Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ning Yin was overwhelmed with emotion, almost beyond words.

Clearly unable to guarantee her own safety, yet still willing to help him step into the arena.

She raised her hand and gave Yan Hanzhou a heavy pat on the shoulder. “Because of what you said, rest assured, I will definitely help you find the Heavenly Spirit Spring water and solve your ruined spiritual root predicament!”

Without hesitation, she sprang into action.

Ning Yin didn’t even return to Muyu Peak; she headed straight to the Ten Thousand Laws Library of Lingyun Sect.

This place housed millions of volumes, ranging from personal notes to profound cultivation secrets. Among them was a book recording the unofficial biography of the Immortal Venerable Lingxiao’s life.

Though titled an unofficial history, the fact it was preserved in the Ten Thousand Laws Library testified to its value. Moreover, it detailed the transformation of the Jiuxiao Continent a thousand years ago.

Back then, the Jiuzhou Continent was still called Jiuxiao. A millennium ago, a male infant was born into a centuries-old cultivation family. The head of the family named him Lingxiao, symbolizing one who soars above the nine skies.

Lingxiao lived up to expectations: he began cultivation at three, established his foundation at five, and completed what took others centuries in just ten years. But later, his clan was destroyed by demonic forces and his spiritual root shattered. In utter despair, his fiancée brought him water from the Heavenly Spirit Spring on Heavenly Spirit Mountain.

“Heavenly Spirit Mountain?” Ning Yin scanned the detailed description of the mountain.

The mountain was snow-capped year-round, with ancient ice that never melted. Its towering peak resembled an inverted sword, cliffs deep and unfathomable, and fierce winds howled and spiraled among the precipices.

An inverted sword?

“Yan Hanzhou, look at this Heavenly Spirit Mountain. Doesn’t it resemble the Remorse Cliff of Lingyun Sect? An inverted sword...” Ning Yin declared confidently, “No mistake! It’s the very same mountain! Exactly alike!”

“Strange though,” she continued, “this cultivation world’s history spans only a thousand years, yet the Jiuxiao Continent from a millennium ago and today’s Jiuzhou Continent differ so greatly. The regions, peaks, lakes—all the names have almost completely changed, and the sects and cultivation families seem to have vanished without a trace.”

“Clouds shift and seas change, a thousand years is enough to alter much,” Yan Hanzhou responded.

“But this change is too drastic. The book records countless powerful cultivators at Divine Transformation and Great Ascension stages, and Dan Formation disciples were even considered average. Now, how many in our sect have even reached Dan Formation?”

At this, Ning Yin sighed deeply. “This sudden gap in strength over the last thousand years... I wonder where all those geniuses went. There’s no record at all.”

Yan Hanzhou’s eyes darkened, his deadly intent barely concealed.

“They were probably all killed.”

Ning Yin gasped. “Impossible! Who is so cruel as to wipe them out completely? That would have to be a great demon lord. Moreover, such a cataclysmic event overturning the entire Jiuxiao Continent—why is there no record?”

Those born with Heavenly Spirit roots enjoy lifespans far beyond ordinary people.

Foundation Establishment cultivators can live two centuries; Dan Formation cultivators three to five hundred years; Divine Transformation masters can live over a millennium. Though rare, Divine Transformation cultivators still exist on the Jiuzhou Continent today. If such mass slaughter had occurred a thousand years ago, how could it have gone unrecorded and forgotten?

Not only does the Jiuzhou Continent’s history omit it, but even novels neglect to mention it—an indication it was considered unimportant.

But that is natural—if it’s neither main character nor supporting role, the background is irrelevant.

“Enough talk. Let’s hurry to Remorse Cliff and see if we can find the Heavenly Spirit Spring water.”

Logically, if the spring were truly at Remorse Cliff, and the Lingyun Sect had existed for a thousand years, how could no one have discovered it?

Not necessarily. After all, the Immortal Venerable Lingxiao’s own fateful opportunity in the forbidden area went unnoticed.

Standing at the edge of Remorse Cliff, Ning Yin suddenly felt that even if the Heavenly Spirit Spring existed here, it was no wonder it remained undiscovered.

The entire Heavenly Spirit Mountain was barren, perpetually covered by snow. Jagged cliffs stretched as far as the eye could see. Besides being the perfect place to punish disciples for their remorse, how could there possibly be any spring water?

Yan Hanzhou gazed solemnly around, then whistled sharply. Soon, iridescent Glazed Feather Sparrows flew up against the wind from the cliffside.

“Glazed Feather Sparrows? How are they here? I thought they disappeared after leaving the forbidden area. I thought you had run off,” Ning Yin said.

The sparrows ignored her, settling quietly on Yan Hanzhou’s shoulder. Their sharp eyes seemed to listen intently, then after a moment, they spread their wings and flew out.

“Where is it going?”

“To find the Heavenly Spirit Spring water.”

“Do you think it can find it?”

Sometimes Yan Hanzhou thought he might be grasping at straws, believing something from an unofficial history.

A childhood betrothed, a ruined spiritual root, forced cancellation of marriage—the whole thing sounded like nonsense!

They waited at Remorse Cliff for an unknown length of time before Yan Hanzhou’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked toward a certain direction.

“Let’s go!”

“What? Did you find it?” Ning Yin hurried after him. They wove through jagged rocks and climbed rugged paths, stopping at the edge of a sheer cliff.

Yan Hanzhou looked down; the wind there was even more piercing than at the cliff top.

Ning Yin peered cautiously downward. “Is it down there?”

“No, mid-way,” Yan Hanzhou said. “Remember the incantation I taught you?”

Ning Yin nodded, bracing for another free fall. She closed her eyes and silently recited the incantation. A sense of weightlessness washed over her; the wind howled like knives scraping her skin. She felt a steady hand gripping her shoulder tightly.

“Open your eyes.”

Ning Yin opened them to find themselves on a broken cliff halfway up the mountain. Mist swirled around like a sea, dispersing as the Glazed Feather Sparrows flapped their wings. Between the precipitous cliffs was a stone gate.

With a rumble, the stone gate opened, revealing a pitch-black cave.

The sparrows flew in first, soon emitting a joyful chirp.

They entered the cave, surprised to find it warm and humid despite its modest size. They looked around the dark interior and spotted a drop of water emitting a faint white glow, slowly seeping through a crack in the stone and dripping down.

The clear, ethereal sound of the water dripping echoed softly in the cave.

Ning Yin exchanged a glance with Yan Hanzhou, both seeing joy sparkle in the other’s eyes.

“Could this be the Heavenly Spirit Spring water? Could it cure a ruined spiritual root?”

Yan Hanzhou said solemnly, “There’s only one way to find out.”

Ning Yin searched nearby and found a stone cup beneath the dripping water, letting it fill drop by drop. With each drop, she nodded slightly until the cup was full. She looked up at Yan Hanzhou, her eyes shining like stars. “It’s full!”

She carefully lifted the cup. “Do you think this Heavenly Spirit Spring water would work on an ordinary spiritual root like mine? If I drink it, could I become someone with a Heavenly Spirit root?”

Yan Hanzhou stared at her without blinking.

“What are you looking at? I found it, so I’ll drink it first,” Ning Yin said firmly. She took a deep breath. If it was truly Heavenly Spirit Spring water, fine; if not... then so be it.

With eyes closed, she was about to drink when Yan Hanzhou intercepted her, lifting the cup and drinking it all at once.

“Hey!” Ning Yin exclaimed in shock. “Wait... You drank it? What if it’s not the Heavenly Spirit Spring water...”

Yan Hanzhou set down the empty cup. “If this is the Heavenly Spirit Spring water, then my life was not meant to end yet. If it is not, no blame lies with anyone else.”

He could not forget the despair of having his spiritual root destroyed a thousand years ago—the overwhelming anger and helpless pain that nearly drove him mad.

If he was still doomed to be a crippled cultivator unable to advance, he would rather die again, body and soul consumed.

Almost the moment the water passed his lips, countless warm currents surged through his blocked meridians, finally converging in his long-dormant spiritual sea and dantian. Like parched land welcoming spring rain, his withered spiritual root revived and unfurled like a tender bud in early spring, greedily drawing in this long-lost vitality.

The sensation of his spiritual root awakening was exactly as it had been a millennium ago.

Yan Hanzhou felt the deliberately suppressed power of his soul surge toward the depths of his dantian. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured into him like a tidal wave.

A terrifying pressure spread out, causing Ning Yin to stagger back, her breath catching involuntarily.

But in the next moment, the dreadful pressure vanished abruptly.

Ning Yin looked at Yan Hanzhou, still trembling with residual fear. “You... succeeded?”

Yan Hanzhou slowly opened his eyes. “I succeeded.”

“What cultivation level are you at now? Dan Formation? Nascent Soul?” Ning Yin looked at him with eager anticipation. “Or... Divine Transformation?”

Yan Hanzhou calmly felt the Heavenly Spirit root greedily absorbing the surging spiritual energy inside him and replied with quiet composure, “Foundation Establishment.”

“...”