"I died at forty... already?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan was somewhat dazed, her mind blank.
Once, she was the renowned Sword Immortal, entering the Seven Realms at thirty, becoming the youngest Seven Realms异士 (yi shi - extraordinary person) in the world, wielding her sword and roaming the land!
Later, she concealed her fame and achievements, retreated into the deep mountains, focusing on seeking immortality and the Dao, hoping to break through to the Nine Realms of Mortal Immortality and ascend to the Immortal Realm.
Her Taiyi Sword Art was peerlessly powerful, capable of crushing opponents of the same rank. Thus, her slow cultivation progress was understandable. Coupled with the sparse spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it was already difficult for her to maintain a long lifespan with Seven Realms cultivation, and she shouldn't have harbored the ambition to break through quickly.
Although her progress was slow, she believed that one day she would break through to the Eight Realms and advance towards the Nine Realms of Mortal Immortality!
Later, Ye Feng found her, gave her the method for soul projection, and then provided a clone.
Ye Feng said that the clone was equivalent to the ancient avatars. As long as she helped the Hongchen Pavilion complete missions and earn rewards, she could obtain cultivation resources, which would help her ascend to the Immortal Realm sooner.
She believed Ye Feng.
But now, someone was telling her that she had been dead for hundreds of years?
From the beginning, the cultivation technique she practiced was wrong?
"Impossible... this must be an illusion, I must be undergoing a heart demon tribulation, you cannot affect my Dao heart!"
Ye Qingyan became somewhat confused, unable to accept this fact. She flew out of the cave dwelling on her sword, soaring towards the nine heavens!
"If I am already dead, then who am I now?"
Seeing Ye Qingyan's current state, Ye Ling's eyes also narrowed. "This fellow is about to fall into demonic possession... that's my aunt's body, don't mess around!"
Ye Ling instantly moved, standing in the high sky, watching Ye Qingyan fly towards him. A large amount of demonic energy surged around her, forming a giant claw that grabbed Ye Qingyan.
"Calm down first!"
Ye Ling shouted, his voice like the thunder of the nine heavens, striking Ye Qingyan's soul directly, forcing her soul out of Ye Qin's body.
However, Ye Qingyan's soul was quickly drawn back into Ye Qin's body.
After the soul shock, Ye Qingyan quickly calmed down, but her eyes became vacant.
Seeing Ye Qingyan's current appearance, Ye Ling sighed slightly, took her back to the Shennongjia cave dwelling, brought her bones, and returned to Qingye Town.
He placed Ye Qingyan on the sofa, withdrew his demonic energy, and sat opposite Ye Qingyan, asking, "Have you recovered?"
Ye Qingyan nodded numbly, not replying.
Seeing Ye Qingyan nod, Ye Ling continued, "I don't know if you learned to cultivate on your own or if you had a master teaching you. You've studied the Taiyi Sword Art for hundreds of years, and you should have already discovered that the technique was wrong, but you were afraid to question this so-called Immortal Realm technique and delayed changing it."
"The consequences of incorrect cultivation technique and shortened lifespan are the least severe. You should be fortunate that you at least had a glorious decade or two."
"If I am already dead, then what am I now?"
"A wandering spirit?"
Ye Qingyan asked emotionlessly. After hundreds of years of arduous cultivation, to suddenly discover that she had actually died hundreds of years ago, and that all her previous efforts were in vain, such a thing would be unbearable for anyone!
Ye Ling said, "I think, at the moment of your death, due to your strong obsession with cultivation, your soul could not re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. Instead, it attached itself to your corpse."
"Cultivation knows no time. Perhaps you yourself did not realize how much the world had changed, and only when Ye Feng found you and placed your soul in another space did you gradually regain consciousness."
"You've been working for Hongchen Pavilion for at most six years, right?"
Ye Qingyan: "..."
Ye Qingyan remained silent. Although she didn't respond to Ye Ling, she knew in her heart...
Ling had spoken the truth.
It was only then that she remembered that she had truly died.
The cultivation of hundreds of years was her own wishful thinking. Her soul had not dispersed, merely because she had become a trapped spirit.
In essence, she was just an evil spirit.
Her actual active time on modern Earth was only the short six years after Ye Feng found her.
She had never thought before why she was willing to work for Hongchen Pavilion, why she believed in lies like cloned bodies...
Now she understood.
She merely... wanted to live again.
"I understand. I am just a wandering spirit who has not entered reincarnation. Although I don't know why the Black and White Impermanence haven't come to claim me, my very existence goes against the natural order. I should report to the underworld..."
Crystal tears flowed down Ye Qingyan's cheeks, and her body began to emit faint fluorescent light.
Ye Qingyan looked at Ye Ling and smiled, "Although I still don't know who you are, thank you for helping me find the truth."
"I didn't bring you to the truth just so you could reincarnate!"
Ye Ling said. Ye Qingyan suddenly felt a large amount of spiritual energy attaching itself to her entire body, forcefully pulling her scattered soul back!
"You..."
Ye Qingyan looked at Ye Ling with disbelief, not understanding why Ye Ling would do such a thing.
She should have reincarnated long ago, and her existence in this world was the most unreasonable thing. Ye Ling forcibly trying to keep her was going against the Heavenly Dao!
Who could bear the consequences of defying heaven?
However, this was merely Ye Qingyan's own opinion.
What she didn't know was that Ye Ling was an even more unreasonable existence than she was!
When Ye Ling returned, the Heavenly Dao of Earth sensed a threat and wanted to eliminate Ye Ling at all times!
Unfortunately, Ye Ling had never paid attention to the Heavenly Dao from beginning to end. Not only could the Heavenly Dao not do anything to Ye Ling, but it couldn't even deal with Ye Ling's Ten Divine Weapons!
If Ye Ling wanted to protect someone, no one could take them away!
Ye Ling said indifferently, "I hired you with money. Without my permission, even the King of Hell cannot take you away."
Ye Qingyan's body trembled!
Ye Ling used spiritual energy to extract Ye Qingyan's soul from Ye Qin's body. Ye Qin's body quickly returned to its normal human state, and Ye Qin's soul also returned to her body.
After Ye Ling temporarily stored Ye Qingyan's soul within himself, Ye Qin slowly woke up.
"What is this?"
Ye Qin found herself lying on the sofa, full of confusion.
Ye Ling smiled, "Aunt, you overslept again."
"Oh, I really am! I can't break this old habit!"
Ye Qin patted her head and quickly got up to walk towards the study, muttering as she went, "I fell asleep without finishing that recipe, my learning attitude is not good!"
Ye Ling smiled as he watched Ye Qin, who had returned to her study. He picked up Ye Qingyan's phone and Qiankun bag from the sofa and said to Ye Qin, "Aunt, I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now!"
"Xiao Ling, aren't you staying for dinner..."
Ye Qin was about to call out to Ye Ling but found that Ye Ling had already left.
"This child, still as impatient as ever."
Ye Qin shook her head and sighed, then immersed herself back into the Divine Chef's Recipe.
As for Ye Ling, he returned to Tianhui Third Institute.