Ever since the failed attempt to force a marriage, Bai Qingwu had shut herself away in the palace, reflecting for a long time.
In the end, she realized something: the bond between the male and female protagonists ran too deep. There was an unseen, mysterious power constantly pulling them forward together, and no matter how she tried, she could not wedge herself in.
But that did not mean her plan was over.
Since she had chosen the path of cultivation, she would not be satisfied with mediocrity. She would cultivate until he became a peerless Xiānjūn, surpassing both male and female leads, to reign as the sovereign of this world!
Shen Yuefu, the story's male lead, had been given far too much.
Fortune, wealth, innate talent—he had everything.
And Bai Qingwu intended to take it all.
She would rip away Heaven's favor that showered upon Shen Yuefu, devour the male lead's fate, merge with his luck, seize his cultivation path. Only then could Bai Qingwu ascend the supreme immortal road!
As for the extra variable, Yao Ranran…
Bai Qingwu's gaze grew cold.
Her beauty was indeed a rare gem, yet to devour another's fate, her existence was indispensable.
As the antagonist supporting role closest to the male and female leads, Yao Ranran was tied to them more intimately than anyone. If she trapped her body here to witness her merger with Shen Yuefu, then once the rules of this world shattered, a brand-new self would be born from it!
Yao Ranran could not leave. Shen Yuefu must not be allowed to live.
A streak of bloodthirsty madness gleamed in Bai Qingwu's eyes.
"Elder Shen, I am the one you've been looking for all along. Why are you still searching?"
A thread of blood trickled from Shen Yuefu's lips. His pale-blue eyes seemed veiled by mist, making it difficult to see clearly the woman before him.
"Who… who are you…"
Inside his mind, it felt as though ten thousand ants were biting into his skull. Agony split his head apart.
"I am the girl you've been searching for all this time." Bai Qingwu slowly drew closer, his voice soaked in allure though tinged with faint disdain.
So this was all Shen Yuefu amounted to? The great male lead of the book—yet his weaknesses lay bare before Bai Qingwu.
"Who am I searching for… who are you?" Shen Yuefu no longer resisted his approach. The confusion in his eyes only deepened.
Bai Qingwu's delicate hand, soft as boneless jade, slipped into his robes. Exhaling proudly, she whispered, "I'm Qiao Qiao, your Qiao Qiao… Brother Fu."
"Qiao… qiao?"
"Yes. I am the girl who saved you in that ruined temple all those years ago. Brother Fu, haven't you been searching for me all this time? I've come back."
Her cold fingertips traced Shen Yuefu's burning skin, a mocking smile lifting her lips, her triumph plain for all to see.
"Shen Yuefu, oh Shen Yuefu… after today, you will cease to exist!"
But just as this thought flashed through her mind, a blade of chilling light slashed before her. Bai Qingwu felt an icy sting across her throat and stumbled back several steps in shock.
"Brother Fu, I am Qiao Qiao!"
She clutched the bleeding cut at her neck with slender hands. Blood surged through her fingers as her eyes widened in disbelief.
Why… why was he resisting her?!
The sudden appearance of the Liushuang Fallen Immortal Sword jolted Shen Yuefu back into fleeting clarity.
"You are not that girl."
His voice was cold, hoarse, squeezed from his burning throat.
Shen Yuefu's face was flushed scarlet, his body searing like boiling spring water, sweat dripping like crystals.
The one he sought—it was not Pei Xianqiao.
Bai Qingwu could not comprehend where things had gone wrong. None of this was in her calculations.
She did not realize that because of Yao Ranran's earlier interference, Shen Yuefu's fixation on Pei Xianqiao had already been broken, diverging entirely from the book's original flow.
"Could it be… the drug wasn't strong enough?" Bai Qingwu muttered, gulping down healing pills as she staggered about, clutching his wound.
Shen Yuefu's spiritual power was unraveling, his Liushuang Fallen Immortal Sword shuddering wildly as it released streaks of icy light. Like a rain of cold stars, they hammered across the wooden hut.
…
Outside, Yao Ranran gazed at the towering, blood-red effigy looming in the sky. With a casual swing of her Demon Staff, she shattered the encircling formation into splinters.
Half the bloody sky dispersed instantly.
Inside, Bai Qingwu vomited a mouthful of blood, her face twisting in disbelief. "How? Where did it go wrong? Did Yao Ranran tamper with my formation?!"
Sword qi filled the air, each gleam of frost cascading like shards of moonlight scattered to the mortal world.
Yet Bai Qingwu, despite her cultivation, moved clumsily as she scrambled to dodge, utterly graceless.
She fled like a rat, disheveled and pathetic.
"Damn you, Shen Yuefu! You've forced my hand!"
Springing upright, Bai Qingwu yanked the spirit beast pouch from her waist. A piercing cry split the sky as a divine beast soared forth. A true phoenix, its vast wings beat down and instantly reduced the wooden cabin to rubble.
"Seize him!" Bai Qingwu spat blood between her teeth, her expression hard and vicious.
Yao Ranran merely watched her without interference.
Drunk on the phoenix's divine might, Bai Qingwu failed to notice her at all.
Until a green lotus bloomed against her cheek. Her body arced through the air in a perfect curve before crashing into the earth.
"Puh… cough, cough!" She dragged herself from the pit, covered in dirt, only to see a pair of boots adorned with drifting lotus petals fill his vision.
She flinched back in fright. "You… why are you here?!"
Yao Ranran lifted him effortlessly with the tip of her Demon Staff and smiled. "Where did you get this phoenix from?"
Bai Qingwu snorted coldly. "Yao Ranran, I don't know how you escaped, but if you choose to cooperate with me, I might still spare your life!"
Yao Ranran chuckled. If she truly were the Holy Maiden, perhaps she would hesitate.
But now…
Her wrist flicked, and with a quick turn, the Demon Staff reversed. Bai Qingwu yelped as she slammed back to the ground.
She raised the staff high, then brought it down again and again. Bai Qingwu's screams tore through the air.
"Ah! Ahhh! Phoenix, save me!"
"Yao Ranran, may you die a miserable death!"
"Ahhh! We're fellow villagers, aren't we? Spare me, Ranran Daoyou!"
Clang—
The phoenix, already recognizing its master, could not bear to watch its owner humiliated. It screeched, diving down with talons bared toward Yao Ranran.
A massive black-iron hammer, guided as if by her own limb, crashed into the ground and left a yawning crater. Yao Ranran stood calm, gazing at the oncoming phoenix as cracks spread under her feet like a spider's web.
"Clang… whimper…"
The phoenix's cry faltered. It spiraled into the crater, shrinking into the form of a meek little bird.
"See that? My phoenix came to save me. If you don't want to die, release me now!" Bai Qingwu cackled triumphantly as the bird rushed toward him, forgetting even the pain in his backside.
But Yao Ranran only hefted the giant hammer—twice her size—and looked down at the small bird as it rubbed affectionately against the hem of her skirt.
She hesitated, unwilling to squash it flat.
Instead, she extended her hand, gently stroking its head.
"Chirp chirp!" The bird sang sweetly, utterly docile.
Bai Qingwu: "..."
"The phoenix you spoke of… is this one?" Yao Ranran asked, lifting the tiny bird by its wings, doubt written across her face.