When Liu Ruyan opened her eyes again, she had already appeared on the streets of Qingyang City.
She looked at her thirteen-year-old self not far away, with hair tied in simple double buns and wearing a red scholar's dress.
She was leading her six-year-old sister, Liu Ruxue, picking out bead flowers at a street stall.
Liu Ruxue looked up with her small face, pointing at a pink velvet flower, her eyes sparkling:
"Sister, this one looks good!"
"Okay, sister will buy it for you."
Everything was so familiar, exactly as it was in her memory.
Immediately after, three black-robed men appeared at the mouth of the alley without warning, and the leader's gaze instantly locked onto Liu Ruxue.
"Extreme Yin Physique... I didn't expect to encounter such a Physique in a small place like the Southern Region."
Thirteen-year-old Liu Ruyan's face changed drastically; she pulled her sister behind her and said sharply:
"Who are you? What do you want to do?"
No answer.
Only a withered hand grabbed toward Liu Ruxue like lightning.
"No—!"
Back then, her thirteen-year-old self had lunged forward like a madwoman, her meager spiritual energy of the third level of Qi Refining blasting out without reservation, yet it was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.
With a casual wave, she was thrown hard against the wall, blood overflowing from the corners of her mouth.
At that time, she could only watch helplessly as her sister was grabbed by that hand, her sister's terrified cries piercing her heart like a knife:
"Sister! Sister, save me—!"
"Xue'er—!!!"
She struggled to get up, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't do it.
Her vision blurred due to intense pain and despair; she could only see her sister's small figure being taken away, disappearing at the end of the alley.
That thirteen-year-old self lay on the cold ground, pounding the floor over and over, crying heart-wrenchingly.
Liu Ruyan stood not far away, watching quietly.
This was her first life.
It was the deepest scar in her heart that had never healed.
She thought she had already let go.
In this life, she had joined the Immortal Palace, met a wise Master, her cultivation had progressed rapidly, her sister was safe and sound, and her Family's status had risen accordingly.
But when this scene was laid out before her eyes again without any concealment.
That immense sense of helplessness, bone-deep guilt, and the subsequent longing for power still swallowed her like a surging tide.
The illusion seemed to sense the violent fluctuations in her emotions and began to distort and change.
The scene shifted to her second life, where her sister's dao foundation was completely destroyed because she had cultivated a Cultivation Technique that conflicted with her Physique, leaving her bedridden.
Little Xue'er's face was as pale as paper as she held her hand, her breath as thin as a thread:
"Sister... don't be sad... Xue'er is fine..."
Then, it showed her search for a Medicinal Pill to reconstruct the dao foundation, and finally, her fall into the Demonic Path, her hands covered in blood.
Liu Ruyan's body trembled slightly.
Without strength, one cannot even protect their closest loved ones.
Without strength, all tenderness and kindness are laughable luxuries.
Without strength, one can only watch helplessly as tragedy occurs and then fall into an endless Reincarnation.
She slowly clenched her fists, her fingertips piercing into her palms, bringing a real sense of pain.
The images before her eyes shifted again.
It was this life, in the Main Hall of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
Master placed the Jade Slip of the Supreme Yin Profound Scripture into her sister's hands, her gaze gentle and certain:
"This is the Supreme Yin Profound Scripture, an Earth Rank High Grade Cultivation Technique. Its nature is extremely Yin and cold, making it the most suitable Cultivation Technique for you."
Her sister Liu Ruxue widened her eyes in surprise, tightly hugging the Jade Slip, her small face glowing with unprecedented radiance.
Master... that figure who was as cold as the moon yet would provide guidance when they were lost and protection during times of danger.
"Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities have no distinction between good and evil."
"Used for good, they are good; used for evil, they are evil. The key lies not in the technique, but in the heart, and for what purpose it is used."
Master's words, clear and calm, yet seemingly carrying the power to cut through illusions, echoed in her heart once more.
Liu Ruyan slowly unclenched her fists.
She looked at the thirteen-year-old version of herself in the illusion, face covered in blood and crying in despair, and her gaze gradually became soft.
She walked over, squatted down beside that illusory self, reached out, and gently stroked "her" head.
Even though what she touched was only a void of light and shadow.
"Don't cry anymore."
She said softly, her voice carrying the weariness and relief of having lived through Reincarnation,
"It wasn't your fault."
"In this life, Xue'er is doing well, and the Family is doing well... rest assured."
As her words fell, the figure of the crying girl in the illusion melted away like ice and snow under the sun.
Her Dao Heart became increasingly firm at this moment.
The golden mist completely dissipated.
She found herself still standing on the Martial Arts Field, surrounded by other Disciples who were undergoing the trial with their eyes closed.
On the high platform, Elder Die Wu's multicolored eyes were looking at her with a smile, nodding slightly.
Liu Ruyan took a deep breath and bowed solemnly toward Elder Die Wu.
Meanwhile, on Gu Luoli's side, when she opened her eyes again.
She had returned to her quiet room in the Azure Cloud Holy Land.
The air was filled with a thick medicinal fragrance and a faint scent of blood.
"Creak—"
The door was pushed open roughly.
Several men and women wearing Inner Sect Disciple robes walked in.
Leading them was Zhao Wuji, who had once flattered her in every possible way but now had a face full of mockery.
"Oh, isn't this our Saintess? Why are you sitting on the floor? It's so cold!"
Zhao Wuji crossed his arms, looking down at her Double Pupils, his eyes filled with greed,
"I heard your dao foundation... is ruined?"
"Tsk tsk, these Double Pupils of yours are truly enviable..."
A sharp-faced female Disciple next to him glanced at Gu Luoli and reminded:
"Senior Brother Zhao, the Holy Lord has given an order; you'd better not set your sights on her."
"Let's just leave quickly..."
"What are you afraid of?"
Another short, fat Disciple chuckled,
"The Saintess used to ignore us, but now she's finally approachable. We should show her more concern."
"Concern?"
Senior Brother Zhao sneered,
"What's there to care about in a waste with a damaged dao foundation?"
"I think you're just lusting after her body, aren't you?"
The short, fat Disciple smiled sheepishly,
"To be honest, Senior Brother, I've liked her since I first entered the Holy Land, and now that there's finally an opportunity."
"Hehe... I can't miss it!"
A female Disciple nearby seemed unable to watch any longer, glared at him, and said crossly:
"Although she is no longer the Saintess, the Holy Lord once treated her like a daughter. Even if she's ruined now, she's not someone you can touch."
"I advise you to put away those thoughts of yours..."
Every harsh word was like a knife, slicing away at Gu Luoli's dignity.
Once, she was the most dazzling new star of the Azure Cloud Holy Land, possessing the Ancient Double Pupils, and was even regarded as the candidate for the next Holy Lord.
How many fellow Disciples looked up to her, how many Elders favored her.
One incident, and everything was turned upside down.
She possessed a pair of Double Pupils and saw through everything, yet she failed to see through people's hearts.
How pathetic... how lamentable.
Just then—
The scene of the illusion suddenly fluctuated!
Another completely different image was interspersed, overlapping and merging with the quiet room of the Azure Cloud Holy Land!
It was the Main Hall of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
It was shortly after she had just been brought back from outside by her Master.
She looked up and saw a flash of cold silver hair and a pair of eyes as calm as a deep pool.
"Since you have entered the Jade Pool Immortal Palace, from today on, you are just Gu Luoli, the third Disciple under my seat."
Master's voice was not passionate, yet it carried a power that smoothed over all restlessness and despair.
Then, fragments of subsequent scenes flashed by:
—Master bestowed the three-light divine water to help her restore her dao foundation and taught her the Transcendent Heaven Grade Cultivation Technique, the Spirit Void Heavenly Eye.
—On Yunwu Peak, Vice Palace Master Yun Yun patiently guided her in sword techniques, telling her:
"The Dao of the sword is like a person; its value lies in purity and determination. Since you have already been reborn, you should have a new Sword Heart."
—In the Secret Realm, she fought side by side with Second Senior Sister Liu Ruyan, her Double Pupils seeing through illusions, and the Dragon Abyss Sword light cutting through powerful enemies.
—And First Senior Sister Ah Yao, who would always open her pure big eyes and hand her a Spirit Fruit:
"Third Junior Sister, eat this; this one is very sweet."
...Two completely opposite situations collided violently in her mind!
On one side was the mockery of her former fellow Disciples in the Azure Cloud Holy Land, the trampling of her as a "waste."
On the other side was the warmth and acceptance of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace, the cherishing of her as "Family."
She was now just Gu Luoli of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
No longer the "waste" with a damaged dao foundation.
Her persistence all along had stemmed from her own heart, her own will.
And... the new life and recognition given to her by her Master!
Her gaze looked toward the Void Realm, as if piercing through the illusion to see that flash of silver hair,
"The Double Pupils are a talent, but they are not all of me. Even if these pupils are truly ruined—"
She paused, and within those Double Pupils, that speck of golden light suddenly blazed intensely!
"I, Gu Luoli, am still Gu Luoli!"
At the moment her words fell, all the scenes before her eyes shattered like broken glass, cracking and dissipating inch by inch!
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