the mission was over, and pestering him...’
’And no one would get the wrong idea, since everyone in the elite group knew she had a boyfriend...’
’So, even if they became Dao Companions, no one would read too much into their relationship...’
’Everyone would know it was just a temporary partnership for the sake of a mission!’
Since it was just for the mission, Xu Su, as a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect, didn’t think sacrificing her first in-game marriage was a big deal. She felt a strong sense of belonging to her sect.
System: [Your friend ’Si Xuan’ has requested to become your Dao Companion. Accept/Decline?]
Xu Su glanced around guiltily. Shen Chen had already left in a huff because of her, and Zhou Mochen hadn’t come into the room...
’Accept!’
’It’s just a temporary Dao Companion relationship. Even if it wasn’t for the Qingxuan Sect, repaying him for saving my life is the least I can do.’
’I just have to keep this from Zhou Mochen. Otherwise, with his jealous nature, he would never accept it. Luckily, he never pays much attention to my gaming anyway.’
System: [Your Dao Companion ’Si Xuan’ has gifted you an ’Immortal Grade Purple Illusion Gauze Robe.’ Accept/Decline?]
Xu Su: "..."
’Accepting such an expensive gift as a temporary couple... this is so embarrassing...’
Si Xuan: "Take it. This Immortal Robe has decent defense. It can withstand the full-powered attacks of a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator for half an hour. If someone from the Cangyue Sect comes looking for revenge, you’ll be able to last a little longer."
"...Okay." His words were blunt, with no hint of mockery, but their brutal honesty made a low-level player like Xu Su feel awful.
’Then again,’ she thought, ’my official title now is the Qingxuan Sect Leader’s Wife. I really can’t look too shabby and embarrass the sect...’
With that in mind, Xu Su pushed aside her awkward feelings and clicked accept.
"So when are we doing the sect mission? I’m free for the next couple of days."
Si Xuan: "Now."
Before Xu Su could even marvel at how efficient the expert was, he took her by the hand and led her onto a Teleportation Array.
"..." ’This is the first time I realized the game was this realistic. Dao Companions can actually hold hands.’
Si Xuan: "Just click ’follow’."
"Okay..."
’He’s so cool...’
As Xu Su was marveling at this, she noticed several people had tagged her in the group chat.
Sika: [I just logged on, and the world channel is buzzing! Susu, you’re famous! You actually made it onto the bounty board. Ge Feifei posted a bounty on you.]
Beiyue: [Holy shit, you mean the Ge Feifei who’s ranked sixth on the server’s beauty list? The one from Cangyue Sect? Little Susu, how did you get on her bad side?]
Mountain Tiger Hunting: [The person trying to kill you just now wasn’t Yan Yue, was it? I remember Ge Feifei’s Dao Companion is Yan Yue, who’s at the Divinity Transformation Stage. They’re both from the Cangyue Sect.]
Because things had been so rushed, Xu Su had only mentioned running into a pair of Dao Companions from the Cangyue Sect, one of whom was at the Divinity Transformation Stage. She hadn’t said who they were.
Seeing the messages in the chat, Xu Su quickly checked the bounty board. A new listing had indeed just appeared. It was even the most popular type of mission—an RMB mission. The reward for killing her once was one hundred RMB, and the person who posted it was Ge Feifei of the Cangyue Sect.