As Yun Heng read through word by word, her heart beat slightly faster. What she lacked most right now was cultivation.
Although she appeared to have won the confrontation on the Heart-Interrogation Platform, she knew very well in her heart that she actually had very little to rely on. The Shadow-Tracing Talisman was already consumed, Yun Zhao could only be temporarily summoned, and the origin of the Broken Command was unknown—it wasn't something she could just use whenever she pleased.
She herself was still a mortal who hadn't even achieved Qi Drawing.
In the Taiyan Continent, the cultivation realms, from lowest to highest, were generally divided into Qi Drawing, Qi Refinement, Meridian Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, and Grand Ascension. The original owner's memories didn't contain much, but judging solely by the display of force from the Xuanxiao Sect on the Heart-Interrogation Platform today, Yun Heng understood one thing clearly: if one's cultivation was low enough, even the opportunity to defend oneself had to be granted by others.
A secret method that could allow her to rapidly draw Qi into her body and enhance her internal cultivation was precisely what she needed to solve her pressing emergency.
The System was quite generous to grant such a good thing on her very first try. Now, she could officially begin cultivating.
Yun Heng raised her hand and tapped on the Tianheng Guiyuan Art, causing the light screen to expand before her.
At the very top was the technique's general summary, followed by a few lines of small text below it.
【All Qi has a source, all meridians have a return. Draw the world's spiritual breath into the body; do not vie for momentary grandeur, but first establish the foundation of oneself.】
【Initial Chapter: Returning to the Origin for Qi Drawing.】
【Method of Cultivation: Sit quietly and look inward, circulating a full cycle according to the Tianheng Guiyuan Art to open the spiritual apertures, absorb spiritual breath, and condense the first thread of origin spiritual power.】
She memorized the general summary of the technique. The words were not difficult to comprehend, yet unlike ordinary text, they did not merely stay before her eyes.
After reading through it once, Yun Heng felt a circulation path settle directly into her sea of consciousness, extending from between her eyebrows down to her dantian, and then dispersing from the dantian into the meridians of her limbs.
Her body was still unfamiliar, but that path of spiritual power circulation was clear to the point of being almost instinctive.
However, Yun Heng did not begin cultivating immediately. She sat before the desk, slowly digging up the original owner's memories piece by piece.
The Xuanxiao Sect was located in the Eastern Region of the Taiyan Continent and had been established for thousands of years. There were numerous sects in the Eastern Region, and while the Xuanxiao Sect was not the absolute first, it had consistently held a spot among the top five over the years. The overall situation within the sect was overseen by the Sect Master and several elders, with five main peaks on the surface.
Xuanwei Peak, where the Sect Master resided, stood in the center; it was the location for discussing sect affairs and issuing orders.
Discipline Peak handled the sect rules and punishments, governing both the Heart-Interrogation Platform and the Discipline Hall. He Lansong came from Discipline Peak and was also the current Grand Elder of the Xuanxiao Sect.
Qinglan Peak focused on spells and array paths, with most disciples under its banner cultivating wind and lightning spells.
Cangjian Peak was famous for its sword cultivators, and Zhou Chen was a disciple of Cangjian Peak. However, he was not considered particularly outstanding on Cangjian Peak; the main reason he could stand by Su Mingyuan's side today was simply that he had known her early on.
Danxia Peak managed pills, spiritual plants, and medical cultivation inheritances; it was the place within the sect least lacking in resources.
The last peak was called Lingshu Peak. It mostly took in disciples with special spiritual roots or unique physiques. Although few in number, eccentric geniuses frequently emerged from its ranks.
As for the Sect Master of the Xuanxiao Sect, the original owner's memory only contained a single name.
Lu Xuanwei.
The outside world called him Daoist Master Xuanwei. This man spent most of his time in seclusion and rarely showed his face. Rumor had it that he was at least at the great perfection of Soul Transformation, while others said he had long reached Void Refinement, though the Xuanxiao Sect had never given an explicit response.
The cultivation levels of the several elders were not low either.
He Lansong was at the late stage of Soul Transformation. The Second and Third Elders were reportedly both at the late stage of Soul Transformation as well, while the Fourth and Fifth Elders had already entered the mid stage of Soul Transformation.
Yun Heng lowered her head to look at the broken jade in her palm.
She couldn't remain in the Xuanxiao Sect forever, but right now she lacked the ability to travel the Taiyan Continent alone.
Yun Heng closed the System's light screen, but thoughts of Su Mingyuan inevitably crossed her mind.
In the original book, Su Mingyuan was the absolute protagonist.
Her background seemed ordinary, yet she encountered endless opportunities along the way. First, she was tested during the Xuanxiao Sect Grand Selection to possess the Heaven-grade Heavenly Destiny Spiritual Root, causing all the peaks to vie for her. Later, she entered secret realms, gained inheritances, and befriended prodigies from various sects.
After every crisis, she would receive even greater benefits. Those who admired her, revered her, and were willing to give everything for her mostly ended up as stepping stones on her climb to the top.
When Yun Heng had read the book in her previous life, she hadn't liked this female lead.
In the early stages, Su Mingyuan was still decent at playing the victim, but in the later stages, she stopped hiding her calculations altogether. She wanted ascension, she wanted the Grand Dao, and she wanted to stand supreme above all living beings. Others' sincerity, lives, and futures could all be discarded as long as they allowed her to take one step higher.
Today's ordeal on the Heart-Interrogation Platform also proved that Su Mingyuan was far from simple.
Such a person would not stop simply because of a single setback on the Heart-Interrogation Platform.
Yun Heng recalled the youth who had continuously stood in front of Su Mingyuan to protect her.
In the original book, Zhou Chen was merely the most unremarkable follower around Su Mingyuan in the early stages. His talent was average, and he wasn't particularly valued on Cangjian Peak, yet he was extremely loyal to Su Mingyuan.
Later, when the Qingming Trial opened, he damaged his foundation in order to block a demon beast for Su Mingyuan. Later still, he drew away pursuers for Su Mingyuan deep within a secret realm and died quickly, without even having his remains brought back to the Xuanxiao Sect.
Meanwhile, Su Mingyuan obtained the secret realm's grand opportunity, and Zhou Chen was merely one of her most ordinary early-stage stepping stones.
There were even more people after him.
For instance, the personal Eldest Disciple of the Taihua Sword Sect, Xie Wujiu.
Yun Heng remembered that name.
The book described him as possessing a natural sword bone, achieving fame as a youth, entering Golden Core at age seventeen, and being able to match swords with Nascent Soul cultivators at age twenty. The moment he appeared, he was viewed by countless female cultivators as the man of their dreams; even when disciples of the Xuanxiao Sect mentioned him, they would respectfully call him "Senior Brother Xie."
Even such a person eventually fell at Su Mingyuan's hands.
In order to help Su Mingyuan enter the Taihua Sword Mound, he personally excised half of his own natural sword bone to suppress the backlash of the sword mound for her. After that, his sword Dao foundation was completely destroyed, his cultivation plummeted, and he never returned to his former height.
Xie Wujiu ultimately died in a demonic tide.
At that time, many readers defended Su Mingyuan during that part, saying she was also doing it for the Great Dao and had no choice but to make sacrifices. Yun Heng, however, felt that if a person's Grand Dao relied on sacrificing others' lives all along the way, then it was not a true Grand Dao.
Now that she herself was standing inside this book, it was all the more impossible for her to view Su Mingyuan as an ordinary opponent.
What made Su Mingyuan most troublesome was never just the two words "Heaven-grade."
The original book had mentioned that the Heavenly Destiny Spiritual Root did not belong to the five elements, nor was it known for combat prowess like wind, thunder, ice, or fire. This spiritual root was tied to fortune and luck; while its cultivation speed might not be the fastest, it was the most likely to encounter opportunities, meet benefactors, and turn peril into safety.
Thus, Su Mingyuan's journey had been extremely smooth, and the dispute on the Heart-Interrogation Platform was merely the beginning.
Now that she had drawn the Tianheng Guiyuan Art, Yun Heng did not intend to continue drawing in the short term. What she needed most right now was to make this Heritage Card take effect as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, there was an even more important matter.
Testing her spiritual root.
In the original book, the original owner was expelled from the Grand Selection due to the jade theft, having no opportunity at all to complete the spiritual test. Now that she was temporarily staying at the Xuanxiao Sect and her name was cleared of the theft, the Xuanxiao Sect had no reason to deny her continuation in the Grand Selection process.
If her spiritual root turned out to be special, or if it was connected to the broken jade and the Young Lord, tomorrow would be her second opportunity to earn Awe Points.
Since she had already come to this world, she would strive to survive. Whether it was Su Mingyuan or anyone else, she would not easily let go of those who wished to harm her.
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