Ruan Lan’s trial was cut short, and it was now a settled matter that Ji Manqiu would return to the Ethereal Valley with them. On the way back, Feng Qi was deep in thought, pondering the plot of the original novel. Under her influence, the overall timeline of the plot had shifted forward significantly.
The Nanshan Secret Realm, the exposure of the Immortal Realm, and the Linghai Secret Realm were all events from the middle to late stages of the original story. According to the original timeline, after Ruan Lan’s trial ended, she was supposed to help the Cangyun Sect take over Nanshan alongside her own sect. During that period, she would meet the male protagonist. Meanwhile, the original owner of Feng Qi’s current body would also encounter the male lead, fall in love at first sight, and abandon her original goals just to stick by Liu Cheng’s side and cause trouble, eventually surviving until the next arc where she would be eliminated after her identity was exposed.
The death of the original host was the fuse that ignited the war between the Orthodox and Demonic paths. The cultivation world became precarious due to the invasion of the Demon Realm. During this time, the male and female leads would obtain the twin swords from Nanshan and later awaken their bloodlines. The major sects would then unite to push back the Demon Realm. Just as the romance between the leads peaked at their Daoist companion ceremony, the conspiracy of the Immortal Realm would be exposed for the first time.
However, with Feng Qi acting as a butterfly flapping its wings, the war between good and evil and the useless infighting had been avoided. Now, the story has jumped straight to the Qingluan Secret Realm plot. But… in doing so, it seemed as though all of the male lead’s plotlines had been skipped as well.
Belatedly, Feng Qi realized that whether it was Chen Lintian’s future meeting with the female lead or the bridge-building moments to deepen their relationship, there were hardly any left.
Though it was a bit tragic, she couldn’t really be blamed. Feng Qi shifted the blame without a hint of guilt. In the Nanshan Secret Realm, she had left that middle cave for the male lead, but who could have predicted that Ji Manqiu and Yu Qi would mess everything up?
Speaking of which, Feng Qi felt that while the current direction of the plot was still within her grasp, there was one variable that worried her: Ji Manqiu.
She couldn’t guess what kind of storm this sudden “butterfly” would stir up.
Upon returning to the Ethereal Valley, Feng Qi followed Ruan Lan back to Fengxing Peak, while Ji Manqiu went with Yu Qi to her own peak. Feng Qi stood at the summit, staring blankly in the direction where Ji Manqiu and Yu Qi had disappeared.
“What are you thinking about?” Ruan Lan sheathed her light sword. Turning back to the bamboo house, she saw Feng Qi standing still and asked.
Feng Qi pulled her gaze back, turned to face Ruan Lan, rubbed her face, and said pensively, “I’m a bit worried about Little Aunt-Master.”
“That was her own choice.”
“But… what if Ji Manqiu has ill intentions?” Feng Qi asked tentatively.
Ruan Lan said indifferently, “Then that is Yu Qi’s tribulation. It remains to be seen if she can sever that ill-fated karma.”
Ill-fated karma… Feng Qi grew even more worried because of Ruan Lan’s words. She hoped the “job” of being the fuse for the Great War hadn’t been snatched away by Ji Manqiu.
Feng Qi followed Ruan Lan back into the bamboo house, but she was still preoccupied with Yu Qi and Ji Manqiu. After being distracted for half the day, she couldn’t help but ask again, “Master, if something really happens, do you think Little Aunt-Master can sever that ill-fated karma?”
Ruan Lan was standing before a bookshelf flipping through books. Hearing Feng Qi’s words, she didn’t even look up as she replied, “No.”
Feng Qi: “…”
She suddenly felt the urge to write an anonymous letter to Yu Qi to report Ji Manqiu.
“I’m joking.” Ruan Lan found the book she wanted and turned around. Seeing Feng Qi looking lost in thought, she shook her head slightly. “I don’t know what will become of her.”
An ill-fated bond is still a bond; whether it can be severed is an answer only the one experiencing it can provide.
“Come with me to see my Master,” Ruan Lan said, turning her head as she was about to step out of the house.
Feng Qi was stunned and subconsciously followed her. “I’m going too?”
Ruan Lan hummed in affirmation. She stared at Feng Qi for a moment. Under Feng Qi’s bewildered gaze, she reached out and tapped Feng Qi’s forehead, saying, “Original form.”
Feng Qi realized what she meant. She instinctively touched her forehead, and in the next second, her clothes fell to the floor. A small black cat darted out, climbed up Ruan Lan’s dress, and leaped onto her shoulder in a few swift motions, then lowered its head to lick its paw.
Xiao Shang, the sect leader of the Ethereal Valley, had already come out of seclusion as soon as Ruan Lan sent back the transmission jade. Hearing about the arrays of the Four Lesser Immortal Realms, she had no heart to continue her closed-door cultivation. Instead, she contacted cultivators she was on good terms with to spread the news.
Unless she was in seclusion, Xiao Shang usually stayed at the main peak. When Ruan Lan arrived at the main peak and passed the Qingluan statue in the center of the square, Feng Qi stared at it for a long time, only withdrawing her gaze when it was no longer in sight.
“Master.” Ruan Lan sat down beside Xiao Shang and greeted her softly.
Xiao Shang nodded at her, her tone gentle. “How was the trial?”
“It was alright.” Ruan Lan took the little cat off her shoulder, placed it on the ground to let it play, and said, “I gained quite a few opportunities.”
“Your discovery of the Four Lesser Immortal Realms’ arrays is a major event that has shocked the cultivation world.” Xiao Shang sighed. “If only it had been discovered earlier, the cultivation world wouldn’t be in its current state.”
“The discovery of the arrays was thanks to Feng Qi.”
The little black cat, who was squatting on the ground bored out of its mind, immediately pricked up its ears upon hearing its name.
Xiao Shang paused, frowning. “Your disciple?”
Ruan Lan nodded. Though her voice was cold, her tone carried a hint of softness. “Obtaining the Qingyun Sword was also thanks to her.”
“Is that so? It seems she is a child with great fortune. How is her cultivation?” Xiao Shang rarely saw such an expression on her disciple’s face and asked with interest.
“She has improved compared to before.”
Xiao Shang didn’t know that Ruan Lan’s “improvement” was actually a euphemism. She nodded and said with a smile, “It’s rare for you to find a disciple so much to your liking.”
Ruan Lan glanced at the little black cat, whose back was turned to them but whose ears were twitching, and said softly, “Yes.” She hadn’t expected it either.
Xiao Shang wasn’t overly curious about Feng Qi and quickly moved the conversation to other matters. “I gave you a jade pendant before and told you that you could seek help from the Cangyun Sect if needed. Did you use it?”
Ruan Lan shook her head. “No, but I did encounter disciples from the Cangyun Sect.”
Xiao Shang asked curiously, “Which disciple?”
“The pure fire-root cultivator, Chen Lintian.” Ruan Lan mentioned Chen Lintian not because she was interested in him, but because of his spiritual roots. “Although he joined the sect late, he seems very talented, and his peers in the Cangyun Sect look up to him. Barring any accidents, he should be a disciple the Cangyun Sect is focusing on cultivating.”
Furthermore, Chen Lintian was a single-root cultivator. Like her, if he obtained the blood of a spirit beast, there was a chance he could awaken a bloodline. Ruan Lan thought of the two items she had obtained at Nanshan, and her brow furrowed imperceptibly.
Xiao Shang clearly knew of Chen Lintian. Hearing Ruan Lan mention him specifically, a flicker of amusement crossed her eyes. “You’re right; he is the closed-door disciple of the Cangyun Sect’s leader.”
“Actually, the Ethereal Valley and the Cangyun Sect have been on good terms for many years, and many ‘immortal couples’ have come from our two sects. The leader of the Cangyun Sect mentioned his intentions regarding this to me a few years ago.” She looked at Ruan Lan’s expression and stopped there. “Dual cultivation is also a way to increase one’s power; different constitutions yield different effects.”
Seeing Ruan Lan’s brow furrow, she added, “Of course, the matter of a Daoist companion cannot be decided lightly; it depends on one’s own heart.”
Ruan Lan remained silent for a moment, then placed the jade pendant on the table in front of Xiao Shang and said in a low voice, “I have no such intention.”
After Ruan Lan clearly refused, Xiao Shang didn’t bring it up again. After the two chatted about the Qingluan Secret Realm, Ruan Lan left with Feng Qi.
After they departed, Xiao Shang looked at the jade pendant on the table and let out a silent sigh.
It wasn’t until they returned to Fengxing Peak that Feng Qi, still disguised as a cat, finally spoke. “Master, was the Sect Leader just trying to set you up with Chen Lintian?”
Hearing Xiao Shang’s words, Feng Qi couldn’t even remember if she had written this part of the plot.
Ruan Lan didn’t answer but instead asked directly, “What are you trying to say?”
Feng Qi hesitated for a moment. Thinking of the increasingly irrelevant Chen Lintian, she couldn’t help but say a word for him. “Actually… Chen Lintian is quite good.”
How the tables have turned. She never expected that she, a character meant to be a vicious female supporting lead, would now be speaking well of the male lead in front of the female lead.
Ruan Lan’s footsteps paused. She picked up the cat from her shoulder, gripped the scruff of its neck to bring it level with her eyes, and frowned. “You seem to have always had a good impression of him.”
Hearing the coldness in Ruan Lan’s voice, Feng Qi’s heart skipped a beat. Her tail stood bolt upright, and she felt like her fur was about to stand on end. She quickly defended herself, saying, “Misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding! I definitely don’t have any other feelings for him!”
Her paws flailed pitifully in the air until the person holding her finally set her down. The black cat hit the ground and bolted back to the bamboo house. When she emerged again, she was back in human form. Looking at Ruan Lan, who was walking toward the door, she cleared her throat and finally thought of a way to prove she had no interest in Chen Lintian. She raised her hand and said with a serious face, “Master, humans and demons walk different paths. I will absolutely never look for a human cultivator as a Daoist companion.”
Ruan Lan walked past her with an indifferent expression, brushing past Feng Qi’s shoulder.
Being ignored made Feng Qi shudder. She turned silently to watch Ruan Lan’s back, her heart filled with trepidation. Oh no, I think I’ve made the Master angry.
…
Thousands of miles away, inside the Demon Realm.
Surrounded by a crowd of beauties and enjoying the service of her male concubines, Liu Yue sat on her golden throne in a good mood, listening nonchalantly to her subordinates’ report on recent events in the Demon Realm.
However, her good mood didn’t last long. A demon strode in through the door with a grim expression and sat in a lower seat. “The Altar has issued a new order.”
Liu Yue’s brow furrowed. They had only just returned from Nanshan.
“The location this time is the Ethereal Valley.”
“Ethereal Valley?” Liu Yue raised an eyebrow. She stroked her chin and gave a light, curling smile. “Isn’t that the sect where the Saintess went?”
“What is the Saintess still doing in the Orthodox path?” the demon asked, somewhat puzzled. “And the Right Protector…”
Liu Yue shrugged. “Probably having some fun.” She raised her hand to push away the wine cup offered by a concubine, leaned on her hand, and said absentmindedly, “But it’s been so long; it’s about time they came back. The Demon Sovereign is almost out of seclusion.”