Early the next morning, the composed Wu Yan went to find Ning Xiyan.
“Fellow Daoist Ning, can you now explain to me how you know that symbol?” Wu Yan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an inexplicable pressure.
“Of course.”
Since she had promised Wu Yan, Ning Xiyan wouldn’t go back on her word. Red smoke surged, and a scroll unfurled before Wu Yan. On it were sword lights and blade shadows, iron halberds and staffs ringing out, while below was a sea of blood, devoid of any life.
“Miss Wu, are you aware of the righteous-demonic war from twenty years ago?”
“Of course I do.”
That war was the largest conflict between the righteous and demonic factions in the past century, with far-reaching consequences. Many people’s homes and loved ones had disappeared in that war.
“You mean this Ouroboros is related to that war?”
“Yes and no.”
Ning Xiyan flicked her folding fan, and the image changed again. This time, it was a pattern Wu Yan had seen many times, and below the Ouroboros was a mass of black Qi so dense it couldn’t be dispersed.
“To be precise, it was during that war that this Ouroboros symbol appeared.”
Ning Xiyan’s voice gradually became ethereal. “I can’t guarantee that war is related to it, but what is certain is that its status among demonic cultivators is not low. It’s even very possible that it is the source of demonic Qi hidden in the Void Beyond the Heavens.”
“Wait.” Wu Yan interrupted her. “You mean there was originally no demonic Qi in the Void Beyond the Heavens?”
Ning Xiyan shook her head and answered vaguely, “I’m not sure either, but according to ancient texts I’ve read, the earliest demonic cultivators appeared after the first cultivators achieved ascension. And the Void Beyond the Heavens existed a thousand years before them.”
“Then…”
Wu Yan had some vague conjectures in her heart, but the thought made her shudder.
“Alright, back to this symbol.”
The crimson smoke changed again, this time showing human body modifications, arson, murder, and plunder.
“Based on information from the demonic cultivators I’ve interrogated over the years—those with weak wills—their current actions are all aimed at plundering resources to revive this great Ouroboros. However, despite all their secret maneuvers, their plan has never made substantial progress, as if stuck at a certain step.”
Stuck at a certain step.
Wu Yan subconsciously looked at Wu Yan, who was still resting under the nourishment of the Soul-Nourishing Jade. ‘Is it as I thought?’
Finally, the crimson smoke dissipated without a trace. Ning Xiyan smiled slightly. “Alright, Miss Wu. That’s all I know.”
“One last question.” Wu Yan looked directly into Ning Xiyan’s eyes, speaking seriously. “How do you know so much?”
If it were based only on Ning Xiyan’s apparent identity, she shouldn’t know so much; even Saintess Ji Xuerou of the Lingxiao Sect didn’t know such secrets.
Ning Xiyan moved her folding fan in front of her face, leaving only her eyes full of mirth. “That’s a woman’s secret~” With that, she left her own room, not giving Wu Yan a chance to press further.
After leaving Ning Xiyan’s room, Wu Yan didn’t go directly back to her own. She looked around and finally locked onto a small corner rarely visited by people.
Wu Nian unsheathed itself and circled around Wu Yan. On the originally pitch-black blade, deep white patterns appeared on the surface. As spiritual power was infused, the blade turned cyan, and the deep white patterns became translucent white, pulsating rhythmically. The space around Wu Nian actually distorted like ripples on water.
It bobbed up and down, occasionally rubbing against Wu Yan’s cheek. Wu Yan could feel a jubilant emotion emanating from it. Wu Nian seemed to have become more lively.
But coming here wasn’t just to examine Wu Nian’s mutation; more importantly, it was about the mutation in her own body.
She introspected with her divine sense. Her body was no different from before. But… following her sixth sense, the image of the open space at the entrance appeared in her mind.
The next moment, her divine sense plunged into darkness, and her body felt a strong sensation of weightlessness. When she opened her eyes again, she was already at the entrance.
“This—” Wu Yan was stunned. “A space jump?”
What she had just performed was exactly the space jump ability shown by the main body of the Pulling Thread. And Wu Nian, noticing that Wu Yan had suddenly appeared at the entrance, also pierced through space and abruptly appeared before her.
Indeed, this was a space jump. Wu Yan’s heartbeat involuntarily quickened. A space jump was an ability that even Soul Transformation Stage cultivators hadn’t mastered.
Wu Yan looked again towards the bamboo grove not far away.
—!
Wu Yan felt as if she had been stuffed into an extremely narrow and cold pipe, with spatial pressure crushing her from all sides, and her bones emitting muffled sounds of strain. A flash of white light. As soon as her feet steadied, a piercing weakness surged through her like a tide. Wu Yan’s face turned pale as paper. The light around Wu Nian dissipated, and it returned to its black-with-white pattern.
A jump of just a few dozen meters had completely drained her spiritual power. It seemed this move had an extremely high cost and must never be used lightly.
A wind blew, rustling the bamboo leaves. Wu Yan took out a Spirit Recovery Pill and put it into her mouth, recovering on the spot.
By the time Wu Yan had fully recovered, it was already noon.
“What’s up? Looks like you’ve gained quite a lot?” Wu Yan, who had just woken from sleep, saw Wu Yan meditating on the spot and raised an eyebrow to ask her after she woke.
After Wu Yan recounted all her gains to her, even Wu Yan, who had lived an extra lifetime, couldn’t help clicking her tongue in amazement.
“Tsk tsk, a Golden Core stage cultivator can actually master space jump. Many Soul Transformation stage or even Body Integration stage cultivators can’t grasp this ability.”
She wasn’t exaggerating. Although many Body Integration stage cultivators could produce similar effects in their attacks, they themselves were completely unable to perform a space jump. Space-time turbulence was dangerous and lethal; a single mistake could cost them their lives.
“Based on Benzuo’s conjecture, as your cultivation level increases, the range of the jump may become larger, and you may even be able to stay inside a space rift without coming out, so no one can threaten you.”
“Including you from the previous life?”
Wu Yan nodded, and couldn’t help tapping Wu Yan’s forehead with her slender finger. “That’s time-space turbulence! Legend says even immortals dare not enter it casually!”
“Is that so…”
After listening to Wu Yan’s request and buying some refreshments, Wu Yan returned to her room.
As soon as she pushed open the door, golden strands of hair came into view.
“Xuerou.”
Ji Xuerou had already brewed a pot of tea and was sitting upright by the table. Wu Yan went to Ji Xuerou’s side and poured herself a cup of tea.
“Tell me, should I call you Wu Yan, or… Wu Yan?”
The tea had just gone down Wu Yan’s throat when she heard Ji Xuerou’s gentle voice, and she immediately burst into a fit of coughing.
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