Cao Xueyan recognizes herself

After the breakthrough, she only felt hungrier.

Without fasting pills, it was troublesome.

It was said that those Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters, as long as their dantian was full of spiritual power, could go into seclusion for months without taking a single bite, and never feel hunger.

How enviable.

Yet for Cao Xueyan, who had lived as a mortal for two lifetimes, she only found it convenient.

To truly give up the pleasures of eating was still hard to accept.

In her previous life, because of an incurable illness, she could only consume liquid food to meet her basic needs.

In this life, before entering the mountain, she was from an ordinary family.

Having thin porridge and cabbage to eat was already good enough, and only during festivals could she taste meat.

After joining the sect, it wasn’t much better.

Spiritual rice was mixed with common rice, and most of the time it was common rice, with pickled vegetables as the only side.

Thus, cultivators often spoke of purity and simplicity, eating lightly.

Sometimes just a plate of spiritual fruits was considered a meal.

But when the taste grew so bland, it was hardly enjoyable.

Cao Xueyan calmed herself, then picked up an iron pot from the corner of her hut.

Though untouched for days, it hadn’t gathered much dust.

She still carried it to the water jar outside to rinse it clean, before scooping some rice to cook porridge.

Opening the rice jar, she found only a thin layer left.

Most of it was common rice, odd in taste but filling.

Rare grains of spiritual rice were mixed in, almost invisible.

She had deliberately mixed them together to keep herself frugal—so that after tasting too much spiritual rice, she wouldn’t find common rice unbearable.

Using a bamboo cup, she scooped a full measure into the pot.

Looking at the shallow rice and thinking of her growling stomach, she gritted her teeth and added half a cup more.

Hmph!

She had already broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining—surely she could afford this much rice?

Once she had eaten her fill, she would go find the sect’s steward.

By showing her seventh-layer cultivation, she could immediately apply to join the Inner Sect.

Normally, upon entry to the Inner Sect, the sect would grant rewards: spirit stones, techniques, or magical items.

Inner Sect disciples also received monthly stipends.

Even without doing missions, they had their own income.

The stipend varied, but it mostly included spirit stones and useful pills.

Additionally, ten catties of spiritual rice were given each month—enough for one person for over half a month, saving many spirit stones.

As she dreamed of the future, she skillfully lit the fire and set the pot to cook.

When the faint fragrance of rice drifted up, she swallowed a little saliva.

Turning back into the hut, she picked a few wild vegetables from a bamboo basket in the corner.

They looked withered, even a bit blackened.

She had no choice.

The pickles at home had been eaten long ago, and she had planned to buy more after this seclusion.

But hunger was more urgent.

After washing the vegetables, she gathered a wisp of spiritual power in her fingers, slicing them into sections, then tossed them into the pot.

She didn’t know many spells.

Since joining the sect, she had only learned two.

One was the Rain Spell, used for watering the sect’s spirit fields—a chore she often took missions for, though it paid poorly and was tiresome.

She hated it!

The other was called Spirit Finger, an offensive spell that condensed power into her fingertip, sharp as a blade.

She usually used it for chopping vegetables or wood, or sometimes to scale fish.

Wild vegetables cooked quickly.

By the time the rice porridge was done, they too were ready to eat.

Now all she had to do was wait patiently for her vegetable porridge.

But in the meantime, she decided to run another simulation.

Quick simulations didn’t take time—like reading a short story, they finished instantly.

With a thought, the panel of the Cultivation Love Simulator appeared before her eyes.

“Consume one simulation attempt?”

“Yes!” she confirmed.

“Choose between [Quick Simulation] or [Real Simulation]. Warning: [Real Simulation] is not recommended at this time. Proceed at your own risk.”

“Quick Simulation.”

“Simulating… Generating…”

The text scrolled across the panel as another simulation began.

[At age 20, you successfully break through the bottleneck, reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refining.]

[You find a sect steward, demonstrate your cultivation, and apply to enter the Inner Sect.]

[After careful verification, your request is approved. You become an Inner Sect disciple of Qingyun Sword Sect.]

[You choose to join the Pill Peak, for with fire and wood roots, you can study alchemy.]

[In addition to cultivation, you begin learning alchemy.]

[As a newcomer, you start as an apprentice. An elder of the Alchemy Hall assigns you a senior sister to guide you.]

[She is beautiful. From teaching you how to recognize herbs, she also answers your cultivation doubts.]

[At age 25, your cultivation shows no progress. In alchemy, you achieve nothing. Clearly, you lack talent.]

[At age 30, you give up alchemy. Your cultivation remains stagnant.]

[At age 32, your senior sister successfully establishes her Foundation. She becomes a direct disciple of a Pill Peak elder, her status soaring.]

[One night, your senior sister comes to you, confessing her feelings.]

[You spend a joyful night together. You become Dao companions.]

[At age 40, you break through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. She is happy for you. To celebrate, you share another joyful night.]

[The next day, you cannot even rise from bed, unable to withstand your Foundation Establishment senior sister’s “attacks.”]

[Meanwhile, demonic assassins infiltrate the sect, killing many disciples. Fear spreads.]

[Months pass. The assassin remains unfound.]

[Your senior sister is killed before your eyes. Grief-stricken, you charge at the assassin, but are reduced to ashes with a casual spell.]

[You die.]

[Evaluation: Though you achieved little in cultivation or alchemy, you captivated a talented, beautiful senior sister, and became Dao companions. This shows extraordinary aptitude in this area. In the future, you might develop it further. However, you still lacked strength. With higher cultivation, perhaps you could have saved her.]

[Reward: Cultivation Points +80]

Ssssss…

The porridge in the pot bubbled, but Cao Xueyan did not lift the lid.

Only after a long while did she return to herself.

Quick simulations were only a few lines of text, easily read at a glance.

Yet strangely, after reading them, she felt as if she had personally lived the story within.

Of course, it was an illusion.

Shaking her head, she pushed aside the thoughts.

She extinguished the fire, lifted the lid, and ladled out some vegetable porridge.

Without caring if it was hot, she crouched by the door and wolfed it down.

Still, her mind lingered on the simulation.

In it, she naturally joined the Inner Sect, even learned alchemy on Pill Peak, though with no talent.

But… wasn’t this simulation skewed again?

How had she suddenly charmed her senior sister and become Dao companions?

Dao companions weren’t something to form so casually!

In her past life, she had never been in love.

In this one, neither.

Across two lives, she could count the men she was familiar with on one hand.

And why was it always women—demonic enchantresses or senior sisters—who were drawn to her?

Did she possess some special charm for women?

In her past life, an ancient philosopher once said a famous line: “Know yourself.”

Cao Xueyan’s expression turned complicated.

She felt an illusion—maybe, possibly, perhaps… she would rather be with girls.

Sigh.

Nearly fifty years across two lives, and only now did she realize—she was probably a tomboy at heart.