After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 20

Now that she understood the structure of this place, the rest became much simpler.

Xu Jingqiu didn’t know what her past self had set up back then. Currently, the control over this secret realm didn’t belong to her but was in a state of complete self-governance. The earlier alarm was likely an instinctive reaction triggered after the Heavenly Dao system infiltrated the place.

What she needed to do now was reclaim control before the Heavenly Dao system fully invaded. With this thought, Xu Jingqiu casually walked up to a wall. Under the puzzled gazes of Wen Banxia and Liu Ruichu, the wall began to change.

A black cube, identical to the previous one, protruded from the surface, with a green light scanning across it. At the center was the outline of a hand.

Xu Jingqiu placed her hand on it, just as she had done before. Soon, the wall responded.

{Fingerprint verification successful. Highest authority confirmed. You may now ask questions or make requests. Please use the fixed format for questions or requests.}

“Request: Open the door to the central control room,” Xu Jingqiu said.

Wen Banxia watched as the blank wall, following Xu Jingqiu’s command, was traced by an unknown force into the outline of a door. Then, the outlined area recessed inward and slid to the side.

A door had opened.

Wen Banxia suddenly recalled what the people from Tianzhi had said earlier that Xu Jingqiu was one of them, possessing the core knowledge of what they called “technology.”

Was this the technology they spoke of?

Xiao Qiu didn’t belong here. Would she leave?

As Xu Jingqiu stepped into the unfamiliar room, Wen Banxia instinctively followed. Once inside, she was completely stunned.

She had seen something like this at Tianzhi before dozens of black squares of varying sizes, called “screens,” filled the entire wall. In front of the wall was a desk with an uneven surface, seemingly something called a “keyboard.”

Xu Jingqiu looked around, still only feeling a sense of familiarity, but unable to retrieve any specific memories. Thinking this, she said, “Question: When was this secret realm established?”

{Searching archives. Found. Establishment date: 137 years, 3 months, and 14 days ago.}

So long ago? Not only was Xu Jingqiu shocked, but Wen Banxia and Liu Ruichu were as well. Over a hundred and thirty years ago. Something major had happened back then, the demon realm had vanished. Although demons could still be encountered, the pathways to the demon realm had disappeared without a trace.

Could this secret realm be related to the demon realm? Wen Banxia stroked her chin, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Xu Jingqiu’s attention was focused on another matter the timeline. Over a hundred years had passed, yet she had only written her novel a few years ago, and she wasn’t even that old back then.

Could it be that she had come to this world even before writing the novel? No, that seemed unlikely. A hundred years ago was absolutely impossible. The only explanation was that time flowed differently between the two worlds, a phenomenon that had occurred in many realms.

“Question: Who currently holds control over this secret realm?” Xu Jingqiu continued.

{After the secret realm was established, the intelligent AI took charge of its management. Control belongs to the AI. If you wish to reclaim control, you must perform the “seizure of control” operation as per the settings. Proceed with the “seizure of control” operation?}

“Seize power…?” “Yes, bring up the panel and temporarily shut down the control room’s defense system.”

Xu Jingqiu walked over to the table, tapped a few times, and the black squares lit up, lines of text flashing across them. With one final tap, the black squares darkened again.

Xu Jingqiu seemed to let out a sigh of relief as she moved to sit down nearby. Wen Banxia thought for a moment before deciding to approach her. “Is the issue resolved? I saw you shut down that defense system?”

“No, I just reinforced the firewall. This way, the Heavenly Dao won’t be able to breach it easily, and it will counterattack based on her subsequent assaults. There’s nothing more we can do for now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. I shut down the defense system to prevent it from mistakenly identifying us as intruders during the follow-up operations.” After saying this, Xu Jingqiu glanced at Wen Banxia, who seemed to be holding back words. “Do you have something you want to ask me?”

Caught off guard, Wen Banxia gave an awkward smile and nodded. “Yes, there is something I want to ask. I want to know, how you feel about me now.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruichu immediately became alert. Before leaving, the Sect Master had specifically instructed her to keep a close watch on this human cultivator who had suddenly joined them this human cultivator had ulterior motives toward the Sect Mistress and needed to be monitored closely.

Xu Jingqiu naturally noticed this but waved her hand to signal Liu Ruichu to stay calm. Then, she turned to Wen Banxia. “Is the answer to that question really important to you right now?”

“Yes.”

Xu Jingqiu: “If I said I never hated you, you wouldn’t believe me, would you? I wouldn’t believe it either. I may have hated you once, and hated you deeply, but now, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

“In the past, we were both pawns, unable to control our own fates. Whether it was hatred or love, it was all born under manipulation. What good would it do to dwell on it now?”

Wen Banxia grew anxious upon hearing this. “My feelings for you weren’t born under manipulation, I—” Suddenly, a sword was placed in front of her.

Liu Ruichu, who hadn’t spoken since arriving, spoke for the first time, her voice as cold as her demeanor. “Young Master Wen, please restrain yourself.”

“She is our Sect Mistress now, not someone from your past.”

Xu Jingqiu glanced at the screen again, the progress hadn’t changed, and there was no additional movement from the Heavenly Dao. Only then did she turn her attention back. “Dwelling on the past serves no purpose, neither for you nor for me. Even if it was genuine, what does it matter now?”

“What’s done is done. Talking about it now won’t change anything. It’s all irrelevant.”

It was nothing more than betrayal she had seen it too many times. At least Wen Banxia’s betrayal had a traceable reason. On the battlefield, countless times, comrades who had relied on each other for survival would, without warning, turn their swords against her. She had experienced it far too often.

The accumulation of painful memories was the root of all anomalies and loss of control. So, she chose to let her memories fade, clinging to her precarious sanity.

And that one betrayal, which followed the script, no longer stirred any waves in her. She wasn’t one to hold grudges indiscriminately she knew exactly who the true culprit was.

Even so, the wounds inflicted upon the heart are not so easily healed.

Wen Banxia opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words, ultimately letting out a bitter smile. “Yes, you’re right. There’s no use dwelling on it now.”

The past could no longer be changed, and the future seemed bleak and uncertain. All she could grasp was the present. But what about Yin Ruolan? They were the same kind of person, so why could Yin Ruolan approach Xu Jingqiu so intimately?

Wen Banxia wanted to muster the courage to ask, but suddenly the entire room began to glow red, accompanied by a piercing alarm. Wen Banxia and Liu Ruichu instinctively drew their swords, scanning their surroundings warily, yet they saw nothing.

Xu Jingqiu glanced at the screen, which displayed the words “Attack initiated,” and hurried to the keyboard. Using her unique ability, she materialized the firewall and began crafting viruses to stealthily infiltrate the enemy’s system.

“Request: Fully resist the assault from unit 19673. Construct traps for misdirection. I will provide support.”

[Received. Firewall construction initiated. Virus camouflage program activated. During this period, the central control room’s defense system has been disabled. Manual defense required.]

Xu Jingqiu took a deep breath and began typing. This wave of attacks was more intense than anticipated she hadn’t expected another intruder, one who had hidden themselves quite well.

Seeing Xu Jingqiu’s unusually serious expression, Wen Banxia knew something was wrong and asked, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Hold this position for three minutes. Don’t let anyone disturb me,” Xu Jingqiu replied. “But prioritize your own safety. The worst-case scenario is that neither I nor the intruder gains control.”

Wen Banxia nodded, exchanging a glance with Liu Ruichu. Both drew their swords and stood guard by the door, listening intently for any movement outside.

At first, there was the faint sound of footsteps, followed by a series of roars growing increasingly closer. Wen Banxia considered whether these were creatures native to the secret realm, but given the realm’s connection to Xu Jingqiu, that possibility seemed unlikely.

It was probably something orchestrated by Ai Yanran. As far as she knew, Ai Yanran had allied herself with this world’s Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao likely sought control of this secret realm to target Xu Jingqiu.

The roars grew louder, and then a heavy thud struck the door. Liu Ruichu reacted instantly, thrusting her sword forward. Just as her blade reached a finger’s breadth from the door, it shattered.

The creature was clad in black armor, its face obscured by a shroud of dark mist. In its hand, it gripped a broken greatsword, swinging it wildly at anyone in sight. Though its movements appeared clumsy, an invisible pressure enveloped the two women as the sword descended, preventing them from escaping.

Liu Ruichu, struggling against the pressure, managed to strike back, coordinating with Wen Banxia’s swordplay to barely repel the attack. This monster had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, while both she and Wen Banxia were only at the mid-stage.

In the current world, those at the Divine Transformation stage were exceedingly rare, and only the elders and top disciples of major sects could hope to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Yet here was a random monster at the peak of Nascent Soul even if its power was forcibly infused, it was undeniably genuine.

As expected of the Heavenly Dao, its methods were anything but ordinary.

“Can we handle it?” Wen Banxia asked.

Liu Ruichu nodded. “If we work together, we can counterattack, but I’m worried there might be more than just this one.”

As if to confirm her words, no sooner had she spoken than another identical monster appeared nearby.

Both of them felt an unprecedented pressure. Three minutes they had to hold out for three minutes.

Support