Restricted Area of the Back Mountain.
This ancient mountain range, isolated from the world, exuded a primitive and dangerous aura in every direction.
Lu Ning stared at the dark, sky-obscuring Qilin before her, feeling as if her very breath had stopped in that moment.
This ancient mythical beast, which only existed in legends, had appeared before her, possessing a terrifying strength comparable to the most powerful beings of the current age.
She really should have checked the almanac before heading out today.
No matter how much Lu Ning calculated and planned, she never expected that the moment she entered the restricted area, she would immediately find herself in a life-or-death predicament from which escape seemed nearly impossible.
What could she possibly do now?
In the face of an expert at the Great Perfection stage of Dao Integration, her meager cultivation at the mid-Nascent Soul stage made any attempt at escape completely futile.
Lu Ning glanced at her system space.
Aside from the unused top-grade Divine Transformation Pill and that tattered black blade that looked like it could snap at any moment, her only remaining trump card was that highly uncertain “Blind Box Experience Card.”
This thing was even more thrilling than gambling with your life at a critical moment.
If she got lucky and drew a Mahayana stage cultivation level, then naturally, she could slaughter gods and buddhas blocking her path.
But if her luck was bad and she drew the Nascent Soul stage…
Then she would probably meet her end here today.
[I have to go for it!]
Rather than just sit here waiting for death, she might as well take a gamble!
As long as she could draw a cultivation level above the Mahayana stage, she would have the confidence to maneuver a little against this Dark Qilin and buy herself a sliver of a chance to survive.
Thinking this, Lu Ning’s gaze instantly became resolute.
However, just as she was about to put her plan into action.
An unexpected change occurred abruptly.
The colossal Dark Qilin, suspended in the air and radiating a pressure that could annihilate heaven and earth, after clearly seeing Lu Ning’s appearance, actually revealed a trace of human-like confusion.
In that moment, its eyes, originally filled with brutality and destructive intent, surprisingly became somewhat… aggrieved?
Lu Ning was momentarily baffled by this sudden change in its demeanor.
What… what’s going on?
Before she could figure it out.
The enormous Dark Qilin suddenly let out an ear-splitting roar.
But within that roar, there was not a hint of killing intent; instead, it carried a certain joy of reunion after a long separation.
The next moment, under Lu Ning’s bewildered gaze.
The body of the gigantic Dark Qilin, as massive as a mountain, was suddenly enveloped in a thick, dark mist.
Its body shrank within the dark mist at an unimaginable speed.
The sky-obscuring colossal form, the ferocious scales burning with purple-black flames, and the terrifying aura radiating world-destroying pressure – all of it faded away in that instant.
Finally, the dark mist dispersed.
A young girl, dressed in a black dress, looking extremely petite and cute, appeared before Lu Ning.
The girl had exquisitely delicate features, and her large, limpid black eyes were currently shimmering with crystalline tears.
What was most peculiar was that on top of her head grew two little black horns that looked soft and fleshy, making her seem like a spirit who had stepped right out of a mythical tale.
Lu Ning stared blankly at this cute girl who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, her mind a complete blank.
This… this was the Dark Qilin from just now?
The contrast was way too big, wasn’t it?
Before Lu Ning could recover from this tremendous shock.
That petite and cute girl came running towards Lu Ning.
Then, under Lu Ning’s astonished gaze, she suddenly threw herself into Lu Ning’s arms, tightly hugging Lu Ning’s waist.
“Wah wah wah…”
The girl buried her face in Lu Ning’s chest and burst into loud sobs.
“Sister Lu Ning! You big meanie!”
“You finally came back to see A-Lin!”
“Do you know how long A-Lin has waited for you?”
“Didn’t you promise A-Lin you’d come back to see me soon? Why did you stay away for a hundred years?”
“A-Lin missed you so much…”
As the girl cried, she rubbed her little head with the horns against Lu Ning’s chest, like a wronged little kitten acting cute with its owner.
Sister Lu Ning?
A-Lin?
Lu Ning looked down at the girl in her arms, crying pitifully, looking both cute and pathetic, her heart filled with huge question marks.
[Do I… know her?]
Lu Ning desperately searched her own memories for anything related to the girl before her.
However, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t recall any memories connected to this girl named ‘A-Lin’.
Just as Lu Ning was filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Deep within her mind, it seemed as if something had been triggered.
Some vague and fragmented memory segments wildly surfaced in her mind.
It was a world very similar to the ancient mountain range before her eyes.
A version of ‘herself’, looking much younger than now, was sitting cross-legged on a huge blue stone, focused on cultivation.
And beside her, a small, pitch-black Qilin was affectionately rubbing its little head against her cheek.
“A-Lin, stop messing around, I’m cultivating. Once I’m done cultivating, I’ll play with you, okay.”
The younger ‘herself’ reached out and dotingly patted the little Qilin’s head.
“Sister Lu Ning, when will you take A-Lin out to play? It’s so boring here.”
The little Qilin’s mouth emitted a childish voice.
“Soon, once I become stronger, I’ll take you away from here to see the outside world.”
“Really?”
“Mm, I promise.”
The scene shifted.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman, dressed in a white palace gown, her temperament icy and ethereal, stood sternly before ‘herself’.
“Ning’er, how many times has your master told you, don’t spend all your time with A-Lin.”
“It is an ancient ferocious beast, a Dark Qilin, born a sovereign among beasts, yet you’ve raised it to be this weak, and this timid.”
“If you dare spoil it any further, your master will butcher it and make soup.”
The woman’s words were icy, devoid of any emotion.
“Master, no!”
The younger ‘herself’ quickly shielded the little Qilin behind her, her face full of pleading.
“A-Lin is very good, it… it will naturally become stronger later, don’t worry.”
The woman snorted coldly, ignoring ‘herself’s’ pleas.
“Pack up. Tomorrow you will leave with me and return to the Tianmo Sect.”
“What? Leave here?”
The younger ‘herself’ was shocked.
“Why? I don’t want to leave here, I don’t want to leave A-Lin.”
“It’s not up to you.”
The woman’s words were still as domineering.
“Your Heavenly Demon bloodline has begun to awaken. You need some rare spiritual objects from the outside world to help fully activate your bloodline.”
“Also, haven’t you always wanted to surpass your master?”
“When you can truly defeat your master, or possess strength comparable to mine, only then will you be qualified to return here.”
The scene shifted again.
The younger ‘herself’ stood before that enormous black stone gate, waving at the little Qilin, whose eyes were brimming with tears.
“A-Lin, don’t worry, I’ll come back to see you very soon.”
“I will definitely take you away from here to see the outside world.”
“That’s a promise between us.”
After these fragmented memory segments flashed through Lu Ning’s mind, she was completely stunned.
She looked at the girl still crying in her arms, an extremely complex emotion surfacing in her eyes.
So…
She really did know her.
It seemed now that her situation wasn’t as simple as just transmigrating into a game world.
This world held many hidden secrets unknown to people.
And that white-clad woman with the icy, ethereal temperament who appeared in the memory fragments…
If nothing unexpected happened, she should be the previous Sect Master of the Tianmo Sect, the master of this body, Liu Ningshuang.
Lu Ning had always thought of herself as just an ordinary transmigrator, a lucky one who had taken over a game character’s body.
But looking at it now, things didn’t seem that simple.
There appeared to be some deeper connection between herself and this world, and this identity called ‘Lu Ning’.
Lu Ning recalled the initial setting in the game: The background of Lu Ning, the Sovereign of the Tianmo Sect, was that she was a Young Sect Master brought back from the restricted area by the previous Sect Master.
No other background details were provided.
Now, Lu Ning felt a slight confusion.
Who was she, really?
Was she the ordinary office worker from Earth?
Or was she an… original inhabitant of this world, whose memories had been sealed away?
For a moment, countless questions surfaced in Lu Ning’s mind, leaving her feeling dizzy and disoriented.
And just then, A-Lin in her arms seemed to have tired herself out from crying.
She slowly lifted her tear-streaked little face, those large, limpid black eyes filled with grievance.
“Sister Lu Ning… do you… do you not want A-Lin anymore?”
Her voice was very soft, laced with a hint of cautious probing.
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Lu Ning’s heart inexplicably softened.
She reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of A-Lin’s eyes, her voice becoming unprecedentedly gentle.
“Silly girl, how could I not want you?”
“I just had amnesia before and forgot some things.”
“Don’t worry, since I’m back, I won’t leave you again.”
Lu Ning’s words were meant to comfort A-Lin, but also to comfort herself.
No matter who she really was, no matter what unknown past she had…
Right now, she was Lu Ning.
She had to survive properly in this dangerous world.
“Really?”
A glimmer of surprise flashed in A-Lin’s eyes.
“Mm, really.”
Lu Ning nodded firmly.
“Great!”
A-Lin’s tears turned to laughter as she tightly hugged Lu Ning again.
“Sister Lu Ning, I knew you wouldn’t lie to me!”
“We promised to be together forever!”
As her words fell, a flicker of obsession, utterly incongruous with her cute appearance, passed through those large, limpid black eyes.
“Oh, right, Sister Lu Ning.”
As if thinking of something, A-Lin released Lu Ning, took something out from her bosom, and held it out in front of Lu Ning.
“This is the gift A-Lin has been preparing for you all these years.”
“Look quickly, do you like it?”
Lu Ning looked at the object in her hand, radiating a rich aura of life, and her pupils suddenly contracted.
It was a crystal-clear fruit.
Upon the fruit burned a faint layer of golden flames.
“This… this is…”
Lu Ning exclaimed in shock, her voice trembling.
“The Dao Realization Fruit!”
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