My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

With the encouragement of Qi Huixian's music, Ruan Chayan's spirits were boosted, and with her own perseverance, she actually managed to withstand all thirty bolts of heavenly lightning.

At first, Ruan Chayan could still remember which heavenly lightning strike was which one, but later she only frantically recalled the spells she had seen in her sea of ​​consciousness, and simply didn't have the extra energy to remember them.

Ruan Chayan's tears turned to steam in the thunder, and a sense of fear began to grow in her heart—

It was no use; her fingers were all tangled up, she couldn't form any hand seals, and she didn't know how to face the next bolt of lightning.

Is she going to die?

Ruan Chayan lay in the pitch-black pit, her eyes fixed on the purple-gold lightning that was brewing and falling overhead.

There's no other way, there's really no other way. We've tried everything, but there's no time to heal my body before the heavenly lightning strikes...

She's dead. What will happen to Xiaoxue? She'll be all alone in this terrible world...

Ruan Chayan's vision blurred as a huge golden-red body blocked her view.

Ruan Chayan stared blankly at the demonic beast before her with her divine sense. Just as Luo Hanying had described, its mane curled like clouds and mist, and its body shone like burning flames.

Is this the spirit beast she just contracted?

"Go back quickly. Our contract will be dissolved after my death, and you will not be affected."

Ruan Chayan roused herself and transmitted her voice through the illusory image in her sea of ​​consciousness: "Don't shield me from the heavenly lightning, you'll die."

Ruan Chayan heard a wild and arrogant voice resound in her mind: "What a joke! Me, die? What are you talking about, you little brat? You dare to die without my permission?"

If you die, won't I be locked up by Taniguchi again?

Just you wait and see the pent-up anger I've been suppressing for a thousand or eight hundred years!

The thirty-first bolt of lightning delayed its arrival, and the wind and clouds shifted, brewing a pitch-black color within the clouds.

Ruan Chayan didn't understand what was going on, but Qi Huixian and Li Shuhe had seen similar scenes in the photo stone, murals and other artifacts.

They recognized the ferocious beast that was protecting Ruan Chayan as the Fiery-Eyed Golden Lion, a beast that had been imprisoned in the formation beneath the Unmelting Mountain for a thousand years!

Six bolts of purple-gold lightning mixed with black flames struck the body of the Fiery-Eyed Golden Lion at the same time!

Ruan Chayan was momentarily stunned; she couldn't even feel her own body.

Her mind went blank for a few breaths; she couldn't perceive the outside world and didn't know how to open her eyes.

As she slowly regained consciousness, she "saw" a black shadow slowly merging with her.

"what……"

Ruan Chayan spoke with difficulty, "What...are you doing?"

The shadow was suddenly infused with color, and it turned out to be her dressed in modern clothes as Luo Hanying.

She used her former body, her voice both familiar and strange: "I am becoming one with you."

"Why?" Ruan Chayan's mind was sluggish; she couldn't quite understand the situation. "You're so strange. Why are you merging with me? Who are you?"

She once gave a compassionate smile: "I am you, how come you don't recognize yourself?"

How pitiful, you've even forgotten what you look like. But it's alright, once we become one, you'll understand.

Ruan Chayan was bewildered and at a loss: "You are not me, how could you possibly be me?"

"Look at my appearance, listen to my voice, and see, aren't we just like each other?"

She asked with a surprised expression, "Don't tell me you think you're Jian Chu? You used Jian Chu's body, how come you've forgotten that you're Ruan Chayan?"

"Jian Chu's body..."

Ruan Chayan didn't immediately remember who Jian Chu was, but then she remembered, "Jian Chu's body, Jian Chu... but I am Ruan Chayan..."

She moved even closer to Ruan Chayan, her lower body now merging with Ruan Chayan's, and she said seductively, "No, you are not, I am Ruan Chayan."

Ruan Chayan's mind went blank for a moment. How come she was one thing and another thing? Who was she again?

The woman cupped Ruan Chayan's face in her hands and said anxiously, "I am Ruan Chayan, you have to give me your body."

I still need to go find Xiaoxue; she'll be sad if she doesn't see me.

You don't want her to think you don't want her friend anymore, do you?

Ruan Chayan was a little confused. In that moment of hesitation, the two of them had already merged into each other's chests.

The woman covered her mouth and laughed, encouragingly saying, "Yes, that's it. Accept me; you and I are the same person."

Ruan Chayan's nose touched that of her former self, and her eyes suddenly cleared. She shouted, "You are not me!"

The woman quickly hugged Ruan Chayan, her face showing dissatisfaction at the impasse.

Ruan Chayan looked at the woman, her voice becoming firm: "I'm not like you!"

You're imitating Xiaoxue! I'm not some copycat!

I am Ruan Chayan, and no matter what I become, I am still Ruan Chayan! You are not!

I love myself just the way I am! No matter what I've been through, it's all to become a better version of myself! Not to become someone else! Not to live someone else's life!

This woman is her inner demon!

She knew, she understood: the woman who dressed and looked like Luo Hanying was her inner demon in the Nascent Soul stage!

Ruan Chayan had to admit that she had indeed felt lost.

Years ago, she envied Luo Hanying's happy family and sometimes wondered why she couldn't have relatives like Luo Hanying.

Although Luo Hanying's mother was prone to melancholy and relied on medication to control her emotions, she genuinely cared for and loved Luo Hanying.

She was so starved for love; the love from Luo Hanying alone was far from enough.

That's why she had the exact same family structure as Luo Hanying in the illusionary realm where she once sought the Dao.

Even though Luo Hanying promised not to blame her, she could not forgive herself for having such despicable thoughts.

Now, she can truly let go of the past.

It's not wrong to seek love from others, but you can't make it your everything. In life, you can only rely on yourself, and most importantly, you must love yourself.

She once longed for the love of the whole world, but now she understands that learning to love herself is more important and more difficult.

After Ruan Chayan figured it out, the woman suddenly became transparent and then disappeared.

She felt a warm sensation on her body, as if water was falling on her.

Ruan Chayan opened her eyes to find the sky ablaze with rosy light, and the clouds of tribulation brewing a sweet rain. The spiritual energy contained in the raindrops seeped into her body.

The meridians and dantian eagerly absorbed the belated reward.

"Stop lying there, get up."

Ruan Chayan's gaze fell to the side, where a man dressed in a gold and red top and bottom draped a set of Buddhist robes over her.

The lion-shaped decorations on its knee pads are outlined in gold thread, and its cloud-shaped shoulder pads are made in the shape of flames.

He joked, "Hey, stop looking at me, you're making me feel embarrassed."

"Hurry up and put your clothes on. There are people all around. You don't want to be seen naked, do you?"

"I go!"

Ruan Chayan belatedly realized that she was buried under a pile of ashes, and her clothes had been chopped into charcoal.

She hurriedly made hand seals to put on her clothes, cast a dust-removing spell three times in a row, and then took out her hair ornaments and put them on.