【The "Calamity of Ten Thousand Races" is still pretty handy.】
【One trait tag equals ten, with a free shape-shifting bonus.】
【No wonder it's Prismatic Mythical.】
【It's just that it's not growing anymore now, which gives you a bit of a headache.】
【But you figure, since the tag says its effects improve as cultivation level increases, it can't have hit its limit so soon. There must be something missing.】
【Not long after, you arrived at the rendezvous point you'd deduced, a ferry crossing called Muma Ferry.】
【Nearby, there was a fishing village inhabited entirely by humans. You rented an old house in the village and settled in for now.】
【After autumn set in, every night around the Zi hour, you'd wander around the ferry crossing, watching to see if anyone was waiting there for someone.】
【For over two months straight, you didn't see a single ghost of a person.】
【"Was my analysis of the poem wrong?"】
【You couldn't help but start doubting yourself.】
【Then, just that night, you spotted a graceful silhouette appearing on the shore of the ferry.】
【She held a purple sword in her hand, with hair like a cascading waterfall that reached down to her heels. A purple dress outlined her exquisite figure.】
【"Isn't that..."】
【Ji Wuqing!】
【That's right!】
【It was her!】
【Having seen her twice in simulations, you had a very deep impression of her features.】
【You restrained your aura and began to observe her, trying to determine if she was waiting for someone here or just passing through.】
【You attempted to sense her aura and confirm her cultivation level, but found you couldn't sense anything at all.】
【Ji Wuqing was certainly no mortal. This was someone with the formidable power to traverse both the Void Realm and the Real Realm, with an unfathomably deep cultivation level.】
【Your inability to sense her cultivation could only mean her level was too high, or her concealment methods were too strong; your qi-sensing ability was utterly useless against her.】
【"I wonder which of our families those big monkeys will pick to send to the Void Realm this time? I hope it's our Ji family, so I can get Dad to arrange for me to go! The Void Realm... how interesting!"】
【Ji Wuqing was muttering to herself.】
【"Going to the Void Realm? Right, Ji Wuqing appeared in the human world when I was eighty-nine. So that means she hasn't gone yet?"】
【You were exactly eighty-nine this year.】
【In other words, following the original timeline, Ji Wuqing would be heading to the Void Realm sometime in the remaining months of this year?】
【I wonder if she could take someone along on this trip?】
【After running around the Real Realm for so many years, you were actually starting to miss home.】
【Just as your mind wandered, you suddenly caught a faint, sweet fragrance.】
【"What a lovely scent. What is that?"】
【Turning your head, you saw Ji Wuqing's teasing smile right next to you.】
【"Holy crap!"】
【Startled, you had no idea when she had appeared behind you.】
【"Guilty conscience, huh? Spill it! Why were you skulking around staring at me? What are you plotting!"】
【You stepped back a few paces and cupped your fists in greeting.】
【"I am merely waiting for someone here, Miss. I have no ill intentions towards you."】
【Ji Wuqing stood there, holding her sword, the evening wind blowing her long hair in flowing waves, making her look like a fairy descended to the mortal world.】
【"No ill intentions? What a shame. You're so handsome, and your cultivation is decent enough. If you had some designs on me, I might actually get married!"】
【"Uh..."】
【You hadn't expected that the mysterious woman from the Real Realm, who seemed so aloof when you met her in the human world, would have such a personality upon meeting her again in the Real Realm.】
【"What's wrong? I'm the eldest daughter of the current Ji family head. Am I not good enough for you?"】
【"Er... I already have someone in my heart."】
【"No problem, make her the concubine. A man should have a few wives and concubines, right? It's perfectly normal. I understand!"】
【"Miss, please stop joking."】
【Ji Wuqing was anything but ruthless. Seeing that you were rendered speechless by her teasing, she threw her head back and laughed heartily.】
【"Alright, alright, let's get down to business. You say you're waiting for someone, and I'm waiting for someone too. Are you sure you're not waiting for me?"】
【If the location and time were correctly deduced.】
【Then the codename of the contact person should also be correct.】
【This was Ji Wuqing, and the person you were waiting for was called "Fading Moon." Clearly, she wasn't that person.】
【"I'm waiting for someone named 'Fading Moon.' You don't go by that name, do you?"】
【"I do! My name is Ji Xiaoyue!"】
【"Aren't you Ji Wuqing?"】
【You were a bit confused and looked Ji Wuqing up and down, momentarily wondering if you had mistaken her. Could this not be Ji Wuqing?】
【"Ah, you just don't get it, do you? My parents named me Ji Xiaoyue. Tsk tsk tsk, just listen to that name. How sloppy can you get?】
【I bet they were drunk one day and just made up some crappy name on a whim.】
【As a kid, I didn't have a choice, but when I grew up, I had to change it!】
【I wanted to call myself Ji Wuqing!】
【Now that's a name! It sounds domineering! Cold! Cool! Just like a true expert!"】
【Your mind worked quickly as you channeled your power to use the Quantum Ghost Step, instantly teleporting far away.】
【"Miss, if you really are waiting for someone, let's meet again in three days at this same time!"】
【"Hey! Hey! Don't go! I really am the one you're waiting for! I still have to recite the code phrase!"】
【You ignored whatever Ji Wuqing said next.】
【You needed to verify if what she said was true.】
【If, as she claimed, she had the former name Ji Xiaoyue, then someone outside must have heard of it.】
【Because the Ji family was a very famous power.】
【When you were showing off your might on Blazing Star, even the Tiansha Sect Master suspected you were from the Ji family or the Jiang family.】
【This showed that these two clans were the true great powers of humanity on a cosmic scale.】
【As the eldest daughter of the Ji family, she would definitely not be unknown in the area.】
【You went to a nearby city to inquire about the eldest daughter of the Ji family.】
【Sure enough, Ji Wuqing really did have two names.】
【Long ago, she had always been called Ji Xiaoyue.】
【Later, after her cultivation broke through to the Transcendent Realm, she went around challenging veteran masters on Vermilion Violet Star, building a fearsome reputation. And each time, she introduced herself as Ji Wuqing, not Ji Xiaoyue.】
【"It seems the person making contact with me might actually be her..."】
【Three days later, you arrived at the ancient ferry crossing again at the Zi hour.】
【This time, Ji Wuqing was standing on a boat, and there were quite a few highly skilled cultivators on board as well.】
【Seeing you approach, she stepped onto the shore in one stride and, with a playful expression, recited the contact code.】
【"Handsome young sir, what cargo do you store?"】
【You cupped your fists and returned the greeting.】
【"Half a boat of moonlight, half a boat of gulls."】
【Ji Wuqing's expression turned serious. She straightened up, her gaze fixed directly on you.】
【"Ji Wuqing, Head of the First Hall of the Torch Society's Vermilion Violet Star Headquarters!"】
【After she spoke, she stared at you.】
【You understood. She was waiting for you to state your affiliation.】
【The personnel network of this kind of underground organization was very strict.】
【Making something up was useless; she would check and know the truth immediately. So you had to tell the truth.】
【"I'm not a member of the Torch Society."】
【You immediately felt the killing intent in Ji Wuqing's eyes.】
【"Then how did you find out the contact information?"】

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