After her senior sister was reborn, she actually became a powerful and arrogant protagonist?!

That night.

In the Autumn Kingdom, at the residence of the Princess of Sanye City.

"Elder sister, you've worked so hard these past few years."

Qiu Lin's eyes were glazed over, his face flushed an unnatural red, and he smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Now that I'm back, I promise I won't let you suffer so much alone anymore."

Qiuyue looked at her younger brother but didn't reply. After a long while, she waved to the maid.

"The Crown Prince is drunk; take him back to his guest room to rest."

Soon, the maid escorted Qiu Lin, who was so drunk he was starting to talk nonsense, to his room.

Silence returned to the pavilion.

Aunt Fang walked up to Qiu Yue, squatted down, and looked up at her.

"Has the princess softened her heart?"

Qiu Yue lowered her eyes, her black hair slipping down her shoulders, making it impossible to see her expression.

Aunt Fang took Qiuyue's hand, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes.

"If the princess wants to go back on her word, she can put that thing on me."

Snapped!

The crisp sound of a slap rang out, particularly loud in the quiet environment.

Qiu Yue's expression turned cold, completely different from before.

"When did it become your place, a mere maid, to ask me what I need to do?"

Aunt Fang pursed her lips, not even having time to wipe away the blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, and immediately lowered her head to admit her mistake.

"Alright, I'm tired. Take me to the Buddhist hall."

Qiuyue yawned, the fragrance on her body during the day had vanished without a trace, replaced by an unbearable stench.

"Princess...."

Aunt Fang was about to speak, but after meeting Qiu Yue's sharp gaze, she swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

On the other side, Chu Luobai helped Qiu Lin back to the guest room.

After settling the person onto the bed, the maid who had come with them was escorted out of the room.

As soon as I closed the door and turned around, I saw Qiu Lin, who had been completely drunk and unconscious, sitting on the edge of the bed with a clear mind.

"Thank you for your hard work, senior sister."

Qiu Lin looked at Chu Luobai and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Shh, I'm your maid, be careful, the walls may be overheard."

Chu Luobai held up a finger and made a shushing gesture to her lips.

"Master, I'm here!"

Suddenly, a figure burst through the wall and landed beside Chu Luobai.

Chu Luobai quickly circulated his spiritual power to set up a barrier in the room to prevent prying before he could speak with peace of mind.

"This...uh, my daughter is?"

Looking at the gourd sitting excitedly in Chu Luobai's arms, Qiu Lin couldn't help but ask.

"Her name is Hulu, and she's my... contracted spirit beast."

Chu Luobai thought for a while, but didn't know how to explain it to Qiu Lin.

"A spirit beast that can take human form! Senior sister is truly amazing."

Qiu Lin looked at Chu Luobai with some envy, but when he thought of the scene of Hulu calling him "father," his envy quickly disappeared.

"Enough with the nonsense, there's a very strange place in this Princess's residence."

Spiritual energy condensed at his fingertips, and Chu Luobai raised his hand to draw a simple map of the Princess's residence in mid-air.

“The Buddhist hall here has the aura left by Shi Aotian. I suspect that Shi Aotian came here, or even that he is hiding here.”

Chu Luobai pointed to the location of the Buddhist hall, explained her discovery, and then turned to look at Qiu Lin.

"Buddhist shrine?"

Qiu Lin stared at the location of the Buddhist hall, his face full of doubt.

“My elder sister has never believed in gods or Buddhas, let alone set up a Buddhist shrine in her own residence to pray for protection.”

“This Princess’s residence was originally the temporary palace for us princes and princesses. We only used it for a short period of time each year to handle affairs.”

"For some reason, it was turned into her residence by my elder sister."

What exactly happened in the capital?

Before coming to the princess's residence, he had also tried to contact the forces he had left behind.

But all those signals went unanswered, and no one responded.

It has most likely been swallowed up by other forces or directly eliminated.

"Is your eldest sister any different?"

Chu Luobai stroked her chin with her long, slender fingers, her eyes filled with countless thoughts.

"Their appearance is no different, but..."

Today in the pavilion, Qiu Lin deliberately chatted with Qiu Yue about many things from their youth.

The other party answered in great detail, even the smallest things that only the two of them knew.

Qiu Lin was certain that the Qiu Yue he had just seen was his older sister.

However, Qiu Lin felt uneasy about the glances Qiu Yue occasionally gave him during their conversation.

“I always felt that my eldest sister was different.”

“Even though she’s my older sister, there was a moment when she felt like a complete stranger.”

Seeing Qiu Lin's conflicted expression, Chu Luobai did not press the matter further.

"Let's go to the Buddhist hall and inquire about it first."

Chu Luobai cast a transformation spell on herself and Qiu Lin, and the gourd shrank and sat on her shoulder.

Outside the Buddhist hall.

The wind howled at night, as if someone was weeping softly.

The princess's mansion, though vast, was eerily silent; not even a servant on night watch could be seen.

The door to the Buddhist hall opened, and a dim oil lamp flickered on and off, casting a swaying shadow on the doorway.

"No one, go in."

Chu Luobai went in first, and as soon as she entered, she sensed something was wrong.

Throughout the Buddhist hall, the stench of decaying blood permeated the air, and dissipated spiritual energy drifted through the space.

The huge Buddha statue that originally stood in the center of the temple has now been moved and placed to the side.

Their red eyes seemed to be staring at them.

"This Buddha statue looks like something only a demonic cultivator could create."

Qiu Lin looked up at the Buddha statue and subconsciously took a few steps closer to Chu Luobai.

After the Buddha statue was moved, a dark tunnel was created in the original spot.

The night wind whistled through the tunnel, making a terrifying sound in the darkness.

"Tsk, another tunnel?"

Are these people born in the Year of the Gopher?

Looking at the pitch-black tunnel, Chu Luobai couldn't help but click his tongue.

In her previous life, she often hid in places like this to save her life.

I'm almost traumatized by it.

If she could, she really wouldn't want to go back in.

As you walk down the steps into the tunnel, a chilly atmosphere instantly envelops you.

The same putrid stench as in Blackrock Temple emanated from the depths of the passage.

It also had a slightly strange floral scent mixed in.

Chu Luobai's eyes darkened. Zhao Jingren had mentioned this in the message he had sent her earlier.

That old bastard Shi Aotian used people in the Hundred Flowers Sect to conduct experiments, using some strange vines to extract the souls of cultivators and inject them into demonic insects.

"Shi Aotian, what exactly do you want to do?"

Chu Luobai walked slowly into the depths of the tunnel, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Whether it was the Hundred Flowers Sect or the Black Stone Sect, Shi Aotian seemed to be keen on extracting the souls of cultivators and transferring them into the Demon Language Insects.

Logically speaking, the Demon Language Insect should be absorbing the spiritual power of cultivators.

Why go through all that trouble to extract the soul...?