"Don't blame me. You never should have been born. Before you die, being able to make even the slightest contribution to your sister is already an unparalleled honor!"
A stunningly beautiful woman stared coldly at the young girl before her. In her hand, she held a bone-picking knife, its sharp blade dripping blood onto the floor, as though the child she had just cut open was nothing more than a stray dog on the roadside, not her own flesh and blood. Her heart was as cold as ice, and the servants dared not move, paralyzed by fear.
The young girl's scarred back was ripped open, and her spiritual bone had been taken. Her throat sounded like a punctured bellows, gasping for air.
"Mother..."
"Mother..."
When the girl's eyes finally dimmed, a piece of low-quality candy fell from her mouth as she ceased to breathe. This was the only "sweetness" she would ever know. It was sweet, but also agonizingly painful.
Seeing the girl had completely lost her life, the woman handed the spiritual bone to a servant and instructed them to quickly return it to her eldest daughter. Then, she dragged the little girl's lifeless body to the cliff's edge. With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed the body off, letting out a cold laugh.
"Die, you little b*st*rd."
"She cried! She cried! Finally!"
"My goodness, she hasn't moved all this time; I thought she had passed away!"
"You idiot, can't you say something useful?"
Ji Wushuang groggily opened her eyes, only to find herself in a chaotic world, surrounded by five old ghosts who seemed to be staring at her as though she were some rare treasure.
Strange?
Wasn't she dead? Why was she still alive?
Ji Wushuang wanted to speak, but only weak, pitiful cries escaped her lips.
The old ghosts murmured: "This little girl, I don't know whether she's lucky or unlucky. She had her spiritual bone extracted and was thrown off a cliff, but by some strange twist of fate, she ended up in a rift in the Divine Tomb space and somehow survived. It's unbelievable."
Ji Wushuang quickly realized her "situation"—she had been reborn.
Though she didn't understand why she was revived, she was still very pleased to be alive. After all, better to be alive in this state than dead.
However, the original body was still too young—only two or three years old—so it didn't have any memories. The only thing Ji Wushuang remembered was... when she died, she had eaten a very sweet candy, and it was incredibly painful when her spiritual bone was forcibly extracted.
What a pity.
The child's body had great potential—her constitution was excellent, with dual spiritual roots in fire and wood, and the quality of those roots was exceptional. She was naturally a good candidate for alchemy.
But now, without her spiritual bone, her body was useless. Even if her spiritual roots were top-notch, she was destined to accomplish nothing, as they would drain any spiritual energy she tried to absorb, leaving her with nothing.
The five old ghosts mumbled together.
"What do we do now? She's still alive. Do any of you know how to feed a child?"
"Feed her? Even though I wear women's clothes and have big pecs, I'm still a man!"
In her previous life, Ji Wushuang was the revered Immortal Sword Master, feared by gods and demons alike, who had once entered the realm of saints. No one could defeat her in the Nine Thousand Realms, and her divine sense was incredibly powerful.
Soon, she had a clear understanding of the Divine Tomb: only these five old ghosts could be considered "humans." The rest were just strange and evil creatures.
This meant that, if Ji Wushuang wanted to survive, she had to rely on these five old ghosts.
With her large, clear eyes, she looked up at the five ghosts in an innocent, adorable manner, and they were momentarily stunned. Their discussion grew even more heated.
"This child's eyes are really beautiful."
"Beautiful? What's the use? She's so young and doesn't even have a spiritual bone. She'll be dead in three days."
"After all these years, finally a living one. What a shame."
"Grandpa, pretty lady, why are you floating in the air?"
Her voice was sweet and childlike, full of honey-like charm.
The five old ghosts were stunned by her cuteness, frozen in place. Ji Wushuang had no sense of modesty. She was perfectly at ease using her adorableness to win them over.
After a brief silence, the old ghosts exchanged glances and then let out a collective scream.
"What the hell?! This little rascal can see us?!"
"What little rascal? She's my apprentice!"
"Get out! She's my little treasure!"
"Move aside! Let me feed her!"
Ji Wushuang was perplexed. Weren't they just talking about having big chest muscles? What was all this talk about feeding her?
After some heated bickering, the five old ghosts couldn't reach a conclusion, so they decided to take Ji Wushuang as their disciple.
As for why they chose Ji Wushuang , despite her being a "waste"?
It was simple: the Divine Tomb was a "drifting small world," and even these five had come together through various means from different worlds. Ji Wushuang had been thrown off the cliff, but she had somehow fallen into the crack of the Divine Tomb, which was clearly destiny!
Even though Ji Wushuang had lost her spiritual bone, they believed that they could train her into a genius and send her back to the world to spread the word about the Divine Tomb.
Ji Wushuang , the little girl who suddenly appeared in the Divine Tomb, was their last hope.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Divine Tomb, as its name suggests, was the resting place of the gods. It was rich with spiritual energy, and countless rare treasures grew there.
Her masters often took her on expeditions, digging up ten-thousand-year-old herbs, eating three-eyed silver serpents that were on the verge of transforming, and tasting divine honey brewed from wood spirits. The most outrageous thing was that they secretly stole the essence of the Divine Tomb to refine Ji Wushuang body.
Thus, Ji Wushuang grew up, nurtured by these rare treasures.
One day, twelve-year-old Ji Wushuang , carrying a large bundle, looked at her five masters, who were all crying and complaining.
Her first master, with white hair and eyes, had the appearance of an immortal but secretly loved feeding Ji Wushuang . He was her meal buddy.
Her second master, though fierce and blunt, had a soft heart. Ji Wushuang had caught him crying secretly a few times due to her weak body.
Her third master was very scheming, a handsome old man who had taught Ji Wushuang many "novel" techniques.
Her fourth master liked to cross-dress and was the most visually appealing among the five. He had an icy demeanor, with an aura of medicinal fragrance.
Her fifth master spoke the least but pampered Ji Wushuang in silence. If she mentioned anything, it would appear the next day in her cave.
The opening of the Divine Tomb was approaching, and her first master suddenly had second thoughts.
"Ji Wushuang , you're still so young. What if you get bullied once you go out? Shouldn't we wait for the next connection between the Divine Tomb and the main world? You can go out then?"
Her fourth master punched him.
"Wait for what? It's a stroke of luck that the tomb is opening now. If we wait another hundred years, what then? Don't forget, Seraphina doesn't have a spiritual bone. She has to go back to find it. Otherwise, she'll only live for a few decades!"
Ji Wushuang : "…"
"Thanks, Fourth Master."
Soon, a tremor indicated that the Divine Tomb's entrance was about to open.
Ji Wushuang left the Divine Tomb amidst her masters' tears and wails, clutching her bundle. Inside were the "bones" with their divine senses attached, along with various treasures her masters had given her.
As for which bones? Well, her masters had chosen them. Some thought their ribs were beautiful, others liked their skulls, and one even selected his left pinky toe bone.
Ji Wushuang's task was simple: deliver their bones back to their homes. After that, she could eat and wait to die.
As for finding her spiritual bone… she would leave that to fate. She didn't even know her real name or where she came from.
In fact, Ji Wushuang believed her past life had been completely consumed by the Abyss.
With this carefree mindset, Ji Wushuang finally made her way out of the stormy magnetic field of the Divine Tomb, her hair a mess and her clothes filthy. A warm aura washed over her.
It was the sunlight.
Ji Wushuang looked up, letting the sunlight fall on her face, her round, soft cheeks breaking into a contented smile. She felt at ease, but the people around her were stunned.
"My God! This person is so lucky! She climbed out at the last moment of the trial!"
"She really got lucky!"
"Who is she, though?"
"Why did she come to the sect selection dressed like this? So disrespectful!"
At this moment, all kinds of emotions—jealousy, mockery, disdain, and resentment—poured toward Ji Wushuang. She blinked in confusion, only to realize that the exit from the divine tomb had "connected" to someone else's sect's trial ground?
Well, this is awkward. She'd said she didn't want to become a disciple—did they believe her?
A woman with a gentle, exquisite appearance stepped forward, lightly grasping her hand and saying, "Congratulations, junior sister, for passing the first trial at the last moment. From today, you are a disciple of our sect."
Ji Wushuang was taken aback: "?"
She really didn't need this, right?
Just as she was about to decline, she suddenly looked up and saw three glittering words in the sky—Yunlan Sect!
Wait a minute… isn't this the sect of her second master?
What a coincidence! She had stumbled upon it without any effort.