As the light of the Heaven-Earth Oath descended, Ye Lanshan's suspended heart finally settled.
The moment her heart relaxed, she was sucked into the space. Now, the space was not only brimming with spiritual energy but also had an extra room. Ye Lanshan walked slowly into the room and saw a cultivation manual, titled *Chaos Heart Method*.
The cultivation methods within differed from those in the original owner's memories, resembling instead the techniques of immortal cultivation.
At that moment, a somewhat terrifying idea sprouted in her mind: *Can I cultivate immortality and mystic arts simultaneously? After all, this manual isn't much different from my immortal cultivation techniques.*
"Failed again? Is it really impossible to cultivate both immortality and mystic arts together?" Ye Lanshan muttered to herself after many failures.
"Master, Master!" A series of urgent voices suddenly broke into her mind. Startled, she instantly exited the space.
Yan Hu, seeing Ye Lanshan suddenly appear, said, "Master, where have you been these past two days? Why couldn't I contact you no matter what? And also—"
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Let me tell you one thing at a time, don't rush me," Ye Lanshan said, holding her forehead in pain.
Ye Lanshan continued, "First, I was in the space these past two days. Second, I didn't hear your call. Third, I don't know why I was sucked into the space, and I also don't know why I was kicked out." The more she spoke, the more irritated she became.
At this, the python said doubtfully, "This space of yours is quite strange. In all my years, I've never seen such an odd space."
Ye Lanshan's heart jolted, and she quickly replied, "There are plenty of things you haven't seen. What's wrong with my space? You're clearly overthinking it."
With that, she shifted the topic: "Let's head out today."
Yan Hu asked, "Where are we going?"
A sly smile curled at the corner of Ye Lanshan's mouth as she said, "Of course, back to Chaoyang City to have some fun with the Ye family."
Yan Hu shuddered violently, thinking to himself: *Master is really dangerous right now. Looks like those Ye family members are in for trouble.*
"I'm telling you, if you kill me, my brother won't let you off!" A panicked young voice came from ahead.
A cold voice followed: "You think I'm afraid of your brother? Hah, that guy can't even save himself. How could he come to rescue you?"
Ye Lanshan rested her chin on her hand, watching the scene. The man's clothes looked oddly familiar, as if she'd seen them somewhere before.
As she was deep in thought, a burst of mystic force came flying toward her. Watching it draw closer, she finally remembered—the clothes were identical to those of the person who had once tried to kill her.
With a wave of her hand, she dispelled the mystic force just inches away, thinking to herself: *I'll start with this one.*
The black-clad man, seeing her easily neutralize his attack, found it strange: *What's going on? Her level is so low—how could she effortlessly dissolve my mystic force? Is there some expert protecting her from behind?*
It seemed this witness couldn't be silenced. But judging by her current demeanor, she didn't seem intent on meddling. Besides, his main priority was killing Young Master Lan. Better not stir up trouble.
So the black-clad man spoke up: "Apologies, that was a slip of the hand just now. I hope the expert will forgive me."
Ye Lanshan looked at him and said, "Fine, as long as you cripple one of your own hands, I'll forgive you. How about that?"
The black-clad man said darkly, "Don't push it."
Ye Lanshan teased, "I am pushing it. What can you do about it?"
The black-clad man threatened, "If I really wanted to kill you, even the expert behind you couldn't protect you."
A dangerous smile curved on Ye Lanshan's lips. The atmosphere around her turned icy, and her eyes were bone-chillingly cold as she said, "Feel free to try. We'll see who dies."
With that, she pulled out a dagger and charged at the black-clad man. Before he could react, she slit his throat.
The black-clad man uttered his last words: "This... this is impossible." Then he collapsed to the ground.
Young Master Lan stared blankly at Ye Lanshan, thinking: *Is... is she a fairy? A fairy sent to save me?*
Ye Lanshan looked at the bloodied white-clad youth sitting on the ground and said coldly, "What are you sitting there for? Get up. Unless you want to attract spirit beasts?"
Young Master Lan snapped back to reality and quickly replied, "Oh, I'll get up now."
But after struggling for a while, he couldn't stand. Embarrassed, he said to Ye Lanshan, "I can't get up."
Ye Lanshan looked at his battered body, as if spotting a business opportunity, and said, "Give me a thousand gold coins, and I'll give you this pill to heal your wounds." She pulled a pill from her sleeve.
Young Master Lan gazed at her, as if she were a celestial maiden, and said, "Alright, but I don't have that much money on me right now."
Ye Lanshan: "You don't?"
Afraid she might misunderstand, he quickly added, "You can come with me to the bank in Chaoyang City to withdraw it."
Ye Lanshan leaned against a tree, thinking: *I'm heading to Chaoyang City anyway. Traveling with him would make the journey less boring. Besides, I have plenty of these pills...*
After a moment's thought, she said, "Fine. I'll give you the pill first, but you're in charge of the food along the way."
Young Master Lan replied, "Deal. But I don't know your name yet. May I ask, miss?"
Ye Lanshan answered, "I'm Ye Lanshan. And you?"
Young Master Lan said, "I'm Lan Youli."
Ye Lanshan murmured, "Lan Youli... what a beautiful name."
Lan Youli said, "Ye Lanshan, it's getting late. How about we hurry on our way?"
Ye Lanshan: "Mm, let's go."
That evening, a fire crackled to life, roasting the day's catch. Lan Youli struggled to turn the meat skewered on a stick, while Ye Lanshan gazed up at the star-filled sky.
Suddenly, Ye Lanshan caught a whiff of something burning and looked down at Lan Youli. Sure enough, he had burnt the meat.
Ye Lanshan held her forehead and said, "I really shouldn't have expected much from you. Let me do the roasting."
Lan Youli said a bit sheepishly, "It's my first time roasting, you know."
Ye Lanshan sighed helplessly, "I know it's your first time. I'm not blaming you."
She used her dagger to cut off the burnt parts and placed the meat back on the rack to roast again.
As she roasted, she instructed Lan Youli, "See, you have to keep turning the meat—not too fast, but not too slow either. Too fast, and the inside won't cook; too slow, and it'll burn. Got it?"
Lan Youli: "Mm, got it."
After a while, Ye Lanshan took the meat down and said, "Here, try it. How is it?"
Lan Youli took a bite, his eyes lighting up. He stuffed the meat into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly, "This is the best roast I've ever had. It's amazing!"
Ye Lanshan watched him, as if he might swallow his own tongue, and said, "Slow down. No one's fighting you for it." Before she could finish, she heard Yan Hu and the Silver Serpent King swallowing their saliva.
Seeing their eager looks, Ye Lanshan had no choice but to roast another portion and toss it to them.
"So good!" Yan Hu and the Silver Serpent King said in unison, their eyes filled with bliss.
Ye Lanshan chewed her meat slowly and elegantly, as if unaware of how skilled her cooking was.