Yu Yi listened to the Main God System ramble on and on, but when she heard the last sentence, she suddenly raised her eyes and sharply grasped the key point: "You said this is the first attempt? What does that mean?"
As her question was spoken, the lightning column descending from the sky shook, and some sealed memories were sent into her mind.
In a daze, Yu Yi returned to the very first forest she had been in. She sat confusedly in the woods, not knowing why she had suddenly been transported from her home to a wilderness. Just as she was feeling lost and helpless, a cultivator fell from the sky and landed in front of her.
The person was none other than Pei Jingchao.
In this life, she had just arrived in this world and was unaware of the fate that had been written for her. She witnessed the divine abilities she had never seen before from Pei Jingchao, so after some thought, she decided to save him.
Yu Yi followed the mountain path and found a civilian home in the forest. The owner of the house was out and had not returned, so she had to go back alone, pick some vines, and weave them into a raft to drag Pei Jingchao back to the house.
Yu Yi used the water in the courtyard's water tank to clean the blood stains off Pei Jingchao's body. She waited until nightfall, but the house owner still hadn't returned. She then thought of a way to pry open the wooden door and first settled the injured person inside.
The owner of the house was probably a hunter, as the house was fully equipped with living necessities, and dried rabbits and chickens were hanging under the beam in the main room.
Three days later, the hunter finally returned with freshly hunted beasts, and at that time, Pei Jingchao had just woken up. He used a piece of jade from his body to exchange for them to stay there for a while longer.
From Pei Jingchao's mouth, Yu Yi learned the outline of this world and gained some vague understanding of the world of cultivation. In this strange world where she had no relatives, life as a mortal would probably be even more difficult for her.
Moreover, she had already seen the divine abilities and skills of cultivators, so she was naturally unwilling to just be an ordinary mortal.
Therefore, after Pei Jingchao recovered, she followed him to the cultivation world, using her identity as the savior of the Mount Li Sword Sect's leader's disciple to exchange for a favor from Mount Li, where they forcibly opened her spiritual channels through cleansing the meridians and refining the marrow.
Yu Yi thus embarked on the path of cultivation.
However, this path of cultivation was destined to be bumpy. She was not well-received at Mount Li. The Sect Leader of Mount Li disliked her, and the Sect Leader's daughter, Yao Yuxiu, even hated her. Pei Jingchao had to use his identity as the Mount Li Sword Sect's Great Disciple to vouch for her, swearing to advance and retreat together with his savior, and she was only reluctantly allowed to stay.
Therefore, from the first day Yu Yi arrived at Mount Li, her reputation of using her favor to seek benefits spread.
Being ostracized within the sect was commonplace, but Yu Yi didn't want to get too close to others anyway. She was only interested in the new and exotic sword techniques and talismans, focusing solely on learning more to improve her cultivation and gain the ability to live independently in this strange world.
The Mount Li Sword Sect's Great Senior Brother wanted to take care of her, while the Great Senior Sister wanted to bully her. The two of them had countless covert and overt battles over her. In the end, Yu Yi felt that she had become a tool for their flirtation.
The more Pei Jingchao couldn't stand Yao Yuxiu's control over him, the more he liked to get close to Yu Yi, actively bringing her the cultivation techniques she wanted, personally teaching her swordsmanship, and trying to bring her some interesting gadgets from the mortal world during his expeditions.
The more he showed his favor and uniqueness towards her, the more frantic Yao Yuxiu became.
As long as Juechen Zi was still around, Pei Jingchao didn't dare to completely provoke Yao Yuxiu, truly reaching an irreparable situation.
He knew very well how to manipulate his junior sister, understanding when to distance himself a bit from Yu Yi, even deliberately allowing Yao Yuxiu to order the sect's disciples to bully Yu Yi, and even personally directing a play to let her suffer a bit, all to appease Yao Yuxiu.
This made Yao Yuxiu believe that all his arrangements for Yu Yi were limited by the saving grace.
Afterwards, Pei Jingchao would also secretly find ways to compensate her, such as giving her a set of insights he had written while practicing sword techniques, or inviting a sect elder to guide Yu Yi when she encountered a bottleneck, or finding her a suitable spirit sword when she needed one.
Therefore, Yu Yi could also endure his use of her, faithfully playing the role of this tool person, considering it the price she had to pay for these cultivation resources.
During her time at Mount Li, she also met Xue Chenjing, or more accurately, Xue Mingyuan. However, at this time, she didn't know that there were actually two souls in this body. Nevertheless, Yu Yi could immediately recognize who was standing in front of her.
Her interactions with Xue Mingyuan were much the same as the plot she had read in the book.
Xue Mingyuan was different from other Mount Li disciples. He didn't deliberately flatter her because of Pei Jingchao, nor did he target her because of Yao Yuxiu. He seemed completely unaffected by the rumors within the sect, treating her as just an ordinary fellow disciple, interacting with her only because of her personality.
Yu Yi could feel his difference from others. So, through repeated interactions, she and Xue Mingyuan became familiar with each other. After all, as a lone person who had traveled to this strange world, she probably still longed for genuine friendships.
Moreover, Xue Mingyuan was handsome and truly handsome, with a gentle and considerate temperament that silently took care of her in many ways. From the memories that had just resurfaced, Yu Yi could still feel the involuntary feelings of affection she had for him at that time.
Until Pei Jingchao fully took control of Mount Li, the opportunities for Yao Yuxiu to appear in front of Yu Yi became fewer, but there was never a shortage of the next Yao Yuxiu by his side.
At the same time, the opportunities for Xue Mingyuan to appear in front of her also became fewer. Because Pei Jingchao no longer needed to concentrate most of his attention on Yao Yuxiu, pretending to please her, he had more energy to focus on his savior.
So, he soon discovered that Yu Yi had gotten quite close to a male disciple when he wasn't paying attention. This discovery made him furious, jealous, and felt that his possession had been tainted by someone else.
Pei Jingchao began to control the people who could appear around Yu Yi, allowing only those he wanted her to interact with to approach her.
Yu Yi started to feel that staying by his side was no longer worth it. The cultivation resources she obtained were not enough to buy her personal freedom, making her feel like a caged canary, being manipulated at will.
Her cultivation had now reached the perfected stage of Foundation Establishment, although she had not yet formed a Golden Core. However, with this level of cultivation, she had a few abilities to protect herself and could go on expeditions.
Yu Yi wanted to leave Mount Li. She secretly went to find the only person she had genuinely interacted with during her time at Mount Li, asking if he would be willing to leave with her.
Xue Mingyuan frowned slightly, his eyes revealing a look of struggle as he looked down at her. After a long while, he replied with difficulty, "I'm sorry, I have something left at Mount Li that I need to retrieve before I can leave."
Yu Yi asked, "What is it? Do you need my help?"
Xue Mingyuan deeply gazed at her and shook his head, "It's okay, I can do it myself."
He had infiltrated the Mount Li Sword Sect to retrieve the People's Flame from the Sword-Sealing Stone. He had willingly used his Heart Flame to seal the demons above Wangye, and to suppress Xue Chenjing's evil desires, he had voluntarily removed his Spirit Flame.
Only the People's Flame had been forcibly removed from him against his will. Losing all three flames made this body too weak, making it difficult to improve his cultivation or even protect himself. Therefore, in retrieving the People's Flame, Xue Mingyuan and Xue Chenjing's intentions were the same.
That was the last sentence Yu Yi said to Xue Mingyuan at Mount Li. When the demons attacked Mount Li, she took advantage of the chaos and Pei Jingchao's inability to pay attention to her, and escaped from Mount Li, wandering alone, with no fixed abode.
Those days were the hardest and most difficult she had ever experienced, but also the freest. It was only then that Yu Yi truly felt the magical and magnificent aspects of the world of cultivation. She also encountered some opportunities, explored several secret realms, and thus successfully formed a Golden Core.
However, soon after, a demon appeared in the cultivation world, leading demons in causing chaos everywhere. The twelve major immortal sects jointly issued a call to arms, summoning righteous cultivators to jointly exterminate the demon.
Yu Yi's misfortune reached its peak when Pei Jingchao discovered her whereabouts. After more than two years, she appeared before him once again. The way this man looked at her had changed; his gaze was filled with intense possessiveness, as if he were utterly infatuated with her.
He indeed professed his love for her, gazing at her with deep affection, confessing that it was only after her departure that he realized who his true feelings belonged to. He claimed to have searched for her everywhere, thinking of her every single day. If it weren't for the current chaos caused by demons and monsters, and his unavoidable responsibility as the sect leader of Lishan Sword Sect, he would have found her long ago.
Listening to his words, Yu Yi felt a tingling sensation on her scalp and goosebumps all over her body. Deep down, she knew she would be bound to him for a long time once again.
As expected, she was confined to Pei Jingchao's side.
The twelve major cultivation sects gathered together to discuss the plan to overthrow the demon lord. Pei Jingchao, the destined hero, naturally became the central figure of the meeting. Yao Yuxiu was nowhere to be seen, but he was surrounded by other admirers. Yu Yi's arrival aroused their vigilance and suspicion.
One day, after a meeting of the sects, this vigilance and suspicion turned into pity.
Yu Yi was forcibly brought to the Sword Platform by Lishan disciples, only to discover why they looked at her with pity. Pei Jingchao had obtained the Primordial Divine Sword, but it required the heart's blood of his beloved to sharpen its edge.
He believed that his beloved was her.
Lying on the Sword Platform was a heavy broadsword with a black, rust-covered blade made of dense iron, lacking any sharpness.
Pei Jingchao stood by the platform, his eyes bloodshot, a look of deep pain on his face as he said to her, "A'yi, I'm sorry. This matter concerns the fate of all living beings, and I have no choice but to do this."
Yu Yi found the whole situation utterly absurd. She questioned him, "Pei Jingchao, honestly ask yourself, from beginning to end, wasn't the one you loved the most always yourself? You should pick up that sword and dig out your own heart!"
Before she finished, she teleported to the Sword Platform, grabbed the sword, and thrust it forcefully toward his chest.
Pei Jingchao was caught off guard, his expression changing from pain to shock. First, he was stunned that she could lift the sword, then, as the pain in his chest registered, he realized the seemingly dull blade had effortlessly pierced through his protective garments, drawing a trickle of blood.
His pupils contracted, and with a swift retreat, his superior cultivation allowed him to evade the fatal blow. Yu Yi, failing to kill him, discarded the Primordial Divine Sword and fled.
However, the Sword Platform was filled with Pei Jingchao's trusted followers, and she was unsuccessful.
Yu Yi watched her past self being sealed of her spiritual senses and forced onto the Sword Platform. As her heart's blood dripped onto the Primordial Divine Sword, the rust gradually faded, revealing a dazzling radiance.
Yu Yi squinted at the glare, even though it was a past life, she could still feel the excruciating pain of the blade piercing her heart.
The memories that resurfaced caused her emotions to fluctuate. The thunderous sword realm on the Crescent Bay Spirit Island became unstable, and the thunder dragon uneasily swam around her.
A sigh echoed from the thunder line connecting to the sky, and the voice of the Main System entered Yu Yi's mind, saying, "According to the predetermined fate arranged by this world for you, you were supposed to stay by Pei Jingchao's side, grow with him, and at this juncture, willingly offer your heart's blood to fulfill his compassionate heart for the world."
"But the world's consciousness discovered that you were not bound by the predetermined fate. Everything began to deviate after you left Mount Li. Even though Pei Jingchao remained on his destined path, when he forcibly took your blood, his fate also deviated, and his state of mind could never be perfect."
"Therefore, even with the sharpened Primordial Divine Sword, Pei Jingchao still failed."
"The Main System received a plea for help from this world's consciousness. After analysis and deduction, it decided to dispatch Subordinate System No. 037 to this world, bind it to you, and assist you in cultivating and upgrading, taking over Pei Jingchao's role as the next destined hero."
As the Main System spoke, Yu Yi's memories flowed forward in her mind.
In her previous life, she had been drained of a large amount of heart's blood, causing her golden core to shatter, and she fell into a long coma.
Just as she was about to wake up, a voice appeared out of nowhere, saying, "Hello, Host. I am System 037. I'm delighted to serve you."
"System?" Yu Yi lay pale on the bed, weakly smiling, "If you're here to bind me, aren't you a bit too late?"
The system replied with determination, "Of course not, my master. As long as your will remains unbroken and your fighting spirit does not extinguish, nothing is too late. Please believe that this system can assist you in cultivating, seeking revenge, and reaching the pinnacle of life."
Yu Yi gazed blankly at the ceiling, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye, as she said, "I don't want the pinnacle of life. Can you send me home?"
"I miss home."
