It took Jing Qian three full months before he finally set foot on She Dizang Island.
No surprise, hunting Yin Ghosts was far too addictive. The efficiency of the slaughter, the rich harvest, it was impossible to stop once he had begun.
In those three months, he had hardly rested at all, scouring nearly a hundred thousand li of sea, averaging ten Yin Ghosts or Yin Corpses slain every single day.
Now, inside the Void Realm, Yin Bones were piled high like a mountain.
Within the Void Furnace, his Fate Fire had already grown to the size of a walnut.
In the Stele Space, he had wiped out the shades of Yin Ghosts three separate times, yet once again it was packed wall to wall, leaving no place to stand.
From their remains, he had gathered more symbols of the Blood River Pitiless Abyss Dao Book, feeding them into Worldly Insight for digestion and deduction.
His power was climbing like a snowball rolling downhill faster and faster, greater and greater.
At this point, he had several paths to a breakthrough:
Cultivating a new strand of Fate Fire and undertaking his sixth Fatebinding,
Allowing Worldly Insight to finish deducing the Dao Book, unlocking a supreme cultivation path,
Or fully reforging Swordfang with the eight hundred-plus white copper ingots in storage, pushing it toward Violet Eye grade.
Any of these would mark a huge leap forward. But each required time.
And so, in between cultivation, he decided to visit She Dizang Island, a pleasant change of pace, and perhaps an opportunity for unexpected gains.
...
Jing Qian hid within the Void Realm as he stepped onto the massive, weighty island.
The island was like an anvil fallen from the heavens, smashed straight into the sea.
Its very foundation was solid metal, copper, and iron through and through.
This was an island built entirely of metal!
Though mundane ores were of little use to high cultivators, an island this vast, saturated with Geng Metal qi, would certainly produce abundant grade-level treasures.
Jing Qian's mouth watered at the sight.
If only his Void Realm had such a rich foundation, his Life Furnace would already be blazing in blue or even violet flames.
He didn't linger long. After a brief survey, he moved straight toward the heart of the island.
There lay the seat of She Dizang Temple, the island's core.
Here, the sect's monks presided, ruling the island, guiding a population of a million, and upholding a comprehensive lineage.
Passing boldly through the front gates, Jing Qian unleashed Worldly Insight to its fullest, observing every detail as he went.
Unlike the empty Tsushima Shrine, this grand temple was alive with people, incense burning thick in the air.
Not only Buddhist cultivators bustled among ordinary folk, too, shoulder to shoulder.
On this island, everyone was a Buddhist follower; coming to the temple to worship was part of daily life.
The temple sprawled over an enormous area at least three imperial palaces in size.
Guided by the memory left behind by Master Miaojue, Jing Qian twisted and turned through countless courtyards until he finally found the place:
A dry well, in a quiet, forgotten courtyard.
A jujube tree grew there, heavy with fruit, but no one had bothered to pick them.
Slipping from the void, Jing Qian dove into the well.
No one would ever suspect that this well was a hidden passage leading straight into the temple's secret vault.
Even within She Dizang Temple, only a handful knew of it.
But Miaojue, tasked with handling the island's external trade, had often passed through, and his memory had etched every detail.
The island barred commoners from entering the vaults, but Jing Qian's path went smoothly until he reached the bottom of the well.
Instead of water, he found a vast stone cavern.
Set in its wall was a copper gate, taller than two men, covered in a dense Longevity-realm barrier.
Jing Qian's cultivation was not enough to bypass such a ward, and even his Mandate-level Sumeru could not slip through unnoticed.
And to emerge from the Void Realm and brute-force it? Impossible.
She Dizang's power ranked among the top three in all of Hunzhou. Reckless action would see him swarmed by bald titans in an instant.
So he returned quietly into the Void Realm, waiting patiently at the copper door.
While he waited, he sat before the Void Furnace, tossing in a lump of white copper.
Before long, it softened in the flames. He picked up his little hammer and tapped away until a sword-blank took shape.
Then, with three quick bites, he devoured it.
"Swordfang reforged +1!"
Smooth as silk.
Each reforging sharpened Swordfang's edge. Only five hundred sixty-seven more reforges, and it would ascend to Violet Eye grade!
At worst, that was just over a year's worth of lifespan. Hardly a price at all.
With forty-some Life-Casting Opportunities still stored from his Yin Ghost hunts, Jing Qian was in no hurry. Patiently, he kept reforging while he waited.
As Sumeru advanced, his need for piercing strength only grew.
Whether he could crack high-level defenses would decide whether he could leapfrog realms to kill his foes.
The sharper Swordfang became, the stronger he would be.
And so he forged, and so he waited.
At last, near midnight, footsteps echoed.
A Dragon-Elephant Buddhist lord entered the cavern from the well above.
The monk raised a hand and cast a mudra, activating the seal on the copper gate. With a deep groan, the gate swung open, and he stepped inside.
He had no idea that his routine duty had just opened the door to a lurking predator.
Jing Qian had waited long enough. Now that someone had entered the vault, he slipped in after him.
The scene within changed entirely, no longer a storeroom, but a deep mine shaft boring straight into the island's core.
This abandoned mine tunnel reached down toward the very heart of She Dizang Island. From any other direction, it was completely inaccessible.
The Dragon-Elephant monk withdrew twelve white copper ingots from his storage treasure and neatly stacked them to one side.
This was She Dizang's daily yield, deposited here as per custom.
Meanwhile, the vault had already accumulated more than three hundred ingots since Miaojue had taken the last shipment. The sight made Jing Qian's eyes burn hot with desire.
But he didn't move toward the copper. Instead, he advanced deeper into the mine.
The further he went, the denser the qi grew, and the more chaotic the flicker of spiritual light.
Jing Qian grew cautious, scrutinizing every detail.
At last, he reached the bottom, and the sight before him sent a chill down his spine.
In the middle of a vast cavern, three great cultivators stood in a triangular formation, suppressing something at the center.
Their auras surged like storms, merging into a binding array.
Two shone blue, the power of Longevity-realm monks.
The third blazed violet: a middle-aged man in a pale purple robe, refined and elegant, skin white as jade. A true master of the Sixth Rank, Subduing Spirit.
In all of Hunzhou, there was only one who fit that description: Luo Yaozhi, the prefect who had vanished decades ago.
This man, appointed directly by the Divine Court to rule and protect the province, had been presumed dead for years. But he hadn't died; he had abandoned Hunzhou to its fate and hidden himself here.
And the one they held sealed within their array was a silver-haired woman.
Tall, sharp-browed and bright-eyed, her bearing radiated heroism. She sat cross-legged, cradling a dull bronze longsword, imprisoned within the seal, unable to break free.
How long had this stalemate lasted? No one could say.
Beside them, a great bronze censer burned with fierce blue flames.
From the Void Realm, Jing Qian swept it with Worldly Insight, and its details leapt out:
Life Furnace: Impermanence Small Furnace
Grade: Blue Flame Furnace
Core Material: All-Life Gold
This was She Dizang Island's central Life Furnace.
The monk who had escorted the ingots walked forward reverently, tossing in several dozen Yin Pearls before bowing low and taking his leave.
Just then, Luo Yaozhi spoke:
"Daoist Chi Ling, the Yin Year has come once more. It has now been twelve full Yin cycles since the Zhuoling Cave-Heaven last opened.
Next year, on the fifth day of the fifth month, it will open again. You've endured for so long, but your lifespan is running out. If you don't break free, you'll lose your last chance to ascend to the Longevity Realm.
Zhuoling Cave-Heaven is precious, yes, but even if you fail to enter, with your talent and your lineage as heir of the Pure Yang Ruins, your future is not lost. Why sacrifice everything for a fleeting chance?
I have said it before: give up your cave-heaven beacon, sign a blood contract with me, and I will spend all of Hunzhou Prefecture's Fate Fires to awaken your Lifespan Power.
Forty years I have kept you bound; I will pay you back with forty strands of Sixth-Rank Fate Fire in compensation that is worth thousands of Ninth-Rank flames."
The swordswoman raised her head and answered coldly:
"Luo, you call yourself an officer of the Divine Court, an Eighth-Rank overseer of waterways, yet you bully the weak, murder disciples of the Academy, and stoop to treason.
You've cut yourself off from the Court, and now you dare covet my cave beacon? You don't even know the meaning of death.
And you shaven-headed monks are courting death as well.
You, mere branch disciples of the Impermanence Temple, are blind to the Mandate and defying the rules, helping Luo in his schemes. Sooner or later, someone will settle the score with you.
If you've got the courage, come and take my life! At least then I'd think better of you. Otherwise, spare me your nonsense and think about how you'll explain yourselves to my master!"
Words clashed like blades, but neither side changed position.
Jing Qian observed: the woman was only at the Eighth-Rank Dragon-Elephant realm, far weaker than her three opponents.
And yet, despite their overwhelming power, the three masters would rather waste endless lifeforce to hold her sealed than dare to strike her down.
Her claim of being an Academy disciple clearly carried immense weight.
Jing Qian had followed Miaojue's memory here precisely to glimpse the might of such figures.
Both sides represented the true apex of cultivation, one with profound strength, the other with fearsome backing.
And from the sound of it, after decades of stalemate, the situation was finally reaching a turning point.
Still, the imbalance was glaring; the woman seemed to have no way to break free.
Jing Qian, ever the mischief-maker, decided to stir the pot a little.
From within the Void Realm, he picked up a Yin Bone. Drawing forth Swordfang, he carved a few characters across its surface in bold strokes.
Then, using Sumeru's power, he opened a narrow rift and tossed the bone through.
With a clang, the Yin Bone clattered to the cavern floor.
But the words carved into the bone faced directly toward the four powerhouses present.
That unexpected clatter instantly drew everyone's attention. Four pairs of eyes fixed on the Yin Bone, and there, scrawled in bold strokes, were the words:
"Academy disciple was here!"
The reactions were immediate and very different.
"Hahahaha!"
"Which senior brother is it? Could it be Brother Qin of the Lingluo Palace?"
But as for Luo Yaozhi and his two companions, their faces turned ashen, their composure shattered.
If word spread that they had secretly harmed a disciple of the Academy, they would face endless trouble. Even with Luo Yaozhi's Sixth-Rank cultivation, he could never withstand the backlash.
As long as no one knew, he could have dragged things out, drained Chi Ling's lifespan under the guise of sealing her, and let her die in silence.
But now that their plan had been exposed, they had no choice but to abandon it.
Luo Yaozhi acted instantly. Withdrawing his power, he dissolved the seal and released Chi Ling.
Then he spoke smoothly:
"Daoist Chi Ling, forgive us. Disciples of the Academy are the true seed of the Divine Court, heirs of the immortals and gods; how could we dare offend so lightly?
You, as the Lingjizi of the Pure Yang Ruins, are destined one day to ascend to immortality and command an entire domain.
For us of Hunzhou, to form ties with you is a great fortune.
If you can overlook this little misunderstanding, Hunzhou will repay the debt tenfold. Whatever you desire, be it Spiritual Constructs, Fate Fire, or precious materials, you need only ask, and Hunzhou will provide it as support to the Pure Yang Ruins.
And as for the hidden friend in the shadows, there is no need for conflict. If you wish to show yourself, let us share a wine. If not, rest assured: Chi Ling Daoist will not come to harm. Hunzhou may be rough, but as a military prefecture of the Divine Court, we would never dare truly harm an Academy disciple."
Inside the Void Realm, Jing Qian nearly dropped his jaw.
The lofty image he'd had of this Subduing Spirit master shattered in an instant.
That was fast… too fast!
He had only tossed out a half-joking Yin Bone, never expecting it to have such an effect. This was absolutely not what he'd intended.
Naturally, he didn't dare step out and claim credit; he could only stay hidden, quietly watching the show.
Even Chi Ling herself was stunned.
A moment ago, they had been bitter enemies, and her lifespan had nearly been drained away.
But with one sudden pattern, her foes had backed down completely.
She was momentarily at a loss for words.
Still, freedom after decades of suppression was worth rejoicing.
Even with her firm Dao-heart, she had nearly reached her limit. Her lifespan was nearly spent, and with the opening of Zhuoling Cave-Heaven so close, she had to break through to the Longevity Realm without delay.
This Luo prefect had no idea how critical the upcoming opening was for the Pure Yang Ruins. The sect was teetering on the brink of decline. Without new Dao Marks, their heritage would collapse.
As the sect's sole Lingjizi, if she failed, rival sects eager to topple the Pure Yang Ruins would seize the chance to trample them.
Her master would be forced to intervene, wasting precious vitality.
Thus, however reluctant she was, Chi Ling had to put the bigger picture first.
She said coldly:
"Enough chatter. Take me to the prefecture's Life Furnace. I must extend my lifespan at once."
Decades of suppression had burned through her reserves; even with a Spiritual Construct sustaining her, she was nearly spent. She urgently needed to awaken her Lifespan Power and ascend.
Luo Yaozhi adjusted quickly. Without delay, he turned to escort Chi Ling out.
But at that moment, the two old monks at his side suddenly attacked!
They ignored the prefect's words, striking fiercely at Chi Ling.
Clang!
Chi Ling's bronze sword leapt into action, transforming into a streak of sword-light that split one monk's Longevity force like paper.
But she couldn't withstand the other.
Fortunately, Luo Yaozhi struck in time. With a wave, a river of power swept the two monks aside.
"Enough!" he barked. "Would you bring disaster upon me?!"
With another Academy disciple still hiding unseen, killing Chi Ling now was suicide.
The monks were reckless, but he still wanted to live.
Chi Ling steadied her sword and commanded coldly:
"Luo Prefect, kill them both! Whatever the consequences, the Pure Yang Ruins will bear them."
Luo hesitated only a heartbeat before unleashing his power.
His river of force surged forward, crushing the two Longevity monks to pieces.
Lifespan meant nothing if one's strength was lacking; they died like sheep at slaughter.
Chi Ling exhaled lightly, satisfied with his decisiveness.
Meanwhile, hidden in the other dimension, Jing Qian could barely contain his delight. He had just picked up two free Longevity-grade soul rations.
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