You Are Not Shen Yuemian. Who Are You Really?

Qin Ximo was a true sword cultivator.

A wielder of the sword must cut cleanly when needed.

After explaining things to Cao Xueyan, she departed the Daoist temple alone.

This immortal mountain had more than just one temple.

There were distant peaks, deeper forests.

With no master overseeing the cave heaven, quiet places were everywhere.

The only requirement was to stay far away from the Daoist temple.

Qin Ximo was not certain she could break through to the Nascent Soul stage this time.

But the stone slabs she found on the nameless corpses gave her tremendous confidence.

The《Three-Origin Sky-Piercing Art》became more profound the more she studied it.

There were many principles she had never heard of before.

At first glance they seemed obscure, but after repeatedly reading and contemplating them, she finally understood and benefited greatly.

She never dared attempt a breakthrough casually.

Aside from fear of the unknown Nascent Soul tribulation, it was also because this realm itself was unfamiliar and completely unknown.

Ever since the decline after ancient times, Nascent Soul cultivators had gone into seclusion.

Even their inheritances left no trace.

After that, countless years passed.

Many Golden Core peak cultivators sought the Nascent Soul realm.

Countless methods were attempted.

Demonic cultivators treated human lives as grass, using souls and blood as foundations, refining false infants of extreme yin.

Qin Ximo, raised in a righteous sect, despised such acts.

But the power of a true Nascent Soul Dao Lord was awe-inspiring.

Their actions and words resonated with heaven and earth, as though the Dao itself responded.

A false infant was not the same.

Compared to a true Nascent Soul, the gap was immeasurable, like heaven and earth, cloud and mud.

Ever since becoming sect master, Qin Ximo had worried about this constantly for more than three hundred years.

Such world-shaking power… she had little confidence that she could stand against it.

If the time came, how would Qingyun Sword Sect survive?

How would the world save itself?

But today was different.

From the moment she left the Daoist temple, a strong premonition filled her chest—
that she would succeed this time.

She did not know where the feeling came from.

In the past, whenever she thought of attempting the breakthrough, she always grew restless.

For days or even months, she could barely eat.

Even her favorite wine tasted unbearable.

Her beloved sword felt unfamiliar in her hand.

But now, everything felt as if heaven itself was helping her.

Thinking it over, she remembered what Cao Xueyan had said to her earlier.

Truthfully, until now, she had half believed, half doubted that mysterious girl.

The Qingqiu Fox Clan…
No ancient texts recorded such a thing.

But the auspicious energy she described…
seemed real.
And seemed to have changed her fate.

Unknowingly, Qin Ximo had reached another mountaintop.

Looking back, the temple was long lost in the sea of clouds.

It had vanished from sight a long time ago.

She calculated the distance.

She had already walked at least a hundred li.

It should be far enough.

Yet the immortal mountain felt endless.

Even now she could not see its edge.

“Here is fine,” Qin Ximo thought.

She cleared a patch of open ground on the mountaintop.

It was utterly quiet.

Even the wind barely made a sound.

No birds, no beasts.

This cave heaven was truly miraculous—worthy of an immortal’s creation.

But why would such a complete and intact cave heaven be left behind by the Hehuan Sect’s ancestors?

Qingyun Sword Sect also had ancient heritage.

But after so much time, even she, the current sect master, could not trace its origins.

Well, it did not matter.

What she sought was already in her hands.

With no predecessor’s Dao to follow—
she, Qin Ximo, could forge one herself.

She sat down with five hearts facing the sky.

She laid the stone slabs recording the technique neatly before her.

Then she drew her divine sense inward, gazing at her Golden Core.

The Golden Core was smooth and lustrous.

Nine perfect pill lines danced like dragons and phoenixes.

Every Golden Core cultivator treasured their core.

Unless at death’s door, no one willingly touched it.

If damaged, their strength would plummet.

If shattered, they became crippled.

If the body had hidden ailments, a shattered core could kill instantly.

Now, Qin Ximo had to shatter her own Golden Core.

This seemingly self-destructive action was the one and only way to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Meanwhile, in the Daoist temple, Cao Xueyan spent several idle days.

With nothing to do, she could only pass the time by cultivating.

Even with her Qingqiu Fox bloodline, her cultivation speed wasn’t especially fast.

But her realm had risen significantly since entering this cave heaven.

She was much closer to Foundation Establishment now.

It was, of course, due to dual cultivation with Qin Ximo.

And the Yin-Yang Creation Pills the simulator gave also contributed greatly.

Yet oddly, the closer she got to Foundation Establishment, the more she felt it would come naturally.

The only method she knew was Xiao Menglan’s Cold Jade Foundation Method.

But as “Shen Yuemian,” she had never taken any precious materials before.

She had no innate foundation nor acquired foundation.

Under normal circumstances, breaking into Foundation Establishment was impossible.

Could it be the Qingqiu Fox bloodline?

Truthfully, she did not fully understand her half-human half-fox condition.

Perhaps the Qingqiu blood was special—
requiring neither materials nor techniques.

Checking the time, she realized it was time to check on Lu Qianyun.

That was her “Saintess,” her former superior.

She entered the Transmission Hall, which she had not stepped into for days.

Nothing had changed.

Lu Qianyun still stood frozen like a statue.

The restraint talisman’s power seemed to be weakening.

After Cao Xueyan entered, Lu Qianyun’s eyes immediately fell upon her.

“You’re here,” Lu Qianyun said calmly.

As if nothing had happened.

Because the restrictions had weakened, she could speak again.

She seemed to have known Cao Xueyan would come.

There was no surprise.

No hatred in her eyes either.

Cao Xueyan did not intend to speak with her.

She took out a talisman to reseal her.

Just as she was about to place it on Lu Qianyun—

“Shen Yuemian.”

Lu Qianyun stared at the fox ears atop Cao Xueyan’s head.

“Your parents were an ordinary merchant and a noble lady.”

“How could such people give birth to a half-human half-fox daughter?”

“You are not Shen Yuemian.

At least, not the one I knew.”

“You—who exactly are you?”

Her words startled Cao Xueyan.

She feared Lu Qianyun might expose the simulator next.

But that was impossible.

She steadied her expression and replied, “You’re overthinking. The fox bloodline awakened by accident. I don’t know why.”

“Truly?” Lu Qianyun smiled faintly.

“Whether it was an accident or a plan… I’ve figured it out over these days.”

“You… came here for Qin Ximo.”

“But I came to harm her. And you—
you came to save her.”

“Am I right?”