“No! You’re definitely not Yanran. Who exactly are you!?” Luo Xuanyu shouted in disbelief.
Snap!—
The rope broke.
Luo Xuanyu clung desperately to the wooden plank.
“Xuanyu-ge, you once said you would die for me. Now is your chance to prove it…” Su Yanran stood up, a hint of ferocity twisting her features.
She raised her foot and stamped down hard on Luo Xuanyu’s hand.
The pain made his eyes widen to the point of splitting, but he dared not let go. “Yanran… mei-mei, please… stop it now! I… I can’t hold on much longer!”
“Then don’t hold on—just die!” Su Yanran said in a light, airy tone.
Feng Qingran watched the scene coldly, her heart utterly unmoved. She had witnessed Su Yanran’s ruthlessness countless times in her past life.
Ahhh!—
Soon, Luo Xuanyu let out a miserable scream and fell.
After casting a single glance, Su Yanran continued forward.
Feng Qingran watched her walk up, push open a bronze door, and then traverse one corridor after another.
Eventually, she arrived before a suspended coffin. Su Yanran stared at it with a look of absolute certainty.
She took out a porcelain vial and sprinkled Luo Xuanyu’s blood over the coffin.
Clank-clank-clank!—
The sound of chains rang out as the suspended coffin slowly descended to the ground.
Su Yanran stepped forward, reached out, and pushed open the lid. Inside lay a woman of striking beauty.
Her skin was as white as snow, serene and gentle.
Feng Qingran’s eyes widened in shock—this woman looked exactly like her mother.
Seeing Su Yanran’s hand reaching toward the woman, Feng Qingran couldn’t help stepping forward to stop her. But her body simply passed right through Su Yanran’s.
Su Yanran’s hand retrieved a crystal-clear pearl from the woman’s mouth.
Instantly, the woman’s skin rapidly withered, turning as rough as tree bark. Within less than fifteen minutes, her body shriveled up completely and gradually turned to ashes.
Feng Qingran clutched her violently constricting heart, a searing pain tearing through her chest…
Su Yanran gazed at the pearl in her hand, brimming with smug satisfaction. “Feng Qingran, what do you have to compete with me? You’ll probably never know that your life was swapped with mine, will you?”
Feng Qingran’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, filled with astonishment. A swapped life?
She watched as Su Yanran clutched the pearl and sat down cross-legged, beginning to cultivate.
Why would Su Yanran cultivate in this place of death?
What could Su Yanran possibly gain?
No one knew how much time passed.
The pearl in Su Yanran’s hand dissolved into nothingness, and only then did she stop cultivating.
Feng Qingran noticed that Su Yanran’s features had clearly become more striking, and her skin even smoother.
Su Yanran touched her own cheek, thoroughly pleased. “Feng Qingran, I hope you’re still alive up there. You’ll need to take the blame for Xuanyu-ge’s death, after all.”
Su Yanran pulled a purple token from her spatial storage—identical to the one Luo Xuanyu had shown earlier.
She dripped Luo Xuanyu’s blood onto the token, then quickly messed up her own appearance.
Then, a flash of purple light passed before Feng Qingran’s eyes.
Several familiar voices reached her ears: “Yanran-mei, you finally showed up!”
“Yanran-mei, what happened to you? Why do you look like this?”
“Where’s Xuanyu? Why are you alone?”
Then came Su Yanran’s sobbing: “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. If Xuanyu-ge hadn’t been trying to protect me… maybe he wouldn’t have died!”
When Feng Qingran could see clearly again, a group of people were surrounding Su Yanran, comforting her with concern.
Beside the group lay a bloodied, disheveled young woman.
She wore tattered red clothes, and the snow beneath her was completely stained red.
Feng Qingran could see clearly—that person was “Feng Qingran.”
Strange. Where did these people find “Feng Qingran”?
Watching the anguished “Feng Qingran,” a swirl of emotions flickered through her almond-shaped eyes—but anger was conspicuously absent.
With Su Yanran’s level of cunning and scheming, it was perfectly natural that “Feng Qingran” couldn’t outmaneuver her.
If she hadn’t been fortunate enough to retain her memories in this life, she might very well still be living under Su Yanran’s manipulations.
Suddenly—
Another flash of white light passed before Feng Qingran’s eyes. Just as she thought she’d appear in some strange place again, she suddenly realized she was standing on the Heavenly Ladder.
Dugu Jianyi and Qin Hanyan had already moved ahead of her.
Baili Wenyue stood on a step above, struggling to take even one more.
Seeing Feng Qingran awake, Baili Wenyue turned around and asked curiously, “Little junior sister, didn’t you pass that trial? What past event held you back for three whole days?”
“Past?” Feng Qingran murmured softly.
Baili Wenyue nodded. “Yeah! It’s about an unforgettable event from your past. I got out in half a day, Third Senior Sister took a day and a half, Second Senior Brother took two days, but you—you took three.”
Feng Qingran pondered for a moment, then let it go. She continued stepping forward onto the staircase.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Sixth Senior Brother. But why are you stuck at step five hundred and thirty?” Feng Qingran’s beautiful eyes shimmered with light.
“I… I just wanted to wait for you!” Baili Wenyue said stubbornly.
Feng Qingran shook her head and walked up to him. “Sixth Senior Brother, don’t force things too much. Sometimes, looking at things from a different angle might make life more comfortable.”
After saying that, she stepped onto level five hundred and thirty-one.
This time, Feng Qingran could clearly feel pressure weighing down on her legs.
Above her, Dugu Jianyi and Qin Hanyan had also slowed down.
