Wu Yan opened her eyes, feeling an unusual fatigue in her body, as if she had just undergone intense exercise.
She propped herself up and stretched her foot out to slip into her shoes, but instead felt the touch of wood.
‘Strange.’
Wu Yan frowned slightly, her gaze drifting to the floor.
By the bedside, her shoes—normally placed neatly—were now positioned with the left foot forward and the right foot back, the toes pointing inward in a V-shape.
‘Did some animal get in here last night?’
Wu Yan put on her shoes and tapped her fingers in the air a few times, sensing the condition of the barrier at the door.
“Strange. There are no signs of damage.”
The flow of spiritual power within the barrier was very stable, and the formation hadn’t been altered.
But there was always a faint, elusive chill at her fingertips.
It wasn’t like the morning dampness of summer; it felt more like residual ice-attribute spiritual energy.
‘Probably just an illusion—after all, I don’t have an ice spirit root.’
She submerged her divine sense into her sea of consciousness and noticed that the Soul Governance Art above it had become even more dazzling than before, and the cold white aura filling the entire space had condensed significantly.
“Wu Yan (Inner), is this your doing?”
“Nope~”
A cool breeze swept by, and Wu Yan (Inner)’s figure appeared beside her.
Wu Yan looked at her and said calmly, “I haven’t even said what it is yet.”
“No matter what it is, it has nothing to do with me.”
With that, Wu Yan (Inner) clasped her hands behind her head and whistled.
Seeing that she couldn’t get anything out of Wu Yan (Inner), Wu Yan had no choice but to give up.
She pushed open the door, and the cool morning breeze poured in through her collar, dispersing the restlessness that had built up in her heart.
A streak of golden light flashed across the sky and landed steadily before her.
On it were only three short words: “Sword Washing Pool.”
It was from Xia Lingshuang.
‘She just came to find me yesterday, so why today again?’ Though puzzled, Wu Yan obediently made her way to the Sword Washing Pool.
When Wu Yan arrived at the Sword Washing Pool, Xia Lingshuang was standing atop the giant boulder in the middle of the pool. Sharp sword chi crisscrossed through the water, and the rising mist condensed into white frost beneath Xia Lingshuang’s feet.
Today, she was still wearing that white Daoist robe, embroidered with silver cloud patterns at the cuffs and collar.
Shuang Hua hung at her waist. She stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes fixed on the approaching Wu Yan.
“Master.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Xia Lingshuang immediately asked about Wu Yan’s sleep quality.
“This disciple took a Heart-Clearing Pill before bed and slept very soundly.”
Xia Lingshuang savored those two words, a faint, enigmatic smile touching her lips.
“Very soundly.”
Her gaze swept down from Wu Yan’s vibrant face, passing over her neck, chest, and long legs, finally settling on her wrist.
She extended her hand, and a pristine white light gathered at her fingertips.
“Hold out your hand. Let your master examine if there are any mistakes in your cultivation.”
Wu Yan stepped forward as instructed and offered her right hand to Xia Lingshuang.
The cold touch from her wrist made Wu Yan think of the lingering chill she’d felt at her fingertips upon waking.
Xia Lingshuang didn’t use much spiritual power to examine Wu Yan, since she could already see whether there were any mistakes in her cultivation. This move actually had another purpose.
When she touched Wu Yan’s body, her spiritual power didn’t encounter any blockage. That meant the restriction on Wu Yan’s spiritual power circulation only occurred when Wu Yan actively activated it using some peculiar method.
‘So she really is under someone else’s control.’
Xia Lingshuang withdrew her fingers and looked up at Wu Yan.
Those ink-black eyes were clear and upright—completely different from the arrogant, domineering blood-red eyes from last night.
Was it just excellent acting, or was it demonic possession?
“Master?”
Wu Yan’s voice roused Xia Lingshuang from her thoughts. Her tone was no longer as cold as before, but had grown somewhat gentler.
Xia Lingshuang took Shuang Hua from her waist. The cold aura emanating from the sword froze the churning pool water beneath her feet.
“Draw your sword. Let your master see what progress you’ve made recently.”
Wu Yan (Inner), who had been intending to watch the fun, immediately objected upon hearing this. “Ooh, what does this old woman mean? Does she think she’s so great? Go for it, little Wu Yan! Teach her a lesson!”
Since Xia Lingshuang had said so, Wu Yan naturally wouldn’t hold back.
Wu Nian’s blade trembled, and a surging green airflow swept up the water in the Sword Washing Pool, mixing with the sword chi to form a water tornado that shot toward Xia Lingshuang.
An hour later.
Wu Nian returned to its sheath, and Wu Yan’s hand was still trembling.
Xia Lingshuang had been exceptionally strict today. It felt less like instruction and more like testing.
Xia Lingshuang also hadn’t expected Wu Yan to have reached such astonishing levels in both sword technique and sword intent.
Especially her use of the Piaomiao Sword Arts and her unique application of her wind spirit root—it was breathtaking.
It was as if she were a completely different person.
Comparing this life’s Wu Yan with the previous life’s Wu Yan (Inner), she found that, aside from raw strength, this life’s Wu Yan far surpassed the previous life’s Wu Yan (Inner) in every aspect.
If a person could really disguise themselves to this extent, then she would have to accept defeat.
“You may go back,” Xia Lingshuang said, waving her hand, her voice weary.
“Understood.”
Watching Wu Yan’s receding figure, Xia Lingshuang’s thoughts grew focused.
‘The same person—why is there such a vast difference?’
Was it demonic possession, or… soul seizing?
Wu Yan walked down the mountain path, passing through a dense bamboo forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled spots on the ground.
“Senior Sister?”
A sweet voice sounded ahead of her.
Wu Yan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yu Qingyao wearing an goose-yellow dress, holding something in her arms.
“Qingyao, what are you doing here?”
“I just came back from the Sutra Library.” As she spoke, Yu Qingyao nudged her arm, revealing the large stack of ancient texts in her embrace.
Wu Yan looked at the books in Yu Qingyao’s arms: Supreme Ascension Divine Mirror, Treatise on Clarifying the Mind Sea, Demon-Subduing Evil-Mirroring Record, and so on.
They were all popular science-type ancient texts related to spirit souls, divine sense, and demonic cultivators’ possession. ‘When did Qingyao get interested in these books?’
“Senior Sister, I have something to do! I’ll be going now!”
Yu Qingyao clearly had no intention of lingering around Wu Yan today; it seemed she was more eager to read the books she was holding.
‘How strange. That ungrateful wretch actually didn’t cling to your side and refuse to leave.’
Watching Yu Qingyao walk away, Wu Yan felt that something was happening quietly, yet she remained oblivious.
This inexplicable unease made her a little worried.
‘Forget it. Deal with whatever comes as it comes—there’s always a solution.’
Exhausted in both body and mind, Wu Yan chose to return to her residence. There, she found a glass bottle filled with green liquid placed outside the door.
A piece of paper was stuck to the bottle, and the handwriting on it was Lin Wan’er’s: “Dear Five Sects Tournament Champion, this medicine is specially developed by me to help stabilize your spirit soul. Remember to drink it and give me feedback~ ”
Lin Wan’er seemed to have used her as a test subject again, but though her medicine was a bit weird, it always worked.
Back in the room, Wu Yan took off her moon-white Daoist robe and removed the stopper from the glass bottle. A pungent smell immediately filled the room.
“You’re not really going to drink that, are you?” Wu Yan (Inner) couldn’t help but swallow her saliva, speaking with difficulty. “Don’t use my body to drink something so disgusting!”
Wu Yan ignored her and directly brought the bottle to her lips, tilting her head back to drink it all in one gulp.
Spicy, bitter, sour, rancid, cloying—it was hard to imagine how Lin Wan’er had concocted such a flavor.
“Ahhh! My body is defiled!!!” Feeling the suffocating, terrible taste in her mouth, Wu Yan (Inner) reacted violently, stopping just short of grabbing Wu Yan’s throat and shaking her back and forth.