Qin Shi froze, then after a long while, she let out a soft sigh, "No wonder... you wanted to know my relationship with her. It turns out, you actually know the Nine Lives Technique."

As Qin Shi spoke, she looked at Chu Mo and said, "I would have never imagined that you are actually my senior brother."

"Cough cough..." Chu Mo looked at Qin Shi with a face full of surprise.

Qin Shi continued, "Many years ago, she had a brief marriage... that was in name only. Her ancestors owed the Qin family a favor, promising to marry one of their descendants to a legitimate son of the Qin family. Later, the Qin family came to propose. At that time, the Meng family had only Meng Fanghua left as a legitimate daughter. Actually, by that time, the Meng family had few members left, but they still retained their heritage. For the people of that era, when the legitimate son of the Qin family married the daughter of the Meng family, it was seen as the Meng family marrying above their station..."

Chu Mo fell silent, recalling the exquisitely beautiful woman with closed eyes in the Ruins of Return, thinking to himself, who would have thought such a stunningly talented Drifting Empress would also have had such an innocent past.

Qin Shi went on to say, "Back then, Senior Meng Fanghua was already a brilliantly talented and top-tier Heavenly Genius. Her realm at the time was likely that of a true immortal, while that legitimate son of the Qin family was at the Emperor Realm." Qin Shi looked at Chu Mo and said with a light smile, "It looks like it should've been quite a wonderful marriage match, doesn't it?"

Chu Mo nodded. Indeed, a true immortal marrying an Emperor Realm, from the perspective of outsiders, it really seemed like a perfect marriage.

"But in reality, it was not so. Senior Meng Fanghua had a strong personality. Although she complied with her ancestor's will and married into the Qin family, her heart was set on the path of cultivation, with no thoughts of marital ********. The legitimate son of the Qin family was also a person of outstanding talent and high integrity. He didn't force her into anything and even gave her a lot of help. So, three years later, when Senior Meng Fanghua left the Qin family, that marriage ended. But out of gratitude for the help and the final release provided by that legitimate son of the Qin family, she returned to the Qin family years later, after stepping onto the supreme path. She met with that Qin family son who was still at the Emperor Realm, left behind a memento, and then left."

Chu Mo said, "That memento... Is it that supreme dharma instrument?"

Qin Shi nodded, "Indeed, it is the Heavenly Tribulation Seal, which she forged from supreme Heavenly Tribulation, wielding terrifyingly immense power. It was also her personal dharma instrument. She gave it to her former husband as a way to repay the favor. She also sealed all her cultivation methods within the Heavenly Tribulation Seal, which allowed one descendant of the Qin family to become her disciple and learn her cultivation methods. But it was only allowed for one person!"

The word of a supreme figure was law. No one dared to defy that.

"However, besides the former husband of Senior Meng Fanghua, no one else knew of this. That legitimate son of the Qin family also hadn't mentioned it to anyone else," Qin Shi said indifferently. "The main reason the Qin family avoids mentioning Meng Fanghua is due to their fear of provoking her, while also having misgivings in their hearts. They feel that although she was supposed to be a Qin family wife, she did not abide by the principles expected of a wife... Thus, her name is considered taboo in the Qin family."

Chu Mo helplessly shrugged his shoulders, unable to comment on such matters. He could only say that it's someone else's business.

Qin Shi looked up at Chu Mo, "That legitimate son of the Qin family is my ancestor! He later married two wives, and I am a descendant of the principal wife's lineage. However, my ancestor has been gone from the Qin family for many years, said to have gone in search of the supreme path. Actually, no one from the younger generation of the entire Qin family has ever seen him."

"What about this Heavenly Tribulation Mark?" Chu Mo looked at Qin Shi.

Qin Shi said, "The Heavenly Tribulation Mark appeared in a dream I had one night before my last mishap. It was later that I realized it was a warning from an ancestor, but at the time, I didn't grasp its significance." She sighed, "In my dream, I saw that ancestor. He told me to go to a place, how to get in, and then to take something from inside. He also told me to always carry it on my person, and that I could take it out when in danger. In that small world, I didn't have a chance to retrieve it before I was betrayed by Luo Ning. Even if I had the time, I probably wouldn't have thought of it, as I had no idea what it was and had never opened it to look. If it weren't for meeting you, I might have vanished from this world by now."

Chu Mo felt a twinge of regret and smiled at Qin Shi, "It's all in the past now."

"Yes..." Qin Shi let out a soft sigh and then said, "Later, in the Spirit Realm, with more time on my hands, I was rummaging through my storage ring. It had a lot of my things from before, all in disorder..."

Chu Mo started to laugh.

Qin Shi's cheeks reddened, "What's so funny? Does a girl have to be tidy?" Saying this, she also felt a bit sheepish and couldn't help but laugh, and then she continued, "In the corner, I found that sealed box. After opening it, I realized what I had missed all these years. Inside was a letter from my ancestor, and this Heavenly Tribulation Mark. Through the letter, I learned about the cause and effect of the events and began to assimilate the Heavenly Tribulation Mark. It really wasn't so much assimilation, just a process of acknowledgment. Though it wasn't easy, I got through it. The good part is, I might be like you, immune to Heavenly Tribulation from now on!"

Chu Mo bitterly smiled, "You've even assimilated a dharma instrument formed from the supreme Heavenly Tribulation; what is there left to fear?"

Qin Shi said, "However, I've been hesitant about whether to learn the techniques from the Heavenly Tribulation Mark. I've only mentioned this briefly to Dong Yu. Once I learn them, it means I would officially become a disciple of the once renowned Drifting Empress. I'm not afraid of anything else... just afraid of bringing shame to her name. Moreover, inside the Heavenly Tribulation Mark, there's also a strand of her divine sense, which promised to help me with one thing."

Chu Mo looked at Qin Shi, "So, in the battle at the Illusion Sect with Elder Qiu, it was actually the Drifting senior who intervened for you?"

Qin Shi nodded, "Otherwise, how could a cultivator like myself who just entered the Spirit Refining stage stand a chance against a cultivator in the Emperor Realm? How could I possibly defeat him? Even if I could activate the Heavenly Tribulation Mark, he had a supreme dharma instrument too! Only with the Master's intervention was it possible to suppress Elder Qiu so effortlessly, and the supreme dharma instrument as well. Otherwise, how could that supreme instrument have been defeated so easily?"

Chu Mo, recalling the events of that day, finally understood the whole story, and couldn't help but remark, "No wonder you were so confident at the time, no wonder the supreme instrument in Elder Qiu's hands was suppressed so easily. It was Master Piaoling who took action." He looked at Qin Shi, "Does that mean you've now officially become a direct disciple of Master Piaoling?"

Qin Shi nodded, "That's why I called you Senior Brother, because Master said she had taught you the Nine Lives Technique many years ago."

Chu Mo laughed, "Strictly speaking, you're the direct disciple, and I'm just a student of the Drifting senior."

"Regardless, you're still my Senior Brother, that's something that won't change." Qin Shi's beautiful eyes lingered on Chu Mo, "You're not going to despise having a junior sister like me and think I'm a disgrace to you, are you?"

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