The Circle Closes

Cao Xueyan had been thinking about the matter of the ruins for the past few days.

Lu Qianyun said she would take her inside, claiming that it contained the Hehuan Sect’s inheritance and would greatly benefit both of their cultivation.

But to put it plainly, Lu Qianyun was simply becoming impatient.

She wanted to find a way to accelerate the maturity of Cao Xueyan’s special physique, so she could begin harvesting it sooner and advance her cultivation.

However, no matter what, Cao Xueyan’s current identity was only that of a maid.

She had no right to speak on such matters.

But having no movement yet was a good thing.

If Lu Qianyun had not acted, that meant Qin Ximo still had not entered the ruins, and for the moment, things were still safe.

However, although the simulated futures differed in details, the general direction would not change.

For Qin Ximo, this was a situation where death was inevitable.

Just like the extermination of the Qingyun Sword Sect twenty years later.

Today was the same as usual.

Lu Qianyun performed in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, and the audience—whether dressed in silk or coarse cloth—watched her with intoxicated fascination.

When her performance ended, they would call out “Miss Yun’er” and eagerly throw spirit stones into the offering box before them, another form of tipping, one might say.

As her personal maid, Cao Xueyan would carry the spirit stone box back afterward.

Lu Qianyun, as the Saintess, lacked nothing.

She clearly did not need these spirit stones, yet she still insisted on collecting and storing them herself.

That night, Lu Qianyun reclined on her bed, eating fruits that Cao Xueyan had peeled and presented to her.

Though she had not yet touched Cao Xueyan’s body, the little gestures between them were already numerous.

Sometimes, when eating fruit, she would deliberately stretch out her soft tongue to lick the fruit juice clinging to Cao Xueyan’s fingers.

Lu Qianyun’s usual tastes with women leaned toward the intense and extreme.

Occasionally playing with something gentler was, to her, a fresh novelty.

After growing tired of fruit, Lu Qianyun waved her hand.

Cao Xueyan set the fruit plate aside and stood waiting quietly.

“Today someone reported to me that the bait we released has finally hooked a big fish.”

Cao Xueyan’s heart trembled, though her expression did not change.

“Saintess, do you mean the matter of the ruins?”

“Of course.” Lu Qianyun yawned. “Recently, I ordered people to spread rumors about the ruins. Plenty of fools took the bait—greedy, overreaching worms. I wouldn’t stop them from sending themselves to die. If they can survive and obtain the inheritance, they may enter our Hehuan Sect.”

“Then the ‘big fish’ Saintess mentioned is…”

Lu Qianyun rolled her eyes.

“Yes. Qin Ximo has appeared in this Su Immortal City. She is currently being entertained in the City Lord’s manor. They say she is close with the Princess Regent, Yingluo, who has ruled the mortal dynasty for hundreds of years. The Mortal Imperial Court does not interfere with cultivation sects, whether righteous or demonic. For her to have such a relationship with Qin Ximo is… interesting.”

Cao Xueyan asked softly, “How did Saintess determine she came for the ruins?”

Lu Qianyun glanced at her.

“The ruins are two hundred li west of this city, and everywhere else for a thousand li is wilderness. Do you think I came here by coincidence? If she were merely passing through, she would not have accepted the City Lord’s banquet and lingered.”

“I see. Saintess is wise,” Cao Xueyan said with lowered eyes.

Lu Qianyun laughed, playing with Cao Xueyan’s hair, twisting it around her finger.

“I like obedient pets, but a little disobedience can also be amusing.”

She lifted Cao Xueyan’s chin, forcing her gaze upward.

“I promised not to touch you until your physique matures. So it’s fine to be bold in front of me.”

“After all… Yue’er, your place in my heart is far above those caged toys.”

Cao Xueyan’s expression flickered for just an instant.

Lu Qianyun caught it immediately.

“Even if you hate me, what of it? I am the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect. Even Golden Core elders bow before me. My physique and my foundation represent the future of the sect. The entire sect revolves around me.”

She was not a mere pawn for marriage alliances.

She was not a disposable dual-cultivation tool.

The ruins would be her place of ascension.

The inheritance within would increase her strength and benefit the sect.

And Qin Ximo—she would become her stepping stone.

From now on, neither righteous nor demonic cultivators would dare look down on the Hehuan Sect.

Nor would they dare look down on her.

She, Lu Qianyun, would be the true Saintess of the Demonic Path.

The Saintess of all devils beneath heaven.

Her eyes burned with ambition like a blazing inferno.

Perhaps those dreams filled her too strongly, for her body heated and she grew restless rather than drowsy.

She ordered Cao Xueyan to fetch one of the “pets” from the next room for her amusement.

Cao Xueyan left, pushing away Lu Qianyun’s voice from her mind like smoke.

Knowing that Qin Ximo was here, her heart was heavy with emotion.

At last, there was news.

The next act of the story had begun.

Whether she wished to participate or not, this drama would reach its end.

She could only enter the game herself—and win against fate.

Even if this body died, it did not matter—it was merely a body given by the simulator.

She no longer questioned why this body resembled her original form.

Nothing was coincidence.

From the moment she obtained the simulator, her fate had already been set.

She slept early, preparing her strength.

She needed to plan.

Meanwhile, in the City Lord’s manor, the plump City Lord lifted his cup.

Across from him sat a cold and ethereal immortal woman—Qin Ximo herself.

“Immortal Qin, your arrival is an honor. I heard you love two things in life—swords and wine. I have a fine cellar I rarely open. Allow me to offer it for your tasting.”

Qin Ximo merely sipped lightly, uninterested in flattery.

“I have only one question. The rumored ruins—are they real? And who spread the news?”

The City Lord hesitated.

“This rumor has circulated long. The source is no longer traceable. But the location is real—two hundred li west of the city. The signs of emergence are already visible.”

Qin Ximo frowned slightly.

…Two hundred li west of Su Immortal City.

That was near the Qingyun Mountain Range.

She had traveled a full circle.

And returned to where everything began.

Thinking of the demonic cultivators sneaking around Qingyun Mountain previously, she no longer felt surprised.