Speaking of this, she glanced at the big snake beside her. The big black snake had been driven out together with them by the ancestor. At this moment, it was hesitating with a corpse in its mouth, but it didn’t hesitate for long. Soon, it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the corpse whole.

　　Evelyn Foster: "…!"

　　She now had a reasonable suspicion that the reason the ancestor didn’t kill her just now was because he wanted to keep her alive to feed to the big snake tomorrow—killing her on the spot would be fresher.

Chapter 4

　　On the vast Three Saints Mountain, aside from an ancestor who killed at the slightest disagreement and a big black snake that ate people without blinking, there were no other living creatures in sight.

　　Only the ninety-nine members of the hundred-woman group remained, standing at the base of the tower. After a while, the leading female cultivator cleared her throat and said, “Let’s first find a place to settle down. Since the sect leader wants us to serve the grandmaster, we must stay here.”

　　“But, Aunt Grace Clark, we can’t use spiritual power here. We can’t cultivate in this place—what should we do?”

　　Grace Wood said resolutely, “If we can’t use spiritual power, then we won’t! If we can’t cultivate, then we won’t cultivate. Right now, the grandmaster is the most important.”

　　Most of the people here didn’t dare contradict her, but there were still some who were unwilling to follow her completely. “Senior Sister Grace Clark, although we’re here to serve the grandmaster, it seems… the grandmaster doesn’t want us to serve her. If we stay here, I’m afraid it’ll be pointless.” The female cultivator, who looked as cold and ethereal as an immortal, spoke.

　　She seemed to be the granddaughter of a palace master, with a status similar to Grace Wood. Each had their own supporters, and there were also several female cultivators from different factions. At this moment, everyone had their own thoughts, and before they knew it, the group that had been crowded together slowly split up, standing in separate clusters.

　　Evelyn Foster: "..." Seriously? We just got here, haven’t even escaped mortal danger yet, and you’re already about to start fighting?

　　Listening to their veiled words, one after another, Evelyn Foster actually felt as if she’d picked up the wrong script and ended up in a palace intrigue drama. Wait, aren’t we supposed to be cultivating immortality here?

　　The group of girls went back and forth for a while, and in the end, they split into three factions, each settling separately. One was the sect leader’s faction led by Grace Wood, another was the palace master’s faction led by Lillian Clark, and the last was made up of those unwilling to side with either, generally of lower status, banding together for support.

　　Originally, Evelyn Foster should have belonged to the last group, but no one wanted to include her, because everyone here was shrewd. Today, when meeting the grandmaster, two people had received ‘special attention’—one was already dead, an unknown figure, and as for Evelyn Foster, who knew if she was in a similar situation? Everyone just assumed she was different and naturally didn’t want to get involved with her, lest they be dragged down.

　　Watching as everyone else left, Evelyn Foster was left alone. She wasn’t worried, and simply walked over to the steps nearby and sat down, massaging her legs.

　　Oh my god, her legs were so sore. It was already afternoon. Evelyn Foster took out a storage pouch—this one was given to her by her master, Daoist Dongyang, a must-have portable storage space for cultivators, according to legend. Of course, hers was of average quality and couldn’t hold much; inside was only about the size of a single room, and she’d packed all her belongings in it.

　　She took out a pot of water, washed her hands first, then took out a mirror to check her face, wiped off the blood that had accidentally splattered on her, tidied her slightly messy hair, rinsed her mouth, drank some water, and then took out a peach to munch on and fill her stomach. She was still in the Qi Refining stage, hadn’t even built her foundation yet, so of course she couldn’t live without food.

　　Her body must have belonged to a poor person, with not much wealth, but the Qinggu Tian she was from specialized in growing spiritual plants and fruits, so she never lacked food. She’d brought plenty with her this time, and by the looks of it, she wouldn’t starve for at least a year or so.

　　If she could survive that long, that is.

　　Like everyone else, Evelyn Foster also felt she probably wouldn’t live much longer. But she wasn’t originally from this world—if she died, maybe she’d go back, so to be honest, she wasn’t terribly afraid of death. What she feared was pain. Death wasn’t scary; it was the pain that came with dying that was truly terrifying.

　　No one paid her any attention, so Evelyn Foster actually felt a bit more at ease. She walked out of the shadowy area around the central tower and found a spot where the sun shone—a rooftop of a building. It was quiet here, no one else came, and the sunlight was perfect, making it ideal for a nap.

　　She was used to taking a nap every day; without one, she always felt her mind was a bit foggy.

　　After changing out of her bloodstained dress, Evelyn Foster set up a couch and a small table, lay down, and found the sun too glaring, so she took out a sleep mask. The mask was made from the leaf of a certain spiritual plant, given to her by a senior brother from Qinggu Tian. The shape was just right, and with a string tied on, it worked perfectly as a sleep mask. Plus, it felt cool on the eyes and blocked out the light well.

　　After lying down for a while, she felt thirsty. Basking lazily in the sun, Evelyn Foster couldn’t even be bothered to take off her sleep mask, and just reached into her storage pouch for a drink—bamboo sap produced in Qinggu Tian, sweet and refreshing, clearing heat and detoxifying. She took a sip, let out a comfortable sigh, and set the rest on the little table beside her.

　　While Evelyn Foster was catching up on her nap atop a remote palace building, the others were all gathered together, discussing their current situation, each face heavy with worry and concern.