After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 4

If Gong Dongling is a famous antagonist, then the Eldest Senior Brother, Qiu Yan, can only be described as “morally ambiguous.”

While everyone knows him as the illustrious head disciple of Mount Buzhou, no one suspects that he is actually a spy sent by the Demon Realm.

In the original novel, he paid close attention to Xie Yu and knew every detail of her history of being bullied, yet he never lifted a finger to help, watching it all with cold detachment. He had accidentally discovered Xie Yu’s uniqueness and had been fascinated by her ever since.

However, his stance was like that of a documentary filmmaker; he rarely intervened in conflicts, preferring to wait with anticipation to see to what extent Xie Yu would awaken through her suffering.

Regardless of his character, the Eldest Senior Brother’s appearance this time did Gong Dongling a huge favor by bringing back a crucial piece of news: the once-in-a-century Xuanji Grass had reappeared in the Ruoxu Secret Realm.

To Gong Dongling, this news was the clarion call for the next major plot point.

Sitting in her room, Gong Dongling began to meticulously sort through the details.

Simply put, this arc involved her and Xie Yu both needing the Xuanji Grass, leading to a fierce struggle. This grass could not only clear the stubborn Cold Qi from Gong Dongling’s body but, more importantly, it was an indispensable ingredient for restructuring spiritual roots.

As the core component that determined a cultivator’s potential, the importance of spiritual roots went without saying. A “trash” spiritual root wasn’t impossible to improve, but the conditions were extremely demanding—hence why the Xuanji Grass was so highly coveted.

After all, only one plant grew every hundred years, nourished by the essence of heaven and earth, and it was impossible to cultivate artificially.

Xie Yu needed the Xuanji Grass because she was secretly gathering materials for a spiritual root reconstruction. Although she possessed the rare Ice Spiritual Root, it was mysteriously and severely damaged. When she cultivated, less than thirty percent of the spiritual energy she gathered could actually be absorbed.

This meant her cultivation speed was less than half of others’, and no matter how hard she worked, she would eventually stall around the Golden Core stage—a death sentence for any ambitious cultivator.

Xie Yu had discovered a secret recipe for reconstruction in an ancient text and was collecting materials one by one, hoping for the day she could finally fix herself.

But would the “evil stepmother” author let her have her way? Obviously not. Thus, the plot of the two leads fighting over the grass was born.

In the original story, Xie Yu moved faster than the protagonist’s group and reached the secret realm first, only to get trapped in an illusion created by the Xuanji Grass. After breaking through, she actually experienced a breakthrough in her cultivation level within the realm.

However, while she was breaking through, the original Gong Dongling and her group ignored the fact that the grass had already recognized Xie Yu as its master and snatched it away.

This event drastically accelerated Xie Yu’s “blackening” and was the ultimate catalyst for her eventual awakening of her demon bloodline. Since her damaged spiritual roots limited her path as a righteous cultivator, she was forced toward demonic cultivation.

Of course, as for why no other cultivators could beat these two for such a precious herb… don’t ask. It’s just “plot convenience.”

“Is there really only one Xuanji Grass every hundred years?” Gong Dongling suddenly asked the System.

In this novel, “once-in-a-century” and “once-in-a-millennium” treasures were as common as cabbages, which made her deeply skeptical.

[If the author wrote the setting, then it exists. The second Xuanji Grass will only grow a hundred years from now. Also, this herb must be used whole. Put away your thoughts of splitting it in half.]

Gong Dongling: “…” Fine!

She sighed and put the problem aside. Regardless, raising her cultivation level was the priority; otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how she died later on.

Using the original owner’s memories, she sat cross-legged and began to circulate her qi. She felt a surge of warmth rise from her dantian, flowing upward like the growth of spring.

The sensation of her first time cultivating was miraculous; the warm current felt like it was washing her meridians and soul, relaxing her entire body.

Everything was going smoothly until an unexpected event occurred. Gong Dongling felt that warm current suddenly extinguished, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on it. It vanished without a trace, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

This internal cold made her feel like a human refrigerator; she could practically see white mist with every breath.

Cold… Cold Qi? Gong Dongling hadn’t expected the Cold Qi’s influence on this body to be so severe that it even made cultivation difficult. In this world, a cultivator who cannot cultivate is effectively under a death sentence.

Shivering violently, she grabbed a quilt to wrap herself up. After a while, the chill finally receded.

Refusing to give up, she tried to circulate her qi again. This time, however, it wasn’t just bone-chilling cold—her meridians felt like they were being twisted into knots. It was a piercing, agonizing pain!

“Sss—!” Gong Dongling’s face crumpled in pain. She gasped and collapsed onto the bed.

Once she could finally speak again, she rolled around on the mattress, grumbling: “I can’t even circulate qi, how am I supposed to cultivate?!”

[Then go get the Xuanji Grass.] The System’s tone was annoyingly detached.

But Gong Dongling knew that if Xie Yu couldn’t reconstruct her spiritual roots to cultivate the righteous way, she would have no choice but to blacken and awaken her demon blood to gain power.

“Argh, what am I supposed to do?!” Gong Dongling buried her head in the silk quilt, let out a muffled groan.

On the other side, when Xie Yu returned to her room, she found something unusual on her table.

It was an ordinary sheet of cream-colored rice paper. The black calligraphy was wild and hurried, yet the words were legible: “Xuanji Grass has appeared in the Ruoxu Secret Realm.”

Seeing those three words, Xie Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She held her breath and looked around the room.

Though the letter appeared out of nowhere, her expression wasn’t one of surprise; she seemed accustomed to this method of delivery. She picked up the note and examined it, finding no clues, then placed it into a wooden box. Inside the box were several other sheets of paper nearly identical to this one.

This wasn’t the first time. To this day, Xie Yu didn’t know who the sender was, but the information provided was always exactly what she needed. The person knew her well—they even knew she was secretly collecting materials to reconstruct her spiritual roots.

At first, Xie Yu worried the person would blackmail her, but after several instances, it seemed they truly only wanted to convey information. Since she couldn’t figure out their motive, she simply accepted it.

Thinking of this, Gong Dongling’s figure suddenly flashed through her mind.

Xie Yu dazed for a moment, her gaze drifting to the butterfly knot on her wrist. When she snapped out of it, she felt a surge of irritation and felt the urge to rip the thing off right then and there.

Regardless, she was determined to get that Xuanji Grass. It was her only chance.

She wanted to become strong. Especially when she was being toyed with by others, she had only one thought: Become strong. Strong enough so no one can bully me again… Strong enough to protect others.

Xie Yu carefully pulled a yellowed, tattered page from the box. She had secretly torn this from an ancient book; it listed everything needed for the reconstruction. When she first got the page, she could only recognize the words “Reconstruct Spiritual Roots,” but by now, she had memorized every character.

Every time she obtained an item, she would ritually cross out the line with a brush dipped in cinnabar.

With that mysterious person’s help, only a few precious materials remained. The Xuanji Grass was one of them.

After checking it once more, she carefully returned the page to the box. There was still a bit of time before the grass matured. She could use this time to prepare.

Though the goal was in sight, she didn’t rush. She sat back on her stone bed and began her daily cultivation routine.

Because her spiritual roots were naturally damaged, her path was exceptionally difficult. Since Master Daofa never guided her, she had to fumble her way forward alone. She was used to the sensation of spiritual energy slipping away, but she still held a shred of hope. Unfortunately, this time was no different.

However, as she closed her eyes to cultivate, she didn’t notice a faint, blood-red light flickering between her eyebrows.

Unbeknownst to her, the red light flowed slowly along the surface of her meridians. It seemed to absorb the leaking spiritual energy, growing more distinct and radiating an eerie aura.

After completing a full cycle, Xie Yu exhaled and opened her eyes. The red light instantly vanished beneath her pale skin without a trace.

She had practiced for three whole years yet had not broken through the Foundation Establishment stage. She was stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, neither advancing nor retreating. Her day-and-night cultivation felt like a stone dropped into the ocean, leaving no ripple.

If she were just an outer-sect disciple, she might have earned praise for her hard work. Unfortunately, her master was Xu Ruozhen, the greatest sword cultivator in the world. She couldn’t blame him for ignoring her; she truly wasn’t worthy of being his disciple.

Knowing her talent was lacking, Xie Yu pushed herself in physical training and swordsmanship. She was also dexterous and often created functional hidden weapons based on ancient texts. In spars and training, she didn’t lose easily; she could even hold her own against fellow disciples at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stages.

But she wasn’t satisfied. She still remembered the day the Master brought her back to Mount Buzhou and the collective awe when people first heard she had an Ice Spiritual Root.

Even after learning her spiritual root was damaged, Elder Ye—the leader of the female cultivators—had tried to take her from the Master. Since they both possessed the rare Ice Spiritual Root, the Elder wanted to help Xie Yu reconstruct hers and pass on her legacy. But the Master had refused.

She wanted to be a true “favored child of heaven.”

Soon… once I have all the materials… Xie Yu took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and began a new cycle.

Seeing Xie Yu immersed in cultivation, a person jumped down from a tree behind the house.

It was their Eldest Senior Brother, Qiu Yan. He took a brush from behind his ear and scribbled a few lines in a notebook.

As he wrote, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He wondered: Who will win this time?