After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 46

The lingering heat within the room was no longer annoying. The residual warmth on the door panel meant her back was no longer pressed against the cold wall. At least she was now hot evenly from top to bottom, instead of being alarmingly scorched only where a certain person had been causing mischief.

The warblers’ song, hidden beneath the flowers, was moist and slick. The secluded springs flowed but struggled to fully gush forth.

More vexing than the residual heat was the finger propped at the side of her lips. The girl’s voice was cool and proper, “Master, Little Five is almost ready to take human form; don’t set a bad example for her.”

Consequently, when the positions of offense and defense were reversed, Ran Fanyin, half-teasing and half-vengeful, watched the girl’s eyes turn red and her lips tremble, unable to utter that one word for a long time, forced to look at her pitifully with shimmering, watery eyes.

“How is this not a form of tempering the heart, right, my silly disciple?”

The night was long. Summer nights always welcomed the rising sun and a new round of slow warming before the temperature could drop to its lowest point. In the lazy morning light, they finally fell into a good period of rest, lingering together—a rare and precious moment.

Outside Qi Ping City

A woman held a long flute, dressed in loose, flowing clothes, her ink-black hair hanging gently, her bare feet lightly touching the ground. She cast a spell, calculated for a moment, then rose lightly, her bare feet touching the earth again. Countless swords appeared behind her at some unknown point, wildly bombarding the ground. Amidst the swirling dust, only deep pits remained on the ground. Trees tumbled into the pits, gradually concealing the traces of the holes.

After the dust settled, only the woman’s face remained, half-indifferent and half-gritting her teeth. The hand holding the flute casually flicked it in a complex gesture. After a moment of thought, she draped the flute over her elbow like the handle of a whisk. With a casual toe-tap, she flew several hundred zhang away.

Not long after she left, a single fruit pit fell from the canopy of a tree that was about to fall but had not yet completely collapsed.

“Hey! If she finds you doing that, the trees will suffer again!” A woman frantically reached out to grab the fruit from the girl beside her. The girl moved half an inch to the left in alarm and said, “Don’t try to steal my fruit with that excuse! She’s gone so far. Stop acting!”

“Ning Jinyu! Am I not still your grandmother!”

“Xiao Wancheng! Stop pulling the ‘I’m old’ card!”

The woman scoffed, leaning against the tree trunk in a pose of heartache, looking as if she were about to burst into tears: “Is this pulling the ‘I’m old’ card? Sure enough, you don’t want your grandmother when you’re about to get a mother.”

The girl rolled her eyes at her, moved another half inch, and then spoke slowly, “So that was the old scoundrel Dao Cheng? Why does she look more like a lunatic after more than a thousand years?”

Xiao Wancheng also stopped pretending, leaned casually, and said lazily, “She’s called Venerable Wuyan now. Tsk, I didn’t think the psychological shadow I left her was so deep. She has to carry a flute everywhere she goes.”

“Why didn’t you root her out back then?”

“We only realized there was a supreme-grade anomaly when we returned to the formation, didn’t we? I originally thought we could just rest for a few years, come out, and purify her with Little Tian, but who knew she’d run away so fast? Hey, you said she ran fast, so why did she reincarnate so late, being so much younger than others?”

“…How should I know? Alright, let’s go back. Let’s get ready to watch the show.”

“And you criticize me for not being good at naming, heh heh! Little Yu, don’t you think the name I gave you is nice?”

The Spirit, who was leaning against the tree trunk and stood up, gave Xiao Wancheng a look.

She didn’t particularly want this name. Who wants to inexplicably bear a surname, making it seem like she has some relationship with Ning Songwu, this former Formation Spirit turned Pseudo-Spirit?

But, if Xiao Wancheng wanted to call her that, then so be it.

That was the only fun she, a territorial spirit, had.

Ning Jinyu thought, and then added, “But there’s one question I’m very curious about. Didn’t the old scoundrel Dao Cheng transcend her tribulation a thousand years ago? Why is she still transcending it? Logically, she should have gathered enough energy long ago.”

Xiao Wancheng honestly shook her head, then leaped down, her voice long and drifting away—

“Five years have passed. The last piece of the story puzzle is about to begin. Let’s go watch the show at Immortal Mountain.”

Simultaneously, within the Heaven’s Endowment Immortal Sect, multiple training platforms were activated at once. Spiritual arts were dazzling, varied, and spectacular. This was a grand occasion only seen during major sect competitions. Major sects gathered together, and each sect could select five disciples from the Nascent Soul stage up to the Void Refining stage to participate, aiming to win the top prize and boost both the sect’s and their own reputation.

However, in the area where the Cloud Ascent Sect was situated, the expressions of the people were far from pleasant.

Luo Sheng rubbed her temples, looking quite helpless. “Sect Master, are you saying we drew the Heaven’s Endowment Immortal Sect right at the start?”

Since Ning Xiujie and Cheng Yunhuan settled in the four towns outside the Cloud Ascent Sect and took on the official titles of Cloud Ascent Elders, imparting the so-called spiritual energy control cultivation secret method of the Ning clan (which they self-aggrandized) to the core disciples of each peak, the overall strength of the Cloud Ascent Sect has risen slightly. The age of the participating disciples now is all under one hundred. In terms of cultivation, the lowest is Luo Sheng, a young disciple who is about to break through to the Soul Transformation stage. Moreover, she is currently only approaching thirty years old, a sign of boundless potential.

They are definitely among the first-tier sects in this Sect Grand Competition, but even as a first-tier sect, they were afraid of encountering the Heaven’s Endowment Immortal Sect, whose minimum cultivation is the mid-Soul Transformation stage, let alone encountering them in the very first match.

Furthermore, they only had four participating disciples present at this moment; one person had not yet emerged from seclusion.

Cen Ran let out a heavy sigh, utterly helpless.

Luo Sheng said, “Sect Master, can we replace a participant on the spot? Ning Songwu should emerge from seclusion within a few days. We’ll go up first…”

He Lan Mianmian wagged a finger, interrupting her idea. “No, Ah Sheng. The rules don’t allow it. We can only send four people onto the field first.”

“…I really want to go drag Ning Songwu out. She’s enjoyed more than four years of comfort, and the thunder tribulation for her breakthrough to Soul Transformation barely even struck her. It’s too much!” Luo Sheng complained indignantly, then turned and plunged into the arms of Liu Ruoying, who was currently organizing medicinal herbs with a Senior Sister from Green Leaf Peak, whining softly.

Elder He Lan shook her head helplessly. “You don’t act like an adult at all.”

But teasing aside, the current situation was still urgent.

They didn’t desperately need the fame from the Sect Grand Competition, but they needed time to investigate whether there was anything unusual here. If they were sent packing in the first round, it would be difficult to get back in later.

He Lan secretly thought, No wonder Venerable Wuyan said she’d see us at the Sect Grand Competition five years later. She set up a difficult problem for us right at the start. I wonder what she plans to do next.

Truly troublesome.

The Enforcement Elder began urging them to quickly send disciples onto the field. Cen Ran could only suppress her anxious heart and say, “Ah Sheng, you’ll lead the charge. Go up.”

[Indeed, a disciple should work for her Master. Conversely, my Master has worked so tirelessly for me… it’s truly rare.]

[If I can watch Master get better, that would be wonderful too.]

[Master… what is Master doing…!!]

[Could this be, the legendary, straight woman’s trick!!]

Ning Songwu…

“Ningning, you…”

The girl’s beautiful hair had once again turned completely silver, and her eyes gradually became white. “I have something I must do. I beg you, Elder.”

Her hand was suddenly gripped tightly, and the woman’s voice was weak. “You are not allowed to go. If you go…”

“Master, even if I’m expelled from the sect, I will at least still have the sect.” Ning Songwu looked at her, carefully adjusting her temperature to avoid chilling her, and spoke with forced calmness, “This time, Ning’er is not doing this for anyone else. Ning’er is doing this for you.”

“Master, you must be safe.”

As her voice fell, Morning Frost and several ice swords slowly materialized behind her. Her eyes were a sheet of frost, and her hands were too cold to hold properly, but Ran Fanyin still held her tightly.

“Don’t go, Ning Songwu. You are not allowed to go.” Her voice trembled to the extreme, and the corners of her eyes were red, as if tears were about to fall the next second.

Ning Songwu slowly pulled her hands free and said, “Master, you must be safe.”

She retreated half a step and knelt in the air to perform a bow.

Subsequently, Ning Songwu turned and drew Morning Frost. The sword’s shadow moved with her as she flew forward. Several threads of purification spiritual energy drawn from the formation wrapped around the sword. She cut forward with a single strike, and the spiritual energy plunged straight into the body of the frenzied person before her.

She slowly landed opposite Xiao Wancheng. The woman raised an eyebrow and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “My Little Ran is still heartbroken, you know. You’re done for.”

“It’s better to at least still have the sect than to regret it afterwards. Come on, stop wasting words.”

“So heartless~”

“Why don’t you go reconcile with her afterwards, and then come torment me properly?”

“Eek! A wicked mother-in-law, tsk tsk tsk, sounds a little interesting. Go on, call me that and let me hear it.”

“…Stop wasting time.”

[The difference from the plants over there is quite large. I wonder what this is called.]

[Autumn is the second spring. From now on, every leaf is a flower.]

[Like this, the leaves of all six peaks are gathered. If I make a bookmark, it will certainly be beautiful.]

[But remaining like this is also quite nice. Silly and pretty.]

[You’re almost squeezing me into a little hamster, Master.]

“Do you know why the spiritual energy is depleted and there is great drought across the land?” The woman suddenly ran over and tightly gripped Ning Songwu’s arm, her eyes splitting with rage. “Because the Ninth Heaven took away this world’s spiritual energy! Hahahaha, they take it when they want to and release it when they want to. No, this won’t do.”

She laughed almost maniacally. The horsetail whisk was brandished in her hand, the handle creating streaks of light. She continued, “Below the Ninth Heaven are three thousand minor worlds. This old woman will break through these three thousand minor worlds! This old woman will force them to descend from the Ninth Heaven to confront me! This old woman wants to ask them how they can treat human lives like grass! Hahahahaha.”

Her laughter was simply too noisy. Ning Songwu subconsciously tried to cover her ears, but her arm was gripped tightly by the woman and forcefully yanked to the sides, leaving only a face that suddenly magnified before Ning Songwu’s eyes. “Tell me, am I right? Should they give this old woman an explanation, you Formation Spirit of the Heaven-Slaying Array?”

The laughter suddenly stopped, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two people as they faced each other.

Ning Songwu’s gaze swept around, and she said, “You… you are right.”

Venerable Wuyan suddenly stopped laughing and nodded her chin. “Hmm~ Compared to the people outside, you understand this old woman well. It was indeed not a mistake to capture you.”

Seeing her attitude relax somewhat, Ning Songwu pressed her advantage, asking her how she planned to build this New World.

The woman suddenly seemed to regain her reason, grabbing her arm and meticulously explaining her goals: establishing a world of great harmony, breaking through the three thousand minor worlds to counterattack the Ninth Heaven, everyone being free to enter the underworld to see the people they wanted to see, separating the underworld and the mortal realm to the two ends of the world…

Ning Songwu listened, completely bewildered, with only disgust churning in her heart.

“What then?” Ning Songwu cautiously countered.

What then? After establishing the world? After counterattacking the Ninth Heaven?

Wuyan was clearly stunned, murmuring, “What then?”

“What then…”

She suddenly clapped her hands. “After that, this old woman will be the God of the New World!”

Ah, indeed.

Ning Songwu originally thought that the person inside might just be a little crazy due to the long passage of time, perhaps an alternate personality, and maybe she could join forces with her to counterattack the person outside who was trying to drag the entire world to death. But now it seems…

She really thought too much. This person was a lunatic, an out-and-out lunatic, and one who was already practically a symbiotic twin with the Source Poison. She was completely blinded by avarice.

Perhaps she truly wanted to establish a new society at the start, an ideal, beautiful society, but having been unknowingly corrupted by the Source Poison until now, she had become a complete, hysterical, and pathetic person.

Ning Songwu slowly backed up half a step and asked again, “Then how do you plan to achieve it?”

“This old woman… this old woman’s ambition is so vast that everyone in the world should help me! A fifth-grade earth-tier Spirit Root can also cultivate to the Tribulation Transcendence stage and ascend! As long as you all come and help me!”

“Everyone come and help me!”

She screamed, about to charge at Ning Songwu again. The girl reacted extremely quickly. A short ice blade, condensed from the power of the Formation Spirit, was gripped tightly in her hand—

“You have been thoroughly infiltrated by the Source Poison. There is no saving you.”

She said this deliberately. Sure enough, the woman abruptly slammed on the brakes, paused, and said, “What nonsense are you talking about! It’s not a poison! It said it would help me unify the world! It said it would help me ascend to godhood! It said it could help me unify the Ninth Heaven…”

“But wasn’t your New World supposed to be about everyone having food and everyone being equal? If you unify and ascend, how can everyone be equal?” Ning Songwu seized the moment of her confusion to counter again, using the opportunity to lighten her steps and slowly approach her.

“No! No! You are wrong! I can only achieve equality if I ascend! The Ninth Heaven treats human lives like grass! Treating lives like grass!”

“How will you achieve equality if you ascend?”

“I! I!” Venerable Wuyan roared twice, then suddenly calmed down, smiling softly. “I was almost… deceived… by you…”

She lowered her head in disbelief. A short sword was plunged into her heart meridian from above her chest. It didn’t hurt, but a feeling of weakness surged severalfold. Before she could react, the girl twisted the sword.

“Madwoman, you forgot your original intention long ago. You have been deeply beguiled by the Source Poison,” Ning Songwu whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, then fiercely pulled out the short blade, along with a small chunk of flesh that had been completely infiltrated by the dark golden substance, though it was unclear what it was.

The phantom figure stared at her with wide eyes but couldn’t utter a sound, only slowly collapsing backward, shattering the illusory space completely.

Ning Songwu slowly closed her eyes. Only after the sensation of weightlessness disappeared did she dare to open them.

[…Some people truly distribute dog food without realizing it.]

[Master truly understands. But this priority is the highest. If I’m tired, I’m tired.]

[The Demon Race, not the Human Race, has been devoured twice. Does this mean that if I want to break through quickly, I still need to devour the Demon Race? Or does it mean I need to devour cultivators of a foreign race?]

[If it’s the former…]

[It’s already like this. I’ll just take things as they come…]

[My Mom said I massaged well. I hope it helps Master too.]

The little ice person said, shrugging helplessly.

Ning Songwu knew that what the voice said was true. If she could hear her thoughts from the beginning, she would have known from the start that she wasn’t from this world, known that she knew the future, and known… so many things. If she had truly harbored ill intentions, even if she were completely thrown out to be researched or used as bait, the other Elders wouldn’t have said anything.

After all, at that time, she was just an ordinary outer disciple who had just joined, with no reliance, no roots, and no one would have cared about her.

But Master had always cared about her, even spending so much money to buy her equipment and create spiritual weapons, cultivating her earnestly, and never forcing or pressuring her to do anything. Later, Master had continually waited for her, continually waited…

Actually, true affection is very obvious.

The little snow person was displeased, letting out a soft “Hmph.” “But she also heard a lot of your private thoughts! Think about all the ridiculous things you thought in your head. Do you even have the face to appear before her now?”

“…” What to do? That was even more correct.

The things she had thought truly made her feel too embarrassed to ever appear before Ran Fanyin again in this lifetime.

They say the last thing a person does before dying is format their phone. If a phone is treated this way, wouldn’t her brain be even more…

…unpresentable!!!

If she hadn’t known before, it would have been fine, but now that she knows, she truly cannot pretend not to know.

What should she do… she felt like she was going to die…

Ning Songwu clasped her face even tighter, whimpering softly.

The little ice person wasn’t to be outdone and continued, “So, are you giving up? Since everything is already known, leaving now means both losing face and losing your wife. Think carefully!”

The little snow person chuckled. “Are you wallowing in self-pity? It’s just a wife, but if you continue, you’ll lose face for the rest of your life! Cultivators live for thousands of years at a time. This black history truly will never go away.”

The little ice person: “Even if you run away… won’t she still be able to hear you?”

Ning Songwu simply buried her entire body into the snow cloud she had created, refusing to listen to the two of them arguing over life and death, and refusing to think about how much more annoying the matter behind this was.

She would escape for as long as she could.

Alas…

The sight that greeted Ran Fanyin when she finally pursued her was this—

The two small figures, one made of ice and one of snow, created by her silly disciple, were arguing intensely, while her little disciple had almost buried her entire self in the snow, only revealing the top of her head, looking utterly distressed.

It was indeed difficult to consciously control oneself not to think things in one’s mind.

But truly, it was a bit cute.

Was this the advantage of never being afraid of the cold?

She lightened her steps but did not hide her presence. She walked to the cloud and sat down, staying to keep this person company.

The two little figures instantly fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

A long time passed—so long that Ran Fanyin began to wonder if she had subconsciously shielded her aura, causing her little disciple not to notice her arrival.

Or, perhaps… she truly didn’t welcome her anymore, truly… wanted to suggest a parting.

If that were the case, she would understand and respect it.

Thankfully, that was not the case.

Ning Songwu suddenly realized the convenience of this mind-voice. Some feelings she genuinely couldn’t express could still be conveyed through her mind-voice, since Ran Fanyin could hear everything anyway.

Wouldn’t this be more conducive to expressing her emotions!

However, even so, she wouldn’t easily forgive her Master.

Ran Fanyin turned her head helplessly. After a moment of thought, she nodded slightly. “Go on. Your Master will wait for you in Cang City.”

“Master, are you not returning to the peak?”

“The peak is as lonely as Cang City. I simply do not wish to return.”

Ning Songwu steeled her heart and stood up, ready to leave. The two little figures, one of ice and one of snow, hopped onto her shoulder, allowed to follow her until she got tired of their incessant nagging.

However, she had only traveled the distance of two clouds when she suddenly heard a cough behind her. A sharp, aching pain simultaneously struck her own heart meridian, as if hinting that the person on the other end of that meridian was in trouble and needed her to look back.

The little ice person became anxious: “Turn back quickly! Master’s spiritual energy is still chaotic. A big emotional fluctuation will definitely cause problems!”

The little snow person merely scoffed: “She’s definitely tricking you into turning back. Be strong. Take two more steps before turning…” %

Ning Songwu didn’t wait for her to finish but spun around, driving the cloud back to the original spot with a frantic mix of motion and flight. The woman’s face was indeed much paler, a trace of blood stained the corner of her lips. Seeing her return, a smile bloomed on her face. “You missed your Master so quickly?”

Ran Fanyin let go of the breath she was holding, her cheeks flushed scarlet. Her silver hair, slightly swaying in front of her, was an admonishment. “At a time like this, shouldn’t you be less concerned about that?”

Her eyes were like shimmering autumn water, the moisture at the corners nearly spilling out. She was still slightly catching her breath as she looked at her, her chest gently rising and falling, causing the silver hair draped over her shoulder to sway. Ning Songwu no longer hesitated. She placed both hands on the cloud beneath her, leaned straight in, and covered the soft fragrance of her lips. She lunged, causing Ran Fanyin to rock slightly, nearly falling backward.

Yet, this person was set on mischief today. The words that flowed between their lips commanded her to support herself, to sit up straight with all her might. If she were to fall on this cloud, she really might tumble off.

Bad child.

But the bad child had a reason and a handle today.

Ran Fanyin felt her waist softening in waves. She struggled to support herself so as not to fall over. Her breath was completely stolen away, and the girl was so fierce that she wouldn’t even allow her to take a breath.

It wasn’t until she glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw a streak of morning glow that she managed to get out a few words. “Ning’er, the sun is rising.”

Ning Songwu released her torment at that moment. The two faces, equally flushed, became even redder in the brilliant rising sun beside them.

Ning Songwu’s eyes, even now, were captivating. As her gaze shifted, Ran Fanyin’s heart trembled. The watery depth in them was simply delightful.

This time, she wrapped her arms around the other woman’s waist, no longer rushed or fierce, only touching lightly, sucking gently, with the utmost tenderness, yet also bordering on torment. It softened Ran Fanyin’s waist even further, leaving her almost entirely dependent on the two arms circled around her.

Amidst the gentle breaths, Ning Songwu said, “I want to go to Jiangnan. I also want to continue north, to see the great desert, and also…”