Chapter 167: A Clean Sweep — Water Spiritual Roots Always Birth Beauties

Pitch black.

It felt like she was suspended in midair, ready to fall at any moment. She couldn’t even see her own hand in front of her face.

In the darkness, Lian Mu’s fingers twitched slightly as she slowly regained consciousness from the dizziness. When she opened her eyes, the surroundings suddenly lit up.

What she saw made her pause in surprise.

She was standing in a shadowy corner, watching someone illuminated in the distance.

That person had the exact same face as her past life. A long sword in hand, she stood atop a tall building, smiling as she looked down at the crowd below, brimming with pride and confidence.

Lian Mu’s eyes flickered, and a strange feeling stirred in her chest. She walked forward instinctively, reaching out as if to touch her.

But her hand passed right through the woman’s cheek—only then did she realize she was nothing more than a shadow, not truly present in this place.

The person before her was none other than her former self.

She hadn’t seen that face in years. After spending so long in this world, her memories of the past had grown a little hazy.

But this scene—she would never forget it.

Back then, she was on the verge of ascension, her career at its peak, full of ambition. It was the first time she stood high above, overlooking the place where she had grown up. Her heart was filled with anticipation for ascension, to become a sword cultivator who had truly achieved the Great Dao.

In that era of spiritual energy decline, she had reached the pinnacle in just a few decades. Her family hailed her as a once-in-a-century genius.

She believed it too.

But just before her ascension, she realized she was still lacking something. The Heavenly Dao did not acknowledge her, and a bolt of tribulation lightning struck down, destroying the glory she had built over half a lifetime.

Though she didn’t die, she became a cripple.

In her original world, there was no distinction between Spiritual Roots. But in this world, Spiritual Roots determined the entire path of a person’s life.

It was as if the heavens were mocking her. In her previous world, she had been a rare genius. But here, she couldn’t even step through the threshold of cultivation. The techniques she had mastered before were completely useless in this place.

“……”

Lian Mu gazed at her former self glowing in the light, a strange mix of sorrow and amusement rising in her chest. If only time could freeze in that moment forever—if only she could always stand that high.

The feeling passed in a flash. Soon, she realized she had triggered the Heart Realm Trial.

But…

Lian Mu’s mouth twitched. “……”

What kind of trial was this supposed to be? Just watching her past self? Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t get stuck here.

Or maybe… the Illusion Realm had malfunctioned?

Lian Mu thought it over carefully. That seemed more likely. After all, her soul didn’t match her body. A special case like hers was probably a first for the Pangu Illusion Realm.

She looked around, trying to find a way out. Her body was still in that snake den—if anything happened while she was unconscious, she’d be eliminated on the spot.

Then she remembered the purpose of the Heart Realm Trial… to break through inner demons.

Lian Mu looked at the other version of herself. Was she her inner demon?

Figures the Illusion Realm messed up.

She didn’t feel much toward her past self. Aside from the occasional pang of regret, she rarely thought about it.

After all, the past was the past.

She had started as a cripple, but she wasn’t anymore. She had a new path to walk.

One day, she would stand at the top again, laughing down at all living beings, as the number one sword cultivator in the world.

Without hesitation, Lian Mu summoned Wealth Bringer and slashed at the figure in the distance. The moment the sword light flashed, all the illusions dissolved into black smoke and vanished.

A wave of dizziness swept through her mind again, and she instinctively steadied herself.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a thicket, the air thick with the scent of blood.

The forest was eerily quiet. The black snake was nowhere to be seen. Near the cave entrance hung a massive snakeskin, freshly shed and still soft.

Lian Mu: “?”

She looked at her hands. Aside from the dirt from crawling through the cave, there was nothing else.

She hadn’t even fought the black snake yet—it had run off on its own.

Lian Mu picked up the snakeskin and noticed two round holes at the top of the head—not where the eyes should be.

It must be hiding somewhere.

Wealth Bringer in her hand was stained with blood—not the snake’s, but her own.

The wound on her wrist had turned black, the poison already spreading up her forearm. She couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

She thought for a moment, then returned to the cave entrance. A few small black snakes were still writhing on the ground. She knocked two of them out with a single strike and stuffed them into her spatial pouch.

Lian Mu lit a Communication Talisman, trying to contact the Chief team, but there was no response. With no other choice, she mounted her broom and flew upward.

The higher she went, the sparser the vegetation became. Gray rock jutted out from the soil, and the sky was filled with circling hawks.

Pain flared from her wrist to her chest. Lian Mu frowned, still seeing no sign of anyone.

This place was too quiet.

The Chief team from her sect had suddenly gone silent, and there was no sign of cultivators from other sects either.

Lian Mu had a bad feeling—they must have run into something.

This was definitely the unluckiest she’d ever been.

She had no way to detoxify the snake venom. Her only option was to find a place to hide before the poison fully took hold. If she ran into someone while poisoned, her chances of winning a fight would be slim.

As she was thinking this, she spotted a cliff up ahead. The high ground made it a good hiding spot.

But when she flew closer and looked down, she saw a group of people lying on the ground. Judging by their robes, they were from the Azure Profound Sect.

Lian Mu: “?”

Why were the Azure Profound Sect people napping in the Illusion Realm?

She hovered in the air and observed for a while. They didn’t move at all. When she got closer, she realized it was the Azure Profound Sect’s Chief team.

Sensing something was off, Lian Mu tossed a small stone, hitting Gu Qingyu. There was no reaction—he seemed unconscious. They must have triggered the Heart Realm Trial too.

A wind barrier had been set up around the cliff. Clearly, the Azure Profound Sect had planned ahead, anticipating that the Heart Realm Trial would put people to sleep and setting up the barrier in advance.

Lian Mu flew down without hesitation. The barrier could block wind and demonic beasts, but not people. The Azure Profound Sect, as arrogant as ever, believed no one could harm them.

But they hadn’t counted on running into her.

Lian Mu was like a wolf let loose in a sheepfold. The moment she landed, she zeroed in on everyone’s spatial pouches—after all, they were all unconscious, and anything she could snatch was a win.

In just a few quick steps, she rushed to Gu Qingyu’s side and rummaged through him, eventually finding a small jade vial. She opened it to find an antidote for snake venom.

Everyone knew that Gu Qingyu, the top body cultivator of Azure Profound Sect, was terrified of snakes. He’d been bitten during the first trial in the Insect Mountain Snake Ridge, so it was a given that he’d carry antidotes with him.

Rumor had it that Azure Profound Sect’s antidotes for insect and snake venom were top-tier—effective against nearly all types of snakebite.

After swallowing the antidote, Lian Mu suddenly remembered how Gu Qingyu had cursed her earlier. So she pulled out the black snake she’d originally prepared for Ji Mingyue and stuffed it into Gu Qingyu’s spatial pouch before hanging it back on him.

Body cultivators usually didn’t carry much, and Gu Qingyu’s pouch didn’t have what she was looking for. She turned to loot the others.

From Jiang Yuechen, Lian Mu grabbed a whole handful of high-grade talisman papers, along with the brush and cinnabar ink used to draw them. She showed no mercy when it came to Fengyun Yi and Yuan Huai either.

Last time, she’d already robbed Fengyun Yi and Yuan Huai once. This time, they’d gotten smarter and distributed their high-grade pills and spirit materials among the others, keeping very little on themselves.

But that was fine. The contract was still intact, and the other half would be with someone from the Returning Immortal Sect.

Seemed like her luck wasn’t so bad after all—she’d scored big right at the start.

The snakebite incident was quickly forgotten. Lian Mu tied Fengyun Yi up separately, planning to take him with her. As she glanced around, she noticed there was still one person whose pockets she hadn’t searched.

Dragging Fengyun Yi toward the cliff’s edge, she spotted Ying You lying on the ground. A curtain of hair half-covered his face. Compared to the awkward positions of the others, he looked more like he was peacefully asleep, his brows slightly furrowed, his features strikingly pleasant to look at.

Water Spiritual Roots always produced beauties, and this face was truly exquisite.

Lian Mu crouched down and brushed the hair away from his face. Amid the cascade of dark hair was a single pale strand, resting against his temple and cheek.

Almost involuntarily, her hand followed the line of his hair down and pinched his cheek. It felt surprisingly nice.

So this was the Sword Bone Genius, revered by the Four Great Sects—soft cheeks and all.

She tried Fengyun Yi’s for comparison. Not the same. Ying You’s felt better.

Retracting her hand, she searched Ying You’s body but found nothing of value. However, he was holding a small blue flower, its fragrance already faint.

Lian Mu recognized it—it was the flower she’d given him two days ago. Her brow arched. He’d actually kept it?

“……”

Well, it was just a flower. Maybe he just liked that kind.

She didn’t think too much of it. Her gaze drifted to the Flying Swan sword at his waist, and her fingers itched.

“Team Leader Ying, you touched my sword last time, so I’m just borrowing yours now,” Lian Mu said with a grin as she took the Flying Swan sword.

Flying Swan lived up to its name as a famed blade—it only recognized its master. The moment she touched it, the sword trembled violently.

Lian Mu pressed down on the hilt and drew the sword, studying the intricate hollow patterns on the blade up close. It was flawless.

Once unsheathed, Flying Swan suddenly stilled, falling silent.

Lian Mu returned the scabbard to Ying You, then swung herself onto her broom. With the Flying Swan sword and Fengyun Yi in tow, she soared off to another location.