Ji Shiyu didn’t have the habit of keeping a diary, but after running away from home for so long without a word, her mother would be worried.
What if she stormed out and searched a thousand miles to the Shenhua Sect?
So, she recorded her daily life, treating it as letters to send back home via Shanhai Pavilion to assure her mother of her safety.
For example, this week’s academy life was as fulfilling as ever and boring, too—any extra flowery words would be an insult to the brain.
Monday: Work!
Tuesday: Work! (ps, Senior Sister Qin is actually really nice, she gave me a 200 Spirit Stone work-study stipend again. Second month of loving the Lady Boss!)
Wednesday: Work + Eating! The teacher’s newly invented beef bowl is so delicious, what if I never get to eat it again?
Thursday: Shiyu, oh Shiyu, how could you fall so low? Did you forget your beautiful girl cultivation plan?
You once swore to become the Heaven-defying Sword Maiden who’d look down on all of Kyushu! You can’t keep going like this!
Friday: Painful reflection, furious working + furious eating!
***
How did Ji Xingshu feel when she received this family letter?
Ao Tian didn’t know.
Anyway, even a dog would shake its head at this diary.
The fallen mysterious maiden was like a migrant worker, clutching a stash of Spirit Stones in her pocket and daydreaming about returning home in glory. Even her dreams were sweet.
I told you to imitate, not to surpass!
Ao Tian only urged Ji Shiyu to find a Master and build ties with the Divine Oil Boy, never imagining she’d nurture a model laborer of Celestial Phenomena Peak who couldn’t go a day without working.
“Eh? But this place is amazing. Living on Celestial Phenomena Peak is so much better than staying at home. Everyone here is talented, their words sound nice, and I love it here so much!”
Phoenix Hatchling sighed—it was true.
A little mouth sweet as honey, an invincible ex-wife, a newly minted love-brain princess, a gentle Lady Boss who fulfills all a man’s fantasies, and a stern, unsmiling ice-beauty Master.
Not a single yellow-haired girl was a real opponent. The road to the top was long. Maybe the Ji mother and daughter together could put up a fight.
Saturday morning, with no early classes or self-study, Ji Shiyu and her roommates scattered.
Xiao Xinran snorted and went to the Western Courtyard to join the patrol disciples, letting the yellow-haired girl and the villainess enjoy themselves for a while.
The former princess-disease girl had become independent, working hard, able to endure hardship and loneliness, never relying on anyone as before.
In the cultivation world, strength was everything. Since she couldn’t help her beloved restore his Qi Sea, she could only repay with her own efforts and prove herself with time.
This was the truest apology.
With the tides turned, she would become Yun Liu’s guardian!
The times had changed. The yellow-haired girl was rich again, humming as she rode the Cloud Kite straight to Celestial Phenomena Peak, seeing a second spring after a brief slump.
Refining Qi Ninth Stage, nearing Great Perfection.
Under Qin Xing’s guidance, Ji Shiyu prepared several spiritual herbs to help refine the Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, and employees got them at cost, which made her very happy.
The beautiful Senior Sisters of Rosy Fragrance Pavilion all looked after her—it was heaven, honestly.
The vanished Fortune seemed to return, and everything was heading in a good direction.
Recently, a mysterious Immortal Elder Sister arrived at Happy Farm, said to be the teacher’s teacher (adoptive mother of the adoptive father), so the Ancestor Master (grandmother)?
The Aunt Master’s coldness spread from within, leaving only awe and longing.
The Heaven-defying Sword Maiden of Ji Shiyu’s dreams was just like that.
She grew more eager to follow Bingling Immortal on Celestial Phenomena Peak, completely forgetting her old Sword Scripture of Zhuiyun goals.
With a Master behind her, let’s see if the Divine Oil Boy dares bully me—wahaha!
He’d call her Little Junior Sister, she’d call him Old (adoptive) Teacher—they each did their own thing.
Ao Tian saw it all but didn’t interfere.
It used to always mess things up with too much force, but going with the flow was better.
At least Ji’s bad habits had eased, and she wasn’t so obsessed with Xiao Xinran anymore—instead, she’d been influenced by her adoptive father into a little money-grubber.
The days in the countryside had indeed helped Shiyu mature. She was at least eight years old now, right?
In the snowy mountains, the golden-haired girl toiled for her adoptive father, earning great merit.
The herb garden by Mirror Lake kept expanding.
Now and then, a chunk of rare Qingjin Rock blocked her way—stubborn, hard as top-tier Second-Grade Foundation Pill Material, but great for forging spirit tools.
“Eight! Ten! Eight! Ten!”
Ji Shiyu spat into her palms, gripping the Seven-Star Sword and hacking furiously at the stone.
Poor sword, it had followed the wrong master—its greatest use became tilling the earth.
Large pieces were eighty, small pieces forty—the Qingjin Rock farm owner took them all.
Wasn’t this just free money!?
The daisy qipao restricted her movements and got dirty easily—supposedly a keepsake Lady Boss used as a student—so Ji Shiyu simply stole a Cloud Robe from her teacher’s room, moving with greater ease.
Even though it was men’s clothing, the moon-white cloud robe fit well on the yellow-haired girl, just tight at the chest.
“Xinran passed the academy assessment and joined the Sect Sword Guard. If you’re assigned to the same exam in two days, are you confident?”
“Maybe…?”
Ji Shiyu shrank her neck, looking foolish—she’d forgotten everything.
While Yun Liu had been away for half a month, Xiao Xinran’s cultivation soared, joining the Western Courtyard Sword Guard for patrols and fighting monsters, gaining lots of battle experience.
At fourteen, Refining Qi Seventh Stage.
Aside from a few outer sect disciples at Refining Qi Great Perfection, she had no rivals in sword classes.
Thinking back to the clumsy girl at the foot of the peaks, it was scary.
Ao Tian’s worries were justified. With that strange flame, Xiao Xinran couldn’t be seen as a normal Qi Refining Cultivator, even with the Phoenix Spirit fusion.
Now, both Fortunes were carried by the Dao Mark, keeping a strange balance.
Whoever conquered Yun Liu first, the Fortune scale would tip.
At noon, the honest farm owner returned from Rosy Fragrance Pavilion.
That was the signal to eat.
Ji Shiyu’s eyes lit up, grabbing crushed stone and running with her twin ponytails bouncing.
Seeing the bright girl wearing his clothes, Yun Liu’s expression turned strange.
“What’s wrong, doesn’t it fit?”
Ji Shiyu spun around, pant legs dirty.
“It’s fine. Thank you for your work.”
Sword Emblem and Cloud Robe were left in the house, to be returned to Master in a few days—they wouldn’t belong to her anymore.
The boy didn’t hesitate to praise her, distributing rewards like a routine NPC.
Ji Shiyu seemed to have changed, yet not, sometimes eyeing Master sneakily, but mostly working diligently.
Yun Liu wasn’t interested in the main plot, accepted the Qingjin Rock, and carried leftover Spirit Stone scraps into the kitchen.
A quick meal of Spirit Meal.
Soon, the palace was filled with aroma.
The little yellow-haired girl sat on the threshold with a bowl of five-spice fried rice, face glowing with happiness.
She’d have to bring her teacher home someday so her picky mother could try it, too.
“Let me!”
By the time the second bowl was ready, Ji Shiyu had finished eating, rice sticking to her lips.
She took it and, familiar with the task, ran to deliver it to the grandmother on the upper floor.
Not out of flattery—the ethereal Immortal rarely ate, so meals left at her door often went untouched and cold.
As a worker, she knocked per usual, squatting at the door, waiting to clean up once the future Master had eaten a few bites.
“You’re hopeless! You’ve lost all my face!”
Ao Tian grabbed the golden hair, pecking in rage, while Ji Shiyu clutched the chicken’s head and cursed back.
“You have the nerve to talk? If you hadn’t been snacking, would I have been so desperate?”
Yellow hair gobbled up food, and the chick pecked just as fast.
Yun Liu smiled and shook his head, yawned, and lay down for a nap.
The princess’s bedroom prepared for the Prince Consort was quite comfortable.
Hm, still carried the Master’s scent.
Daily question: Would she go mad tonight?
Wait and see…
This morning, Mr. Xiao Yun had just processed an order, supposedly a Foundation Establishment Pill commissioned by a big shot from Zhuiyun Peak.
Qin Xing didn’t reveal the details but said it had drained her Yuan Qi, so she was temporarily unable.
Ao Tian glanced at Yun Liu—the kid didn’t even wear the Cloud Robe lately, strolling through Xi Xi Peak in a green robe, acting more carefree after recovery.
“Shiyu, bad news—plans have changed. We may have to set out early.”
“Set out? Where?”
Yellow hair looked up in alarm, heart pounding.
“Where doesn’t matter. We have to pack.”
“Why! Are we not learning sword anymore?”
Ji Shiyu stammered, panic rising.
Though she hadn’t been here long and didn’t feel attached to the sect, she truly loved Rosy Fragrance Pavilion and Celestial Phenomena Peak.
Xiao Xinran’s prickly outbursts were cute, and the self-important little princess wasn’t all that annoying.
If possible, Ji Shiyu wanted to resolve misunderstandings and become friends.
She’d only just gotten to know some new friends.
She especially liked Senior Sister Qin, and…
The cold outside but warm inside Divine Oil Boy.
This mother and son were way too alike!
“Swordsmanship can be learned anywhere. Besides Sword Scripture of Zhuiyun, I have other good options. But if Fortune runs away, you can never catch up.”
The big-brained one was troubled, too.
Yun Liu’s departure meant not just the loss of Extreme Destiny, but part of the Stellar Destiny, with Wolong and Phoenix Hatchling now bound together.
Still, the escape of a Child of Destiny had its perks.
The Three-Year Promise could be won without fighting, and Xiao Xinran, severed from Fortune, would crumble without resistance.
Therefore, Shiyu had to go, even if she had to die clinging to Yun Liu’s thigh.
Thus began the secret plan of a father-daughter defection!
“Who ran away? Xiao Xinran…no, the teacher?”
Ji Shiyu covered her mouth in shock, actually smart for once, but still clueless.
Senior Sister Qin and Senior Sister Jing hadn’t noticed, either, nor had the roommates, who were focused on advancing to Inner Disciples and getting closer to their Unmarried Former Master.
Ji Shiyu was still puzzled when the door behind her suddenly opened.
Yan Bingling stood coldly in the doorway, lips pale—her rest had still been poor since returning from Shenmu Yingzhou, and nightly battles with Yinhan Demonic Qi left her exhausted.
But this time, Ao Tian wasn’t interested in exploiting the situation to steal Fortune, only in preserving the two Fortunes and plotting escape.
“Um, you’re awake! I heard Master dislikes medicine, so Teacher added Fire Spirit materials to the Spirit Meal and asked me to bring it to you while it’s hot.”
Some wished the Aunt Master would stop resisting.
Others quietly hoped her appetite would remain poor.
On Celestial Phenomena Peak, fatherly love and filial piety remained.
Yan Bingling had been relieved, but now, seeing the familiar clothing on the girl, she grew annoyed.
“Master? Just because he calls me that doesn’t mean you can!”
Now, the title sounded particularly harsh—especially coming from a yellow-haired girl out of nowhere.
Ji Shiyu probed, “Ptooey ptooey ptooey, then… Grandmother?”
Gra-Grandmother!?
The little brat was out of line!
“I’m not that old, okay (guilty)!”
Yan Bingling’s face frosted, trembling with anger, snow falling once more on the Sea of Clouds Peaks Forest.
All family, but Aunt Master was too distant, Immortal Elder Sister too greasy, and Ancestor Master too old.
Nothing worked—impossible to please.
Ji Shiyu frowned, troubled, while Ao Tian broke out in a cold sweat.
Yan Bingling was no Xiao Xinran—Phoenix Spirit couldn’t withstand her wrath.
In the eyes of the fallen mysterious maiden, she was a big boss with a question mark over her head, her cultivation and skills all unknown???
“Don’t think I don’t know who you are or where you’re from.”
“You know me?”
Ji Shiyu pointed to herself in confusion.
“I know what you’re up to. Stay away from him, or die!”
Yan Bingling’s cold Qi seeped out, making Ji Shiyu flinch and shiver.
Crack!
The rice bowl crashed to the ground, shattering.
“Ah!”
Yellow hair cried out in heartbreak, hands frozen.
What a waste!
“You—what do you know! Disciple serves you in good faith, and you not only reject it but waste her efforts! With such an unreasonable Master, is it any wonder Mr. Xiao Yun wants to leave?”
Under sudden threat, Ji Shiyu grew angry—nothing upset her more than wasted food.
If you don’t want it, let me eat it! Why get mad!
Her anger flared, and a flame burst from her Qi Sea, instantly melting the ice from her hands.
“Outrageous!”
Unknowingly, standing up for Yun Liu only fueled Yan Bingling’s fury.
The last words stabbed her deeply—recalling Liu’er’s departure, she was shamed and enraged.
Piercing sword Qi filled Celestial Phenomena Peak.
The red pavilions froze, hostility aimed at the golden-haired girl from beyond the realm.
If you want to fight, bring it on! Who’s afraid?
Ao Tian was furious, too—bursting out of Ji’s nest, it landed on Ji Shiyu’s head, golden feathers shining.
“Shiyu, don’t be afraid! She failed to steal Fortune and was injured by the Shenmu Yinglong, now a spent force—don’t think I can’t see it!”
Phoenix Hatchling swallowed the Third Realm peak semi-dragon inner core, fully digested, merging into the girl’s body as a Three-Realm Phoenix Spirit, combining into the Nine Heavens Divine Beast Lord.
“Eh eh eh eh?”
Before Ji Shiyu could react, she shot into the sky, golden wings sprouting, a radiant halo above her head, dodging waves of icy sword Qi.
The Nine Transformations of Profound Heaven rose again.
The spark from her Qi Sea flared up, growing into a raging blaze.