Chapter 997: You Are Not Her, and You Will Never Become Her

Hui Doudou called out, but seeing no response from the back kitchen, she walked straight inside.

When dining at the small shop earlier, had Meng Junzi unfolded his immortal sense, he would have discovered that Hui Doudou was not alone in the back kitchen; there were two people.

The gruel that Meng Junzi had eaten was precisely made by the other person.

A woman dressed in a sky-blue dress was currently wiping down the stove in the back kitchen, methodically tidying up various cooking utensils and storing them into a storage ring.

She turned her head to look at Hui Doudou, who had lifted the door curtain to peek her head in, and let out a long sigh, though the work in her hands did not stop.

"Why did you have to fight him? If you hadn't struck, who would have known you were an immortal?"

Hui Doudou walked over to help Qing He pack up the things: "Seeing him reminded me of Ying Tian Xian, that's all, it displeased me. Since I pursue transcendence, why should I wrong myself?"

Qing He shook the small bottle holding salt; it was empty: "So now we need to move."

Regardless of whether Hui Doudou had spared Meng Junzi's life or not, by making a move, this small shop was already exposed. Hui Doudou feared no one except Yun Zhi, but she still found it troublesome.

Rather than waiting for trouble to come knocking on the door, it was better to move and change locations to continue running the shop.

Anyway, the cultivation world was so vast, any random place would do.

In the time it took to speak, the two of them had already gathered everything into their storage rings.

In truth, as long as Qing He was willing, she could have swept everything inside with a single pass of a storage ring; the reason she packed them up piece by piece was because she felt it gave a sense of ritual.

If the true Master were here, she would surely do it this way.

The two of them strolled through the rain, completely devoid of any presence; even as pedestrians hurried past and heavily fortified city gate guards stood watch, none noticed their existence.

"We've stayed in Heavenly King City for so long, changing places is quite nice too." Hui Doudou proactively started the conversation.

"Xiao He, do you want to continue staying in the Buddhist Kingdom, or change places?"

Qing He did not take the bait, but turned her head to ask: "Why do you keep me around? If you pursue transcendence, wouldn't you advance further by killing me directly? There's no need to leave me until the very end."

Hui Doudou's brow furrowed imperceptibly, unwilling to touch upon this topic, yet she still said: "After I was resurrected, it was you who always accompanied me. Since you can't escape anyway, why should I be in a hurry to kill you."

She paused, adding a sentence by some strange twist of mind: "If I kill everyone else and come infinitely close to transcendence, yet remain unable to defeat the murderer, it won't be too late for me to kill you then."

Qing He was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Watch your wording. You were not resurrected, you are not her, and you will never become her."

"What did you say!"

Hui Doudou was furious, grabbing Qing He by the neck in a sudden clutch, the fire of rage burning in her eyes, her fingers tightening slightly as if she could snap Qing He's neck in the next second.

"Don't think that I will definitely leave you for the very end to kill!"

Hui Doudou tore through the spiritual energy shield protecting Qing He's body, and the torrential rain poured down, drenching Qing He in an instant.

Through the gaps of her wet bangs, Qing He stared at Hui Doudou mockingly, utterly fearless: "You don't even know your own name."

Looking at Qing He's gaze that viewed death as a return home, Hui Doudou loosened her grip and let Qing He down, letting out a cold snort.

"I will have my own name."

...

Meng Junzi was limping as he was supported into the Western Heaven Temple by the Meng family's Tribulation Transcendence stage ancestor.

"Ouch—"

The moment his buttocks touched the bed, it hit some wound, and the pain made him bolt right up.

He had come to the Buddhist Kingdom to enjoy a peaceful life out of nowhere, so how did things turn out like this in the blink of an eye?

Master Ming Yu was startled out of his wits upon seeing Meng Junzi like this; when had such a supreme expert come to their Buddhist Kingdom, capable of beating Meng Junzi to this state?

"Ancestor, the investigation results regarding that small shop have already come out," the Meng family's Tribulation Transcendence stage ancestor said with utmost respect.

Although they had already captured the White Soul, the White Soul was not the main point now; the main point was this cook who claimed to be the first immortal of antiquity.

"Speak, what has been investigated."

"According to the testimonies of the nearby neighbors, that small shop has been open at the end of the alley for ten years. Very few people ever go there to eat, and it seems that anyone who has eaten there loses their memory, forgetting the appearance of the restaurant owner and also forgetting what they ate."

"Memory loss?" Meng Junzi raised an eyebrow; this was indeed rare, how could someone just lose their memory out of nowhere.

Was it the result of that cook's deliberate actions?

What was the reason?

"Forget it, you guys continue to investigate the Passionless Sect here, I'm going back."

Meng Junzi felt it necessary to find Old Jiang and Yun Zhi to discuss the events of today.

...

The Daoist Sect.

"Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi, that is exactly how the matter transpired. That creator of the Qi Refining system is absolutely an ancient existence to an unimaginable degree."

Yun Zhi looked at Meng Junzi with a peculiar gaze; this was Immortal Hui sparing your life.

Using a non-existent identity to shoulder cause and effect, so that Meng Junzi and Immortal Hui would not generate karma?

Then it was best not to tell Meng Junzi about Immortal Hui's true identity, lest he be targeted by Immortal Hui.

Yun Zhi said in a tone carrying a hint of emotion: "I didn't expect that the immortal who fought me in the Eastern Sea before was actually the creator of the Qi Refining system. No wonder she was hard to deal with."

Meng Junzi: "..."

By hard to deal with, do you mean you beat her into a wretched flight?

"Right, didn't you just say that everyone who went to eat at her place lost their memory?" Yun Zhi recalled another key point Meng Junzi had mentioned.

"Yes, does Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi know what is going on here?"

Yun Zhi leaned against the imperial chair with her eyes closed, rhythmically tapping the armrest of the imperial chair, the bell tied around her wrist jingling.

The sound of the bell faded, Yun Zhi opened her eyes, having formed some thoughts.

"In my view, there are two possibilities."

"First, she used the power of a Dao Fruit when cooking, in which case, everyone who ate it would lose their memory. However, in the gruel she served you, you did not perceive the power of a Dao Fruit, so the first possibility is unlikely."

"Then what about the second possibility?"

"The second possibility is that she has gradually approached the realm of transcendence, and the immortal trait of being forgotten has expanded in effect, automatically severing some minor karma and causing ordinary people to forget her."

Meng Junzi gasped. Speaking of which, this creator of the Qi Refining system was truly terrifyingly strong, no wonder he couldn't beat her.

"But this is also just a hypothesis; after all, I haven't encountered a similar immortal either," Yun Zhi reminded him, telling him not to take her words as absolute truth.

...

The news of the battle between two immortals quickly spread throughout the Buddhist Kingdom.

"A battle between two immortals occurred in Heavenly King City?" Lu Yang was extremely surprised to hear this news.

No, it should be said he was extremely happy.

It was finally proven that major events didn't only happen where he was. He had never even heard of this Heavenly King City, so it absolutely had nothing to do with him.

"Which two immortals fought?" Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou; this was the news Meng Jingzhou had inquired about.

"One of them is my family's ancestor, the other is unknown."

"However, I heard that when our ancestor was tracking down the whereabouts of the Heartless Sect, he accidentally ran into another immortal, and a misunderstanding arose, which led to the fight."

"…Your ancestor coming to the Buddhist Kingdom has nothing to do with me, does it? I am merely a messenger."

Meng Jingzhou patted Lu Yang on the shoulder and said earnestly, "No, it has nothing to do with the two of us."