Fang Yuan continued browsing the system shop, searching for sothing fitting for a Hollow Spirit Realm cultivator about to leave his world behind.
His finger hovered over the System Shop icon.
The system screen currently shows rows after rows of cultivation techniques, martial arts, and thods began to unfold.
Fang Yuan watched the glowing system screen for a long mont, rows of martial techniques shimring before his eyes when suddenly a woman’s voice echoed through the room.
"What are you staring blankly at?"
The voice ca as if it was just in front of him and Fang Yuan’s instincts snapped awake. He imdiately used his spiritual qi and unleashed cowardice covering himself with golden armor.
Before he could react any further, the door flew open.
"HUSBAND!!"
Lin Zhaoyue rushed in, panic written across her face, only to freeze mid-step as she stared at Fang Yuan covered in golden shell.
"That’s quite a feisty little mortal you married,"
the sa female voice murmured, amused startling both Fang Yuan and Lin Zhaoyue once more.
And then a ripple in space started to distort before a single figure stepped out of the void right in front of Fang Yuan.
Zhao Lusi.
Fang Yuan instantly grit his teeth as he hadn’t sensed a thing despite her being right in front of him...
A cultivator of two realms above Hollow Spirit had been standing in the void in front of him and he only noticed when she allowed it. The gap between them was too vast!
He bowed his head.
"Greetings, Miss Zhao Lusi."
Zhao Lusi gave him a sideways look, clearly displeased.
"You’re not officially my disciple yet, so I’ll let that slide," she said.
"But from now on, you will address as Master. Understood?"
"...Understood."
She raised an eyebrow.
Fang Yuan forced out a respectful cough.
"Master."
Only then did she nod approvingly.
Lin Zhaoyue glared at Zhao Lusi with open hostility, eyes sharp with a rival’s instinct.
But before Zhao Lusi could even respond, Lin Zhaoyue swayed.
Her pupils shrank and she collapsed.
Fang Yuan moved instantly, but Zhao Lusi lifted a hand to stop him.
"...Interesting," she murmured.
"It feels as if two souls reside within her."
Fang Yuan stepped forward quickly.
"Master," he said with urgent tone, "shall we leave now? I don’t want the others noticing your presence."
Zhao Lusi held his gaze for a long mont...
then glanced at Lin Zhaoyue’s unconscious form and finally nodded.
"You’re right. Let’s go."
She waved a hand and Fang Yuan felt his body yank forward as if caught by an invisible force, pulled straight toward her.
In the next heartbeat, Zhao Lusi stepped onto thin air.
Space folded around her and in an instant, they both vanished.
A mont later, the world reford, high winds whipped past them and xlclouds swirled beneath their feet.
Zhao Lusi stood poised atop a massive mountain peak, her robe fluttering like that of an immortal descending.
"Now then, my disciple," she said lightly, "as you are officially my disciple, let show you sothing."
She snapped her fingers and a sliver of pure qi flew out of her fingers and shot downward like a spear of white lightning.
Fang Yuan’s eyes widened and then in an instant when he realised where the target was he instinctively yelled, "Wait—WAIT—STOP—!"
But it was too late.
Deep beneath Mount Skyhowl...
In the cavern sealed shut by layers of earth and a spirit gathering formation, a woman sat cross-legged in perfect stillness.
Her aura was faint and unstable, flickering like a candle in harsh wind.
Tiny cracks spread across the stone floor around her, caused by nothing but the pressure leaking from her attempt to breakthrough.
A long long ti ago, she had once been a prominent figure in Coldwind City—
the matriarch of one of the four major families, despite only being a branch family.
Her business foresight was unmatched and her managent of the Lin branch was so brilliant it nearly rivaled the main branch itself in terms of wealth!
People even used to call her "The Golden Lin."
But that didn’t last long and her downfall had not been dramatic.
It was no sudden collapse but instead, just a slow corrosion mostly through politics and rivalry until it chipped away everything she had built.
And standing in her path, ti and ti again, was the sa man.
The one she has to defeat to overco her heart demon, Fang Yuan.
Her jade-like fingers trembled as she ditated. Sweat beaded down her temples.
"I won’t fail... I won’t fall again..."
Her voice cracked softly.
If she wanted to enter the Nascent Soul Realm, then she had to defeat her inner demon.
She had to break through the shadow Fang Yuan represented, the man who repeatedly disrupted her plans, uprooted her influence, and unknowingly shattered the stability she had built for decades.
She inhaled deeply.
Her consciousness began sinking into the heart-demon trial...
Her golden core trembling at the threshold.
Just then, a silver wisp descended from above.
Thin as silk, pure as moonlight, the thread of Zhao Lusi’s divine qi.
It slipped into Lin Xi’s spiritual sea without disturbance.
Her unstable qi imdiately cald, her trembling ridians steadied.
Her eyelids fluttered in surprised.
"W-What...?"
Her voice was faint, nearly swallowed by the cavern.
The wisp did not force her breakthrough.
It simply stabilized her and perhaps even protected her while also giving her a foundation strong enough to face her demon without collapsing.
Her breathing deepened and her golden core pulsed once, stronger than before.
Then she fell fully into her heart-demon trial.
Her last conscious thought before sinking in was:
"...Fang Yuan... today... I finally surpass you."
Above the mountain, Zhao Lusi hovered then she turned slightly, eyes curving with interest.
"Disciple," she said, "would you like to see what her heart demon looks like?"
Fang Yuan blinked, genuinely taken aback.
"...We can watch another person’s heart demon?"
Zhao Lusi gave him a look that was equal parts amused and offended.
"I am an immortal," she said dryly. "You should start expecting the impossible."
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