This is an autobiography, and its protagonist is Leng Hua, the ancestor of the Leng Family. Yet Leng Zhuxin could not bring herself to connect this Leng Hua with her own family.
Leng Hua had started as an orphan girl, bearing an Ice Spiritual Root and a deep, blood-stained hatred. Entering the Prodigy Rankings as a rogue cultivator, she seized the top spot and made a name for herself in a single battle on the Sea of Fantasy Beasts, earning the title of the Ice Lotus Fairy.
Yet despite having an Ice Spiritual Root, she loved to wear red. Many men had adored her, and many had followed her, but she had always walked her path alone. It was not until she wiped out Wanxiandao, the foremost cultivation sect of that era, that everyone finally realized she was the very same Leng Hua, the orphan girl whose family had been murdered years ago by Wanxiandao for their treasures.
Having avenged her deep grievances, Leng Hua rebuilt the Leng Family and became the founding matriarch of the second-generation Leng Family. This Cold Jade Lock had been crafted by Leng Hua for her own son, and his son had placed the portrait and the autobiography within the Dimension.
Yet this autobiography did not mention the name of Leng Hua's son; only on the blank final page did someone write in a different handwriting:
"This Dimension can only be claimed by descendants of the Leng Family. Anyone else fated to enter may only take the Cold Abyss spiritual springwater from the outside. If a descendant of the Leng Family enters this Dimension, the Marrow Cleansing Pill hidden behind the scroll will help them cleanse their marrow and wash away their impurities; soaking in the Cold Abyss water yields the best results.
Furthermore, the secret compartment hidden behind the portrait contains a Deity Transformation Pill, which can assist a Leng Family descendant in achieving Deity Transformation."
"A Deity Transformation Pill," Leng Zhuxin murmured to herself as she picked up the jade bottle taken from the secret compartment. Sure enough, the characters "Deity Transformation Pill" were written upon it.
She had no temporary use for the Deity Transformation Pill, so she placed it back into the secret compartment along with the book she had finished reading. The jade slips on the bookshelf could only be opened after she underwent Qi Guidance, so she was in no rush. Instead, she grasped the Marrow Cleansing Pill and walked over to the side of the Cold Abyss.
The page had stated that soaking in the Cold Abyss water yielded the best results; naturally, Leng Zhuxin did not suppose that meant dropping the Marrow Cleansing Pill into the pool itself. She quickly shed all her clothes and leaped right in.
Then, she uncorked the bamboo-shaped jade bottle and poured the Marrow Cleansing Pill inside into her mouth.
The water of the Cold Abyss froze her entire body stiff, her limbs curling up involuntarily. Soon, a layer of frost coated her eyelashes, followed by her hair and skin. Yet deep in her belly, a fire like that of the heavens ignited, burning her with agonizing pain.
However, for Leng Zhuxin, who had already experienced self-destruction twice, this scant pain was of no consequence at all. She simply gritted her teeth slightly and endured it.
Before long, the pain abated, and a thick layer of filth was purged from Leng Zhuxin's body. Under the scouring of the Cold Abyss spiritual water, this grime continuously peeled away and was pushed toward the edge of the pool.
She let out a comfortable sigh. When she opened her eyes, she distinctly sensed that the Cold Abyss water was no longer as bone-chillingly cold as before.
Certain that her marrow-cleansing process was complete, Leng Zhuxin washed the grime from her body, stepped out of the Cold Abyss water, and dressed.
Looking at the water, which remained as clear as ever, and associating it with the original plot where Leng Yueyao fed the Cold Abyss water to Kangkong Hao to heal his injuries, Leng Zhuxin thought with a trace of disgust that she would certainly never drink this water.
Figuring that Leng Changdao would soon be returning, Leng Zhuxin murmured a mental command to exit, and sure enough, she instantly materialized back in her bedroom.
Upon leaving the Dimension, she first changed into a fresh set of clothes, then sat down at the table to sip a cup of cold tea, pondering Ning Mi and the Leng Family all the while.
This Cold Jade Lock had been given by Ning Mi. The Storage Bags and other items connected to cultivation possessed by the Leng Family had also been given by Ning Mi, and even the vast estate of the Leng Family had actually been earned by Ning Mi.
If the two Leng Families were one and the same, then this Cold Jade Lock ought not to have come from Ning Mi's hands, nor should Leng Changdao be utterly devoid of cultivation talent.
The most probable possibility, then, was that her biological father in this current body truly was someone else—a descendant of Leng Hua, and this Cold Jade Lock was what he had left behind.
Ning Mi's decision to marry Leng Changdao while carrying the original owner might simply stem from the fact that Leng Changdao shared the exact same surname as that man!
As soon as this thought arose, Leng Zhuxin felt that many of the unsolved mysteries in her heart had finally been unraveled.
Just as she was about to carefully search through the original plot and the original owner's memories for any further clues, she heard a knock at the door.
...
"Xiner, can Dad come in?"
Leng Changdao asked from outside. The moment his voice fell, he gave the door a gentle push, and finding it unyielding, he called out once more.
Now was not yet the time for a complete falling out, and moreover, judging from the original plot and the original owner's memories, Leng Changdao had treated the original owner fairly well. Thus, Leng Zhuxin got up and opened the door to let him enter.
The instant the door swung open, Leng Changdao's honest, square-jawed face appeared before Leng Zhuxin, etched with deep anxiety.
"Xiner, have you truly not seen your older sister? I've led people to search inside and outside the city several times over, but we couldn't find her anywhere. Before your sister left, she said she was coming to find you."
As he spoke, Leng Changdao reached out and took hold of Leng Zhuxin's hand, only for his touch to recoil instantly from the freezing cold of her skin.
Yet given his current anxiety over Leng Yueyao's safety, he failed to notice that Leng Zhuxin's body temperature was far colder than usual.
Leng Zhuxin simply shook her head to indicate she had not seen her, and then added, "Could she have been hurt by what you said yesterday and thrown a tantrum to run away from home?"
Leng Zhuxin was referring to what Leng Changdao had told the original owner and Leng Yueyao yesterday: that Leng Yueyao definitely lacked a spiritual root and need not bother joining tomorrow's excitement, and should instead honestly stay put in Myriad Beasts City to inherit the family business.
Upon hearing those words back then, Leng Yueyao's expression had twisted in a wave of disbelief and she had thrown a massive temper tantrum, after which she locked herself in her room until stepping out at noon today.
Reminded thus by Leng Zhuxin, Leng Changdao recalled the events as well. Late last night, he had taken the items left behind by Ning Mi to find Leng Yueyao, but in a complete reversal of her usual behavior, Leng Yueyao had refused to accept a single thing, instead berating him for partiality—for letting only Leng Zhuxin go to the immortal sects while barring her.
Yet this truly wasn't him showing favoritism; it was simply that Leng Yueyao fundamentally had no possibility of possessing a spiritual root.
To keep Leng Yueyao from harboring resentment toward him, Leng Changdao had blurted out the truth: that Leng Yueyao's biological mother, much like himself, was a mere mortal, meaning she definitively lacked a spiritual root. He had simply left out the more crucial matters for fear that Leng Yueyao could not keep her mouth shut.
Who could have expected that this would provoke Leng Yueyao into driving him out, screaming that she was determined to cultivate regardless.
This morning, seeing Leng Yueyao revert to her previous demeanor, he had foolishly assumed she had come to her senses, never imagining the child would actually run away from home.
At this thought, Leng Changdao felt as though his head were twice its normal size. He hurried over to inspect Leng Yueyao's room, and sure enough, her valuable jewelry and frequently worn clothing were all gone.
This led Leng Changdao to believe that Leng Yueyao had truly run away in search of a mortal method of cultivation. He muttered a furious curse under his breath at her foolishness, but after weighing the pros and cons several times, he ultimately gave up on searching for Leng Yueyao further and quickly regained his composure.
Running away from home was no grave matter. That immortal had once stated that Yaoyer's fortune was bound together with Xiner's; the stronger Xiner grew, the stronger Yaoyer would become. As long as Yaoyer did not die, she would reap the benefits—who was to say she might not surpass Xiner one day?
Their Yaoyer was a Daughter of Destiny; she wasn't so easily killed.