After brief consideration, Xia Li, being a man of action, decided to immediately go investigate the Strange Grounds.

  There was a teleportation array by the lake leading directly to the sect plaza.

  Standing on the teleportation array, as the world spun before his eyes, in just a moment he went from the tranquil lakeside to the bustling sect plaza.

  The sect plaza was Lingxu Cave Heaven's hub—connected in all directions to reach every part of the sect. It was also a transportation center, with teleportation arrays to different areas all built here.

  Just as Xia Li was admiring the prosperity of the sect plaza, he suddenly spotted someone who gave him a sense of crisis.

  Lin Ge!

  She was standing in front of the teleportation array, apparently waiting for someone.

  Their gazes inevitably met...

  Then Lin Ge walked directly over.

  "Hello, Junior Brother Xia. What a coincidence—running into you here."

  "Heh heh..."

  Xia Li forced an awkward laugh. Coincidence? This was clearly deliberately waiting here to ambush him!

  Didn't Lin Ye say it was already resolved? Why was he encountering her again so soon!

  "Junior Brother Xia, what are you planning to do next? Want me to accompany you?"

  Lin Ge felt the best way to close the distance was to act together—using her senior sister status to help Xia Li understand Lingxu Cave Heaven.

  "No need, thank you."

  Xia Li politely declined, but after being rejected, Lin Ge showed no sign of discouragement. She even moved closer.

  "I apologize again for what happened before. I genuinely want to be friends with you. Can you forgive me?"

  "About that... if I may be frank, you have a problem."

  Xia Li didn't want any overly intimate development with Lin Ge, so he decided to directly point out her condition.

  "A problem?"

  "Yes. You should have a fervent pursuit desire for novel things—willing to even risk death for new experiences. You might think this is just your personality, but it's not."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Ge furrowed her brows in thought. Her personality was indeed like this, but wasn't this just her personal trait? Why was it being called a problem?

  "My personality is indeed as you say, but how does that count as a problem?"

  "Too much of anything is bad. What you have is already obsession."

  "So what if it's obsession? How many cultivators in this world aren't obsessive? Why cultivate? What is the Dao?"

  Lin Ge questioned Xia Li in return. Xia Li couldn't answer this for now, because he hadn't yet found his own "Dao"—he currently leaned toward going with the flow.

  "Then you tell me first—why cultivate, and what is the Dao?"

  Xia Li didn't answer, throwing the question back to Lin Ge.

  "Cultivation is the same, yet some cultivate toward the illusory immortal—spending their whole lives not knowing why they cultivate, spending their whole lives questioning the Dao, only carried along by circumstance onto this path."

  "Others cultivate toward truth—clear goals, one step at a time, spending their whole lives proving the Dao, cultivating until everything is as they wish. Are you a cultivator of immortality, or a cultivator of truth?"

  Lin Ge clearly understood cultivation far better than Xia Li, and she'd illuminated two paths for him.

  The path of cultivating immortality and the path of cultivating truth.

  Questioning the Dao or proving the Dao.

  It had to be said that Lin Ge's words did give Xia Li some enlightenment. However, in this noisy sect plaza, he couldn't quiet down properly to think.

  "So in your view, obsession is also a kind of Dao?"

  "Obsession taken to the extreme, until everything is as I wish—if that's not Dao, then what is?"

  Lin Ge was extremely confident, completely denying that she had any problem. Her confidence even made Xia Li start doubting whether Heaven Chip's judgment was wrong.

  【The subject you're in contact with likely also suffers from considerable obsessive disorder】

  【However, according to information in my database...】

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  【Her condition belongs to genius-type illness. The symptoms actually provide her personal advantages】

  Heaven Chip analyzed additional information. Mental conditions weren't necessarily all negative—some could provide advantages.

  In Xia Li's era, there was the phenomenon of viewing autism as a genius trait, and indeed autistic individuals possessed talents in artistic creation.

  Forcing such people to be "normal" would instead turn them into mediocrities.

  Madman or genius...

  Merely a step apart.

  "You're very exceptional... I don't deserve to be close to you. Being with you would make me feel inferior."

  "Is that your honest opinion? From what I can see, you don't look inferior at all."

  Lin Ge was somewhat perceptive. Xia Li was clearly just finding her troublesome. She'd always found other men troublesome—this was the first time a man found her troublesome.

  It was honestly bizarre.

  Yet she just wanted to get close to Xia Li. That feeling was like cat's claws scratching at her heart.

  "So... you're absolutely determined to keep targeting me?"

  "No no no, I'm not that annoying. Aren't I just trying to change your impression of me? Here, take this."

  Lin Ge took out a jade slip and offered it to Xia Li, but Xia Li didn't dare accept.

  Accepting meant establishing interpersonal obligations. He'd definitely get entangled later.

  "Is it really that serious? At worst, I'll let you kiss me back."

  "If I actually kissed you back, wouldn't you be the one profiting!"

  "Hehe..."

  Lin Ge didn't deny this point. But since she'd encountered someone and something that interested her, she would pursue them with all her might—even if it seemed shameless.

  "Junior Brother Xia, this jade slip contains a technique for preventing others from probing you. I noticed your defense against remote probing is very high—I couldn't detect your true depths at all."

  "But once in close physical contact with you, all your secrets are laid bare. You really need a technique to block close-range probing."

  Lin Ge felt she was being quite sincere—after taking advantage of Xia Li, she would also help Xia Li resolve his vulnerabilities.

  Upon hearing this, Xia Li was immediately tempted.

  Earth probably didn't have such a technique. Earth's probe defenses mainly targeted Heaven Chip and divine sense probing.

  "This technique is indeed useful to me. Thanks—how many spirit stones?"

  Xia Li agreed to take it but wouldn't accept it for free.

  "One hundred thousand spirit stones."

  "One hundred thousand? You're totally ripping me off!"

  "Earth-grade techniques typically sell for around three hundred thousand spirit stones. One hundred thousand is already a friendship price."

  "This..."

  Xia Li fell into hesitation. Should he accept this free meal or not?

  "Of course, as an Earth-grade technique, probe-blocking is just one of its uses. The technique's true profundity lies in concealment—it's the secret art of the assassin organization Dark Night Tower from ten thousand years ago."

  Lin Ge continued introducing the technique's wonders. She'd already seen that Xia Li was very tempted, so she needed to seize the moment and press Xia Li's head down to swallow this free meal!

  After the first time, there'd be a second time, a third time!

  She believed that under her enthusiastic feeding, Xia Li would eventually lower his guard against her.

  This free meal—Xia Li would eat it whether he wanted to or not!

  "Then consider it a debt. I'll repay you when I have the spirit stones."

  "Sure, though not repaying is also fine."

  Even better if he can't repay!

  Though she didn't want to force Xia Li, she wouldn't refuse if necessary.

  This was her first time feeling her heart flutter. She both enjoyed this feeling and wanted to decode why she'd developed it.

  What exactly was it about Xia Li that attracted her? Whatever made her care so much about Xia Li was definitely more than just love at first sight!