One moment she was cultivating the power of the Taiyin, and the next, she was sitting across from Ji Yutang by the campfire, eating roast chicken.
Ji Yutang kept her head down, not wanting to look at Li Jingyu’s face at all. That familiar face would stir her memories, causing her inner demons to gradually take form, eventually becoming impossible to eradicate.
“Why don’t you want to look at me?” Li Jingyu’s voice rang out, quite inopportunely. Did she always have this problem of not reading the room? Probably not. The Ran family was large and influential, and although her father, Ran Jingri, was capable, he was just one branch of the Ran family. To gain resources, one had to compete with other family members, and this “competition” wasn’t just about one’s cultivation but also about “conduct.”
Ji Yutang struggled to lift her head.
The answer to this question was simple; “I don’t want to look” would be straightforward enough. But since she had already accepted the name “Li Jingyu” and had a plan in mind, she naturally had to play along. Ji Yutang didn’t have a mirror, but she could guess her expression was probably somewhat perfunctory. She heard her own voice say, “The sun, moon, and stars all pale in comparison to your face, fellow Daoist. I really dare not look.”
As soon as the words fell, she felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to slap herself. Why say something so “slick”? Li Jingyu smiled with her eyes curved, the moonlight flowing over her face, truly making the “three lights” lose their color.
Ji Yutang was a bit dazed, a sense of confusion growing in her heart. Wasn’t Ran Guzhu supposed to look like this? Although there were sisters in the Ran family who resembled her somewhat, it wasn’t to this extent. After all, she had never heard of Ran Guzhu having a twin sister. But was Ran Guzhu really like this?
“Here, wipe it off.” Li Jingyu handed over a handkerchief.
Ji Yutang was first stunned, then turned around, looking at Li Jingyu with shame and anger. She didn’t take the plain handkerchief but instead took out her own from her bosom and wiped her lips, removing the remaining traces. She vaguely heard a light laugh, but at this moment, Ji Yutang didn’t want to delve into such embarrassing matters.
A gentle breeze blew, rustling through the forest.
Li Jingyu suddenly said, “Let’s go.”
Ji Yutang responded with an “eh,” looking at Li Jingyu in confusion.
The abrupt words dispelled the initial embarrassment and awkwardness. Ji Yutang realized her previous demeanor was foolish and hurriedly asked, “Where to?”
“To find the Dragon Mansion’s inheritance.” Li Jingyu raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “Didn’t you do your homework?”
Hearing this, Ji Yutang lowered her head, acknowledging her “foolishness.” She indeed hadn’t done her homework. By the time she heard about the True Dragon’s Legacy, Dragon Lake was already swarming with people. Traveling alone, she couldn’t demand the wind and rain like she did as the eldest daughter of the Ji family.
Ji Yutang was prepared for Li Jingyu’s mockery, but unexpectedly, the other party didn’t continue on this topic. Instead, her tone shifted, as gentle as a spring breeze. “The owner of this Dragon Mansion was a demon cultivator from the North Sea. The dragons of the North Sea favor the cold and dislike the sun. Therefore, the true manifestation of the Dragon Mansion will definitely occur at night.” As Li Jingyu spoke, she brought out a talisman enveloped in dragon energy.
It was the Dragon Token coveted by two rogue cultivators during the day, and the dragon energy surrounding it was much denser than during the day. “This contains the blood energy of a North Sea dragon. It can be used with a tracing spell to sense the true existence of the Dragon Mansion.”
Ji Yutang looked at Li Jingyu suspiciously, not expecting her to reveal such a big secret to her.
“You help me once, and I’ll help you in return.” Li Jingyu smiled gently at Ji Yutang, a glint of sharpness flashing in her eyes. “Of course, if what you seek conflicts with what I want, then it will depend on our own abilities.”
After all, young ladies like Ji Yutang, with little experience, were rare. The two of them moved under the cover of night, and when they found a shimmering pool, they discovered many people around, clearly having their own methods for treasure hunting.
“They all seem to be cultivators in the Mortal Shedding stage?” Ji Yutang furrowed her brows, finally noticing the anomaly.
Li Jingyu thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps the owner of the Dragon Mansion is looking for a direct disciple? If one has already established a foundation, it means they have cultivated other techniques and formed their own true imprint of power, making the inheritance impure from the start.”
Ji Yutang nodded, finding Li Jingyu’s words quite reasonable. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling less pressure facing a group of Mortal Shedding stage cultivators than facing those with higher cultivation levels.
The movement of cultivators entering the water was not small.
Except for disciples of the Demon Sect and some rogue cultivators with evil tendencies, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t engage in conflict before the inheritance was revealed.
Ji Yutang looked at the pool of clear water, showing a bit of hesitation. The time for using the Mysterious Pearl was limited. If she fell into the water and encountered any difficulties, it would be a life-and-death situation.
“Take this.” Li Jingyu’s voice sounded.
Ji Yutang turned to her and saw a deep blue pearl emitting a faint glow under the moonlight.
“Avoid Water Pearl,” Li Jingyu added.
Ji Yutang lowered her eyes and accepted the pearl. The other party was well aware of her condition. Since they had agreed to seek opportunities together, it would be petty to hesitate over this matter.
The depths of the pool were quite dark, with spiritual energy fluctuating unpredictably, clearly brushing past fellow cultivators. But this darkness didn’t last long. Soon, a radiant Dragon Mansion manifested. Countless luminous pearls adorned it, illuminating the underwater world. Ji Yutang looked ahead, first seeing the coiling dragon pillar that led cultivators into the Dragon Mansion, followed by the tightly closed door.
“Is this the Dragon Mansion? The door is closed, so it seems we’ll have to break in.” A clear voice rang out, and a valiant Daoist took a step forward, his power surging like a tide. A series of rumbling sounds followed, but the door remained unmoved.
“A brute who only knows how to use force; this is a Celestial Mansion.” A mocking voice sounded, and a tall, thin, pale-faced cultivator sneered at the valiant Daoist’s actions. He walked around the coiling dragon pillar, muttering as if chanting a spell. Moments later, a dragon shadow gradually appeared on him. He walked forward, trying to pass through the closed door, but with a “bang,” followed by a cry of “ouch,” the pale-faced cultivator fell to the ground, drawing a burst of laughter.
Ji Yutang stood in a corner, her eyes fixed on the door, murmuring, “Dao script?” The door wasn’t randomly carved but was covered in twisted, deconstructed “Dao script.”
“Do you recognize it?” A hint of surprise flashed in Li Jingyu’s eyes. Dao script is the manifestation of the meaning of the Dao, a text that carries the Dao. However, it is too profound and mysterious, so very few cultivators practice it. The classic Daoist texts that are circulated today are mostly translations by powerful beings. Cultivators can still attain Dao fruits through these copies, and over time, even fewer people practice the original.
Ji Yutang nodded. Her body had defects, and she couldn’t practice many techniques. She once naively thought that by directly facing the true meaning of the Dao in Dao scripts, she could cultivate Daoist methods. But even after she could translate Dao scripts books, she hadn’t realized this “cultivation” dream. The Ji family had collected many Dao scripts texts, the most mysterious being the “Dao De Tian Shu.” The text disassembled on the Dragon Mansion was a phrase from the “Dao De Tian Shu.”
“The valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of heaven and earth.” Li Jingyu heard Ji Yutang’s murmuring, and her expression changed. After a long silence, she softly said, “Do you know the ‘Dao De Tian Shu’?” Ji Yutang glanced at Li Jingyu inexplicably and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Her family had many Daoist texts, countless with names like “Dao,” “De,” and “Xuan,” among which the Dao Wen in the “Dao De Tian Shu” was particularly mysterious. However, she hadn’t seen anything special about this text so far.
“Don’t casually mention those four words in the future,” Li Jingyu replied, her gaze meaningful.
The “Dao De Tian Shu” is one of the fundamental scriptures of the Taishang, but after her mother’s incident, this scripture disappeared. She originally thought the scripture had fallen into the hands of the Wangqing Sect, but now it seemed likely to be with Ji Yutang. This was her mother’s relic, and she might need to find an opportunity to retrieve it from her.
While Li Jingyu was pondering this, a mysterious energy suddenly rose from the Panlong Pillar and surged towards Ji Yutang. Ji Yutang didn’t know what it was and instinctively grabbed the person next to her. The mysterious energy swallowed and exhaled, and in the blink of an eye, the two were whisked away. The remaining cultivators took a while to react, and then there was a buzz of discussion.
“Did they use some method? Why were they taken in by the Panlong Pillar?”
“Maybe there’s a mechanism there; let’s go stand there too!” While people outside were striving to enter the Dragon Mansion, Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu were enveloped by the mysterious energy and fell into a dark place. There were no luminous pearls here, only two strange beams of light, one like a blazing sun, the other like a ghostly moon.
“A thousand-foot dragon body, eyes like the sun and moon, it’s the divine dragon’s remains in the Tianren realm! It seems the rumors were true,” Li Jingyu said, her expression not as calm as before, with a hint of joy in her tone.
Ji Yutang didn’t respond. When she saw the giant dragon, her Niwan Palace was impacted by a powerful force, gradually manifesting into a giant dragon. At this moment, a scripture suddenly appeared in her mind, named the “True Dragon Transformation Sutra.”
This is a path of strength, not cultivating magical power, but relying on external elixirs to infuse the body, condensing a dragon pill in the sea of qi to replace the golden pill, forming an indestructible body of ten thousand methods. However, all strength-based techniques have a flaw; after achieving the Tianren realm, one will merge with heaven and earth, in a sense, uniting with the Dao.
Therefore, cultivators seeking self-liberation and transcendence are unwilling to practice such techniques. The Xuanmen and Demon Sect mostly explore the path of qi, only the demon clan cultivators choose the path of strength to temper their demon bodies.
Due to her physical condition, Ji Yutang couldn’t condense magical power, but she had always been exposed to qi-based techniques, never considering strength as an alternative path.
This was the only method she found that suited her and could make her stronger.
The main thing was that the divine dragon manifesting in her Niwan Palace couldn’t be expelled. Cultivators have an upper and lower dantian; the upper dantian is called the Niwan Palace, where thoughts and visualizations are stored, manifesting as the palace of one’s life artifact, while the lower dantian is called the sea of qi, where one’s true essence is condensed and magical power is stored. Her Niwan Palace manifesting the shadow of a divine dragon meant she was forcibly pulled onto this path.
Who knows if this journey would be a blessing or a curse.
