After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 35

When Ye Shuran woke up the next day, she felt stifled and heavy-headed. The moment she opened her eyes, she was met with something furry.

Ye Shuran: ?

She instinctively reached out to push it away, feeling the soft, fuzzy texture. The moment she made contact, Bai Yi woke up and let out an annoyed roar: “Meow-roar!”

Oh, it’s Bai Yi? Still somewhat dazed, Ye Shuran sat up. Bai Yi nimbly jumped down, glaring at her with clear dissatisfaction, hissing repeatedly.

She was the one who had been squashed, okay? Ye Shuran’s lips twitched. She threw off the blanket, intending to get out of bed and not argue with an underage tiger. Wait a minute? Her hand, still holding the corner of the blanket, paused. She distinctly remembered collapsing into bed and falling asleep immediately so where did this blanket come from?

Could it have been Bai Yi? Ye Shuran glanced over and saw the little white tiger, noticing she had finally caught on, immediately puff up with pride. The next second, she was scooped up into an embrace and her head vigorously rubbed: “Aww, such a good kitty!”

Bai Yi struggled free from Ye Shuran’s arms, nipped her lightly without any courtesy, and glared at her angrily. She was a tiger! A real tiger!

Realizing her mistake, Ye Shuran sheepishly rubbed her nose and tried to pet the little white tiger, but Bai Yi dodged angrily: “Sorry about that.”

Bai Yi snorted, turning her back to ignore her. A moment later, she caught a whiff of an incredibly delicious, meaty aroma and instantly turned to look. Ye Shuran was waving a large chicken leg in front of her.

No, she was a tiger with dignity. But Bai Yi ended up sitting on Ye Shuran’s lap, happily munching on the chicken leg. This chicken leg was completely different from anything she had eaten in the demon realm, it was fragrant and flavorful. Moreover, in the demon realm, there were strict restrictions on eating meat; they could only consume animals that hadn’t developed spiritual awareness.

The main issue was, even ordinary chicken eggs found on the roadside, hatched into chickens with no spiritual awareness at all, were fiercely protected by the bird tribe until they were on the verge of dying from old age. They’d insist things like, “They’re sure to break through life and death!”, only to end up secretly burying them. Wouldn’t it be better to let her eat them?

What kind of tiger eats grass every day?!

“How about you stick with me this time? Look how well we got along last night,” Ye Shuran coaxed, seeing how much Bai Yi was enjoying the meal. “From what I know about Yin Ruolan, she’ll definitely cast you aside. And it’s not like I’m asking you to work for free, I’ll give you chicken legs, just like this one. It’s my secret recipe.”

Although they had agreed yesterday, she was genuinely worried the little one might run off midway. Despite her abilities, for some reason, she just wasn’t as popular with small animals as Xu Jingqiu.

Might as well secure the deal from the start.

Bai Yi’s eyes shifted slyly, and she stretched out a paw, spreading her claws. Ye Shuran instantly understood and gave her a high-five: “Deal, five chicken legs, and you stick with me the whole way.” Nice! Five chicken legs for a bodyguard!

By the time Ye Shuran finished wiping Bai Yi’s mouth and carried her to the entrance of the forbidden land, Xu Jingqiu and Yin Ruolan had already arrived. Noticing Xu Jingqiu’s gaze fall on Bai Yi, Ye Shuran proactively explained, “We got along quite well yesterday.”

Then she saw Xu Jingqiu looking at her in surprise: “Wow, that’s really rare. I was worried you might get scratched again, like at the cat café last time when none of the cats would go near you, but you insisted on holding them anyway and ended up with scratches all over your face.”

Ye Shuran’s mouth twitched, and she retorted stubbornly, “What are you talking about? Huh?” This time, it was Ye Shuran’s turn to be surprised. “You remember?”

“Some parts,” Xu Jingqiu said lightly. Her attention was entirely on Bai Yi and Ye Shuran, so she didn’t notice the fleeting unnatural expression on Yin Ruolan’s face.

“If she doesn’t reject you, staying with you would be best.”

Ye Shuran lowered her head and playfully teased the little white tiger: “Right? I think so too. Besides, I have a spiritual affinity, which can help her take human form sooner. It’s perfect.”

Xu Jingqiu nodded: “And staying with me might be a bit dangerous.” She wasn’t sure whether she would be affected after encountering that outer god, but according to the clan leader, Bai Yi had strong resistance to such mental attacks and could help Ye Shuran to some extent.

“Let’s go,” Xu Jingqiu said, stepping through the door first. “If you feel any discomfort, speak up immediately.”

Yin Ruolan followed closely behind, reaching out to hold her hand, their fingers interlacing. Ye Shuran trailed after them, wearing a look of disdain, and for the first time, felt a twinge of regret about walking behind the two.

The path ahead was quite long, sloping downward continuously. The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Xu Jingqiu held Yin Ruolan’s hand behind her back, and in a place unseen by Ye Shuran, the Daoist couple contract on the back of her hand glowed faintly. The path eventually widened, leading to a door secured with a massive lock.

This was the final door. Beyond it, they would need to descend further to reach the place of the ultimate seal. They were already quite close to the surface, yet it was oddly cool though perhaps not so odd, given the special cooling and ventilation devices hidden along the walls. Another thing reminiscent of her style, yet something she had never seen before.

As they approached the door, Xu Jingqiu could sense that Yin Ruolan was already affected, growing increasingly irritable. The crimson in her eyes deepened, and her body trembled slightly. Xu Jingqiu tightened her grip on Yin Ruolan’s hand, helping her stabilize the demonic energy, while also glancing toward Ye Shuran.

Though Ye Shuran appeared calm on the surface, when Xu Jingqiu put on her glasses, she could see that the pure white spiritual light around Ye Shuran was beginning to show signs of darkening. However, with Bai Yi’s help, it was being suppressed and reversed.

Xu Jingqiu took a deep breath and said, “The deeper we go, the stronger the influence. It might be best for you two to turn back. Although the outer god’s influence on the outside isn’t too severe yet only agitating those who are already unstable here, the impact is undoubtedly significant, and it’s only just beginning.”

“Will you be affected?” Yin Ruolan asked in return. In truth, she could sense that Xu Jingqiu would also be influenced to some extent. But with the Daoist couple contract binding them, they could at least keep each other in check.

Ling naturally knew this would happen, so why didn’t she come? What if both of them were affected?

As if reading Yin Ruolan’s doubts, Xu Jingqiu explained, “The senior cannot directly intervene in matters here.”

With Bai Yi’s help, Ye Shuran quickly changed her clothes and shook her head in response. “Forget it. Even if we manage to seal it, if you get affected and lose control, we’ll be in serious trouble.” She added with a hint of annoyance, “Do you think I want to be here? Working overtime without pay, and it’s this dangerous. This is an Outer God! I’ve never dealt with an Outer God before, I’m not at that level.”

“If you want, I can give it to you. It’s not that difficult,” Xu Jingqiu said with a relaxed smile, reassured that Ye Shuran was fine. She pulled out a blank talisman paper from her storage ring, and under the control of her ability, it transformed into a phone. Bai Yi, who had never seen such a thing, curiously leaned in to look.

Xu Jingqiu opened the phone and began running a scan. Moments later, information popped up on the screen. Seeing the results, she finally let out a genuine sigh of relief. “It’s just a remnant soul. Even if you’re affected, you’ll naturally recover once we leave. It’s [Mad Calamity], what’s sealed here is a severely broken [Mad Calamity], so damaged it can barely function.”

Originally, she had planned to forcibly send the two of them back up. But since it was only a remnant soul, there was no need for that. Besides, Xu Jingqiu glanced at Ye Shuran. It was time for her to start getting involved. As for the position of the Seven Sovereigns, she wouldn’t be staying in that role for long. Someone capable had to take over.

Hearing it was a remnant soul, Ye Shuran also breathed a long sigh of relief. She wasn’t prepared to face an Outer God directly just yet. But [Mad Calamity]. “According to the database, wasn’t [Mad Calamity] confirmed to be dead?”

“[Mad Calamity] is just a general term for this type of Outer God, which excels at inciting people, stirring up hostility, and fueling conflict. They thrive on driving slaughter to strengthen themselves. They’re actually quite common,” Xu Jingqiu explained. “The [Mad Calamity] here isn’t the one recorded in the archives. Send me the name of the record-keeper later.”

Was she planning to settle scores? Ye Shuran shuddered and quickly changed the subject, unconsciously tightening her hold on Bai Yi.

Xu Jingqiu turned to Yin Ruolan, who nodded and handed her the key. Taking the key, Xu Jingqiu paused for a moment, as if lost in thought. Before Yin Ruolan could ask if she knew how to use it, Xu Jingqiu had already expertly pressed the crystal on the key.

The seemingly ordinary key suddenly transformed, eventually taking the shape of a pixiu jade talisman. Then, Yin Ruolan watched as Xu Jingqiu stepped forward and tapped the seemingly ordinary lock. The lock slowly merged into the stone door, and a protruding slab emerged from it, with a groove in the center that perfectly matched the pixiu jade talisman in Xu Jingqiu’s hand.

As the jade talisman slotted into place, the chains vanished, and the door slowly began to open.

Yin Ruolan watched the stone door gradually swing open before turning to Xu Jingqiu. “If it weren’t for you, would someone who obtained the key be able to open it?”

“Unless the predecessor told the keyholder how to open the door, even having the key would be useless. The predecessor would also deactivate the key immediately,” Xu Jingqiu explained.

Yin Ruolan’s gaze lingered on Xu Jingqiu’s calm expression but said nothing more, only offering a light and casual “Let’s go.” However, Ye Shuran and Bai Yi, standing behind them, sensed that something was off. Only Xu Jingqiu remained completely unaware.

Zero had never told her how to open this door nor had she told anyone else.

After entering, there was no more downhill path instead, a neatly brick-paved, square corridor stretched ahead, with lit torches lining both sides. Bai Yi sniffed the air and turned to inform Ye Shuran that it was mermaid oil, known for burning endlessly.

At first, Ye Shuran didn’t think much of it until Xu Jingqiu suddenly stopped and moved closer to examine the lamps. Calmly, she dropped a bombshell: “Someone broke in, just a few days ago.”

“The oil was lit only recently. If these lamps had been burning since the place was built, the scent would have long dissipated. These lamps had never been lit before this is the first time, which is why we can still smell the mermaid oil.”

“The mermaid oil was deliberately placed here to lure people into lighting it, while deceiving themselves into thinking no one would notice. Moreover, the blinding barrier originally set up here has vanished and the condition for its disappearance is precisely the lighting of these lamps.”

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