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“Sui An, why are you looking at me with that kind of expression?” Sui An’s gaze was full of pity, as if in her eyes, Yuan Nuannuan had become a pitiful person begging for the heavens’ protection but receiving no response. This reminded Yuan Nuannuan of her own family, putting her in a very bad mood. “If you keep looking at me like that, believe it or not, I’ll dig out your eyes.”
“I believe you. I’ll stop looking.” Sui An blinked and pushed her away with her hand. “Excuse me, please let me pass.”
“You…” Seeing Sui An ignore her, Yuan Nuannuan snorted coldly. “I won’t lose to you.”
Yuan Nuannuan had clearly sensed the change in Sui An. She had become much calmer and more serious than before, which made even her, at the early Foundation Establishment stage, feel a sense of pressure. Yuan Nuannuan didn’t want to lose. She looked around and decided to find another technique to cultivate as well.
Sui An flipped through a few books and decided to take two simple Wood-element techniques first: one for recovery and one for offense. However, Wood-element techniques were mostly for recovery. Even if there were offensive spells, their power couldn’t compare to the spells cast by other spiritual roots.
After selecting the two books, Sui An returned to her residence. The fish soup on the table had long since gone cold.
Sui An sent a sound transmission to a servant disciple, asking him to come and take the fish soup away, while she hid in her room to continue practicing the new techniques from the books she brought back.
The first book, a recovery-type technique, was extremely gentle. It only required mobilizing the spiritual energy from the Wood root to circulate throughout the body.
But as soon as Sui An began to mobilize the wood spiritual energy, her body started to ache faintly again, as if a cut had been made in her lower abdomen and something was constantly sucking through that small opening. The feeling would disappear as soon as she stopped.
Sui An opened her eyes. “This isn’t working, it hurts so much… I’d better try another one.”
The other book was an offensive spell, which had to be practiced in an open area. Sui An went outside to the backyard.
She felt uncertain, so she could only take a deep breath first to regulate her breathing before closing her eyes.
Sui An’s brows were tightly furrowed, and sweat beaded on her forehead.
Gradually, she bit her lip, refusing to let go. She forcefully formed a hand seal, mobilizing the spiritual energy in her body. She opened her eyes, raised her hand, and pointed at a nearby tree. The tree didn’t move at all, but Sui An spat out a mouthful of blood, which dripped onto her collar and slowly bloomed into a petal shape.
She felt all her strength drain away. She swayed and fell to the ground, her head dizzy and her ears ringing. As she closed her eyes, she thought she saw a pair of white boots with dark embroidered flowers appear. Before she could confirm, Sui An’s eyes closed.
Tan Yun stood quietly for a while.
She let Sui An lie on the ground. The cold wind from the high peak blew past, making her purple skirt flutter, accompanied by a helpless sigh.
Tan Yun squatted down, took out a pill, and fed it to Sui An’s lips. Her cold fingertips touched that warmth, like being scalded by boiling water. After feeding her the pill, she retracted her hand. “I hope you will know to retreat in the face of difficulties1.”
She stood up, turned, and left.
The sky gradually darkened. The nights at the main peak were considerably cold. If it weren’t for Sui An being at the tenth level of Qi Refinement, she would probably have frozen into an ice sculpture by now.
After an unknown amount of time, Sui An shivered and woke up.
She managed to prop herself up. “System, did someone come after I fainted?”
[The System does not know. If the Host faints, the System will enter a shutdown state. Meaning, it faints with the Host and perishes with the Host.]
“Ahem.” Sui An sat up, clutching her chest. “System, it seems I can’t cultivate even after changing techniques.”
[Host, the last sentence in the ancient text said that besides changing the technique, you might also have to change the cultivation method. The cultivation methods in the books you brought back all require absorbing spiritual energy from the surroundings. But that book that suddenly appeared requires cultivating with the essence of the sun and moon. Perhaps the Host can give it a try.]
“But this book… don’t you think it’s too strange?” Sui An was a little worried. “It appeared on my bed out of nowhere. I don’t know who gave it to me, or what their purpose is.”
[The System has scanned this book. It is not some evil technique. The Host currently has no better way to cultivate the Wood spiritual root. You might as well give it a try.]
Sui An hesitated.
[Host, the person who wants to kill you won’t wait until you’ve found a way to cultivate before they make their move.]
Sui An stood up. “Alright, I’ll try.”
Sui An returned to her room with stiff limbs. The spiritual energy in her body was a bit chaotic. She swallowed an Origin Recovery Pill and regulated her breathing for a moment. After calming down, she took out the grimy book from her storage ring and opened it.
She carefully read the introduction on the first page again. It indeed didn’t seem like any evil technique. But when Sui An turned the page again, it was completely blank.
“This… what’s going on?”
[Sentient treasures generally require a drop of blood to acknowledge a master. Host, try dripping a drop of blood on it.]
Sui An still had some dried blood on the corner of her lips. Too lazy to cut her finger, she just wiped her mouth and smeared it on the book.
The book turned into a ray of light and shot into her mind.
Sui An had no time to react. She sat down cross-legged, silently recited the Heart-Purifying Art, and after calming her mind, she felt the changes in her body. Memories that didn’t belong to her appeared in her mind.
It was the content of the technique.
She opened her eyes. “Yin-Yang Spirit Heart Art.”
This technique was divided into three layers. The first layer involved cultivating with the essence of the sun and moon to strengthen the spiritual root, making one’s wood spiritual power surpass that of ordinary people, achieving twice the result with half the effort in healing2. The second layer allowed one to derive various offensive methods from wood spiritual power. The third layer was to cultivate the Heart of the Wood Spirit, no longer needing to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, but being able to produce spiritual power on its own, achieving a truly endless and inexhaustible supply.
“What a powerful technique. This is almost at the Immortal rank, isn’t it?” Along with her shock, Sui An was puzzled. “Since this technique is so precious, why was it given to me?”
[As long as the Host becomes strong, no matter what that person’s ultimate goal is, it will naturally be defeated without a fight.]
Sui An nodded.
She walked to the doorway and looked up at the sky. The moon hung high, very bright and full. The moonlight shone down, making Sui An’s skin look even fairer, as if she were about to merge with the moonlight.
Sui An sat on the stone bench.
Following the incantation from the book, she began to absorb the essence of the moon. This time, Sui An felt very comfortable. The moonlight was soft, and it merged into her Wood spiritual root, causing the runes on it to shine brightly. A strong wind rose up, and the entire Shengtian Continent was swept by a sandstorm.
The dark sky suddenly lit up, illuminating the earth. The blue sky and white clouds were clearly visible.
Tan Yun walked out of her room and looked at the strange phenomenon in the sky. This light was fleeting and soon returned to calm.
But the people of the Shengtian Continent were thrown into a frenzy by this.
Tan Yun sighed softly. “I hope this phenomenon is a blessing and not a curse.”
At this moment, several Peak Masters and elders arrived, treading on the air. All were dressed in white, their robes fluttering in the wind, each exuding an air of righteousness.
They stood before Tan Yun and bowed one by one.
“Greetings, Sect Master.”
“There is no need for such formalities, Peak Masters.” Tan Yun raised a hand to stop them from bowing. “Regarding this phenomenon, what are your thoughts?”
“With this phenomenon, I fear there may be some commotion on the Shengtian Continent. Junior Sister… it’s best we unite with the other major sects to discuss how to prevent it,” Kong Yue said, still reeking of alcohol and slightly drunk.
“The major sects are not united in their opinions. If someone were to profit from this, it would only make matters worse,” another person said, glaring at Kong Yue. “Elder Kong, please drink less.”
“Heh heh!”
Kong Yue let out a drunken hiccup.
“That’s also true. Although our Demon Slaying Sect takes it upon ourselves to eliminate demons and defend the Dao, and naturally won’t profit from this, it doesn’t mean others will wholeheartedly maintain the balance of the Shengtian Continent.”
A young man clasped his hands and said, “Sect Master, in fact, it was recorded in the Library Pavilion’s ancient texts over five hundred years ago that a phenomenon occurred on the Shengtian Continent. But after that phenomenon ended, there seemed to be no abnormalities. I believe we can observe for a few more days before making a decision.”
Tan Yun lowered her eyes in thought. She seemed to have thought of something and glanced towards the Right Hall.
Seeing her hesitate, the others asked again, “Sect Master, what should we do?”
“Then we shall observe for a few more days.”
“Absolutely not!” A deep female voice echoed in the air. Everyone looked up to see a middle-aged woman with white hair and white robes slowly descending.
“Greetings, Grand Elder!”
The Grand Elder’s strength was on par with Tan Yun’s. She was the former Sect Master of the Demon Slaying Sect. Because she was half a step into the grave3, she had entered seclusion, not concerning herself with worldly affairs, focusing all her efforts on breaking through to the Soul Formation stage.
No one had expected her to come out of seclusion today.
“Dispense with the formalities.” She turned her gaze to Tan Yun.
Tan Yun lowered her head slightly.
“It has been many years, yet your cultivation has not progressed at all.” The moment they met, her first words were a reprimand.
Tan Yun remained silent.
Everyone else was silent.
Within the entire sect, not counting those who were away, most of the high-ranking members were present. The Grand Elder’s reprimand not only caused Tan Yun to lose face, but also made everyone else feel awkward.
They all knew that the Grand Elder was extremely dissatisfied with Tan Yun, all because the request for her to abdicate her position had come from the main sect4.
The Demon Slaying Sect was a branch of the Dao Xuan Sect in the Upper Realm.
Both Tan Yun and the Grand Elder came from the Upper Realm, but because the Dao Xuan Sect favored Tan Yun, they had forced the Grand Elder to hand over the branch sect she had worked so hard to build. It was only natural that she felt unwilling.
As for why Tan Yun came to the lower realm, no one dared to ask too many questions. Later, Tan Yun ascended and returned to the Upper Realm once, and the Grand Elder regained power. But after only a few years, Tan Yun returned to the lower realm again, not only with her cultivation damaged, but also with a baby girl in her arms. Everyone assumed it was Tan Yun’s daughter. Although she herself never admitted it, everyone tacitly agreed, which was why they were relatively lenient with Sui An.
Hearing the words, Kong Yue was instantly sobered. He took a step forward and hurriedly tried to smooth things over, “Perhaps Junior Sister has been too busy with daily affairs, which has delayed her cultivation.”
“Forget it.” The Grand Elder stood with her hands behind her back, exuding the air of an immortal. “Returning to the matter of this phenomenon. For it to appear twice within a thousand years, it is clear that something major is about to happen.”
“Then what should we do?”
The Grand Elder paced back and forth. “The Chan Dao Temple is famous for its ability to perceive the secrets of heaven. One of its Daoist monks, named Tianchanzi, is said to know the past and future five hundred years. Why not send someone over to ask?”
Kong Yue hesitated. “But… prying into the secrets of heaven shortens one’s lifespan. The Chan Dao Temple has explicit rules against unauthorized prying into heaven’s secrets. I’m afraid…”
The Grand Elder’s expression turned serious. “This concerns the fate of the entire Shengtian Continent. They do not have the luxury of being unwilling. If they refuse, then we will use force to compel them.”
Everyone looked at each other. Kong Yue said, “Doesn’t that mean we have to send a high-level cultivator?”
“I will go,” Tan Yun said with a sigh.
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Reika’s Notes:
- It seems our MC is from the Upper Realm. There must be a huge secret there!
- I can’t wait to read more.
- This text was translated by RudeGirl and given to BC Novels for publication.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!
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Glossary
Yin-Yang Spirit Heart Art (阴阳灵心诀, Yīnyáng Língxīn Jué): The name of the mysterious cultivation technique Sui An receives.
Peak Master (峰主, fēngzhǔ): The head of one of the individual peaks or divisions within a large sect.
Grand Elder (太上长老, Tàishàng Zhǎnglǎo): A title for a very senior elder, often a former sect master or a reclusive powerhouse who holds immense authority and respect. They usually only intervene in matters of great importance.
Dao Xuan Sect (道玄宗, Dàoxuán Zōng): The main sect in the Upper Realm, of which the Demon Slaying Sect is a branch.
Chan Dao Temple (禅道寺, Chándào Sì): A temple known for its ability to divine the future.
Tianchanzi (天禅子, Tiānchánzǐ): A powerful Daoist monk from the Chan Dao Temple.
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- Retreat in the face of difficulties (知难而退, zhī nán ér tuì): A Chinese idiom meaning to back down when one realizes a task is too difficult. Tan Yun hopes Sui An will give up on the difficult path of dual refinement.
- Twice the result with half the effort (事半功倍, shìbàn gōngbèi): A Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning to achieve a great deal with little effort, often due to using the right method.
- Half a step into the grave (半只脚快踏入棺材, bàn zhī jiǎo kuài tàrù guāncai): A colloquial and rather blunt way of saying someone is very old and close to death.
- Main sect (正主, zhèngzhǔ): A term that can mean “the rightful owner” or “the main party involved.” In this context, it refers to their parent sect or headquarters in the Upper Realm, the Dao Xuan Sect, who holds ultimate authority.