Although Shen Ci had been in the Sect for three years, she had always been cautious and timid, keeping her head down whenever she encountered her fellow disciples.
Her cultivation was even more of a mess. Apart from the escape techniques that only cowards like Ta Yun would learn, she had nothing noteworthy about her.
Stealing Qingyao’s Phoenix egg and throwing her to the Mysterious Phoenix—was this something Shen Ci could do?
Jiang Mingji’s eyes burned with anger. “That Shen Ci! If my disciple suffers even the slightest harm, I will never let her off!”
Standing beside Shen Rong and Ye Shuyin were two young men—the eldest senior brother of the Shangyun Sect, Rong Yuan, and the third senior brother, Luo Xingyao.
Rong Yuan pondered for a moment. “This matter still needs to be investigated.”
Luo Xingyao let out a light scoff. “So many fellow disciples witnessed it, and Qingyao’s injuries are right here for all to see. How could she be wrongly accused?!”
He had pitied Shen Ci for coming from the mortal world and had shown her much care in the past. What a fool he had been.
The others present chimed in one after another:
“The little junior sister didn’t grow up in our Sect, so there’s no bond between us.”
“Exactly. Running away to save herself is one thing, but harming Qingyao in the process…”
“Good riddance to someone like her.”
The words Rong Yuan wanted to say in defense stuck in his throat, and in the end, he remained silent.
Ye Shuyin rubbed his temples and said to Shen Rong, “That child is ungrateful. When she returns, she must be severely punished. For now, let’s focus on treating Qingyao’s injuries.”
Shen Rong nodded, and the group took Shen Qingyao inside to tend to her wounds.
…
Shen Ci was still running desperately forward until she had no strength left and could run no more. She bent over, gasping for breath.
She glanced behind her—no one was following. Thinking about it, it made sense. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Phoenix wasn’t something easily dealt with; they probably had no mind to chase after her now.
Shen Ci looked around. She was in a dense forest. Aimlessly, she trudged forward, not paying attention to the path beneath her feet when suddenly, the ground gave way beneath her.
“Ah…!”
Her body plummeted straight down.
Her first thought was, This is it, this is it. She still didn’t know how to fly. At the Qi Refining stage, she was no different from a mortal. She was going to be smashed to pieces. She instinctively closed her eyes.
Bad news: She couldn’t fly.
Good news: But she landed in water…
Shen Ci frantically paddled her limbs, unable to discern direction in the dim water. She could only pick a random direction and swim for her life.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the shore. Her soaked clothes clung tightly to her body, making her teeth chatter from the cold.
She looked around—this was an enclosed valley surrounded by towering mountains. Steep cliffs pierced the clouds, with no trace of human presence in sight.
Shen Ci could only wander aimlessly forward. The sky grew darker, and her breathing became more and more labored.
So dark… pitch black…
The overwhelming darkness before her eyes gradually merged with the memories of the Demon Abyss Cliff Cave from her previous life. That suffocating sense of oppression returned… Shen Ci staggered and leaned against an ancient tree, slowly curling into a ball.
“Whimper…”
Suppressed sobs escaped from between her knees, tears soaking her face. Shen Ci raised a hand to wipe them away, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop them.
She hugged herself tightly, roughly wiping her face. “Shen Ci, don’t cry, don’t cry…”
Heaven has been merciful, giving you a chance at rebirth. You can’t be as weak as you were in your past life, only knowing how to cry.
Don’t cry, don’t cry.
Shen Ci pressed tightly against the sturdy ancient tree, repeatedly stroking her own head just as Ye Shuyin would comfort Shen Qingyao, as if seeking a sliver of security this way. The faint woody scent emanating from the ancient tree strangely soothed some of her fear.
She didn’t dare close her eyes, sitting against the ancient tree all night until the sky began to lighten, only then did she doze off briefly.
“Chirp, chirp…”
The birdsong startled her awake. Rubbing her sore, tired eyes, Shen Ci froze when she saw the scene before her.
Supporting herself against the tree trunk, she slowly rose. Morning light spilled into the valley, where a winding stream flowed crystal-clear at its center. Both banks were covered with unknown small flowers, their petals adorned with glistening morning dew.
Surrounded by lush trees, a gentle breeze swept through, causing a rain of blossoms to flutter down.
Shen Ci let out a delighted sigh. “So beautiful…”
Only then did she get a clear look at the ancient tree from last night and gasped in awe. This tree was several times thicker and taller than the guardian tree of the Shangyun Sect.
She had to tilt her head back almost to her spine to barely see the treetop.
“Huh?”
Shen Ci made a puzzled sound as she noticed something round and snow-white peeking through the dense green foliage at the very top.
Driven by curiosity, she placed her sword at the base of the tree and began climbing up using both hands and feet. When she pushed aside the final thick cluster of leaves, a plump, perfectly round fruit came into view:
Its jade-like pink-white skin shimmered with a subtle glow, covered in fine fuzz. An incredibly sweet fragrance wafted into Shen Ci’s nostrils, making her unable to resist swallowing.
“Just a small taste…” she muttered softly, ultimately succumbing to temptation. She cradled the fruit and took small bites until it was gone.
After eating, she slid back down the trunk. But in an instant, a searing, twisting pain erupted in her abdomen. Shen Ci collapsed to her knees, sweat instantly drenching her clothes.
“Mmm…”
She curled into a small ball, her fingers digging deep into the soil. This pain was more intense than when demonic qi had eroded her bones in her previous life—it felt as if her organs were being torn apart.
Through blurred vision, she looked up at the towering ancient tree, tears streaming as she pleaded, “Uncle Tree… A-Ci knows she was wrong… won’t be greedy anymore…”
Her childish voice trembled like a child who’d made a mistake.
After all, Shen Ci was only eight years old. Even with a second chance, she had only lived to fourteen in her past life.
Faced with this sudden crisis, she was flustered and could only cry helplessly.
No, it hurt too much. With no one around, she had to find a way…
“Can’t… die again…”
Forehead beaded with cold sweat, she bit her lip to force herself to calm down. With trembling hands, she gathered a faint thread of spiritual qi at her fingertips and slowly directed it into her dantian—the source of the sharpest pain.
The moment her spiritual qi entered, the tearing agony suddenly eased. Shen Ci’s dull eyes lit up with hope.
Struggling, she sat up and crossed her legs. The spirit-gathering technique she’d secretly learned in her previous sect surfaced in her mind—clumsy yet complete—and she began to circulate it.
What shocked her even more was how incredibly dense the spiritual qi in this valley was!
With every breath, spiritual qi automatically flowed into her meridians. Her dantian greedily devoured it like a bottomless pit, and the cramping in her abdomen gradually subsided.
A faint cyan glow slowly enveloped her body. After a while, Shen Ci’s eyes snapped open in disbelief. She stared at her raised hands—had she… broken through?
Shen Ci’s eyes were filled with astonishment.
To leap directly from the early stage of Qi Refining to the late stage—this meant she would soon achieve Foundation Establishment!
In her previous life, she had cultivated desperately yet only reached the middle stage of Qi Refining. It wasn’t due to lack of talent, nor was it for want of effort.
Rather, in that past life, Shen Qingyao had stubbornly insisted on seizing the golden egg of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Phoenix. That Mysterious Phoenix was a divine beast, not a demonic one, unwilling to take lives lightly.
It had merely pursued them relentlessly, hoping they would recognize the impossibility of their task and return the golden egg. Yet Shen Qingyao, reckless to the point of folly, and Song Heyu, who shielded her unconditionally, truly believed they could escape the Mysterious Phoenix’s wrath.
Just as they were about to cross the barriers of the Gods and Demons Valley, with Shen Qingyao still refusing to return the egg, the Mysterious Phoenix finally erupted in fury. With a sweep of its sky-obscuring wings…
Not only did Shen Qingyao fail to obtain the golden egg, but she was also severely wounded by the Mysterious Phoenix.
Her Dantian was damaged, and her Spirit Energy dissipated entirely. Everyone in the Shangyun Sect rallied to her aid—donating pills, brewing medicines—and managed to repair Shen Qingyao’s Dantian. However, her scattered Spirit Energy could not be recovered.
Shen Qingyao wept heart-wrenchingly day after day. Eventually, her master Jiang Mingji devised a solution: Spirit Energy transfer. In other words, they would replenish Shen Qingyao’s energy by taking it from someone else.
And the person they selected was Shen Ci herself.
Her father patted her head, his tone uncharacteristically gentle, “Xiao Ci, Qingyao is your own sister. Won’t you help her?”
Her mother, for the first time, held her tenderly in her arms, “Xiao Ci, I’m begging you as your mother.”
Seeing her hesitation, Ye Shuyin softly stroked her hair, voice choked with emotion, “Xiao Ci, you can always cultivate your energy back. But your sister was already frail, and now she’s gravely injured—she has no second chance, Xiao Ci!”
Her elder brother Shen Qingze, frustrated by her silence, finally snapped, “Shen Ci, can’t you stop being so selfish? Qingyao has worked so hard all this time—how can you bear to see her lose everything?!”
Eight-year-old Shen Ci huddled on her meditation cushion, watching the distorted faces of the adults filling the hall. It felt as though if she dared utter a single “no,” she would become a sinner in the eyes of the entire Shangyun Sect.
Back then, Shen Ci was still young. She couldn’t comprehend—she felt her refusal was justified, yet everyone was blaming her.
In the end, she tremblingly nodded her agreement. When Jiang Mingji’s silver needles pierced her Dantian, she bit her lips until they bled from the pain. But what hurt more was watching the Spirit Energy she had painstakingly cultivated being drawn out of her, strand by strand…
Yet Shen Ci was still too naive. The Dantian and Spirit Energy had long become one; forcibly separating them was no different from severing roots and cutting meridians. But no one had warned her of this risk.
She fell gravely ill. During that period of sickness, it became the warmest memory in Shen Ci’s recollection.
Her father would personally feed her medicine, her mother would tuck her in throughout the night, Senior Brother Rong Yuan visited daily, and even Senior Brother Luo Xingyao—who had always viewed her with disdain—brought freshly picked immortal fruits to see her. This continued until Shen Qingyao awoke.
“Give Sister back her Spirit Energy!” the young girl cried, tears falling like pear blossoms, blaming herself to the point of fainting. And so, everyone’s concern shifted back to her.
No one remembered anymore the child in the corner who had lost all her Spirit Energy, who no longer had the strength to even hold a sword.
From then on, no matter how hard she cultivated, her Dantian became like a leaky bucket—any Spirit Energy that entered would eventually seep out.
Every day was like drawing water with a bamboo basket—futile and exhausting.
As these memories surfaced, Shen Ci’s eyes reddened, “Shangyun Sect!”
They deceived her in her youth, leading her astray so bitterly!