Volume 9, Chapter 612 – A New Body

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘one’s fate is determined by the heavens’? Whether you are born human or dog, male or female, poor or rich, it’s all predetermined by the Heavenly Dao. This so-called ‘fate’ is like an imperial decree issued by a mortal emperor, no one can disobey it. If you dare defy it, death is inevitable.”

Cheng Ling’s expression carried a trace of schadenfreude as she continued, “And you, as a man, have now become neither male nor female. If your souls don’t completely transform into a woman’s and the Heavenly Dao discovers it, do I even need to tell you what the consequences would be?”

Qi Huang’s heart trembled upon hearing this. That was something she hadn’t considered before.

“What? Are you afraid now? If you are, then accept my assimilation completely. That way, at least, you can preserve your life.”

Cheng Ling’s tone was mocking, and she raised her chin arrogantly as she added, “I really don’t know what goes on in that head of yours. Isn’t it better to live as a clean, beautiful girl? Why insist on remaining neither male nor female?”

“Heh, complete assimilation? And when my orientation changes, I’ll stop thinking about beautiful women and start fantasizing about handsome men every day? Would I still even be me at that point? How is that any different from being dead?”

Qi Huang replied with a cold laugh.

“Is your sexual orientation really that important to you?”

Cheng Ling frowned as she asked.

“Of course it is! If you were turned into a complete man and had to marry a woman, would you agree to that?”

Qi Huang shot back forcefully.

“For the sake of survival, of course I would. At worst, I’d just stay single for life. Who says people are required to fall in love? You call yourself a cultivator, yet this is all the determination you have?”

Cheng Ling chastised her from a lofty position.

“That’s only because you’ve never liked anyone before.”

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Qi Huang countered immediately.

“Oh? So you’re saying you do have someone you like? Who is it?”

Cheng Ling’s tone turned teasing.

“What does that have to do with you?”

Qi Huang’s expression grew awkward, and involuntarily, the image of Cheng Hongling surfaced in her mind.

“Hah! Don’t make me laugh! Just look at you right now, delicate and soft-spoken. Tell me, what woman would ever fall for you like this? Do you really think you’re the only one in the world with a ‘normal’ orientation?”

Cheng Ling mocked her viciously, then added, “And even if, by some miracle, a woman does like you, would you really drag her into your pit? Do you have any idea how terrifying the Heavenly Dao is? Stop being stubborn and just accept becoming a complete woman already!”

“Hmph! So scared of the Heavenly Dao. What a disgrace, especially since you’re Fairy Hongling’s doppelgänger.”

Qi Huang countered mockingly.

“Scared? I, this fairy, fear no one! I simply don’t want you dragging down both me and the main body. I’ve said this already, the Heavenly Dao’s power is beyond your comprehension. Don’t think finding a shortcut means you’re safe. Tomorrow, the Heavenly Dao might just crush you with a flick of its finger.”

Cheng Ling’s words carried an edge of intimidation.

“Oh, so now I’m the one dragging you down? That’s rich. Who was it again that turned me into this in the first place?”

Qi Huang laughed bitterly, anger seeping through her voice.

“And who was it that chose to wear that human skin mask? I didn’t force you to do it, did I?”

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Cheng Ling retorted logically and firmly.

Recalling her embarrassing act of pretending to be her fiancée, Qi Huang’s face grew even redder. Desperate to change the subject, she asked, “I just don’t get it. Why must you force me to fully become a woman? If you simply tell me how to control this assimilation power, I could turn myself back into a man!”

“Hehe, keep dreaming. This kind of assimilation is irreversible. No matter how you struggle, in the end, you’re destined to become a complete woman. Accept your fate.”

Cheng Ling’s tone dripped with malicious delight.

“You expect me to believe that? You just want to completely take over my body, don’t you?”

Qi Huang clearly didn’t buy it.

“Believe what you want. I’ve already told you how serious this is. Either become a full woman, or die. Your choice.”

Cheng Ling replied impatiently, then reminded her, “Oh, and another thing, the main body no longer has any assimilation power left. By boosting her strength this much, you’ve already pushed her far beyond her normal fate’s trajectory. It’s very likely the Heavenly Dao’s agents have already noticed her. Danger could come at any moment.”

“So what? As long as I’m strong enough, I’ll kill whoever comes!”

Qi Huang’s voice was stubborn, but deep down, she was shaken. For a long time, she’d had a feeling that one day she would stand in direct opposition to the Heavenly Dao. And now, it seemed her intuition had been right. The Heavenly Dao would never allow anyone in all the myriad worlds to escape its control. Once discovered, she would undoubtedly be obliterated with overwhelming force.

“What a shame for them then. I, this fairy, will never wait around to die. Even if it’s the Heavenly Dao itself, anger me enough, and I’ll kill it too.”

Qi Huang’s voice turned icy with resolve, without even realizing she had referred to herself as “this fairy” again, clear proof that the effects of the Doppelgänger Method were already beginning to fade.

Three days passed.

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By now, Cheng Hongling had successfully refined the drop of essence blood within her heart into a fully formed humanoid figure, this was the symbol of entering the Incarnation Realm. In other words, she had succeeded.

“Huff…!”

Cheng Hongling took a deep breath, exhaustion evident on her face. She sent a mental transmission to Qi Huang: “Come out and test it. See if the new body has truly reached the late stage of the Incarnation Realm.”

“I told you before, you didn’t have to give me such a powerful body…”

Qi Huang muttered, feeling a pang of guilt. She knew that, as someone only at the early stage of the Divine Realm, Cheng Hongling could, at best, refine a body at the late stage of the Incarnation Realm. This meant the main body had given her everything she had.

“Enough nonsense. Go try it.”

Cheng Hongling urged impatiently.

Qi Huang grumbled under her breath as she walked out of the palace gates. Before her stretched an endless expanse where sea met sky. Entering the Sea of Consciousness meant controlling the main body, but now, to return to reality, she needed to exit through the Baihui acupoint atop her head.

She flew directly out through the Baihui acupoint, and when she reappeared in the real world, the new body emerged alongside her.

Qi Huang instinctively glanced down at herself. Outwardly, there wasn’t much difference from before, except her skin was smoother, and her beauty had increased by several degrees. But in terms of feeling, it was night and day.

Her entire body felt light as a feather, brimming with endless energy, as if one stomp of her foot could launch her into the nine heavens and one swing of her fist could shatter a mountain. Most importantly, within her Qi Sea now floated a humanoid manifestation of True Qi, the defining mark of someone in the Incarnation Realm. Moreover, her Qi Sea was over two-thirds full, proof that her cultivation had indeed reached the late stage of the Incarnation Realm.

“Ah! So this is what the Incarnation Realm feels like!”

Qi Huang stretched lazily, greedily savoring the marvelous sensation. If enhancing Divine Sense was like becoming lucid in a dream, then increasing cultivation was like recovering from a grave illness, the difference was profound. No wonder the path of cultivation allowed one to transcend birth, aging, sickness, and death.

“How is it?”

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Cheng Hongling’s concerned voice reached her ears.

“It worked! This body really does have late-stage Incarnation Realm strength.”

Qi Huang replied quickly.

“Good. That’s one less thing for me to worry about.”

Cheng Hongling sounded relieved. She had long feared that, as time passed, Qi Huang would age while her own appearance remained unchanged. Now, at least, that problem was temporarily solved. After all, a cultivator at the Incarnation Realm could live for over four hundred years; aging would naturally slow to a crawl.

“But… what about your other three doppelgängers? If you give me this powerful body, won’t that mean the others will have much weaker ones? I’d feel bad about that…”

Qi Huang spoke awkwardly.

“That depends on whether they’re in a hurry to come out.”

With that, Cheng Hongling appeared within her own Sea of Consciousness and addressed the three ethereal souls and six corporeal souls directly: “Sisters, refining this body for Qi Huang consumed an immense amount of energy. My True Qi and Divine Sense will recover soon enough, but essence blood takes much longer to replenish. If you insist on coming out now, I can only give you bodies at the Unity Realm or even the Body Refinement stage. But if you can wait a few years, I’ll be able to give each of you proper Incarnation Realm bodies. The choice is yours.”

“Big Sister, I don’t want to wait! I want out now!”

“Me too, Big Sister! I’ve been waiting nineteen years for this moment. I don’t care if the body’s weak, I’ll cultivate on my own!”

“Big Sister, you have no idea how unbearably boring it is here. I don’t care how frail the body is, even if you only give me an ordinary mortal’s body, I refuse to stay here another second!”

The three ethereal souls and six corporeal souls voiced their excitement one after another. None of them were willing to wait.