Once she exhausted the Curse of Resentment, she bore the weight of the Karma Fire herself.
The flames incinerated her Great Dao, scorched her Dao foundation, destroyed her physical form, and extinguished her divine sense.
Lin Kejing was dead.
However, her wish had been fulfilled.
Lin Ling had only reincarnated once and had only lived for over ten years; Lin Kejing still had a chance to call Lin Ling back.
And so, Lin Ling transmigrated.
However, Lin Kejing no longer had the strength to guide Lin Ling’s soul back.
Lin Ling ended up being reborn in the home of a human Prefect.
Just like in the other world, he was a male.
None of that mattered, though.
Lin Ling’s physical body had not been destroyed, so there was still hope for everything.
The Miao Zhu Fox God preserved what remained of Lin Kejing’s soul and carved a Fox Immortal statue for her.
Lin Kejing took refuge within the Fox Immortal statue, constantly performing deeds for the common people to accumulate merit.
She became a true Fox Immortal in name and reality.
Finally, she possessed power once again.
It was time to awaken Lin Ling.
The light of the Wheel of Tongming dissipated.
Lin Ling stared blankly at Lin Kejing’s memories, her head lowered as tears traced paths down her face.
Lin Kejing also remained silent, submerged in the despairing emotions of that time.
Lin Ling stood up and walked to Lin Kejing’s side.
She gave Lin Kejing a faint smile and reached out to lightly embrace Lin Kejing’s soul.
“Do not worry anymore, Sister. Ling’er is back.”
—
It was an ordinary day at the Xun Zhu Si, and nothing major was happening.
Lin Ling yawned as she lay in the spot where Xiu Jiming usually drank his tea.
She looked at the several registration forms in her hand, her upper and lower eyelids fighting a losing battle to stay open.
Xiao Ming was gone.
He had disappeared after leaving behind a single letter.
The letter said he was going on a long journey and might not return for some time — perhaps for several rest cycles or even a few months.
During this period, she was given full authority to command the Xun Zhu Si.
Furthermore, before leaving, Xiu Jiming had put out a wide call for recruitment, telling Lin Ling, Bai Yunyun, and the others to vet the candidates thoroughly.
The stacks of files in Lin Ling’s hands belonged to commoners with a Spirit Root or rogue Cultivators.
They needed to pass Lin Ling’s assessment before they could be admitted into the Xun Zhu Si.
To be honest, the scene felt a bit like those old-fashioned talent shows.
Each candidate piled on the materials, seemingly terrified that their life story wasn’t tragic enough.
They also added background details with extreme exaggeration.
She truly couldn’t imagine how a Cultivator who had only reached the True Self Realm in his 40s dared to claim he was born into a prestigious family.
Besides, if you were from a prestigious family, why would you come to a small place like Yueshan County to be a runner for the Xun Zhu Si?
There were simply too many instances like this.
Lin Ling had reached the point where her head throbbed the moment she saw a rogue Cultivator start their interview with a story.
During the lunch break, Lin Ling slumped weakly against the table, waiting for Bai Yunyun to bring her food.
Lin Ling looked at the sky and sighed.
Honestly, for the past two months, she had followed Xiu Jiming everywhere every single day.
Now that he was suddenly gone, the Little Fox felt as though something was missing from her heart.
Lin Ling bit the end of her brush, thinking gloomily.
‘Could it be that Xiao Ming is mad at me, so he left? No way, he wouldn’t be that petty, would he?’
‘I haven’t done anything to wrong him, have I? I just… distanced myself from him a little.’
Lin Ling scratched her head in frustration.
Beside her, Gu Xiao was already so tired that he was wearing an eye mask, sleeping on a bamboo chair.
She could only continue to stare blankly at the sky.
After a short while, Bai Yunyun returned with a food box.
Seeing the two dejected figures, she also sighed and said, “Boss, let’s stop here for today.”
Lin Ling toyed with her brush and sighed.
“Yeah.”
Just then, the voice of a youth came from the entrance.
He knocked on the door and asked, “Hello, is this the place where the Xun Zhu Si is recruiting?”
Lin Ling, who had just picked up her chopsticks, rolled her eyes.
She quickly signaled Bai Yunyun, who still seemed to have some energy, to go and receive him.
Bai Yunyun wailed in protest but did not resist.
She obediently listened to Lin Ling and went to ask the youth for his identity.
The youth saw the three of them eating and immediately felt a bit embarrassed.
“Um… I’m sorry. Am I interrupting you?”
Bai Yunyun simply said, “It’s fine. We just forgot to close the door. You’re the last one for today.”
The youth gave a shy smile and hurried into the main hall.
He straightened his chest and said, “Greetings, senior sisters. My name is Feng Zhuyu, and I come from the Yan family of Qingzhou. Since my father married into the Yan family, you can also call me Yan Zhuyu.”
“I am 17 years old, and I am a Cultivator at the peak of the Qi Ling Realm.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Ling looked at Gu Xiao and Bai Yunyun.
These two were currently only at the peak of the Qi Ling Realm as well.
Lin Ling yawned and wrote on a piece of paper: “Why do you want to join the Xun Zhu Si?”
Feng Zhuyu thought for a moment and said seriously, “I cannot stand by while those Xiemo harm people.”
“Then why did you come to Yunzhou?”
Gu Xiao asked curiously.
“Is Qingzhou not a good place to stay?”
Feng Zhuyu’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“In the Yan family, my status is far too low. Qingzhou is also far from Yuzhou, so it isn’t on the front lines of the fight against the Xiemo. If I stayed in Qingzhou to join the Xun Zhu Si, the most I could do would be to deal with those sects.”
He looked very helpless.
“Because of my identity in the Yan family, I was restricted at every turn. So, after asking my mother for some travel expenses, I came out to travel. A while ago, I heard that Yunzhou suffered an attack from Xiemo and is currently recruiting on a large scale. I feel it is time for me to dedicate myself!”
Lin Ling and Gu Xiao exchanged a glance.
Lin Ling flipped through the documents in her hand and indeed found the information Feng Zhuyu had submitted.
Gu Xiao stepped forward with the documents, gently extending the badge in his palm.
He spoke to Feng Zhuyu in a deep voice, “Verify your identity!”
Seeing this, Feng Zhuyu made a small cut on his palm.
A streak of bright red blood flowed out, corresponding one-by-one with the Runes emanating from the family crest.
Gu Xiao nodded to Lin Ling.
“He is indeed a descendant of the Yan family. There are no issues with his identity.”
Lin Ling thought about it.
The age was appropriate, the identity was verified, and there were no apparent problems with his reasoning.
She would let him pass.
Immediately, she placed him on the candidate list and instructed, “Come back in three days for a second interview.”
Gu Xiao smiled upon seeing this.
He took the file and walked over to Feng Zhuyu.
“Congratulations, you’ve made it to the next round of selection. Come back here in three days.”
Feng Zhuyu was somewhat surprised.
“Did I pass that easily?”
Gu Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle.
He leaned toward Feng Zhuyu’s ear and whispered, “That Little Fox is our boss. The rule she’s set for the first round of selection is that as long as you look like a normal person, we can take you. Congratulations, you currently look like a normal person.”
Feng Zhuyu felt a bit helpless, but because Gu Xiao was leaning so close, he also felt a bit shy.
He quickly said, “Then… then I’ll head back for now. I’ll be back in three days.”
“Go on, go on,” Gu Xiao said, waving him off with a smile.
After seeing Feng Zhuyu out, Lin Ling sighed once more.
‘This is so boring.
I wonder what Xiao Ming is doing right now.’