Night had fallen, enveloping all things in silence.
The entire city of Qingmu was submerged in stillness.
Without the bustle of festivals or celebrations, nighttime Qingmu City was hardly any different from a dead city.
The night watchman patrolled the streets.
Beating his wooden board, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “The air is dry, beware of fire!”
This was the only sound in the silent Qingmu City.
But the Ling Residence was not so quiet.
It wasn’t that there was any commotion inside; the servants had long gone to rest, even the guards.
Many of them had their heads drooping, half-asleep.
Qingmu City was just too safe.
So safe that being a guard had become a leisurely job.
Compared to the outside world, Qingmu City’s guards were even safer than the hunters who went into the forests.
Such safety numbed people.
That was why none of the guards inside noticed their young master, Ling Huan, and the new young lady, Yin Luoling, sneaking out the door at this very moment.
They were heading toward Mr. Jiang Yue’s house in the East Courtyard.
Yin Luoling didn’t even sneak about or act like a thief as she slipped out of her room.
Because she had a perfectly reasonable excuse to be out at this hour.
Besides, the guards at the Ling Residence wouldn’t care at all.
They were probably all gathered in some corner, playing cards and chatting.
Yin Luoling tiptoed through the garden and arrived at Jiang Yue’s quarters, then knelt down on both knees before the door, bowed respectfully toward the inside, and spoke softly, “Luoling greets, Teacher.”
Yin Luoling felt a surge of excitement inside.
Although she didn’t think Nascent Soul cultivators were that amazing, at least in the mortal realm, Nascent Soul cultivators were invincible.
They were the ceiling of this world.
As long as she had the protection of a Nascent Soul cultivator—
She could do many things in the human world, and live far more comfortably than in her previous life.
In her previous life, for lack of a strong backer, she lost many treasures she’d obtained from secret realms.
Many crucial magic treasures— even if she snatched them at the last moment— would be taken by the elders or seniors backing her peers, leaving her with nothing in the end.
If they had any conscience, they’d throw her a low-grade magic treasure or a few spirit stones; if not, they gave nothing at all, just leaving with a, “Consider yourself lucky you know your place.”
Yin Luoling was a lone wandering cultivator, with no support, no one to turn to.
She had no way to stop them.
She could only watch as the treasures she risked her life for were taken so easily.
This, in turn, led to her being forced to flee to the Immortal Realm before her cultivation was even complete, where she endured an extremely harsh and painful period.
To the Yin Luoling of that time, surviving by the skin of her teeth was considered fortunate.
Many new secret realms would gradually open in the future, all brand-new and unexplored, their treasures unknown and immensely powerful.
There was one such magic treasure.
It could trap people inside a formation.
This formation was formidable.
It was enough to plunge the trapped into their own obsessions or confusion.
It would probe the softest part of their hearts.
Letting them become lost within.
Yes, lost within.
Not suffering.
Not making their hearts ache as if cut by knives.
The strongest illusion—or rather, illusionary realm—
Did not torment the trapped with pain.
Instead, it precisely seized their desires, their weaknesses, their obsessions.
Granting all their wildest, most cherished fantasies.
Humans are a wondrous species.
Harsh environments can be endured; no matter how hard or tiring, they are like weeds, tenacious, rooting in cracks where no soil exists.
But in comfort, in happiness, with everything at hand— they become soft, helpless.
They find it hard to adapt to the world outside.
Sometimes, no one even needs to hold them back.
They themselves remain forever in their comfort zone, unable to take even half a step out.
Just like frogs in warm water.
However… those caught in the illusionary realm—
They do not fail to realize they’re inside an illusion.
They know, yet willingly sink into it.
After all, the outside world is too cruel.
How did Yin Luoling know so much about this?
Because she herself had once fallen for it.
In that illusionary realm… her parents were alive.
She lived a happy life.
Her parents were as gentle as ever.
Whatever she wished for, Her parents never refused, and even did all they could to satisfy her.
Father Ling and Mother Ling had no son Ling Huan.
When they visited her home, they adopted her as their goddaughter and doted on her endlessly.
The warmth of that family lingered with her even now, strengthening her resolve to travel through time.
Yin Luoling remembered it vividly—how much she didn’t want to leave, how she longed to stay in that illusion.
To be cradled in her parents’ gentle arms.
To enjoy a happy childhood.
There were many such powerful magic treasures.
And many formidable techniques as well.
Someone in her previous life once obtained a divine-level technique; its strength was that the more techniques one cultivated, The deeper their internal force and spiritual energy grew.
They could even fight across realms!
They could even ignore spiritual root attributes, cultivating all sorts of techniques across different roots.
With no backlash at all, they could merge all techniques into one, creating something entirely new.
That person became an army unto himself, nearly impossible to deal with.
Unfortunately, that person later, in pursuit of greater power and efficiency, cultivated a Demonic Technique, fell into madness, and found joy in killing.
Eventually, the major sects joined forces to destroy him.
Ten Golden Core cultivators… only seven returned alive.
And that person was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
There were many such examples.
Yin Luoling remembered them all.
She made it a point to remember because the method of traveling through time was found in Jiang Yue’s storage ring before her death.
So ever since then, Yin Luoling had kept close watch on the time, location, function, and stories behind each newly-appearing magic treasure.
Now, with a powerful backer, all those treasures would be hers.
Yin Luoling waited excitedly for Jiang Yue to open the door.
But a quarter of an hour passed and the door didn’t budge.
Not a single sound came from inside the room.
Yin Luoling was puzzled.
She stood and crept closer to the door, but still heard nothing.
Not even the sound of breathing.
Yin Luoling knocked gently and spoke softly, “Teacher, are you in there?”
But her voice drifted in with no reply whatsoever.
She pushed the door open and entered.
The room was completely empty; Jiang Yue was nowhere to be seen.
She walked over to the bed and saw that the quilt hadn’t been touched, still folded neatly.
She reached in and felt the bedding—it was cold, showing no sign anyone had slept there.
Yin Luoling was baffled. Weren’t they supposed to meet at midnight?
Where was she?
While she was wondering, suddenly there was the sound of someone outside stepping on a twig—snap.
Yin Luoling shuddered, instinctively diving into Jiang Yue’s bed and pulling the covers over her head to hide.
Her body moved faster than her mind.
Only then did she remember—this wasn’t her past life.
She didn’t have a pile of enemies coming to kill her in the night; there was no need to hide.
Just as she was about to get up, a bamboo tube poked through the paper window, slowly sliding inside.
Not good.
Yin Luoling’s heart sank.
She instantly recognized this common trick and quickly covered her nose and mouth to block the sleeping incense.
Ling Huan!
He was the first person that came to mind.
Only this scoundrel would dare do something so shameless so brazenly within the residence.
Yin Luoling seethed.
Luckily, Yin Luoling’s cultivation was already at the peak of Qi Refining Stage One—she could break through to Qi Refining Stage Two at any time!
Normal sleeping incense had no effect on her.
But just as she thought this, suddenly her eyelids grew heavy, her mind growing muddled, drifting.
Her eyelids felt weighed down, as if a lock was hanging from them, impossible to lift.
S-Strange…
W-Why?
A peculiar scent quickly stole away Yin Luoling’s consciousness.
Her eyes shut heavily and she collapsed onto the bed, letting out a soft snore as she fell into a sweet sleep.
The person outside, who had blown the Focus Incense in, was now pushing the door open and entering.
He crept silently toward Jiang Yue’s bed.
His face was covered with a black cloth, and he wore a set of cheap, coarse brown hemp clothes.
Hunched over, he looked every bit the villain.
This man was Ling Huan.
The ancient nights were pitch-black.
Without a torch, he could hardly see.
Even now, as a cultivator, his vision was no better than an ordinary person’s.
Luckily, he’d been coming to this room for ten years.
He was familiar enough with the layout.
So, even without a torch or lantern, he could fumble his way to the bed in the dark.
His heart was pounding.
But not out of guilt—he had a perfectly good reason.
He was here to save someone!
But this rescue… required getting very close to a girl.
This was, in his twenty-six years of life, the first time he’d ever gotten this intimate with a girl.
Of course his heart was racing.
Ahem.
He cleared his throat.
Telling himself, this isn’t a crime!
This is a rescue!
So, with a barely concealed grin, he took off his shoes and slipped into the bedding.
He pulled the warm body in the darkness into his arms, and began to unfasten his own clothes—and hers—bit by bit.
Don’t misunderstand.
This wasn’t about taking advantage.
This was the most efficient way to absorb the poison from Jiang Yue’s body.
After all, Jiang Yue didn’t have much longer to live.
Ling Huan worked quickly, but he did feel a bit puzzled.
Why did Teacher’s body feel so much smaller?
Could it be?
Did Jiang Yue usually walk on stilts?
That seemingly broad dress actually concealed a petite body?
Hmm, maybe this was Jiang Yue’s true form.
Cultivators, after all!
Enlarging, shrinking, transformation techniques—aren’t those all commonplace?
So Ling Huan didn’t doubt a thing.
Anxious to save his teacher, he hurried to get both their clothes off, pressing their bodies together to absorb the poison from Jiang Yue.
He hugged, felt, relished that warm sensation.
His heart was endlessly grateful to the cosmic truck that had brought him to this other world.
At last, he got to hold a girl in his arms.
And an older woman at that.
He didn’t yet know how beautiful Jiang Yue would be once cured, but this was a world of cultivation!
Even the least attractive fairy—how bad could she be?
Ling Huan hummed a little tune, waiting for his physique to take effect.
Who knew how much time passed.
Ling Huan was getting so drowsy, he nearly fell asleep.
Suddenly, he felt a chill crash into his back!
The sudden cold made goosebumps break out all over him, and he shuddered.
The drowsiness was instantly swept away.
He opened his eyes and saw that the quilt covering him had been thrown aside.
The person lifting it—was none other than Jiang Yue herself, who should have been in his arms!
Huh?
Their eyes met, shock mirrored in both faces.
Both pairs of pupils trembled violently.
“Teacher… weren’t you supposed to be in my arms?”
“…Young Master, how could you… how could you even lay a hand on your own sister?”