Dahuang Dynasty, Phoenix Ancestral Land.
This was a world shrouded in endless golden flames, where the air was thick with a scorching aura.
Atop a massive altar carved from a single piece of Phoenix Blood Crystal, a beautiful figure dressed in golden palace robes sat cross-legged.
This was the Eldest Princess of Dahuang, Ji Linglong, who had entered the ancestral land for her trial.
At this moment, she was surrounded by a visible layer of golden divine flames.
The fire continuously burned her physical body and soul, tempering and refining the impurities within her bit by bit.
Through this extreme pain and refinement, her aura surged at an incredible speed.
A long time passed.
When the last trace of impurity was completely incinerated by the divine flames, Ji Linglong slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.
A terrifying aura erupted from her body!
Peak of the late Great Ascension stage!
However, there was not a hint of joy on Ji Linglong’s face.
Her golden phoenix eyes were still filled with a sense of lost confusion.
She slowly stood up and looked down at her hands, which had become as translucent and crystalline as divine jade.
‘I… I seem to have forgotten something very important.’
Ever since she woke up from her coma that day, a blurry figure would always inexplicably surface in her mind.
She could not remember the person’s appearance, only that they were called An Ning.
She clearly remembered the feeling of being held in that person’s arms.
It was a very warm and reassuring feeling.
She even vaguely remembered herself acting like a child, clinging to that person’s arm, acting spoiled, and begging for kisses and hugs.
Whenever she thought of these fragments, her heart would ache inexplicably.
She knew she had lost an important memory — a memory about that person.
She had asked Liuyun, and she had asked the people in the palace.
But they all told her that she had simply suffered from a cultivation mishap, experienced qi deviation, and injured her soul, which led to her confused memories.
But Ji Linglong did not believe them.
She knew things were definitely not that simple.
They were all lying to her.
Especially Liuyun; every time she spoke about this matter, her eyes would instinctively dodge her gaze.
She definitely knew something, but she refused to tell her.
This was why Ji Linglong chose to enter the Phoenix Ancestral Land.
She wanted to become stronger.
Strong enough to tear through all the lies and mist to find those memories that belonged to her.
Strong enough to personally capture that “little liar” who only existed in her memories and demand an explanation.
‘Who exactly are you?’
‘Why did you disappear from my world?’
‘Didn’t you promise me that you would come back to see me?’
Question after question surfaced in Ji Linglong’s mind, making her newly calmed heart become irritable once again.
“An Ning…”
Suddenly, the name acted like a key, instantly opening the floodgates of her memory.
Countless sealed scenes poured into her mind.
She remembered “Lu Ning” at the gates of the Tianmo Sect, who had treated her with disdain yet stepped forward to save her during her most pathetic moment.
She remembered “An Ning” in the golden war chariot, who had been humiliated by her in every possible way yet remained calm, neither humble nor arrogant.
She remembered the “fool” in the Phoenix Palace who had blocked a fatal blow for her and, when she was in the throes of qi deviation, did not hesitate to exhaust her own origin to save her.
She remembered the “little liar” outside Heavenly Capital City, who suppressed everything like a god, yet gently rubbed her head before leaving and promised to return.
As it turned out, it had been the same person from the very beginning.
“Lu Ning…”
Ji Linglong’s voice carried endless longing and a trace of grievance.
“You little liar…”
“You played me for so long, and then you dared to run away from my side without saying a word.”
“You even lied and said you would come back to see me…”
Ji Linglong’s eyes reddened slightly, and a thin mist of water surfaced in her golden phoenix eyes.
She wanted to rush out of this cursed ancestral land immediately and capture that little liar who had broken her promise.
Then, she would lock her in a new Phoenix Palace with the sturdiest chains so that she could never leave her side again.
But in the end, she held back.
She knew she was not strong enough yet.
The strength that the little liar had displayed at the end had far exceeded her imagination.
With her current level of cultivation, going there would only result in self-humiliation.
She had to become stronger!
Strong enough to completely conquer her and make her stay by her side willingly.
Thinking of this, an unprecedented fighting spirit ignited in Ji Linglong’s golden phoenix eyes.
She took a deep breath, suppressed all the stray thoughts in her heart, and sat down cross-legged once more.
“Lu Ning, wait for me.”
“Since you refuse to come see me, this Princess will personally come find you.”
“The next time we meet, I will make you admit with your own mouth that you are mine.”
As soon as her voice fell, the golden divine flames around her surged again!
The origin power of the entire Phoenix Ancestral Land seemed to be drawn by something, surging into her body frantically.
Her cultivation aura began to climb once again at an even more terrifying speed.
On the other side, inside a Cave Dwelling in Baihuagu.
By the time Lu Ning woke up from that long and ridiculous “soul fusion,” it was already the next morning.
She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Su Yuexi’s gentle and beautiful face.
The other woman was lying on her side next to her, watching her with great interest.
“Are you awake? My dear Master.”
Su Yuexi’s voice was very soft, carrying a lazy hoarseness that made Lu Ning’s body tremble violently.
She instinctively wanted to pull back, but she found herself held firmly by a pair of soft arms, unable to move.
“Master, do you want to sever your ties with your disciple so soon?”
The corners of Su Yuexi’s mouth curled into a playful arc, and the arm around Lu Ning’s waist tightened slightly.
Looking at her like this, Lu Ning felt a sense of helplessness.
This woman had become completely addicted to this forbidden role-playing game and was thoroughly enjoying it.
“Master, do you know?”
Su Yuexi buried her face in Lu Ning’s chest, greedily inhaling the scent that intoxicated her.
“This day and night of cultivating with you has provided me with more insight than several decades of bitter cultivation in the past.”
“I feel the bottleneck of my cultivation loosening again. Perhaps it won’t be long before I can completely stabilize at the Great Ascension Perfection stage.”
As she spoke, she gently blew a breath of air onto Lu Ning’s earlobe.
Lu Ning’s body shuddered again.
She only wanted to get as far away from this female demon as possible.
Su Yuexi seemed to sense her resistance.
She slowly raised her head, and a trace of “disappointment” flashed in her gentle eyes.
“It seems Master still doesn’t quite like being with her disciple.”
She released the arms holding Lu Ning and slowly sat up from the jade bed.
Lu Ning felt as if she had been granted a massive reprieve.
However, Su Yuexi’s next words caused the color to drain from her face instantly.
“Since Master dislikes being with me so much, I have no choice but to go and handle some sect affairs first.”
As Su Yuexi spoke, she began to unhurriedly tidy her clothes.
“But don’t worry, Master.”
“I have already thought of a new pattern for our next ‘cultivation’ session.”
“I will take this time to properly digest the insights I gained from you, Master.”
“When I return, we shall continue.”
‘Again?’
Hearing this, Lu Ning almost fainted on the spot.
“Oh, right.”
As if remembering something, Su Yuexi turned around and looked at the still-dazed Lu Ning with a mysterious smile on her face.
“The next time we meet, I hope you can play the role of a prisoner.”
“A prisoner who has been captured and humiliated in every way by me, this demoness, yet remains utterly helpless.”
“You should prepare yourself well.”
With that said, she did not stay any longer.
Her figure flickered and vanished from the Cave Dwelling.
Only Lu Ning remained, sitting blankly on the jade bed, unable to regain her senses for a long time.
‘What on earth is going on inside that small head of hers!’
Lu Ning complained frantically in her heart.
First a disciple, then a Master, and now a prisoner… she had too many tricks up her sleeve.
However, alongside the complaints, Lu Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
She had finally managed to temporarily send the female demon away.
She finally had some time of her own.
Lu Ning slowly sat up on the jade bed and began to carefully check her cultivation.
Middle Nascent Soul stage.
After this day and night of cultivation, her cultivation had actually improved significantly, and she had completely stabilized at the middle Nascent Soul stage.
Her soul power was also several times stronger than before.
Her meridians had recovered by about seventy or eighty percent, no longer as fragile as they were.
Although the price paid was heavy, the harvest was also immense.
“Su Yuexi…”
Lu Ning murmured to herself, a dangerous light flickering in her cold eyes.
She knew she was not yet a match for Su Yuexi.
Once she fully recovered her strength, she would settle this debt with the woman sooner or later.
The most important thing for her now was to improve her strength as quickly as possible.
She looked at the rare flowers and exotic herbs that Hua Lingyue had painstakingly cultivated in the Cave Dwelling, and a sharp light flashed in her eyes.
These were all excellent cultivation resources.
‘It would be a waste not to use them.’
Thinking of this, Lu Ning no longer hesitated.
She immediately sat cross-legged and began to circulate her inner technique, frantically absorbing the dense worldly spiritual energy and medicinal fragrance within the Cave Dwelling.
She wanted to use the time while Su Yuexi was away to raise her cultivation by another level.
Furthermore, she needed to have enough self-preservation strength before Su Yuexi returned.
She was even beginning to calculate that when Su Yuexi returned, it would be the moment for her to claim her system settlement rewards and find a chance to break the deadlock.
As long as she could obtain more powerful trump cards like the “Great Ascension Perfection Experience Card,” it would be uncertain who the prey was.