A New Shell, A New Path

The cold wind howled relentlessly outside the window. The imperial city’s recently cleared sky was once again shrouded by dark clouds, as large snowflakes drifted sparsely downwards. This heavy snowfall, which had lasted three days, was finally nearing its end.

Chi Qiu, who had not felt cold for a long time, was now wrapped tightly in a cloak, seated on a meditation cushion, quietly sipping hot tea.

Since mastering the ‘Intertwined Gold’ divine ability, her original body had become impervious to fire and water. Even venturing to the polar extremes in search of fortune, a thin robe would have sufficed.

However, her original body had been taken by Su Hanxing to an unknown location. Her new body, though a nearly perfect shell, was utterly devoid of cultivation.

Chi Qiu had been severely chilled these past few days. She was, by nature, a lone rogue cultivator, and although the Daqi Imperial Family, hosts of the martial arts tournament, provided lodging for all participants, she had offended many sect disciples over the years. Naturally, she dared not stay with them.

Thus, at the time, she had simply found a dilapidated straw hut in the outskirts to reside in.

She had chosen it for convenience then, without much thought, but now she suffered greatly for it. First, after the tournament, stripped of her cultivation, she had been forced to hide and sneak for several hours before returning to this hut.

Then came the heavy snow of the past few days. The hut offered no protection against the blizzard, and her thin robe was useless against the biting cold. She had no choice but to venture out to a nearby market to buy this thick cloak and some tools for warmth.

As Chi Qiu drank her tea, she pondered how she would continue her journey as a cultivator. The more she thought, the more she regretted her initial plan.

She had intended to stake everything on the rule that ‘no lives could be taken on the arena stage,’ believing that even if she lost, she would at most only need to recover from injuries for a while.

Yet, if she succeeded in defeating Su Hanxing, she would gain entry into the secret realm—a guaranteed win by any measure. She had never expected Su Hanxing to conceal such a move, not only crippling her cultivation but also abducting her body.

Just as Chi Qiu was silently fuming with frustration, the rustling of footsteps on snow sounded from outside the hut. Immediately, a knock followed.

“Is anyone home?”

A slightly deep but not hoarse young male voice. It was Su Hanxing, the very person who had taken Chi Qiu’s body three days prior at the martial arts tournament.

Chi Qiu paused her tea-drinking. Su Hanxing finding this place was not unexpected, but his purpose for coming here raised Chi Qiu’s suspicions. She set down her teacup, refilled it with hot tea, and remained silent, quietly awaiting Su Hanxing’s next move.

“No one? Then I’m coming in.”

Su Hanxing’s voice ended with a rising, slightly flippant tone, as if he was certain Chi Qiu was inside. Then came a grating creak that set one’s teeth on edge. Su Hanxing had somehow unlatched the door and was now pushing open the wooden entrance, which looked even older than Chi Qiu.

What greeted him was Chi Qiu’s freshly filled teacup flying toward him.

“I didn’t agree to let you in,” Chi Qiu said, her expression subtly darkening.

Su Hanxing casually turned, dodging the flying teacup as if he had anticipated it. He then surveyed the room with a casual glance, his gaze finally settling on Chi Qiu’s flushed face. He meticulously scrutinized Chi Qiu’s features, but Chi Qiu did not back down, glaring coldly into Su Hanxing’s eyes.

“You look quite well. I thought you’d fall into despair after losing your cultivation, but it seems I worried needlessly.” Su Hanxing made himself at home, sitting on the opposite side of the tea stove. However, there was only one meditation cushion, so he had to sit cross-legged on the floor.

“Did you come here just to say these boring things?” Chi Qiu wanted to berate Su Hanxing to vent her frustrations, but remembering her complete lack of cultivation, she knew that truly provoking Su Hanxing would only bring disaster upon herself.

Although the Daqi Imperial City had a ban on cultivators attacking each other, the senior disciple of the Tianyan Sect attacking a powerless, unaligned rogue cultivator would likely go unpunished.

“Of course not. I merely came to admire my masterpiece, tsk tsk tsk…” Su Hanxing looked at Chi Qiu, whose small face was flushed crimson from the cold, and slowly raised a hand, seemingly wanting to touch her himself.

Chi Qiu shifted her meditation cushion, dodging Su Hanxing’s hand. “I heard that Su Hanxing, the senior disciple of the Tianyan Sect, is devoted to cultivation and avoids women. Could it be that you have a preference for men?”

Su Hanxing burst into laughter. With a casual wave, an ancient, unadorned bronze mirror materialized out of thin air, then rapidly expanded to become taller than a person, standing beside Chi Qiu.

“Don’t you even know what your new body looks like?”

Chi Qiu tilted her head to look at the bronze mirror. In the mirror stood a black-haired girl, appearing only seventeen or eighteen, tightly wrapped in a cloak. The girl’s small face was no bigger than a palm, and with slightly upturned willow brows, she looked cold but utterly lacking in intimidation.

Chi Qiu knew this body’s appearance wouldn’t be bad, as the gazes from the audience three days ago, when she left the arena, had seemed to scorch her. Yet, she truly hadn’t seen her own face. She only knew this body was much shorter and weaker than her previous one, with slender, frail limbs, and utterly devoid of cultivation.

Now, as Chi Qiu looked into the bronze mirror, though she had been somewhat prepared, she was momentarily stunned. She involuntarily reached out to caress her cheek. The mirrored girl similarly raised her hand to lightly touch her cheek. For some reason, Chi Qiu felt she had maintained a stern expression, yet she could discern a touch of endearing vulnerability in the mirrored girl’s movements.

Chi Qiu lowered her hand and turned away from the bronze mirror. “So what? I will switch back to my original body sooner or later. Don’t forget my original appearance.”

Upon hearing Chi Qiu’s reply, Su Hanxing seemed about to say something but then stopped. He put away the bronze mirror and chuckled softly.

“So why exactly are you here? Is it merely to mock your defeated opponent?” Seeing Su Hanxing fall silent, Chi Qiu pressed again.

“I’m not that malicious. The martial arts tournament officially concluded today. Although you didn’t make it into the top four and won’t enter the Imperial Secret Realm, there are still plenty of ranking rewards. Don’t forget to claim them from the Imperial Treasury.” Su Hanxing stopped teasing Chi Qiu and spoke of serious matters.

“Oh? What are the rewards like? Since they’re from the Imperial Family, they must be quite generous, I presume.” Hearing of the rewards, Chi Qiu’s usually indifferent demeanor showed signs of thawing.

As a rogue cultivator, Chi Qiu’s greatest lack was cultivation resources. Whether it was heavenly treasures or magical artifacts and divine abilities, more of these things were always better. Unfortunately, within the boundless territory of Daqi, ninety-nine percent of the spirit stone mines and cultivation sanctuaries were monopolized by the Imperial Family and major sects.

Chi Qiu naturally had no access to these. She could only travel far and wide, trying her luck, occasionally finding dilapidated ancient ruins to make a small fortune. However, such gains were far from sufficient to meet Chi Qiu’s cultivation needs.

Coupled with her own less-than-first-rate cultivation talent, she had only managed to enter the Spirit Nourishment Realm at the age of twenty-nine.

“Let me see…” Su Hanxing pulled out a scroll and began to read its contents: “Those who enter the top one thousand of the tournament shall be rewarded one hundred spirit jades. The Daqi Heavenly Pride List is hereby established, with one hundred and twenty-eight seats. Those on the list shall be granted fifty supreme-grade spirit pills… Let me see what else. The top thirty-two receive a flying ship, the top sixteen receive a high-grade magical artifact, and the top eight may choose a divine ability cultivation method from the Imperial Treasury.”

After eloquently reciting a lengthy passage, Su Hanxing displayed the Imperial Family’s seal at the end of the scroll for Chi Qiu to see, proving his words were true.

“There are so many rewards? Why did I not receive this scroll?” Chi Qiu understood that Su Hanxing spoke the truth, but she had never before heard of such rewards for this martial arts tournament.

“This scroll was only distributed to the major sects. The Imperial Family likely didn’t anticipate a rogue cultivator reaching such a high rank.” Su Hanxing put away the scroll, not stinting on his praise for this old rival who had defeated him five times.

“I see… Thank you for the information.” Chi Qiu felt a surge of gratitude. She extended her hands from her cloak and clasped them in a respectful salute, then quickly withdrew them.

“It’s nothing. Even if I didn’t tell you, someone would eventually contact you to claim your rewards. I have another purpose for my visit: I want your divine ability, ‘Intertwined Gold’.” After some back and forth, Su Hanxing finally revealed his true intention.

“You want Intertwined Gold? Is this a trade or a threat?” Hearing Su Hanxing state his purpose, Chi Qiu’s eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of tension in her heart.

“It’s a trade, of course. I, Su Hanxing, never take advantage of another’s predicament. I know Intertwined Gold commands a considerable price. If you have any demands, speak them.” Su Hanxing noticed Chi Qiu’s unease. He shook his head slightly, his tone firm.

“In that case, I’ll trust you this once. Return my body, and I’ll give you Intertwined Gold.” Chi Qiu relaxed slightly, proposing her condition without much thought.

Su Hanxing’s face showed difficulty, and after a moment of hesitation, he spoke: “This soul-transfer technique causes considerable soul damage. Your previous cultivation realm had reached the Spirit Nourishment Realm, which allowed you to withstand the loss of your soul leaving your body. If we were to do it again, your three souls and seven spirits might dissipate before you even returned to your original body.”

Chi Qiu’s heart sank. Unwillingly, she asked again: “Then what realm do I need to reach to withstand the soul damage?”

Su Hanxing pondered for a moment: “You would likely need to reach the next realm, the Heart Scripture Realm. But by then, if you wanted to switch back to your physical body, not to mention whether you could preserve your physical body’s vitality, you would have to cultivate all over again after the swap. Would you be willing to give that up?”

Chi Qiu fell silent. Su Hanxing, as the culprit, dared not say more, fearing he might agitate Chi Qiu.

After a long while, Chi Qiu sighed deeply and slumped backward, lying on the thick meditation cushion as if all her strength had left her. “Never mind, never mind. Perhaps this is fate…” Her voice was filled with dejection.

“This ancient profound iron contains the Intertwined Gold you desire, though it’s unlikely anyone else in this world can cultivate it.” Chi Qiu fumbled inside her cloak, producing a palm-sized piece of ancient profound iron, and tossed it to Su Hanxing, who was sitting on the floor.

“Oh? Why do you say that?” Su Hanxing took the ancient profound iron, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

“Cultivating Intertwined Gold requires refining the physical body with Void Gold Qi, but Void Gold has disappeared for tens of thousands of years. Where would one find Void Gold Qi to absorb?” Chi Qiu remained lazily reclined on the meditation cushion, explaining slowly. “I stumbled upon this method by chance back then. This ancient profound iron held the last wisp of Void Gold Qi in this world. I used it to temper myself, and later even absorbed it into my body, storing it in my arms, which gave me such power. That’s why I say this is fate: I cannot switch back to my body, and you cannot cultivate Intertwined Gold.”

“Never mind, it’s just a shell. What does it matter if it’s male or female? Once I select a suitable cultivation method from the Daqi Imperial Treasury, I will make a comeback. You’ll need to be careful then.” Having learned there was no hope of returning to her body, Chi Qiu finally ceased to dwell on it and quickly adjusted her mindset. Of course, this was also related to knowing she would receive a substantial reward. With the resources and cultivation methods bestowed by the Imperial Family, she had the confidence to start from scratch.

Su Hanxing’s usually placid expression finally shifted; he now felt a certain admiration for Chi Qiu. Although she was not protected within a sect like a hothouse flower, untouched by any setbacks, unlike other direct disciples of major sects, he admitted he could not have lost all his cultivation overnight and then quickly regained his footing as Chi Qiu had.

“That’s an admirable spirit, but you were mistaken about one thing. I, too, can cultivate the Intertwined Gold method.” Su Hanxing put away the black profound iron, then pointed a finger at his own eyes.

Hearing this, Chi Qiu shed her languid posture and sat upright, sliding her meditation cushion closer until she was right before Su Hanxing, leaning in to examine his eyes closely.

Su Hanxing, seeing Chi Qiu so close, also became a little unnatural. At such an intimate distance, he could even see Chi Qiu’s subtly trembling eyelashes. Chi Qiu’s appearance was astonishingly beautiful to begin with. Although Su Hanxing had previously observed this body lying in a coffin, after Chi Qiu’s soul entered it, her features gained a vibrant vitality, utterly different from how she looked in the coffin.

“This is… Void Gold Qi! How did you get this? Could it be…” Chi Qiu naturally didn’t notice Su Hanxing’s discomfort. After seeing a wisp of golden light flash in Su Hanxing’s eyes, Chi Qiu, having coexisted with Void Gold Qi for over a decade, instantly recognized it.

“You actually extracted the Void Gold Qi from my body! How did you do that?” Chi Qiu instantly revealed the origin of the Void Gold Qi in Su Hanxing’s eyes.

“That’s… a secret. Anyway, you can’t switch back. Wouldn’t it be too regrettable for the Void Gold Qi to dissipate with your body’s death? Don’t worry, I won’t take your Void Gold Qi for nothing. If you need anything, just ask.” Su Hanxing’s confidence wavered slightly. He had refined Chi Qiu’s body in a pill furnace for over a dozen hours to extract this Void Gold Qi, and this matter absolutely could not be revealed to her.

“No rush. I’ll claim my rewards first, then I’ll come find you.” Having given up on returning to her body, Chi Qiu no longer cared how Su Hanxing treated her former self. Instead, Su Hanxing’s offer to ‘just ask’ for anything held considerable appeal. Who among Daqi’s cultivators didn’t know that Su Hanxing possessed a unique skill to locate treasures? Su Hanxing’s collection of treasures must be countless, and since he was willing to trade, Chi Qiu certainly needed to consider her options carefully.

“No time like the present. I haven’t claimed my rewards either. Why don’t we go to the Daqi Imperial Treasury together now? I can give you a ride.” For some inexplicable reason, Su Hanxing extended an invitation to the young girl before him.

Chi Qiu pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: “Alright. It’s perfect, since you’re so knowledgeable and well-traveled, you can help me choose a suitable cultivation method.”