I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai'd Into a Game-Chapter 209: The Sleeping Girl Awakens

Near midnight.

The room was quiet, save for the faint hum of the city’s nightlife beyond the hotel’s walls.

The muffled rhythm of car horns, the distant thrum of bass-heavy music, and the occasional laughter from the streets below seeped through the curtains. Yet inside, the atmosphere was still—tense, even.

Xu Tao—the only other person in the room besides Uriel—sat by Henrietta’s bedside, arms folded, gaze steady. His posture was relaxed, but his senses were sharp, sweeping across every corner of the room as naturally as breathing.

Henrietta lay beneath the sheets, face pale against the soft glow of the bedside lamp. Her breathing was calm, but not peaceful. Something in her seemed... unsettled.

Even in sleep, faint ripples of energy stirred from her body, pricking at Xu Tao’s divine sense like invisible needles.

Of course, it wasn’t something that should be unexpected. Broadly speaking, a cultivator’s body was always active, even in moments of rest. Natural Qi flowed like blood, after all, never truly still.

But this was different. Her Qi shifted and surged like restless tides, as though some unseen current was stirring her from within. Xu Tao’s gaze hardened.

He had seen this before.

Suddenly, the room’s door swung open with a muted creak.

From outside, two figures slipped in, each carrying a tray of food balanced carefully in their hands. The rich aroma of rice and fried meats followed them in, briefly chasing away the heaviness of the room.

"Still asleep?" Jehanne asked carefully, lowering her voice as if afraid even a whisper might shatter the fragile silence.

"For now." Xu Tao’s tone was calm, but his eyes narrowed as he continued to study Henrietta’s expression. "Her body is stable, but her spirit is... struggling. It should stabilize soon, but if she cannot do it on her own, then I might have to do it myself."

Jehanne exchanged a worried glance with Zetian, who, after setting her tray down, leaned casually against the wall. She snapped open her folding fan with a soft clack, covering her lips as she smiled faintly.

"Naturally," Zetian said.

"She used a forbidden technique without practice and even let an Evil Spirit burrow into her mind. Even if it’s gone, fragments of its memory will remain. Dreams, whispers, instincts not her own—she’ll have to fight those off herself."

The words, delivered so lightly, landed like stones in water.

Jehanne paled slightly, her hands tightening around her sleeves. "Isn’t there anything we can do?"

Xu Tao’s answer was silence. His steady expression betrayed no doubt, yet the weight of it pressed into the air.

He already knew the truth: memories could be sealed, burned, rewritten... But traces always lingered. Henrietta would either suppress them with her own strength—or be consumed by them. There was no middle path.

Uriel, seated at the table, quietly unfolded her utensils. The faint clink of porcelain was the only sound until—

"Hngg..."

A faint groan broke the silence.

Henrietta’s fingers twitched, pale knuckles brushing against the sheets. Her eyelids fluttered before finally opening, lashes trembling like wings in the dark.

"...Where...?" Her voice was hoarse, as though she had been shouting endlessly inside her dreams. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Henrietta!"

Jehanne nearly dropped her tray as she rushed forward, only to stop short when Henrietta’s eyes glowed faintly—just for an instant—like shards of crimson light flashing in the depths. The glow vanished almost immediately, but the impression it left chilled the room.

"Easy..."

Uriel appeared at her side in an instant, her hand hovering protectively over Henrietta’s shoulder. Her movements were sharp, almost instinctive. "Don’t move too much all of a sudden, or you might pass out again."

Henrietta blinked, confusion swimming in her gaze. The world around her seemed blurred, the voices distant. A sharp throb pulsed at her temples, phantom echoes of something not her own.

After taking a sharp breath of air, she gently whispered. "I... I’m scared..." Voice almost fragile, trembling, like it would vanish into the wind if they don’t do anything.

"I... remember... things that I shouldn’t." Her eyes flickered with worry.

She pressed a hand against her temple, trying to steady herself. "Shadows outstretched... binding chains... screams that aren’t mine..."

The emotions within her words were heart wrenching—almost bordering insanity. Jehanne bit her lip, eyes soft with worry.

She could understand.

Those weren’t Henrietta’s memories, but they belonged to someone—or something—all the same.

Xu Tao finally stepped closer, his presence steady and unshakable.

His eyes locked on hers, firm as stone.

"Ignore them. They’re remnants of the Blazing Wrath Fiend you fought. You are Henrietta, my disciple. No more, no less." He said. "Mere memories, phantoms of the past, shouldn’t be able to bother you, am I right?"

Henrietta’s lips parted, trembling. "...Master..."

She lowered her hand slowly, as though releasing a weight too heavy to carry. The pain in her chest didn’t fade, but her master’s words pressed against the fear like medicine, dulling its edge... ushering in a slight calm.

Transient relief washed through her, but it didn’t last long.

As she shifted upright, a sudden burst of power flared from her body—raw and uncontrolled. The air cracked with pressure. The table beside the bed rattled violently, glasses nearly toppling over. Curtains snapped against the windows as though caught in a storm.

"Ritta...!" Uriel gasped, wings flexing in shock.

She was raising both her arms, protecting her face against the strong gust of wind pushing her away.

"I—I didn’t do that!"

Henrietta’s voice cracked with panic.

Without a moment’s delay, she tried to suppress it. She clutched her hands together tightly, but the energy only surged harder, like a river forcing itself past a broken dam. Waves of Qi pulsed outward, invisible but heavy, pressing against the walls and pushing the others back as if trying to drive them out.

"Henrietta!" Jehanne called helplessly, similarly busy shielding her face from the gale.

Henrietta’s eyes went wide with fear, her expression distraught. Teeth clattering in a mix of panic and dread. She didn’t know what to do. She had no way to stop it.

Until—

Tap.

Xu Tao’s palm pressed firmly against her shoulder.

His hand was steady, immovable. His presence is as solid as a tall mountain, standing tall against even the strongest storms.

"Your strength has rapidly changed, so it’s no surprise," he said, smiling as if to reassure her. "This wave will not recede so simply, but it’s nothing too bad. That Evil Spirit simply forced open doors in your body you can no longer close."

A faint light of his own Qi flowed into her, calm yet overwhelming, pressing her storm back into stillness.

WHOOSH!

The rampage subsided little by little. The room’s pressure faded like a storm cloud breaking apart after the rain.

"... Looks like you’ll need training just to keep your strength in check," he remarked lightly, though his eyes betrayed no levity. "Luckily, I still have some time before my next move. I’ll help you train until then."

He had the time and resources, so it was wise to offer her guidance—even if it’s just once in a while. But Uriel immediately bristled, her glare sharp.

"Master would burden her with training in this state? She can barely think straight!"

"Hmm?" Xu Tao met her eyes without flinching. "Which is why she must train now. Sooner, not later. If she cannot control this power, it will consume her without question."

Uriel’s brow furrowed, teeth clenched. "And what if training breaks her even faster? What she needs is rest—time to recover her body and spirit before you push her again!"

The air tightened between them. Xu Tao’s unyielding calm against Uriel’s burning defiance, like iron clashing against flame.

Meanwhile, Henrietta sat frozen, breathing hard.

Her hands pressed tightly against her chest, where Xu Tao’s lingering Qi pulsed beneath her skin—warm, heavy, and frightening. Xu Tao’s suppression steadied her rampaging energy, but she knew it was still there inside her, waiting to break free again.

Part of her longed to rest, to hide under the sheets and pretend it wasn’t real.

But another part—the part that remembered chains, screams, and that endless darkness—told her she couldn’t wait.

Her lips pressed together, pale but resolved.

"...Then I’ll train," she whispered.

Both Xu Tao and Uriel turned toward her.

Henrietta’s voice was shaky, but her eyes—though fragile—held an unmistakable resolve.

"I can’t... live like this. Not knowing when it’ll spill out. Even if it hurts, even if I suffer, I’ll endure. I don’t want to... lose myself. I don’t want to remain weak."

Uriel’s breath caught, her protest dissolving.

For a moment, she simply stared, then lowered her gaze, silent. Xu Tao, however, allowed a faint smile to curve his lips. He nodded once, approvingly.

"Good," he said, his voice like steel striking stone. "For someone who’s my disciple, that’s the right choice."

Henrietta exhaled shakily, her hands still trembling, but her resolve did not waver. She had awakened scarred and unstable, yet was still unwilling to surrender.

Her training to control her newfound power was just about to begin.