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The large instruments were heavy, and with Ji Yaoge’s limited cultivation, handling them was physically exhausting. By the end of the day, her arms and shoulders were sore. Walking back to her cave under the starlit sky, Chi Xiu Palace was silent, with only the sounds of nocturnal creatures and the rustling wind.

The restriction outside her cave was untouched. After a quick glance, she went inside.

Sitting cross-legged on her stone bed, she opened the jade tube and released Gao Ba Dou. Gao Ba Dou had been confined in the tube all day now laying limp on the ground, unresponsive even to Ji Yaoge’s calls. Ji Yaoge had no way to deal with him and closed her eyes to rest, though her mind was unsettled.

According to Bai Yan’s information, Ren Zhongping was very likely the one who attempted to kill "Ji Yaoge." Today, when she asked Jiao Tao, it was confirmed that Ren Zhongping was indeed Ye Long\'s close companion. Ye Long practiced the Nanming Hehuan Technique, which required a suitable male cultivator as a partner. Ren Zhongping had been with her for five years.

Now, she wondered if Ye Long was involved in this matter.

"Sha Shu Lian Yin... what kind of technique is this?" As she pondered, Ji Yaoge couldn’t help but mutter aloud.

"Lian Yin Technique?" Gao Ba Dou, lying limp on the ground, suddenly flew up.

Ji Yaoge hadn’t mentioned the dark arts to him before. Seeing his reaction, she thought that with his vast knowledge, he might know something. "Do you know this technique?"

"Of course, I know it!" Gao Ba Dou’s antennae twitched, his small eyes flashing with anger. "Lian Yin Technique is a demonic art from the ghost realm, using the devouring of cultivators’ three souls and seven spirits as a means of cultivation, creating corpse puppets as weapons. It’s an extremely sinister art. I almost fell victim to it once." Remembering the incident, Gao Ba Dou\'s body shivered. It was one of the most dangerous encounters in his 3,600 years of cultivation.

The ghost realm is located in the Northwest Ming Sha Sea, a stronghold of demonic cultivators. After the great battle between good and evil ten thousand years ago, people from the ghost realm vanished from Wan Hua. How could ghost realm techniques appear in Chi Xiu Palace now?

Ji Yaoge couldn’t understand. Gao Ba Dou continued, "Two thousand years ago, I wandered into the Ming Sha Sea and was captured by the old demon Xiao Wuheng. He intended to devour my soul and refine me into a puppet, but I escaped. The most insidious part of this technique is that the practitioner nourishes a talisman with blood, implants it into a living sacrifice, and forces the sacrifice to gather souls for cultivation, multiplying their power."

"So, you mean Ren Zhongping could be a living sacrifice gathering souls for someone?" Ji Yaoge asked. If he was a living sacrifice, it would explain how he could hide his aura within Chi Xiu Palace despite his low cultivation. He must have a powerful backer.

"Possibly." Gao Ba Dou rarely looked so serious.

"Is there a way to confirm if Ren Zhongping is a living sacrifice?" Ji Yaoge asked.

"If he is, his primordial spirit will have a demonic talisman. I can test it." Gao Ba Dou’s tail lifted, the antennae stiffening like steel needles.

Ji Yaoge fell silent, pondering. Gao Ba Dou, crawling around her bare cave, grumbled, "This place is so shabby it hurts my heart. Did I follow a short-lived ghost?" Seeing she ignored him, he climbed to the doorframe and said, "You should look at that technique book. Even if it\'s a seductive art, it might help you find a backer."

She glanced at him. "Someone might come spying tonight. Stay alert."

Gao Ba Dou realized she was using him as a watchdog. He was about to retort but saw her casually take out the jade slip, making him hold his tongue.

Ji Yaoge took out the jade slip out of curiosity. She couldn\'t practice any techniques at the moment, and this jade slip was her only possession. Yesterday, she only glanced at it briefly. Today, she took a closer look and noticed shallow carvings on the gray jade, forming a complete picture. It was palm-sized and seemed to depict a scene.

Besides that, there was nothing special. Gao Ba Dou claimed it had strong spiritual energy but was sealed with restrictions, yet she felt nothing. She slowly injected her spiritual sense into the jade slip.

In the cultivation world, secret techniques weren’t inscribed in books but embedded in various materials, commonly spirit jade, forming jade slips. The content wasn’t visible to the naked eye and required spiritual sense to read. The more powerful the technique, the more effort it took. Some high-level cultivators added restrictions to prevent theft.

If Gao Ba Dou was truthful, this jade slip with restrictions was extraordinary.

As she thought, an old book materialized in her mind, unchanged from her previous view—the vulgar woman and large red characters on the cover. She resisted her distaste and turned the page. Her spiritual sense triggered movement, and the woman on the cover sprang to life, transforming into a seductive beauty. The scene shifted, and Ji Yaoge found herself elsewhere.

An illusory mansion appeared, with incense smoke curling, soft curtains billowing, and two entwined figures behind them, their whispers filling the air like silk and bamboo music.

Ji Yaoge blushed and turned away, cursing Gao Ba Dou inwardly. Yet, she couldn\'t help but be amazed. This jade slip could create an illusory realm, pulling her primordial spirit into it, proving Gao Ba Dou\'s words. Creating such a realm required a Transformation stage cultivator, and this was just a jade slip?

Thinking this, she gritted her teeth and looked again. A fair wrist reached out from behind the curtain, her heart skipping a beat. An instant later, a darker hand grasped the woman’s hand tightly, their fingers intertwined. The scene became more intense, the curtain nearly tearing. Ji Yaoge focused on their hands, feeling the emotional connection. She didn’t understand such intimacy but found it more captivating than the overt display.

The two figures performed for a long time without eliciting a reaction from Ji Yaoge. They suddenly released hands, threw open the curtain, their voices changing from moans to laughter, a man and woman, with deep and seductive voices. They approached Ji Yaoge, standing beside her. Ji Yaoge met their gaze, clear-eyed.

"You’re not interested in us?" the woman spoke, her lips curling.

"Interesting. It’s been a while since we’ve seen someone like this," the man said, brushing Ji Yaoge’s cheek with his finger.

Ji Yaoge stood still. "Where is this place?"

The woman’s laughter was like silver bells. "This is a place of ecstasy. Once you enter, you can’t leave." She moved to the man’s side, their forms merging into one, becoming a plain-faced woman.

The scene changed again.

————

The sound of the konghou pierced the morning tranquility. The waterfall at Wan Ren Mountain’s Seven-Tiered Pond cascaded through its tiers, creating star-like splashes in the sunlight.

The cold spray cleared her mind.

Ji Yaoge opened her eyes, finding herself sitting cross-legged on a stone cliff by the pond, as she had every morning for two hundred years, meditating. Every inch of the scenery, every breath of air, was familiar and safe.

Splash—

Someone below splashed water, drawing her gaze to Baili Qing’s playful smile.

"Senior Sister, I grilled some fish. Come down and try it?" Baili Qing’s upturned face was as straightforward and cheerful as ever.

"Disturbing your Senior Sister\'s cultivation again?" A gentle reprimand came from behind.

Her heart trembled as she turned slowly.

In the morning light, Gu Xingzhi’s face was as clear as yesterday, his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes filled with vigor, like a youth from a painting.

"Cultivation is boring. I’m finding some fun for my Senior Sister," Baili Qing said, waving the grilled fish, just like old times.

Gu Xingzhi ignored her, turning to Ji Yaoge. "Your injuries aren’t healed. Why are you cultivating here?"

"Injuries?" she murmured.

"The wounds from the Skeleton Cave," he said, his warm hand brushing her hair.

"Senior Brother is waiting for you to heal so he can hold the dual cultivation ceremony with you!" Baili Qing’s voice echoed distantly, sounding unreal.

The wounds from the Skeleton Cave?

Ji Yaoge’s gaze moved slowly over their faces—yes, she was gravely injured by the Skeleton Beast and had been brought back to the sect by her Senior Brother three months ago. No betrayal, no body-snatching, no shattered core. She was still the exceptionally talented Bai Yun, and Baili Qing was still her junior sister.

The deep-seated fear was just a nightmare.

"I promised to become your dao partner on the day of the Three Dragons Convergence. Heal quickly," he said, stepping closer, his eyes shining with stars.

Wan Ren Mountain had three peaks shrouded in mist, which dissipated every hundred years, forming dragon shapes converging above the main peak, known as the Three Dragons Convergence, a grand sight in the Wan Hua Immortal World.

In one of his rare romantic moments, Gu Xingzhi had promised her.

In the ancestral hall, he vowed to marry Bai Yun on the day of the Three Dragons Convergence.

Though she was by nature indifferent to worldly matters, she had looked forward to that day, her heart fluttering at his words. She knew the feeling of being moved, like the first stroke of vivid color on white paper…

But now, she was calm.

"Senior Brother, I’m sorry," she said after a long silence.

"Why apologize?" He looked confused.

"Because… I lost you," she closed her eyes, striking out suddenly.

Without emotion, she was the soul-less Ji Yaoge, no longer Bai Yun.

She had lost her Hidden Essence, no longer capable of love, no longer Bai Yun.

Boom—the scene shattered into white mist, a hand pushing her from behind. Ji Yaoge stumbled out of the fog, the scenery changing again.

A grand hall, cold and solemn, flanked by statues of ferocious beasts, ready to devour. On the throne sat a figure in golden robes and a red crown, face obscured, voice harsh. "Rebellious disciple, confess your sins!"

Ji Yaoge frowned, recognizing the figure despite the blurred face. It was her master, Wu Xiang Ancestor Xie Lengyue.

"Master, what sin have I committed?" she asked.

"You have disgraced yourself by joining an evil sect, tainting yourself with filth, bringing shame to Wan Ren Mountain. How can you still call yourself my disciple?"

Ji Yaoge defended herself. "Master, joining Mei Sect was a temporary measure. I have acted righteously and never shamed the sect. Why am I unworthy of being your disciple?"

"As a member of Mei Sect, returning to Wan Ren Mountain would bring shame. As my direct disciple, you should have sacrificed yourself to preserve your reputation, not consorted with evil. Confess!"

"I have done no wrong! It was Baili Qing who plotted against me. Why should I sacrifice my life for mere reputation? I don’t understand. Cultivation is personal. Even within Mei Sect, as long as my will is strong, I walk the righteous path. What’s the difference between right and wrong?" Ji Yaoge’s voice was calm and firm.

"Stubborn fool!" The figure on the throne slammed the armrest, a thunderous sound shaking the hall. "You’ve joined an evil sect, your mortal body unfit for cultivation, and you show no remorse. You are no longer my disciple, not of the Wu Xiang Sect! To prevent you from becoming a scourge, I will cleanse the sect today."

With that, a hundred flying swords appeared in the figure’s hand, attacking Ji Yaoge. She dodged, the attacks relentless. Looking at the open door, she saw misty mountains and clear skies, but a pair of eagle eyes seemed to watch her from afar.

She turned back, evading another wave of attacks, and leaped towards the throne. The figure remained seated, a giant sword forming behind him, crackling with lightning. Her eyes widened as she conjured a black dagger.

"Right or wrong, it\'s not for others to judge," she leaped up, raising the dagger. "Even my master cannot decide for me. How dare you, a mere illusion, speak so brazenly!"

Lightning flashed, the dagger glinting as it struck the illusion’s chest. Blood sprayed, and she turned her face away.

A woman’s laughter echoed from outside. "What a ruthless girl, daring to kill her master!"

"I didn’t. That’s not my master!" Ji Yaoge pulled out the dagger, glaring around as the scene dissolved into mist.

A figure stepped through the fog, appearing before her.

It was the plain-faced woman from before.

"Even if it’s not your master, you were ruthless," the woman smiled. "Interesting, you act righteously but with a touch of wickedness."

"Are you probing my mind?" Ji Yaoge’s anger flared, killing intent surging.

No cultivator liked their mind being probed.

"My mind? Haha…" The woman laughed loudly. "This isn’t your past. It’s your heart’s desires, fears, and thoughts."

Ji Yaoge clenched her fists. The woman wasn’t wrong. Being Bai Yun again, without betrayal, was her desire. Dual cultivation with her Senior Brother was her hope. Being rejected by her master for joining Mei Sect was her fear. It all stemmed from her thoughts. She wanted to live.

"What is this place?"

"This is your consciousness. Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve met someone so interesting. A flawed mortal body missing one soul, how fitting," the woman still smiled. "You have no choice, and neither do I."

As she spoke, the old book reappeared before Ji Yaoge.

"You’ve passed three trials. You deserve to see this."

With a casual gesture, the vulgar woman and gaudy characters faded, revealing elegant script.

"Mèi Gǔ (Cultivating the Beauty)?" Ji Yaoge read the two words on the cover.

"Yes, ‘Cultivating the Beauty,’ also known as ‘Mèi Gǔ Technique,’ an ancient branch of mental arts. You think I’m probing your mind, but this is just the entry-level of Mèi Gǔ Technique, understanding your desires, fears, and thoughts. This is the essence of mental arts," the woman explained, her voice soothing.

Ji Yaoge’s rage from killing her master vanished.

"Seduction can be physical, which is base; through beauty, which is superficial; through the mind, which is profound; and through the soul, which is unparalleled. Mèi Gǔ Technique, devouring souls, achieves supreme mental arts."

"Devouring souls?"

"Yes, devouring souls. All beings have soul bones formed at death, embodying their life’s experiences and emotions. Devouring countless souls, feeling their emotions, you lack the Hidden Essence. Using myriad emotions to forge a seductive soul, you become the embodiment of desire, manipulating hearts effortlessly. Will you try?"