Chapter 426: She’s Clearly the Master

Lu Sangjiu’s family had no objections. They took the Silver Coin Ye Zhiyao gave them and showered her with gratitude.

Ye Zhiyao turned to Lu Sangjiu. "Come here. Follow me."

Lu Sangjiu frowned, her eyes fixed on Ye Zhiyao with deep suspicion. She didn’t move.

Her family, afraid her ignorance would offend the woman, quickly pushed her forward. "What are you spacing out for? Get over there, you stupid girl!"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Don’t you dare dally and anger the Immortal Master!"

Lu Sangjiu remained silent, her brow furrowed. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, and her family couldn’t budge her in the slightest.

Ye Zhiyao’s eyes narrowed, a smirk playing on her lips. "Don’t you find me a little familiar?"

"Lu Sangjiu, our meeting is fated. I am destined to be your master, so why do you resist?"

This time, Lu Sangjiu finally reacted.

A flicker of confusion crossed her features before she spoke. "You do look familiar. I have this strange feeling that I know you."

"But... you give me a very bad feeling. I don’t believe a word you say."

This time, Ye Zhiyao had planned to take things slow, believing her past failures were due to her own impatience. But as expected, she could never remain calm when looking at that face.

Her gaze turned icy as she completely lost her patience.

"Fine. Come back with me. You’ll understand everything in due time."

As she spoke, she launched a Spell from her hand, sending it straight toward Lu Sangjiu.

In a panic, Lu Sangjiu swung her hand, attempting to break the Spell.

Ye Zhiyao sneered. "A mere mortal, daring to contend with me... How absurd!"

Within the Thousand World Tribulation, they did not enter with their physical bodies, so naturally, they possessed no Mana.

But Ye Zhiyao retained her memories of Cultivating Immortality, allowing her to practice cultivation no matter where she was.

Using this advantage, she had repeatedly gotten Lu Sangjiu under her control, even driving her to suicide.

This was her domain.

She wanted to watch that sanctimonious Lu Sangjiu, so full of righteousness, slowly transform into the kind of person she detested most before finally dying alongside her.

She would prove that Lu Sangjiu was never stronger than her—that she had only ever managed to stay on her high horse because of her good luck.

If Lu Sangjiu were to face the same endless setbacks, she would see that neither of them was any nobler than the other!

Her obsession with Lu Sangjiu had already driven Ye Zhiyao to demonic madness.

Life and death no longer mattered to her. All she wanted was to pull Lu Sangjiu from her divine pedestal and drag her down to Hell!

Malice festering in her heart, Ye Zhiyao watched with cold eyes, waiting to see Lu Sangjiu grovel at her feet once again.

The next moment, however, she saw an immense surge of Spiritual Energy erupt from Lu Sangjiu’s outstretched hand!

In this life, her aptitude was poor. She had cultivated painstakingly for more than ten years just to reach Foundation Establishment.

Yet, with a wave of her hands, the Spiritual Energy that poured from Lu Sangjiu was vastly more powerful than her own.

Lu Sangjiu clearly knew no techniques, yet that simple wave was somehow enough to shatter her attack!

After shattering Ye Zhiyao’s Spell, the immense Spiritual Energy’s aftershock slammed into her, knocking her back several meters and causing her to cough up blood uncontrollably.

Ye Zhiyao paid no mind to her injuries, staring at Lu Sangjiu in utter shock. "Impossible... How can you have Spiritual Power?!"

To ensure she had enough power to control her, Ye Zhiyao had deliberately waited until her cultivation reached Foundation Establishment before revealing herself.

She had made inquiries before coming and learned that Lu Sangjiu was just an ordinary mortal in this life, one who had suffered constantly since childhood.

’But now she actually has Spiritual Power? Why?!’

In truth, this Spiritual Power was, of course, because of Xie Ningyuan.

Although it wasn’t Lu Sangjiu’s physical body that had entered the Thousand World Tribulation, the Hairpin Xie Ningyuan had given her was bound by a contract, connecting it to her Divine Soul.

While most of the Spiritual Energy Xie Ningyuan sent would be lost in transit, a small portion still managed to reach Lu Sangjiu’s Divine Soul.

As a result, she could wield Spiritual Power directly without needing to cultivate!

After all, Xie Ningyuan’s cultivation was at the Body Integration Realm. Even if only a tiny fraction of his power reached Lu Sangjiu’s Divine Soul, it was still far more potent than that of the Foundation Establishment Stage Ye Zhiyao.

This time, Ye Zhiyao wasn’t the only one with an advantage—Lu Sangjiu had a cheat code of her own!

Of course, the current Lu Sangjiu was also baffled as to why she possessed such power.

She stared at her own hands in astonishment, then couldn’t help but look back at her parents.

But they were staring at her as if she were a monster, huddled together and trembling in fear.

She was silent for a moment, then looked away, not sparing them another glance.

She turned to the stunned Ye Zhiyao and said, "I don’t care who you are. I told you I’m not going with you."

She was only a teenager, and she wasn’t about to kill someone over a minor skirmish. So, paying Ye Zhiyao no further mind, she turned and strode away.

’She knew there was no place for her at home anymore.’

’It was time for her to find a new life.’

Clutching her chest, Ye Zhiyao was in no condition to stop her. She could only watch with bitter resentment as Lu Sangjiu walked away.

"Damn it... Why?!"

After leaving home, Lu Sangjiu wandered far and wide, seeing all the world had to offer.

During her travels, a relentless Ye Zhiyao appeared several more times, but Lu Sangjiu repelled her efforts with ease each time.

This continued until that lifetime ended, and they were both reborn into the next.

This time, Ye Zhiyao found Lu Sangjiu when they were both just six years old. Upon testing her, she discovered that Lu Sangjiu still possessed Spiritual Power.

This finally made her realize that some unforeseen variable had come into play. Lu Sangjiu would likely possess Spiritual Power in every life to come!

’Damn it... It seems I can’t use force anymore.’

And so, Ye Zhiyao looked at the six-year-old Lu Sangjiu and put on an innocent smile. "Hi! Can we be friends?"

The six-year-old Lu Sangjiu shot her a look and snorted. "I don’t like you, and I don’t want to be your friend."

Ye Zhiyao: "..."

’Great. Another wasted lifetime.’

「Another lifetime.」

This time, Ye Zhiyao and Lu Sangjiu were cousins and had known each other since they were children.

Thanks to their family ties and growing up together, Ye Zhiyao finally saw a glimmer of hope.

On the surface, Ye Zhiyao and Lu Sangjiu were the best of friends.

But in secret, she was constantly prodding Lu Sangjiu to do bad things.

For example, when they were young, she would intentionally get Lu Sangjiu to break a vase, then convince her to lie and blame it on one of the household servants.

A child’s sense of right and wrong isn’t fully formed. All it took was a few scary words, and Lu Sangjiu would get frightened enough to actually shift the blame.

However, when Lu Sangjiu heard the family was going to sell the servant as a result, she immediately ignored Ye Zhiyao’s protests, tearfully confessed to her mistake, and honorably chose not to implicate Ye Zhiyao in the process.

Ye Zhiyao wasn’t discouraged. Later, when they started their schooling, she again goaded Lu Sangjiu into bullying other children.

Lu Sangjiu went along with it, but the moment she saw the other child burst into tears, she immediately panicked, apologized profusely, and promised never to do it again.

Ye Zhiyao: "..."

Her patience was worn thinner and thinner with each failure.

’Is this whole damn thing actually *my* tribulation?!’

’I’m supposed to be the master here! Why can’t I gain any advantage over Lu Sangjiu? I refuse to accept this!’