The mountain path was far harder to travel than Su Jinse had imagined.
The so-called road was merely a narrow dirt track barely formed by the footsteps of those who had passed before.
On both sides grew waist-high thorns and shrubs. Their sharp spikes constantly scraped against her thin clothing, leaving fine bloody cuts on her exposed skin.
The pain burned fiercely.
Her strength was rapidly draining. With every step upward, her lungs felt as though they were being scorched by fire.
Yet her eyes grew brighter with each moment of exhaustion.
In the apocalypse, she had once dragged herself forward with broken bones, walking through radioactive dust and hordes of zombies for three days and three nights.
This level of hardship could not break her will.
After hours of difficult climbing, just before her strength was about to run out, her vision suddenly opened up.
She had reached the mountain peak.
In the distance, the setting sun cast a warm golden glow over a cluster of buildings.
Curved eaves and layered roofs.
Green tiles and red walls.
Under the fading sunlight, the Daoist temple looked solemn and dignified, even carrying a faint illusion of a celestial residence.
At last, a small spark of hope rose in Su Jinse’s heart.
At the very least, there would be somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain.
She quickened her pace and walked toward the vermilion mountain gate with her last bit of anticipation.
The bronze ring on the gate had long rusted over, covered with green corrosion.
She reached out and pushed lightly.
Creak—
A harsh, grating sound followed.
The seemingly heavy gate collapsed inward at once, crashing onto the ground and sending dust flying everywhere.
When the dust settled, what she saw shattered the fragile hope in her heart into ashes.
The so-called Qingfeng Temple was nothing more than a completely abandoned ruin.
The courtyard was filled with weeds taller than a person, swaying in the mountain wind like a ghostly wasteland.
Half of the main hall’s roof had collapsed, exposing the dark wooden beams inside.
The statues were covered in dust and tangled in spider webs, their original forms no longer recognizable.
Broken walls and ruins surrounded everything.
A deathlike silence filled the place.
The evening wind passed through the broken windows, producing mournful wails like the cries of restless spirits.
Su Jinse stood motionless in the center of the desolate courtyard.
After a long time—
She slowly smiled.
There was not the slightest warmth in that smile.
Only piercing coldness.
“Daoist techniques are profound and especially effective for restoring health.”
Su Lingwei’s gentle and concerned voice echoed in her ears now with deep irony.
“Se Se, Mother is doing this for your own good.”
Madam Liu’s loving advice now sounded like a poisoned blade.
At last, she understood everything.
This was not exile.
Nor was it recuperation.
It was a carefully planned murder designed to leave no trace.
Her family.
Her own blood relatives.
They wanted her to quietly die here on this deserted mountaintop—of illness or starvation.
In the end she would rot away and disappear.
Without even a handful of earth to bury her.
Without a gravestone.
Overwhelming hatred and icy killing intent surged violently within her chest.
But in the end, those emotions that nearly swallowed her whole turned into a cold, resolute smile.
She did not despair.
Instead, a fierce flame of ambition ignited in her eyes.
She looked around the forgotten land.
There were no restraints from the marquis residence.
No judgment from others.
And none of that hypocritical family affection.
This place was practically a paradise made specifically for her.
Su Jinse’s gaze shifted—from that of a victim cast away, to that of a queen examining her own territory.
Calmly, she walked through the ruins, searching for anything useful.
Finally, in a corner of the complex, she found a side hall that remained relatively intact.
The roof was still standing. Though the doors and windows were broken, it could at least block the wind and rain.
She entered the hall and sat cross-legged.
Opening the small bundle she treasured, she carefully poured the sack of seeds onto the floor before her.
Vegetable seeds.
Grain seeds.
Medicinal herb seeds.
All kinds were there.
She slowly closed her eyes and stopped holding back.
Deep within her dantian, that faint energy was instantly stirred.
Wood-Element Ability — Activate.
A faint green light appeared in her palm.
At first it flickered weakly like a candle in the wind, but soon it stabilized, releasing an irresistible aura of life.
The entire ruined hall seemed to fill with vitality under the glow.
Threads of pure life force—almost invisible but undeniably real—were forcibly drawn from the round seeds.
They transformed into countless streams of warmth, flowing into her long-depleted meridians.
Comfort.
That was the only thought in Su Jinse’s mind.
The hollow weakness in her body began to fill little by little.
The wounds left by the thorns tingled as they healed visibly, leaving not even a scar.
The burning pain in her lungs gradually faded as the life force washed through her.
She could even feel the chronic illnesses that had long plagued this body being cleansed and repaired by that powerful energy.
Half an hour later—
Su Jinse suddenly opened her eyes, a sharp light flashing across them.
Looking down, she saw that the small pile of seeds before her had turned dull.
Half of them had even crumbled into gray powder, as though their essence had been completely drained.
Instead of feeling regret, a mocking smile spread across her lips.
“My dear mother. My dear sister.”
She murmured softly, her voice carrying a strange hint of laughter.
What a ridiculous joke.
She stood up and stretched her body, feeling a strength she had never experienced before.
All the exhaustion, pain, and hunger from earlier had vanished.
The evening wind still blew through the broken windows, producing ghostly cries.
But now, in Su Jinse’s ears, it sounded like the horns of a coronation.
She slowly walked out of the side hall and stood once more in the desolate courtyard.
This time, her state of mind was completely different.
What she saw was no longer a ruin of despair—
But a virgin land waiting to be cultivated.
A kingdom that would soon belong to her.
“You wanted me to die here quietly.”
Her voice was not loud, yet every word was clear and firm as it echoed through the silent night.
“But I will live here—and live well!”
With the tip of her foot, she kicked a broken tile aside, wild flames burning in her eyes.
“I will build a granary here. A granary so great that all of you will have to look up to it—one that you could not enter even if you crawled on your knees!”
She spread her arms, embracing the desolation and freedom that belonged to her, declaring each word with absolute conviction.
At that moment, she was sensing the land beneath her feet with her ability.
Suddenly—
Her mind trembled.
Deep underground, she felt a faint but extremely pure fluctuation of a water vein.
That fluctuation was resonating in a strange way with her Wood-Element Ability.
Su Jinse abruptly opened her eyes.
Her gaze passed through the hall’s doorway and landed on the corner of the courtyard—
On an old well that had long dried up.