Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Mutated Spirit Roots

Wei Yun Xi’s eyes lit up. She looked at Feng Jia Qing with eager anticipation, and her bargain uncle smiled as he said, “Yun Xi, put your hand on the round crystal ball in the middle of the spirit-testing plate. Uncle will check your spirit roots for you.”

Wei Yun Xi nodded her little head and couldn’t wait to place her small hand on it. She didn’t have to wait long. A moment later, three beams of light shot straight into the sky from the plate, and Feng Jia Qing instinctively lifted a hand to activate the Soul Lamp Hall’s defensive formation, blocking the violet, azure, and blue pillars.

When Wei Yun Xi saw the three beams, she froze in shock too. If she remembered correctly, the female supporting character Wei Yun Xi in the book had a mutated lightning spirit root. So what did it mean that two more spirit roots had appeared now?

Feng Jia Qing looked excited as he said, “Yun Xi, you have wind, lightning, and ice-three mutated spirit roots. And every single one is at full value. They’re top-grade spirit roots.”

Wei Yun Xi smiled along with him, but inside, her thoughts churned like a storm. What was going on here?

In the book, Wei Yun Xi only tested with a single lightning spirit root, so the Wei Family sent her and Wei Yun Qing together to cultivate at the Hao Ran Sect. It was partly to secure a backer for the Wei Family, and partly because the sect had more cultivation techniques for them to choose from.

But now she had tested as wind, lightning, and ice-three spirit roots. Was it because her transmigration had changed the supporting character’s natural talent, or had the supporting character always possessed wind, lightning, and ice, with the Wei Family deliberately hiding or suppressing it?

That would also explain why Wei Yun Qing later wanted to rip out the supporting character’s spirit roots. Wei Yun Qing had water and wood dual roots, and under special opportunities, water and wood could mutate into ice and wind spirit roots. If Wei Yun Qing extracted those two spirit roots from the supporting character, she could raise her aptitude without anyone suspecting a thing.

A cold feeling crept up Wei Yun Xi’s back. How many schemes were aimed at Wei Yun Xi in the first place? If she hadn’t followed her uncle to the Feng Family this time, she might have ended up like the supporting character, kept in the dark the whole time.

And even if the supporting character cultivated only a single lightning spirit root, she could still keep pace with Wei Yun Qing, the female lead. That showed just how terrifying her talent was. No wonder Wei Yun Qing couldn’t tolerate her and always pushed this younger sister aside in subtle, half-hidden ways.

Thinking about it now, there had been signs of all of it. But in the book, Wei Ruo Xi was only five. She couldn’t see the danger early, and she never would have guessed any of this. She only followed her instincts and trained without stopping. Yet it was precisely because she worked so hard that she became even more dangerous, turning into the female lead’s stepping stone.

Those thoughts flashed through Wei Yun Xi’s mind and were gone. In any case, she would definitely not become the female lead’s stepping stone. And now she had already made a change. She understood the truth that a tiny difference could lead a thousand miles astray, so she would move slowly and plan carefully.

Feng Jia Qing put away the spirit-testing plate, smiling as he picked Wei Yun Xi up and said, “Yun Xi, can you keep the fact that you’ve already tested your spirit roots from your father for now?”

Wei Yun Xi tilted her head and asked, “Uncle, why? Isn’t this a good thing? Yun Xi can cultivate now.”

Feng Jia Qing sighed quietly. He didn’t know how to explain to a five-year-old the meaning of “When a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will break it,” especially when she no longer had a mother to protect her.

Wei Ling Yue didn’t seem to care much for this second daughter anyway. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have moved so early to take what Jia Yun had left for Yun Xi. Luckily, the brother and sister had agreed long ago: everything left out in the open could be sacrificed if needed, but the real treasures were the ones inside that box.

To avoid Wei Ling Yue’s divine sense searches, his sister had hidden the items beneath a stone slab disguised with ore that blocked divine sense, and she had left a mark only the siblings knew. Otherwise, that hypocrite would have taken it all long ago.

And the filigreed white jade box could only be opened with his niece’s own blood. If it fell into Wei Ling Yue’s hands, he had plenty of ways to draw blood from Yun Xi. Then the things inside would end up benefiting that petty scoundrel.

Wei Yun Xi wasn’t truly a child. She knew Feng Jia Qing was saying this for her sake, so she pretended to be obedient and said, “Uncle, Mother told Little Xi to listen to you. You must be doing this for my good.”

When Feng Jia Qing heard her, his expression softened into a smile. He carried Wei Yun Xi back to the small courtyard where she was staying, told the maids to take good care of her, and then went to see the Old Ancestor.

Wei Yun Xi had been exhausted that day. With four maids attending her, she ate dinner, washed up, and went to bed early.

After she lay down, Wei Yun Xi tried again to send her consciousness into the wooden token. Before, she couldn’t even take a step inside it. At the critical moment, her consciousness had been kicked out of the space.

It had been unexpected, but it had also given her enough time to handle Wei Yun Qing bursting in to snatch the opportunity. At the time, she had silently thought it was a close call. She had almost let Wei Yun Qing notice something was off.

And the hairpin she used to prick her fingertip had successfully drawn Wei Yun Qing’s attention away. Even if the other side later found every way possible to get that hairpin, it wouldn’t really cost her anything.

When Wei Yun Xi’s consciousness entered the wooden token again, it felt the same as the first time, as if she had fallen into thick glue. She couldn’t move at all. Just as she was about to keep trying, her consciousness was kicked out again.

Along with being expelled, the wooden token conveyed a clear message: she could only enter once she was able to cultivate.

Wei Yun Xi rolled over to face the inside of the bed. She muttered to herself for a while, then set a rough plan. No matter what, she had to start cultivating first. Only when she was strong enough could she deal with all plots and schemes.

Honestly, from the day she transmigrated until now, she had still been anxious. She had read the novel and had an advantage, but when she arrived here, the novel hadn’t finished serializing. That meant the future was unknown.

And in just these two short days, she had already discovered that what happened around her both matched the novel and differed from it greatly. As her choices changed, the direction of events changed with them.

Still, at least it proved the future could be changed. She wasn’t living inside a novel-she was in a real world. And the novel had been written from the female lead Wei Yun Qing’s perspective, so there wasn’t much about her, the little money-bringer. That meant there were variables.

In the darkness, Wei Yun Xi’s eyes shone with startling brightness. She liked the word “variable.” Maybe her arrival itself was the “variable.” So while she pushed the plot forward, she was also changing it.

All at once, Wei Yun Xi felt brave enough to survive in the Cultivation World. Those thoughts flashed through her mind, soothing her restless heart, and soon she fell asleep.

On the other side, Feng Jia Qing went to see the Feng Family’s Old Ancestor, Feng Feng, who was at the early Golden Core stage.

The Feng Family’s Old Ancestor looked like a middle-aged man. He shared the same brows and eyes as Feng Jia Qing. He looked at Feng Jia Qing and said, “Qing Qing, how do you have time to visit an old man like me?”

Feng Jia Qing’s mouth twitched. Unwillingly, he said, “Old Ancestor, I’m already the Family Head. Can you stop calling me by my childhood nickname?”

“Ha! I came up with that nickname, and I think it’s excellent.”

Feng Jia Qing gave up resisting. His face turned serious as he cupped his hands and said, “Old Ancestor, Jia Yun’s child has been brought back for a short stay. Just now, I took that girl to the Soul Lamp Hall and added a drop of her blood to it. The soul lamp strengthened by a bit, so it should help my sister hold on for longer.”