I cultivate immortality through The Sims.

You know your relationship with Tan Yanrao was nothing more than a fleeting, chance encounter.

You don't hope to have any further contact with Tan Yanrao in the future.

But you know that you and the saint are bound to have many interactions.

[This is all on the premise that you didn't die at her hands.]

You dare not place your entire hope of survival on the saint's kindness.

In a moment of quick thinking, you decide to split this notebook in two.

[The first half of the notebook was given to the saintess, the second half was burned, but the contents were memorized.]

Fortunately, the notes weren't very long, and your memory is quite good.

After about two hours, you finally memorized the contents of the notes.

[At this moment, dawn was breaking, but you dared not delay and went straight to the saintess's cave.]

Did you succeed?

The saintess was somewhat impatient.

[You, believing you have something to rely on, countered: Was the saintess's previous promise true?]

The saintess wore a slight, appreciative smile: "Of course."

You immediately took out half a notebook and handed it to the saintess.

The saintess immediately took it and began to browse its contents.

[In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the first half of the book has been read.]

What about the second half?

You confidently pointed to your head: "I burned the notes; the contents are in my head."

To prevent the Holy Maiden from abandoning you after using you, you have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and take a gamble.

Moreover, you can even obtain more elixirs from the saintess using the latter half of the notes in your mind.

Upon hearing this, the saintess burst into laughter.

This makes you very uneasy.

Haven't you heard of the art of soul searching?

Upon hearing the saintess's words, you were immediately terrified.

You secretly realized you'd overlooked something.

Before you could come up with a solution, the Holy Maiden spoke up: "Don't worry, I am not one to break my word."

Before the Five Sects Alliance, you could exchange half a volume of this book for a replica token from the Holy Maiden.

Then the saintess took out a bottle of pills and tossed it to you.

[And added: It seems your act of being dutiful was just an act.]

You don't have the energy to worry about these things.

Seeing that the Holy Maiden indeed had no intention of killing you, you felt greatly relieved.

You secretly resolved to improve your strength at all costs.

[After this incident, rumors indeed began to circulate that you were a follower of the Holy Maiden.]

[This also relates to the fact that the Holy Maiden previously allowed you to be the only one in the alchemy room to do menial tasks.]

The rumor was then accepted as fact by the members of the Thousand Clouds Sect.

The foreman of menial tasks doesn't bother to order you around doing menial work.

Take this opportunity to cultivate yourself even more diligently.

In the third year, you are twenty years old.

The Five Sects Alliance will convene in June; you only have six months left.

The Holy Maiden has not forgotten her promise to you; she will provide you with the full amount of pills every month.

[You spend almost all your time cultivating, except for mealtimes.]

Your cultivation speed is visible to the naked eye.

[In the third month, you broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, and even touched the threshold of the fifth level.]

The other disciples also sensed your growing strength, which further confirmed their belief that you were the Holy Maiden's person, making them even more hesitant to provoke you.

Some cunning servants might even try to curry favor with you and side with the Holy Maiden in order to secure a better chance of survival.

But you rejected them all.

[And it was only after you brought up the saintess that those guys dared not bother you anymore.]

You know all too well that your own strength is the key to survival.

Three months is enough time for you to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Only at the fifth level of Qi Refining?

Yang Mu felt a chill run down his spine.

Even with a sufficient supply of pills, it would take half a year to reach the first level.

This person's five elemental roots and physique are truly useless!

At the fifth level of Qi Refining, I'll definitely be cannon fodder among cannon fodder.

To survive, the only option is to find an opportunity to leave the Thousand Cloud Sect.

With that thought in mind, you composed yourself and continued looking at the simulator:

[This cultivation speed seems fast to you.]

But that's simply not enough to survive in the chaos.

[So, you plan to memorize the second half of your notes the day before the Five Sects Alliance meeting, and exchange it for that counterfeit token.]

The loss of that notebook did not provoke the sect leader's wrath.

Perhaps the contents of the notes were already in his mind.

You also subtly inquired about it from Zhang Erdan, who is quite well-informed.

That very night, Xie Zhenlin, the second-best expert among the inner disciples, left early under a pretext and then disappeared from the Thousand Clouds Sect.

As for the imitation token, it's said to be the only thing besides the sect's token that can open the sect's protective array.

There are only three imitation tokens in the entire Thousand Cloud Sect.

One piece is in the hands of the saintess, one is in the hands of Guo Yufei, and the last one is in the hands of Xie Zhenlin.

[You've probably guessed the Saintess's so-called backup plan.]

But you don't want to get involved, nor do you have the power to.

Just when you thought you could finally cultivate peacefully until you reached the Five Sects Alliance.

Your thatched cottage has welcomed an old friend.

【The misty pool is enchanting.】

You naturally know why she came here.

For some reason, you still went to see her.

After several attempts to hold back, you finally couldn't resist.

【...】

You promised to take her with you when you leave, but she must keep it a secret.

[You had Tan Yanrao wait for you in this thatched hut of yours the day before yesterday at the Five Clans Alliance.]

Although you didn't say how you left, it's not hard to guess.

[You just want to use the title of Holy Maiden to suppress Tan Yanrao's unfounded thoughts.]

After getting rid of Tan Yanrao, Zhang Erdan came to visit again.

You originally thought Zhang Erdan would be the first to arrive.

Of all the people in the sect, only Zhang Erdan can be considered your friend.

[Based solely on this, you conclude that Zhang Erdan is definitely not simple.]

Zhang Erdan brought a lot of wine and meat.

As always, Zhang Erdan told you all the big and small news from within the sect, but he made no mention of you being a member of the Holy Maiden's faction.

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhang Erdan looked somewhat dejected and said, "You've found a way out, haven't you?"

[You didn't deny it, but in the end, we don't even know if the Holy Maiden will give you that replica token.]

"What a pity," Zhang Erdan sighed. "I'm still a virgin."

You remained silent, simply watching Zhang Erdan, wanting to see what he was up to.

[Immediately afterwards, Zhang Erdan began to emotionally appeal to you, crying and pleading.]

You seemed persuaded by his words and asked him what it was, promising to do it for him.

[Think about it: if he's just asking you to take him away from the sect, you could agree.]

After all, if you're going to take Tan Yanrao with you, taking one more won't hurt.

But to my surprise, he asked you to introduce him to the Holy Maiden.

Upon seeing this, Yang Mu immediately began to suspect Zhang Erdan's motives:

If he was just trying to survive, he could have easily asked me to take him away, knowing that I had a way out.

Instead of asking me to take him away, he asked me to introduce him to the saint.

Does he think he can find a way out with the saintess, or does he already have a way out and come to me now with a bigger scheme?

With these questions in mind, Yang Mu turned his attention back to the simulator.