Chapter 487: Chapter 487

At the world's end, atop the snow-capped peaks, in the unfathomably profound deep sea, relying on the fact that the strange beasts of ordinary worlds had weak attack power and having a ten-skills-in-one little disciple who toiled without complaint by her side, An Ning had truly lived it up to the fullest this lifetime.

Of course, occasionally transforming into an ordinary person, strolling along bustling long streets, and sampling local delicacies was also not a bad experience.

After she had her fill of wandering and sent off her clingy, almost-spirit-like little disciple, decades had already passed by the time An Ning returned to her space.

If asked what it felt like to be a "lofty master" for a lifetime, An Ning had only one thought at this moment.

A loss! Such a huge loss!

It wasn't about the top-grade spirit stones used for cultivation earlier. In fact, for each ordinary world, apart from the initial entry to gain some self-preservation ability, she rarely used the spirit stones from her space for subsequent cultivation unless absolutely necessary.

She mostly used the spirit jade from that world.

After all, even though her stockpile was large, who knew when the next trip to a cultivation world for resupply would be?

Moreover, although the original body's circumstances were unfortunate this lifetime, her innate talent was terrifyingly strong. An Ning estimated that if this were in a cultivation world, she would undoubtedly be a Heavenly Spirit Body—the kind fought over by major sects.

What truly caused her massive expenditure were the two divine miracles.

Especially the later ascension. The spiritual rain sounded impressive, but the amount of spirit stones wasted was simply heart-wrenching.

That said, casually receiving the plot line, An Ning didn't regret it.

From the very beginning, when she embarked on this path, she knew that the only road ahead was ascension.

Human desire is boundless, especially for those in power.

Without sufficient deterrence, forget about those helpless and destitute people in the Cunzhen Temple after she left; all those who received her legacy, not to mention themselves, their descendants would only bring endless future troubles.

And even herself, if she left the original body's remains behind...

Just thinking about the immortal body of a True Person who had attained the Dao, An Ning couldn't help but shake her head:

Human nature—it was better not to overestimate it too much.

Besides, although the original body's wish for this lifetime didn't include a requirement to "make a name" in the mortal world, An Ning pondered inwardly.

With such world-defying talent, to remain unknown for a lifetime, used as a substitute for a weak and useless man, could the original body truly have had no resentment in her heart?

It must be said, the title of Painting Sage, and the countless Sage temples across the world, with incense offerings passed down through generations—ahem, as a vain ghost, the feeling was actually quite nice!

Of course, the greatest harvest this lifetime was experiencing the original body's innate talent and spiritual energy firsthand, but what truly made her happy was:

The approximate progression of cultivation for a being with peerless talent, even at the small world's limit, within a world of minimal spiritual energy.

And her little disciple, building a foundation with swordsmanship, using ordinary medicine as a base, seeing how far he could go in such a world.

"These are all precious data! It's just..."

Glancing at her inventory, which had clearly shrunk by nearly one-tenth, An Ning couldn't help but sigh.

"Such methods can be used once, maybe twice, but not repeatedly."

Sigh, unless there was no other path, or without the original body's heaven-defying talent, it's better not to attempt this so-called "path to sainthood" too often.

One really can't afford the loss!

Taking another look at her little treasury, An Ning finally opened this world's plot line.

As she had guessed early on, the main storyline of this world was the revenge path of a peasant girl, and the female lead was indeed the original body's younger sister, Siya.

In the previous life, to silence witnesses, the Xiao family was actually the first to die. As for the original body, perhaps he truly couldn't bear to part with her, or for other reasons, it was announced that she had passed away, but she was secretly hidden away by that Wu Yang Marquis's young master.

As for Siya, she was first hidden by the quick-witted Third Prince and his wife, pretending to be a corpse pressed beneath them, and was coincidentally rescued by Third Miss Yang, who had returned to her hometown to observe mourning for her father and was equally obsessed with painting and calligraphy.

She later followed the other party to the capital, and ultimately, relying on her intelligence, entered the palace. Concealing her identity, she step by step became the Empress's personal maid-in-waiting, from which she thoroughly began her path of revenge.

The final result, naturally, was success.

After all, that family was too greedy. Even though, fearing exposure, they specifically used jealous people to cripple her hands, what about her poetic talent?

Moreover, Siya still had writings and paintings left by the original body from earlier years. Talent of this kind is often the hardest to conceal.

The only slight regret was that in the previous life, after many twists and turns, the original body actually came very close to being rescued by the clever and quick-witted Siya. What a pity...

The Wu Yang Marquis's young master was weak, but that Marchioness was no soft-hearted person. Sensing something amiss, she decisively ended the original body's life with a bowl of poisoned medicine.

What truly surprised An Ning was her own little disciple.

Actually, it wasn't that surprising!

In the previous life without her, Sima Rui was crowned crown prince at age seven by the current emperor despite strong opposition, and ascended the throne in his early thirties, though the cost was a mere ten years of life left.

A pot of poisoned wine caused both the emperor and crown prince to fall ill. Unfortunately, the crown prince, being younger and stronger, barely managed to survive.

After dealing with the group of princes who attempted patricide and fratricide to seize the throne, within half a month, this crown prince successfully ascended to the throne.

But in reality? The Third Prince's poisoning was real, but whether there was someone else's manipulation behind it—considering her disciple's heart full of schemes and plots.

How to put it, An Ning thought to herself, it's really... not surprising in the slightest!

Because the family members she cared about in this lifetime lived well, and perhaps also because of the "Painting Sage" title, the original body was also generous.

Satisfied, An Ning accepted the points and quickly pressed the button.