Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, three months have passed. It is now autumn, with golden leaves hanging from the branches, giving a desolate and dry feeling.
"Whoo~~~" The cool autumn wind brushes through the treetops, carrying away the remnants of summer heat.
A woman in white stands facing the wind, her white hair fluttering in the breeze. Her pure white dress rustles as she stands upright, slender and straight, like a towering pine.
She places a hand on her chest, squints her eyes, takes a deep breath, and slowly exhales. Then she withdraws her arm, tucking the strand of hair falling on her forehead behind her ear, revealing her pristine and delicate cheeks.
"The air outside is still fresh." Baixi sighs with emotion. She looks around, then leisurely strolls along the lake.
The water in this place is clear and luminous, shimmering with ripples as a gentle breeze blows, creating ripples.
Baixi takes off her shoes and socks, stepping barefoot into the water, instantly feeling a refreshing and comfortable sensation, causing her to let out a satisfied cry.
She closes her eyes, enjoying the coolness brought by the lake, feeling the water surrounding every inch of her skin. The air here is pristine, without any pollution, and she can even smell the fragrance of the earth and flowers.
Fish swim and play in the water, occasionally a small fish passes by her feet, splashing a few drops of water onto her robes.
Her white and translucent toes gently trail on the water's surface, rippling with layers of waves. With her eyes closed, she feels as if she is isolated from the world.
If only Mother were here, we could play in the water together, and I could tease her a bit!
She thinks with a cheerful smile.
Unfortunately, Mother is always practicing her cultivation. It was Ling who let me out of the confinement room set by Mother, and it was Mother who taught her how to lift the restriction.
Baixi invited Ling to play, but Ling politely declined, saying she had to practice and couldn't accompany her.
Upon hearing Ling's words, Baixi was momentarily stunned. Ling is only five years old and hasn't even reached the age to awaken magic. What is she practicing? Probably just sword training and physical exercises!
Baiying is the same. She exercises every day, greeting her and chatting when she passes by the confinement room, sometimes bringing her some pastries.
In these three months of confinement, only Baiying has visited her, probably because no one knows she is confined.
Baiying must have been informed by Mother.
Baiying is truly a good sister. It's me, the older sister, who has never fulfilled my duties as an older sister.
When Baiying was born, I even snatched her milk bottle, making her cry from hunger. And I threatened her not to tell Mother, or else I would throw her away.
Moreover, I always liked to tease her, though it was just harmless pranks. Even when teased, Baiying never blamed me.
"I won't tease you anymore, Baiying." Baixi gently moves her translucent toes in the water, murmuring to herself.
After playing alone for a while, Baixi sits cross-legged by the lake shore and begins to cultivate.
...
Iris is breaking through as a fire mage, surrounded by black flames that give off a dark red color and emit a scorching and powerful aura.
The Star Tree in the Consciousness Space shines brightly, countless black and red streams of light sliding down from the branches, as if the depths of hell have descended upon the mortal world, filled with a destructive and deathly scent.
The black and red starlight condensed into rune patterns in the air, intertwining and forming intricate and mysterious designs, before merging into the star tree.
At that moment, Chaos emerged from behind the star tree and stood silently on the side, watching Iris as she broke through the realm of a mage.
"Buzz--" Iris trembled all over, and a dazzling light burst forth from her body.
Black and red flames suddenly surged, turning into roaring fires that scorched her skin. But Iris kept her eyes closed, immersed in her cultivation.
"Boom!"
A vast and majestic force surged out from Iris's body, sweeping through the entire area.
The intense flames instantly surged, spreading in all directions.
The surrounding plants and trees caught fire, and flames leapt. Green insects struggled in the flames, contorting their bodies, but they couldn't escape their fate.
"It won't be long before she becomes a mage," Chaos murmured to himself, his gaze becoming softer, like warm spring sunshine.
"Why do I have this strange sense of accomplishment?" He suddenly laughed softly, shaking his head. "This girl is stubborn, arrogant, useless, and loves to fight. She's more foolish than a pig. It's just lucky that she's made it this far. If it weren't for me, she would have died in the snow. If her biological parents were to see their son... I mean daughter, but there's no blood relation... even if they saw, I'd first have Qizhou kill both of them, so as not to taint her soul."
Thinking of this, Chaos couldn't help but sigh bitterly and muttered to himself, "This girl's behavior and thoughts have completely feminized. Emotions, especially family ties, are quite important to her. In the past, she would have cut off all ties without hesitation. Night White is dead, and Iris is the one who's alive."
The star tree stopped changing, obviously indicating that Iris had successfully advanced. She looked at Chaos and said, "I didn't expect my previous male body to be quite handsome!"
Chaos chuckled, "I only simulated the future appearance with black flames. In reality, there would be deviations. Don't be fooled by this appearance; if you had matured with Night White's body, you would probably be thin and weak, with thin arms and legs."
Iris rolled her eyes, "Don't underestimate me! If I hadn't been turned by Lilia, I definitely wouldn't be like what you said."
"You're being stubborn again, vampire girl," teased Chaos.
"Hmph~" Iris raised her head arrogantly and snorted.
"You're really not frank, girl," Chaos smiled lightly. "If you hadn't been turned by Lilia and hadn't received help from Lessi, you would probably have starved to death that night. Even if you hadn't starved, and managed to live until nineteen, you would probably just be an ordinary street hooligan. Plus, without sufficient nutrition during your developmental years, you would be at most 1.6 meters tall and have many physical problems, simply put, weak."
"Tsk~" Iris puffed up her face and glared at him, "There's no 'what if' in this world. Since I'm living well now, it means that my fate wasn't meant to end! And I'm strong now, capable of holding my own."
"Yeah, you are indeed strong now, but your brain doesn't work well," Chaos lightly quipped. "Don't engage in fights with higher level opponents next time; it's dangerous for you. For me, it's troublesome, as you'll end up crying and throwing a tantrum for me to heal you if you get injured. If I had a physical body, I would definitely record your crying and tantrum with magic and play it back repeatedly."
Upon hearing Chaos's words, Iris instantly became furious, angrily shouting, "What do you mean crying and throwing a tantrum! I just wanted to heal faster! You're such a jerk!"
Iris immediately changed the subject, otherwise Chaos would bring up the key incident.
"I plan to enter the Ruined Land continent with the Demon General in a while, and prepare to wipe out the Incubus country closest to the Winged Man nation," Iris said seriously.
"This is not appropriate! If we attack the Incubus country, the other three nations will come to aid them, and your situation will be very dangerous," Chaos frowned and reminded her, "Although the Winged Man nation is already within our grasp, their main forces have been killed, and the remaining ones are just ordinary people who are of no use."
"Your concerns are not unfounded, but..." Iris narrowed her eyes slightly, showing a dangerous signal, "What if I bring some vampire engineers with me?"
"Engineers?" Chaos looked at her in surprise.
"Yes!" Iris nodded confidently, "We can build trebuchets and ballistae within the territory of the Winged Man nation. They may not know how to manufacture and use them, but their combat power won't be a problem. Moreover, the other four nations are unaware of the political changes in the Winged Man nation. We can take advantage of this and occupy the Incubus country in a short period of time."
Chaos nodded, thinking that this plan was feasible.
"How is the vampire's craftsmanship?"
"The Dwarven Kingdom is a vassal of our Shuowang Empire, and their crafting skills surpass those of other nations. We vampires have learned it a long time ago."
"In that case, let's do it your way."
