After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 12

“I know none of you believe my junior sister Xie Yu, but I firmly believe she is innocent. For that reason, I voluntarily withdraw from this training mission and choose to go to the Ruoxu Illusion Realm together with Xie Yu. To ensure the fairness of the fight over the Xuanji Grass, we will not enter the illusion realm ahead of time before the main group arrives.

“Whoever finds the Xuanji Grass first will own it. If Xie Yu and I obtain the grass, I do not want to hear any rumors afterward saying we took advantage of the situation.”

Gong Dongling turned and announced this to everyone, officially standing on the same side as Xie Yu to oppose Qiu Yan, who was stirring up trouble.

Since he wanted excitement, then they might as well go head-to-head. She even knew exactly how many demonic beasts his superior was raising—how could she possibly fail to outplay him?

As the senior sister respected by all the disciples, Gong Dongling’s words still carried some weight. The discussions gradually quieted, and many people looked toward her.

Qiu Yan frowned and pointed out the flaw in Gong Dongling’s words. “If you and Xie Yu secretly enter the illusion realm ahead of time, then come back out when everyone arrives, how would we know? How can you guarantee the truth of your words?”

This was exactly the line Gong Dongling had been waiting for. She believed quite a few disciples had the same suspicion in their hearts.

If she did not produce something convincing, she would not be able to persuade everyone. Some people would hide their dissatisfaction in their hearts and repeatedly spread rumors later.

“I will use a Recording Stone to broadcast the entire process. The other Recording Stone can be placed in anyone’s hands except Senior Brother Qiu Yan’s. It can even be passed around among everyone.” As if suddenly remembering something, she lifted her head and smiled apologetically at Qiu Yan. “Of course, I don’t mean to discriminate against Senior Brother in any way. I simply feel that Senior Brother is somewhat biased against the two of us and may not be neutral enough.”

The Recording Stone was an object used to transmit information in the cultivation world. It looked like a jade tablet and could record images, transmit voices, and send visual messages—very much like a video call on a mobile phone in modern society.

Once she agreed to the recording, the image from her side would be transmitted to another connected jade tablet.

Because there was a mute mode, she did not need to worry that the conversation between the two of them would be leaked.

Qiu Yan was clearly caught off guard by Gong Dongling’s decisiveness. His face stiffened slightly, but in the end, he could only nod. “Then I wish Junior Sister luck in finding Xie Yu’s whereabouts before she enters the illusion realm.”

Choosing whose Recording Stone to connect to was a problem. Many disciples volunteered. After all, chances to add their goddess’s Recording Stone were rare, not to mention this was a twenty-four-hour broadcast.

Ji Yuran, who was cold and arrogant before outsiders, was also itching to try. He had no choice but to lower himself and say as if unintentionally, “If there really isn’t anyone, you can add me.”

The surrounding disciples, who were barely suppressing their excitement, looked at Ji Yuran resentfully.

Were they not people?

Gong Dongling did not choose a single male cultivator. Instead, she walked toward the tall female cultivator standing in the back with her arms folded. “Junior Sister Ping, can I trouble you to monitor my Recording Stone?”

This female cultivator was the one who had stopped others from insulting Xie Yu earlier. Although she had never interacted with Xie Yu before, the fact that she had been willing to step forward and stop others proved she was an upright person.

The female cultivator’s name was Ping Lingyun. She was one of Elder Ye’s personal disciples, and Elder Ye was the head of the sect’s female cultivators. Ping Lingyun was exceptionally talented and unconventional.

She had not expected Gong Dongling to choose her. She froze, then looked at Gong Dongling with an indescribable expression. Only after a long while did she speak. “Are you serious? Aren’t you afraid I’ll secretly harm you?”

Indeed, Ping Lingyun had a straightforward personality, and the person she disliked most on ordinary days was the original owner, with her pure, spotless white-lotus act. She and the original owner had been openly and secretly fighting as rivals for quite some time.

“But you wouldn’t harm Xie Yu, who has nothing to do with me, would you? Besides, having you keep it is more convincing, isn’t it? That way, no one can spread rumors saying I was being shielded.” Gong Dongling shrugged and smiled lightly.

Although Ping Lingyun’s eyes were full of dislike, she still took out her Recording Stone and connected it with Gong Dongling’s.

…

Once everything was handled, Gong Dongling did not delay for a moment. She returned to her residence to pack and prepare to descend the mountain to find Xie Yu.

The Recording Stone was already turned on. A red light flashed in the upper right corner, indicating that it was currently recording. Gong Dongling could also see her own recording on the jade tablet’s surface. If she enabled the audio permission, a green light would flash in the upper right corner as well, but she did not need that this time.

This thing could not be charged. It required cultivators to inject spiritual power into it to keep it running.

Aside from a few people close to the original owner, no one knew that Gong Dongling could not circulate spiritual power. If too many people learned this, it could become dangerous.

So she had to find Xie Yu within the maximum limit of three days. Otherwise, this thing would shut off and cause unnecessary trouble.

“System, last time when Xie Yu blackened, didn’t you guide me to her side? Can you use location permissions this time?” After all, that would be the most convenient and time-saving method.

【Sorry, host. Only during emergency situations when the female lead is blackening can we open the relevant permissions. This time, the host will have to work hard and find her yourself.】

The system heartlessly refused.

“Fine. I didn’t expect anything from you anyway.”

Disappointed, Gong Dongling knocked on her own head, then looked at the dozens of pills she had successfully refined. It seemed she could only go there and try her luck…

She calculated that after finding Xie Yu, she absolutely had to add her Recording Stone too. Otherwise, finding people was far too inconvenient. On top of that, this lonely little child liked doing dangerous things on her own without discussing them with her!

Now that Gong Dongling was alone, thinking of what Qiu Yan had said earlier still made her feel a little disappointed.

After all, she had thought that after all these incidents, Xie Yu should have started to trust her. So why was she still like this? She had gone down the mountain alone without even telling Gong Dongling.

Although Gong Dongling believed Xie Yu would not enter the Ruoxu Illusion Realm ahead of time, she admitted that the instant she first heard the news of Xie Yu leaving, she had almost truly thought Xie Yu had followed the plot!

Alas. Since this was the “daughter” she had claimed for herself, no matter how naughty she was, Gong Dongling could only choose to forgive her.

Gong Dongling could not help remembering how, back when she had followed this angst novel, her daily routine had been feeling sorry for her daughter being abused by scumbag men while also complaining that her daughter was too disappointing for not completely cutting ties with the scumbag.

By the time she finished packing and descended the mountain, it was already afternoon.

Like many sects in the cultivation world, Buzhou Mountain was surrounded by many small towns. These towns were often inhabited by both cultivators and mortals. Because they were under the protection of the sect, they were also governed by the major sects.

At the foot of the mountain near the main gate was the largest market around Buzhou Mountain. There were many shops selling spirit herbs, pills, and spiritual tools, and even large auction venues. It had practically everything. From sect masters and elders to mortal nobles, all kinds of people would come to this market to buy or sell heavenly treasures.

Gong Dongling remembered that a few days ago, Xie Yu had told her she would help inquire about the pill market. At first, she had thought Xie Yu had merely said it in passing because the topic had come up. But looking at things now, it was very possible that Xie Yu had truly gone down the mountain to the market.

She also flew down to the foot of the mountain on her sword. To avoid drawing attention, she landed when she was about to reach the market and walked in on foot.

This place truly lived up to its reputation as the largest market. Everywhere she looked, crowds flowed through alley after alley lined with shops. There were also vendors calling out their wares on the street.

If not for the fact that most of these seemingly ordinary pedestrians carried swords or other weapons on their backs, and the items sold at the street stalls were all kinds of spirit herbs, pills, and spirit herb juice, this place really would have had a bit of the vibe of a modern food street.

Gong Dongling looked around and immediately saw a pill shop ahead. But before she could be happy, she suddenly realized that there were already four or five shops just at the entrance.

Where was she supposed to even start looking? She was going to faint!

Before she could choose which shop to enter, the shop assistant from the first one called out to her warmly from afar. “Immortal lady! Our shop has just received the latest beauty and complexion pills from masters Estee Blue, Forest Green Whispers, and Kiehl’s Rock. Buy more and receive a discount!”

…

If the author didn’t know how to name things, then they didn’t have to name them at all!

Just hearing it made Gong Dongling feel like this was not a reliable shop. She only glanced inside, did not see Xie Yu, smiled apologetically, and continued walking farther in.

According to her experience, these “internet-famous shops” opened right at the entrance loved bullying newcomers who had just arrived. Xie Yu would definitely not choose this kind of shop to ask about market prices.

After passing several shops in a row, Gong Dongling paid special attention to each one, but found nothing.

When she passed a corner, she suddenly heard a vendor’s call from inside.

“Candied hawthorns for sale! Fresh candied hawthorns!”

Gong Dongling’s eyes lit up. She had not expected there to be a small stall selling mortal food like this in the cultivation world’s market. Without thinking, she headed straight for the stall.

Business at this stall was bleak. Compared with the stalls selling Spirit Grass Pills earlier, it could be said that no one was interested. Only an old man stood in front of the stall, calling out helplessly. His aged voice had already grown somewhat hoarse.

The straw rack before him was full of candied hawthorn skewers. Clearly, not many had been sold.

“Senior, how much are these candied hawthorns?” Gong Dongling asked with a smile.

His candied hawthorns could not compare with the many varieties in modern times, such as candied oranges and strawberries. There was only the hawthorn kind. However, the syrup was crystal clear, coating the bright red hawthorn berries, so they looked quite good.

“F-Five spirit stones per skewer,” the old man said anxiously, forcing a shy smile onto his face.

Here, one spirit stone was equivalent to one yuan, so this was basically five yuan per skewer.

Gong Dongling had never understood market prices. She only felt this was within her acceptable range, so she took spirit stones from her storage ring to buy them. “One—no, I’ll take two skewers.”

Someone beside her stopped her. “Immortal lady, that’s too expensive. Besides, it’s mortal food that’s harmful to cultivation. No one buys that! You’d be better off buying an Immortal Spirit Pill over there for ten spirit stones!”

The old man’s hand, which had been about to take down the candied hawthorns, stopped. He looked somewhat at a loss.

“It’s fine. I just like eating this. Besides, malt syrup is considered rare in the mortal realm now. I know Senior didn’t set the price high.” Gong Dongling found a spirit stone worth ten and handed it to the old man with a gentle smile.

“What senior? I’m just a mortal trying to make a living…” The old man corrected her with a flushed face. After accepting the money, he began picking the biggest candied hawthorns from the straw rack.

The people around them shook their heads when they heard this, only feeling that another young person had been cheated.

But just then, Gong Dongling saw a familiar flash of grayish-blue entering the pill shop across the street. Her whole body tensed. Without waiting for the candied hawthorns, she only left behind one sentence.

“Senior, take your time picking them. I’ll come back for them later!”

Then she ran toward the shop.