Ye Luqing’s eye twitched. She hastily sat up.
“The hell—a 1000% mortality rate…”
She rummaged through her mind for information on Bai Yuhan. As the Shizun of the Destined Female Lead’s Dao Companion, Bai Yuhan wasn’t some forgettable side character. She was actually quite popular in the novel.
The reason? Because Bai Yuhan and Xiao Qingxuan’s Shizun, the Sect Master of the Profound Firmament Upper Sect, Feng Linyi, shared an improper woman-to-woman relationship.
These two Dao Integration Realm Great Cultivators had been entangled since their youth. The novel’s chapters about their intimate moments were arguably even more numerous than Xiao Qingxuan and Ye Luqing’s.
Things like “sword embryo entering the womb,” “swapping inner cores,” “Sword Qi electric shocks”… Her pitiful Shizun, Bai Yuhan, had been thoroughly explored by Sect Master Feng Linyi long ago.
Because their relationship was never public, others saw them as the two equal pillars supporting the Profound Firmament Upper Sect. But in private, Bai Yuhan was the picture of contrast—a fairy played with by Feng Linyi until she was moaning “Hyo-o-o-o-oh!” It carried a uniquely transgressive thrill.
Compared to Bai Yuhan and Feng Linyi, Xiao Qingxuan and Ye Luqing seemed like two amateurs.
But that wasn’t what concerned Ye Luqing right now.
“Dao Integration Realm…”
She clicked her tongue. As someone who’d read the original work, she knew exactly how terrifying that realm was.
This world’s cultivation was divided into eight stages, from low to high: the Eight Celestial Realms.
Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Comprehension, Dao Integration Realm, Tribulation Transcendence.
The Dao Integration Realm represented the absolute peak of mortal power in this world, second only to the Immortal Venerables at the Tribulation Transcendence realm in both cultivation and combat strength.
According to the original world line, before Xiao Qingxuan’s Immortal Ascension, the strongest beings were the four Half-Step Tribulation Transcendence Immortal Venerables.
With those Tribulation Transcendence experts in closed-door seclusion, striving for the Immortal path and rarely appearing in the world, Dao Integration Realm cultivators were the undisputed strongest.
Every Dao Integration Realm cultivator commanded a complete Grand Dao. A single move could shake heaven and earth.
“Tsk. To fool a Dao Integration Realm Great Cultivator… I guess I have to use this Soul-Molding Pill after all?”
She looked down at the pill in her hand, a pang of reluctance hitting her. She could almost see several Earth-Tier techniques and Daoist arts waving goodbye.
But at that very moment, a terrifying aura descended. A golden Formation Array enveloped the entire mountain.
A force of Dao Laws instantly sealed the mountain off from the outside world.
Ye Luqing found she could no longer utilize her True Qi. Even her spiritual power was suppressed.
Without hesitation, she popped the Soul-Molding Pill into her mouth. Even in a game, life was more precious than a rare item.
Especially after the psychological trauma of being strangled to death by Qingxuan. The mere thought still sent chills down her spine.
The instant the Soul-Molding Pill entered her mouth, Ye Luqing felt her soul being kneaded like dough, mushed into a paste, and then slowly diffused into every limb and bone of her body.
“Mmm… ngh…”
An involuntary hum escaped her. Her very bones felt like melting wax, being reshaped. Though the change was purely spiritual, it felt utterly, terrifyingly real. A sign her soul was truly adapting to this body.
“Hah… Hah…”
Gasping heavily, she lay in the ice coffin, slowly coming back to her senses.
The crystal floor of the coffin reflected the image of a graceful, enchanting figure. The sight made Ye Luqing’s face flush involuntarily.
For some reason, even though she’d seen this body’s appearance before, she hadn’t truly seen it as her. She’d felt little.
But now, a sense of ownership over this body intertwined with her past life’s memories. The complex emotions overwhelmed Ye Luqing for a moment.
She took a deep breath. Countless thoughts coalesced into a single sentence.
“Holy shit, I’m freaking cute…”
Ye Luqing’s expression gradually turned perverse. Her hands kneaded her own soft, petal-like cheeks. Her tongue lightly wetted her pink lips. Her face bloomed like a peach blossom, utterly bewitching.
[Do you like it, Host? It was precisely this bewitching little figure that seduced this world’s Destined Female Lead.]
“Hey, don’t say it like that. If it were me, I’d probably fall for it too.”
She cupped her face in her hands. The crystal reflection showed a smug, self-satisfied expression.
The first time she’d seen Xiao Qingxuan, her leftover insecurities from her time as a plain guy on Earth had surfaced. For a moment, she’d felt unworthy of such a stunning beauty.
But now, with a face like this… she could somewhat understand Xiao Qingxuan’s obsession.
Still… Xiao Qingxuan… could she be a lolicon?
Ye Luqing shook her head vigorously. Why say “also”? She wasn’t a lolicon.
The blame lay solely on this body being just too damn cute.
No time to admire her body any longer. Three sets of footsteps echoed from the cave entrance.
She instinctively shrank back into the corner of the ice coffin until the three figures stood before her.
The lead was Xiao Qingxuan. Beside her stood the Senior Sister of the Formation Arts Lineage, Bai He.
“A-Qing…”
“Junior Sister Ye.”
Both women looked at her with deep concern. The former’s gaze held the affection of a Dao Companion; the latter’s, the care of a senior to her junior.
“I… I don’t know any of you…”
The fawn-like girl lowered her head, her pale toes curling slightly.
Showtime!
Xiao Qingxuan stood frozen, her expression a tangled mess. After all, she was no expert in soul Dao. She was utterly helpless against Ye Luqing’s current state.
In the next instant, Ye Luqing felt a warm hand press against her forehead. She looked up instinctively and found another unfamiliar face.
It was a voluptuous, beautiful woman, wrapped in a half-concealing plain robe that did little to hide her exaggerated, hourglass figure.
Between her brows, her blue eyes were clear and emotionless. The slightly drooping corners of her eyes seemed to hide subtle emotions. A faint, inexplicable blush on her face added a layer of charm to her gentle aura.
No doubt about it. This had to be her Shizun, Bai Yuhan—the fairy tormented in private by the Profound Firmament Upper Sect’s master.
In Ye Luqing’s mind, Shizun Bai Yuhan perfectly fit the definition of an “aloof, generously endowed, gauze-robed fairy.” She could almost hear the “Hyo-o-o-oh” already.
No, can’t laugh. Must hold it in…
Bai Yuhan didn’t notice Ye Luqing’s oddity. Her entire attention was focused on scanning Ye Luqing’s soul, top to bottom, leaving no stone unturned.
Watching the Dao Integration Realm Dao Venerable’s serious expression, Ye Luqing’s heart began to pound.
“System… she won’t actually detect something, right?”
According to the novel’s lore, Dao Integration Realm cultivators had mastered the Dao Laws of this world. It wasn’t impossible for them to find something.
[Relax. Ye Luqing’s soul has already scattered to oblivion. And with the host having taken a Heaven-Tier Soul-Molding Pill, it’s impossible to detect.]
“Scattered to oblivion, huh…”
Ye Luqing felt a twinge of confusion. In the original novel, after Xiao Qingxuan achieved Immortal Ascension, she really did resurrect “Ye Luqing.”
If her soul was truly gone, then who was the person Qingxuan resurrected in the end?
Her musings were interrupted as Bai Yuhan removed her hand from her forehead.
“Vice Sect Master, what about A-Qing’s soul…”
Xiao Qingxuan stepped forward, her voice urgent beyond measure.
Bai Yuhan looked at Ye Luqing with a deeply complicated expression. Then she finally spoke, each word slow and deliberate:
“She is indeed Ye Luqing…”
“But… she is also not Ye Luqing.”
