The cold wind blew gently over the roofs of the Tang mansion, causing the nterns to sway slightly. Tang Wei remained motionless in the courtyard, his gaze fixed on the horizon, as if he could find answers among the distant shadows. His expression bore a subtle ay—ever sihat day.

  Eight days ago, while he was in his office with Liao pnning the steps after leaving the city following the tour, the protective jade bracelet he had given his daughter activated—and then quickly deactivated, like an illusion.

  His heart nearly stopped.

  Without hesitating, he suddenly rose, toppling the table beside him. But wheried to sehe bracelet's location, all he found was a terrifyiiness. Its presence had simply vanished from the world.

  — "This 't be right..."

  His first instinct was to immediately set out in search of it, yet when he sehe bracelet once more, it prevented him from leaving. With a sigh of relief, he expio his friend what had happened.

  Still, doubt lingered. His mind ran through every possibility. Why was he uo sehe bracelet's location at that moment? Was his daughter hurt now? He had known from the moment she began practig that this day would e—that he would ruly be ready—but he also knew he could not and should not stop her from growing.

  Tang Wei ched his fists. Even though ay still gripped him, knowing that his daughter was safe was enough.

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  In the Depths of the ForestThe sound of a heavy body falling echoed through the clearing. Warm blood dripped onto the grass, staining the dark forest floor. A spiritual buffalo y motionless, its eyes gzed and its massive form stiffened by death.

  Just a few steps away, Tang Xi took deep, rapid breaths, her chest rising and falling quickly. In one hand she gripped the handle of her Lunar Umbrel—the cloud-patterned umbrel now dripping with blood.

  She didn't kly how much time had passed since she was thrown into this pce. After the initial shock of the battle, the explosion, and the desperate escape, the days had blended into a tinuous routine of survival. With a skillful motion, she began processing the buffalo's meat, effitly separating the useful parts. It was a meical task, something she had done tless times over the past days, yet her mind was far away.

  As she worked, her memory returo the exaent whehing ged.A few days ago…The heat of the explosion that would soon e her, the deafening roar filling her ears—and for a brief moment, she khere was no escape.

  But then, at the st instant, the Lunar Umbrel reacted. Sensing the danger, it activated its ability to save her; the umbrel opened above her head and, in the blink of an eye, she was sucked into the void. The sensation was overwhelming—a feeling that reminded her of the day she was born; the same sensatio lighter, as if her body were being torn apart and reassembled simultaneously.

  When she came to herself, she was on her knees in the middle of the forest. Dizziness made her colpse forward, her stomach ing with nausea. At first, she couldn't grasp where she was; her mind and body were screaming for rest. The trees around her were dense, and while the st of the vegetation was slightly differe familiar, she noticed she had been teleported to an area ions of higher human activity in the forest.

  But she knew she had to leave quickly or risk being an easy target. With her tired body, she took some healing and Qi pills.

  'I need a pce to recover a. That hollow iree looks good,' — she thought.

  With some difficulty, she mao stand and reach a nearby cedar hollow. Moving wearily, she approached and checked for any signs of danger or animals inside. Finding only leaves and branches, she used a dust-removal talisman. Afterward, she settled into the hollow—it acious enough for her to sit.

  "This should suffice…" — she thought as she pced a defensive disc at the entrance. Once her safety was ensured, exhaustied her mind into darkness and she fainted.

  When she awoke with her stomach growling, night had already fallen. She took a Fasting Pill, and her dition began to stabilize. Her physical endurance was nearly restored, but her spiritual energy remai only ohird—partly recovered through the pill and her automatic absorption of spiritual energy. Now ier shape, she reflected on what had happened.

  She had nearly died.

  It was the first time since being reborn in this world that she had truly felt the fragility of her existence.

  'If it weren't for the Lunar Umbrel, I would have died in that explosion.'

  The reality of that thought made her shudder. She wasn't ready to die.Her father…His face appeared in her mind. She could imagihe worry in his eyes, the way he would likely reprimand her for nearly dying. She couldn't die—not before finding answers about her in, about her true p this world. For just a moment, she allowed herself to close her eyes.

  By a hair's breadth, she had escaped death. But to let herself be ed by fear was not an option.

  Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus otle just past. What could she have done differently?

  'My speed at the beginning of the fight was enough to flee... but that's not who I am. I chose to stay and fight.'

  Yes, she had chosen to fight. But was that choice the right one?

  She recalled the moment she had lowered her guard. If only she had used an Iron Armor Prote talisman as soon as she activated her aura, perhaps she could have withstood the impact without relying on the umbrel's teleportation. Her father had givehose talismans before leaving.

  And, as she had feared, using the aura emission had beeremely risky. That attack drained her energy and endurance brutally. With her body already exhausted from the battle against the snakes, she ended up virtually defenseless.

  "This ot happen again," — she cluded.

  If she had done just ohing differently, she might have avoided that unnecessary risk.

  'But at least these battles have pletely stabilized my level.' — she thought—after all, battles like these also have their positives; her fourth level was now stable and solid. Normally, that would have taken weeks, but two fights with sutensity had aplished it. That thought made her happy.

  While she stored away the st pieces of buffalo meat, she sensed a presence approag. Her muscles tensed immediately as she gripped the umbrel's handle firmly. There were light footsteps on the undergrowth—more tha wasn't an animal.

  Quickly, she leaped onto a low branch, cealing her preseh the Lunar Umbrel's ability. Her hands were cold, but her breathing remained trolled.

  In the distawo voices whispered:— "Are you sure you saw someone around here?"— "Yes. The trail is fresh. A spiritual animal was killed retly. It must have been a cultivator."

  Tang Xi narrowed her eyes. Hunters. Her instincts told her they weren't mere beast huhey were looking for someone. She closed her eyes for a moment and trated on the energy arouhe spiritual flow from those men was not weak; they were at the sixth level of Body Tempering, perhaps even higher.

  'Should I reveal myself? I o know how long I was in a a.'

  She still wasn't sure if she could trust ahere. Undecided, she resolved to follow them and leave if it proved safe—after all, she couldn't afford to miss the return date. Silently, she moved along the tree, making no sound.

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