After all, she had taken the Original Host’s place. If the dream was real, didn’t that mean she had supplanted her and unwittingly shattered the fateful bond between the Original Host and Xuanling Divine Lord across their past and present lives?
And then there was the fact that Xuanling Divine Lord bore a striking resemblance to Lu Ning and Nan Qingyun. Did that imply some connection between them?
If so, then by extension, the Original Host must have had ties to Lu Ning and Nan Qingyun as well?
The thought stirred a subtle unease in Jiang Ruan’s chest.
She lowered her gaze, soothing herself inwardly, and failed to recall the single most important thing Xuanling Divine Lord had said.
—The Divine Pattern on her wrist was bound to her soul.
Han Lin prompted her. “Junior Sister?”
Jiang Ruan snapped back to the present. “Ah… nothing.”
Han Lin glanced at the others. “What’s the deal with those two? Still out cold?”
Jiang Ruan nodded, her expression worried.
Just then, Lu Ning’s eyelashes trembled, and she stirred awake.
Relief flooded Jiang Ruan like a weight lifting from her chest. She hurried over at once.
“You’re awake? Are you all right?”
Lu Ning blinked a few times, still seeming a bit dazed.
At the sound of Jiang Ruan’s voice, she turned instinctively.
Jiang Ruan froze. “Your eyes…”
Was it her imagination, or had their color lightened?
Lu Ning tilted her head, brushing a finger at the corner of her eye. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Ruan said, “Your eye color looks a little lighter. Do you feel anything unusual?”
Lu Ning shook her head.
Gazing at her, Jiang Ruan’s heart gave a sudden lurch.
Of course.
She looked a little like Xuanling Divine Lord now.
And the fading color of her eyes—wasn’t that inching her appearance closer to Xuanling Divine Lord’s?
There truly was some link between Lu Ning and Xuanling Divine Lord.
“Ah, right,” Lu Ning said suddenly, as if remembering something. “Back in the Illusion Realm, my eyes felt warm.”
“Warm?”
Lu Ning nodded. “Not sure if it’s connected.”
Jiang Ruan pressed, “What did you see in there?”
Lu Ning replied, “Some things from when I was little, and a few things that haven’t happened yet?”
Han Lin jumped in at once. “Exactly the same for me! Real memories mixed with fakes—seventy percent true, thirty percent false. Nearly had me.”
Jiang Ruan pressed her lips together.
It seemed like everyone else’s visions were along those lines. Hers alone consisted of things she had no recollection of.
And—was it just her, or did the Xuanling Divine Lord in her dream have far too much “agency”?
She had seemed able to pierce straight through the veil between worlds to speak with her directly.
She had desperately wanted Jiang Ruan to stay, yet ultimately deferred to her will, even promising obedience if Jiang Ruan held firm.
It was as if an NPC had suddenly sprung to life.
Chen Xu sidled up to Lu Ning, whispering curiously, “So, what was the fake memory in your dream?”
Lu Ning answered, “A band of bandits raided my village and slaughtered everyone.”
Chen Xu sucked in a breath. “Hiss—and then what?”
Lu Ning shrugged. “Then I saw through the illusion.”
Chen Xu: …No contest.
Jiang Ruan pulled her thoughts back together.
She recalled the content of Lu Ning’s words. “In that case, you should have emerged faster than Chen Xu and the others. Why were you so late?”
Lu Ning shook her head. “I don’t know. But I always felt like there was something off about my Illusion Realm.”
Jiang Ruan asked, “What do you mean by off?”
Lu Ning thought back for a moment, then shook her head again. A hint of distress colored her otherwise flat and emotionless voice. “I can’t put my finger on it.”
Jiang Ruan said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it for now.”
She turned her gaze toward Nan Qingyun, her lips pressing together slightly.
Qingyun was the only one left.
Lu Ning noticed Jiang Ruan’s line of sight and followed it, pausing for a beat.
Her fingers lightly pinched the flesh of her palm.
As expected, Jiang Ruan cared the most about Nan Qingyun.
It was only natural for Jiang Ruan to worry now that Nan Qingyun was the only one who hadn’t awakened yet. Even so, Lu Ning couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy.
But this wasn’t the time to stir up trouble. She didn’t want to add to Jiang Ruan’s worries.
So Lu Ning simply lowered her eyes and said nothing more.
They were waiting anyway. Han Lin spoke up. “Should we scout the area around us?”
Jiang Ruan replied, “Before you all woke up, I circled the surroundings on my Flying Sword and didn’t sense anything unusual. Besides, as far as the eye can see… it’s nothing but a sea of flowers. We probably won’t find anything.”
Han Lin asked, “Why were we brought here in the first place?”
Jiang Ruan shook her head.
Shan Hu said, “A crack suddenly split open in the inn, and we fell through. This place doesn’t feel ordinary—like a Secret Realm. Could that Illusion Realm have been some kind of test for us?”
Chen Xu grew excited at her words. “If we passed the test, does that mean we’ll get rewards?!”
Han Lin said, “By all logic, yes. The only problem is if it doesn’t follow logic.”
Chen Xu pressed his palms together. “Gods above, I just hope I can make some gains in my cultivation.” Otherwise, being stuck at Qi Condensation was just too embarrassing.
At that moment, Nan Qingyun finally stirred.
Her brows furrowed in pain as her body slowly curled up.
At the same time, an ominous aura—like devil qi—began to coil around her.
Jiang Ruan’s eyes flew wide open, her heart clenching.
Everyone present was a cultivator of the Righteous Path. None of them could mistake the aura of a Devil Cultivator.
Nan Qingyun’s condition looked exactly like someone who had failed their Illusion Realm trial, succumbing to their Heart Demon and beginning to fall into darkness.
The air grew deathly still.
After taking in Nan Qingyun’s state, the others instinctively turned to Jiang Ruan.
Han Lin’s expression turned grave. He spoke first. “Junior Sister? What’s going on?”
He was asking, but deep down, he already knew.
Jiang Ruan had no time to answer him. She hurried to Nan Qingyun’s side and knelt down beside her, grasping her hand.
“Qingyun!”
But Nan Qingyun, still trapped in her dream, showed no response.
Anxiety surged in Jiang Ruan’s heart. She patted Nan Qingyun’s cheek. “Qingyun! Qingyun! Wake up! Don’t let the illusions fool you—they’re all fake. Don’t believe them!”
Han Lin couldn’t hold back. “Junior Sister, don’t get too close. What if something happens?”
Jiang Ruan turned a deaf ear.
Lu Ning watched them quietly, her eyes cast slightly downward.
She stepped up behind Jiang Ruan. “Shouting won’t wake her.”
Jiang Ruan felt a pang of worry.
Of course she knew that—she had already tried it herself. But in this moment… she just couldn’t help herself.
Seeing that Jiang Ruan didn’t respond, Lu Ning quietly clenched her fingers.
She didn’t try to stop her any further. Instead, she simply moved a little closer to Jiang Ruan, ready in case something went wrong.
The devil qi around Nan Qingyun grew thicker. Her face paled, and strange patterns even began to emerge at the corners of her eyes.
Han Lin sucked in a sharp breath once he saw it clearly. “Is she… undergoing Devil Transformation?”
Jiang Ruan gripped Nan Qingyun’s hand tightly, her heart in turmoil.
At that instant, the System chimed in urgently. “Host! Host! Don’t worry—you forgot? Elder Baihua planted a Talisman inside Nan Qingyun’s body before. She said it would help her keep control.”
Jiang Ruan blinked, realization dawning.
That’s right! She remembered now.
But the Talisman showed no sign of activating, and panic gripped her heart.
The devil qi around Nan Qingyun intensified. The next moment, a blue Talisman emerged from within her body—like a silent warning, or perhaps a wordless judgment.
Only then did Jiang Ruan finally relax a little.
“This is the Talisman that Master helped set up. It can suppress the devil qi.”
Han Lin had some knowledge of Talismans. He examined it closely and nodded. “You’re right. But if her condition keeps worsening like this, even the Talisman won’t be enough.”
Jiang Ruan knew that all too well.
Elder Baihua had specifically warned her that the Talisman was only an aid. In the end, it would all depend on Nan Qingyun herself.
Jiang Ruan bit her lip. She cradled Nan Qingyun’s ice-cold hands in both of hers and rested her forehead against them.
You can do this.
And…
Jiang Ruan remembered that Elder Baihua had once said this talisman would cause Nan Qingyun a great deal of pain when it activated.
Jiang Ruan’s heart ached for her.
What on earth had happened in Nan Qingyun’s dream?
She carefully channeled her spiritual power to treat and nourish Nan Qingyun’s spiritual meridians, hoping to ease her pain.
She didn’t know how much time passed before Jiang Ruan, wiping the cold sweat from Nan Qingyun’s forehead, nervously watched over her condition.
Gradually, the devilish qi surrounding Nan Qingyun was finally suppressed, and the blue talisman faded away until it vanished completely.
Only then did Jiang Ruan let out a sigh of relief.
Nan Qingyun’s eyelashes fluttered, and she awoke.
Jiang Ruan’s face lit up with joy. “Qingyun!”
Hearing that familiar voice, Nan Qingyun instinctively stirred. But a sharp pain from the depths of her soul made her curl up involuntarily, her lips drained of color.
Noticing this, Jiang Ruan quickly said, “Don’t move just yet. Earlier…” She hesitated. “Earlier, the talisman that Shizun implanted in your body activated.”
Nan Qingyun was well aware of it. She had thought it only manifested in the Illusion Realm, but evidently, it had affected the outside world as well.
Then it hit her—Shizun knew about her situation now.
Nan Qingyun lowered her gaze, her lips pressed tightly together.
The last thing she wanted was for Shizun to find out. She couldn’t bear the thought of even the slightest tarnish to the image she held in Shizun’s heart.
With her eyes closed, Nan Qingyun swallowed down her turbulent emotions.
Jiang Ruan continued treating her, using spiritual power to alleviate the agony. Fortunately, the method proved effective.
Though Nan Qingyun hadn’t fully recovered, at least the deathly pallor had left her face.
Han Lin examined Nan Qingyun’s condition as well.
“Though I can still sense a faint trace of devilish qi lingering, it’s improved tremendously.”
Shan Hu leaned in, wide-eyed with surprise. “You’re actually a Devil Cultivator? Wait, no—you weren’t before. What happened? Was your Illusion Realm so brutal that you nearly underwent Devil Transformation inside it?”
It was a question on everyone’s mind.
Jiang Ruan grew protective. “Let her rest for now.”
With that, she produced a medicinal pill and fed it to Nan Qingyun.
Nan Qingyun swallowed it gently, then grasped Jiang Ruan’s hand. “Shizun…”
Her voice was soft and frail, like someone just emerging from a grave illness.
Jiang Ruan replied, “I’m right here.”
The corners of Nan Qingyun’s lips curved ever so slightly.
This was good.
Shizun was still by her side.
They were still on the same side.
