“Mother seems to have stopped breathing.”
In her dazed state, Xiao Ying faintly heard a young girl whisper in a despondent tone.
Moments later, a young boy’s voice followed.
“Well, that might be for the best. At least she won’t be able to sell you to that old widower now.”
The girl seemed somewhat conflicted, her voice growing even softer: “But she is still our mother after all…”
The boy sighed, his tone filled more with resignation: “We treat her as our mother, but when has she ever treated us as her children?”
“She’s already sold our younger siblings, and now she wanted to sell you too. If I weren’t a cripple that nobody wants, I probably would have been sold off long ago.”
What followed was a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of their shallow breathing.
Xiao Ying’s consciousness was in complete disarray. Who was speaking? Where was this? And what had happened to her?
She only remembered leading a group of elders and disciples to explore a newly discovered Secret Realm, only to underestimate its dangers. They had lost many people just upon entering the periphery.
She herself had been struck by a restriction while opening a palace, not even her Nascent Soul managing to escape.
In her final moments, she could only lament how the cultivation world’s genius, a mighty Nascent Soul expert like herself, had actually fallen in a mere Secret Realm. She wondered if people would laugh at her story when it spread.
Yet unexpectedly, it seemed something unusual had happened – she found herself trapped within a body.
Had she not completely died?
She had always despised being in uncontrollable situations, so her consciousness immediately began struggling fiercely.
The next moment, her eyes suddenly flew open, then she froze in astonishment.
Before her stood a low, drafty thatched hut with yellow-black walls that were broken and dilapidated.
A boy and a girl stood before her – clearly the two who had been speaking earlier.
Both shared the same sallow, emaciated appearance, skin stretched taut over bones, wearing tattered clothes covered in patches.
The boy looked about fifteen or sixteen, while the girl appeared only thirteen or fourteen – both clearly malnourished.
Even so, one could see they had delicate features and good bone structure. With proper care and restored health, they would undoubtedly grow into handsome and beautiful individuals.
Perhaps startled by her sudden awakening, the two stepped back simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief.
“Mother, you… you’re awake…”
The girl trembled as if she’d seen a ghost, her hands shaking uncontrollably, face pale as snow.
The boy clenched his fists, his eyes carrying both wariness and disappointment.
Had Mother overheard their earlier conversation?
Chills ran down their spines as they already imagined the vicious woman chasing after them, screaming insults and beating them.
But a sudden pain shot through Xiao Ying’s head as countless memory fragments flooded her mind like a torrent, assaulting her consciousness.
She closed her eyes briefly, quickly sorting through the information, finally understanding what had happened to her.
She had actually transmigrated again.
The first time was from a technological world to the World of Cultivation. This time, she had crossed from the cultivation world to a very backward feudal society in the mortal realm.
The owner of this body was also named Xiao Ying, and even her appearance closely resembled her own, making her wonder if she had arrived in a legendary parallel universe.
However, this Xiao Ying’s personality was completely different from hers – crude, lazy, and ignorant since childhood.
After her husband’s accidental death eight years ago, she had become even more volatile and gloomy, developing a gambling addiction. She would either beat or scold her four children, showing not the slightest maternal affection.
To repay gambling debts, she had sold off her two youngest children over the past two years, and today she was about to sell the third.
But just as she dragged her daughter out the door, a roof tile fell and struck her head, killing her instantly…
It truly seemed like divine justice.
Served her right!
Xiao Ying cursed inwardly.
Even a vicious tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs. Selling one’s own children was worse than being a beast.
Wait, four children?
She, a cultivation genius who had lived for over a century without ever seeking a partner, had now become the mother of four children?
Xiao Ying fell silent for a moment but quickly accepted it.
Just four children—though she had never had children in her previous life, she had many disciples and grand-disciples, all of whom she had raised as her own.
Since she hadn’t died completely and the heavens had given her a second chance, transforming her into this version of herself in what seemed like a parallel world, she would make the most of it.
“Mother, how are you feeling?”
A young girl’s voice brought her back to her senses. Xiao Ying opened her eyes and looked at the two before her.
She had four children—two sons and two daughters. The two in front of her were the eldest son, Chen Xinghai, and the eldest daughter, Chen Xingyun. The former was sixteen, and the latter only fourteen.
Chen Xinghai had become disabled after an accident in his childhood crushed his foot, leaving him with a limp. His personality had grown introverted and insecure, but he was fiercely protective of his younger siblings.
Chen Xingyun, on the other hand, was obedient, honest, and hardworking.
It was precisely because of this that her previous self had not sold her off, keeping her around to do chores—washing clothes, cooking, and earning money.
The remaining two were named Chen Xinghe and Chen Xingyue. Chen Xinghe, now twelve, had been sold to the town mayor’s family two years ago to serve as a page.
This child had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. By the age of three, he could recite the Three Character Classic and Thousand Character Classic from memory, and by four, he could write them out entirely. The villagers praised him, saying he was as talented as his father and destined for scholarly pursuits.
Unfortunately, his path to brilliance came to an abrupt end at the age of five.
That year, his father went to the capital to take the imperial examinations but died in an accident along the way, leaving Chen Xinghe with no further opportunity to study.
Lastly, there was the youngest, Chen Xingyue, only nine years old.
The poor girl had been pawned off by her gambling-addicted mother to a wealthy family in town as a maid half a year ago. Since then, her previous self had never once visited her, and no one knew how she was faring.
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Xiao Ying inwardly scorned her previous self again and again.
No wonder the heavens had intervened, allowing her to take over.
“My head hurts,” she murmured, meeting the children’s worried gazes.
“I’ll go fetch a doctor for Mother,” Chen Xingyun said anxiously, turning to rush out.
“Wait—”
Before Xiao Ying could finish, a sharp pain shot through her head, followed by a golden light that spread through her limbs, instantly relieving the pain and invigorating her.
Perfect—she didn’t even need a doctor now, especially since the family had no money to pay for one anyway.
She paused in surprise, then felt a surge of joy. It was that Secret Realm!
Somehow, that Secret Realm had bound itself to her soul and followed her here.
As information about the realm flooded her mind, her delight grew. The realm had granted her partial control—she could enter and exit freely and make use of the resources inside.
It turned out this Secret Realm was a Xianfu named “Xiaoyao,” left behind ten thousand years ago by the Xiaoyao Immortal Venerable before his ascension.
It was filled with countless rare treasures and spanned an immense space, divided into three parts: the outer court, inner court, and core area.
However, she had only gained control over the outer sect—more precisely, a very small portion of the outer sect.
As her consciousness entered, a lush expanse of greenery greeted her eyes—a Spiritual Field fully planted with crops. Dense white mist surrounded the Spiritual Field, obscuring the view beyond.
This Spiritual Field was only about one mu in size, filled with golden Spiritual Rice, each grain plump and brimming with spiritual energy. If fully harvested, it would yield at least a thousand jin.
Xiao Ying was quite satisfied. With this, she wouldn’t have to worry about food shortages, at least for the short term.
Her gaze then shifted to the eastern side of the Spiritual Field, where a well stood filled to the brim with Spiritual Spring Water.
Beside it was a small, exquisitely crafted wooden hut, likely the former residence of the cultivator who had tended this Spiritual Field.
Extending her consciousness inside, she discovered the hut had three rooms.
The first room was a kitchen, fully equipped with a stove, pots, pans, bowls, and utensils, along with a large pile of chopped firewood.
It seemed the previous owner was a Qi Refining cultivator who hadn’t yet achieved the state of fasting from grains.
The middle room served as a place for meditation and rest, furnished simply with a wooden bed, a set of table and chairs, and a meditation cushion.
The last room was a storage area—the most valuable of all.
Inside stood two shelves. One shelf held several Jade Slips and assorted bottles and jars, containing some basic cultivation techniques, records of strange tales, and a small number of low-grade Elixirs.
Though, after being stored for so many years, it was uncertain whether the Elixirs still retained their efficacy.
The other shelf held several boxes and a few low-grade Magical Artifacts.
Xiao Ying examined them one by one and discovered that the boxes contained several Spiritual Herbs, such as ginseng and lingzhi, with ages ranging from fifty to a hundred years—not particularly old.
The Magical Artifacts were common items like daggers, knives, and bows and arrows, suitable for early-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Those at the mid-stage would likely consider them trash.
She, however, didn’t mind. Even the worst of these items were a hundred times better than ordinary weapons from the mortal world—more than enough for her current needs.
The next crucial step was to confirm whether her current body possessed a spiritual root.
As long as it did, she could once again embark on the path of cultivation.
“Where is everyone? Where have they all gone?”
“Old Lady Xiao, weren’t you supposed to sell your daughter to me today?”
Just as she was pondering carefully, a rough and menacing voice abruptly interrupted her thoughts.
Xiao Ying frowned, her consciousness instantly returning to her body.
Only then did she remember—the original owner had agreed to sell Chen Xingyun to an old widower in the village today. It was already afternoon, and surely, the old widower had come to collect his “purchase.”