After the door to the guest courtyard closed behind her, Yun Heng stood inside the room, finally no longer needing to maintain her outward composure from the Spirit-Testing Platform.
Nine hundred points! She had made a fortune this time—enough for a ten-pull.
Yun Heng pressed her hand against the broken jade at her waist and summoned the System panel.
A massive roulette wheel materialized within her sea of consciousness, the numbers in the upper right corner glowing clearly.
【900】
Beneath the wheel, the ten-pull button lit up.
Yun Heng glanced at it and didn't hesitate.
“Ten-pull.”
【Spend 900 Awe Points to perform 10 draws?】
“Draw.”
【900 Awe Points deducted.】
【Current Awe Points: 0.】
Looking at the big fat zero, Yun Heng felt a pang of heartache, but she quickly consoled herself. It's fine, it's fine. Spending Awe Points trades for cultivation resources—money is just staying with me in a different form.
She clenched both hands, praying silently in her heart.
The roulette wheel spun abruptly.
Thirty slots flashed before her eyes in a blur of light and shadow, rapidly cycling through characters, props, magic treasures, and heritages. Compared to the single draw last night, the wheel glowed far more brilliantly this time, making even her broken jade feel faintly warm.
The wheel spun faster and faster, before finally beginning to slow down moments later.
The first beam of light descended.
【2-Star Character Card: Shadow Guard · Xuan Yi.】
The second beam followed right behind it.
【2-Star Character Card: Shadow Guard · Xuan Er.】
The third.
【2-Star Character Card: Shadow Guard · Xuan San.】
The fourth.
【2-Star Character Card: Shadow Guard · Xuan Si.】
The fifth.
【2-Star Character Card: Shadow Guard · Xuan Wu.】
Five dark command projections suspended themselves within the light screen. Their figures were all shrouded in cloaks, revealing only the short blades at their waists and dark patterns at their cuffs.
Yun Heng’s breath hitched slightly.
A System prompt appeared.
【Five Shadow Guards, all at late Nascent Soul stage.】
Late Nascent Soul stage—and there were five of them!
The elders of the Xuanxiao Sect were naturally beyond Nascent Soul, but in ordinary sects, a Nascent Soul cultivator was more than enough to dominate a region. In the memories of the original owner, even Golden Core cultivators were rarely seen in border towns. If she had been protected by five such people outside the mountain gate yesterday, the original Yun Heng would never have died in that dense forest.
Good System, you didn't let me down.
The light screen continued to shine.
The sixth beam of light landed on a prop slot.
【2-Star Pill: Clear Essence Inedia Pill.】
【Consuming this purifies impurities and stabilizes spiritual power. No food is required for one month after consumption.】
Looking at the small white jade bottle, Yun Heng felt slightly reassured. What she feared most while cultivating right now was an unstable foundation; this bottle of pills came at the perfect time.
The seventh beam of light descended.
【3-Star Artifact: Qiankun Spirit-Storing Bag.】
A blue brocade bag appeared on the light screen. Tied with a thin silver-white cord, it looked unassuming.
【Contains a hundred-zhang spatial area. Capable of storing spiritual items, spiritual artifacts, and living creatures.】
The eighth beam of light emerged immediately after.
【3-Star Artifact: Moon Soul Heart-Protecting Pendant.】
It was a semi-transparent jade pendant, its color resembling cold water under the moonlight. In the center of the pendant, a thin silver thread flowed slowly.
【Can automatically deflect one fatal attack. Requires spiritual power to nourish after taking a hit.】
A life-saving item—the Moon Soul Heart-Protecting Pendant was precisely the trump card she needed right now.
When the ninth beam lit up, the entire wheel paused for a moment.
A phantom image of a sword emerged from the light.
The blade was slender and frost-white, with an extremely fine black-gold pattern along its spine. However, a small section was missing at the tip, looking as though it had been damaged long ago.
【4-Star Artifact: Tianheng Broken Sword.】
【Former name unknown. The blade is damaged and its spirituality has yet to recover. Compatible with host's spiritual root; can be nourished alongside host's cultivation.】
Damaged again? Yun Heng raised her hand. The sword did not land in her palm immediately, yet as if sensing her presence across the light screen, the blade trembled gently.
The tenth beam of light finally fell.
【4-Star Heritage Card: Tianheng Sword Art.】
A worn, ancient sword manual unfolded on the light screen.
There were no complex patterns on it, only the silhouette of a person holding a sword. The silhouette stood in a blank space, the tip of the sword pointing downward at an angle, yet a sharp edge spread out from beneath their feet.
【Sword Art First Chapter: A Line of Frost.】
【Infuse sword with spirit; focus on sharpness rather than complexity. Beginners can condense a single line of sword Qi to shatter protective spiritual light.】
Tianheng.
Just like the Tianheng Guiyuan Art and the Tianheng Broken Sword, all of them contained the two words “Tianheng.” What on earth did these two words mean, and what connection did they have to her?
Thinking about it further was useless; asking the System would probably just yield another prompt telling her to explore on her own.
Regardless, this ten-pull had filled almost most of what she currently lacked.
She reached out, accepting the items one by one.
When the Qiankun Spirit-Storing Bag landed in her palm, it was only half the size of a hand. She probed inside with her divine sense; the space within was vast, and the spiritual energy flowed smoothly. She stored the Clear Essence Inedia Pill and the Moon Soul Heart-Protecting Pendant inside the bag, while the Tianheng Broken Sword floated quietly beside the light screen in her sea of consciousness without immediately manifesting in the room.
The five Shadow Guard Character Cards settled onto one side of the System panel.
This was the Xuanxiao Sect.
If five late Nascent Soul stage Shadow Guards revealed themselves in the guest courtyard, it would only create a bigger headache than the vision on the Spirit-Testing Platform.
She temporarily stored the Shadow Guard cards away and took out a Clear Essence Inedia Pill.
The pill melted the moment it entered her mouth, a cool medicinal energy spreading down her throat. The as-yet unformed spiritual power inside her body was wrapped up by the medicinal force, sinking bit by bit into her dantian.
Yun Heng sat cross-legged as the Tianheng Guiyuan Art unfolded in her sea of consciousness, and the first sword silhouette of the Tianheng Sword Art emerged alongside it.
Outside the window, the daylight gradually shifted, and silence settled over the guest courtyard.
Yun Heng closed her eyes. Guided by the broken jade, strands of spiritual energy seeped into her meridians.
At first, it was merely a subtle coolness, but soon that chill gathered into a line inside her, circulating slowly along the path of the Tianheng Guiyuan Art. Every time it passed through a meridian, a slight prickling pain flared up.
Yun Heng did not stop.
Drawing Qi into the body.
First layer of Qi Drawing.
Second layer of Qi Drawing.
She didn't bother keeping track of time, only repeatedly completing full circulation cycles. The Clear Essence Inedia Pill protected her dantian, while the Tianheng Guiyuan Art stabilized her meridians.
Time had no meaning in cultivation.
The Xuanxiao Sect's Grand Selection had long since drawn to a close.
Su Mingyuan entered Xuanwei Peak, under the temporary care of He Lansong on behalf of the Sect Master.
Yet Yun Heng never stepped out of the guest courtyard again.
At first, disciples still gossiped in private, saying that her spirit-testing vision had been so extraordinary that the sect would give her an official status sooner or later. Others claimed that her seniors had made separate arrangements, so the Xuanxiao Sect might not be able to keep her.
As time went on, however, the chatter gradually faded.
The spiritual energy outside the courtyard grew denser by the day.
Half a year later, before the first snow after winter hit the Xuanxiao Sect had even fallen, clouds began to gather above the guest courtyard.
The first to notice were the Discipline Peak disciples guarding the nearby area.
That morning, there was no wind in the mountains, yet spiritual energy above the guest courtyard swirled into a cloud vortex. The vortex was not large and hung very low, like a blue-and-white eye suspended over the courtyard roof.
The disciple looked up for a moment, his face changing slightly.
“Go report to the elder.”
Before his voice had even faded, the clear chime of a sword resonated from the courtyard.
Up on Cangjian Peak, several disciples practicing their swordplay stopped at the same time. The long sword in one disciple's hand trembled slightly, its tip straying half an inch off target.
“Who is breaking through?”
“Doesn't look like Foundation Establishment.”
“This commotion... is it Core Formation?”
Several people looked toward the sound.
Where the clouds gathered was neither Cangjian Peak nor Xuanwei Peak, but the guest courtyard.
A disciple froze for a second.
“Isn't that where Miss Yun is staying?”
Silence instantly fell over the surroundings.
Half a year ago, Yun Heng had not even drawn Qi into her body. Half a year later, she was breaking through to Core Formation?!
Rate on N.U.
