Hui Doudou called out to the back kitchen. Receiving no reply, she walked straight in.

When Meng Junzi had been eating at the small shop earlier, if he had extended his immortal consciousness, he would have discovered that Hui Doudou was not the only one in the kitchen—there were two people.

The paste Meng Junzi had eaten was made by the other person.

A woman in a cyan dress was wiping down the stove, methodically tidying up various cooking utensils and stowing them away in a storage ring.

She turned her head to look at Hui Doudou, who had lifted the door curtain and was peeking in. With a long sigh, she continued her work. “Why did you have to fight him? If you hadn’t acted, who would have known you were an immortal?”

Hui Doudou walked over to help Qing He pack. “He reminded me of the Heaven Mandate Immortal. It just irked me. Since I pursue Transcendence, why should I put up with it?”

Qing He shook the small salt container; it was empty. “So now we need to move.”

Hui Doudou had acted. Regardless of whether she spared Meng Junzi’s life, this small shop was now exposed. Even if she feared no one except Yun Zhi, this was still troublesome. Rather than wait for trouble to come knocking, it was better to move elsewhere and reopen the shop.

After all, with how vast the cultivation world was, they could set up shop anywhere.

As they spoke, the two put everything away in their storage rings.

In truth, if Qing He had wished, she could have swept everything into the storage ring with a simple gesture. She had packed the items one by one for the sake of a sense of ceremony.

If the true Mistress were here, surely she would do the same.

The two strolled through the rain, their presence utterly masked. Whether it was rushing passersby or the guards at the city gates, no one noticed them.

“We’ve stayed in Tianwang City for so long. A change of scenery isn’t bad.” Hui Doudou initiated the conversation. “Little He, do you want to stay in the Buddhist Kingdom or move elsewhere?”

Qing He didn’t answer her question. Instead, she turned and asked, “Why keep me around? If you seek Transcendence, wouldn’t killing me let you take one step further? There’s no need to save me for last.”

Hui Doudou’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Despite being unwilling to discuss the subject, she replied, “After I was resurrected, you were the one who stayed by my side. Since you can’t escape anyway, why should I be in a hurry to kill you?”

She paused, then added inexplicably, “If I kill everyone else and draw infinitely close to Transcendence, yet still cannot defeat the murderer, it won’t be too late to kill you then.”

Qing He was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke. “Watch your words. You were not resurrected. You are not her, and you will never become her.”

“What did you say?!” Hui Doudou erupted in fury.

She seized Qing He by the throat, her eyes blazing with anger. Her fingers tightened, as if they could snap Qing He’s neck in the next second.

“Don’t think I’ll definitely kill you last!”

Hui Doudou ripped through the spirit qi barrier protecting Qing He. The downpour instantly drenched her.

Through the gaps in her soaked hair, Qing He looked at Hui Doudou with a mocking smile, utterly unafraid. “You don’t even know your own name.”

Hui Doudou looked into Qing He’s unflinching eyes that were filled with the resolve to die. She released her grip, letting Qing He go, and snorted coldly.

“I will have a name of my own.”

~~~

Meng Junzi limped into Xitian Temple with the help of a Transcendent Tribulation old ancestor from the Meng Family. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Right as his buttocks touched the bed, he yelped and shot straight up. “Aiyo—”

He had pressed against some wound.

I had come to the Buddhist Kingdom to enjoy myself. How did I end up like this in the blink of an eye?

Master Mingyu was shocked at the sight. Since when did our Buddhist Kingdom have an expert capable of reducing Meng Junzi into this state?

“Old Ancestor, the investigation results for that small shop are in,” the Meng Family Transcendent Tribulation cultivator said deferentially.

Although they had captured Bai Hun, he was no longer the focus. The focus was the female cook who claimed to be the number one immortal of ancient times.

“Tell me. What did you find?”

“According to testimonies from nearby residents, that small shop has been open at the end of the alley for ten years. Extremely few people ate there. Moreover, those who did seem to have lost their memories. They forgot the shop owner’s appearance and what they had eaten.”

“Memory loss?” Meng Junzi raised an eyebrow. That is unusual. Why would people lose their memories for no reason?

Could this be the work of that female cook?

But why?

“Never mind. All of you, continue investigating the Heartless Creed here. I’m making a trip back.”

Meng Junzi felt it necessary to discuss today’s events with Jiang Ping’an and Yun Zhi.

~~~

Dao-Seeking Sect...

“Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi, that’s what happened. That founder of the Qi Training system is definitely an unimaginably ancient existence.”

Yun Zhi looked at Meng Junzi with an odd expression. So the Gray Immortal Fairy spared your life.

By using a non-existent identity to bear the karma, she could prevent a karmic connection from forming between the two of them?

Better not to reveal the Gray Immortal Fairy’s true identity to Meng Junzi, lest he draw her attention.

Yun Zhi spoke with a hint of emotion. “Who would have thought? The immortal I fought at the East Sea turns out to be the founder of the Qi Training system. No wonder she was hard to deal with.”

Meng Junzi. “...”

When you say she was “hard to deal with,” are you referring to how you sent her fleeing in disgrace?

“By the way, didn’t you mention earlier that everyone who ate at her shop lost their memories?” Yun Zhi recalled another key point that Meng Junzi had raised.

“Yes. Do you know why, Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi?”

Yun Zhi leaned back on the monarch chair and closed her eyes. As she tapped the armrest rhythmically, the bells tied to her wrist jingled.

After the jingling ceased, Yun Zhi opened her eyes, a few ideas taking shape in her mind. “In my opinion, there are two possibilities.

“First, she might have used the power of a Dao Fruit while cooking, causing those who ate to lose their memories. However, in the paste she served you, you didn’t detect any Dao Fruit power. Thus, the first possibility is unlikely.”

“And what is the second possibility?”

“Second, she might be gradually approaching the Transcendence realm. The oblivion trait of immortals would expand, automatically severing minor karmic ties and causing ordinary people to forget her.”

Meng Junzi inhaled sharply. In other words, this founder of the Qi Training system is terrifyingly powerful. No wonder I couldn’t defeat her.

“However, this is only a hypothesis. After all, I haven’t encountered an immortal like this.” Yun Zhi reminded him not to take her words as the absolute truth.

~~~

News of the battle between the two immortals spread quickly throughout the Buddhist Kingdom.

“A battle between two immortals broke out in Tianwang City?” Lu Yang was astonished upon hearing the news. No, in fact, he was delighted. At last, I have proof that major events don’t only happen wherever I am. I’ve never even heard of Tianwang City. This is totally unrelated to me.

“Which two immortals fought?” Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou, who had gathered this information.

“One is my family’s old ancestor. I don’t know about the other one. But from what I heard, while my old ancestor was investigating the Heartless Creed’s whereabouts, he accidentally encountered another immortal. A misunderstanding occurred, and that’s why they fought.”

“Your ancestor came to the Buddhist Kingdom... That has nothing to do with me, right? I’m just a messenger.”

Meng Jingzhou patted Lu Yang’s shoulder and stated solemnly, “No, it has nothing to do with us.”