Chapter 9: The Child of Prophecy

Without any magical tools, the month Lu Mingyi spent at Contemplation Cliff felt like days dragging on like years.

Around the seventh day, she had frozen to the point of losing sensation in parts of her body. Later, her mind grew hazy, and she fainted several times.

But from start to finish, she never glanced at the Storage Ring again.

Waking from yet another brief blackout, Lu Mingyi saw through her blurry vision that the sealing barrier at the cave entrance had vanished—the confinement period was over.

She lay on the ground, taking a long while to muster the strength to pick up the Storage Ring she’d tossed aside and retrieve a Warmth Pearl from within.

As the warmth spread, Lu Mingyi waited even longer before feeling any heat return to her body.

Her condition was far from good. Even after regaining some strength, her body felt much heavier than usual—likely she’d caught an illness. Her knees throbbed with a persistent, gnawing ache like ants biting into them. Intact limbs were crucial for a Sword Cultivator, after all.

Lu Mingyi took out several spirit pills and swallowed them, using the spiritual energy within to warm and nourish her meridians.

Even after leaning on the wall to shakily stand, her knees showed little improvement. Even the ever-optimistic Lu Mingyi felt down in the dumps now, thinking she’d need to head to Medicine Peak later to have her legs checked.

Hopefully I haven’t frozen myself with some permanent damage.

Braving the wind and snow to exit Contemplation Cliff was another ordeal. Already weakened to the extreme, by the time Lu Mingyi reached the exit, she desperately wanted to find a bed and collapse.

No one was there to receive her—only Enforcement Hall disciples. Not wanting to stir up more trouble, Lu Mingyi pressed on. By now, she’d broken out in a layer of cold sweat, feeling utterly miserable.

Yet as she emerged and faced these fellow sect members from Enforcement Hall, her foggy mind picked up on something abnormal.

In the past, among Taiqing Sect disciples who knew her, a few harbored malice, but most simply ignored her. After all, she’d gone from genius to waste without harming anyone for personal gain.

But now, Lu Mingyi could clearly sense it: the twenty or so Enforcement Hall disciples guarding the exit eyed her either with malice, suspicion, or outright hostility!

Due to her discomfort, her breaths came shorter than usual. She narrowed her eyes, scanning them before speaking: “What’s wrong, fellow disciples? Is my face so pale it’s scaring you?”

No one answered. In fact, after she spoke, the Enforcement Hall disciples scattered farther apart, leaving her an awkwardly spacious berth—as if they didn’t want to get anywhere near her.

Lu Mingyi took it all in. She guessed something major must have happened in the sect during her month of confinement.

Standing there wouldn’t get her any useful info from these people, so she rallied her spirits and hurried away from the Contemplation Cliff area.

Once she left, the disciples who’d scattered regrouped, chattering animatedly:

“Could Lu Mingyi really be the Child of Prophecy? She doesn’t seem threatening at all!”

“Tch, what do you know? She might be hiding it on purpose! Who else’s cultivation keeps dropping while they grin cheekily all day like her?”

“But if she is the Child of Prophecy, shouldn’t we get on her good side…?”

“Junior Sister, don’t talk nonsense! She’s destined to upend the world—not killing her is already a mercy!”

Lu Mingyi had originally planned to visit Medicine Peak to check her health, but along the way, she noticed that everyone she encountered in Taiqing Sect looked at her with unfamiliar eyes, as if she weren’t a sect disciple but some kind of freak or monster.

No matter how others saw her, this drastic change made Lu Mingyi desperate to know what had happened during her confinement—and it was likely tied to her somehow.

Few people would talk to her now. Going to Pill Peak? Shen Mingzheng had still been mad at her before confinement, and who knew how things stood; plus, it was a bit far. Sword Peak? Her master was probably still away, and her senior sister might be at the Shen Family.

After some thought, Lu Mingyi decided seeking out Ji Xuyun was her best bet in her current state. Besides, she still had the immortal herbs and talismans from Qiankun Pavilion to deliver.

As an inner sect chief disciple, Ji Xuyun didn’t have a private estate like Golden Core disciples, but she did have her own standalone house midway up Sword Peak.

By the time Lu Mingyi reached Ji Xuyun’s door, she couldn’t help praising her own choice—after just this short walk, she was seeing stars. Without the wall for support, she might’ve face-planted right there.

She waited a good while with no answer, knocked a few more times, and wondered if Ji Xuyun was out.

Just as Lu Mingyi resigned herself to shakily heading back alone, the wooden door creaked open. Ji Xuyun’s fair, delicate face peeked out.

In that instant, Lu Mingyi glimpsed malice twisting Ji Xuyun’s usually sweet and demure features. But after a blink, her junior sister stared wide-eyed, looking surprised and delighted: “Senior Sister Lu! I was just about to go pick you up—you’re here!”

With that, she bounced over to link arms with Lu Mingyi.

This seemed just like her usual self. Lu Mingyi still had the image of that malicious face burned in her mind, wondering if she’d been seeing things.

She gave a weak smile: “Thanks. Ji Junior Sister, I’m here to drop off some things and ask a few questions.”

At those words, worry and hesitation clouded Ji Xuyun’s face: “…Senior Sister Lu, have they… have they already done something to you?”

“What do you mean?” Lu Mingyi raised a brow. As expected, something big happened—even the usually antisocial Ji Xuyun knows about it.

Ji Xuyun glanced around warily: “Senior Sister Lu, come inside to talk.”

An inner sect disciple’s lodging was naturally simpler than the estates Golden Core cultivators built for themselves. Ji Xuyun’s place was especially spartan—Lu Mingyi had only ever seen a bed, table, and cabinet here, like no one lived in it.

This time, Ji Xuyun fetched a pot of hot tea from somewhere and poured Lu Mingyi a cup: “Drink something warm first, Senior Sister. I’ll find some nourishing pills—your face is too pale.”

Lu Mingyi didn’t stand on ceremony. After one sip, her eyes lit up: “Jiangxia Cloud Mist?”

“Yes, you mentioned it once before, so I stocked some.” Ji Xuyun’s eyes curved in a shy smile.

Lu Mingyi hadn’t cared much for tea originally, but Jiang Liuzhao loved it. Grateful for her master’s teaching her everything without reservation, she’d gone out of her way to learn tea arts.

Now, she was quite skilled, and over time, she’d developed a habit of drinking tea herself.

Jiang Liuzhao favored the rich, fragrant Lushan Cloudmist, while Lu Mingyi preferred the refreshing Jiangxia Cloud Mist—and coming from Jiangxia herself, she had extra fondness for tea named after her hometown.

The hot tea did make her feel better. Lu Mingyi pulled Ji Xuyun to sit: “No need for pills. You know my body—pills rarely help.”

With that, she took out an ornate box from her Storage Ring and handed it over: “You got punished because of me. Inside are some immortal herbs and talismans—a little compensation from me.”

“Senior Sister Lu, I can’t accept this!” Ji Xuyun’s slender brows furrowed as she pushed it back.

Lu Mingyi smiled: “If I hadn’t dragged you into scheming for that Cold Sun Grass, you wouldn’t have been punished. Isn’t compensating you the right thing? Or are we going to stand on ceremony now?”

“I did it willingly…” Ji Xuyun murmured, her gaze lingering on their overlapping hands.

Assuming shyness, Lu Mingyi slid the box closer: “Come on, I just hope you won’t hold the punishment I caused against me.”

With words like that, Ji Xuyun accepted the gift. After a glance, she said: “In the future, I’m willing to do anything for you, Senior Sister Lu.”

Lu Mingyi chuckled at the solemnity, about to say it wasn’t necessary, when a voice laced with mocking amusement echoed:

【Millennium Snow Lotus, ten Third-Grade Thunder Shock Talismans… Just for seven days at Contemplation Cliff, and you treat her this well, Senior Sister Lu? You’re too generous.】

Lu Mingyi’s words caught in her throat. She’d heard that “well-meaning” voice here at Ji Xuyun’s again.

While pondering, she remembered she still needed to ask about the sect’s oddities: “Ji Junior Sister, did something happen in the sect during my confinement?”

Ji Xuyun’s gaze lingered on the hand Lu Mingyi held: “Senior Sister Lu… Do you know the Sect Leader has been gravely ill these days?”

“I know.” Lu Mingyi wasn’t sure why it came up now, but she’d known the Sect Leader’s condition was poor before confinement.

“The Sect Leader fell suddenly ill because, some time ago, she performed a Divination.” Ji Xuyun’s fingertips twitched, unconsciously gripping Lu Mingyi’s hand back. “She divined… the Demon Sect and the Five-Colored Stone.”

Lu Mingyi grew more confused—these matters didn’t concern her. Still, she waited patiently.

Ji Xuyun drew a breath, finally raising her downcast eyes to lock onto Lu Mingyi’s: “The Divination revealed that the Five-Colored Stone will be held by the Child of Prophecy, who will disrupt the world.”

Lu Mingyi had a sinking feeling she knew what came next.

Ji Xuyun’s stare pinned her in place as she spoke slowly and clearly: “Senior Sister Lu, the Sect Leader divined this Child of Prophecy’s birth chart and location… and they match yours perfectly.”