Chapter 5 —

Inside the storage ring space, the blue sky and white clouds were as tranquil as a painting, the shadows of the green bamboo swayed, and a gentle breeze brought a touch of coolness. After an unknown amount of time, a graceful figure in a long purple dress slowly pushed open the door of the wooden house, the noise startling a flock of birds that had landed in front of the house.

The figure stretched and casually tossed a few spirit stones that had become dull and lifeless to the side. With her hands resting on her ample breasts, easily a D-cup, her pale purple eyes shimmering with Daoist wisdom, she gazed at her current soul form and murmured to herself in a melodious, bell-like voice:

"This blood spirit root is truly remarkable—far from causing the bloodlust I imagined, it actually allowed me to combine my Yuan energy with the remaining spirit stones and herbs to break through to the early Golden Core stage in one go! This path of possession and re-cultivation is indeed fast—if I had enough spiritual energy, I'm afraid I could return to the Void Refinement stage in a short time!"

As she spoke, the figure proudly puffed out her impressive chest, and seeing her breasts swaying up and down, she curiously rubbed them a couple of times, her face flushing slightly:

"It's just that the chest of this soul form has been stretched by my overflowing spiritual energy to a whole size larger… and the clothes she used to wear when she manifested in her soul, although exquisite and comfortable, for someone like me using a woman's body for the first time, I'll stick to wearing what I'm more familiar with for now."

She tossed her long, silver-white hair that fell in front of her face, her movements natural and elegant. Arriving at the crane that "she" had just drained into a dried-up corpse before the door, she channeled a little spiritual energy into it. The crane's body seemed to rewind time, returning to its original state. It struggled to its feet, flapped its wings, and swiftly flew away.

"This settles the karmic debt between us. Now… it's time to return to my body!" Seeing the crane fly away, she nodded, then vanished from the space in a flash.

…

Inside the abandoned building, the setting sun cast dappled shadows through the broken steel and concrete, reflecting on the dusty ground. The air was thick with the smell of rust and decay, mixed with a faint stench of blood, chilling to the bone.

Zhao Leyun lay limp on the ground, her red hair plastered messily to her pale face. Her body was like a deflated balloon, only her head barely maintaining a human form. Her limbs and torso were withered like thin bandages—after being subjected to the secret technique, even her internal bones had dissipated.

Her once bright and lively eyes were now dull and lifeless, her pupils unfocused. Only her slightly parted cherry lips proved that she had not completely withered away.

The men in black robes stood in a circle, straight as pines, their crimson eyes flashing with vigilance and unease. The two leaders supported Emily's body—her petite frame remained seated cross-legged, her silver hair disheveled, her crimson eyes tightly closed, the swelling on her forehead still lingering, like a sleeping porcelain doll.

"Why has Her Highness suddenly become so quiet? Could there be a trap hidden in that ring?" one of the men in black robes murmured, his words urgent but his breathing steady—their lives were tied to the princess's soul; if anything had happened to her, they would have already been sent to the underworld.

"Shut up, let's observe first." The leader's voice was deep as he ordered, his crimson eyes sweeping over Zhao Leyun on the ground, a hint of impatience flashing in them . "Once His Highness wakes up, we'll know—hmm? What's going on!" Before he finished speaking, a dazzling white light suddenly erupted from Emily Marlene's body without warning, causing several black-robed men to retreat hastily.

Zhao Leyun, lying not far away, also noticed the conspicuous white light, a glimmer of hope appearing in her previously unfocused eyes—could this white light be her turning point?

"What's wrong with Your Highness?"

"I don't know, but I can feel Your Highness's aura constantly increasing... It seems Your Highness has obtained a great opportunity inside!"

Hearing the conversation between the black-robed figures, Zhao Leyun's heart sank again: "So it wasn't hope, she's just gotten stronger..."

Just as the black-robed figures were barely adjusting to the bright light and sensing Emily's aura rising, the white light suddenly faded. Then, Emily, completely transformed, slowly revealed herself from the fading white light—she was still sitting there cross-legged with her eyes closed, but her clothes and figure had changed:

her tight-fitting black gothic dress and black knee-high stockings were gone, replaced by a light purple and blue interwoven long dress that reached her chest. The skirt was layered, as light as clouds, and a high-waisted belt was tied around her chest, firmly binding her breasts, which had expanded from a C-cup to a D-cup. Secondly, there was her hairstyle: her long, silver hair, which had been styled in a wing-like fashion just moments before, was now piled up in two ethereal double buns. A few strands of hair gently fell, making her small face appear even more delicate, yet adding a touch of otherworldly etherealness.

"Your Highness...you, how did you become like this?" Seeing the drastic change in his princess, a man in black robes mustered his courage and stepped forward to ask.

As soon as the man in black robes spoke, Emily's eyelashes trembled slightly as if she had been awakened, and her crimson eyes snapped open. In those eyes, a trace of confused crimson flashed first, then turned into a pale purple like ink spreading, deep as an abyss, carrying an unassailable pressure.

“Your Highness, your…your eyes…why have they turned purple? And this dress, and this hairstyle…have you received some kind of divine intervention?”

The black-robed man’s voice trembled slightly, a mixture of surprise and unease. He took a half-step forward, trying to get closer to examine her, but saw Emily’s lips curl into a faint, enigmatic smile.

“A divine intervention? Heh, you guessed right.” Emily’s voice rang out, no longer the spoiled and sharp tone of a young girl, but with a deep, magnetic quality, like a mountain spring, yet carrying a hidden thunderous ****.

She slowly stood up, the hem of her high-waisted ruqun swaying gently, revealing a section of snow-white calves and bare feet—her clothing was all taken from her memories, styled from the long dresses of women in the Cloud Immortal Realm, slightly modified and constructed using elemental energy.

Now, she had complete control over this body, her spiritual power and elemental energy intertwined as if naturally formed.

The men in black robes exchanged glances. The leader stepped forward, respectfully yet tentatively saying, "Your Highness, your aura... is already approaching the peak of the sixth rank! The opportunity within this ring is truly extraordinary. Congratulations, Your Highness! However, given your appearance... would you like us to find a few humans to absorb their blood to help stabilize your cultivation?"

"Find a few humans to stabilize my cultivation?" Emily—no, it should be Yang Jing—chuckled, her laughter carrying boundless killing intent.

She raised her right hand, her slender fingers casually flicking in the air. A wisp of scarlet blood mist seeped from her fingertips, instantly condensing into a crystal-clear solid blood bead in her palm.

"You lot, following Emily for so long, you've stained yourselves with a lot of blood... Before coming to the Nine Provinces Continent, you helped her capture slaves; after arriving, you've only aided and abetted her: **** innocent girls, treating human life like dirt..."

Her voice grew cold, her pale purple eyes reflecting the slightly surprised faces of the black-robed men. "I've reviewed her memories; each of you has probably taken more innocent lives than she has. Now that she's inside me, then... there's no need for you to stay any longer."

"Your Highness, what are you saying?!" The leader of the black-robed men's expressions changed drastically, terror flashing in his crimson eyes. He took a half-step back, his hands surging with energy, transforming into two blood-red claws. His subordinates behind him also instantly became alert, their black robes billowing, releasing the aura of mid-stage third-tier cultivators, faintly forming a battle formation.

"You...you're not His Highness! Who are you?!"

"Who? You're not worthy to know—"

With a thought, the blood bead in Emily's hand shattered with a "crack," transforming into countless irregular blood crystal fragments as fine as cow's hair, each one trembling slightly as if alive. Infused with "cheap" elemental energy, the countless fragments instantly scattered around, transforming into countless crystalline flying swords gleaming with a cold light, steadily aimed at all the black-robed figures present.

"Go."

With a casual word, those blood crystal flying swords shot out like bullets, tearing through the air and emitting sharp whistling sounds.

Although the black-robed figures reacted quickly, how could they possibly have time? The leader barely raised his blood claws to block, but only heard a series of crisp "clanging" sounds as dozens of blood crystal swords pierced his arms, chest, and thighs like a rainstorm, instantly turning him into a hedgehog, blood gushing out, his elemental energy shield pierced through like paper.

"Ah—!"

Screams erupted as the other black-robed figures scattered and fled, none escaping unscathed. One black-robed figure, attempting to vanish into the shadows, had just transformed into a swarm of bats when he was overtaken by the Blood Crystal Sword. The sword's shadow pierced through his wings, pinning him back to his original form, slamming him heavily to the ground. His chest was riddled with crystalline blades, a bloody mess.

Another figure, who had summoned a low-level magical artifact for defense, was pierced from all sides by the rain of swords. His artifact shattered, and his body collapsed like a sieve, twitching a few times before falling silent…

The entire process took only a blink of an eye. Dust billowed within the abandoned building, filling the air with a thick stench of blood. Four black-robed figures lay sprawled on the ground, their Blood Crystal Swords deeply embedded in the concrete floor, fixing them in contorted positions, like a scene from a hellish painting. "Emily" landed, light as a leaf, her skirt fluttering gently. She glanced at the corpses on the ground, her brows furrowing slightly. With a casual wave of her hand, the blood crystal flying swords took root within the bodies, seeping into their veins and draining them into four desiccated corpses in the blink of an eye.

With another wave, they receded into her palm like a tide, reforming into a blood bead several sizes larger than before, floating in her hand.