Yun Fei naturally had no idea about the inner workings of Mu Lingxi’s mind.
While Mu Lingxi’s other acting skills weren’t much to speak of, she was exceptionally good at maintaining that cold, expressionless face.
It was perfectly normal that no change in her expression could be detected from the outside.
As night approached, Yun Fei and Mu Lingxi arrived at their assigned room.
The good news was that the room had everything it should.
As a guest room, it was quite satisfactory.
The bad news was—there was only one bed.
Yun Fei frowned.
She had originally thought that since Dong Qi had made the arrangements, the guest room would have two beds.
If there was only one, then…
Pretending not to have noticed the number of beds, Yun Fei surveyed the room’s layout, all the while secretly observing Mu Lingxi’s expression.
With just the two of them present, Mu Lingxi could, of course, drop her cold-faced disguise without reservation.
It was clear that Mu Lingxi was in high spirits.
Yun Fei wondered if she had noticed the bed situation.
But regardless, there would be absolutely no sleeping tonight.
One bed… that meant they could only cultivate.
‘If I had known, I would have insisted on staying at an inn. Aside from the time I was unconscious, I haven’t had a good, proper sleep in ages. To come all this way and not be able to reward myself is truly a shame.’
At that moment, Mu Lingxi looked at Yun Fei with a glint in her eyes, giving Yun Fei a rather ominous premonition.
She felt sure Mu Lingxi was about to say something like, “Shall we sleep together?”
“Yun Fei, let’s cultivate!”
Hearing this, Yun Fei’s slightly tense mood relaxed.
‘That scared me. Thank goodness Mu Lingxi isn’t trying to push our… progress too fast. But… if we’re cultivating, then just cultivate. Why say “let’s”? Can’t we cultivate alone?’
It wasn’t that Yun Fei was overanalyzing the wording.
It was mainly because, based on past experiences, Yun Fei suspected Mu Lingxi harbored some intentions toward her body.
While this was just a guess, the matter was significant enough that Yun Fei had to be vigilant.
She couldn’t let Mu Lingxi succeed again.
“Cultivate? Well, of course we were going to cultivate. With such a small bed, how could two people possibly lie on it?”
Even though two people could technically fit, the distance would be far too close.
For someone like her, who hadn’t touched a woman in twenty years, suddenly sharing a bed with Mu Lingxi, being that close, smelling her citrusy scent… there was no way she’d be able to sleep.
Wouldn’t that affect tomorrow’s battle?
After Yun Fei retorted logically, she saw Mu Lingxi suddenly become cautious.
“Yun Fei… well, is it possible… that the cultivation I’m talking about isn’t the usual kind?”
Yun Fei was slightly taken aback.
“What do you mean, not the usual kind? Is there an unusual kind?”
“It’s like this. I have a secret technique I obtained from a Secret Realm. According to the introduction, this technique is suitable for dual-person cultivation. It requires the two cultivators to be in sync, heart and mind. Cultivating like this yields twice the result with half the effort!”
Yun Fei’s expression stiffened.
“That… that sounds like the dual-cultivation secret techniques you find in storybooks… Do such things actually exist? Are you sure it’s not some heretical, crooked path?”
“Mmm… it shouldn’t be. I can swear on the Saintess’s honor that the remnant spirit who gave me this technique in the Secret Realm wasn’t tainted. They were a very kind person in life. And, it requires being in sync, heart and mind~ I want to see your feelings for me~”
“Heh… hehe, alright then. Let’s give it a try.”
According to Mu Lingxi’s description, this technique would most likely fail, because Yun Fei harbored no such ‘feelings’ for her.
She was just playing along, planning to trick her.
However, being the cautious Young Lord of the Demon Realm, Yun Fei also prepared a backup plan.
After all, it was an unknown secret technique and could hold unforeseen dangers.
So, Yun Fei secretly roused the all-purpose Magic Mirror from its slumber, ready to interrupt the cultivation process if necessary.
Seeing Yun Fei agree, Mu Lingxi gave her a slight smile, but an unknown glint flashed in the depths of her eyes.
As Yun Fei looked up, she vaguely felt Mu Lingxi’s gaze was different from usual.
Perhaps there was something fishy going on, but she still trusted her Magic Mirror.
Following Mu Lingxi’s instructions, the two sat facing each other on opposite ends of the bed, placing their palms together.
The Demonic Power within Yun Fei’s body began to flow slowly.
Passing through the Conversion Rune in her abdomen, it was transformed into Spiritual Power and channeled into Mu Lingxi’s body.
Simultaneously, Mu Lingxi’s Spiritual Power flowed along the same path into Yun Fei’s abdomen.
The rune in Yun Fei’s abdomen glowed faintly, a normal reaction under high-intensity operation.
About a quarter of an hour later, up to this point, Yun Fei hadn’t sensed anything unusual.
It was indeed as Mu Lingxi had said—the cultivation speed had increased significantly.
‘Was what I saw earlier an illusion? Does Mu Lingxi really have no other plans?’
Just as she was pondering this, Yun Fei suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
Immediately after, a bright light appeared in her vision—moonlight.
Once her eyes adjusted, Yun Fei discovered she was in the middle of a forest.
The moonlight of the Profound Moon filtered through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating the damp ground below.
The soil was moist, as if a heavy downpour had just passed, and the ground was pockmarked with puddles.
“What’s going on? I told the Magic Mirror to be on guard. Why is it ineffective?… Where is this?”
Yun Fei tried to stand up but found her body seemed beyond her control.
It was moving on its own!
This situation felt familiar.
Back in the Illusion Realm created by the Five Thousand Steps of Ever-bright, there were times when she was in a similar state—as if her consciousness was possessing someone else’s body, not under her own control.
“Mmm… it hurts… Where is this? Where are Mother and Father? And the carriage… it’s all gone?”
Then, the voice of a young girl, probably only fourteen or fifteen, sounded from the body she was inhabiting.
For some reason, the voice sounded a bit like Mu Lingxi’s?
Yun Fei’s perspective shifted downward as the girl moved.
She saw the girl’s clothes were tattered and torn, the once luxurious garments now in ruins.
Her knees, arms, and various other parts of her body bore wounds of varying degrees, though none were deep, mostly scrapes and broken skin.
Dragging her body, the girl gradually made her way to the edge of a lake.
Through the clear lake water, Yun Fei finally saw the girl’s face.
Despite the numerous scratches, Yun Fei could confirm—this was indeed Mu Lingxi’s face!
“What’s happening? Mu Lingxi? Is this… her memory?”
Combining her observations, Yun Fei guessed this was likely a segment of Mu Lingxi’s memory.
But how could she be seeing Mu Lingxi’s memories, and from this first-person perspective?
‘In sync, heart and mind… memories… Could it be that this secret technique shares some memories while boosting cultivation efficiency? Would Mu Lingxi also be watching one of my memories?’
‘So that’s it! This was Mu Lingxi’s plan all along!’
Situations involving memories were indeed something the Magic Mirror couldn’t handle…
But why would Mu Lingxi want to see her memories?
Someone like her, who probably wished for world peace, didn’t seem like the type to be after Demon Realm intelligence in her mind…
Besides, Yun Fei genuinely didn’t know much.
Just as Yun Fei was speculating about Mu Lingxi’s intentions, little Mu Lingxi suddenly crouched down, scooped up some lake water with her hands, and took a sip with her tongue.
The cool water was incredibly refreshing, quenching her thirst.
Although the contact of the water with her wounds sent waves of pain shooting through her nerves, the feeling of parched dryness overpowered the discomfort.
However, Yun Fei’s attention was no longer on little Mu Lingxi, because of this lake!
Scattered memories gradually surfaced in her mind, scenes from the past flashing before her eyes.
She remembered.
This was the forest at the border between the Northern Territory of the Profane Realm and the Demon Realm.
Five years ago, not long after that Old Nobles’ banquet, she had followed a lead to a hideout of a human trafficking organization run by an Old Noble family in the southern Demon Realm.
At that time, the effects of the Gender-Swapping Pill hadn’t worn off, and her mother hadn’t yet given her the Thousand Illusion Mask.
To maintain an air of mystery, she had worn a Butterfly Mask and infiltrated the organization’s lair, intending to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
The organization wasn’t particularly strong.
Back then, even at the Moon-Seizing Realm, she could handle them easily.
But precisely because she was too relaxed, she let the organization’s leader escape.
Yun Fei, caught up in the thrill of the fight, was momentarily careless, allowing this person on the wanted list to flee.
She had chased him all the way to this border forest.
She remembered this place.
That man was an Evil Cultivator who used flesh and blood as cultivation materials.
She remembered that when she finally killed him, she had saved a girl he was about to sacrifice as a cultivation material…
Looking at it now, that girl seemed to be Mu Lingxi?
Generally, Yun Fei wouldn’t remember a random little girl she saved on a whim.
But why was she suddenly so sure it was Mu Lingxi?
Because right at that moment, the very same Evil Cultivator leader she had chased for a whole day emerged from the bushes nearby!
And he was staring straight at her… or rather, at Mu Lingxi.
“Cackle, cackle! To think I’d run into such a fresh, tender little thing in such a remote place~ Now I have the capital to escape, hehehe!”
With that, under little Mu Lingxi’s terrified gaze, the ugly, sinister-looking man covered in a foul aura pounced, his eyes gleaming.
He grabbed Mu Lingxi by the neck and lifted her into the air.
“My, my~ Although just an ordinary person, you smell incredibly nourishing~ Hehehe~ Time to eat!”
After saying this, under Mu Lingxi’s despairing eyes, a small, blood-red formation lit up on the ground.
Vitality seemed to drain uncontrollably from her body, surging toward that terrifying formation!
At that very moment!
“Let go of that girl!”
It was Yun Fei’s voice!
Following closely behind the voice was the sharp gleam of her spear!
Yun Fei’s spear was fast.
Combined with the fact that the Evil Cultivist’s attention was almost entirely on his ‘nourishing meal,’ the spear stabbed straight into his upper arm!
But that wasn’t all! Yun Fei’s figure instantly flashed to the spear’s hilt.
She swiftly grabbed it and jerked it upward!
The Evil Cultivator’s entire arm was sent flying!
It happened to be the very arm holding Mu Lingxi by the neck.
Consequently, Mu Lingxi’s body was also sent flying through the air!
Seeing this, Yun Fei retracted her spear, kicked the howling Evil Cultivator away, leaped into the air, and caught Mu Lingxi just before she hit the ground.