When Mu Qiuhan woke up again, the sky was already slightly bright.
The girl named Rou’er was guarding her bedside. Seeing her wake up, the girl seemed quite excited.
“Senior Sister, you’re awake!”
“Master just came by. She said if you could wake up before early morning, you could go participate in the Inner Sect selection trial with Senior Sister Liao Lan and Senior Brother Lu Lingxiao.”
“I have good news for you! Master said you not only successfully formed your core this time, but you also broke through to Core Formation mid-stage in one go! Your cultivation level is even higher than Senior Brother Lu Lingxiao’s!”
“Senior Sister, you’re amazing!”
“Core Formation mid-stage?”
“Yes! You increased by a whole major stage, more than twice what a normal person gains! Even Master was very surprised!”
“Master said that although the Marrow Cleansing Pill’s medicinal properties are overbearing, she’s never seen anyone like you. If a normal disciple manages to endure it, they only barely form a core. No wonder you were unconscious for so long before.”
“They all thought you hadn’t survived the Marrow Cleansing Pill’s effects. A week later, they were planning to bury all of you. But I knew, Senior Sister, you wouldn’t die that easily!”
Mu Qiuhan was startled by the girl’s words.
Core Formation stage?
So, that pearl in her abdomen was a cultivator’s Golden Core? No wonder it was different from her previous Demon Core.
Seen this way, it wasn’t that her body was wrong, but that this physical body didn’t belong to her at all!
Although Mu Qiuhan couldn’t explain what kind of lucky chance had caused her to enter this cultivator’s body, the fact was laid bare before her, and she couldn’t help but believe it.
She quickly accepted this fact. At the same time, her mind began to race.
The girl in front of her didn’t seem to have any guard against her and told her everything. She needed to gather as much information as possible about this body’s situation from her before the selection trial the girl mentioned.
Mu Qiuhan thought for a moment and decided to start with the simplest questions.
“Rou’er, the medicinal pill Master gave me seems to have some issues… Some things, I can’t remember very clearly.”
She said this while cautiously observing the girl’s expression.
Rather than revealing a flaw later in the conversation and making the other party suspicious, it was better to admit openly that she had lost her memory now and blame it all on that medicinal pill.
As expected, as soon as Rou’er heard this, a hint of nervousness appeared on her face.
“How could this be?!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide.
Mu Qiuhan shook her head, her expression even more blank than Rou’er’s. “I don’t know either…”
She was contemplating how to fabricate a lie that sounded reasonable, but unexpectedly, the girl provided an answer before she could.
“I know what happened!”
“It must be that your brain meridians were injured when you were rebuilding your meridians! That Marrow Cleansing Pill is truly detestable! Besides making people endure the pain of breaking and rebuilding their meridians, it actually has such ill effects!”
Mu Qiuhan watched her indignant expression and unexpectedly felt a hint of guilt, her voice unconsciously weakening a little.
“Perhaps… that’s it.”
This person before her was not only simple but also completely trusted her. Even with such a lie full of holes, she didn’t suspect anything at all.
This genuine sincerity made Mu Qiuhan feel somewhat uneasy.
Heaven knows, the Demon Lord feared owing favors the most in her life.
Debts of kindness are hard to repay!
“Rou’er,” Mu Qiuhan hesitated for a moment, pointed to her head, and continued tricking her. “You absolutely must keep this a secret! Don’t tell anyone, not even Master. I’m worried if she knows, she won’t let me participate in the selection trial.”
When the girl heard that she couldn’t even tell Master, she was initially hesitant. But when she heard it might affect Mu Qiuhan participating in the selection trial, she nodded heavily.
“Senior Sister, don’t worry. You almost lost your life for this selection trial, I definitely won’t say anything.”
She finished speaking confidently but then seemed to suddenly remember something.
She cautiously took out a storage ring from her bosom. “Senior Sister, I packed this for you earlier. I originally planned for you to take it there…”
She suddenly stopped speaking, just pushing the item into Mu Qiuhan’s hand. “I’m returning it all to you.”
How could Mu Qiuhan not understand what she meant? These were the original owner’s “burial goods.”
Logically, now that she had occupied the body of another, she shouldn’t still covet these material possessions. However, the current situation was still unclear. Even a tiny bit of extra help would be good.
Mu Qiuhan thought to herself.
Once I successfully pass this hurdle, I will repay you with several times more offerings than this.
She took the storage ring and scanned it with her spiritual sense, finding mostly daily necessities. Occasionally, there were a few medicinal pills and spiritual artifacts, but they were all of very low quality.
In the Demon Lord’s eyes, these things were equivalent to nothing.
Fortunately, she also found some hand-copied cultivation manuals inside. Although they were also entry-level, they could help in an urgent situation.
This body belonged to a cultivator. Mu Qiuhan had already tried earlier; her highly skilled Demon cultivation techniques were completely useless here.
It seemed she could only cultivate the Immortal Path first and think of other methods later.
Mu Qiuhan kept tricking the girl, asking some crucial questions. By the time she had a basic understanding of the situation, the sky was already completely bright.
The pale red morning sun slowly rose from the horizon. Sunlight shone through the windowpanes, illuminating the room.
Rou’er glanced out the window and blew out the candle.
“Senior Sister, it’s getting late. You should get ready quickly. Master should be sending someone to find you soon.”
“Yes…”
Mu Qiuhan sighed upon hearing this.
She didn’t know if that selection trial the girl mentioned would bring her trouble.
The Immortal Sect Inner Sect wasn’t like this place.
Right now, she was just a Core Formation stage cultivator. Although she was outstanding among the many Senior Brothers and Sisters in the Outer Sect, if she really went to the Inner Sect, she might not be considered much.
If she were to encounter someone who wanted her dead again, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Rou’er had already left the room.
Mu Qiuhan seized this free time to quickly take out the cultivation manuals from the storage ring, memorize them, and try using the new method to circulate the spiritual energy in her body.
That strength of fighting three against one in her previous life couldn’t be recovered in a short time. At most, she would start from scratch and cultivate again.
Having lived a second life, she at least couldn’t allow herself to fall into the desperate situation of detonating her core again.
She had just barely managed to gather the spiritual energy in her body into her core as described in the cultivation manual when a sound came from outside the door.
“Han’er? Are you in there? Rou’er said you’re awake?”
Mu Qiuhan stopped her hand signs and answered from behind the door.
Someone who could address her like that should be the Master Rou’er mentioned—Master Yu Yang.
She put the open cultivation manual back into the storage ring, put it away again, then walked to the wooden door and pulled it open.
Outside the door stood a middle-aged woman wearing a green robe, followed by a young attendant and Rou’er.
Mu Qiuhan cupped her hands and bowed towards the person, properly calling out, “Master,” then stepped aside, letting the people outside in.
Master Yu Yang nodded at her. “It’s good you’re awake. Your body should be mostly fine, right?”
Mu Qiuhan was about to reply with a couple of polite words, saying she was fine, but unexpectedly, Master Yu Yang spoke first. “Come, let Master take a look.”
Before she could react, Master Yu Yang had already grabbed her hand and quickly placed her fingers on her wrist.
Mu Qiuhan’s body stiffened.
This physical body’s reaction was too slow; she was easily seized by the wrist like this!
However, thinking carefully, it was also fortunate, otherwise her instinctive reaction would surely have made the person in front of her suspicious.
Mu Qiuhan strongly suppressed the unease in her heart and didn’t dare to move.
Fortunately, Master let go of her quickly.
“Mm, recovery is going well.”
Master Yu Yang’s stiff face finally showed a hint of happiness.
“With this, my Dongtian Peak disciples are sure to achieve great success on this trip.”
Dongtian Peak, mentioned by Master Yu Yang, was a branch of the Taiqing Immortal Sect’s Outer Sect.
The Taiqing Immortal Sect had Five Ridges and Eighteen Peaks, with countless disciples under its banner.
The so-called Five Ridges were not actually five mountain ranges but five Inner Sect branches on Longxuan Mountain distinguished by the five elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) spiritual energy, simply named after mountain ranges.
And the Eighteen Peaks were the eighteen branches of the Outer Sect.
According to the sect’s rules, the Taiqing Immortal Sect would hold a selection trial every five years to select the most outstanding young disciples from the Outer Sect to enter the Inner Sect for cultivation.
The requirement for selection was being able to form a Core before the age of twenty-five.
This condition was quite strict; saying it was one in ten thousand was no exaggeration.
Therefore, the various branches of the Outer Sect would try every possible method and use every means each time.
And it was precisely because of this that Master Yu Yang chose to give a group of her disciples the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Although the Marrow Cleansing Pill could help people form a Core, its medicinal properties were too overbearing. Less than one-fifth of the people who could endure the pain of breaking and cleansing meridians survived, something Mu Qiuhan had already witnessed.
Those who lay in the same burial pit as her, as well as the original owner of this body, must have been failures after taking the medicinal pill.
Master Yu Yang’s face was full of happiness, but Mu Qiuhan didn’t dare to say much, only answering, “Yes.”
She was afraid Master would notice anything amiss. After all, she wasn’t as simple and easy to trick as Rou’er.
Rou’er, however, chimed in with a few sentences. “Master, a total of three people from our Dongtian Peak have been selected this year. It shouldn’t be hard to rank among the top three.”
Master Yu Yang smiled slightly. “Each peak has its own strengths. Don’t speak too early.”
Although she said this, she couldn’t hide the smugness in her expression.
Disciples who entered the Five Ridges would not only receive focused training but also have various Inner Sect elders regularly come to offer guidance. Those with good talent might even be favored by the elders and become personal disciples, or even candidates for the next elder.
Master Yu Yang’s mind was working fast.
She was happy for a while before finally remembering the main purpose of her visit.
She turned around and said to the two disciples behind her, “You two go out first. I have something to discuss with your Senior Sister.”
Upon hearing this, the two cupped their hands and bowed, then exited.
But Master Yu Yang still wasn’t at ease.
She waved her hand and set up a barrier in the room, only then turning around, looking satisfied.
She found a place to sit down and then beckoned to Mu Qiuhan. “Han’er, you come over too, sit next to Master.”
Thanks for the chapter