Volume One, Chapter One: Reborn Seven Times, Breaking Free from the Vicious Cycle
It seemed as if many voices were clamoring in her ears.
“You’re already this old, and yet you’re still competing with a young girl? What’s the point?”
Bao Zhi had just come to her senses when she was hit with a barrage of reproaches.
The man before her wore robes whiter than snow, his posture upright, his face as flawless as jade, his demeanor exuding an otherworldly elegance. Yet on his face was a fierce sharpness, and his eyes betrayed undeniable disdain.
“Don’t think I don’t know why you want the Star River Flower! You actually want to harm someone just for a single flower?”
Several disciples nearby chimed in with their own voices.
“Master’s wife, how could you push the little junior sister off such a high mountain just for a flower?”
“Exactly. Losing one Star River Flower won’t kill anyone, but the little junior sister’s cultivation is still low. How could she withstand your strike?”
Listening to these familiar words and seeing the people standing before her, Bao Zhi’s mind wavered.
God knows she had heard this speech six times already—this was the seventh.
Even the sounds of their speech and swallowing were identical; she knew the entire routine by heart.
Resolutely, she raised her eyes to look at the beautiful girl in the man’s arms. Long lashes shimmered with tears, making her appear especially delicate and pitiful.
Next, she would hear her say…
“Master, the mistress only wanted the Star River Flower so badly to heal the young lord of the demon clan. It’s nothing serious. Please don’t blame her…”
Soft, sweet, and affected.
As expected!
Bao Zhi suddenly felt the urge to laugh after the realization settled.
Good heavens, she was reborn—this was her seventh life!
She and Yuan Lingqing had grown up together since childhood, supporting one another and jointly founding the Yunqing Sect. These six disciples before her were all personally raised and carefully nurtured by her, so the emotions she invested went without saying.
The white lotus-like girl before her, Lin Caibing, was the seventh disciple.
Originally a mortal from a poor family, her parents, who favored sons over daughters, intended to sell her into a ghost marriage with a wealthy family. Yuan Lingqing and Bao Zhi, meeting her by chance, couldn’t bear to see her fate and rescued her.
Yet beneath this white lotus’s pure exterior lurked a venomous snake.
She merely sought to seize the fortune of the seven disciples of Yunqing Sect to aid the resurrection of the Demon Emperor and thereby attain the wealth, glory, and immortality she craved.
In the first life, Bao Zhi only discovered the truth on her deathbed—but it was already too late. The Demon Emperor was resurrected, calamity befell the world, and all living beings suffered; they all perished in tragic deaths.
In the second life, she revealed the truth but no one believed her. They tried to kill her outright but found she was protected by the Demon Emperor, making her untouchable. Instead, Yuan Lingqing and the six disciples branded her a jealous lunatic and imprisoned her.
Before the Demon Emperor’s descent, she broke out of prison at all costs to save them, only to be betrayed and brought like a sacrificial offering to Lin Caibing, where she was stabbed to death by a rain of swords...
In every subsequent life, it seemed she was trapped in a vicious cycle.
She tried to save them, but they didn’t trust her; she clashed openly and covertly with Lin Caibing, only to be killed by these seven disciples in increasingly cruel ways.
She harbored no grand ambition to save the world—she only wished to protect the people dear to her heart.
But all efforts were as futile as fishing for the moon’s reflection in a well.
No matter how hard she tried, even if she laid out the evidence before them, they still refused to believe her.
Before dying in her last life, seeing the venomous and hateful looks in their eyes, her heart had already turned to stone.
She didn’t understand why Heaven would grant her rebirth again...
Enough!
She silently pleaded, “Demon Emperor, please hurry your resurrection and destroy this world!”
Do as you will. This life, I refuse to care!
With the time I have, I’d rather cultivate diligently and ascend to the higher realms.
Being in the same world as them only brings bad luck.
“Bao Zhi, do you think playing dumb will make everything fine? I’m telling you, this isn’t over! Hurry and give me the healing pill!”
Yuan Lingqing scolded with a darkened face.
“I personally refined those healing pills. I wouldn’t dare give them to your precious disciple. If anything happened, I’d have to take responsibility.”
Bao Zhi rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
That very morning, Yuan Lingqing again used an excuse to hand over the disciples to Bao Zhi, ordering her to lead them to the trial grounds.
Despite Bao Zhi’s repeated warnings not to touch the spiritual plants recklessly, Lin Caibing deliberately tried to pick a flowering Heartbreak Grass, claiming it was the Star River Flower.
Heartbreak Grass’s pollen is highly toxic when it blooms; with her Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, even touching it would mean death.
To protect her, Bao Zhi hastily pushed her away.
The force wasn’t strong, but Lin Caibing slipped, tumbling down the hillside and scraping her skin.
Because of Lin Caibing’s injury, the trial was forced to end prematurely.
Upon emerging, the scene that unfolded was what Bao Zhi had just experienced—she became the narrow-minded villain accused of harming the little junior disciple.
If only the rebirth had come an hour earlier. She could have let Lin Caibing pick the flower and die early, sparing all this trouble.
“Stop right there! The matter isn’t settled yet. Who told you to leave?”
Before she had taken more than a few steps, Yuan Lingqing’s furious shout came from behind.
“Master, please don’t be angry,” Lin Caibing’s soft voice soothed the enraged Yuan Lingqing, then she turned with a wronged look toward Bao Zhi.
“Mistress, if you want the Star River Flower, just say the word. I’ll definitely get it for you.”
Bao Zhi twisted the corners of her mouth into a mocking smile.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Mistress, whenever you want something from me, haven’t I always given it to you?” Lin Caibing lowered her head, looking pitiful.
“Your things?”
Bao Zhi smiled again, irritated.
Those were all things she had taken by force.
No, more accurately, Yuan Lingqing had taken them and given them to her.
As the sect’s only female disciple, the sixteen-year-old Lin Caibing’s voice was soft and sweet—gentle, adorable, endearing, and sensitive—quickly winning everyone’s hearts.
Whenever she expressed a desire, Yuan Lingqing would give her the spiritual treasures, pills, and materials Bao Zhi had cherished for years.
Those things were far beyond Lin Caibing’s cultivation level. When Bao Zhi tried to reclaim her own possessions a few times, it was twisted into her being the aggressor.
“How could you become so narrow-minded, so...” Yuan Lingqing’s venomous words were cut off as a pair of pure white hands gently covered his lips.
Lin Caibing’s nasal voice spoke timidly.
“Master, please don’t argue with mistress over me. It’s all because I’m childish. Mistress was only eager to save someone, so…”
“Eager to save someone?” Yuan Lingqing snorted coldly, a bitter undertone in his voice. “I’m not even dead yet, and you’re already fawning over that barely-grown demon clan young lord… Today it’s the Star River Flower; tomorrow, who knows, you might be throwing yourself into his arms!”
“...”
After so many lifetimes, hearing those words still pierced her heart.
Pathetic!
Bao Zhi spat inwardly.
She turned around, smiling.
“Yes, yes, yes. I’ll return the Star River Flower to you now, then go throw myself into his arms!”
With a flick of her hand, a dark blue flower hovered in her palm.
“I was narrow-minded and stole the little disciple’s Star River Flower. This flower shall be returned to its rightful owner.”
A mocking smile curled at her lips as she flung the flower into the air.
“Catch your Star—River—Flower!”
Bao Zhi emphasized the words with venomous intensity.