The Transmigrated Male Lead Confessed to Me - Chapter 18 (Part 2)

In her previous life, by the time she delved into these mental techniques, her relationship with her master had already deteriorated, and her other relatives and friends were either uninterested in these techniques, lacked the cultivation level to learn them, or had disappeared or died.

Even among the demon cultivators she later met, while some were close in strength and could converse with her, mutual distrust always lingered. Even when discussing techniques, they never shared much.

She had never found anyone with whom she could comfortably and thoroughly discuss such matters.

Now, as they talked about the flaws and potential improvements of a particular technique, moving from spiritual energy circulation to hand seals and how to integrate it with other spells, Xiao Yu showed no trace of superiority.

Su Zhen had nothing to hold back either, freely voicing her disagreements or objections.

He never took offense. Either he would seriously counter her points or, after some consideration, agree with her reasoning.

Despite still harboring many suspicions and guesses, Su Zhen found being with him both relaxed and enjoyable.

Both before and now.

As they continued, they couldn’t help but start casting spells, testing out the modifications they had discussed one by one, and even succeeding a few times.

In their excitement, Su Zhen realized that for someone her age and cultivation level, it was one thing to be a charm cultivator, but as a sword cultivator, it was a bit much to know so many mental techniques.

After all, time was limited. For someone who practiced swordsmanship every day, it would be difficult to reach such a level of mastery in mental techniques at her age.

However, no one—not even Yuchen Xianzun—knew how many sword techniques she had actually mastered.

So, let it be thought that she had spent time studying spells out of interest, rather than focusing entirely on swordsmanship.

—At any rate, she wasn’t planning to discuss swordsmanship with Xiao Yu anytime soon, and certainly wouldn’t spar with him, so he wouldn’t know how many sword techniques she knew.

Thinking this, she formed a hand seal for a spell that concealed one’s spiritual energy.

There were quite a few techniques with similar effects, but this one was particularly obscure. It was recorded in a secret manual she had found in the ruins of the Demon Realm in her previous life.

Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up, “I’ve seen something similar, but never one exactly like this.”

“I can teach you.”

Su Zhen’s lips curved slightly. “But you’ll have to exchange it for a spell I haven’t seen.”

Xiao Yu’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, as if he had just discovered something that delighted him. He smiled too, almost unconsciously.

“Let me think.”

He pondered. “How about something for the Soul Transformation stage…?”

“Senior.”

Su Zhen blurted out, “Don’t worry about whether my soul strength is insufficient. Just choose a rare and special spell.”

Some spells had requirements for one’s soul strength, making them unusable for lower-level cultivators. However, demonic sect secret techniques could solve this problem, albeit through forceful manipulation.

Even if it caused some damage, her constitution and attributes allowed her to recover quickly, so it wasn’t an issue.

Su Zhen didn’t explain this. “…Even if I can’t cast it now, I’ll be able to when my cultivation advances.”

Xiao Yu glanced down at her.

“I know.”

He shook his head. “I know.”

He said it twice, making Su Zhen chuckle, but then she heard him say, “What about the Stacking Nightmare Technique?”

She was slightly taken aback.

Xiao Yu had already raised his hand. The black sleeve with intricate dark silver patterns slid down, revealing a pale, muscular wrist. The lines of his strong arm were faintly visible.

His large, powerful hands interlocked, his slender fingers with distinct knuckles stacking in sequence, each movement following a strange rhythm.

As his fingers moved, thin black lines began to spread across the pale skin of his hand, intertwining into a complex and mesmerizing pattern.

Su Zhen was quite surprised.

At that moment, she felt exactly as Xiao Yu had earlier—while she hadn’t seen this exact pattern before, she had seen something similar.

In the texts of demon cultivators, in sections dealing with dream-related spells.

Demonic techniques typically fall into two categories.

One required assistance from corresponding demonic cultivation methods, or the practitioner had to possess demonic blood.

The other could be learned by anyone but came with great risks or demanded significant sacrifices.

It was the latter that righteous cultivators feared most, as many who had died or gone mad had attempted to practice these spells. This was why many orthodox cultivators were afraid of their disciples getting involved with them.

As for the markings on the back of Chaohua Xianzun’s hand, they likely belonged to the second category.

If a righteous cultivator saw it, they would surely cry out, “Demonic arts!”

Su Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Wow.”

Logically speaking, if she knew nothing of demonic techniques, she shouldn’t react at all right now.

Any hint of recognition would almost confirm to him that she not only understood demonic techniques but knew more than just one or two.

Su Zhen blinked, staring at the unfamiliar pattern, her curiosity piqued, and feeling an overwhelming urge to learn it immediately.

But on the surface, she maintained her calm.

Su Zhen: “…What does this spell do?”

Xiao Yu flexed his fingers slightly, the black lines on his hand shifting and glowing. He smiled. “You teach me that concealment spell first.”

Su Zhen couldn’t help glaring at him. “You’ll probably master it after just one look, right?”

At his level, it was likely he could learn any spell at a glance.

Xiao Yu, unfazed, said, “I’m slow.”

Su Zhen took a deep breath and quickly explained the concealment spell she had used, then crossed her arms and stared at him.

Xiao Yu dropped the banter and began explaining the spell he was using in detail. “It’s just a small trick for killing in dreams—learn it just for fun.”

For him, killing didn’t require such methods, but for Su Zhen, it was a different story.

And even if it wasn’t immediately useful, Su Zhen was eager to learn any spell—be it one or many.

However, such a spell wasn’t ideal to test out here.

So she memorized it for now.

After he finished explaining, they resumed their earlier discussion, trying out a few other spells.

Some techniques naturally had high requirements for cultivation and were beyond what the soul of a Soul Transformation stage cultivator could handle.

Excited and confident in her physique and her ability to forcibly channel spiritual energy using demonic techniques, Su Zhen was ready to try, even at the cost of injury.

Just as she was about to channel her spiritual energy, Xiao Yu suddenly called out to her.

“…So, do you have any other interesting or new spells you could teach me?”

He asked with great anticipation.

Su Zhen froze. “Even if I do, you probably don’t lack for one or two spells. You could just use another technique with similar effects.”

Xiao Yu shook his head. “That may be true, but who doesn’t enjoy learning new spells?”

Su Zhen’s heart stirred.

That sentiment aligned perfectly with her own thinking, though it was a bit surprising to hear it from the world’s top sword cultivator.

Su Zhen: “We were just…”

She was going to say they hadn’t finished their earlier discussion but, thinking about it, realized they had. All that remained was practicing the techniques they had discussed, but given her current cultivation, that wasn’t advisable.

“Hmm.”

Xiao Yu agreed. “Just like before—you teach me a spell, and I’ll find a new one to teach you.”

Su Zhen was momentarily speechless.

The black-haired, blue-eyed young man tilted his head slightly, lowering his gaze to look at her. His long lashes trembled lightly, and his expression, both hopeful and cautious, made him seem almost vulnerable.

His sharp, handsome features, normally so full of boldness and intensity, now had an air of pleading.

“…How about it?”

His deep voice asked softly.

Su Zhen: “?”

Is he being coquettish?!