Another round of simulation

That night, Cao Xueyan sat in meditation on the bed all night, while Xiao Menglan lay beside her, watching quietly.

As Cao Xueyan circulated her cultivation technique, she refined the medicinal power within her body, letting it flow through her limbs and bones, gradually improving her constitution.

After finishing that, she did not stop cultivating, but added 20 cultivation points to both the talisman path and her realm.

She glanced at the status panel:

Host: Cao Xueyan.

Realm: Qi Refining Level Eight (800/70).

Talismans: Not yet initiated (1000/147).

Simulation uses: 10.

Cultivation points: 190.

Oh? She hadn’t paid attention to this these days, being busy doing this and that with Xiao Menglan, and without noticing, the simulation uses had accumulated to 10!

If she used them all, that meant at least 1,000 cultivation points as a baseline!

Should she max out the talisman path and enter it overnight?

Or should she add them to her realm and break through to Qi Refining Level Nine in one go?

For now, it was all up to her choice.

But before that, she had to use up these 10 simulation chances first.

Speaking of which, since she had just learned the sect master’s name today, why not use this opportunity to run a few simulations and see what kind of changes might appear in the endings?

With that thought, Cao Xueyan started a quick simulation.

【At age 21, Xiao Menglan held a grand disciple-acceptance ceremony, formally taking you as her direct disciple and announcing it to the whole sect.】

【At the ceremony, the elusive sect master Qin Ximo appeared, and all the disciples present bowed in worship.】

Cao Xueyan raised her brows, pleasantly surprised.

As expected, the sect master’s name appeared in the simulator!

It seemed her guess was right—whether she knew important figures in reality would greatly influence the process and results of the simulations.

Good. She wanted to see what path her simulated self would take next.

The simulation continued.

【At the ceremony, Qin Ximo publicly gifted you a flying sword. The sword was crafted by the master of the Armament Peak and personally infused with her sword intent, far beyond an ordinary artifact. Incredibly, the sword even contained a strike from Qin Ximo at the Nine-Turn Golden Core stage. In the whole sect, such favor was unmatched.】

【The disciple ceremony ended smoothly. You and Xiao Menglan received countless blessings and returned to the Moon-Inviting Palace. That night, you drank together, and as the night deepened, you embraced each other intimately.】

【As expected, the two of you enjoyed a pleasant night.】

【A few months later, the Qingyun Sword Sect’s demon-hunting competition was held. Because of the earlier ceremony, your name was already known by many disciples, and during the competition, many eagerly sought to team up with you.】

【You chose a few companions, and with the treasures gifted by your master Xiao Menglan and nearly endless pills and talismans, your group swept all opponents aside, finally seizing first place.】

【You didn’t care for the rewards, so you gave them all to your teammates. They were deeply grateful, and your reputation spread within the sect. Many disciples now knew of a kind and approachable direct disciple, elegant and peerless, with the demeanor of the sect’s senior disciple!】

【At age 23, you finally entered the Ice-Soul Silver Needle technique. Though its power was not even one ten-thousandth of your master’s, below the Foundation Establishment stage, neither cultivators nor beasts could resist it.】

【As agreed, you and Xiao Menglan descended the mountain for training. At this time, demonic disasters were rampant, and Xiao Menglan took the chance to eliminate some threats. However, spending each day together, you began to sense there might be another purpose, though you could not know what it was.】

【Together you traveled on flying swords, visiting nearly all the markets, immortal cities, and even mortal lands around the Qingyun mountain range. You increasingly realized Xiao Menglan’s journey was not only to accompany you in training or to destroy demonic cultivators, but to search for something—or someone.】

【At age 25, Xiao Menglan appeared weary and decided to return to the sect with you. She had seen many signs of Golden Core demonic cultivators emerging, and in order not to involve you, she made that decision.】

【At age 27, after years of personal instruction from Xiao Menglan, your talisman craft advanced rapidly, and you became a first-rank talisman master.】

【At age 29, after long accumulation, you finally broke through to Qi Refining Level Nine.】

【You noticed more and more oddities in Xiao Menglan’s behavior. She often seemed eager to leave the sect, as if she had important matters to handle. Yet, many Qingyun disciples who left were ambushed by demonic cultivators, and few survived. The whole cultivation world was tense.】

【At age 35, you created a second-rank talisman while still in the Qi Refining stage, shocking the sect. Many disciples hailed you as a genius.】

【At age 38, you began closed-door cultivation, preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment. At this time, many gifted disciples were assassinated. From the traces left behind, the culprit seemed to be a demonic cultivator. You, in seclusion, knew nothing.】

【Months later, still in seclusion, you suddenly sensed your cave’s barrier being broken. Opening your eyes, you saw a figure in Qingyun sect robes standing before you.】

【Caught unprepared, you had no time to summon the sect master’s sword or any of the protective treasures you carried. The intruder clearly came prepared. You were pierced through the heart with a single sword and died at age 38.】

【Evaluation: You gained some fame in the sect, but that only drew the hatred of infiltrating demonic assassins, who saw you as a threat and eliminated you. Next time, if you investigate Xiao Menglan’s odd behavior, you may find a clue to breaking the cycle.】

【Reward: Cultivation points +80.】

Cao Xueyan’s breath caught in her chest, and even her technique faltered, her meridians reversing and spiritual power growing chaotic.

She quickly covered her mouth and nose, and in the next moment, felt a damp warmth spread across her palm.

Xiao Menglan reacted faster.

She pressed her palm against Cao Xueyan’s dantian, gently infusing spiritual power to stabilize her.

As she healed, she scolded sternly, “You must not lose focus while cultivating. You have already trained for ten years—how can you forget this?”

“Yes, Master, your disciple accepts the lesson.”

Cao Xueyan’s face was pale.

She took out the medicine Xiao Menglan had given her before, drank some, and her complexion regained a little color.

“It was just a moment of carelessness.”

“It seems you were right—I really do need to be stricter with you, or you will soon forget your place.”

Xiao Menglan kept a stern face and patted Cao Xueyan’s raised backside, not too hard, not too soft, producing a few crisp sounds.

Cao Xueyan’s thoughts drifted, still recalling the simulation.

It was different again, though the ending was still her being struck dead by a demonic assassin.

But why was Xiao Menglan acting strangely this time?

What happened in the following years that left her so unsettled?

Could it be… something happened to Qin Ximo?

Thinking carefully, the sect master Qin Ximo’s absence during the sect’s moments of crisis was already suspicious enough.

And now, Xiao Menglan’s unnatural behavior in the simulation seemed to confirm it.

But someone of Qin Ximo’s cultivation—who could possibly threaten her?

Could it really be… those demonic cultivators?