Yunxi had always been cautious with pills. Unless they were of the highest grade, she wouldn't dare take them, fearing toxic residue might build up in her body. As for talismans, she kept only those of third grade or higher. The rest were slated to be sold off—after all, she could draw first- and second-grade ones herself.
For the items she couldn't identify, she planned to bring them to the Appraisal Pavilion. Someone there would surely recognize their value.
The last item she examined was the storage ring gifted by that senior cultivator. It appeared to be an ordinary white jade ring, unremarkable in every way.
After dumping out its contents, Yunxi discovered there wasn't a single spirit stone inside. All she found were a few jade slips, a strange black lump that was neither stone nor iron, and several empty pill bottles. Clearly, the pills had long been consumed by that senior. Only one meditation mat remained—the one she had taken and stored.
The mat gave off a faint grassy fragrance that seemed to lighten the weight of her soul. Yunxi suspected it contained some kind of soul-nourishing material, though she couldn't yet identify what it was.
"This is a good one. I'll keep it for myself."
She murmured as she set the mat aside.
Finally, she picked up the jade slip containing the Wushuang Sword Lightning Art. Her heart thudded against her ribs. She had deliberately avoided examining it until now, waiting for her emotions to settle.
This was the lightning technique she had long dreamed of. In the novel, this cultivation method had been specially sought out for the female supporting character after she joined Haoran Sect and was placed under their careful tutelage. The sect had only given it to her after she'd reached Foundation Establishment.
The book merely mentioned that it was discovered by a sect disciple while completing a mission in the Baohua Mountain Range. It had been found by chance in a demon beast nest. Since it was incompatible with the disciple's spiritual root, they turned it in to the sect in exchange for contribution points.
That was why Yunxi had decided to visit Baohua Mountain Range when she could no longer suppress her cultivation. Apart from helping the Xianling Grass locate a spiritual vein and avoiding the Dan Hall disciples and Wei Yunqing who were after her, her biggest goal was to try her luck and find this very technique.
She had confidence in the first two objectives. But as for the final one—retrieving this cultivation method—it all depended on fortune.
What she hadn't anticipated was meeting Sheng Yuhong while on this mission. It was as if some invisible hand was still pushing the story forward, trying to steer her back onto the female supporting character's destined path.
Even though many events had already diverged from the original plot, Yunxi remained on guard. Still, this was her opportunity, and she wasn't going to let it slip away.
Moreover, the phenomenon deep in Baohua Mountain Range wasn't mentioned at all in the novel. That alone was odd, especially with the male lead Sheng Yuhong present at the scene. It made no sense for the novel not to reference it even once.
Uncertain, Yunxi had chosen not to immediately distance herself from the male lead. Instead, she stayed at Haoran Sect's outpost to observe what would happen next.
After running through these thoughts in her mind—though only three breaths had passed—she brought her focus back to the jade slip in her hand.
Yunxi didn't immediately press it to her brow. She feared a hidden remnant soul might jump out and attempt possession. Having lived in the cultivation world for five years, she had developed a healthy sense of caution.
After confirming there were no restrictive formations or traps on the slip, she cautiously extended a thread of divine sense into it.
The moment her spiritual sense made contact, the jade slip lit up with a soft glow. She began reading the cultivation method within. Unfortunately, only the Foundation Establishment level portion was visible. Beyond that, she couldn't see anything—the jade slip was sealed and required a lightning spiritual root to unlock the rest.
Still, having verified the technique was authentic and free of any foul play, Yunxi followed the instructions. She raised her hand and infused the jade slip with lightning-element spiritual power, then pricked her fingertip and flicked a drop of blood onto it.
With both conditions met, the jade slip shone even more brightly before turning into a stream of light that shot into her brow.
In the next moment, the Wushuang Sword Lightning Art was imprinted within her sea of consciousness.
Though she could still only access the Foundation Establishment portion, Yunxi knew the rest would be available once she advanced.
A wide grin spread across her face, nearly reaching her ears.
Then, everything changed.
A ball of light burst out from the meditation mat she had set aside earlier and shot directly into her sea of consciousness before she could react.
"Hahaha! It came so easily in the end! All that effort I spent was worth it. This little girl's sharp. She even disguised her spiritual roots. Lucky me!"
Yunxi's heart sank. "Crap."
She chased the invading soul into her sea of consciousness and gritted her teeth as she saw the glowing orb zipping around wildly.
"Get out of my sea of consciousness!"
"No. This is my sea now!"
The orb, about the size of a melon, hurtled toward her.
Even a fool could tell what was happening. The other party was trying to possess her.
She was only at Foundation Establishment. Sure, her divine sense was stronger than most thanks to her transmigration, but compared to this behemoth, she was pitifully weak. Her divine sense was barely the size of a duck egg, while the intruder's presence loomed like a mountain.
Her first instinct was to dodge. After all, this was her own sea of consciousness. She might not win, but she could at least avoid a direct clash.
Unfortunately, the intruder was too fast. A piece of her soul was already torn away.
"Ah!"
A scream tore from Yunxi's throat. It felt like her skull was being sliced open.
The orb devoured that strand of her soul and even smacked its lips in satisfaction. Then it let out a shout of glee.
"Hahaha! Heaven truly favors me! I thought I'd have to wait longer to find a suitable vessel, but here you are—possessing top-grade wind, lightning, and ice spiritual roots. You're the perfect body for me, tailored by the Heavenly Dao itself!"
With that, it lunged at her again.
Yunxi was still reeling from the dull, thudding pain. Her soul pulsed weakly, but the intruder's words sparked a fierce instinct in her.
Instead of retreating, she surged forward and sank her teeth into the glowing orb.
"Ugh!"
The intruder had not expected such resistance. With a muffled groan, it recoiled, only to recover quickly and retaliate, biting back at Yunxi's own soul.
The two soul-lights tore into each other savagely in her sea of consciousness, fighting with no thought of retreat.
But ten breaths later, Yunxi's soul was visibly smaller.
It wasn't that she lacked resolve—just raw power.
Still, she refused to yield.
"Come on, Yunxi. Hang in there! Not until the very end!"
"Little girl, stop struggling. If you become part of my soul willingly, you'll suffer less."
"Spit! This is my sea, my body. You're the one who should get lost, trash!"
As she flung herself at the intruder again, a gentle radiance suddenly surged into her shrinking soul-light.
In the next instant, Yunxi's soul flared with brilliant white light, flooding the entire sea of consciousness and forcing the intruder to freeze in place.
"No... it can't be! You actually have—"
The rest of the sentence was never finished.
Yunxi bared her soul-teeth and bit down hard.