Beside Qingzhou stood another figure who shared his exact visage—equally breathtaking—except this version possessed black hair and dark eyes, with no snake scales on his face, looking no different from a human.
Shi Yu quickly reacted, recalling what Qingzhou had mentioned before, and asked, “You shed your skin?”
Qingzhou nodded and coughed softly twice. His face looked exceptionally pale, and his body swayed unsteadily.
Shi Yu stepped forward to support him, asking with concern, “Does creating an avatar from your shed skin affect your health?”
Qingzhou raised his eyes, which were as clear as a deep pond. “It is no trouble at all. As long as I can help Sister, that is all that matters.”
Shi Yu frowned. Just as she was about to say more, she noticed that his features seemed to have matured slightly, and he had grown a bit taller.
Previously, he had looked a year or two younger than her, but now he appeared to be about her age.
Does Qingzhou grow a bit every time he sheds his skin?
With him looking like this, having him call me ‘Sister’ feels a bit strange now, Shi Yu thought to herself.
“Your health comes first. If it causes you harm, do not do it again in the future.” She shifted her gaze toward the black-haired, snake-shed youth.
Perhaps Qingzhou had deliberately given him black hair and dark eyes for convenience when moving about outside.
Though he shared the same face as Qingzhou, his demeanor was somewhat different. He offered her an obedient, lively, and cheerful smile, calling out as well, “Sister.”
Shi Yu could not help thinking, Even though he is an avatar formed from Qingzhou’s shed skin, he seems to have his own independent mind.
Composing herself, she asked, “What is your name?”
The snake-shed youth answered obediently, “I originate from the main body, so Sister can just call me Qingzhou as well.”
Shi Yu gave an “Oh” and nodded. However, the original Qingzhou beside him frowned with slight displeasure. “Choose a different name.”
The snake-shed youth then looked at Shi Yu with soft, pleading eyes. “Would Sister bestow a name upon me?”
Naming magic artifacts was second nature to Shi Yu, but naming a person was a challenge. Looking at the youth’s black hair and dark eyes, she hazarded a name: “...Mo Tong?”
The youth accepted the name with delight.
Qingzhou said calmly, “He can watch over the shop from now on.”
Shi Yu nodded slightly. “Although the inventory is still limited for now, it is enough for our grand opening.”
Over the past few days, she had worked overtime to concoct and draw many simplified versions of pills and spirit talismans. Even so, their quality was far superior to what was available on the market.
As for the shop, Qingzhou had already readied everything in advance, merely waiting for the goods to be placed on the shelves.
Thus, that very afternoon, the shop that had been locked for so long quietly opened its doors.
Shi Yu took time to head over and set up an array inside to prevent the loss of spiritual efficacy.
Because the location was somewhat remote and she had not made any grand announcements, she expected few customers in the short term.
...
The day before her scheduled visit to the Xie Clan to cure Xie Zhixun's poison happened to be Shi Yu's sixteenth birthday in this world.
Cultivators in the Origin Realm possessed long lifespans and did not attach much importance to birthdays. However, in her past life, Shi Yu had always celebrated her birthdays with grand festivities. In this life, born in the Mortal Realm as the doted Ninth Princess, every single birthday of hers had been celebrated lavishly.
She felt that whether for herself or her original host, a sense of ritual was still necessary. So that evening, she went to the kitchen and cooked a bowl of longevity noodles by herself. Without telling anyone about her birthday, she looked up at the bright moon and ate the noodles bite by bite.
It was the most understated birthday of both her lives.
As she ate, Shi Yu belatedly felt a coolness on her cheek. Reaching out to wipe it, she froze slightly when she saw the wet trace on her fingertip.
She recalled her past life. Due to her fragile health, she had spent two birthdays in a hospital bed. Yet no matter where she was, she had always been surrounded by laughter, cheer, and endless warmth and affection.
Now, all of that was in the past.
Having arrived here and assumed this identity, she would likely never be able to return.
Putting down the bowl, Shi Yu softly admonished herself, “I must not dwell on it, lest it turn into an obsession.”
With those words, her gaze grew firm once more.
...
Amidst a haze of confusion, Shi Yu raised her eyes and looked around. Figures continuously swept past her, soaring through clouds and mist as they chased one another, laughing heartily.
She could not clearly make out their faces. Looking down beneath her feet, she realized she was standing atop a flying sword, soaring midair.
Her thoughts felt sluggish. She sensed that something was off, yet could not pinpoint what it was. Am I able to manipulate escape light and fly on a sword now?
As she flew aimlessly through the sea of clouds, the voices around her gradually grew clearer.
“Hurry, hurry, the dungeon is about to open!”
“This BOSS is insanely OP! Let's pull our weight this time!”
Shi Yu froze, instantly realizing that she was inside the Xian Yuan game. She silently recited, Exit game.
A light screen suddenly appeared before her: "Exit Game: Yes / No."
The moment her intent selected "Yes," the scenery before her transformed. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a completely different place.
Did I... come back? Shi Yu murmured in her heart as she stepped out of the gaming pod, looking around the familiar room.
Light-colored curtains fluttered softly, filtering sunlight that spilled onto the floor. The bed rested against the wall, covered in soft sheets, while a fresh bouquet of small daisies sat on the nightstand. Beside it, the bookshelf was neatly lined with books of all kinds, from novels to poetry collections...
Shi Yu’s gaze slowly swept across the room, finally landing on a small table beside the gaming pod. A cup of warm milk sat atop an automatic heating coaster.
She picked up the cup of milk, her mind coming to a near standstill.
Just then, a knock sounded at the bedroom door, accompanied by a gentle voice from outside: “Xiao Yu, dinner time!”
Shi Yu’s frozen thoughts suddenly broke free, and her expression turned urgent. “Mom!”
She rushed to the door and pulled it open, but right before she could see her mother, a spell of dizziness overcame her vision.
Shi Yu snapped her eyes open and sat up abruptly, her chest heaving for a long while.
Inside the stone chamber, the spirit stone lamp emitted a soft white glow.
Everything was dead quiet.
Only after a long while did she regain her senses, murmuring softly, “It was a dream...”
Ever since she drew Qi into her body to begin cultivating, she had not dreamed for a very long time—cultivation arts possessed the effect of calming the mind and nourishing the spirit, making it rare for dreams to disturb her.
Pressing her forehead between her eyebrows, Shi Yu felt utterly exhausted. Though it was merely a dream, it felt as though it had drained a vast amount of her mental energy, leaving her spent.
Her thoughts were somewhat turbulent, and with sleep no longer an option, she simply abandoned rest altogether, sitting cross-legged to meditate and practice the 《Soul Tempering Art》.
Using the pain of her divine soul being ground and tempered, her wandering thoughts gradually gathered back...
At daybreak, Shi Yu ceased her cultivation.
Today was the agreed-upon day with Xie Cheng.
After tidying herself up slightly, she set off for the Xie Clan.
A prominent family as famous as the Xie Clan was easy to find in the main city. Asking around for directions, she followed the path until a grand mansion appeared before her eyes.
High walls enclosed the perimeter of the estate, while the buildings within were arranged in orderly layers, their green tiles and red walls exuding a subtle grandeur.
After presenting her alchemist identity jade token, she was led toward the inner residence by a servant boy.
When Shi Yu arrived, she saw many familiar faces from the Alchemist Association, including President Song and Master Ji. All of them looked at their wits' end, their brows deeply furrowed.
Apart from them, there was also an unfamiliar face sitting lazily with a teacup in hand, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with subtle disdain.
He had a feminine appearance, jet-black hair, and pale blue-white skin. His spirit robe was embroidered with purple venomous snake patterns, and he held a slender, jade-like snake in his hand. Strands of black Qi rose from his body, emanating an eerie and sinister pressure.
Shi Yu’s gaze swept over him. The man exuded a gloomy aura from head to toe. Unsurprisingly, this was likely the cultivator specializing in poison arts whom Xie Cheng had mentioned earlier.
President Song and the others were surprised to see Shi Yu arrive. “Girl Yu.”
A cold smile curled up the poison cultivator's lips as his fingers lightly stroked the scales of the venomous snake. He chuckled, “Yet another one here to waste their time.”
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