She was a stone, lying quietly beside a mountain.
For countless millennia, mortals toiled, birds and beasts thrived, cultivators fought, and mountains and rivers changed. All of it flowed quietly before her eyes. She had seen so much that she could naturally let anything go.
When the heavens changed, she took human form.
She had assumed she was simply an unusual stone. After all, she understood all things, had extraordinary insight, and cultivated as easily as drinking water. But the farther she traveled, the less she could explain where she had come from.
A young girl named Yin'er stayed by her side. Born a mortal, she had a pair of clever hands and could turn the principles her elder sister casually spoke of into real things.
When the girl returned home from searching for medicine, the sisters found themselves at odds over the road ahead. In the middle of their argument, she blurted out:
"You were a stone to begin with, Elder Sister. How could you understand what it feels like to be someone's child?"
The girl chose to stay and protect her family, facing the enemies who came to her door alone. As she lay on the brink of death, only one fierce thought remained in her heart: I don't want to disappear just yet!
The Lingxi Ring caught hold of her obsession and sealed away a wisp of her remnant soul.
Rong Zhen could have let nature take its course, but she sensed that Yin'er still wanted to live.
So she set out to find a way to restore her soul.
After a hundred years on the road, Yin'er slept inside the Lingxi Ring, witnessing her elder sister's long journey.
This quest to find a soul was also a path of cultivation, one on which she continually examined her own heart. As for what she truly was, she would have to travel farther to find out.
Reading note: A cool-headed female lead, no CP. Male characters appear and have brief interactions with her, but her nature makes it difficult for her to return romantic feelings. This is not a romance cultivation story. The main plot follows the search for a soul and an inquiry into one's true nature, with no forced tearjerking.
