Qianyu

Xu Qianyu is a seventeen-year-old cultivator at the Penglai Immortal Sect, a place she entered at age nine after being separated from her wealthy mortal family. Lacking natural talent, she rose through sheer determination to become an inner sect disciple, relying on the guidance of her senior brother, Shen Suwei, and the companionship of her junior brother, Ruan Zhuqing. Her life shifts dramatically with the arrival of Lu You, a girl without a spiritual root who unexpectedly awakens a rare dual lightning spiritual root. Lu You quickly usurps Xu Qianyu’s position, receiving the affection of her master, Xu Binglai, and the devoted attention of Ruan Zhuqing. Shen Suwei, once exclusively focused on Xu Qianyu’s cultivation, begins teaching Lu You, deepening Xu Qianyu’s sense of isolation and resentment.

Seeking solace, Xu Qianyu forms a bond with Xie Yuzhen, a young man disguised as a disabled master who was actually a demon king imprisoned for decades. Their connection grows as she visits him secretly, finding in him the attention and warmth she no longer receives from her sect. However, her senior brother warns her that Xie Yuzhen is not a good man, urging her to stay away. Despite this, Xu Qianyu’s feelings intensify, leading her to make a fateful decision. She steals the Demon Bone, a fragment of the demon king’s tailbone containing his cultivation, from Shen Suwei’s possession. The theft is facilitated by her knowledge that Shen Suwei had returned from the Demon Domain injured and vulnerable. When confronted, Shen Suwei slaps her in humiliation rather than stopping her, declaring that she is now a traitor and that their next meeting will end in death.

Xu Qianyu flees the sect, pursued by the Discipline Hall elder Hua Qingyu. During the chase, she is wounded and collapses near Wufu Cliff, where she reunites with Xie Yuzhen. She hands him the Demon Bone, restoring his power, but is mortally wounded by Hua Qingyu’s attacks. As Xie Yuzhen, now fully restored as the Demon King, prepares to consume her soul as repayment, Xu Qianyu rejects him and leaps from the cliff to her death. Her soul floats above the scene, witnessing Lu You arrive and claim the fake Demon Bone, believing she has saved Xie Yuzhen. The narrative reveals that Xu Qianyu’s soul has transmigrated back in time, waking up in her fourteen-year-old body in the mortal world, just before her grandfather’s death and her entry into the cultivation world. She retains memories of her past life, including the pain, betrayal, and tragic end she suffered.

In this second chance, Xu Qianyu resolves to change her fate. She is no longer the naive girl who sought validation through cultivation and love. The trauma of her previous life has hardened her, making her cautious and strategic. She begins to prepare for the dangers ahead, learning to style her own hair and questioning the stability of her privileged life. The story sets the stage for her to navigate the cultivation world with prior knowledge, aiming to avoid the pitfalls that led to her destruction. Her relationship with Xie Yuzhen, once a source of comfort, is now viewed with suspicion, and her bond with Shen Suwei is fractured beyond repair. As she confronts the reality of demons and the harshness of the cultivation world, Xu Qianyu must decide whether to follow the same path or forge a new destiny, armed with the memories of a life already lived and lost.