After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 39.2

“Since you absorbed the core power, you naturally have to exert a certain core function. But you are human, after all, so you won’t truly become the core. That’s why you’re a Pseudo-Formation Spirit.”

“Wait a minute.” Ning Songwu raised her hand. “It’s just rebirth. Why am I still human? Shouldn’t Great Elder Ning’s body be the body of a Formation Spirit?”

The green shadow paused. A moment later, she said warmly, “I don’t know.”

“I’m not lying to you. I really don’t know.”

Ning Songwu softly ‘oh’ed. After a moment of pause, she suddenly remembered a crucial matter and asked, “I can already use the power of the great formation to help Master heal. Previously, you said there would be damage. What about now?”

Green Shadow: …How should she put this?

Master, oh, Master, you really left me with a tough question.

“I think… it’s better not to… Forget it. Try it when you reach the Soul Transformation stage.”

From Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation, that should buy some time, right?

If it doesn’t work for so long, it shouldn’t be…

【No one called me to drink in the modern world. I wonder how wild I’ll be after drinking. Why does my head hurt so much? I hope I didn’t go looking for a fight?】

【I couldn’t pull out Luo Sheng’s tail hair before, but now I’ve pulled out Xiao Wu’s… This is called foreshadowing fulfillment.】

【But I always feel like I’ve forgotten something very important, and I don’t know what exactly I forgot. It’s so frustrating.】

【Master, you… never mind.】

【Eh? Is this a proofreading she did herself? It doesn’t look like it.】

After Ning Songwu finished speaking, she drifted down from the clouds. The eyes of everyone followed her as she moved. Although her extremely introverted self was somewhat scared at this moment, this was the effect she wanted. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have given the wind even a slight chance, only asking that her voice spread as wide as possible, and even wider.

Listening to the confused discussions around her, Ning Songwu exhaled, thinking: 【This entrance should really give Master face!】

To the side of the platform, Ran Fanyin’s eyes fell on Ning Songwu’s white hair, which was not tied up and floated slightly in the wind. Since her appearance, Ran Fanyin’s gaze had not moved. Her heavy heart thumped loudly, beat after beat. She seemed to have turned into a statue.

She subconsciously gripped a lock of her own hair, her heart slightly trembling.

Why had she become like this? Her disciple only melted a piece of ice. Why did she turn into this appearance of a Snow Spirit? Can she not return to black hair? If she can, why appear in this manner?

She was uncharacteristically flustered. She subconsciously wanted to look for Qi Xiaoye, who was sitting in the corner, but her mind turned faster, suppressing her searching gaze and all her other movements, leaving only a look of surprise.

No. Qi Xiaoye must also be looking for her gaze right now.

…Perhaps, more than just Qi Xiaoye is looking.

Ran Fanyin exhaled heavily in her heart, just hearing her disciple’s thought about giving her face. She couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes softening slightly.

Never mind. Qi Xiaoye would discover Ning Songwu’s connection to the great formation sooner or later. Thinking of Lin Yuxue’s initial attitude, which was to come straight for Ning Songwu and try to kill her, perhaps Qi Xiaoye knew all along and had a clear objective.

She knew from the very beginning, didn’t she?

Ran Fanyin relaxed, leaning back in her chair, one hand resting on her forehead.

Perhaps, this isn’t a bad thing either.

Beside her, He Lan only slowly recovered from her shock after a long while, her mouth opening and closing. After a long time, she sighed softly, “My goodness, they truly are Master and disciple…”

“Even their hair turned white together.”

“Can being buried under snow for half a year have such an effect? Senior Sister, can I borrow…”

Ran Fanyin touched He Lan Mianmian’s glabella with a finger, chuckling, “Little cat, be careful not to freeze yourself to death.”

“If you won’t lend it, you won’t lend it,” He Lan pouted, folding her arms, and looked back at the center of the field.

Ning Songwu stepped onto the stage, first performing a courtesy, cupping her hands and saying, “I am Ning Songwu, the one you are looking for.”

Although her entrance was wild and dominant, which she thought was very chūnibyō, once she formally stepped onto the stage, all the etiquette Ran Fanyin had cautioned her about was observed without fail.

However, the white-robed young hero opposite her seemed a bit slow to react. From the moment she stepped onto the stage, her brow was furrowed. After Ning Songwu saluted, she did not return the courtesy, just staring at her, her brows tightly knitted, looking completely confused by her appearance.

Ning Songwu pondered for a moment, thinking that her unbound hair made the person feel slighted. She took out a hair tie, quickly tied her hair up, and looked over again. The person was still looking at her with a frown.

When Ning Songwu was about to doubt herself for the third time and look down, Jiang Mang finally spoke, saying, “How old are you?”

Ning Songwu was stunned.

Right, how old is this body?

“Over twenty. Why?”

Jiang Mang was even more confused.

She saw the aura of ten thousand years on the person in front of her, almost thinking that some snow spirit had come to deceive her. But upon closer inspection, she was indeed an ordinary human in the late-stage of the Golden Core, with nothing particularly unusual.

“Never mind.” She sighed, cupped her hands, “Jiang Mang. Please grant me your guidance, Junior Sister.”

This was not a formal competition, so there was no need for excessive formality. After the two sides saluted, they stood facing each other with their sword tips meeting. Jiang Mang rushed forward without hesitation, her long sword sweeping up, attempting to deflect Ning Songwu’s sword.

The Morning Frost Sword seemed to have a spirit, but what was more agile was Ning Songwu, who had been hammered for a long time. When Jiang Mang was about to drop her sword, Ning Songwu’s toes began to exert force. Almost at the same time the sword tip came towards her, she half-spun in place. The long sword in her hand naturally performed a flourish, striking towards Jiang Mang’s arm.

Ran Fanyin’s previously furrowed brow slowly relaxed a little.

Although she didn’t know what her disciple had experienced during this time, it seemed to be a good thing. Her combat foundation was still defense, but the offense contained within had increased significantly. She was no longer passive but had learned to take the initiative back into her own hands.

Moreover, her disciple’s combat was much more agile and contained much more… that did not belong to her lineage.

Nor was it something the tragic child who looked at her could learn from “her.”

Who passed this on?

With increased agility and the swordsmanship so thoroughly integrated, without even using spiritual energy, Ning Songwu found that she was gradually matching Jiang Mang.

Jiang Mang’s sword was very sharp, unstoppable, but Ning Songwu was used to accommodating. The sharp edge of the blade would have some of its momentum blunted by her, and when it fell into her embrace, it became much gentler. This was precisely the bane of Jiang Mang’s sword.

Neither of them used spiritual energy. After all, in this kind of competition, whoever used spiritual energy first was considered to have lost. Therefore, both were waiting for the other to lose patience and make the first move.

After parrying the opponent with another sword strike, both raised their hands almost simultaneously. The moment countless wooden vines shot up from the ground, ice mist permeated the air, instantly freezing the vines solid. Ning Songwu gently pressed down her wrist. The wooden vines instantly exploded, and ice shards scattered across the ground.

But the wooden vines were endless. Jiang Mang controlled the spiritual energy with one hand to accelerate the growth of the vines, while her other hand gripped her sword and attacked Ning Songwu again. Unexpectedly, the girl did not dodge or yield this time. Just as the long sword was about to pierce her shoulder, she leaped upwards, dodging the strike with an almost impossible lightness. Cold light flickered in her hand. Ice blades condensed, inserting directly into Jiang Mang’s shoulder.

The girl acted as if she felt no pain. Seizing the moment Ning Songwu stabbed her, she turned and stabbed back at her. The wooden vines enhanced the sword blade, making it more than twice as thick. Ning Songwu could not evade this strike. It sliced her side waist.

The sword energy dispersed. The hair tie Ning Songwu had casually used could not escape the impact, and her long hair scattered. However, the injury to her side waist sapped half of her strength. She had no time to worry about her hair and fell towards the ground.

Ning Songwu rolled twice after landing, suddenly raising her hand. The Morning Frost Sword moved uncontrollably, also seizing the moment of reaction time, pressing against Jiang Mang’s throat, halting her movement.

It seemed that the victory should have been decided here.

It was not.

Jiang Mang suddenly took a step forward, startling Ning Songwu, who quickly withdrew her sword to avoid truly stabbing her throat. But the plants also had spirits. As she withdrew her sword, a vine with sharp wooden thorns pressed against the same spot on her throat.

Ning Songwu: …

“Why did you relent? Why did you let me?” Jiang Mang pressed closer, her voice cold.

Ning Songwu gave a short laugh, “I didn’t.”

【So, she is a cool, handsome, and elegant Music Cultivator?】

【It’s too weird to sit together without talking, but there’s nothing to say. I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist asking… never mind.】

【Master has been unhappy since the morning. Is it because I got so drunk?】

【Although not eating is fine, since she hasn’t been in long-term bigu, not eating… will make her stomach uncomfortable, right?】

The flute music was no longer melodious and gentle. Instead, it was filled with aggression and anger, forcefully suppressing these dark-gold entities so that they could not move even an inch, only emitting bursts of roars and low, hoarse sounds, vying against her, seeming to seek a chance to survive.

Ning Jinyu frowned slightly, “What madness is she up to now? How can she deal with this alone?”

With that, the little child was about to get up to help her, but before she could stand up, she suddenly widened her eyes, as if she felt something, and cursed softly, “Damn it. No new spirit has been born for hundreds of years. Why is one being born now? This Earth-Bound Spirit isn’t dead yet!”

Her small, tender face was full of conflicted expressions. She looked at Xiao Wanchen, then at Ning Songwu. After a moment of struggle, she said, “You go help her. I need to return to the north.”

Ning Songwu: “Wait, this?”

Ning Jinyu sighed slightly, saying, “Go quickly.”

She was a child after all, and still couldn’t conceal the sadness in her eyes. Her big eyes instantly brimmed with tears, and then she fled the scene as if escaping.

Ning Songwu blinked belatedly, only then realizing what the lovely person in front of her was hopping around to do. But the flame had already condensed in the center, and a white light gradually rose, slowly enveloping the person and the object, looking as if they were about to vanish together.

She gritted her teeth, enduring the intense pain throughout her body to stand up. After stumbling two difficult steps, she rushed into the white light at an extremely fast speed—

Ning Songwu practically charged in. However, as soon as she rushed in, the dense air steadily caught her, slowing her pace.

The crimson figure stood with her back to her, the flame in her hand already gathered, enveloping the dark-gold liquid within. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free.

Ning Songwu recognized this final flame. Just like the surge of sword energy she ultimately comprehended in her previous life, this flame was all that remained of Xiao Wanchen’s Celestial Spirit. She, too, had returned her spirit to the formation. This meant that she, too…

Ning Songwu steadied her breathing and said loudly, “At least, at least tell her, shouldn’t you?”

If everything was too late to change, shouldn’t the person who most deserved to know be informed?

As she spoke, she was about to go around to the front of Xiao Wanchen. The person who had been silent for a long time suddenly spoke, “Don’t come over. I don’t have any face left. Don’t come over.”

She was always flamboyant, but her voice at this moment had fallen low.

After a long time, Xiao Wanchen said self-deprecatingly, “Telling her, what meaning is there?”

“Many things are better unknown than known, better unknown forever.”

Ning Songwu shook her head and said, “Master is intelligent. How can you hide it from her? Why not, why not…”

“That’s still better than letting her know everything right now, isn’t it?” Xiao Wanchen interrupted her, looking up at the sky. After a long time, she sighed deeply.

“Little Tian, I’m truly… so tired…”

Guarding the Northern Territory, longing for the south but unable to go, looking into the distance but unable to attain, managing all these plans, filling in the loopholes for all the plans…

She had persisted for hundreds of years. She was truly, so tired.

Ning Songwu fell silent. After a long while, she quietly asked, “Don’t you truly regret it?”

“From the moment I woke up again until now, I have longed for the Southern Territory for over six hundred years, Little Tian… Being an Earth-Bound Spirit is exhausting.” Losing freedom is very painful, but she was the one who willingly gave it up.

“You could start over because Little Ran’er herself is special. But for our generation… there is no Little Ran’er.”

“I don’t want to keep guarding anymore, nor do I want to burden you or Little Yu with anything more.”