Chapter 86 - 85: The Great Deceiver

Words : 1428 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 86: Chapter 85: The Great Deceiver "You say the same thing as my master, that human life is limited and it is impossible to explore the entirety of Ancient Martial in one’s lifetime. Sometimes when I think about it, it is really sad. A person’s life, merely a hundred years, with one-third spent on sleep, and the rest on eating, drinking, and mindless activities. How much time is actually spent on worthwhile endeavors!" Xiao Manxue got deeply emotional whenever she talked about her master, who must have been a strict and unamusing person. However, it only took a casual remark to elicit such a strong response. Lin Tian smirked dismissively, "Miss, that’s not right to say. According to your way of thinking, what joy would there be in life? I think eating is a pleasure, sleeping is a blessing, the world is vast, and life is wonderful for a hundred years. Miss is so obsessed with how to use time, I believe it actually does a lot of harm to the practice of Ancient Martial, and may even hinder progress." "Oh, this is the first time I’ve heard such a theory, completely different from what my master said. My master stated that the limited time we have should be devoted entirely to the study of Ancient Martial, to further advance on the endless path of exploration," Xiao Manxue said with eyes twinkling curiously, staring intently at Lin Tian. God, this woman is so persistent in everything she does, no wonder she is so stubborn. He still couldn’t agree with her master’s theory, Lin Tian casually remarked, "I think that’s too extreme, there should be a balance of tension and relaxation, darkness and light, flexibility and rigidity, yin and yang—that’s the Tao. Any extremes are bad, right?" "Yin and yang are called the Tao..." Xiao Manxue murmured to herself, and then she closed her eyes, ignoring Lin Tian. Come on, could it be that a few casual words led her to an epiphany? Lin Tian watched her stand in the room, with the moonlight streaming through the window and falling upon her. Under his gaze, the moonlight became like specks of moon essence. What was magical is that these drifting specks of moon essence, as if beckoned by some call, kept falling on Xiao Manxue, and then got absorbed into her. Ancient Martial Artists really are blessed by nature, able to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, cultivating themselves. Lin Tian let Xiao Manxue absorb the moon essence without moving, not knowing how long she would cultivate, so he began to practice as well. He moved through the twelve exercises, then sat cross-legged on the couch, raising his hands aloft. His speed of absorbing the moon essence was much faster than Xiao Manxue’s. As the two of them absorbed, the moon essence from a ten-mile radius around Lin Tian’s room surged towards them. In no time, two cocoons of light were formed, one large and one small, with Lin Tian’s being much larger than Xiao Manxue’s. Under Lin Tian’s absorption, the moon essence nearby gathered in his room, becoming extremely dense. It seemed that under Lin Tian’s influence, even Xiao Manxue became more efficient in absorbing the moon essence. A look of comfort and satisfaction appeared on her face, her gentle nightgown moving without wind, fluttering rhythmically. The Miss in silence was also quite agreeable; Lin Tian continued to absorb the moon essence while appreciating this image of refined grace, which was truly heart-stirring. If it weren’t for the fear of disturbing Xiao Manxue, which might cause her to go berserk accidentally, Lin Tian would want to go over and snap a few photos with his phone right now. Although he could use the Heavenly Eye, at this critical moment, Lin Tian disdained to take advantage of someone’s vulnerability, and besides, Ancient Martial Artists had very sharp senses; disturbing the Miss might cause her to go berserk. As Lin Tian enjoyed the view, Xiao Manxue’s lips slightly parted, and she let out a soft, melodious "ying" sound. She "swooshed" open her eyes, and her pupils emitted a sharp gleam, which then softened and finally returned to calm. In Lin Tian’s view, the cocoon of light around her had already been absorbed. "I’ve finally touched upon that layer of bottleneck, and am about to break through to the Great Perfection Realm!" she whispered to herself before noticing that Lin Tian was sitting on the couch in a strange posture. She couldn’t see the moonlight in the room, but she could feel how richly it permeated the space, reaching a terrifying degree. And the source of it all was Lin Tian, who was in the midst of cultivation. "So that’s how it is. The reason why I made such smooth progress just now was all because of this bad guy helping out. What Ancient Martial Technique is he practicing that allows him to absorb the moonlight at such a terrifying rate?" Xiao Manxue stared at Lin Tian, unable to figure out where in the Ancient Martial World such a powerful cultivation technique could come from. Even her master, with his level of cultivation, couldn’t absorb the essence of the sun and the moon as quickly as Lin Tian was doing now. It was truly miraculous. "Training done, end of practice!" Lin Tian let out a breath and jumped off the couch. After this period of cultivation, he had learned to control the zombie’s form at will, and wouldn’t reveal his true self while absorbing the moonlight. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to absorb moonlight in front of Xiao Manxue so recklessly – what if he was exposed? Would he have to bite her and turn her into a zombie too? He chose this time to absorb moonlight partly to give Xiao Manxue a hand. "What cultivation technique are you practicing?" Xiao Manxue, straightening her disheveled hair, asked softly. Lin Tian had just provided her with a great deal of help, and now that she thought about it, this ’bad guy’ didn’t seem too unpleasant – in fact, he had a certain charm to him. Little did she know, the tender gesture of her delicate hand running through her hair and the soft glances from her beautiful eyes were extremely enticing. At any rate, Lin Tian was stupefied, finding the woman who was so quick to fight and kill to be incredibly charming when gentle. "Miss, you actually look quite pretty when you’re being gentle," Lin Tian said honestly. "Whether I look good or not is none of your business; you haven’t answered my question yet," Xiao Manxue’s face flushed as she spoke, feeling her cheeks burning hot. This was too much; the Miss could actually blush, and her shy appearance made Lin Tian not want to blink. As lovely as she was, Lin Tian couldn’t tell her the truth in response to her question: "The rules of my sect forbid me from saying. But now I want to ask you, what were you referring to just now with ’Great Perfection’?" Damn, as soon as he asked, Lin Tian realized his mistake. Xiao Manxue looked at him with a suspicious gaze and asked incredulously, "Are you really an Ancient Martial Artist? You don’t know about ’Postnatal Perfection’? There are the early, middle, late, and Great Perfection stages. After breaking through Great Perfection, one reaches the Innate level. Could it be that your master is fooling you, not even telling you the most basic things!..." "Err, my master is indeed a big trickster; otherwise, why would someone like me engage in the grueling practice of cultivation?" Lin Tian wiped his forehead, being too focused on asking questions and nearly giving himself away. However, Xiao Manxue had ended up telling him a lot about the Ancient Martial World. "How can you speak of your master like that? But I still should thank you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have so quickly reached the bottleneck of Great Perfection. As soon as the opportunity arises, I will break through to the Great Perfection Realm!" Xiao Manxue finally spoke earnestly. "Hehe, Miss, since you’re so sincerely thankful, why not repay me with yourself, what do you think?" Lin Tian said with a teasing smile, but the Miss obviously interpreted his easy smile as something lecherous. The bit of good feeling she had just begun to foster vanished instantly as she clenched her teeth and spat, "Not at all! Humph, a lecher is a lecher, and that’ll never change!" Updated from freewebnove(l).com

Chapter 86 - 85: The Great Deceiver

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