Chapter 2

The reason Meng Ruji ended up in this ghostly situation is brief, yet every part of it vaguely suggests "outrageous."

Eight hundred years ago, Meng Ruji endured countless hardships and finally ascended to the position of "Demon King" as a half-demon. With the tacit approval of the immortal gate and the support of all the monsters, she was on the verge of reaching the pinnacle of her life.

As for why it was only "almost"...

It was because, just one day before she was set to ascend the throne

Something happened.

The spiritual power within her surged uncontrollably. Her meridians felt as if they were about to burst. She meditated at her practice spot, trying to force the meridians to unblock.

Just as she was testing her luck, she seemed to sense someone standing next to her through her chaotic consciousness.

A mysterious man wrapped in black cloth looked at her and said:

"I am here to tell you your fate. You..." He shook his head and sighed, "You will face a life of hard work".

What kind of fate is that for her?

She, Meng Ruji, the daughter of destiny, possessed the power of creation and was about to ascend to the throne of the Demon King.

She had planned it all. She had completed all her tasks for the next eight hundred years before becoming king. She wanted to rest! If she stood up and took a step, she would falter!

A life of hard work?

Hard work? Does it have anything to do with her?

But before she could respond, the mysterious man vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

Then, Meng Ruji’s five guardians arrived. They surrounded her, looking worried, unaware of the previous visitor.

Meng Ruji opened her eyes with difficulty, enduring the burning pain throughout her body.

There was indeed no sign of anyone else except her five guardians. Meng Ruji was confident she had been confused by the pain and had imagined someone.

But now, her physical condition prevented her from focusing on anything else.

After struggling for a while, Meng Ruji could not relieve the accumulating spiritual power, so she had no choice but to accept her fate.

"The power in my inner elixir is too great to be suppressed," Meng Ruji said. The spiritual power leaking from her mouth alone was enough to frighten people. "In the back mountain, on Snow Mirror Cliff, there is a five-element formation I prepared for today. Take me there, and together activate the formation to seal me."

The guardians were terrified upon hearing this:

"Why would the Lord seal herself?"

"There must be another solution, Lord, don’t give up!"

Meng Ruji shook her head. "My inner elixir is not something a mortal like me should possess. I borrowed its power to become a half-demon. With such power against the heavens, I would eventually face this day. It’s just a bit sooner than I expected..."

"Lord..."

Meng Ruji did not let them say more and insisted they take her to Snow Mirror Cliff in the back mountain.

At Snow Mirror Cliff, there was a vertical wall of solid ice, like a mirror bestowed by the gods. The platform beneath the ice mirror could accommodate more than ten people.

Meng Ruji stood with her back against the ice mirror, and the light of the formation began to appear.

"Begin," she ordered.

Her five guardians had never disobeyed her orders. Though their eyes were filled with tears, they activated the magic circle.

The magic circle emitted a golden light, pulling her body into it bit by bit.

Though Meng Ruji was standing, she felt as if she were slowly sinking into a very calm lake. The freezing cold water gradually submerged her hair, back, and shoulder blades.

"The power of the seal will disperse my leaked spiritual power to the mountains, rivers, and five elements," Meng Ruji said softly, looking at the falling snow. "In time, this Hengxu Mountain can become a sanctuary, protecting homeless orphans regardless of their birth or past."

The wind and snow rustled, mingling with the guardians' sobs.

They were all orphans she had rescued from dangerous places where she had struggled—immortals and demons, men and women—whom she trusted with her life.

"After I fall asleep, it’s hard to say when I’ll wake up. Maybe... we’ll never meet again."

Meng Ruji closed her eyes and fully merged into the ice mirror. The cold air turned into white mist as her final warm words echoed:

"You, must guard Hengxu Mountain."

The voice dissipated in the wind and snow on the mountains.

Meng Ruji was completely sealed in ice and snow.

Her senses faded, and the surging spiritual power within her rushed in all directions, merging into the mountains, rivers, and the world.

Her world fell into silence.

In the dark and profound silence, Meng Ruji lost all sense of time.

She had prepared herself not to awaken, so when she heard the sound of ice breaking, it felt as if this moment had come too soon.

Her heart, which started beating again, seemed unable to react properly, resulting in uneven beats, palpitations, chest tightness, and nausea. The entire world spun around her.

When her consciousness returned to her body, Meng Ruji did not feel joy but pain. It was far more uncomfortable than when she fell asleep.

Meng Ruji reflected on this discomfort, thinking of how newborns cry upon entering the world.

When her body finally regained full consciousness, her heart began to beat regularly, and the dizziness subsided. She slowly opened her eyes.

On Snow Mirror Cliff, the wind and snow remained unchanged, and the weather was as gloomy as it had been for centuries. Yet today, something seemed different from the days she had known.

Meng Ruji extended her pale hand to the sky. Her knuckles were distinct, and she was much thinner than before. The black snowflakes falling onto her palm were particularly striking.

Black... snowflakes?

Something was amiss.

Meng Ruji took a deep breath, used her hands to support herself, and sat up. However, halfway up, she was startled by the ground beneath her hands. This was not the snow of Snow Mirror Cliff.

Instead, it was hard stone.

Meng Ruji looked around and saw that the platform of Snow Mirror Cliff was covered with black gravel. It seemed that some immense force had split the long-frozen ice and snow, turning the ground to rock, and even the surrounding white snow was polluted.

Her gaze shifted, and she saw that the natural ice mirror wall... was gone.

Gone!?

Not only was the ice wall missing, but the rocks behind it were shattered, and debris was falling down.

The formation she had set up had also appeared and disappeared amidst the broken stone. The wind and snow blew through it, causing it to flicker with a "sizzle" sound before vanishing.

She...

She hadn’t woken up on her own—her formation was destroyed!

Snow Mirror Cliff had been attacked!

Who dared to be so bold!?

A "crash" startled Meng Ruji, and she turned sharply towards the source of the sound.

It was a pile of rubble, like a grave, concealing an unknown occupant...

"Who!?"

Meng Ruji saw a person among the rubble and demanded hoarsely, her voice fierce.

The rubble shifted, and in the shadows, a man seemed to be struggling.

Meng Ruji dared not be complacent. She tried to move her sword but was alarmed to find her spiritual power was gone. Where had her once inexhaustible spiritual power disappeared to?

Meng Ruji’s spiritual consciousness quickly probed her body.

Then she was stunned.

Where was her inner elixir?

Her inner elixir was gone?

After a moment of disbelief, Meng Ruji’s attention turned to the boy struggling in the rubble.

The shattered seal, the ruined Snow Mirror Cliff, the vanished inner elixir, the mysterious intruder—all this evidence pointed to one thing:

She had been robbed!

Outrageous!

How long had she been asleep? Was Hengxu Mountain gone? How could someone dare to steal her inner elixir? What kind of world was this? Had human nature become so corrupt that it was necessary to dig up the "coffin" to take the elixir?

"Little thief, you’ve learned nothing."

Meng Ruji’s hoarse voice made her appear even weaker. She tried to stand and looked at the person struggling in the rubble.

She assumed the person must be very weak now, unable even to move the rubble that buried him. If he had broken her seal and taken her inner elixir, now was the best time to reclaim it!

Although she had fought with "immortals" for many years, she had not forgotten her childhood struggles among refugees.

Meng Ruji picked up a small but sharp piece of gravel and approached the rubble step by step. Her eyes tracked the movement of the debris to pinpoint the man's location, determined to strike decisively.

But when she was only three steps away, the rubble suddenly ceased moving.

Meng Ruji frowned and paused.

In the eerie silence, just as Meng Ruji wondered if the person in the rubble was dead, a stone suddenly struck her face. She dodged instinctively, and the next moment, a black shadow leaped towards her like a beast.

Naive.

She had seen this trick countless times before. Meng Ruji instinctively tried to control the wind to push him away, but there was no wind! Only the cool breeze on the mountaintop mocked her futile attempts without her inner elixir. Meng Ruji reacted swiftly and swung the stone in her hand.

Though slightly delayed, she managed to strike the boy’s shoulder.

They both fell to the ground.

Meng Ruji’s head hit the ground hard, causing sharp pain in her spine.

The boy was also knocked off course by Meng Ruji’s stone. He did not land on her but fell to her left.

Having just awakened and lost her inner elixir, Meng Ruji felt disoriented and blind. It took her a long time to recover her senses.

The boy beside her was in a similar state.

His previous attack seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

He had injuries and torn clothes, revealing his right arm. His muscular lines suggested rigorous training.

Among the tattered clothes were black wounds like knife cuts, with intermittent flashes of lightning. The sound of the lightning was a constant, painful crackle.

Despite his severe injuries, he lay prostrate, propping himself up. He shook his head, trying to regain control of his body, but the injuries were too severe.

He glanced at Meng Ruji, and she met his gaze through her blurred vision.

His eyes were sharp and filled with murderous intent, not typical of a teenager.

He must be someone who has experienced great bloodshed...

Meng Ruji concluded.

But the next moment, the owner of those eyes seemed unable to sustain himself and collapsed to the ground.

In the cold wind and snow, only the black lightning on his wounds continued to flicker faintly.

Meng Ruji took a moment to relax, then sat up and reached out to touch the boy’s back.

His tattered clothes revealed slightly dark skin with wounds. As Meng Ruji placed her palm on him, she felt intense heat. The black lightning running over his wounds still pulsed against her hand.

The sensation from the tiny electric currents was a mix of pain and itchiness.

Meng Ruji closed her eyes and focused. Though she had no spiritual power within her, she could still sense the familiar spiritual power around her.

She could clearly feel a surge of familiar power within the boy’s body, so strong that she could almost feel his heartbeat through her fingertips.

It was her inner elixir.

Meng Ruji confirmed it.

It was indeed a thief!

Meng Ruji’s expression turned cold. Without hesitation, she pressed the sharp stone she had just picked up against the boy's back.

She would not be soft-hearted towards someone who had harmed her.

But Meng Ruji was not prepared for what happened next!

As soon as the stone made contact, a "clang" echoed through the air. The stone was deflected, and her knuckles were injured due to the force she had used.

She wasn’t sure if the boy felt any pain, but he didn’t seem to have been hurt by her stone...

Why? Was she holding a steamed bun instead of a stone?

Was there some kind of magic protecting the boy?

Or...

Could it be that her inner elixir was protecting him?

Just as her inner elixir had once protected her? If it weren’t for the massive surge of spiritual power, she wouldn’t have been injured at all...

Meng Ruji looked at the unconscious boy, his unblemished skin and flesh, and fell into stunned silence.

Outrageous!

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