Volume 4, Chapter 244 – Perhaps She Never Had a Brain to Begin With

Cheng Hongling, the peerless genius of the Honghua Sect, was a woman who bore the fate of her entire sect on her shoulders. From the moment she gained awareness, her life had been steeped in relentless slaughter, slaughter that left the malevolent spirits of Huangtian Prefecture trembling in fear. This unending bloodshed had tempered her heart into something as unyielding as ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, to the point where even in front of those closest to her, she never revealed the slightest hint of girlish vulnerability.

Yet, at this moment, Cheng Hongling was acting completely out of character, displaying joy and sorrow like an ordinary person. This alone proved just how unimaginably significant Qi Huang had become in her heart, a fact she herself hadn’t even fully realized. The reasons for this were twofold: first, the inexplicable, indescribable bond between them, and second, Qi Huang’s repeated miracles, her relentless ability to pull Hongling and the Honghua Sect back from the brink of disaster, granting Hongling a faint sense of security.

And what did a woman need most?

Security.

Cheng Hongling was no exception.

The human heart was made of flesh, after all. With such a crushing burden weighing on her shoulders, how could she not yearn for someone to share it with?

She didn’t cry, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t.

Now, deep in her subconscious, Qi Huang had already become her absolute, unshakable pillar of reliance, a miracle-worker she could trust without reservation, rather than just a mere doppelgänger body.

So when Cheng Hongling discovered that “Qi Huang” had lost her brain, it felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.

For a long moment, Hongling sat in a daze, utterly distraught, before suddenly bolting out the door. Though her cultivation was formidable, her medical skills were lacking. She had to find help, even if begging for aid meant shattering her aloof, untouchable image.

Before long, Qi Huang’s close friends and family arrived one after another. Even the upper echelons of the Honghua Sect came in full force. Though the Orchid Courtyard was a residence reserved for women, saving a life took precedence over propriety.

Elder Ruan, the most skilled physician in the Honghua Sect, had initially been skeptical about the bizarre claim of a “disappearing brain”. But after checking the pulse at the Tianchong acupoint, his entire frame seemed to hunch over, as though his worldview had been utterly shattered.

“Wh-why… why would her brain just vanish like this? I’ve never even heard of such a symptom before…”

He stammered the words under his breath, but no one around him could offer an answer.

“Grandfather… Qi Huang’s brain is gone… is it serious?”

Ruan Lingyu’s voice trembled as she asked.

The people around her exchanged uneasy glances. The question was naive, but no one had the heart to crush her fragile hope.

“Hongling, since you were the one who gave her this body in the first place, why not just make her another brain?”

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Her master, Xu Mei, suddenly blurted out an idea.

“That’s impossible. Cultivators below the Divine Realm can only refine one doppelgänger body. There’s no way I could create another brain for her in such a short time.”

Cheng Hongling shook her head helplessly, her delicate face shadowed with gloom.

“What do we do, then? We spent so long chasing her down, trying to kill her… and yet she never held a grudge. She’s been so good to us… and now I haven’t even repaid her, and she’s just… sniff…”

Beside her, Miao Xiang burst into tears, her large eyes brimming with sorrow.

Several of the other female disciples also reddened at the corners of their eyes as they recalled their past interactions with Qi Huang. They all knew that if not for the cat’s tears and Blue Scale Stones Qi Huang had given them, they wouldn’t even be alive right now.

How could they ever repay such kindness?

“Stop crying. At worst, we’ll just abandon this body and wait until Little Martial Sister reaches the Divine Realm. Then she can make Qi Huang a new one.”

Yun Fei hurried to console them.

Though everyone knew this was a possible solution, no one relaxed. The Honghua Sect had only just stabilized, the road ahead was still uncertain. Losing Qi Huang now would be nothing short of catastrophic.

“No, that won’t work. Without her, Hongling won’t be able to leave the Honghua Sect even a single step. We’d be trapped here, slowly worn down by the malevolent spirits.”

“And without Qi Huang’s help, will Hongling even make it into the top twenty at the Evergreen Conference two years from now? If we can’t get our hands on the Golden Fate Blossom seeds, how are we supposed to answer to that person?”

“Exactly! Using Hongling as a substitute is just wishful thinking on our part. Who knows if that person will even accept it? What if they turn hostile?”

“Even if they do agree, sending Hongling into the Kapok Dead Zone as bait is still insanely dangerous!”

The sect’s higher-ups murmured among themselves, their expressions grim.

“I don’t care about what happens later. Right now, we have to save her.”

Cheng Hongling bit her lip, then declared, “Here’s what we’ll do—I’ll try to contact her soul first and figure out what happened.”

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“That’s a good idea. Maybe we can pinpoint the cause this way.”

Elder Ruan immediately slapped his thigh in agreement.

Without wasting another second, Hongling extended her divine sense toward the Doppelgänger Mark on Qi Huang’s forehead.

But what happened next left her utterly stunned.

There was no response.

None at all.

“What’s going on? Did something happen to her soul, too?”

Cheng Hongling’s face drained of color.

If the problem was only with the doppelgänger’s physical form, there was still hope. But if the soul was damaged, then even she, as the primary body, would face annihilation.

After all, the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls were interconnected, when one flourished, all flourished; when one suffered, all suffered.

“Hongling, what’s wrong?” Xu Mei asked urgently.

“Her soul isn’t responding.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice was heavy.

“What?! No response? Does that mean her soul’s been harmed? Will you be affected too?”

Xu Mei paled.

“Exactly. A person’s three souls and seven corporeal souls are bound together. Qi Huang is Hongling’s Spiritual Wisdom Soul. If something happens to her, the primary body will suffer as well.”

Qin Quan, the sect leader, confirmed grimly. His cultivation was higher, and his experience broader.

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The moment these words left his mouth, the room erupted into chaos.

Losing Qi Huang would mean losing the Honghua Sect’s future.

But losing Cheng Hongling?

That would mean losing everything, right here and now.

“Can’t you just use your divine sense to examine her soul directly?” Qin Quan suggested.

“No. I previously taught her a divine sense defense technique, and it’s still active. My divine sense isn’t strong enough to break through.”

Hongling tested it again, then shook her head in frustration.

‘I’ve trapped myself with my own hands.’

“What if you pull her back into your Sea of Consciousness?”

Qin Quan thought for a moment, then offered another idea.

Snapping back to focus, Cheng Hongling immediately activated the Soul Tether, only for her heart to sink halfway.

She couldn’t retrieve her Spiritual Wisdom Soul at all.

“What in the world is happening?!”

She gritted her teeth, unaware that she was barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Meanwhile, the real Qi Huang had only just stepped out of the prefectural office’s main gate.

“This is really bad!”

Qin Quan paced in agitation, muttering under his breath, “If you can’t recall her soul, once Qi Huang’s body dies, her soul will be exposed to the Heavenly Dao’s suppression. If it’s worn away, you will scatter to the winds as well.”

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“Does that mean we have to get her a brain? But that’s just impossible!”

Xu Mei shut her eyes in anguish.

“Don’t lose hope, everyone. If this were an ordinary person, losing their brain would’ve killed them instantly. Qi Huang might be unconscious, but she’s still alive. So I was thinking… maybe doppelgängers are different? Maybe not having a brain isn’t actually a big deal for her?”

Ruan Lingyu suddenly spoke up, her brow furrowed in thought.

The crowd immediately fell into contemplation.

That was a valid point.

All eyes turned to Cheng Hongling, after all, no one present understood doppelgängers better than she did.

“A doppelgänger’s body is granted by the primary. Their vitality is tenacious, but without a brain, they can only survive for ten days to half a month at most.”

Cheng Hongling explained.

“But Qi Huang was always different, wasn’t she? At the very beginning, she was just a face, no brain at all. And yet she lived, even grew into a complete person!”

Ruan Lingyu pointed out.

“Ah! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Right! She’s always been a little… erratic. Always seemed like she didn’t have a brain to begin with!”

“That makes sense! That makes perfect sense! None of us ever confirmed she had a brain in the first place!”

Nods of agreement spread through the room.

Perhaps Qi Huang had never possessed a brain at all.