The light of the luminous pearl had completely faded. Beyond the wooden window, the first light of dawn spilled in, dispelling the darkness of the night.
A month meant nothing to cultivators, but for Bai Xiaoxiao, who had crossed over into this world, it had been a month that reshaped her worldview from the ground up.
Human beings truly had a remarkable capacity for adaptation. Before she even knew it, Bai Xiaoxiao had unconsciously gotten used to life in the Cultivation World.
She opened her eyes and was in a daze for a long moment before her mind gradually cleared. The small tower was warm, and the person in her arms was even warmer.
It was a warmth she could feel almost every night.
Ever since the Gu Poison had caused that second night of wild abandon with Shen Zhiyue, everything afterward seemed to have naturally fallen into place.
In front of others, they were still spirit pet and master. But once night fell, the Gu Poison would flare up, and they would become inseparable, indulging in endless, passionate intimacy. At the height of their lovemaking, their skin would be covered in marks left by the other.
It was an inexplicable sense of taboo.
Looking at Shen Zhiyue sleeping peacefully, Bai Xiaoxiao slowly lowered her lashes.
If she’d been asked when she first arrived, she never would have imagined that a one-night stand could develop like this. She and Shen Zhiyue—the figure revered by countless people in the book—had been bound together by the Gu Poison.
In the eyes of outsiders, she was still just Shen Zhiyue’s spirit pet.
The only difference was that she now had a human form.
Only Sword Venerable Mingyue had inhabited the summit of Moon-Gazing Peak before. Even her own disciples didn’t live with her. But now, the summit had one more resident—or rather, one more little snake.
Occasionally, Bai Xiaoxiao would help announce visitors, but most of the time she did nothing at all. She simply focused on recuperating her body as Shen Zhiyue instructed.
Now, only the last day of that month remained. Whether it was an illusion or not, Bai Xiaoxiao really did feel that her body was much lighter, and the aura around her had become more solid and condensed—no longer as empty and unstable as before.
It was only now that her Foundation Establishment cultivation truly lived up to its name.
Releasing the warm, soft person in her arms, Bai Xiaoxiao quietly rose, dressed herself, and slipped out with light footsteps.
But cultivators of Shen Zhiyue’s level did not actually need sleep. There was one special circumstance, however: when the two of them had gotten too carried away during the night, she would take the opportunity to sleep.
Usually, by the time Bai Xiaoxiao woke up, Shen Zhiyue had already gotten up to cultivate.
Today… was another exception. Last night, at the height of passion, Bai Xiaoxiao hadn’t held back, so she had gone a little too far…
Memories flashed through her mind uncontrollably. She touched her burning cheeks and hurriedly shook her head, flinging all the junk out of her thoughts.
It was still very early. Bai Xiaoxiao put on her cloak and began her mental preparations for the day’s training.
It had all started when some damn fool had chosen to fight near Moon-Gazing Peak. Knowing her own limits, Bai Xiaoxiao hid far away, but she was still unlucky enough to be grazed by stray sword qi. The pain drained all the color from her face in an instant.
After learning of the matter, Shen Zhiyue went out with a cold expression. At first, Bai Xiaoxiao had no idea why. But before long, she heard a loud boom, as if some mountain peak had collapsed.
It didn’t take long before the other woman returned, radiating coldness, and handed her a bottle of Spirit Dew, saying it was for healing her injury.
Bai Xiaoxiao was in too much pain to hold it steady, so Shen Zhiyue, unable to bear watching, snatched the Spirit Dew away and applied it for her.
Her face was clearly so cold, yet her movements were so gentle. Bai Xiaoxiao stared at the person applying medicine for her, momentarily dazed.
Her heart pounded wildly, beyond her control.
Bai Xiaoxiao stayed in a daze for a long time. Only after Shen Zhiyue finished applying the medicine did she hurriedly avert her gaze and thank her.
“Spirit beasts and demonic beasts have essentially the same physique, yet you can’t even withstand stray sword qi. Starting tomorrow, you will begin training your body. We’ll start with—mountain climbing.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Bai Xiaoxiao looked up stiffly, only to hear Shen Zhiyue add in a merciless voice, “You may not use spiritual power.”
And so her plan to simply recuperate was no longer so pure. Every day after waking, she had to brave the wind and snow to descend from the mountaintop, then huff and puff her way back up from the bottom—all without using spiritual power.
At first, she could only manage half of the journey. After going down, she had no strength to climb back up. But as she gradually adapted, she finally managed to go down and back up within a single day.
It’s just that she had to stop and rest many times along the way. Take now, for instance: Bai Xiaoxiao was sprawled on a stone like a pile of mud, trying to recover a bit of strength before continuing.
Today, however, seemed a little different. Lying on her back on the stone, Bai Xiaoxiao happened to see a streak of spiritual light shoot across the sky like a meteor. But within two seconds, it turned around, flew back, and landed right in front of her.
“Who are you? How did you come to be on Moon-Gazing Peak?”
The newcomer wore a crisp uniform of the sect, with a long sword strapped to her back. She had a dashing, heroic kind of beauty—sharp, well-defined features with a hint of exotic, mixed-blood charm.
The System spoke up just in time. “Host, this is Shen Zhiyue’s eldest disciple, Ming Jingqiu.”
Bai Xiaoxiao had guessed that, but she had never seen the girl before. She had assumed Ming Jingqiu was in secluded cultivation. It seemed she had gone down the mountain for training instead.
She sat up slowly and studied Ming Jingqiu with curiosity.
This woman was a completely different style from Rong Qingqing, whom she had met before. If Rong Qingqing was a little sun, then Ming Jingqiu was a cold, hard rock—extremely quiet and of few words.
But that was understandable. Anyone who had lost their family and carried a blood-soaked vengeance would undergo a drastic change in personality.
In the novel, Ming Jingqiu was a tragedy written in capital letters. As Shen Zhiyue’s eldest disciple, she had already been fourteen when she entered the sect—and she had been rescued, at that.
The Ming Family had originally been a cultivation noble clan. Though their ancestors had only left a modest fortune, their food, clothing, and daily expenses were far above those of ordinary people.
By the time Ming Jingqiu was born, the family already had an elder sister who was rising to prominence—Ming Weishuang. A small noble clan had limited resources, so the talented Ming Weishuang was naturally groomed as the heir.
As the younger daughter, Ming Jingqiu did not have to bear the burdens of the family, so she grew up somewhat pampered. From childhood, she lived a carefree life, unrestrained and easygoing.
She would occasionally envy how much her family valued her elder sister, but she also knew her sister didn’t seem all that happy. She rarely smiled, and when she looked at Ming Jingqiu, there was something in her eyes that the younger girl couldn’t understand.
Ming Jingqiu never knew what it was, but she never developed any improper thoughts about her sister inheriting the family business. She also considered her relationship with her elder sister to be good, and she had loved clinging to her since childhood. It was only as she grew older and her sister grew busier that she could no longer disturb her casually.
Perhaps because she felt no pressure, Ming Jingqiu was not very devoted to cultivation. She often ran out to play.
Her family could do nothing about her. They always used all sorts of methods to try to make her cultivate properly, but Ming Jingqiu felt that since she had her elder sister for everything, cultivation could be taken slowly. As a result, she was often chased around the manor by her mother wielding a whip for being disobedient.
And then… the accident happened.
On an ordinary night, all ten-some members of the Ming Family were slaughtered, the entire clan wiped out. The manor was turned upside down, as if the culprits had been searching for something.
But Ming Jingqiu, precisely because she had been too busy playing to come home on time, had escaped the disaster. Yet when she guiltily returned home under the moonlight, what greeted her was a hell on earth—corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing like a river.
Faces that had once been familiar were now veiled in the shadow of death, their eyes wide open, refusing to close, as if they wanted to drink the murderer’s blood and eat his flesh.
Ming Jingqiu went mad on the spot. She searched every corner of the Ming Manor but found not a single living person. She wanted to scream, but her throat seemed blocked, and she couldn’t make a sound. If not for the Sixth Elder of the Sword Sect, Fengwu, who happened to be traveling past the Ming residence and sensed that something was wrong, Ming Jingqiu’s fate would not have been good.
Elder Fengwu had always been a carefree, heartless person, but even she couldn’t bear the sight. Especially since Ming Jingqiu’s eyes were completely hollow, like a puppet with no awareness at all, covered in blood and grime, neither crying nor making a fuss.
Abandoning her without care would damage one’s Dao Heart, so Elder Fengwu decisively brought the girl back to the Sword Sect.
After the massacre, Ming Jingqiu became silent and withdrawn.
Fortunately, Elder Fengwu’s reminder awakened her. She made up her mind to take revenge and began cultivating recklessly, offering herself as a disciple to Shen Zhiyue.
The Sword Sect had no lack of capable people, but only Shen Zhiyue, the Sword Venerable, was universally recognized as the strongest.
Ming Jingqiu wanted revenge; obsession had already taken root in her heart. Thus, she wanted to apprentice under Shen Zhiyue and become stronger.
At first, however, Shen Zhiyue did not want to take a disciple. She found it troublesome, and teaching disciples took too much time.
In the end, it was the Sixth Elder, Fengwu, who had brought Ming Jingqiu back, who couldn’t bear to watch and pleaded with Shen Zhiyue on her behalf.
Unfortunately, entering Shen Zhiyue’s tutelage was precisely where the tragedy began.
At the beginning, Ming Jingqiu was Shen Zhiyue’s only disciple. Even though she hadn’t wanted to accept a disciple at first, once she formally did, she fulfilled her duty as a Shizun.
But without comparison, there would be no harm.
The turning point came when Rong Qingqing successfully passed the trial and entered the Sword Sect. At the disciple-recruitment meeting, Shen Zhiyue, against all precedent, actively asked Rong Qingqing whether she would be willing to become her disciple.
Ming Jingqiu was surprised at the time, but she knew her Shizun’s decision to take a disciple had nothing to do with her. She simply treated it as gaining an insignificant junior sister, and didn’t want much contact with her.
But since the protagonist had already appeared, everyone else was naturally going to be marginalized.
And so Ming Jingqiu was gradually marginalized as well.
Shen Zhiyue’s attention was drawn to Rong Qingqing, and more and more of her daily gaze rested on the girl.
Ming Jingqiu felt the gap, but she tried hard to adjust.
However, after Rong Qingqing used her coquettish tricks to deliberately take away the pills Ming Jingqiu needed most, she lost all good feelings for this junior sister.
But going against the protagonist never ended well.
During an expedition into a secret realm, Ming Jingqiu didn’t want to save Rong Qingqing, who had fallen into danger. Yet as she was leaving, she encountered a demonic beast a whole major realm above her, and so she met her end in a very hasty and sloppy manner.
Rong Qingqing, on the other hand, not only escaped danger safely but also obtained the Secret Realm Stone, directly pocketing the entire secret realm.
Recalling this part of the plot, Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but cast a sympathetic glance at Ming Jingqiu.
So they were all just miserable cannon fodder, after all. Ming Jingqiu had merely lived a little longer than she had.
Ming Jingqiu, naturally, didn’t understand the meaning in Bai Xiaoxiao’s gaze. She felt it was very odd, and quietly began to form a hand seal, ready to confirm whether this woman was harmless.
“Host, Ming Jingqiu is about to make a move on you.”
Bai Xiaoxiao paused. A glance out of the corner of her eye caught the hand forming the seal, so she explained weakly, “My name is Bai Xiaoxiao. I am Your Eminence’s spirit pet.”
Ming Jingqiu was taken aback, then frowned.
She knew her Shizun had a snake pet. It was just that the snake wasn’t very long, was dull and silly, and loved to play tricks on people all day long.
No matter how she looked at it, the woman before her didn’t look like that little snake at all.
But this aura…
“Why do you have Shizun’s aura on you?”
Ming Jingqiu looked puzzled.
A flash of awkwardness crossed Bai Xiaoxiao’s face. She said unnaturally, “Fellow Daoist Ming… it’s better if you don’t ask too many questions. All you need to know is that I am Your Eminence’s snake pet.”
Ming Jingqiu was full of questions, but this woman named Bai Xiaoxiao clearly had no intention of answering. Her eyes darted away, looking very guilty.
She knitted her brows at the woman. After a long while, she released her hand seal and gave a greeting among peers.
“My apologies. I was rude just now, Fellow Daoist. I hope you’ll be generous.”
Bai Xiaoxiao waved her hand. “It’s nothing. Are you here to see Your Eminence? Go on, then.”
Ming Jingqiu nodded, turned around, and flew away on her sword.
Bai Xiaoxiao sighed gloomily, resignedly climbed up from the stone, and began crawling slowly toward the mountaintop.
As if driven by some ghostly impulse, Ming Jingqiu looked back and saw the woman’s figure moving along the mountain path like a wraith.
She muttered that it was strange. After hesitating for a moment, she still didn’t turn back. Turning into a streak of light, she landed on the summit, planning to meet her Shizun.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaoxiao continued to crawl forward with great effort. About twenty minutes later, she saw Ming Jingqiu on her way back.
The other woman flew on her sword, steady and swift, disappearing rapidly into the horizon with great flair.
“I’m a little envious. What cultivation level was Ming Jingqiu at again?”
The System answered, “When Ming Jingqiu appeared, her cultivation was at the Mid Golden Core Stage, only a step away from the Late Stage. She could indeed be called a genius.”
Bai Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. “I remember her realm seemed unstable. Because she was eager for revenge and impatient for success, her state of mind was restless too. That was one of the reasons for her death.”
The System agreed. “Indeed. Her Mid Golden Core Stage cultivation is inflated. All things considered, she can probably only display the level of the Early Stage.”
Bai Xiaoxiao sighed. A thought flashed through her heart, but it quickly vanished.
She herself was just muddling along, and yet she had the mind to worry about someone else’s cultivation.
Still, Ming Jingqiu was a pity. If there was ever a chance to help her, it might be worth trying.
Bai Xiaoxiao still believed she couldn’t be qualified for the role of a mission-taker. Winning Shen Zhiyue over had never been her intention. Their relationship had begun with accidents, and keeping this relationship now was even more unexpected for her.
Not to mention, she still had to destroy the protagonist’s opportunities.
Bai Xiaoxiao was very worried about one thing: if Rong Qingqing went down the mountain, the System would surely issue a mission for her to follow, and the goal would be to snatch the opportunities.
But since she had come to the Cultivation World, other than appearing at Void Ruins Valley at the very beginning, her range of activity had been almost entirely around Moon-Gazing Peak. She simply had no chance to go down the mountain.
Rong Qingqing, however, often came to see Shen Zhiyue—either to greet her or to ask for guidance. Every time she came, she would linger for a long while.
When the two of them were cultivating and giving pointers, Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t get a word in. She either avoided them or pretended to be a background prop.
Even so, Bai Xiaoxiao could still feel the hostility hidden in the other girl’s words. She was low in status, so of course she kept silent every time. Instead, it was Shen Zhiyue who would scold Rong Qingqing a few words when she saw it.
But this was undoubtedly a vicious cycle. Rong Qingqing seemed to focus all the resentment from being scolded onto Bai Xiaoxiao.
Bai Xiaoxiao felt extremely wronged. Yet when she saw Shen Zhiyue defending her, she couldn’t help but feel joy. So much so that, at some point without her knowing—
a delusion had quietly taken root in her heart.
