Ever since she was brought back to Duanqing Peak by her Master in her previous life, Zhou Ruoxi, who had wandered the wilds for a long time, finally experienced those long-lost happy days on Duanqing Peak.
That time was, in all her memories of her previous life, the happiest and most blissful period.
Even before she was confined deep within the palace, she had never tasted such happiness within the Royal Family of Jin Kingdom’s palace.
With her Master, she felt a long-lost fatherly love, and with her two Senior Sisters, she truly experienced the sincere bond between siblings.
That was something her own blood-related elder brothers, born of the same father and mother, had never given her.
Master Lu Li was so broad-minded and kind, treating every disciple as if they were his own child.
Senior Sister Feng Lingshuang, though strict, cared for their daily lives like an eldest sister would, even making clothes, stitching shoe soles, and darning socks for the junior sisters in the sect.
Compared to the role of first disciple of Duanqing Peak, she was more like a gentle nanny who helped Master look after the junior sisters.
As for Second Senior Sister Gong Shangyu, though her mind was always filled with all sorts of mischievous ideas, and she would concoct strange pills to trick her junior sisters now and then,
At critical moments, she was just as reliable, always caring for the junior sisters whenever they were sick, even personally gathering and preparing their medicine.
Although Second Senior Sister was often harsh with her, always making sarcastic remarks about her being stupid and talentless,
But to Zhou Ruoxi—who had suffered cold indifference in the palace and had been bullied time and again by imperial consorts, princes, and even the palace maids and eunuchs—
Gong Shangyu’s mockery and pranks actually seemed rather gentle by comparison.
Later, another Fourth Junior Sister joined Duanqing Peak.
Although Zhou Ruoxi always struggled to get along with her, she still learned from her own two Senior Sisters and, remembering how she was once welcomed, accepted her with boundless patience and gentleness.
Even though that child always gave her headaches, Zhou Ruoxi still accepted her gently, and together with Master, led her onto the path of true cultivation, silently encouraging her to pursue the Dao of Puppetry.
However, at that time, Zhou Ruoxi had no idea that her actions would, in the future, nurture an unrivaled Demon Emperor!
Several years later, Master once again descended the mountain and brought back Fifth Junior Sister Gu Qingying. Among all the disciples of Duanqing Peak, Zhou Ruoxi liked Fifth Junior Sister Gu Qingying the most.
Because she was so small and adorable, her purple eyes reminded Zhou Ruoxi of the purple cat she had once kept in the palace.
Unfortunately, after she was confined, that cat was stolen by Zhou Ruoxi’s Nineteenth Imperial Sister, a nasty little brat who not only stole the cat that had accompanied Zhou Ruoxi, her last emotional support, but even stewed the cat, and, humiliatingly, made its pelt into a scarf and forced Zhou Ruoxi to eat the cat’s meat.
This incident became a shadow in her heart, so when she met Gu Qingying, she subconsciously saw her as a substitute for that cat, and was doubly good to her, hoping to make up for her regrets.
However, her actions backfired—the more she tried to be kind to Gu Qingying, the more Gu Qingying kept her distance.
Because the previous person who tried to be kind to Gu Qingying had dug out her spiritual root and driven her from the Gu family.
So when Gu Qingying first arrived at Duanqing Peak in her past life, she was wary of everyone except Master Lu Li.
Even though Gu Qingying always treated her coldly, even seeing Zhou Ruoxi as a weirdo, Zhou Ruoxi was still persistent in wanting to be kind to her. Especially after learning that this Junior Sister shared a similar fate.
Both had been persecuted by relatives and driven from their homes after having their roots forcibly taken.
Zhou Ruoxi then felt that this little Junior Sister was simply another version of herself in this world.
In her past life, Zhou Ruoxi cultivated the Dao of Talismans, which was known as the Path to Communing with Spirits. Talisman cultivators didn’t rely solely on their own strength but instead drew upon sect inheritance, connections, and the names of True Persons, True Monarchs, God Monarchs, Dao Sovereigns, Dao Masters, even Immortal Monarchs, and the Incense Gods enshrined by mortal dynasties, to borrow power, inscribe talismans, and invoke the force of true divine talismans to slay monsters and demons.
Compared to self-reliant cultivators, talisman practitioners like Zhou Ruoxi relied more on their sect’s heritage and social network. This unique attribute allowed talisman cultivators to gain power far beyond their own level in the early stages.
But the power of the Dao of Talismans was, in the end, not truly their own. The further they went, the harder the path became.
After all, a fountain cannot rise higher than its source—borrowed power from talismans was never truly their own.
So most cultivators did not specialize in the Dao of Talismans. Their dabbling was superficial—enough to make basic talismans and treasures for daily use.
Even those who did choose this path often did so due to inexperience in their youth, without proper guidance from a sect, stumbling into it by accident.
But Zhou Ruoxi was different from other cultivators. She understood the pros and cons of cultivating talismans, yet still resolutely chose this path. Because unlike those who cultivated for immortality and longevity,
In her previous life, Zhou Ruoxi pursued cultivation to avenge herself, her mother, and her brother against the Royal Family of Jin Kingdom!
Array Dao, Sword Dao, Pill Dao, Dao of Puppetry—
All the disciplines her Master excelled at—paths that relied on hard work and steady progress—were good in themselves, but their training was slow and took too long to show results.
Array Dao required travel to famous mountains and rivers, to observe the patterns of heaven and earth.
Sword Dao demanded bitter practice and constant insight into the essence of the sword.
Pill Dao and Dao of Puppetry both demanded huge investments of time and effort early on, progressing step by step.
If Zhou Ruoxi had chosen those, her enemies would have died of old age before she had the strength to take revenge.
So from the start, Zhou Ruoxi decisively set her sights on the Dao of Talismans—using borrowed power to quickly accumulate fighting strength for her revenge against those who had wronged her in the Royal Family of Jin Kingdom.
But her choice of talisman cultivation was not random.
Her mother was the descendant of the Jin Kingdom General Who Guards the Nation. That general, after death, was enshrined as the Mountain God of Jin Kingdom, receiving the incense of a million households. Countless of her family members were deified for military achievements after death.
Though Zhou Ruoxi’s mother was drawn and quartered and slandered as a demonic witch by the Empress, the founding general’s incense was never cut off. Thus, if Zhou Ruoxi cultivated the Dao of Talismans, she could use her bloodline to directly invoke the power of the Mountain God. At the same time, when stepping onto the path of talismans, she set her future course and position early.
In her previous life, Zhou Ruoxi chose the Disha Dao Path under the Tian Yi Gui Path Master of Duanqing Peak, which allowed her to control the power of Di Bing E in the underworld of Kongxuan Realm.
The reason she chose this path was that, after killing all her enemies, she planned to use the authority of the underworld to capture their souls and torment them!
Thus, when she chose her cultivation technique, she didn’t use an adapted Detachment Mantra as her Senior Sisters did, but rather, like her Master Lu Li, chose the original version.
Zhou Ruoxi, because of this, gradually became as emotionally detached as Lu Li.
The reason Zhou Ruoxi made this choice was to better gain the power of the Disha Dao Path, and also to hope that in the future, when using borrowed power, she could draw upon Master’s strength, and even the power of the mysterious Sect Ancestor in seclusion behind the sect.
In a sense, Zhou Ruoxi’s choice of cultivation direction was correct. Ordinary cultivators drawing talismans could only borrow at most a tenth of the original’s power.
But by the late stages of her talisman training, Zhou Ruoxi could utilize one hundred percent of the original’s power, and even, by adding her own mana, surpass the original’s strength!
For example, when inscribing talismans and borrowing the power of Lu Li’s Array of Demon-Slaying Swords—Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu could only channel a tenth of the formation’s strength, but if Zhou Ruoxi inscribed and used the talisman herself, the summoned Array of Demon-Slaying Swords would be a strengthened version, combining Lu Li’s power with her own.
Thus, relying on her talent and relentless effort, Zhou Ruoxi attained the Nascent Soul stage before she was thirty in her previous life. Just as she reached Nascent Soul and confidently prepared to take revenge on the Jin Kingdom,
The Kongxuan Realm and Magic Realm collided, and the Righteous-Demonic War erupted.
The Royal Family of Jin Kingdom, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Demonic Path, chose to surrender, offering up all their people as cultivation fodder in exchange for survival.
Upon hearing this, the Righteous Path of Kongxuan Realm quickly formed a coalition army to punish the royal family and rescue the innocent people of Jin Kingdom.
Zhou Ruoxi immediately requested permission from her Master to represent the Xuling Sect in the expedition against the royal family.
Master Lu Li, who knew nothing of her past, only thought she was moved by the noble goal of saving the people, and readily agreed.
But Lu Li had no idea that Zhou Ruoxi was actually going to avenge herself upon the royal clan.
Thus, Zhou Ruoxi fulfilled her vengeance in her previous life, and in the subsequent Righteous-Demonic War, made great achievements on the battlefield through talismans, earning the title of True Monarch of Limitless Borrowing among the righteous cultivators.
After the war, feeling her revenge was complete, Zhou Ruoxi wished only to remain by Master Lu Li’s side, cultivating single-mindedly.
Yet, despite all her calculations, she never anticipated that her Fourth Junior Sister was actually the reincarnation of the Demon Emperor. The Righteous-Demonic War in Kongxuan Realm had begun because of her, and soon she would bring catastrophe to Duanqing Peak, Master, all their sisters, and countless lives in Kongxuan Realm.