Chapter Fourteen: Reborn as the Eldest Daughter of an Immortal Sect

"Let go of me! Let go of me! I want to kill that wretch!"

Shen Miao's hideous face was stripped of all pretense.

"Shen Miao! Get a hold of yourself!"

"How can I be calm? If not for her—she returned, but you? You left! Why must everyone revolve around her? Why?!"

Baili Ce was struck by Shen Miao's words, gripping her hand and dragging her down from the stage.

"See? Ha, ha, ha, I've hit the mark," Shen Miao's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming, her expression vacant yet tinged with madness as she looked at Baili Ce.

"You love her, yes, you love her—but what about me? What about me?! You only ever notice what she's done for you. Can't you see me at all? If you love her, then what am I to you?!"

"Shen Miao, calm down. Let's go back and settle this," Baili Ce could no longer bear her behavior.

"Baili Ce, you truly are a heartless man..."

A blood-red tear slid down Shen Miao's cheek.

Perhaps she had merely loved the wrong person—a person who never loved her.

Everyone watched the spectacle unfold.

Baili Ce yanked Shen Miao's hair, dragging her downward.

A twisted smile curled at Shen Miao's lips. "Ha, ha, ha! What a bunch of fools, dancing to her tune, ha ha ha!"

The claw marks on her face grew uglier with her wild laughter.

Bai Ruo stepped out from Chong Li's embrace:

"Oh?"

"Your acting is so convincing, I don't even know whether to call you Bai Ruo... or... Lian?"

Bai Ruo's pupils contracted; for a moment, her expression shifted before returning to calm.

"I was right, wasn't I? You're not Bai Ruo at all! Ha ha, ha ha..."

Baili Ce thought Shen Miao had surely lost her mind.

Yunmeng and the Sword Sect watched the drama unfold.

The daughter of the Sect Leader possessed, what a commotion!

Chong Li secretly sent a message to Bai Ruo:

"Don't be afraid. I am here for everything."

He took Bai Ruo's hand in his own.

Chong Li's hand was warm, offering a sense of security. She was grateful he stood at her side.

The memory of her previous tribulation, facing it all alone, was still vivid. Now, it seemed she finally had someone to rely on.

As Shen Miao was dragged away, she continued to mutter and rant.

Though everyone still kept their distance from Bai Ruo, Shen Miao's words, like seeds, were buried in the hearts of all present.

The three Sect Leaders gathered in the main hall to discuss urgent matters. Usually, Bai Ruo was surrounded by people, but now, aside from Chong Li, even Huaize stood off to the side, his expression complicated.

Bai Ruo cared little. Even if Shen Miao exposed her true identity, what evidence was there?

True... identity?

How had Shen Miao learned her name was Lian?

On the entire Xuanming Continent, besides the Sect Leader and Chong Li, was there a second person who knew her real identity?

What detail had slipped?

Chong Li seemed to be pondering the same question, but from his expression, he seemed to have found an answer.

"Chong Li?"

"This is not your concern. I'll handle it."

Today he wore new robes, jet-black with golden lotus trim—noble and elegant.

Chong Li seemed to favor lotuses, especially ink-black ones. His previous white robes had lotus patterns in ink at the cuffs and hem, lifelike from afar.

Though they had known each other only a few months, Bai Ruo felt as if centuries had passed between them, and recalled the black lotus petal from before.

Invisible threads tied everything together.

No one knew what the three Sect Leaders discussed. The next day, each returned to their own sect with their disciples.

Shen Miao was locked in the confinement chamber. Baili Ce occasionally visited, but rumors spread that Shen Miao had descended into madness.

Perhaps madness was for the best, sparing them further trouble. The beast tide in the Liuli Secret Realm was never mentioned again—already fading from memory.

As for the second task, the system had not issued its cold, emotionless voice in a long time:

[Xuanming Continent's final task: restore the token of the Liuli Secret Realm, the Mirror of Three Lives.]

[The Mirror of Three Lives is a divine artifact, isn't it? Are you sure you can complete this task?]

[The Mirror of Three Lives shattered because of you. You must repair it, or else karma will linger in this world and Heaven will be displeased.]

She understood karma, but what did it mean for Heaven to be angry? Would she be struck by lightning?

Bai Ruo recalled her previous tribulation—her heart jolted. Enough, enough, if you say it's possible, I'll do it.

Anything was better than being struck by lightning!

Beyond the thirty-three heavens, immortal music drifted. Chong Hua sat cross-legged, his long black hair rustling in the wind, his dark robes untainted atop the clouds.

A chessboard lay before him, and under his hand, the game seemed on the verge of defeat. With a gentle touch, the situation reversed.

His peach blossom eyes, usually gentle, now shone with a chilling gleam, as if capable of freezing all.

He was the Lord God, the chief among gods, deity of the three thousand worlds!

"At this moment, you should not act on your own accord."

The once clear sky was now veiled with heavy clouds.

"Ling Xiao."

"Yes, my Lord!"

...

In the lower realm, Xuanming Continent, Immortal Sect.

Shen Miao died in the confinement chamber, breathless.

The moment Bai Ruo saw Shen Miao's corpse, guilt flickered in her heart. Perhaps the system's tasks were too harsh. Yet as Little Rascal recounted all Shen Miao's misdeeds, her guilt vanished.

Despising her own mother's humble origins, bullying younger disciples by virtue of her entry into the Immortal Sect, causing the death of her closest friend for selfish gain...

Shen Miao had long abused her family status. Now, with her gone, not a single relative came to claim her body.

Her family cared little for her death; rumor had it the funeral was perfunctory.

Bai Ruo had no interest in such matters. In recent days, she focused on strengthening her cultivation while secretly working with the Sect Leader to repair the Mirror of Three Lives.

The system's hints pointed to her, but Bai Ruo herself had no idea how the mirror had shattered.

Days of effort yielded no progress, though her cultivation soared by two levels.

Others advanced as if squeezing toothpaste, but Bai Ruo rose as easily as drinking water, arousing much envy.