The female lead thought she had a "proud and arrogant" character script.

Amidst white clouds and peach blossoms.

Luo Qingcheng never imagined he would open his eyes again.

Wrapped up like a mummy, she opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

He swallowed several times, licked his dry, peeling lips, and tasted a lingering metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"Red bean, red bean, my throat—" she mouthed, but still couldn't make a sound.

"You're awake?" a strange female voice rang out.

Just by listening to that melodious voice, Luo Qingcheng could sense how gentle the speaker was.

She tried to turn her head, but found that she couldn't move at all.

"Don't worry, you've been in a coma for two months, so it's normal that you can't speak or move right now."

What's unusual is that, despite such severe injuries, she, as a mere mortal, actually survived. She had thought this mortal would sleep for the rest of his life.

Luo Qingcheng looked at the gentle and lovely young lady and asked who she was.

She seemed to understand Luo Qingcheng's convulsing gaze, and smiled gently, "I am a disciple of the Sun True Person of Changdan Peak in the Seeking Immortal Sect, and my name is Wan Qingchu."

She explained understandingly, "You were injured by a demonic cultivator, your meridians were shattered, your spiritual energy was surging, and your life was hanging by a thread. It was your senior brother who brought you back, and I am the one responsible for treating you."

"Speaking of which, he's clearly just a mortal, so why did his spiritual energy surge and cause his meridians to shatter..." Wan Qing lowered her head, her mind filled with the mysteries surrounding Luo Qingcheng, gradually immersing herself in her own world.

Luo Qingcheng watched helplessly as the gentle and beautiful woman in front of her suddenly became engrossed in the world of scientific research, abandoning her, the patient, to the side.

……

No, what serious illnesses do you cultivators all suffer from?

She gets angry whenever demonic cultivators are mentioned.

As she lay quietly contemplating amidst the ruins, she had already planned how to slap someone in the face and show off, only to have someone interfere.

Now, the seemingly gentle woman in front of me is engrossed in her own world again.

Luo Qingcheng remained silent.

Only when the sun began to set and the afterglow of the sunset bathed the beautiful woman standing motionless before her bed in a glow did Wanqing finally pull herself out of her perplexing thoughts.

She glanced outside habitually and realized it was already dusk. She turned back as if nothing was amiss and met Luo Qingcheng's wide eyes. Only then did she realize that Luo Qingcheng, who had been so bored that he had been mentally counting from -7-7-7 to 2223, had already woken up.

Luo Qingcheng stopped calculating. Although his eyes were covered by gauze, he still winked at Wan Qingchu, trying to express his accusations in this way.

Wan smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I accidentally did it again. To express my apology, I'll give you this 'Limitless Pill' that my master gave me."

She pulled a small jade bottle from around her neck.

"'Nothingness leads to the limit, existence leads to the end.' The Limitless Pill is a rare elixir that even mortals can take. If you don't use it, you'll have to stay in bed for a year or two. With it, you can return to a normal life tomorrow."

She spoke slowly, smiling, without a trace of reluctance towards the precious elixir. On the contrary, she was genuinely happy that Luo Qingcheng had recovered his health.

Her fair skin, bathed in the glow of the sunset, was crystal clear, like a goddess from heaven.

Wan knew she wouldn't elaborate on how precious the Limitless Pill was; she simply described it as "rare." However, Luo Qingcheng could tell how valuable it was just from the fact that she carefully treasured it.

She was stunned.

Are there really such pure, beautiful, and selfless people in this world?

"Of course, this is still too precious as an apology gift. I hope you can grant me a small request." Wanqing smiled even more as she put down the small jade bottle.

"I hope you can help me explore the truth behind how a mere mortal without spiritual roots could have his meridians shattered due to a surge of spiritual energy."

Luo Qingcheng: ? ? ?

So you're making me a guinea pig?

Did she find her own recovery too slow and inconvenient for research? So she didn't hesitate to give precious elixirs to a mortal like her?

You know how to apologize.

Luo Qingcheng refused without hesitation.

Wanqing visibly lost her composure, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, making her appear pitiful.

He kept his head down, glancing at her every now and then, as if waiting for her to change her mind.

Luo Qingcheng was as hard as iron. Fearing that he might be tempted by her beauty and agree to her unreasonable request, he simply closed his eyes and decided to ignore her.

After a long stalemate, she suddenly heard a soft sigh, followed by a round pill pressed against her lips.

With a sudden effort, Luo Qingcheng was startled and opened her eyes. The pill melted instantly in her mouth, turning into a cool liquid that relieved the dryness in her mouth. At the same time, a warm sensation spread throughout her body from her esophagus and stomach.

Luo Qingcheng: !!!

It's a staged accident, a staged accident!

Luo Qingcheng tried to spit out the pill.

A slender, jade-like finger was gently pressed vertically onto her lips.

Looking up, she saw the starlight twinkling in Wanqing's eyes, and smiled slightly, "As I said, it's just a 'request,' and it's fine if you don't agree."

Because of the limited perspective, Luo Qingcheng couldn't see her full face until this pose, which finally allowed her to see it clearly.

Luo Qingcheng was stunned.

Even after Wanqing left, she was still stunned by the beauty of that face.

After a long while, a feeling of resentment suddenly rose from the bottom of her heart.

"Damn it! Why the hell am I not a man?!"

"Women are fine too," the system suddenly appeared and said in a chilling tone.

Luo Qingcheng sneered: [Oh, you're still here.]

The system naturally knew what she was unhappy about, but pretended not to: [Can I also leave? Want to terminate the contract?]

Luo Qingcheng immediately backed down and changed the subject: [Where is the red bean?]

[That little maid has quite a talent; she caught the eye of an elder from the Seeking Immortals Sect and was taken in to work as a blacksmith.]

[Huh?] How come she can understand each word individually, but can't understand them when they're put together?

Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived.

"Miss! I heard you're awake!" Hongdou shouted as she ran in from outside the door.

The Wuji Pill was indeed effective. After only a short while, Luo Qingcheng was able to speak normally again, and she could even twist her neck and turn her head to look at Hongdou.

Luo Qingcheng was startled as soon as he saw Hongdou's face.

Who is this little girl in black?!

"Red Bean, what's wrong with you—" She scrutinized him for a long time before she could make out the original features of Red Bean from that dark face.

"Miss, you mean this!" Hongdou laughed heartily, her dark skin highlighting her beautiful teeth.

With a flourish, she wiped her face, removing a streak of soot to reveal her fair, slightly yellowish skin. "I just came from the weapon-refining room!"

Refining weapons?

Luo Qingcheng understood; she hadn't read so many novels for nothing.

She looked pleased; her silly roe deer, who only knew how to eat, was finally going to amount to something.

Before she could even offer a few words of praise, Hongdou pulled out a large iron pot from somewhere, held it up with one hand, and exclaimed, "Miss, look! This is a large iron pot that I made. The senior brothers and sisters in the weapon-refining workshop all praised me for making it well! It's sure to be able to cook lots of delicious food!"

The words of praise stuck in my throat.

Luo Qingcheng's smile froze. Seeing Hongdou's face full of longing for praise, he mustered his years of experience as the leader of a praise group and managed to say, "Not bad."

We must not discourage children's enthusiasm for learning.

Upon hearing this, Hongdou was even happier and said excitedly, "Miss, Senior Sister Wan said you'll be free tomorrow. I'll go pack my things now, and let's set off early tomorrow!"

"Set off?" Luo Qingcheng asked, puzzled.

Hongdou said matter-of-factly, "Yes, Senior Sister Wan said that since you're awake, Miss, we outsiders shouldn't stay in the Seeking Immortals Sect for long and should leave as soon as possible."

In fact, Wanqing clearly said that Luo Qingcheng was not allowed to stay in the Xunxian Sect, because the Taiqi Zhenren of Changqi Peak planned to take Hongdou as an inner disciple, and Luo Qingcheng was the only outsider here.

However, as soon as Hongdou heard that Luo Qingcheng was to be sent away, she immediately said that she wanted to go with him.

"Your little maid is quite loyal," the system suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingcheng knew there was more to the story.

Recalling what the system had said before—that Hongdou had been favored by an elder of the Seeking Immortals Sect and recruited to work as a blacksmith—after a little deliberation, he guessed the truth pretty accurately.

After careful consideration, she organized her thoughts and said, "Red Bean, I've heard that you have great talent and have already caught the eye of an elder of the Immortal Sect, who wants to take you in as an inner disciple. This is your good fortune."

Hongdou was about to say something when Luo Qingcheng interrupted her, "Opportunities are rare and hard to come by. As your mistress, I command you to seize this opportunity."

She knew that Hongdou was stubborn. Just the fact that she blindly followed her out of the Luo family with nothing to seek immortality showed how dull she was. It would be better to just give her an order and let her cultivate properly here.

This time, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to find the immortal sect.

Luo Qingcheng, who had been looking down, couldn't hold back her sadness about parting any longer when she looked up.

Hongdou half-squatted in front of her, her expression quite righteous.

That expression on his face is hilarious.

Hongdou was completely unaware of the reason why her young mistress was suppressing a laugh, and said, "This servant refuses." Hongdou had her own thoughts.

Her daughter is sometimes very smart, and sometimes very stupid.

Luo Qingcheng originally had three maids. The other two saw the situation early on and surrendered to the second young lady. They grew fat and strong. Only Hongdou stayed with her. Originally, she could get money by saying a few bad things, but Hongdou would rather go hungry than say anything. She would also quarrel with those disloyal maids.

Occasionally, when pushed too far, they would even physically pull each other apart, but how could the skinny Hongdou possibly defeat those two older, well-fed maids who could also team up?

Seeing that she was always covered in injuries, the young Luo Qingcheng couldn't help but say one day, "Go find her."

They all knew who "she" referred to.

Hongdou said this at the time: "This servant refuses."

Her reason is always the same.

Second Miss, even if I'm gone, you still have other maids, but Miss, you only have me.

Even if Master Taiqi were to lose me, he would still have other disciples. But for you, Miss, you only have me.

Luo Qingcheng remained silent for a long time.

The candle wick touched the lamp oil, making a "crackling" sound.

The next day, the rooster crowed as the sun rose.

Wan Qing came early in the morning and removed all of Luo Qingcheng's bandages, layer by layer, as if peeling an eggshell.

All the cracks on Luo Qingcheng's body were completely repaired by the pills. There was no trace of the cracks on his skin that looked like a broken and pieced-back porcelain doll after the blood was wiped off. His skin was as smooth as a newly hatched egg.

Wanqing changed into a bright green dress. Peach blossoms were falling. Green leaves always set off red flowers, but the green leaves were too dazzling, and the peach grove could only play a supporting role.

She spoke, her voice like a nightingale's, like the only sprite in the forest, "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Red Bean shook its head.

Luo Qingcheng shook his head.

"What a pity—" It didn't say whether it was a pity that Hongdou didn't want to become an inner disciple of the elders, or a pity that Luo Qingcheng didn't want to be her experimental guinea pig.

The three stood beside the jade steps. Luo Qingcheng's gaze was drawn to a high platform. Wan Qingchu followed her gaze and smiled gently, "I heard that many years ago, the teleportation array over there was our main way of traveling up and down the peaks."

"Is it broken?" The elevator is so much better. Just thinking about climbing tens of thousands of steps made Luo Qingcheng's legs start to ache.

Wanqing shook her head, her voice unusually somber, "The Heavenly Ladder is broken, and the spiritual energy in the world has diminished. How can we still travel in such a luxurious way?"

Back then, once the Spirit Gathering Array was set up, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could replenish the energy needed for the teleportation array. Now, to activate this teleportation array, the spirit stones required once would be enough for many disciples to cultivate.

"The Heavenly Ladder is broken?" Luo Qingcheng repeated, hearing the term for the first time.

Wan knew it but didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she changed the subject and said, "Let's go, I'll take you down the mountain."

[System, what does it mean that the Heavenly Ladder is severed?] Luo Qingcheng was inexplicably concerned.

The system, which usually answers every question, feigned ignorance. Only after Luo Qingcheng pressed it repeatedly did it finally give a vague reply: "You'll find out later."

They refused to say anything else.

Luo Qingcheng secretly made a note of this matter.

The three of them descended the mountain. Wanqing composed herself, as if nothing had happened. Seeing Hongdou carrying a bundle larger than herself, she asked curiously, "Hongdou, what are you carrying on your back?"

Hongdou perked up immediately, "This is the big pot I made! My senior brothers and sisters said they could give it to me as a gift!"

Luo Qingcheng rubbed his forehead.

She knew it.

Wan was quite interested; alchemy and medicine were inseparable, and she and Hongdou chatted amiably the whole way.

Luo Qingcheng listened from the side and couldn't help but find it amusing. In this way, the journey down the mountain was completed very quickly.

It wasn't that she didn't want to join, but simply walking at their pace had already exhausted all her strength.

As they parted, Wanqing still looked like a fairy princess, and Hongdou also looked relaxed. Only Luo Qingcheng, who hadn't exercised for a long time and had been sickly and unconscious in bed for two months, was embarrassingly panting.

Even though they were exhausted, they never complained or asked to slow down the whole way...

Wan smiled clearly, "I heard from Hongdou that you came here to seek immortality and enlightenment, right?"

Luo Qingcheng could barely speak properly, nodding laboriously and panting with his tongue lolling out.

"The minimum requirement for entering the Immortal Seeking Sect is to have a spiritual root, even a mixed or useless spiritual root is acceptable, but unfortunately you have no spiritual root at all," Wan Qing said regretfully.

"I see you're determined to take this path, so let me show you the way: head north to the frigid lands. In this world, only the Sword Sect has a place for you."

Luo Qingcheng's eyes lit up.