After two hundred years of hard work, Nina Weston finally achieved core formation. But before she could even share the news, her own partner, Evan Collins, poisoned her that very night.

In her final moments, Evan didn’t just kill her—he used some kind of forbidden technique to steal all her cultivation and vitality.

To cover it up, he claimed she had failed her breakthrough and died overcome by inner demons. He even put on a show of mourning, turned away everyone who came to visit, saying he needed time to grieve—when in reality, he went straight into closed-door seclusion.

Evan had always had a good reputation. Though plenty admired him, he was known to stay devoted to only one person—his partner. No one ever thought to question Nina's sudden death. Not even the Westons.

But Nina came back—reborn.

When she woke again, her robe was torn and she was lying alone in a small cave.

Her half-open eyes were calm. Not furious, not heartbroken. Just a quiet kind of clarity, like something obvious had finally clicked.

There’s no free ride in this world. No one is kind for no reason.

Back then, Evan had saved her more than once, and over the years showered her with resources. She used to wonder why. But now she knew.

She'd been livestock to him—fattened up over a hundred years, all so he could slaughter her for the payoff.

That was always her fate, wasn’t it?

Nothing to hate. It was just the truth.

Nina moved her fingers, slowly sat up, and took out a waterskin from her storage pouch, taking a long drink of spiritual spring water. Her throat, dry and burning, finally felt better.

She looked around the cave. It was barren, empty.

It had been nearly two hundred years, but she remembered what had happened.

She was eleven back then. It had been her first trip into Yunmu Mountain, where she had found a nearly-extinct cleansing herb. Turning it into a pill would let her shed one of her spirit veins.

Spirit veins were the foundation of a cultivator. The fewer you had, the better.

Above four was poor, three was fair, two was strong, and one… that was a top-grade Heavenly Vein.

And Heavenly Vein cultivators? Every major sect fought to train them.

Nina had fire, wood, and metal veins—three of them. Not awful, but not great either. Without some serious luck, building a foundation was as far as she’d go.

But then she found the cleansing herb.

Shed one vein, become a dual-vein cultivator, and there’d still be hope. A future at a real sect.

But in the end, it was her cousin Lilian Weston who took that chance.

Thanks to that herb, Lilian became a pure fire-vein talent. Famous overnight. Accepted as a disciple by a great master. The Westons rose with her success.

The only one left out? Nina. She’d been weak, helpless, and tossed aside.

"Feeling better, little one?"

A voice came from the cave entrance.

A young man in an elegant crane-embroidered robe walked in. His posture was upright, his features refined, and his calm smile gave off a gentle, spring-like warmth.

Evan Collins?

No… this was him as a teen.

Seeing her dazed face, he assumed she was scared and said kindly, “No need to worry, the beast’s been taken care of. Where’s your home? I can take you there.”

Nina lowered her eyes and said nothing.

So that’s where this was…

She’d been chased by a lion-tiger after finding the herb, and Evan had stepped in to help. He’d brought her here unconscious.

This was the first time they met.

Nina shook her head and quietly turned to leave.

Evan watched her as she walked away, a thoughtful look in his eyes.Nina Weston didn’t care whether Evan Collins would get suspicious—she just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Honestly, she was afraid she might not be able to hold herself back from drawing her sword at him.

He was already in the Foundation Stage. She was only at the Qi Refining stage—no way she could beat him. If she so much as let a trace of killing intent slip, she'd be dead in a second.

Evan was never the type to play nice.

Right as she stepped out of the edge of Yunmu Mountain—

“Nina!”

“We found Miss Nina!”

A round-faced girl came running over, clearly out of breath. Behind her were several Weston family guards.

The girl grabbed Nina by the shoulders, checking her up and down with worried eyes. “You scared me half to death! I thought you were—”

“I’m sorry, Sis, for making you worry.”

Nina still felt some affection for Violet Weston. They had bad taste in men in common—they’d both fallen for the same jerk.

When Nina went missing on the mountain, the family immediately sent people to find her. They searched for hours with no luck, figured she was probably gone for good… only for her to come walking out on her own.

Everyone crowded around, escorting her back to the Weston home.

Violet took Nina straight to the family physician. After checking her over and confirming it wasn’t serious, they headed back to their quarters.

Violet silently activated the room’s warding formation, blocking out any external senses. Then she turned sharply, “Nina, be honest with me. Why’d you go to Yunmu Mountain?”

“I…” Nina paused, trying to recall what had happened during this time in her past life.

Violet gave her a light tap on the forehead and frowned. “Don’t even think about lying. I just closed off for a few days, and you nearly got yourself killed?”

“It was… the Qi-nourishing pills got cut off again. I thought maybe I could pick some low-tier herbs in the outer mountain, sell ‘em and make a little something myself.”

Violet’s brows knitted tighter. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

“You were in seclusion.”

“Yeah, but still! Low-grade herbs barely fetch any spirit beads. You’d need like a whole cartful to exchange for one lousy spirit stone.”

The more Violet thought about it, the more furious she got. “They’re just picking on the quiet ones, huh? No! We’re going straight to Uncle Charles. He’s the one who handles distributions. Who else are we gonna complain to?”

“No point, really.”

“What’s wrong with you? They shortchange you and you just take it?”

“What choice do I have? My parents aren’t around, and I’m just a kid. No one listens when I speak up.” Nina gave a bitter little laugh. “Auntie said they’re just borrowing it for Lilian right now. Said once she makes something of herself, they’ll give me a Foundation Pill in return.”

Violet looked stunned. “And you believed her?”

“Doesn’t matter now.” Nina’s expression darkened.

What had Auntie said back then? Something about the sect recruitments coming up in a year, and Lilian needing more resources to stand a better chance.

Just wait—once Lilian succeeded and found a strong mentor, the family would benefit. Then, not just the Qi-nourishing pills, she'd even get Nina a Foundation Pill.

Empty promises.

Auntie herself hadn’t even broken through the peak of Qi Refining yet.

Nina, still a child but not stupid, had tried going to Grandpa. When that didn’t work, straight to Uncle. But he’d just brushed her off, telling her not to throw childish tantrums.

She hadn’t even wanted spirit stones at that point—just some dignity. But young and impulsive as she was, she’d stormed off to Yunmu Mountain…

Thinking back on her younger self, Nina felt a mix of emotions.

She’d been naive, reckless, not at all shrewd.

No way she could’ve outmaneuvered Uncle and Auntie, the scheming pair. Not to mention the oh-so-perfect Lilian, their star offspring.

But things were different now. This Nina had lived and died once. If you thought about it… yeah, the Westons owed her a Foundation Pill.