Chapter 114

Yu Yi’s head lay weakly on the puppet’s shoulder.

Where her gaze fell, the puppet’s soft green hair cascaded down, spread across its jade-like snowy back.

On its back, a pair of butterfly bones as polished as jade seemed poised to take flight.

The cool light, intensified by the snow, streamed in from the window, transforming its ink-black hair into a rich, dark red, shimmering with a faint glow, reminding Yu Yi that the owner of this tender embrace was not human.

But she seemed so human, Yu Yi’s chin pressed down against the soft texture, meeting its shoulder, displaying vitality that only a human could possess.

Not only that, it gently stroked its own occiput, a soothing gesture without sound, even a hint of tenderness.

After a moment of daze, Yu Yi’s gaze grew calm.

She pushed her increasingly heavy body up, retreating from the puppet’s embrace.

Perhaps having been lonely for too long, she found herself thinking so much. Yu Yi’s eyes grew cold, this was just a simple, intimate gesture with the master.

The recognition ceremony was not over yet. She still needed to name the puppet, only then would it be truly complete.

The names of other artifacts were given by the craftsmen, but only for the puppet, Qiong Ling gave the naming rights to her child. Naming was important to Yu Yi, and she had to come up with a good name for the puppet.

But in the previous life, after Yu Yi completed the recognition ceremony, she became unaware of everything. When she woke up again, she heard that the puppet had become “Yunqing”. This name was closely related to Lingyun Sect, but had nothing to do with her.

Yu Yi’s eyelids were heavy, endless fatigue surged through her body. She straightened her spine and asked the puppet, “Do you have a name you want?”

Yu Yi was not prepared to let the puppet name itself. Everything about the puppet should belong to her and be completely under her control.

In the end, this was a test. Was this puppet really different from the one in her previous life? Although the heresy in the puppet’s body had been cleared, Yu Yi still wanted to test her.

For example, she wanted to see if the puppet would say the words “Yunqing”.

Yu Yi waited for the puppet’s answer, but instead, she saw the puppet place a soft cushion behind her first, then quietly look at her with those shallow tea-colored eyes. Yu Yi couldn’t understand the emotions inside, but soon, those unclear emotions were hidden away. The puppet’s lips curved up and said, “Jian Yixin.”

“My name is Jian Yixin.”

Jian Yixin was very glad that Yu Yi didn’t blindly believe in Lingyun Sect and chose to recognize her early, but she didn’t expect Yu Yi to be so hard on herself.

The blood had already solidified under the effect of magic, winding into dark red marks on the girl’s slender arms, which was shocking.

Hearing Yu Yi ask what name she wanted in a caring way, Jian Yixin’s heart moved and she spoke her real name.

At this moment, she still had some romantic thoughts of revealing her true name to the other party, but she saw Yu Yi squint her eyes and look at her inquisitively, and instead said, “How about calling you Pianxian?”

To Qinglu, “Song Pianxian” had become her fixed alias for doing missions in the small world. Jian Yixin smiled helplessly and said, “Okay, Song Pianxian.”

“Song?”

Yu Yi furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. She didn’t dislike this surname. In fact, when put together, it had an indescribable harmony, as if it belonged together.

In her heart, she repeated, “Song Pianxian.”

“But,” Yu Yi generously accepted the puppet’s choice of surname for her.

She felt she should remind herself of something else, but her mind was already heavy and dull. Time and space pulled a long line in her mind, with an empty spiritual space like a wilderness, swirling with barren winds.

As her body became more sore, her soul became lighter, as if it wanted to float away with the wind—

“You should rest.”

Before completely falling into a deep sleep, Yu Yi heard this sentence again, and then she fell back into that warm embrace, tinged with a faint fragrance.

While Yu Yi slept, Qu Xirong wasn’t idle.

First, she went to see Qu Hang.

Yu Yi’s sudden activation of the grand formation for no reason thwarted their plan to take away the puppet, which displeased Qu Hang. However, after some contemplation, he did not send Qu Xirong to Daiyuan Peak. Instead, he let Yu Yi enjoy a few more days of freedom for now.

He even instructed Qu Xirong:

“You are the eldest Senior Sister, you must be very attentive to Yu Yi. Doesn’t she like your silver fox? Send it to her tomorrow.”

“But the snow silver fox was just given to me by Elder Jiao that day…” Qu Xirong started to say something but stopped herself, “Well, she hasn’t obtained an eighth-grade monster yet, and she has always liked small animals. Let the spirit fox accompany her for a few days.”

Just a couple of days later, during the extremely perilous recognition ceremony, if an elder made a mistake, Yu Yi would undoubtedly perish, and the snow silver fox would return to her hands.

Unfortunately, if she had obtained the puppet today, perhaps Yu Yi could have survived.

Now, she had to die.

Of course, on the surface, Lingyun Sect was extremely mournful about this matter, and her father would strongly advocate using Lingyun Sect’s secret method to send Yu Yi’s soul to the mortal realm to ensure her safety and happiness for the rest of her life.

But in this enchanting immortal realm, the precious treasures in her hands had nothing to do with Yu Yi anymore.

A smile appeared on Qu Xirong’s face.

Qu Hang said lightly, “Don’t forget to treat our distinguished guests well, especially those from the Buddhist Sect—”

His eyes narrowed, “Yu Qing and Qiong Ling’s departure was too hasty. The outside world is watching for any mistakes from our Lingyun Sect. Don’t give them any handles. Remember that.”

“I will remember Father’s teachings,” Qu Xirong replied first, then added softly, “Only we, our own people, and a few respected elders know about it. You can rest assured.”

After considering for a moment, Qu Hang gave a slight nod.

Not to mention that Yu Yi was just a girl who had been sleeping for three years before she was picked up, even before she was injured, she was just a foundation stage cultivator, still immature in her temperament. Now, they only had to wait for Yu Yi to make a move, and there was really nothing to worry about.

Qu Hang closed his eyes. If it weren’t for the face and reputation of Lingyun Sect, there would be no need for such meticulous planning…

After meeting with Qu Hang, Qu Xirong returned to her own cave dwelling.

Her cave was located on a side peak next to the main peak, called the Lianyun Peak. Unlike the majestic main peak, the scenery on the Lianyun Peak was picturesque, with beautiful spring scenery all around.

Many likable low-level spirit beasts were playing in it, and three or five female cultivators were chatting on the veranda, waiting for Qu Xirong to return.

When they saw Qu Xirong, the female cultivators all called her “Senior Sister,” and each one told her what they wanted to say. There were serious matters from various halls, as well as hearsay news. For a moment, it seemed even livelier than Qu Hang’s main peak.

However, Qu Xirong handled it with ease. Since she advanced to the Yuan Ying stage and became a high-level cultivator, she had transformed from Little Junior Sister to Senior Sister and played the hand of gathering people’s hearts extremely well. No one in the same generation could surpass her—

Except for Yu Yi.

That girl with exceptional looks and talents, who had been pampered since birth and was a natural genius Little Junior Sister.

But she was different now.

Qu Xirong’s smile grew stronger, and the female cultivator named Jiao Xiao thought that her words had won the favor of Senior Sister, so she became even more enthusiastic:

“… And, and, Master Chu Feng has always been pure-hearted and uninterested in worldly pleasures, yet she bought all the Jade Flower Dew at the auction. I wonder who her beloved is.”

Jade Flower Dew is a wine beloved by female cultivators. Not only is it sweet to the taste, but it also has the wonderful effect of keeping one’s appearance youthful forever. Female cultivators all flock to it.

Upon hearing this, Qu Xirong smiled and said, “Where is it going? It must be to congratulate our Little Junior Sister on acquiring the semi-divine artifact.”

The others looked around when they heard this.

“I heard that Junior Sister Yu Yi’s mother was very close to Master Chu Feng back then.”

“A semi-divine artifact… Why was it given to her? If it weren’t for her mother being a heavenly-level alchemist, it shouldn’t have been hers.”

“She’s just a mortal. How much of this wine can she drink? Senior Sister, dear Senior Sister, share some with us.” Jiao Xiao pleaded with Qu Xirong, as if she had already forgotten that Yu Yi was the true owner of the Jade Flower Dew.

“Don’t say that. It belongs to Little Junior Sister,” Qu Xirong scolded, but without much seriousness.

Jiao Xiao became even more aggrieved, and the other female cultivators also looked displeased.

“In the past, artifacts were readily given to us, but now she’s unwilling to share the Jade Dew? “

“Are you talking about those mystic-ranked artifacts? The good things in Yu Yi’s hands weren’t given to you. If she gave it to her storage bracelet, then accepting it would be doing a good deed.”

“In the end, she never truly cared about us Senior Sisters, unlike our dear Senior Sister, who always considers our well-being.”

Qu Xirong smiled. She had indeed received many high-ranked artifacts from Yu Yi, but there were still many she hadn’t received.

She leisurely sipped her cup of spring water, waiting for the female cultivators to finish speaking before saying:

“Don’t gossip behind her back. Little Junior Sister is already pitiful enough.”

She didn’t mention who was at fault, only saying that Yu Yi was pitiful.

As the atmosphere cooled slightly, Qu Xirong looked towards the silver fox playing beside her.

“Little Junior Sister lives alone on Daiyuan Peak and feels lonely. I’ll send the silver fox to her tomorrow.”

With this statement, the female cultivators became even more unhappy, and the atmosphere became lively again as they praised Qu Xirong and criticized Yu Yi.

These voices would spread throughout the Lingyun Sect with their clan and friends. This had happened dozens of times before Yu Yi’s death, and Yu Yi’s reputation in Lingyun Sect had already fallen, unbeknownst to her.

Now, in the Lingyun Sect, Qu Xirong was the only outstanding woman.

Qu Xirong narrowed her eyes and sipped her tea slowly.

She was looking forward to what would happen in three days.

This time, the recognition ceremony was treated as a grand event by the Lingyun Sect. The invited guests were not many, mostly reputable sects from the Nine Provinces, and they sent many elders.

This was Qu Hang’s plan. He wanted to gain a good reputation and naturally needed a grand event. Now that the plan had changed, it was even more necessary for these eyes to see that they did not plot against Yu Yi, but that Yu Yi insisted on recognizing the master and died from blood loss. Then they could express some regret and move on from the matter.

Except for a monk from the Buddhist Sect named Chu Feng.

Chu Feng had a special status. In her Buddhist Sect, only men were allowed to join, but Chu Feng was raised as a daughter since childhood and had a deep affinity with Buddhism. She inherited the position of the current head of the Buddhist Sect and her cultivation had reached the stage of Harmony, one realm higher than Qu Hang.

What’s more troublesome was her close relationship with Yu Yi.

Qu Hang had already anticipated that she would come to see Yu Yi, but when she actually saw her, she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy in her heart as she greeted her:

“Master Chu Feng.”

Chu Feng wore a snow-white kasaya, as clear and cold as a high-mountain snow lotus. Her expression was neither happy nor sad. Her hair was grayish-blue, her eyebrows and eyelashes lighter in color than normal, like a person soaked in ice and snow, and her voice was also cold:

“Where is Yu Yi?”

“Yu Yi will be here shortly,” Qu Hang smiled, “I asked Xirong to fetch her to prevent her from being harmed by the cold wind, which wouldn’t be good.”

Chu Feng nodded, “Master Qu is considerate.”

With that, she stopped speaking to Qu Hang and took her seat, closing her eyes and twisting a string of gray-blue prayer beads in her hand.

Qu Hang stood at the banquet, casting a wary glance at the ordinary string of prayer beads in her hand. Soon, he averted his gaze and looked towards Daiyuan Peak. Logically, his daughter and Yu Yi should have arrived by now.

Just as Qu Hang was thinking this, he saw Qu Xirong and Hang Yunhe flying over on their swords, but Yu Yi, whom they were supposed to fetch, was nowhere to be seen.

Qu Xirong’s expression was tinged with surprise and confusion, but she remained calm and said, “Master, Little Junior Sister is not on Daiyuan Peak. We don’t know where she is.”

“How could this be?” Qu Hang immediately interjected, adding, “Quickly, instruct disciples to search. Don’t let her mischief lead her into any formations and get trapped.”

The prayer beads in Chu Feng’s hand stopped moving.

“Master Qu.”

Qu Hang was also uncertain, but entering and leaving the sect’s grand formation required a jade token, so Yu Yi must still be in Lingyun Sect.

He immediately informed Chu Feng and the other guests of this, but in his heart, he pondered what to do if Yu Yi had indeed wandered into danger due to her mischief—

Just then, a very unfamiliar and powerful aura emanated from the sky.

Though inherently gentle, this aura was released without mercy, even carrying a cold and indifferent killing intent, pressing down like a heavy spring mountain, accompanied by the chill of early spring, spreading its invisible murderous intent wantonly.

There has always been a hierarchical suppression of higher levels over lower levels. Qu Xirong and Hang Yunhe were clearly in the Yuan Ying stage, but at this moment, the other party had yet to reveal their true form, causing them to feel stifled and their meridians to stagnate.

What’s even more alarming is that the voice from the sky was a soft and beautiful female voice, like gentle spring rain, gently falling:

“Thank you all for your trouble.”

When did the cultivation world produce another high-level female cultivator!

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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