Chapter 514—But… Aren’t we all Luo Qianqian?
“Public opinion?”
Tian Yan tilted his head slightly, looking a bit puzzled by Bai Feng’s words.
“Like using Yu Ling Long, leveraging the Heavenly Sword Sect’s reputation, and playing on people’s desperate longing for cultivation.”
Bai Feng stroked his chin thoughtfully, already having a plan in mind.
He decided to proceed gradually. As for the starting point… Well, he figured he’d begin with the major base at Xuan Guang City run by Yu Yao, along with the surrounding villages that worshipped cultivators—perfect places to make a splash at first. Once the fame spread, folks would naturally come asking to buy.
“Forget it, I don’t really get this stuff. You do it,” Tian Yan shook his head.
“But if we do it this way, we might be mistaken for the handiwork of the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
“Doesn’t matter. No, better yet, don’t mention my name.” Tian Yan didn’t care at all. “As long as we get the word out. What I care about is how Little Wheat’s actions will change this world. If all goes well, I might even break through to the Mahayana stage.”
“Then I’d better be more serious about it.”
Bai Feng didn’t think Tian Yan was exaggerating; after all, Little Wheat concerned the fundamental needs of humans. The impact on the world would be enormous—unimaginable, even.
“Alright, you should focus on making the cake first. I seem to smell something burnt.”
“…Oh no!”
…
“This looks about right.”
Making an excuse, Luo Qianqian slipped out of the Heavenly Sword Sect with a glowing jade pendant in hand, eyes darting around constantly.
“You’re here.” Suddenly, a woman with a strikingly similar appearance to her appeared beside her—just a bit taller and more mature. “Come on in.”
The woman raised her hand and a portal suddenly appeared in front of them.
“Oh.” Luo Qianqian nods without hesitation and walks right in. She quickly asks the woman beside her, “By the way, why haven’t you contacted me in so long? Did you forget about me?”
“Busy as always. Besides, given my current situation, it’s best if we don’t meet up often,” the woman, who looked almost identical to Luo Qianqian, chuckled and shook her head. “How’s life at the Heavenly Sword Sect? Feeling happy?”
“Pretty good,” Luo Qianqian nodded, then took out her mini formation disc. “Look, this was a reward from Teacher. I’m really valued by him.”
“That’s good.” The woman nodded slightly, then stopped walking. “We’re here.”
At the end of the tunnel was a small room with a soft bed.
“Next, take this pill and lie down.”
The woman handed Luo Qianqian a pill with bl**d-red markings.
“Oh.”
Luo Qianqian didn’t ask why. She swallowed the pill directly and quickly lay on the bed.
“You just rest for a while. It’ll be fine soon.”
“Okay.”
Who knows how much time passed? When Luo Qianqian woke up, the woman was sitting beside her, but her face looked a little pale.
She slowly sat up. “Alright, forget about me from now on. Enjoy your enviable life.”
“You… what’s wrong? Sounds like you’re saying farewell.”
Luo Qianqian sensed something was off, and noticed a change in her own body…
It was as if she really had come back to life.
The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at her with a gentle smile. “Just going to do some things. Oh, by the way, from today on, I am Qian Mian, and you will continue living as Luo Qianqian.”
“But… aren’t we all Luo Qianqian?”
“You can be me, but I am not you.” The woman gently shook her head. “Alright, go back now. Don’t forget what I told you. Forget me. From now on, we have no further contact.”
Although confused, Luo Qianqian nodded, turning to take a few steps before stopping and asking, “So… I’m leaving now, then?”
“Mm-hmm.”
The woman waved goodbye to Luo Qianqian as she departed.
And once Luo Qianqian left, she slowly sat on the bed, her shadow seeming to come alive, transforming into one ‘her’ after another on the ground.
“Is it really okay to let her go like that?”
“Sigh… Why can’t it be me? I also want a life like Luo Qianqian’s.”
“Because she is Luo Qianqian, and I am not,” the other ‘her’—the Qian Mian—softly shook her head. “Fine, you go back now. Don’t forget what I said. Forget me. We will have no more contact after this.”
Though puzzled, Luo Qianqian simply nodded. She took two steps then turned back. “Shall I go now?”
“Yeah.”
The Qian Mian waved her hand, watching Luo Qianqian’s figure fade away.
Once she was gone, the shadow sat back on the bed, slowly coming to life once more, splitting into multiple ‘hers’.
Is it really okay to let her leave like that?
Sighing, she thought, why can’t it be me? I’ve dreamed of living Luo Qianqian’s life too.
Because she is Luo Qianqian, and I am not.
It’s just not fair. Without us, she wouldn’t have survived until now; but she’s taken all the glory.
Qian Mian turned her gaze away from her own shadows or the constantly arguing ‘selves’. They had only started appearing after she had accepted the inheritance and broken into the Refinement Stage; before that, they couldn’t appear or speak to each other. Now, they argued all the time.
But even though she was used to it, perhaps because Luo Qianqian would never return, she instinctively began to ponder—when did all this start?
It must have been when she practiced that secret technique. She remembered her parents’ obsession with cultivators, their descent into poverty after starting to chase immortality. Her once-wealthy family was gradually ruined. Eventually, her parents sold her to the Holy Heart Sect. Due to a plan called Qian Mian, on her first day in the Sect, she was forced to fight alongside others who faced the same fate.
As a little girl, she should have died that very first day. But her talent was remarkable. She advanced rapidly in that secret technique and luckily killed her first would-be devourer, then devoured him in turn.
After devouring him, an overwhelming surge of memories threatened to blow her mind. She couldn’t tell if she was still herself or the one she had just swallowed. Just when she was about to break, another ‘self’ appeared. She didn’t know whether this was due to her natural talent or her mental state going off the rails. Luckily, that other ‘self’ absorbed those memories, and she didn’t completely lose her mind.
After that, as she devoured more people, more ‘selves’ began to appear. She could summon these alternate identities at will, which helped her climb the ranks. Eventually, she completed the Holy Heart Sect’s plan—becoming the Hundred Faced Saintess.
And when did Luo Qianqian show up? Qian Mian was playing with the hair near her ear, reminiscing—oh, I remember. It was after she had grown accustomed to killing and devouring as a demon cultivator, suddenly discovering a completely different self.
Luo Qianqian hadn’t merged other people’s memories, nor was she corrupted by the demonic path like her. She was just like her past self—untouched by her parents’ sellout, pure and enviable.
She wasn’t sure why, perhaps some leftover kindness at the bottom of her heart or nostalgia for the past, but she decided to cherish Luo Qianqian carefully. She even freed her when she needed someone to enter the Heavenly Sword Sect.
…
“So, the demon girl was once sold into the Holy Heart Sect by naïve mortal parents obsessed with cheap Spirit Stones?”
Bai Feng rubbed Little Qi’s head thoughtfully, feeling this discovery was both expected and unforeseen.
Cultivation sects mostly bought, snatched, tricked, or stole their disciples—except for direct kin like demon cultivators’ elders’ children. He’d always thought that the demon girl’s status was probably that of a sect elder’s daughter or granddaughter.
