Chapter 7: The Remnant Soul of the Jade Hairpin (Please bookmark and follow)

The moment spiritual energy entered her body, Shao Heng discovered she possessed the ability of internal vision.

In her spare time, she had relied on her photographic memory to memorize many medical texts, so she was no stranger to meridians and acupoints, quickly mapping them out one by one.

She watched as streams of spiritual energy flowed through her meridians, washing and scouring each acupoint as they surged forward. At the same time, the spiritual energy was continuously condensed into flocculent clusters, and by the time it fell into the sea of energy—the dantian—in her abdomen, it had transformed into pure white droplets.

Comfortable, incredibly comfortable!

Shao Heng’s meridians were tough and wide; the circulation and scouring of the spiritual energy brought not a hint of pain, but rather an indescribable, pleasurable sensation that spread throughout her entire body.

Moreover, Shao Heng could clearly perceive the increase in her strength. In such a short time, it had already far surpassed what she had gained from years of practicing martial arts in the past.

She focused her mind to observe her dantian. The liquid mana was spinning at high speed, and something new was being born in the center of the vortex.

When this object fully condensed and all the mana droplets merged into it, a sharp pain spread throughout her body. Shao Heng endured the agony, guessing that this was the "cleansing of marrow and cutting of tendons" that occurred after successfully drawing energy into the body, as recorded in the jade tablet.

This bout of pain passed quickly, lasting only a few breaths.

Only then did Shao Heng spare the mental energy to observe the situation in her dantian.

In the very center lay something like a seed—pure white, oval-shaped, with a smooth, glossy surface.

This was the Yellow Bud.

The human body is the tripod, the dantian is the furnace fire, and the Yellow Bud is calcined to create fortune.

As she cultivated her techniques in the future, both her mana and the Yellow Bud would change accordingly.

But even though this should have been the Yellow Bud’s most initial and pure state, Shao Heng felt that something was not quite right.

"Is there something hidden inside my Yellow Bud?"

As her thoughts shifted, the Yellow Bud trembled until it expelled a cyan-gold rune that seemed naturally formed and felt incredibly intimate to Shao Heng.

The rune was fluid and natural, somewhat resembling ancient seal script, but its overall shape leaned more toward that of a tree.

Although it was tiny, it gave one the feeling of gazing upon a towering, ancient tree.

Shao Heng opened her eyes, filled with confusion.

She subconsciously channeled the tree-shaped rune; it was almost like an instinct.

In an instant, it drained the furnace of mana within the Yellow Bud, condensing a small drop of emerald liquid at the tip of her finger.

"What on earth is this? But... it smells so good?"

Shao Heng licked her lips, pondered for a moment, and simply fed the drop of liquid into her mouth.

*Slurp.*

Self-produced and self-consumed.

Although she knew nothing about this rune, the sense of intimacy in her heart was not fake; it was as easy to use as her own arm. She chose to trust her intuition—this was not a bad thing.

Assuming this thing were truly harmful, there were several elders on this spirit boat; if she called for help in time, she likely wouldn't lose her life.

As the droplet slid down her throat, it made Shao Heng feel refreshed all over, strangely similar to the sensation after the cleansing of her marrow and tendons.

Just as she was feeling puzzled, another anomaly occurred in her dantian.

Suddenly, large patches of gray mist appeared out of thin air within the sea of energy.

These mists were rapidly collapsing, eventually condensing into an oval-shaped cocoon, which hovered alongside the tree-shaped rune near the Yellow Bud.

The nature of this object was unknown, but Shao Heng could still feel that it was of the same type as the cyan-gold rune. Although there was a sense of connection, it did not possess the inseparable intimacy she felt with the latter.

Her pupils constricted sharply as she recalled the feeling of an extra foreign object in her body when the "Voice of God" had emitted a shattering sound.

"This little gray cocoon... is it what that Voice of God brought me?!"

"Could the physical discomfort I felt at the time have been this cyan-gold rune fighting with the gray cocoon?"

Sensing her thoughts, the cyan-gold rune sent a series of fluctuations toward her.

These fluctuations were full of affection, yet mixed with a hint of grievance, demonstrating its astonishing spirituality.

Shao Heng felt as if this rune were her own little cub, having been bullied outside, now twisting its bottom and whimpering as it acted spoiled and complained to her—and the object of its complaint was clearly the gray cocoon.

This undoubtedly confirmed Shao Heng’s conjecture.

She furrowed her brows in thought, but due to her lack of knowledge, she found no breakthrough despite repeated consideration.

Shao Heng sighed softly, only to suddenly notice that the scenery outside the small window had changed.

It was no longer the dimness of night where she could only vaguely see clouds and mist sweeping backward.

This window was unlike ordinary wooden windows; it could not be pushed open, and it looked transparent and hard. She did not know what material it was made of, but it was as pure and clear as glazed glass.

Shao Heng cast aside her previous troubles and leaned closer to the window to look more carefully.

The sunlight was a warm yellow; it was already dusk, but it couldn't have been more than two days, otherwise, the spirit boat would have stopped flying upon reaching the Zhenyi Yuan Sect.

It seemed that her process of drawing energy into her body had taken nearly a day.

Shao Heng regained her focus and saw in the sky outside that huge white eagles were spreading their wings and shrieking, their feathers fluttering and their claws sharp. They controlled the gale into blades, fiercely hunting red-feathered birds with wings stained by fire. In the vast clouds and mist, large fish loomed in and out, emitting muffled thumping sounds, and there were long, slender cyan mayflies, shaped like flying silk, drifting with the wind...

These were all species Shao Heng had never seen before, scenes she could not have imagined.

"Are these... demons?"

According to the records on the jade tablet, the region they lived in previously had spiritual energy so sparse it was nearly non-existent, so only ordinary wild beasts existed.

But in the world of cultivation, beasts that gained intelligence would also possess mana and become demons, just like these White Gale Eagles and Flowing-Qi Mayflies... And when beasts transformed into demons, their bloodlines underwent metamorphosis, making it easier for their offspring to gain wisdom and step onto the path of cultivation. Accumulated generation after generation, they eventually became a systematic demon race.

All these existences constantly impacted her original worldview, causing a trace of fear born of the unknown to rise uncontrollably in Shao Heng's heart.

But at the same time, a strange yet natural, swift, and violent surge of immense excitement welled up within her, covering the fear and crushing it to dust.

Her eyes brightened as she watched the scene in the sky, and she couldn't help but reach out and clench her hand.

...

In a cabin, if any other new disciples were to come in, they would find that this room was clearly more than twice as spacious, elegantly furnished, with bright light streaming in through the square window.

Jiang Yunjiang sat upright on the bed, constantly experimenting according to the points on spiritual energy sensing recorded in the jade tablet.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"I'm still a little short of being able to draw a cluster of spiritual energy into my body. I can succeed in three days at most."

Suddenly, the white lotus jade hairpin on her head flickered with a strange, eerie light, and finally, a wisp of smoke drifted out, condensing into the shape of a person.

Seeing this, Jiang Yunjiang did not show the slightest panic, watching the illusory figure with composure.

"You aren't afraid of me?" The figure became increasingly clear; it was an old woman with graying hair, a kind appearance, and a white-blue lotus pattern on her forehead.

"Would fear be of any use? There are immortals, demons, and spirits in this world, so what exactly are you?" Jiang Yunjiang’s expression remained unchanged, but her slightly trembling shoulders signaled that she was not as calm as she appeared.

The old woman did not answer, watching her quietly.

Jiang Yunjiang then asked again: "I obtained this jade hairpin by chance. There was no movement for the past three or four years. Is it because I was in the mortal realm, and now that I have entered a region with heaven and earth spiritual energy, it has instead promoted your awakening?"

Looking at the changing expression on the old woman's face, she knew her guess was not far from the truth.

Most of the worry in Jiang Yunjiang's heart vanished, her expression relaxing and becoming even more composed.

"That means you are at least very weak right now. You appeared, in all likelihood, because you want me to help you with something, right?"

She then asked her final question: "And what would I get in return?"