My Secret Cultivator Spouse Is the Demon Lord - Chapter 10

The System apologized with absolute solemnity, but Xu Xianqing didn’t think it was a big deal. Losing her memory was something she’d long gotten used to anyway.

“You’re an upgrade-based system, but I don’t have a spiritual root,” Xu Xianqing said. “I can’t even practice cultivation, let alone advance through ranks.” Although she now remembered her past life, it didn’t seem particularly useful under her current circumstances.

Still, she wasn’t discouraged. Three years of living like this had been more than enough time for her to adapt to her new identity.

[As long as you achieve any form of upgrade, I can grant you skill boosts and unlock the System Mall. There, you can exchange points for cultivation manuals and secret techniques. The Mall connects across all planes of existence…with enough points, you can buy anything you desire.]

Xu Xianqing didn’t think she wanted anything. But just as she was getting ready to sleep, her fingers brushed against the round bead pendant dangling from the collar around her neck. She froze for a moment.

Then she asked, “Can it bring someone back to life?”

[With enough points, you can purchase anything. Including resurrection arts.]

Xu Xianqing’s heart pounded violently, so much so that even the dull, lingering ache near her chest seemed to fade away.

“How many points is ‘enough’?”

Xu Xianqing didn’t let the overwhelming rush of joy cloud her judgment. She forced herself to stay calm, which was when she noticed how vaguely the System spoke. It hadn’t given her a single concrete number, relying entirely on loose concepts.

[Because the System Mall has not yet been unlocked, this System cannot access specific pricing details at this time.]

“Can you guarantee there’s a resurrection art that works?”

[This System was forged by the Heavenly Dao of the Great Thousand Worlds itself. Please do not question my capabilities.]

Xu Xianqing had not yet stepped onto the path of cultivation. She didn’t truly know what the Heavenly Dao meant to a practitioner, but her combined experience from her past and current lives told her one thing: the Heavenly Dao was an ethereal, indifferent entity that looked down on all living beings.

Perhaps it didn’t even exist at all.

Yet that didn’t stop her desperately wanting to bring Ye Ming back. She pressed intensely, “What do I need to do?”

[Upgrade. Please explore the path forward on your own, Host. Once you have upgraded, this System will reappear. Until then, only basic data panel assistance will be available.]

With that, the System went silent.

Suddenly, Xu Xianqing felt a strange, intangible presence…a wispy, light mass floating in her mind.

With a single thought, she tried to inspect it.

Instantly, a holographic projection panel popped up before her eyes.

It displayed her personal photo alongside various health stats, followed by the basic data assistance functions the System had mentioned.

• Host: Xu Xianqing
• Age: 19
• Gender: Female
• Race: Unknown
• Level: Locked
• Cultivation Realm: Locked
• Initial Skills: None
• Origin Skills: None
• Cultivation Techniques: None
• Mental Methods: None
• Points: 0

Xu Xianqing scanned through it quickly before her eyes stopped on the “Race” entry. She fell silent for a moment before asking the System, “Am I not human?”

[Awaiting Host to uncover the truth independently.]

There were far too many mysteries right now. Xu Xianqing figured she might as well lie back down and try to get some sleep.

However, the moment her head hit the pillow, the waiter called out from outside her door again.

“Guest? Are you awake? I’ve brought you some hot water.”

Xu Xianqing got up, her hand instinctively gripping the dagger hidden at her waist, and opened the door.

The waiter walked in, set down the tub of steaming water, and explained with a smile, “I came by earlier, but you were fast asleep, so the shopkeeper had me take it back. Now that you’re awake, I brought it back up for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it!” The waiter beamed at her.

Xu Xianqing pulled out two low-grade spirit stones and handed them over. “If you don’t mind, please prepare some travel rations for me tomorrow morning.”

“Easy enough, easy enough!” He tucked the spirit stones into his coat and bowed out with a wide grin.

Xu Xianqing washed up quickly. After days of travel through dust and grime, a simple bath left her feeling much more refreshed.

Once done, she lay down fully clothed.

She wanted to sleep, but the gnawing pain near her heart made proper rest impossible. All she could do was close her eyes and rest her mind, waiting until physical and mental exhaustion finally overpowered the pain so she could slip into a brief sleep.

Lying in bed, watching the moonlight filter through the window lattice, Xu Xianqing pondered her next steps.

Was upgrading really all it took?

She suddenly remembered that she used to know how to draw talismans. Back then, her master had said that because she lacked talent, she had no real affinity for the talismanic arts. Yet, as her master’s only disciple, he had poured everything he knew into teaching her anyway.

He had wanted her to learn the skills first regardless of mastery, hoping she could at least pass down the sect’s lineage…and if she were lucky enough to meet a prodigy down the road, she could pass the knowledge onto them.

It was a pity she had ended up in this realm. Everything her master had left her seemed entirely useless here.

Or was it?

She might lack a spiritual root and cultivation, but she still remembered countless talisman formulas. If she could infuse energy into them while drawing, could she use the power of the talismans as a way to protect herself?

The more Xu Xianqing thought about it, the more excited she became, as if the plan was already succeeding.

Drawing talismans was no easy task, though. She would need to gather the right materials first, and she had no idea if the talismans from her old world would even work the same way here.

If her master’s formulas proved useless, she would just find a sect and start over as an apprentice to learn this world’s talismanic arts.

Just as she was fleshing out her ideas, a muffled commotion drifted into her room…it sounded like the snarls of beasts mixed with the rapid pounding of approaching hooves.

Xu Xianqing sat bolt upright.

At the exact same moment, the door to her small room was shoved open.

Gripping the dagger at her waist, Xu Xianqing eyed the shopkeeper cautiously.

“Tell me,” the shopkeeper demanded, “what is your relationship with Ye Ming, the eldest young lady of the Ye family?”

Xu Xianqing didn’t know how to answer, remaining silent.

The shopkeeper pressed on, “Word has it that three years ago, to save her life, the Ye family married a bride into their home to ward off ill fortune. Was that person you?”

Xu Xianqing took two steps back, backing herself up against the window frame.

Seeing her movement, the shopkeeper suddenly burst into laughter. “I have already reached the Golden Core stage. You don’t have a shred of cultivation…where do you think you’re escaping to?”

Xu Xianqing gritted her teeth, desperately trying to figure out what the shopkeeper was after.

Before she could work it out, the shopkeeper tilted her head, listening closely to the noise outside.

“Half a month ago, He Fuhui, the young master of the He family, died at the Ye estate,” the shopkeeper said. “The He family demanded justice, but the Ye family claimed he died because of you. Now, the He family has tracked your trail all the way here.”

The shopkeeper’s cultivation wasn’t the highest in Gu City, but it was by no means low. The He family’s henchmen hadn’t dared to barge in blindly, settling instead for surrounding the building and shouting for her to hand the girl over.

“Young Master He wasn’t killed by me!” Xu Xianqing retorted.

She didn’t even know how He Fuhui had died. Besides, He Fuhui was a cultivator with real spiritual power, whereas she was completely useless in combat. How could she possibly have killed him?

The shopkeeper’s red lips curled into a smirk. “So, you admit you are Ye Ming’s wife?”

“I am.” Xu Xianqing admitted it openly now…there was no point in denying it since she’d already been seen through.

The shopkeeper stepped forward and grabbed her by the wrist. “Talk as we walk.”

Xu Xianqing didn’t resist…not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t move an inch under the woman’s grip.

“Years ago, when I was forming my Golden Core, I was ambushed by ruffians,” the shopkeeper said. “The eldest young lady happened to pass by and stepped in to help me, protecting me so I could complete my breakthrough safely. Now that you’re in trouble, I will return the favor she earned back then.”

The shopkeeper dragged her to a large water vat in the backyard. She heaved the vat aside, revealing a hidden tunnel beneath it.

“Follow this secret passage. Take the first left, then a right, and after that, stick strictly to the middle path. Keep that in mind…don’t take a wrong turn.”

The shopkeeper shoved Xu Xianqing down into the tunnel. “What will happen if the He family doesn’t find me here?”

“That is a matter between us cultivators,” the shopkeeper scoffed coldly. “A useless mortal without a drop of spiritual power shouldn’t worry about such things. Look after yourself and stay alive.”

The heavy water vat slid back into place above her head.

Even if Xu Xianqing wanted to get back out now, it was impossible.

Following the shopkeeper’s instructions, she took the left, then the right, and then stuck strictly to the middle path.

She had no idea how long she had been walking, but when a ray of bright light finally appeared ahead, she reflexively shielded her eyes.

Once her vision adjusted, she squinted and stepped out from the mouth of the cave.

“Who goes there? Don’t move!”

Before Xu Xianqing could even catch her breath, a group of people instantly surrounded her.

Unsure of who they were, Xu Xianqing could only stare at them vigilantly. With no defensive spells or combat skills to her name, she knew that if dodging and running failed, resigning herself to fate might be her only choice left.

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