Within the restricted Cave Abode, a petite figure slowly emerged from Ling Qingyue’s dwelling. Silvery-white long hair and silver-grey pupils—she looked exactly like a shrunken version of Ling Qingyue.
“My True Body split off an Outer Body Incarnation in advance. In case that Unfilial Disciple plots something nefarious while I’m not present…”
Ling Qingyue looked at her own meditating True Body within the Cave Abode, then directly pushed open the door and walked out. Testing out her current body, an Outer Body Incarnation was created by splitting off one’s cultivation to form another self.
Measuring the body—although it could share the original’s memories, the memories of the split-off incarnation would only return to the True Body upon its destruction. Ling Qingyue planned to first use this body to keep an eye on that Unfilial Disciple.
“Ugh… the True Body only assigned me Foundation Establishment stage cultivation? I can’t even use teleportation-type spells. How am I supposed to track that Unfilial Disciple!”
As the incarnation, Ling Qingyue angrily threw her sword on the ground, completely lacking the aloof demeanor of the True Body. After all, the cultivation split off also determined the mindset of that cultivation stage.
“Forget it. I can only walk there…”
As she spoke, Ling Qingyue turned and looked back. Seeing her own Cave Abode atop the mountain peak and the stairs that seemed to stretch through the clouds, she was immediately covered in black lines.
“Next time, I must protest to my True Body…”
Meng Li had never felt she had slept so comfortably before. Slowly opening her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, thinking she had already been completely turned into an adult by Ye Qinglian, she sat up from the bed and checked her body.
“I actually fainted! I missed that crucial plot point!!”
Meng Li angrily hammered the bed board. She had actually missed out on that kind of fan-service plot and hadn’t even gotten to cop a feel. Flipping back the blanket, she checked herself but found none of the expected pain.
“Huh? Wasn’t the first time supposed to hurt a little? Or is it that cultivators’ bodies have changed?”
“It’s just that she didn’t succeed…”
“Eh??!!”
Just as Meng Li was puzzling over what had happened, a voice beside her suddenly gave her a shock. Situ Xue seemed to appear out of thin air every time, teleporting right next to her, catching Meng Li completely off guard.
“Senior… Senior Sister Situ!”
“Don’t speak too much. Take the medicine first…”
“Ah?”
Situ Xue was not one to mince words. She directly produced a pill. Looking at the pill in the other’s hand, Meng Li hesitated for a moment. But seeing Situ Xue’s calm expression, she ultimately swallowed it.
As the medicine went down, a bitter taste instantly surged from her throat, making Meng Li frown deeply and cover her mouth to keep from spitting it out. Situ Xue merely watched Meng Li expressionlessly.
“Senior Sister, what kind of medicine is this?”
“Poison…”
“???????”
Hearing Situ Xue’s nonchalant answer, Meng Li was filled with question marks. So what she, Situ Xue, had just casually handed her and made her swallow was poison!
“We… we have no grievances, no enmity! Why would you harm me?!!”
“I am not harming you…”
“Then why did you feed me poison?!”
“You’re afflicted with Ye Qinglian’s Charm Poison. Fighting poison with poison is the most effective counter…”
“Charm Poison? When did I get poisoned? I haven’t read much, so don’t trick me!”
Meng Li had certainly never heard of Charm Poison. But when Ye Qinglian had pinned her beneath her body just now, her memory from that period had started to become blurry, as if something had happened. Meng Li only remembered that at the time, her whole body had felt numb and tingly. Everything after was blank.
“That type of poison confuses a person’s mind, turning them into an obedient puppet…”
“Then… then what was the one you gave me?”
“Bone-Corroding Pill. Fourth-rank pill. Upon consumption, tendons and meridians are severed inch by inch…”
“……”
Situ Xue’s unhurried explanation left Meng Li feeling utterly dumbfounded. It felt like the pill she’d just been fed was even more poisonous. Yet Situ Xue still took out another pill and handed it to Meng Li.
“One pill isn’t enough. Take another…”
“This…”
Looking at the identical pill in her hand, even knowing it was poison, Meng Li still swallowed it without hesitation. She’d already eaten one; eating one meant death, eating two also meant death. There was no difference anyway.
“I thought you might hesitate a little…”
“Senior Sister wouldn’t harm me, isn’t that right?”
Meng Li slowly revealed a trusting smile, but this expression made Situ Xue’s heart skip a beat. The woman in her dreams had once smiled at her like that too. But the thought was only fleeting, and Situ Xue concealed it.
“Rest here for a moment. I’ll help purge the Bone-Corroding Pill’s toxins from your body later…”
Leaving these words behind, Situ Xue walked straight out, leaving Meng Li alone in the room. Lying on the bed, Meng Li examined the room’s layout. It was clear she had returned to Situ Xue’s room once more.
“If I hadn’t run into Ling Qingyue that day, I’d probably still be an ordinary disciple in the Outer Sect…”
Meng Li recalled her initial days after transmigrating to this world. She had been equally flustered, and on top of that, a penniless beggar. But luckily, right after transmigrating, she had encountered the Yin Yang Immortal Sect’s new disciple selection.
Later, after learning she had transmigrated as the female lead, she could only go to the Outer Sect and become an Outer Sect disciple. After all, the female lead’s early stats were trash-tier. Meng Li still felt fortunate she had basic stats.
“At least I didn’t have to worry about daily meals. That was pretty lucky; otherwise, I’d have had to keep being a beggar…”
Meng Li sighed softly. She still remembered how, just days after joining the sect, she had been assigned to go outside on a procurement task. It was just buying a few small items.
On a familiar street, she met Ling Qingyue, the one she’d remember for life, with the words [Rebirth] hovering above her head. At that time, Ling Qingyue wore a bamboo hat, completely ignored by everyone around her who hurried past. Yet Meng Li had subconsciously met her eyes.
“What is your name…”
“Meng… Meng Li. I think that’s my name…”
“Do you recognize me…”
Meng Li had wanted to say no directly, but the woman before her removed the bamboo hat from her head. After just a moment’s hesitation, Meng Li had found herself in the small dark room where her dreams began.
“Should I have firmly denied knowing her at the time…”
Meng Li lay under the blanket just like that. The medicine’s effects began to stir a trace of pain within her body. Although the pain wasn’t particularly intense, Meng Li still lay in bed, gritting her teeth.
“I hate pain the most. When will Senior Sister come back…”
……
…
