“{Do you want my help, Junior Sister?}” Gu Ran’s qi transmission came to her.

“{Fine!}” Xiao Hong pouted. She recognised this thing was far beyond her league in just those few exchanges. She could probably take it down, but she would also be heavily injured in the process. So it was better to let Gu Ran take it down. In the past few days of travelling with him, she had come to realise this fellow was far stronger than he let on. Even the strongest among the Rank 3 mid-stage Beasts could not match him.

What did that mean? It meant his battle power had exceeded the 8th Disaster and was closing in on Nirvana. Perhaps, there was still quite a distance away from that level, but that was far beyond anything a mere Earth Disaster should be able to exert.

Through her overpowered senses and a bit of his residual Qi, she had managed to ascertain that he was at the Yang Disaster. ‘As expected, it’s the “Protagonist hides his strength” trope!’ Xiao Hong had nodded to herself after the third time Gu Ran had effortlessly dealt with a Demon Beast she had a hard time against. ‘My speculation that he is the old-fogie-cultivating-again type has more credibility now.’

She ceased her reminiscence and paid attention to Gu Ran, who had appeared between her and the Golden Thunder Lion - it was always a great learning opportunity to watch his fights! 

Moreover, she had an idea that she wanted to test - her system worked by learning from manuals, or more precisely, it could learn when she gave it information. So just yesterday, a thought had struck her, ‘What if I could create those manuals myself? Or at least compile a large amount of information? For example, if I compile information on dealing with Demon Beasts or even a particular Demon Beast, can I have the system learn it for me and turn it into battle experience?’ 

If she could do such a thing, it would make things a lot easier! 

She quickly got rid of her distracting thoughts and concentrated on Gu Ran who was facing the Golden Thunder Lion with a casual smile, looking very cool and dashing. 

Gu Ran quickly made a few hand seals pointed forward at the Golden Thunder Lion and a Dark Flame Serpent appeared. 

Incredibly, the Dark Flame Serpent looked no different from a normal black-coloured serpent. If it were not for the extreme heat it was radiating, Xiao Hong would have thought it was a completely normal black snake!

‘What mastery!’ Xiao Hong could not help but marvel.

Gu Ran casually waved his hand.

The Dark Flame Serpent jolted into motion and seared through the air at a speed even the Golden Thunder Lion could not match! As it blazed through the air, it split into hundreds of smaller Dark Flame Serpents that sped up even more, turning into beams of black!

‘Fuck, can you not casually show off like that?!’ She cursed. Her chest felt constricted. Who wouldn’t feel stifled when they saw someone casually doing something they couldn’t achieve with great difficulty? 

‘How hard are you trying to rend my heart?!

‘How have I offended you? 

‘Goddammit, I even made pills for you and this is how you repay me?!! By rending my heart?!

‘I curse you! Be single forever!’ She cursed him and breathed deeply to soothe her increasingly stifled heart. 

Gu Ran, on the other hand, was thinking of something completely different: ‘It is difficult to forcefully show the Myriad Transformations level when I am actually at the Instinctive Control level.’ He shook his head inwardly. ‘Sigh, so much hard work to gain her favour…

‘But it’s worth it - with Junior Sister’s Stellar Primordial Body and her comprehension, she should be able to easily gain enlightenment from this move!

‘With this, she would be able to reach Perfection for the Dark Flame Serpent! If she’s lucky, she might even gain enlightenment and directly reach the Myriad Transformations level for this Spell!

‘Junior Sister Xiao will definitely be very grateful!’ he sighed to himself, thinking that he did indeed cherish the younger generation. Mh-hm, he was a good person!

The Golden Thunder Lion roared in defiance seeing hundreds of black beams that shot towards it. Seeing it had no way of dodging like it had previously, it retreated. However, unexpectedly some of the beams of black sped up even more, shot past it and attacked it from behind!

Roar!

The Golden Thunder Lion roared again, the powerful bolts of lightning surrounding it intensified and blasted out omnidirectionally, attacking the beams that had surrounded it!

Gu Ran simply shook his head and pointed his finger at the Golden Thunder Lion.

A beam of blood-red light shot out and pierced the head of the Golden Thunder Lion that was distracted from defending against the beams of black flames. It was instantly killed!

‘Isn’t this too easy?!’ Xiao Hong’s mouth twitched, ‘Just two moves and you’re on the ground, dead?

‘Where is the ferocity you showed me? Where are the enraged roars?! Where is that bullshit speed?!’ Xiao Hong raged inwardly. 

‘Be honest, you’re actually here to help him show off, aren’t you?! So that he could show off his strength in front of the Jade Beauty and impress her, right?! I see right through you! 

‘Fucking-!’

“Junior Sister, we’ve gathered some Beast Crystal Cores, do you want to refine the pills now? Or should we have a rest first?” Gu Ran had walked up to her holding the volleyball-sized Beast Crystal Core. “With the same rate as last time.”

“I’ll get to it right away, Senior Brother.” Xiao Hong smiled sweetly, completely contrary to the tone of her thoughts. She snatched the Beast Crystal Core.

***

After swindling Gu Ran once again, her heart felt much lighter. The stifled feeling in her heart had reduced greatly and she could smile once again.

“By the way, Senior Brother, I have a question.” Xiao Hong turned to Gu Ran who was roasting the Golden Thunder Lion. 

“What is it, Junior Sister?” Gu Ran turned to Xiao Hong who was looking at him with wide, innocent eyes, causing his heart to skip several beats. ‘Ugh. How does she do that so naturally?!’ Gu Ran cursed. ‘Damned young body!’ 

If his Dao Heart had not been tempered over millennia, Gu Ran speculated he would have become her loyal dog in these few days!

“I was wondering,” Xiao Hong paused for a few moments, “How does a person increase their talent?”

“Increase talent??” Gu Ran was incredibly confused. Why did she care about increasing talent? She is the possessor of the Stellar Primordial Body! In the past few days, he had basically confirmed that she did indeed possess the Stellar Primordial Body or some variation of it. Otherwise, those continuous jumps in Physical Essence were impossible! No one could use Cultivation Methods while doing something else - the transcendence of Self was something that required utmost care. No external Treasure, Method or Influence could do it! 

At the level of cultivation he’d reached, it was easy to deduce such a thing was impossible.

‘Perhaps, it is for a close friend?’ Gu Ran mused, ‘Hm. That should be it.’

“When you say increase in talent, I assume you mean breaking past the Upper Limit of Talent?” Gu Ran looked at Xiao Hong.

“Indeed.” She nodded in affirmation. “Everything else can be solved by resources.”

Gu Ran paused for a few moments before he sighed, “The short answer is: it can’t be increased.”

Xiao Hong’s face turned pale. She felt as though she was being squeezed by a giant, leaving her unable to breathe properly. There was a sort of finality in his tone that caused a feeling of dread to settle on her.

Taking a few deep breaths, she croaked out a few words, “T-The long answer?”

“It’s somewhat complicated.” Gu Ran glanced at her before he started to explain,  “To understand it, one needs to first understand why the Upper Limit exists at all.

“To use an analogy,” He paused for a few moments as he organised his thoughts, “It is like a mortal exercising. A mortal can exercise by running, lifting stones, chopping wood and so on. While performing these activities, a mortal’s muscles and bones are stressed, causing minute damage that is invisible to the mortal eye. But, the body’s natural healing repairs these damages and also strengthens them in the hope that it doesn’t break down again when subjected to the same stress. This results in the mortal’s body also becoming stronger, allowing them to exert more strength.

“During the healing process, however, the mortal needs to rest. This is of utmost importance. If the mortal does not rest and continues to strain his body, he will likely cripple his body beyond repair.

“Cultivation is also similar but far more profound! If one tries to exceed the limit set by Talent, they will only end up hurting themselves. They will be twisted beyond recognition and their entire existence will start to deform into something that is not themselves - Cultivation is the Transcension of Self after all.”

He paused once again before he asked, “Have you seen some of the Demonic Path Cultivators? Ones that don’t look human at all?”

Xiao Hong nodded stiffly. Some of the ones she saw were truly horrid. Extra arms, deformed faces, muscles falling apart. It could be considered nightmare fuel. Some essentially looked like zombies.

“That is the price one had to pay to go beyond the limits.

“Moreover, the price is not merely one’s looks - even their internals are damaged beyond repair, their meridians grow crooked, twisted and dry. Their Dantian shrivels and becomes so brittle, that they might lose their cultivation if they fight too hard. 

“After using Demonic Techniques to forcefully cultivate beyond the Upper Limit, their original Upper Limit will drop even lower, forcing them to rely more on Demonic Techniques. They will use it over and over until they are a mere husk of themselves.

“And this is why the true experts of the Demonic Path are just as talented in the Immortal Path - the Demonic Techniques don’t truly push them beyond their Upper Limit.” Gu Ran sighed lightly, a faraway look in his eyes that reflected the flickering fire. “It is circumstance that pushed them to become Demons.”

There was a moment of silence before he shook his head and looked at Xiao Hong indifferently. His tone was emotionless, “It is best to cut off such relationships as soon as possible - it will only result in grief. For you and for them.”

‘It is a bit harsh, but it is better for her to understand this now, lest she suffer disappointment later on.’ Gu Ran felt a little guilty for crushing her hopes like this, but this way she would suffer less.

Her mouth felt dry, “I-Is there really no way? Pills, Treasures, Techniques, Natural Treasures of Heaven and Earth? Anything?” Xiao Hong’s tone quivered as her feverish gaze searched Gu Ran’s face in hope.

Gu Ran shook his head, “There are no Pills, Treasure, Techniques, or Natural Treasures of Heaven and Earth that I know of that can increase a person's Talent.

“The rumours you hear about people finding Natural Treasures and getting a massive boost in Cultivation Talent is merely them awakening their Special Physiques, Bloodlines, or something similar. None of them gain anything that was not theirs in the first place.”

“Talent is something that is bestowed by the Way of Heaven and can only be increased by following the conventional Path of Ascension allowed by it: and that is attaining Nirvana.

“Relying on something external things to increase your Talent will only result in disappointment.”

 Looking at Xiao Hong’s increasingly desperate expression, he continued, “But…

“Theoretically,” he emphasised the word strongly, “if you can correct every possible deformation as it occurs or before it does, you can cultivate beyond the Upper Limit. 

“But such a level of control over one’s Essence and Body,” Gu Ran shook his head helplessly, “I can’t think of a way to do it.

“Perhaps only the fabled True Immortals can do it.”

Gu Ran paused again, before continuing with an uncertain tone, “There is a theory that the Heavenly Way’s Blessing can buff one’s cultivation speed beyond the Upper Limit without repercussions.

“Talent is bestowed by the Heavens after all so this rumour has credibility.

“But, for that, one needs to gain the acknowledgement of the Heavenly Way.” he shook his head, “You might have a better chance of finding an Immortal to help you.

“Other than this, there is no other way that I know of.”

Xiao Hong looked dazed. Her gaze seemed lost as if she did not know what to do - which was really the case. 

A bitter smile came over her face. 

An Immortal? Were they cabbages anyone could find? Even if through sheer Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering luck she found one, how was she going to convince them to help her? 

Her Cultivation Methods? System? They were more likely to directly rip it out of her Soul. 

Wealth? Pfft!

Her body? Even if she was ready to sell her body, they might not take a second look at her.

As for the Heavenly Way? Yeah, right. Let's not even talk about that. Cultivators far stronger and more talented than her can only obediently take the Heavenly Daddy’s spanking in the form of Tribulations. As for her? She was probably not in its purview.

She stood up and expressionlessly walked away, her tone devoid of emotion, “Forgive me, Senior Brother, I wish to be alone.”

Gu Ran simply nodded.

Xiao Hong walked and walked and walked. Until the light from the fire was only a small dot in the Moonless night.

She plopped down on the ground and stared up at the stars. The stars were different. Different from the Main World. Different from her Earth.

‘Why was I even brought here?’ She wondered. ‘Did the Universe think I was too comfortable? 

‘Or was it someone that brought me here? Did they want to enjoy my despair or something?’

“Some weirdo you must be, huh?” she drily spoke to the sky.

She did not expect a reply. And she did not get any.

Xiao Hong continued staring at the moonless sky, her thoughts wandering. 

Her gaze grew firmer. “I don’t necessarily require any Immortal or any Heavenly Way. I will find a way for myself. I’m finally enjoying my life and I won’t give it up. I’d rather die than go back to being that mediocre person.”

She took a deep breath and relaxed her tensed muscles.

‘“Theoretically, if you can correct every possible deformation before it occurs, you can cultivate beyond the Upper Limit.”

‘I need to get better at Array Formations as fast as possible.’ She took out a jade slip from her storage bag.