The Heavenly Star Seed, Auntie Pei Ying, and Qi Lanxing

"You can... let me find out?!"

Qi Lanxing's large, clear, watery eyes instantly widened in surprise, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the teacup in her hands.

In her mind, she recalled that night nine days ago.

Back then, on Mount Qingliang, she had overheard the conversation between her elder sister and Senior Sister Zhu Xiaoliang. She had planned to sneak outside her sister's sleeping quarters at midnight to see where her sister would take Senior Sister Zhu Xiaoliang.

But in the end...

She had barely stepped out of her room when she inexplicably felt dizzy, then collapsed in the corridor and fell into a dead sleep.

Vaguely, she seemed to have glimpsed a figure with blood-red eyes and a Tang-style straight saber at her waist...

When she woke the next day, she found herself lying in her own bed. When she asked her sister, Qi Zhaoyue merely said she had been too tired and fallen asleep.

"Thinking about it now, Sister must have guessed what I was planning long ago, so she specifically had Sister Luoxue watch me."

Qi Lanxing lowered her eyes slightly and murmured, "If..."

"If I really could find out how Sister went from a seventh realm Golden Core cultivator to the youngest Celestial Person Realm expert in the thirty thousand years since Great Yu's founding in just ten years, would I be able to grow stronger quickly too?"

"Then I could not only help Sister, but avenge Mother with my own hands!"

"It's decided!"

Qi Lanxing raised her head, a trace of anticipation on her innocent face, and said to Pei Ying in a bright, clear voice:

"Auntie, how will you let me find out? I want to know!"

Seeing Qi Lanxing looking so innocent and adorable, Pei Ying's smile deepened.

She stood up and walked over to Qi Lanxing on her short, chubby legs clad in white stockings.

Her little hand gently stroked the head of Qi Lanxing, who was slightly taller than her, and her voice was as soft as cotton candy:

"You should know that Auntie has a special constitution, and this constitution grants an innate Divine Ability called the Heavenly Star Seed."

"What it does is record everything a person does over a period of time."

"If Auntie used this Divine Ability on your sister, she would be on her guard against me. With her current Celestial Person Realm cultivation, I would never succeed."

"But if it were you, Little Lanxing..."

Pei Ying paused before continuing, "You're her most beloved little sister. She would never be on her guard against you."

"And don't worry!"

"Once I've used this innate Divine Ability, as long as I don't touch the Heavenly Star Seed again, I have no way of viewing what it recorded..."

"You'll be the only one who can see everything."

Qi Lanxing instantly looked delighted, her eyes sparkling, seemingly believing Pei Ying's words completely.

"Really?"

"It's just..."

Qi Lanxing furrowed her little brows slightly, a trace of puzzlement appearing on her face:

"But Auntie Pei Ying, why do you want to help me?"

"Sister only just wiped out the Nether Night Sect, and the Nether Night Sect was your faction, Auntie..."

At this point, Qi Lanxing's expression filled with wariness. "Auntie Pei Ying, you aren't holding a grudge against Sister and trying to use me to get revenge on her, are you?!"

A sorrowful look appeared on Pei Ying's face.

"Silly child, what's the Nether Night Sect worth? Compared to your mother, it isn't worth mentioning."

"Back then, although your mother and I were enemies, we also admired and appreciated each other."

"When I heard that she had fallen into Guixu in the Bright Moon Grotto-Heaven and her soul had scattered completely, I couldn't eat for three days."

"And all these years, I've been secretly investigating the truth of what happened back then. I've always wanted to avenge your mother..."

"I just feel that your sister hasn't had it easy all these years, shouldering the Grand Princess's household alone while secretly investigating the cause of your mother's death."

"Isn't it only right for me to help her and you?"

"Auntie Pei Ying..."

Hearing this, Qi Lanxing's large eyes reddened and filled with tears.

Her lips puckered, and she threw herself into Pei Ying's arms, hugging her tightly as she said through tears:

"Thank you, Auntie! Thank you!"

"Once I learn Sister's cultivation method, I'll definitely cultivate diligently so I can help Sister and avenge Mother sooner!"

Pei Ying gently patted Qi Lanxing's back, an indulgent smile appearing on her face:

"Silly child..."

A quarter of an hour later, Qi Lanxing happily left the Yellow Crane Tower with the star-blue Heavenly Star Seed.

Pei Ying, whose face had been full of indulgence just moments before, now wore an utterly cold expression.

She turned, walked back to her chair, and hopped lightly onto it.

Her little chubby legs in white stockings swung leisurely in the air. Then she picked up the teacup on the table and slowly took a sip.

Sandalwood incense curled through the air before her delicate, little-girl face.

Just then, the white-robed cultivator who had been standing in the shadows silently approached Pei Ying and bowed:

"Your Highness, do you think Her Highness the Ninth Princess will take the bait?"

Pei Ying shook her head indifferently, her tone icy. "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter?" The white-robed cultivator was startled and puzzled.

Pei Ying remained indifferent. "Qi Lanxing wants to avenge her mother, raise her cultivation quickly, and help that dear sister of hers."

"And Qi Zhaoyue?"

"She insists on refusing to tell her little sister how to raise her cultivation quickly."

"A teenage girl with such a powerful obsession bottled up inside-give her even a little hope, and she'll cling to it, even if there's some danger along the way."

"Even..."

At this point, a dazed look flashed through Pei Ying's eyes, as though she were reminiscing about something.

"It doesn't matter if she chooses to confess to her sister, either. I'll simply consider the Heavenly Star Seed a gift to Qi Zhaoyue."

"With the Heavenly Star Seed's probing capabilities, and with the Bright Moon Grotto-Heaven secret realm about to open again..."

"I also very much want to know how exactly Yuheng died back then!"

"So no matter how she chooses, or what she chooses..."

"It doesn't matter!"

Admiration appeared on the white-robed cultivator's face. "Your Highness, this is an overt scheme!"

"Either you share Qi Zhaoyue's cultivation method, or you resolve the knot that's weighed on your heart for over a decade..."

A smug smile curled Pei Ying's lips, and she took another small sip of tea.

The tea's delicate fragrance spread over her tongue. "Actually, the outcome I'd prefer is for Qi Lanxing to secretly keep the Heavenly Star Seed."

A burning gleam flashed through Pei Ying's eyes. "I've been stuck at the peak of the tenth realm for a full century, unable to advance even an inch."

"If I could obtain the kind of fortuitous opportunity Qi Zhaoyue had, the eleventh realm..."

"Would be within arm's reach!"

"As long as I enter the eleventh realm too..."

Pei Ying gritted her teeth in anger. "Qi Zhaoyue dared destroy my Nether Night Sect and kill my people!"

"I must make her understand why I, Pei Ying, could become the Consort of Prince Jing and keep the entire Prince Jing's household firmly in my grasp!"

"Her mother couldn't beat me back then, and that green little girl won't be able to, either!"

The Great Yu Dynasty, the Grand Princess.

The study.

"Sister, that's what happened..."

Qi Lanxing sat on Qi Zhaoyue's lap with her arms around her slender waist, swinging her two short little legs. She tilted her little face up toward her sister and said smugly:

"Auntie Pei Ying even thought I was a little child who would fall for her trick."

"How could those little tricks of hers possibly fool me!"

Hearing this, Qi Zhaoyue reached out with her fair fingers and pinched Qi Lanxing's chubby little cheek, then picked up the star-blue Heavenly Star Seed on the table, its bud poised to bloom.