The reason Liu Fenghai had spared Lin Lin after seizing Qingfeng Sect, and even made him the senior disciple, was quite calculated.

  Liu Fenghai was a terrible sect leader.

  When it came to killing and arson, he needed the other three elders to stand with him.

  But when it was time to divide the spoils, he took the biggest share.

  Liu Fenghai knew his selfishness would drive the three elders apart.

  His solution was a balancing act.

  For the three elders to overthrow him, they had to unite.

  But that was difficult, because the three elders were no saints either. They all wanted to wait and reap the benefits without risking anything.

  On Liu Fenghai's side, he had his Foundation Establishment daughter Liu Yueyan and the support of his in-laws, the Spirit Sword Sect.

  To be extra safe, Liu Fenghai had quickly promoted Lin Lin, who was at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

  That way, even if all three elders rebelled, Liu Fenghai, with Liu Yueyan and Lin Lin, had a fighting chance.

  This was also why Liu Fenghai stepped in when that brat from the Ling family insulted Lin Lin.

  He wanted to prove two things.

  First, Qingfeng Sect was his alone. He called the shots.

  All other disciples or cultivation families, every single one of them, were trash.

  Second, there could only be one sun above Lin Lin, and that was Liu Fenghai himself.

  What Liu Fenghai never expected was that his little scheme would be blown to pieces by "Moonlight Wine."

  Lin Lin walked quickly into the cave and headed for the secluded chamber.

  The two maids were attending to Liu Yueyan, who was reading. One was turning pages, the other massaging her shoulders.

  Seeing Lin Lin arrive, they stopped and bowed.

  "You two, go wait about thirty paces outside the training room. Do not go far."

  "Yes." The maids hurried out without delay.

  Liu Yueyan, ever since losing her limbs and being confined to this cave, had been in a bad mood.

  Seeing Lin Lin, she was about to explode again. "Hmph, I cannot even read a book in peace. What, am I just some object for you to use whenever you want?"

  Lin Lin picked up the book. It was called "Cultivation Three Lives Sees Peach Blossom, Volume Two."

  It was basically about a female cultivator falling in love with handsome guys in her sect.

  The cover showed it was printed with movable type by the Wenhai Bookstore in Baiyue City. A bestseller in the cultivation world, it seemed.

  Indeed, every girl has her dreams.

  Girls this age mostly did not care about power or money.

  They basically just wanted to find a handsome cultivator and have a passionate love affair.

  "Miss, why do you only have the middle volume? Oh, I get it. You secretly bought it in Jiangrong City and were afraid your father would find out you were not diligently cultivating, right?"

  Exposed by Lin Lin, Liu Yueyan's face flushed. "None of your damn business."

  Lin Lin opened the book and continued his teasing.

  "Oh, the male lead here is the domineering cultivator type. So this is the kind of guy you like. Who would have thought that the seemingly tough Miss is actually a masochist underneath."

  Seeing her少女心思 being laid bare bit by bit, Liu Yueyan was mortified.

  If she had her hands and feet, she would have already used "Misty Willow Bridge" on Lin Lin's lower body.

  "I order you to give that book back! I will count to three! One... two..."

  Lin Lin obediently placed the book beside her.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Miss, do not be angry. It is just a novel. I will buy it for you. Whatever you want, I will get it for you. I will spoil you, okay?"

  "You are being nice? If you were nice, would you have made me like this?"

  "Well, yes. Recently, something big happened in the sect. I have a small request. I hope you will consider it, Miss."

  Hearing Lin Lin's serious tone, Liu Yueyan sensed something was wrong.

  "What is it? Did someone find out my father is a demon cult henchman?"

  "No, actually... Miss Liu, please, you must consider this."

  "Huh?"

  "Miss Liu, can I X your X?"

  Hearing such crude words, Liu Yueyan was so angry she was speechless.

  When she realized he was not mocking her but actually meant to do it physically, her face turned as red as a ripe persimmon.

  "You demon cult lecher! You pervert! If you dare touch me, I will bite my tongue and kill myself!"

  Lin Lin looked helpless. "Miss, I am genuinely trying to discuss this with you. A quick point: you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It is very hard to die by biting your tongue."

  "You!"

  "Even if you want to die, I could still do it before you die. Even if you die, it does not matter. I could still do it while you are warm."

  Liu Yueyan was, after all, a young lady from a good family. The romance novels she read were elegant, at most some rivalry for affection.

  So she did not understand the phrase "while you are warm."

  After Lin Lin explained it to her, she was first furious, cursing him thoroughly.

  Then, thinking it through, she lay back on the chair without resistance.

  Yes, she could not even threaten him with death. What else could she do?

  Looking at Liu Yueyan, who seemed ashen and lifeless, Lin Lin almost felt sorry for her. "Hey, I am discussing it with you, asking your opinion, right? And am I really that bad? Sure, my face is messed up, but with the lights off, it is probably the same, right?"

  "You... you demon cult people have no shame!"

  No shame?

  Lin Lin did not see it that way.

  Back on Earth, online advice always told guys to be proactive. Was he not being proactive?

  And he was not just talking theory. He had实战经验.

  Once, before going to a comic convention, he had asked in a group chat how to quickly hit on a girl.

  The advice from the group was: when you see a girl you like, just ask her directly, "Can I X your X."

  The key was honesty.

  Yes or no, simple, no time wasted.

  At the con, he spotted a girl he knew. She looked pretty good in cosplay.

  So he walked up and sincerely asked her that question.

  And she sincerely said yes.

  After that successful confession, they went to a hotel after the con.

  The only problem was they broke up a month later, and he paid her four thousand yuan as a breakup fee...

  Anyway, sincerity was key.

  "Miss, here is the thing. I need something from you, and I am betting on your life."

  Liu Yueyan's mind was already full of dirty thoughts. Her first reaction was wrong.

  "You... you want my body, and you are betting... betting I won't bite my tongue, right?"

  "No, I want your core nucleus. I am betting on your life."

  "What... what do you mean?"

  Seizing the opportunity, Lin Lin explained the原理 of the core nucleus to Liu Yueyan.

  Since Liu Yueyan was a girl from the cultivation world with no biology background, Lin Lin had to simplify it as much as possible.

  Finally, after much effort, he managed to make her understand that the core nucleus was essentially the same as the Gu worms from Miaojiang.

  Liu Yueyan was stunned for a long time after listening. Finally, she came to. "So, you need my core to break through to Foundation Establishment?"

  "Yes. But this is also good for you, Miss. Have you noticed that since you reached Foundation Establishment, your personality changed drastically? You kill people at the slightest provocation."

  "... I knew it. I thought I seemed to have become a stranger..."

  Liu Yueyan seemed to realize that after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, her emotions had become uncontrollable.

  "Yes, Miss, do not worry. This is normal. Once I remove your core, your personality should return to normal."

  Liu Yueyan nodded, then hesitated. "I understand. But there is one thing I still do not understand."

  "Oh? What is it?"

  "Taking my core is dangerous. But what does it have to do with... you wanting to... be intimate with me?" Saying this, Liu Yueyan could not help but cover her face with her殘臂.

  "Ah, that... actually..."

  Lin Lin's original thought was to say that this core removal procedure was risky.

  He could not use the Wind Scar Sword Art method on a person.

  So he had chosen a new method he had recently researched.

  But this new method had only been tested on demon beasts. On a human, this was the first time.

  After all, Lin Lin only had Liu Yueyan as a Foundation Establishment experimental subject.

  Lin Lin wanted to have some fun with Liu Yueyan one last time, partly because he thought it was a pity. This girl had come into the world and not even enjoyed the pleasures of love before possibly dying because of him. That would be too unfair to her.

  Of course, the bigger reason was that he wanted to satisfy his physical needs.

  After all, he had taken care of the naked Liu Yueyan. With her figure and looks, she would be model material in the real world.

  Of course, he could not say all these honest thoughts now.

  So he had to use a kind lie.

  Lin Lin immediately knelt on the ground. "Miss, the truth is, I like you."

  "Miss, I know. Not only am I disfigured, I am also from the demon cult. In this life, I am probably not worthy of you."

  "Miss, I also know that I blew off your limbs. You will definitely hate me forever. But it does not matter. I had my reasons."

  Liu Yueyan was at a loss, not knowing how to react to Lin Lin's sudden kneeling.

  "You like me, so you blew off my limbs?"

  Lin Lin continued to weave his tale with emotion.

  "Miss, I know you do not like cultivating. Advancing to Foundation Establishment was forced on you by your father, the sect leader."

  "He did it to form an alliance with the Spirit Sword Sect through marriage. Also, he wanted to use you to help his own cultivation."

  A few words hit Liu Yueyan's sore spot. She immediately denied it. "Shut up! My relationship with my father is none of your business!"

  Lin Lin persisted, continuing his nonsense.

  "Oh? Did he ask your opinion about marrying you off to the Spirit Sword Sect?"

  "If I had not blown off your limbs, he would have continued using you, dragging you into the demon cult, making you a puppet."

  "Compare that. You lost your limbs, yes, but you gained freedom. You can eat what you want. Whatever you want to read, I will buy it for you. In the future, I will even reattach your limbs. Is that not better?"

  Faced with this wave of psychological attack from Lin Lin's nonsense, Liu Yueyan was completely confused.

  But she still had a shred of reason left. "No matter how reasonable you make it sound, I still find it hard to believe you."

  "Miss, why? I cannot convince you?"

  Liu Yueyan looked utterly resigned. "Do you think I would believe a demon cult member who casually throws around phrases like 'while you are warm'?"