I am Aria, the one with the purest bloodline in the Celestial Clan. Yet on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, the sacred beast I had nourished with my own essence since childhood denounced me as impure and unfit to lead. Desperate to prove myself, I attempted to transform into my true form, only to become an ugly black serpent. Meanwhile, Rose, the servant girl I had taken in as an adopted sister, revealed herself to be able to transform into the majestic form of our clan. The sacred beast bowed at Rose’s feet, sneering at me with disdain. My father, enraged, disowned me on the spot. And Blake, my childhood sweetheart and fiancé, berated me: “How dare a lowly black snake try to impersonate our heiress!” I was scorned by thousands and exiled from the clan. Driven out, I ultimately perished in a horde of wild beasts. After death, I watched as Rose assumed my identity, married my fiancé, and became the revered heiress of the clan. Given a second chance at life, I returned to the day of my coming-of-age ceremony.
“Heiress, hurry up and draw your blood!” The pain of being trampled by countless beasts still made me shudder. But when I opened my eyes, I found myself back in my chambers. The sacred beast’s attendant held out a porcelain bowl containing a dagger, glaring at me impatiently. I felt disoriented. Until Jade, my handmaid, gently reminded me: “My lady, the ceremony begins in two hours.” “The sacred beast needs to partake of your essence before the ritual.” I suddenly snapped back to reality. This was amazing – I had truly returned to the day of the ceremony! “No!” I shouted, snatching the dagger and throwing it to the ground. “What sacred beast?” “It’s nothing but a parasitic bloodsucker!” The attendant flew into a rage. “How dare you! The sacred beast is our clan’s divine protector.” “As the heiress, it’s your duty to nourish it. How can you speak so disrespectfully?” I let out a cold laugh. The sacred beast was a small golden dragon. It had hatched on the day of my birth and was chosen as the clan’s divine guardian. Legend said it could protect our clan’s fortunes. But the beast was weak and could only survive by feeding daily on the heiress’s essence. In my past life, I had cut my wrist every day to feed it. I gave not just my blood, but a portion of the power I had worked so hard to cultivate each day. Yet despite all that, it had betrayed me! I was the heiress with the purest bloodline. My mother was the previous heiress of the Western Seas, my father the king of the Eastern Seas. But on the day of my ceremony, the sacred beast had denounced my bloodline as impure, causing me to fall from grace. Why should I show any courtesy to such an ungrateful creature? “Disrespectful?” I picked up the dagger from the ground and coldly stared at the attendant. “You talentless sycophant, you only have your current status because you serve the sacred beast.” “What right do you have to lecture me?” “Get out!” “If you dare speak to me like that again, I’ll have you executed on the spot!” The attendant fell to his knees, terrified. He wanted to argue but couldn’t get a word out. Just then, a gentle voice drifted in: “The attendant is only doing his duty, sister. Why are you so angry with him?” I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms. A graceful figure appeared before me. It was Rose. The mastermind who had stolen my identity in my past life! At this moment, Rose was smiling sweetly as she helped the attendant up, speaking to him in a soft, soothing voice. Then she looked up at me, her eyes alluring. She spoke in a considerate tone: “Sister, you shouldn’t be so hard on the servants.” “It will only invite gossip if word gets out.” I laughed coldly inside and retorted: “If I really enjoyed bullying servants, I wouldn’t have allowed you to manipulate things behind my back all this time.” Rose’s smile froze. She wasn’t of our clan’s bloodline, and had once been nothing more than a lowly servant girl. Later, she saved my father’s life and was adopted as his daughter. Suddenly elevated in status, she became the clan’s second princess, with a reputation for being kind and magnanimous. Yet she secretly had all the servants who knew of her past killed. Rose’s expression twisted for a moment before quickly returning to normal. She smiled and said: “Sister, you should draw your blood soon. Don’t make things difficult for the attendant.” She held out the dagger to me. I sensed something was off. In my past life, before the ceremony, Rose had been as meek as a mouse, never daring to challenge me. Now she was repeatedly provoking me. And she seemed oddly insistent on me drawing blood for the sacred beast. Could this be related to why I had transformed into an ugly black serpent in my past life? I made a mental note to be cautious. Pretending to be reluctant, I took the dagger and coldly stared at Rose and the attendant. “What? Are you going to watch me draw blood?” Rose and the attendant had no choice but to leave the room. I turned to my handmaid Jade and whispered: “Jade, do exactly as I say.” Half an hour later, a bowl of blood was handed to the sacred beast’s attendant. The blood was golden, infused with my spiritual essence and power. Pressing the wound on my wrist, I snapped impatiently: “Now get out!” The two finally left. As they were leaving, thinking I was out of earshot, Rose muttered: “Enjoy it while you can!” “When you turn into an ugly black snake, heh…” I was shocked. So Rose had been reborn as well. Realizing this, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. For countless years, I had diligently cultivated my powers, never slacking off or harboring ill intentions. But why? After suffering such an unjust fate and tragic death in my past life, I had finally been given a second chance. Yet my enemy had been reborn as well. Was the heavens truly so unfair?
I had no time to dwell on it. Jade and the other maids helped me get dressed and ready, putting on my ceremonial armor and headdress as I walked step by step towards the sacred altar. My father sat upon his high throne, looking down at everyone. The clan members surrounding the altar cheered for me, their voices mixing with the drumbeats in a deafening roar. I gazed at it all impassively. Though our clan was said to be the mightiest of the six realms, filled with talented individuals and seemingly prosperous, the royal family knew the truth. Among all these powerful clan members, not a single one could transform into our clan’s true form to inherit the throne. Then on the day of my birth, the clan’s seer had a prophecy. I, Aria, was the only descendant in countless years who could manifest our clan’s true form! Only I could lead our clan to glory! But in my past life, I had transformed into an ugly black serpent before everyone’s eyes, shattering all their dreams of a mighty clan. The clan members’ expectations for me had all turned to fury. Even those who had once been close to me couldn’t wait for me to die! “Aria, you look beautiful today.” Blake waved his hand in front of me, smiling. “I think after your ceremony is over, we should announce our engagement.” The people around us exclaimed in admiration: “Blake is the talented prince of the Western Seas, with countless admirers. Yet he fell in love with the heiress at first sight and has remained faithful to her.” “I heard Blake and the heiress grew up together. They’re a match made in heaven.” “When will I find a true love like that?” … I had to force myself not to sneer. I looked up at Blake’s gentle smile, wanting nothing more than to slap it off his face. Once, I too had believed it was true love. Blake and I had grown up together. He went from being like an older brother, to my teacher, and finally my lover when we fell for each other. How could centuries of affection change? But in my past life, when I was denounced by thousands, Blake had been the first to publicly betray me. He had said: “How dare a lowly black snake try to impersonate our heiress!” When I was exiled from the clan, it took less than three days for him to announce his engagement to Rose. All that talk of childhood sweethearts and true love… It was nothing but a product of his ambition and greed. I nodded: “Alright. I hope you won’t regret it.” Blake immediately swore: “How could I ever regret it?” “My love for you is as true as the heavens above!” “If I ever change my heart, may 49 bolts of divine lightning strike me down and obliterate my soul.” My disgust for him grew even stronger. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Rose’s face twisted with jealousy. I couldn’t help but laugh coldly inside. I remembered how in my past life, after I died, I had seen Blake’s portrait in Rose’s room. Only then did I realize she had long harbored feelings for my fiancé. The crowd soon fell silent. As the ceremonial music began to play, the atmosphere grew solemn. All eyes were on me. The ceremony was about to begin! My father descended from his throne step by step. In his hands he held the crown that belonged only to our clan’s royal family. His gaze as he looked at me was utterly calm. “Aria, as the heiress, it is your duty to sacrifice everything for the clan’s greater good.” I didn’t react with tears of joy like I had in my past life. I simply lowered my gaze to avoid his eyes. Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly rang out: “Wait!” Everyone looked up. The golden sacred beast was coiled around the ceremonial pillar, its gaze fierce and its scales gleaming. The clan members all knelt down. “We pay our respects to the sacred beast.” The sacred beast looked down at me arrogantly from its high perch: “Aria’s bloodline is impure. She is unfit to lead.” “The crown cannot be given to her!”
The clan members were shocked: “What?!” My father frowned deeply and lowered the crown. Blake looked stunned and hesitant. But Rose couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips. The clan’s seer was the first to object: “Impossible!” “I witnessed the heiress’s birth with my own eyes. Her mother is from the Western Seas royal family and her father is our current king. Her lineage couldn’t be more noble.” “You can’t make such baseless accusations!” The sacred beast snorted coldly: “Seer, you once prophesied that the heiress was the only descendant in centuries who could manifest our clan’s true form.” “If that’s the case, she should be able to prove her innocence by transforming right now.” “Why don’t we have her demonstrate her true form in front of everyone?” “Or is she too afraid to try?” All eyes turned to me. I let out a small sigh: What was meant to happen would happen eventually! My father snorted: “Aria, what do you say?” I didn’t refuse. I slowly raised my hand, golden energy immediately enveloping me. The seer shouted excitedly: “You see? How could there be any mistake?” But in an instant, the energy dissipated. Just like in my past life, I had transformed into an ugly little black snake, surrounded by pitiful wisps of energy as I flopped around on the ground. The seer coughed up a mouthful of blood: “How is this possible?!” The sacred beast looked smug: “Do you believe me now, seer?” Then it shook its head in feigned regret: “As the clan’s divine guardian, I absolutely cannot cover up for an imposter.” “Moreover, only an heiress who can manifest our true form is the hope for our clan’s future.” “Seer, surely you don’t intend to go against the entire clan by insisting on protecting this fake?” Staring at my ugly transformed state, the seer was dumbstruck. For the first time, he began to doubt his own prophecy, muttering: “No, this can’t be right.” Then, as if struck by a thought, he looked up and stared hard at the sacred beast: “As our divine guardian, you need the heiress’s essence to survive. If Aria isn’t the true heiress, how have you managed to live all this time?” The sacred beast sneered: “Of course Aria isn’t the real heiress.” “But I’ve survived to this day because the true heiress is someone else.” It slowly descended from the pillar, its body prostrating at Rose’s feet, its eyes filled with unprecedented tenderness. “She is the true heiress!” As soon as the words left its mouth, Rose’s entire body began to glow with a dazzling light. “Ah!” In an instant, brilliant golden scales covered her entire body. A thunderous roar shook the heavens! An enormous golden dragon coiled in the sky above. Its body was so massive it nearly blotted out the sun. The clan elders were almost moved to tears: “Though I’ve only seen it in ancient texts, there’s no mistaking it!” “This is our clan’s true form!” “To think Rose was our clan’s hope all along!” Rose looked down at me with utter disdain: “Aria, you’re nothing but an ugly black snake, yet you’ve occupied the position of heiress for centuries, enjoying the clan’s reverence for nothing.” “Now, I’ll eliminate you, you mongrel!” She lunged at me ferociously. The clan members scrambled backwards in fear, leaving me alone in an empty circle. Her dragon breath engulfed me. I had nowhere to escape. The black snake’s flesh rapidly dissolved, leaving nothing but bare bones – a pitiful and horrifying sight. The familiar pain washed over me. This pain was even worse than being trampled by beasts. It made me want to end my own life just to escape it. But even in such agony, I simply closed my eyes. Rose gloated: “Have you given up struggling?” I shook my head and spoke softly: “Rose, your methods are still so crude.” “I know exactly what trick you used to turn me into a black snake.” Rose’s triumphant smile froze on her face. “What?” [To be continued…]
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