The woman became wary: "Are you a ghost cultivator? I come from a reputable sect and don't do things that disturb the dead."
Artemisia waved her hand and said, "I can make women and girls who do not want to be reincarnated be born from men's wombs."
She explained her skills in the same way she had explained them to Qingyun before.
The woman's mouth opened wide, then she closed it herself. She whispered, "What kind of magic weapon is this? I've never heard of it before..."
After a moment of silence, Ai Cao decided to stop arguing with her about whether it was a magic weapon or not.
The mugwort asked, "How about it? Are you up to the task?"
The woman nodded: "Okay!" She stretched out her hand to the mugwort and said, "It's just communicating with souls, right? I know that! I don't think I've introduced myself yet. My surname is Yang, and my given name is Lingyao. You can call me Yaoyao if you want."
Ai Cao grasped Yang Lingyao's hand and said, "I am Ai Cao, and she is Qingyun."
Yang Lingyao asked, "Since her surname is Qing, could she be one of the foxes from Qingqiu?"
The mugwort nodded.
Yang Lingyao let go of her hand and said, "At least we can still use the names of those old foxes to put on a show."
Ai Cao laughed and said, "But we've already killed a Qingqiu fox, so we're afraid we'll be hunted down by the entire Qingqiu."
Yang Lingyao felt like she had been tricked.
But the future that Ai Cao painted for her was simply too beautiful. If she became the sect leader, the sect would be full of female cultivators who were ostracized by the current cultivation world—
So, does she really have the confidence to transform this sect into the number one sect in the cultivation world?
If she didn't want anything, she wouldn't have left her original sect.
Among the women of her generation, she wasn't the only one with high talent and rapid cultivation. But all the other female cultivators perished for various reasons, and only she had made it this far.
She shared joys and sorrows with her fellow female cultivators, their relationship even closer than that of blood sisters. How could Yang Lingyao not feel a trace of hatred when the sect allowed her sisters to perish?
Yang Lingyao closed her eyes.
She will not regret her decision.
Yang Lingyao said, "I know some places where female cultivators are buried. I can take you there."
Ai Cao smiled and nodded in agreement.
Yang Lingyao extended her hand again and said, "My main magic allows me to carry others through the shadows." She gestured for Ai Cao to take her hand. "Let's go now."
Without hesitation, Ai Cao took her hand.
A thick, black shadow spread out from beneath her feet. The window latches came undone silently, and the wind rushed in through the open window.
The candles in the room went out.
The next instant, a black shadow spread across the entire bodies of the two people and the fox, and then quickly collapsed.
The dark room was deserted.
For Ai Cao, it only took two blinks for the scene before her eyes to change completely.
They were standing on a hillside.
The green grass on the hillside grew wildly, reaching past Ai Cao's ankles. Yang Lingyao released Ai Cao's hand, walked to the square stone in front of them, and sat down cross-legged.
Yang Lingyao waved to Ai Cao and said, "When I left the sect, I secretly took some of their clothes with me." She touched the stone whose edges she had worn smooth and said, "Many of my sisters didn't even have a bone left."
"You erected cenotaphs for them?" Ai Cao asked.
Yang Lingyao nodded.
She lowered her eyes and said slowly, "This is the territory of my registered sect. I thought I couldn't leave there alone. No matter what, I had to bring them out with me."
"...Even if it's just a part, it's better than staying there."
Artemisia sat down beside her.
They listened quietly to the sound of the wind for a while.
Yang Lingyao composed herself, smiled, and handed the little fox to Ai Cao, saying, "I'm going to ask them if they want to talk to me. The scene might be a little strange, so don't be scared."
Artemisia took the little fox and nodded.
Yang Lingyao took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and silently recited the incantation. An invisible aura surrounded her, causing her long hair to ripple in waves.
The wind stopped, and only silence remained in my ears.
Yang Lingyao's slightly trembling voice rang out: "I am Yaoyao." She waved her hand and summoned the chain-like weapon, wrapping it around her wrist—it embedded itself in her body, squeezing out a drop of bright red blood.
Yang Lingyao smeared the blood on the stone.
The weapon on her wrist was embedded even deeper.
She smeared the blood on her eyelids.
The little fox nestled in Ai Cao's arms suddenly let out a soft "woof". Before Ai Cao could do anything, it darted to Yang Lingyao's side and stared at Ai Cao with its round eyes.
Yang Lingyao also looked at the mugwort.
Her expression shifted several times before she finally asked, "Why..."
Artemisia blinked, tilted her head, and asked, "What?"
The pendant around her neck felt slightly warm.
Yang Lingyao took a deep breath and asked with difficulty, "Why are there so many women's souls around you?"
Ai Cao shrugged and said, "Maybe they all want the chance to be reincarnated?"
Yang Lingyao pursed her lips.
She asked again, "Can't you see?"
Artemisia blinked and said, "If you're talking about souls, then I truly cannot see souls." She laughed and said, "But if you're talking about women—"
“Although I cannot see every woman, I want every woman to be free,” Ai Cao said. “Whether they are living women or dead women… I want them all to be free.”
Yang Lingyao bit her lip. She reached out to the mugwort and said, "My blood can make the living see spirits. If you want, I can let you see them."
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