Qiao Zhi looked at the glowing white orb in her hands with a hint of sadness in them yet within those eyes were also the boundless love for her beloved Gu'er.
Qiao Zhi held the glowing white orb gently in her hands, her eyes soft and full of love. This orb was special-it was the first piece of Gu Yangjin's soul she had collected after passing through the first small world. As she looked at it, a deep longing filled her gaze, mixed with a quiet hope.
Slowly, she brought the orb closer and pressed a tender kiss to its shining surface. The light pulsed warmly beneath her lips. Then, without hesitation, Qiao Zhi moved the orb toward her chest. It floated in on its own, slipping inside her heart and settling in a small corner like a tiny glowing ball. This was her Gu'er, safely kept in the safest place in the whole universe.
A calm but powerful energy surrounded Qiao Zhi as she stood tall. Her aura shone bright-a mix of strength, grace, and quiet determination. With a simple thought, she reached out and opened a portal before her. The portal shimmered like a curtain of light, glowing softly with swirling colors that seemed to breathe and move.
As Qiao Zhi stepped through the portal, the world around her twisted and shimmered like a dream made of glass and light. The path beneath her feet was long and narrow, glowing faintly with colors that shifted like a rainbow caught in a bubble. It wasn't a normal path-time and space around it swirled like a river caught in a whirlpool, folding and unfolding in strange patterns.
Floating fragments of stars, tiny glowing orbs, and sparkling dust drifted lazily in the air, sometimes flickering like fireflies, sometimes pulsing like distant heartbeats. The air smelled faintly of jasmine and something ancient, like the scent of forgotten memories.
Shapes and shadows twisted just beyond sight-sometimes they looked like doors, sometimes like faces, but whenever Qiao Zhi tried to focus, they melted away like mist. The path itself seemed alive, humming softly beneath her feet, as if it knew the way and was guiding her forward.
Above her, the sky was a swirling canvas of deep purples and blues, streaked with shimmering silver threads that looked like the veins of the universe itself. Stars blinked in and out, not far away but close enough to feel like they could reach out and touch them.
Despite the chaos around her, the path was clear and steady, glowing like a beacon in the middle of the swirling storm. It was a place between places-a magical bridge connecting worlds, where nothing was certain except the pull of her heart.
Closing her eyes, Qiao Zhi focused deeply. She reached out with her soul, searching for a single clear thread in the chaos. After a moment, she locked onto a direction, steady and sure.
Opening her eyes, she whispered softly, "I found you, my Gu'er."
With that, she began walking forward, her steps confident and steady, ready to follow the path to where her beloved soul waited.
Soon, she came in front of a gap in the mysterious space filled with nothing but pitch black.
Qiao Zhi took a few seconds to adjust herself before she looked closely ahead.
Qiao Zhi could see the thread of bond between her and Gu'er extending ahead into the gap, and she was certain that going through here would lead her into the next world where her Gu'er is.
It was something that only she could see, an invisible thread of bond extending from directly into her heart towards the gap to who knows where. The thread cannot be seen through ordinary eyes but it resembles the colour of a rainbow and looks extremely mysterious yet eye-catching.
Qiao Zhi stood before the gap in the swirling darkness, the blackness stretching out like an endless void. She took a steady breath, feeling the quiet hum of power around her. The invisible thread of bond-the rainbow-colored connection between her heart and Gu'er-glowed softly, reaching out ahead into the darkness like a guiding light. Only she could see it, a shimmering path that promised to lead her to the next world where her beloved soul waited.
Without hesitation, Qiao Zhi stepped forward into the gap.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold, a powerful force grabbed hold of her entire body. It felt like being pulled by a thousand invisible hands, tugging her deeper and deeper into the blackness. The swirling chaos around her twisted and stretched, and her vision faded fast. Colors, shapes, and sounds all disappeared, replaced by a deep, endless black.
Her mind struggled to hold on, but even her thoughts began to blur and fade. It was like falling into the deepest sleep, where time and space lost all meaning. The only thing left was the quiet pull of the bond in her heart, steady and true.
Qiao Zhi's body was completely swallowed by the darkness, and for a moment, she was nothing but a glowing point of light moving through the void. Then, everything went silent and still.
In that endless blackness, she held onto one thought, whispered softly to herself: "I'm coming, my Gu'er."
And with that, she let herself be carried forward, ready to find the soul she loved in the next world.
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As Qiao Zhi slowly regained awareness of the outside world, memories tied to her body came flooding back.
This was an era where martial arts flourished. The imperial court and the underworld coexisted, though the underworld held far more power. Magical cultivation was ranked from highest to lowest as Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang, while martial arts levels ranged from first to ninth grade—ascending in strength—with additional titles such as Junior Grandmaster, Grandmaster, and Great Grandmaster at the ninth level.
Qiao Zhi had been cultivating top-tier Heaven-grade martial arts since childhood. She reached the ninth rank just a year ago at the age of seventeen. Her specialties were the whip and sword.
Not long after Qiao Zhi was born, she was ambushed and killed by a roadside bandit. Coincidentally, the Third Elder of the Demon Sect happened to pass by. Perhaps reminded of a similar experience in his own childhood, he killed the bandit and found the still-living infant Qiao Zhi.
Ordinarily, the Third Elder wouldn't bother intervening in others' affairs, but upon inspecting Qiao Zhi's innate physique, he found it exceptional. Moved by curiosity or instinct, he accepted Qiao Zhi as both disciple and adopted child.
In other words, Qiao Zhi had deep roots in the Demon Sect. Even before being weaned, she was already a disciple of one of its elders.
Qiao Zhi was blessed with the fate of a protagonist. The Third Elder, too, reaped the benefits of adopting her. When Qiao Zhi turned ten, the elder broke through to the Junior Grandmaster level and became the sect's deputy leader. By the time Qiao Zhi was fifteen, the former leader succumbed to demonic possession. The Third Elder was then smoothly appointed as the new leader.
Once he became leader, the Third Elder appointed Qiao Zhi as the sect's Holy Son—a position that had been vacant for nearly fifty years. As long as Qiao Zhi remained loyal to the sect, she would surely be its next leader.
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