When he opened his eyes again, what Lu Li saw was not that unfamiliar starry sky.
Instead, it was an ornate ceiling—some areas left blank, others adorned with delicate paintings and carvings.
“Huh?” In his subconscious confusion, Lu Li noticed his throat sound soft, and at the same time, a heaviness in his chest that wasn’t usually there.
“Ah… an imbalance of Yin and Yang Qi, huh.”
He had encountered this situation before when crossing the Heavenly Tribulation.
As a man, the Yang Qi in his body had been depleted, and Yin Qi had entered instead.
In other sects, this would probably cause internal injuries, but the unique cultivation technique of the Yin Yang Sect had actually transformed his body without any other damage.
‘When you think about it, the sect’s technique is really convenient.’
Lu Li used his Divine Sense to inspect internally.
Because he had turned into a female body, the True Yuan in his Dantian was recovering quickly.
“But where is this place?” Lu Li looked around. The wooden tables and chairs in the surrounding area looked plain but were all made from spiritual wood.
The paintings on the walls, or the curios placed in the corners, were clearly not from the Three Gold Village where he had been earlier.
“Did I return to Heavenly Deduction City after getting injured…”
With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Lu Li noticed some food on the table.
And a few lines of crookedly written text.
Looking at the signature, it was written by the villagers of Three Gold Village to express their gratitude.
The handwriting was uneven, and there was a small handprint, as if left by the little girl who had delivered the food earlier.
‘Whew… at least there are no casualties.’
Lu Li let out a long breath and swept his gaze across the entire room again.
‘Anyway, the biggest headache right now is how to explain that I was originally male, but after releasing a magic technique and fainting, I turned into a woman…’
Lost in thought, Lu Li stripped off his torn male clothes and took out the newly issued uniform from his Storage Bracelet.
Ever since reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, the sect had issued blue dresses.
“Sigh… why is it a skirt again?” He sighed to himself, but his hands skillfully put it on.
This familiarity made Lu Li think that the practice before the Enthronement Ceremony had finally come in handy.
“And the person who brought me here obviously thinks I’m a woman… but that’s normal.” Lu Li caught sight of the dressing table and bronze mirror in the room.
He habitually sat in front of it, looking at himself with disheveled hair, and the knowledge he had learned before flowed through his mind.
“Let’s make this quick, then go ask about the mission situation.” Lu Li simply combed his hair, tied up his topknot, and inserted the plainest jade hairpin.
He condensed Qi into water, quickly washed his face and applied powder, then drew his eyebrows and colored his lips.
Just as he was examining his reflection, the door opened, and light footsteps approached from afar.
“Lu… sister?” It was Xiao Xi’s voice, but she didn’t sound as nervous as before.
“Uh, it’s complicated to explain.” Lu Li turned around, but caught sight of a gorgeously dressed woman. “Huh?”
The young woman before him had a high bun and a clean, plain face, clearly different from the beggar she had been before.
But there were faint traces visible in her brows and eyes.
Moreover, she was wearing a dark blue long dress embroidered with faint stars and moons.
“You’re Xiao Xi?” Lu Li’s expression was complicated.
After a sweep of his Divine Sense, he discovered that Xiao Xi was at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
“Why were you disguised as a beggar earlier?”
“That was a special situation. But you, Lu… Master, no, Sister Lu.” Xiao Xi’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to Lu Li’s peach blossom eyes.
She shook her head before returning to normal.
“Sister Lu, why did you disguise yourself as a man?”
“I was originally a man.”
“Sister Lu must be joking.” Hearing this, Xiao Xi actually laughed out loud.
“What man would carry a woman’s Dharma robe, tie his hair into a bun, and even put on powder and lip color?”
“As for me… the situation is complicated.” Lu Li wanted to explain, but could only let out a long sigh.
Saying too much would expose the core technique of the Yin Yang Sect.
“Besides, Sister Lu, I checked your pulse and examined your injuries earlier. You are definitely a woman.” As Xiao Xi spoke, her face turned red for a moment.
“Ahem… it was just for treatment. Don’t misunderstand, Sister Lu.”
“Before we get to business, let’s talk about you first. It seems you’re not an ordinary beggar.” Lu Li’s gaze fell on the Divination Jade Disk at Xiao Xi’s waist.
On that jade plate, star patterns swirled, almost identical to the patterns of the Heavenly Deduction Sect that Lu Li had seen in the Ascending Heavenly Palace these past few days.
“As far as I know, that’s something only the Saintess of the Heavenly Deduction Sect can wear.”
“Sister Lu as well. That bracelet on your wrist is something only the Yin Yang Sect’s Saintess can have. I was wondering earlier why it was so strange—the Yin Yang Sect has never had a Saint Son.” Xiao Xi giggled.
“No wonder my fortune-telling was never accurate. How could I tell the fortune of a female body while in a male guise?”
“Well, it’s a special situation.”
“I understand. I get it.” Xiao Xi smiled, walked over to Lu Li, and gazed admiringly into his eyes.
“The Yin Yang Sect’s techniques are soul-stealing and heart-capturing. If Sister Lu went out as a woman, she would probably stir up a lot of trouble. Being a man is the best disguise.”
“I suppose you can think of it that way.” Lu Li could only sigh and rub his forehead.
“What about you? How did a dignified Saintess end up begging and fortune-telling on the street?”
“Because that’s our Heavenly Deduction Sect’s Foundation Building Trial. I can’t use my Foundation Establishment cultivation—I have to stay at the Qi Refining Third Layer.” Speaking of this, Xiao Xi also let out a long sigh, sat down on a chair, and glanced at the cosmetics Lu Li had placed on the dressing table. Then she smiled calmly.
“I can’t even carry money. I have to accurately tell fortunes for a thousand people before I can return to the sect.”
“I see…” Lu Li had been curious before.
Although the entire Heavenly Deduction City pursued mathematics, it would be too astonishing if a street beggar also had such skill.
“Let’s get back to the original mission. Are the people of Three Gold Village really okay? And was the mission successful?” Lu Li also sat down on a chair.
Then, noticing that Xiao Xi was always glancing at him with a smile, he subconsciously adjusted his clothes but found nothing wrong.
“What is it?”
“Nothing… The people of Three Gold Village are all fine. The Golden Core True Person, Li Zhengshen, handled most of the Beast Tide, and a three-tailed Demon Beast was killed by Sister Lu’s sword.” Xiao Xi counted on her fingers.
“But Heavenly Deduction City was worried that going deeper into the Yao Race’s territory would bring more Beast Tides. Plus, one Foundation Establishment Cultivator was injured, so the team temporarily withdrew.”
“Is this the Yao Race plotting against the Human Race, or…” Lu Li was relieved to hear that the people of Three Gold Village were safe.
“I’m not sure. This matter isn’t that big, because Beast Tides happen from time to time. But the fact that it happened right during the gift-giving makes it not small.” Xiao Xi shrugged.
“Anyway, that’s a problem for the Golden Core True Person to consider. If anything else comes up, they’ll notify us.”
“At least that’s one thing settled…” Lu Li stood up, folded his hands at his waist, and performed a salute.
“Then I’ll thank Miss Xiao Xi for bringing me back to Heavenly Deduction City.”
“No need to be so polite, Sister Lu.” Xiao Xi gave a bright smile and made the same gesture.
“My full name is Liu Qingxi. Call me Qingxi, or Xixi if you want.”
“Then, Qingxi, I won’t disturb you any longer.” Just as Lu Li was about to stand up, Liu Qingxi, just like before, pinched the corner of Lu Li’s clothes with her fingers.
“Don’t be so hasty, Sister Lu.” There were faint starry glints shimmering in Liu Qingxi’s eyes.
“I want to recalculate a fortune.”
“Huh?”
“The earlier divinations were all inaccurate. Today, I absolutely must get an accurate one!”
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