Chapter 64: Sleeping Too Recklessly

Martial arts techniques, even very ordinary ones, are not easily obtained.

Since An Yunzhi was willing to gift him a set of spear techniques, Lu Xiao naturally wished for nothing better.

Seeing Lu Xiao's response, An Yunzhi began to recite the spear technique, known as the "Mountain and River Spear," from memory.

Lu Xiao memorized it on the side, casually picking up a withered branch to act as a spear.

According to his own comprehension, he tried to execute these moves.

However, these attempts were very restrained and did not constitute true cultivation or rigorous practice.

After all, this mountain forest was fraught with danger, and there was also the suppression left behind by the Immortal Tianlin.

Cultivating in this environment was truly unlikely to yield much effect.

An Yunzhi recited the "Mountain and River Spear" twice to ensure that Lu Xiao could commit it to memory.

"I have practiced the sword since childhood, so I know very little about spear techniques and have achieved very little through shallow study.

Therefore, Junior Brother Lu will probably have to rely on himself to comprehend its essence.

My experiential advice is very likely to do you more harm than good."

Lu Xiao thanked An Yunzhi, as being gifted a technique was already wonderful.

Besides, he possessed the ability to refine techniques; studying and comprehending it would not pose any obstacle to him.

After acquiring this technique, Lu Xiao sat inside the wooden hut and pondered it carefully.

Since conditions were lacking at the moment, he would transcribe it once they left and then refine and enhance it.

In a way, he now had a set of martial skills to rely on.

As the sky gradually darkened, he closed the narrow door of the wooden hut to cover it.

By now, the two of them sharing the same wooden hut no longer felt so awkward.

Accidental touches no longer caused them to cautiously shrink back as before.

An Yunzhi was still recuperating, so she made it a point to fall asleep as early as possible after nightfall.

Today was no exception, and she drifted off to sleep in about an hour.

Once asleep, her entire body seemed even more relaxed.

At first, her slender legs were slightly bent, considering how tiny the wooden hut was.

After falling asleep, however, she simply chose a comfortable resting position.

She draped her legs right across Lu Xiao's lap...

Night passed, and dawn broke around the fourth quarter of the Chen hour.

An Yunzhi opened her eyes, and in a hazy daze, she found Lu Xiao looking at her.

Lost in whatever thoughts she was having, she noticed Lu Xiao's gaze and hurriedly averted her eyes.

Peeking from the corner of her vision, she discovered that Lu Xiao was still looking at her.

Furthermore, he was pointing a finger toward his own chest.

Following the direction of Lu Xiao's finger, An Yunzhi realized that her feet had been resting right against his chest the entire time...

She had slept far too uninhibitedly last night.

Wherever felt comfortable, her feet had simply gone there.

Regaining her wits, An Yunzhi hastily pulled back her feet, a blush rising on her cheeks, accompanied by a hint of embarrassment and apology.

"Last night, I..."

"You kicked me several times. Fortunately, Immortal Tianlin suppresses our martial realms.

Otherwise, I might have been seriously injured."

Lu Xiao joked as he stood up, walked out of the wooden hut, and headed toward the lakeside.

The first thing to deal with upon waking every day was food.

Looking at Lu Xiao's retreating figure, An Yunzhi rubbed her face.

She scolded herself for being so disgraceful.

A direct disciple of the Nine Stars Palace, actually committing such an unseemly act...

Over the next few days, Lu Xiao went to the eastern lake every day to catch fish, then roasted them before bringing them back.

Whether due to the bitter cold, the fish seemed almost frozen stupid, reluctant to move even when about to be caught.

With a daily supply of meat to supplement their diet, An Yunzhi's condition improved steadily.

During their extra free time, An Yunzhi began giving Lu Xiao some guidance.

Although they had been driven into a desperate situation by those ferocious beasts this time, the root cause was their lack of understanding of the spatial laws within Immortal Tianlin's ruins.

It certainly wasn't because An Yunzhi's martial prowess was lacking.

For the Nine Stars Palace to permit her to enter these ruins left by an immortal, she was bound to be intelligent and possess exceptional strength.

During their conversations, however, An Yunzhi sensed that Lu Xiao lacked martial arts experience.

Particularly when it came to facing enemies, he was severely deficient.

Seizing this opportunity, An Yunzhi began explaining various experiences and techniques to him.

For Lu Xiao, these were actually core and immensely useful insights.

A duel between martial artists was not a roll of the dice to compare sizes.

If one side was at the peak of the Stone-Moving Realm and the other at the mastery stage of the Stone-Moving Realm, it did not automatically mean the practitioner at the peak would win.

The outcome of a battle was a collection of various conditions and factors.

This even included how to regulate one's state of mind.

In actual combat, a chaotic state of mind could easily cause a martial artist's combat effectiveness to plummet by more than half.

As An Yunzhi spoke, Lu Xiao listened patiently, mentally rehearsing potential scenarios in his mind.

As a direct disciple of the Nine Stars Palace, she had experienced countless trials and duels.

Almost every clever trick in combat that she could currently think of, she had witnessed.

Moreover, she had clear countermeasures for all kinds of techniques.

While her sect's techniques could not be imparted to outsiders, the experience of actual combat response could always be shared with others.

Facing Lu Xiao, An Yunzhi held nothing back.

These frontline combat experiences were a tremendous boon to Lu Xiao.

They would help him immensely, whether dealing with potential ferocious beasts right now or preparing for the martial academy examinations in the middle of next year.

After nearly eight days of recuperation, An Yunzhi's injuries were almost fully healed.

Since her foundation was undamaged and her injuries were purely superficial, naturally it did not take long to recover.

Meanwhile, the suppression exerted by the ruins left by the immortal began to grow stronger.

Even Lu Xiao, a martial artist at the mastery stage of the Stone-Moving Realm, could feel this suppression.

His already low martial realm dropped another tier.

The same applied to An Yunzhi; having previously entered the Spirit Fetus Realm, her realm was now equal to Lu Xiao's.

Both of them had been reduced to martial artists at the entry stage of the Stone-Moving Realm.

From now on, they had to be extremely vigilant against those ferocious beasts.

Their martial strength had decreased once more, but the physical prowess of the beasts had not dropped at all.

Fortunately, An Yunzhi was mostly recovered.

Now she could accompany Lu Xiao to catch fish outside, sparing him from taking risks alone.

Traveling as a companion would make it much safer should they suddenly encounter ferocious beasts.

Having made their decision, the two set off together toward the eastern lake.

With their realms suppressed, traveling became much more exhausting, something Lu Xiao felt keenly.

A distance that previously felt quite short now felt vastly different when walked.

Obstacles they used to leap over effortlessly now appeared rather tall.

Without the support of their martial realms, movement techniques like the "Spirit Wind Step" were also adversely affected.

The same was true for An Yunzhi, who now possessed only the forms of her movement techniques without the power behind them.

The two could only support each other, pulling and holding hands whenever they encountered higher slopes or ledges.

It felt somewhat strange, but neither of them said much.

Upon reaching the lakeside, the two spotted four ferocious beasts drinking water by the shore.

They waited until the beasts left before stepping out to catch fish.

After catching the fish, they even moved to a different spot to roast them.

The probability of encountering ferocious beasts in this vicinity was too high to linger for long.

On the way back, An Yunzhi looked around as if searching for something.

Noticing Lu Xiao's gaze, she offered an explanation.

She was looking for markers left behind by her senior sister.

Believing her senior sister had also escaped danger, she expected they would leave markers near hidden locations after surviving.

Hearing this, Lu Xiao suddenly recalled something.

"So those tree branches arranged in the shape of a tic-tac-toe on the left side of the wooden hut were placed by you?

I thought we were being targeted by someone, so I kicked them apart with my foot and remained on guard for two whole days..."