After transforming into a fairy, I, in my simulation, wreaked havoc in the cultivation world.

"Master, is this what you meant by taking down the enemy with minimal losses?"

[Xiao Hei, looking curious, crawled up to Tantai Jin's shoulder and neck, tentatively poking his bloodless face with its paw.]

【"Um."】

You responded absentmindedly.

[The minimum cost?]

This price is by no means small!

[Not only did it waste a year of your cultivation time, but the sleeping potion and the drug in the wine alone cost you thousands of mid-grade spirit stones.]

[A rare medicine capable of silently intoxicating a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator is always extremely rare and valuable.]

[Not only that, but in order to obtain a channel to purchase sleeping potions from the Red Mansion, you also sacrificed two precious Xuan-rank tokens.]

"Damn Dream of the Red Chamber..."

You have once again witnessed the darkness of this organization.

[You now only have one Xuan-rank and four Di-rank information tokens left. The next trip will likely be in the real world. It seems you'll have to use this last free opportunity to exchange for a Xuan-rank token.]

Fortunately, the emotional energy within you has been replenished to some extent, otherwise you would be heartbroken.

[After glancing at the soundly sleeping Tantai Jin, you pushed the airship's speed to its maximum...]

[Two weeks later.]

You have finally arrived at a remote and sparsely populated mortal realm, where spiritual energy is scarce.

Inside the simple cave, Tantai Jin remained fast asleep.

[Because you not only sealed off all the spiritual energy flowing through his body, but also conveniently added a sedative to his diet.]

Since waking up means facing harsh reality, let him wallow in this empty dream; consider it your final act of tenderness.

It's definitely not because I'm afraid he has some other trump card...

【Buzz~】

[With a low tremor, wisps of black mist emanated from your palm. You raised your hand and gently pressed your fingertips against the crown of Tantai Jin's head.]

[This is precisely the Soul-Searching Secret Technique that you searched for so long within the Heavenly Profound Sword Sect before finally finding it.]

[Searching for the soul is the quickest and most reassuring method you could think of after weighing the options.]

Although Tantai Jin hasn't reached the point where he needs to awaken his memories yet, putting aside the fact that you already have a detailed training plan for this simulation, you simply don't have forty years to waste with him.

[And you firmly believe that there must be flaws in the memories of such reborn individuals, and that there can never be a rebirth without a reason.]

[For example, the system bound to your mind, the rascal cicada refined by that venerable one with great love...]

As wisps of black mist invaded the other person's consciousness, unfamiliar scenes flooded your mind.

[A full half hour passed before you, pale-faced, severed the connection and ceased casting the spell.]

A streak of bright red blood trickled from the corner of your lips, which you casually wiped away with a raised hand.

This was greedy.

[While you were exploring his memories, you tried to peek into the Dan Ding Pavilion's cultivation techniques, but were instead attacked by an unknown force.]

These powerful forces indeed possess methods to counter soul-searching techniques.

What's even more frustrating is the incredibly strict limitations of this soul-searching technique. If it were just about peeking into ordinary past events, that would be fine, but once it touches upon the other person's insights and gains in cultivation, the required spiritual power will increase exponentially.

No wonder Master Wangyue was reluctant to use the Soul Searching Technique so easily back then; besides luck, there must have been other concerns as well.

[Your spiritual consciousness is almost identical to Tantai Jin's. At this rate, it will take an unknown amount of time to access all of his memories.]

The excuse for this trip was simply a simple vacation; if it takes too long...

Moreover, several months later, you will have to travel to Luofeng City to keep your appointment with Lin Bufan.

Your expression shifted several times, but you ultimately suppressed the greed in your heart and chose to search for the secret of his rebirth.

For the rest of the day, you sat cross-legged beside the stone bed, continuously channeling black mist into the depths of Tantai Jin's consciousness.

You carefully avoided those tedious spiritual insights, and finally, as night fell again, you caught sight of a figure you never expected.

[An elderly man, dressed very simply, yet looking very familiar.]

The day before you arrived in Liyun City, the old man found Tantai Jin...

"Young friend, you are about to enter the game. Would you be willing to listen to this old man's words?"

The old man, leaning on a withered wooden cane, stood quietly in the narrow, dark alley; his aged voice sounded particularly abrupt in the silent night.

"Playing tricks."

[Tantai Jin didn't stop, walking straight past him. After walking a distance, he realized that no matter what he did, he couldn't get out of the dark alley.]

He then stopped and slowly turned around, but his face showed no fear.

"Senior, this is Liyun City. Are you sure you want to attack me here?"

"Of course not."

The old man shook his head and smiled.

"Offending both the Pill Cauldron Pavilion and the Heavenly Phoenix Dynasty at the same time—this is a karmic burden I cannot bear."

"Then please speak frankly, senior."

Since he couldn't leave, Tantai Jin didn't bother with a futile struggle.

"A calamity is imminent, and we need your humble assistance, young friend."

The old man spoke in a roundabout and enigmatic manner, which greatly annoyed Tantai Jin.

"Are you done talking? Then you can let me leave."

The old man chuckled and shook his head, then instantly appeared before him, pointing a finger at Tantai Jin's brow.

After a gray mass surged into Tantai Jin's sea of ​​consciousness, the old man's figure slowly dissipated from the spot, leaving only a soft, almost murmured whisper.

"I suppose I've repaid that kindness in advising me to leave back then..."

You slowly withdrew your trembling fingertips, your pretty face completely drained of color.

You finally remembered the old man's identity, which is why you lost your composure.

Memories flood back like a tidal wave.

[Back when you killed Mopan in Fallen Phoenix City and escaped, you casually hitched a ride on an oxcart by the roadside. And the old man driving that cart looks exactly like the face that just appeared in my mind!]

This means that from the moment you stepped out of Fallen Phoenix City, you unknowingly entered a carefully woven web by someone or some powerful force.

The old man's final whisper served as proof of his identity and an urging for him to leave...

A scene flashes through your mind, and you realize you did indeed casually say something like:

"Hurry up and leave, old man, don't go looking for death."

[Did he say that because he knew I could use soul-searching, so he was repaying a favor that wasn't really a favor?]

This indirectly indicates that your whereabouts are still under their control.

The owner of that Nascent Soul Peak spiritual seal was undoubtedly the old man. Since the mark was erased by Ancestor Lingxiu, it could only be due to human monitoring.

Damn it!

You curse silently in your mind.

[I just wanted to cultivate immortality peacefully, how did this story suddenly turn into a suspenseful thriller?!]

...