Chapter 1: Double Rebirth and Sect Exchange

“Ye Qingning! If it weren’t for your mother switching you with Yue’er back then, how would Yue’er have ended up wandering outside? The suffering she’s endured over the years is all because of you!”

“Now, you don’t want to go to that insignificant little sect, so you incite Yue’er to exchange places with you. You’re full of schemes, and all the blame is put on Yue’er! All these years, I truly wasted my time raising you!”

“How dare you even think about entering Penglai Sect, the number one immortal sect? You should take a good look at yourself and see if you’re worthy!”

“Go to the yard and kneel down! Reflect properly! You cannot rise without my permission!”

Ye Qingning’s pupils contracted sharply. Had she been reborn?!

To be precise, it was after her mission failed upon transmigrating into the cultivation novel that the world reset.

In her previous life, she transmigrated into a cultivation story and became the despised fake daughter in the novel.

She originally planned to avoid the main characters and just quietly develop. However, the system was bound to her and kept forcing her to pursue the novel’s tragic, handsome, and powerful second male lead, Xie Jibai.

Unfortunately, the mission failed, and she was about to be erased by the system.

But then, something unexpected happened—the world reset and entered a second round. Not only did she survive, but she was also reborn.

And she returned to the day before she and the real daughter, Ye Hanyue, were heading to their respective sects.

What surprised her was that in her previous life, Ye Hanyue had clearly been the one heading to Penglai Sect, yet now it seemed that she had convinced Ye Hanyue to exchange places with her?

This was not how things went in her previous life!

“Father, mother, you’ve misunderstood my sister. I decided on my own to swap places with her and let her go to Penglai Sect. Sister didn’t even know I was going to make this exchange,” Ye Hanyue said with a calculating glint in her eyes.

Now that she was reborn, she naturally had to make the exchange with Ye Qingning.

Ye’s parents were stunned and looked at Ye Hanyue in surprise.

Penglai Sect was the top sect in the immortal world! So many disciples from noble families couldn’t even get in, yet Ye Hanyue didn’t want to go? There had to be something wrong, and they were certain it was Ye Qingning who had deceived their daughter!

“No! Luoyun Sect is just a small, insignificant sect. You’ve suffered enough these years. How could I let you go to such a lowly sect!” Ye’s mother cried out.

Ye Hanyue smiled gently, acting like the perfect daughter. “Father, mother, although my sister is not your biological daughter, she grew up by your side.”

“I know her congenital heart pulse is incomplete, and her body is frail. Cultivation will always be difficult for her. But Penglai Sect is the top immortal sect, and it’s mysterious and powerful, filled with strong cultivators.”

“I thought maybe there are experts in Penglai Sect who could treat her heart pulse issue, so I’m willing to give her the opportunity to go there.”

“And as for Luoyun Sect… father and mother don’t know this, but it’s actually not as bad as you think…”

Father Ye and Mother Ye, seeing Ye Hanyue had more to say, turned coldly toward Ye Qingning. “What are you waiting for? Go kneel outside!”

Ye Qingning turned and walked away. She hadn’t gone far when a heavy pressure filled her chest, making it hard to breathe. Even Lin Meimei would have to make way for her.

Naturally, she didn’t kneel in the yard. She must have burned incense in her past life to avoid being erased by the system and was given a second chance at life. If she knelt now, it would be a huge loss.

At that moment, her mind was filled with Ye Hanyue’s words.

Suddenly, a loud electronic voice rang in her ears: “Ningning, Ningning! Ye Hanyue’s behavior is suspicious! She—she—she must have been reborn too!”

“Because that wretched lotus flower was also reborn, she knows your heart pulse issue was treated in Luoyun Sect, and that’s why she proposed to switch sects with you!”

The system, with its big, sparkling eyes, seemed to have figured it out!

Ye Qingning had the same suspicion—Ye Hanyue was reborn just like her.

That’s why she proposed to switch sects with her and let her go to the top immortal sect.

But Ye Hanyue’s “kind-hearted” offer to switch sects wasn’t just because of what the system mentioned.

While Penglai Sect was the top sect, it had undergone a great change.

That year, an ancient secret realm was discovered in the sea near Penglai Sect. But for unknown reasons, the secret realm collapsed just a few days after it opened.

The huge spiritual energy surge swept through the entire Eastern Sea Region, and Penglai Sect was sucked into the spiritual vortex.

The once great sect was instantly reduced to dust.

Ye Hanyue survived this disaster, but later, the surviving Penglai Sect elders hunted her down. Her cultivation was crippled, and she was imprisoned in a dark prison where the sun never shone.

She didn’t know what had happened, as the plot in the novel didn’t include such a calamity.

She also didn’t know why Ye Hanyue was being hunted, but suspected it had something to do with the collapse of the secret realm.

What was certain was that this was one of the reasons Ye Hanyue wanted to switch sects with her.

The second reason was that, although she went to the relatively unknown Luoyun Sect in her previous life, Luoyun Sect wasn’t as bad as people thought.

In fact, her master was not only a hidden expert but also had a mutated wood spiritual root and outstanding medical skills.

After she joined the sect, her master took her in as a disciple and treated her incomplete heart pulse, allowing her to cultivate like a normal person.

Before the world reset, while Ye Hanyue was being hunted, Luoyun Sect had already risen and replaced Penglai Sect as the number one sect in the immortal world.

Her mission target, the tragic, powerful second male lead Xie Jibai, became her Dao companion after taking over as the sect leader of Luoyun Sect.

When Ye Hanyue was being hunted, she had used her spiritual sense to tell her that she wasn’t worthy of Xie Jibai and that it should have been her getting hunted instead.

That was when she realized that the plot had already broken down. Her parents didn’t even recognize her anymore.

As the true daughter and main character, Ye Hanyue had actually fallen for the second male lead, Xie Jibai.

What Ye Hanyue didn’t know was that Xie Jibai didn’t like her at all. Even though they became Dao companions, their relationship was superficial, and she was merely a choice he made after weighing the pros and cons.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed the mission.

What Ye Hanyue didn’t know either was that Xie Jibai’s rise to the position of sect leader of Luoyun Sect was entirely because of her efforts.

In order to pursue Xie Jibai, she stood up for him when others bullied him and persuaded her master to take him as a direct disciple even when he was still an outer disciple.

She fought through dangers to protect him and even carried him out of a demonic cave when he almost died.

His cultivation had risen rapidly, and it was all because she sought out rare herbs and medicinal pills for him.

She helped him gain power that far exceeded his original potential, even allowing him to rival the male lead.

In the system’s words, in order to pursue the second male lead, she became his “golden finger.” But in the end, he saw her as nothing more than a tool.

This time, since Ye Hanyue wanted to switch sects with her, she would see how Xie Jibai would rise to the top without her.

She would also watch how Ye Hanyue would lead Luoyun Sect to become the number one immortal sect.

As for the plot—now that the world had reset, who cared about the plot? This time, she would just be her own “golden finger.”

Ye Qingning pulled herself together and started packing.

In truth, there was little to pack.

Just a small bag containing a few plain clothes and some food—that was all she was bringing to Penglai Sect tomorrow.

After all, when the real daughter was found, she lost everything.

Even after Ye Hanyue returned, Ye Xin had planted a “Mother and Child” curse on her.

Once Ye Hanyue was harmed, the damage would transfer directly to her.

It was said that this was what she owed Ye Hanyue. She had enjoyed so many years of luxury in the Ye family and had to repay Ye Hanyue’s suffering.

But since her rebirth came too late, the curse was already planted inside her and couldn’t be undone easily.

In her previous life, Ye Hanyue had purposely injured herself to make her suffer. Now that they were both reborn, Ye Hanyue would likely use the same tricks and might even go further.

Therefore, aside from healing her heart pulse, she needed to find a way to remove the curse as soon as possible.

She was no one’s sacrificial pawn, not even a dog!