He Yumian felt quite sentimental about the whole affair.
Standing before him, Jiang Qiran was nervously clutching the hem of his robe and keeping his fluffy head buried low.
Seeing this, a sense of pity stirred within him, and he could not help asking the system: “Can I help him avoid a fatal ending?”
Xiao Jiu sniffled and hesitated for a moment: “I am not sure, but as long as it does not disrupt the main plot, it should be fine.”
He Yumian pondered for a moment: “Then let’s keep him at Lingxiao Sect for now to evade the beast tide, and sending him back to the Jiang family later won’t be too late.”
The important characters in the original book were all at Lingxiao Sect; as long as Jiang Qiran did not become entangled with them, the plot would likely not experience any unforeseen variations.
System Xiao Jiu looked at him with tear-filled eyes: “But aren’t you supposed to help him restore his original destiny? Since he is inherently a cultivation genius, once this happens… he and the protagonist will inevitably cross paths in the future.”
“If this book breaks down, both of us task-runners are finished.”
With that thought, the system let out a wail and burst into tears: “Wuwuwu, Jiang Qiran is so miserable, and we are so miserable too…”
Xiao Jiu wept bitterly, leaving He Yumian dumbfounded as he thought to himself that this artificial intelligence was even more sentimental than Lin Daiyu.
Seeing that Xiao Jiu was crying harder and harder, He Yumian felt a bit overwhelmed, so he quickly patted its head to soothe it: “This is simple. We can keep an eye on Jiang Qiran’s movements at all times.”
“Whenever he appears near the protagonist, we will immediately chase him away, absolutely preventing any intersection between them.”
Seeming to find some logic in this, Xiao Jiu gave a tearful hiccup and gradually stopped crying.
It flew onto He Yumian’s shoulder and affectionately nuzzled him: “Fine, I’ll trust you for now.”
“After all, you are the host I chose!”
Inside the grand hall, everyone’s expression was grave.
The technique of swapping destinies had not appeared in the Cangming Continent for a long time, and some of the younger generation present had only ever seen such malicious forbidden arts in ancient texts.
Rumor had it that this was a taboo art of the demon race. Swapping destinies was equivalent to deceiving the Heavenly Dao, which would incur heavenly retribution, since everyone’s destiny was originally ordained by the heavens.
However, the demon race was an exception; they were a race abandoned by the Heavenly Dao, so using such malicious methods did not cause any backlash upon themselves.
Despite possessing such nearly heaven-defying secret techniques, the demon race was not under the protection of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, during ancient times, the various races of the Cangming Continent existed in a state of dynamic equilibrium.
It was not until a new demon emperor, who could be called a cultivation genius, was born among the demon race that the balance between the various races was broken.
Utilizing the formidable power of the secret art, this new demon emperor raised banners to lead the demonic army in an invasion of the Cangming Continent, forcing the other races to submit under his iron hooves.
Under the absurd and cruel rule of the demon race, mountains of corpses and fields of withered bones stretched across the land.
In the end, it took the intervention of the Chihua Immortal Master to beat the demon emperor’s soul to pieces and reseal the demon race back into the barren lands.
Now that this kind of forbidden art had appeared once again, could it be that a loophole had emerged in the ancient barrier, allowing a portion of the demonic remnants to escape?
Such a speculation was simply bone-chilling.
No one dared to imagine what the world would look like if the demon race ravaged the land once more.
If this news were to spread, the entire Cangming Continent would likely plunge into immense panic.
Everyone looked at one another, maintaining a heavy silence.
Yuan Wuji cast a spell to wipe away all memories related to the incident from the children, save for Jiang Qiran.
He stroked his beard: “Such a major matter must not be leaked and must be reported to the sect master immediately.”
He Yumian remained noncommittal: “My senior brother is currently in secluded cultivation to break through his realm. Once he emerges, I will explain this matter to him.”
“At that time, I will personally go to the barrier to thoroughly investigate this matter, so you may all rest assured.”
The original host always meant what he said, and coupled with his formidable strength, the hanging hearts of everyone present finally settled down a little.
Jiang Qiran was still standing in place without moving, staring down at the tips of his shoes while tumultuous emotions churned in his heart.
The Wuhan Immortal Master was unwilling to take him as a disciple, and no one else was willing to keep him at Lingxiao Sect.
Destiny swapping or no destiny swapping, when all was said and done, nobody cared about his staying or leaving. He would probably end up being chased back home after all.
He clenched his fists in unwillingness, but right at that moment, He Yumian spoke up.
“Yue Qian.”
A graceful woman in a plain dress slightly lowered her head. Her hair, cascading like a waterfall, was held up by a white jade hairpin, and a dark green gemstone necklace hung around her neck, radiating a calm and composed majesty in her every movement.
Yue Qian was the peak master of the Dan Peak at Lingxiao Sect. Her alchemy skills were peerless and divine, capable of bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh on bones, making her one of the foremost figures among alchemists in the Cangming Continent.
He Yumian could not help praising her to System Xiao Jiu: “Wow, just looking at this temperament, you can tell she is a fairy sister!”
Though he could not see her face… My apologies, fairy sister.
The Yue Qian in the original book was not only powerful, but also kind-hearted, highly revered by the disciples of Lingxiao Sect.
She had repeatedly aided the protagonist Chi Yuan, making her a goddess in the minds of numerous readers.
System Xiao Jiu let out a soft hum: “Hmph… Anyway, she’s not as pretty as Xiao Hong.”
He Yumian wore a questioning look: “? Who is Xiao Hong?”
He was startled: “Did you hook up with someone? Systems can have significant others nowadays? No way!”
Xiao Jiu bristled from the teasing: “Humph, I hate you so much, I don’t like you at all anymore!”
He Yumian gave Xiao Jiu a meaningful look, causing the system to break out in goosebumps.
Turning his gaze toward Yue Qian, he spoke: “To investigate the matter of the destiny swap, Jiang Qiran will temporarily stay within Lingxiao Sect and be cared for by Dan Peak during these days.”
The others raised no objections, and Yue Qian nodded, softly accepting the task.
Jiang Qiran looked at Yue Qian walking toward him, then turned to look at He Yumian, a bewildered expression on his face.
Yue Qian said gently: “Come with me.”
Jiang Qiran fell silent for a moment, lowered his head, and obediently followed her away.
After everything was settled, the others dispersed in various directions.
Only then did He Yumian let out a long sigh of relief.
He hesitated for a moment before making a decision: “Let’s head back to Wuhan Mountain first. I’m a bit unaccustomed to being here all of a sudden, so I’ll go back and catch up on some more of the novel.”
The original host lived in the Jingxin Pavilion on Wuhan Mountain, almost never going out and constantly remaining in seclusion to cultivate and break through realms.
Imitating the style in novels, He Yumian lowered his voice and called out: “Sword, come!”
A long sword shimmering with brilliant light manifested out of thin air.
The blade was as translucent and gorgeous as glazed crystal, flashing with an intimidating silver radiance.
This was the Star-Plucking Sword of the Wuhan Immortal Master.
Rumor had it that the original host had searched the entire Cangming Continent and failed to find a sword to his liking, so he pulled out his own spine to forge the Star-Plucking Sword.
He Yumian had been shocked when reading the book; to be so ruthless to oneself, he truly deserved to be called a peerless badass.
He raised his hand and gripped the sword hilt, and a sense of resonance from the depths of his soul made his whole body vibrate.
It felt as though a single sword strike could shatter all things, entirely deserving of the description of boundless power.
He cautiously stepped onto the Star-Plucking Sword and flew by sword toward Wuhan Mountain.
Lingxiao Sect was nestled across an entire mountain range, and given its vast expanse, the only way back was by flying on a sword.
Damn it all, they had actually made someone like him, who had suffered from a severe fear of heights since childhood, transmigrate into a xianxia novel where flying on swords was a necessity.
Fortunately, the sword could freely change its size; otherwise, relying on its original thinness, he definitely would have failed to stand steadily and fallen right off, which would have made him the laughingstock of the entire sect.