In the quiet room.
Shen Xiuhan turned his hand over and retrieved a small jade vial.
Pulling out the stopper, a wisp of crisp, clear spiritual aura instantly drifted out. Just a single breath of it made his entire body feel light and refreshed.
He carefully tilted the mouth of the vial, and a single drop of the 《Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring》 slid from the rim. Glistening like a dewdrop, it fell into the copper burner.
“Sizzle!”
The copper burner shuddered violently!
The Cold-Branch Spirit Fire suddenly shot up half a foot. The blue flames surged, wrapping the spiritual spring water within.
Immediately after.
Wisps of milky-white mist began to spew from the mouth of the burner.
Steaming like boiling water and surging like a sea of clouds, it filled the entire quiet room within a few breaths.
The spiritual mist felt cool against his skin, carrying a bone-chilling cold. Yet, the moment it entered his body, it transformed into a warm, gentle current that seeped directly into his meridians.
Shen Xiuhan dared not delay. He immediately sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and began running his heart method.
The 《Golden Eagle Soaring Technique》!
His force was instantly stirred as if by an invisible giant hand, beginning to spin faster and faster.
The acupoints all over his body opened up in unison, like hungry fledglings opening their beaks, greedily devouring the spiritual mist.
The mist surged continuously. Gradually, with Shen Xiuhan at the center, a slowly rotating vortex formed above his head.
The spiritual aura has formed a vortex... What a majestic aura!
Shen Xiuhan was deeply shaken, a fiery heat rising in his heart.
The spiritual aura of this ten-year-old 《Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring》 is actually not inferior to the 《Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk》 at all.
Then again, the efficacy of the Earth Stalactite Milk focuses on refining tendons, washing marrow, and elevating one's constitution.
Meanwhile, the spiritual spring primarily solidifies one's foundation and raises one's cultivation. The two naturally have different focuses.
But this is perfect!
Shen Xiuhan clenched his fists, an indescribable excitement surging within him.
At this rate, once I fully refine this spiritual spring, my cultivation might just reach the next level before the Blessed Land opens!
With this thought, Shen Xiuhan immediately closed his eyes, sinking his entire mind into his breathing.
The quiet room fell into absolute silence, save for a long, rhythmic breath that rose and fell in perfect cadence.
...
It was now the thirty-fifth day that Liu Sanxian, Cheng Du, Yan Xiao, Song Yanrong, and Feng Xiaobao were standing side-by-side on the road to the Yellow Springs, so crowded they could barely fit.
In the blink of an eye.
More than twenty days flew by.
Midwinter arrived.
The cold wind cut like a knife, sweeping across the lake's surface and raising waves of white foam.
Within the Four Academies of Star-Plucking, however, the usual quiet coldness was gone, replaced by a bustle far greater than before.
Many elite disciples stationed in outer counties or traveling abroad to slay demons had been recalled one after another by letters from their respective academies.
Chiming Island, the Technique Transmission Field.
The sky was barely bright.
A crowd of disciples had already gathered in circles, their voices rising and falling in conversation.
“Senior Brother Zhou, you are always well-informed. Do you know why the sect urgently recalled us?”
“I do not know the exact reason either, but... I reckon it has something to do with the demonic sects.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Think about it. The Yinsha demon scoundrels were so audacious as to send someone to infiltrate the prefecture capital and assassinate the Prefectural Governor! Given the temperament of Lord Gongsun, who hails from the Guanhua Upper Sect and is now in the Qiwu Guard, do you think he can just swallow this insult?”
“Are you saying, Senior Brother... the sect called us back to assist Lord Gongsun in taking revenge on the Yinsha demon scoundrels?”
“It is highly likely!”
While everyone was discussing animatedly, the tightly shut doors of the Technique Transmission Hall were suddenly pushed open with a loud bang.
An elder with a long face and graying hair and beard stepped out with his hands behind his back, his heavy gaze sweeping over the crowd.
“Silence!”
Instantly, the dozens of disciples fell completely silent.
Elder Ma's lips parted slightly, and an old, gravelly voice echoed clearly in everyone's ears:
“Liang Zhenbei, Zhou Yan, Du Yan, Guan Tongyun... the eight of you pack your bags and follow Di Nian to assemble on Tingquan Island!”
As his voice fell.
A young disciple stepped out from behind Elder Ma, walking forward a few paces before coming to a halt.
He was around twenty-six or twenty-seven, tall and slender, with a thin face and a cold, sharp aura between his brows.
He was none other than the Deputy Chief Disciple of Chiming Academy, Di Nian!
When the Chief Disciple was absent, the Deputy Chief Disciple held the highest authority among the disciples.
Di Nian possessed an early-stage Huajin Rank cultivation. With him leading the team in person, this was no small deployment.
And the eight people whose names were called were by no means mediocre.
Every single one of them was at the late-stage Anjin Rank or possessed the Great Perfection of the Anjin Rank. Their talent and mental fortitude were top-tier among the disciples of Chiming Academy.
This immediately made the surrounding disciples realize that something major was about to happen!
At the same moment, similar scenes played out in Kaiyang and Feixuan academies.
Numerous core disciples and elite inner court disciples set off, converging toward Tingquan Island.
...
Tingwu Pavilion.
Grade B Room One.
Behind the stone door that had been shut for many days, the thick, milky-white spiritual aura still surged restlessly.
Shen Xiuhan sat cross-legged within, hungrily devouring the spiritual aura.
With every circulation of his force, the “Shenque acupoint” in his body grew more condensed and harmonious at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As early as seven days ago, Shen Xiuhan had successfully formed his ninth acupoint, the “Shenque acupoint,” stepping into the peak Anjin Rank!
But he did not choose to end his seclusion.
He had already paid a thousand taels of silver; how could he not make the absolute most of it?
Thus, he continued his closed-door cultivation, breathing and refining, striving to temper the “Shenque acupoint” to perfection.
“Buzz!”
At a certain moment!
The bones, flesh, and meridians within Shen Xiuhan's body chimed in unison, releasing a resonant hum like the gentle tolling of an ancient bell, its echo lingering.
A dense, powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body, causing his robes to flutter despite the lack of wind.
But in the next instant.
All of the aura was completely drawn back into his body.
It was as if the majestic surge from just a moment ago was nothing but an illusion.
Whoosh!
Shen Xiuhan opened his eyes, two solid beams of bright light flashing and vanishing in an instant.
He slowly stood up.
His bones let out a series of crisp, crackling pops, like firecrackers going off all over his body.
Within him, the nine major acupoints linked together.
His force circulated seamlessly from start to finish like a string of nine aligned stars, without the slightest hint of friction.
“Finally... the Great Perfection of the Anjin Rank!”
All ten drops of the ten-year-old 《Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring》 had been completely refined.
Combined with the array-fortified quiet room that cost him a thousand taels of silver.
The final result did not disappoint him!
“With all nine acupoints perfected, my force circulates in an endless, self-sustaining loop. Whether in terms of condensation, purity, or sheer abundance, it is far beyond what it was during the late-stage Anjin Rank...”
Shen Xiuhan exhaled, clenching his fists. Feeling the power rushing relentlessly through his meridians, he murmured, “It is about time. I should leave seclusion.”
Rumble!
He inserted the jade plaque into the groove of the stone door, and the heavy door slowly slid open to both sides.
Shen Xiuhan stepped out into the pavilion corridor, returned the jade plaque to the disciple on duty, smoothed his robes, and walked out of the Tingwu Pavilion.
Outside the pavilion.
The sky was bright and clear.
The lake breeze, carrying the chill of deep winter, whistled through the withered reeds along the shore.
With a single glance, he spotted a familiar red figure pacing anxiously at the bottom of the stone steps.
Zheng Hongxiu!
Upon seeing Shen Xiuhan, she visibly relaxed. Hurrying over, she grabbed him and immediately began dragging him toward the shore:
“Junior Brother, hurry! Something major has happened in the sect!”
“Oh?”
Shen Xiuhan's gaze shifted as he asked, “Senior Sister, what happened?”
“I am not entirely sure either.”
Zheng Hongxiu did not slow her pace, only shaking her head solemnly:
“I only know that the elite disciples of all four academies have assembled... Even the Sect Master and the Academy Heads have made an appearance. Such a grand scale is something I have rarely seen in all my years in the sect!”
As expected, it is about the Blessed Land!
Shen Xiuhan understood, silently calculating in his mind:
There are still two and a half days before the Blessed Land opens, yet they are already gathering people in such a hurry today... Could it be that we are departing early?
Rate on N.U.
