The scene was utter chaos.
Shi Yunzhao, heavily wounded, struggled as she fought the Tiger Demon. Yet with each move, she remained composed, her sword in hand, fearless even in danger. Every strike landed precisely on the Tiger Demon’s vital points, her style revealing the unwavering spirit of a sword cultivator.
In stark contrast, Ning Yin was being chased all over the place by a small, dazzlingly colorful bird.
The bird was no bigger than a palm, and every time it flapped its wings, flecks of blue phosphorescence scattered, sending Ning Yin tumbling to the ground.
“Stop chasing me! I really don’t want the treasure box! Whoever told you that, go after them!” Ning Yin shouted as she ran, her hair long since come undone, looking for all the world like a mouse being chased by a cat. What made it worse was that the little bird kept letting out bright, tinkling, mocking laughter, as if ridiculing her sorry state.
This dazzling little bird was called the Liuli Featherfinch, the spiritual pet of the master of this opportunity, Lingxiao Immortal Lord, in his lifetime. It was a tamed ancient beast.
Ever since the female lead, Shi Yunzhao, gained the approval of the Secret Realm master’s Soul, the Liuli Featherfinch had flown around her every day—not much use, but beautiful to look at, and the envy of many.
But this usually gentle and adorable bird was now going all out against her?
If only she’d checked the almanac before leaving home, she wouldn’t be having such rotten luck.
Ning Yin was almost in tears.
After tiring of the chase, and seeing the Tiger Demon fall at a disadvantage under Shi Yunzhao’s fierce assault, the Liuli Featherfinch threw back its head and let out a high, piercing cry.
Its palm-sized body suddenly transformed into the height of a person, spreading iridescent wings. Its gaze locked onto Ning Yin, who had fallen to the ground in fright.
A wisp of insignificant spiritual energy quietly gathered, turning into a faint glimmer, drifting gently in midair.
The Liuli Featherfinch seemed to catch a trace of an incredibly familiar scent. Almost instinctively, it stopped flapping its wings, its gaze following the floating path of the glimmer.
The next instant, with a whoosh, the glimmer shot into its Spiritual Sea.
Almost at that very moment, the Spiritual Sea that had been sealed for a thousand years became clear as a mirror.
It threw back its head and let out a mournful, drawn-out screech.
The entire cave Secret Realm quaked and rumbled, rocks crashing down.
A pillar of crimson light shot skyward, piercing the clouds, only to vanish without a trace in the next instant.
Everyone was stunned on the spot by the sudden commotion.
The Liuli Featherfinch shrank back to its palm-sized form and hovered in midair, looking around before finally fixing its gaze on Yan Hanzhou. With a few bright, jubilant chirps, it made to fly toward him.
Yan Hanzhou’s brows darkened.
“Chirp?” The Liuli Featherfinch stopped midair, pausing its wings.
Yan Hanzhou said to Ning Yin, “Now!”
“Huh?” Ning Yin was utterly confused.
Seeing the Liuli Featherfinch fluttering toward her, she instinctively closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and decided to give it a desperate try.
She recalled the incantation Yan Hanzhou had taught her before: focus her mind on her Essence Field, let her Soul follow her breath, gather spiritual energy in her palm—Go!
The Liuli Featherfinch paused not far from Ning Yin’s palm, eyeing the thin, utterly harmless strands of spiritual energy emerging from her palm with confusion. It turned its head to look at Yan Hanzhou. “…Chirp?”
The Liuli Featherfinch’s eyes rolled, and as if suddenly enlightened, it flapped its wings and flew backward, finally tumbling in the air and falling to the ground.
Watching the Liuli Featherfinch fall, Ning Yin stared in disbelief at her own palm.
“Am I really that powerful?”
She hurried over, picked up the Liuli Featherfinch by its wing, and cupped it in her hands. “You little rascal, still dare to mess with me? Do you dare now?”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Yan Hanzhou shot a sharp glare over, and the Liuli Featherfinch drooped its wings. “Chirp chirp……………”
On the other side, the Tiger Demon that had been locked in battle with Shi Yunzhao was finally struck down by her sword, and soon dissipated into nothing.
So it turned out this Tiger Demon was only formed from spiritual energy.
Ning Yin hurried over to help the unsteady Shi Yunzhao. “Senior Sister! Are you all right!”
Shi Yunzhao’s face was deathly pale, her spiritual power nearly depleted, but she forced herself to stand and said, “I’m fine, you two……………how did you end up here?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s talk after we leave the Secret Realm. Senior Sister, you’re bleeding so much, are you hurt? I have some pills here—do you want to take some first?”
Shi Yunzhao looked at the eager, talkative Ning Yin and said nothing more, simply brushing off her supporting hand without a word.
Suddenly, a figure appeared on the Platform above. This person was shrouded entirely in white light, their appearance indistinguishable.
Shi Yunzhao bowed deeply. “Junior Shi Yunzhao greets Sect Senior. I entered your Cave Residence by mistake and disturbed your peace. Please forgive my intrusion!”
The Sect Senior said nothing.
“Senior Sister, that’s the Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Soul. The real person is long gone.”
Shi Yunzhao was skeptical. “How do you know?”
Ning Yin dangled the Liuli Featherfinch by its wing. “Isn’t it recorded in our sect’s annals? This dazzling Liuli Featherfinch—there’s only one in the world. It was Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s spiritual pet a thousand years ago. Hurry up and go. As long as you pass Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial, you’ll get his Legacy and treasures.”
Shi Yunzhao was silent for a moment, then stepped toward the Platform.
Watching her back, Ning Yin let out a breath and turned to glare at Yan Hanzhou, her anger flaring as she strode over and kicked him in the shin.
“Yan Hanzhou!”
“DEX! DEX!”
Yan Hanzhou pressed a palm down hard on the Liuli Featherfinch’s head.
Ning Yin pointed at him, her hand shaking with rage. “I told you there was a Secret Realm under Reflection Cliff, and you dragged me down here! If you wanted the Legacy so badly, why did you push me out just now? Why didn’t you go yourself? Do you even know what that bird is? It’s an ancient beast! Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s spiritual pet! I’m only at Foundation Establishment—I can’t beat anyone! Did you do it on purpose? I almost died, you know!”
“Anyone who passes Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial can get his Legacy and treasures. Why did you give up your chance?”
“Anyone who passes Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial~” Ning Yin mimicked his tone. “Wow, such confidence. Do you even know how hard the trial is?”
Yan Hanzhou retorted, “Is it that hard?”
A thousand years ago, he set up three trials here. As long as one’s will was firm and cultivation at Golden Core or above, it should be easy to pass. He truly couldn’t understand why, after a thousand years, not a single person had succeeded.
The cultivation world just kept getting weaker with each generation.
His matter-of-fact tone made Ning Yin feel like he was saying, “How hard could it be?”
Ning Yin was so angry she laughed. “Go ahead, stand here and watch. See for yourself how hard Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial really is!”
Not far away, Shi Yunzhao ascended the steps. Stopping before the Platform, she suddenly closed her eyes.
Her robes fluttered though there was no wind. Spiritual energy in the air turned into misty clouds, surging into her body like a tide, rushing through her limbs, bones, and meridians.
An intangible pressure radiated from Shi Yunzhao, making the stones around the Platform creak under the strain.
“See that? Right now, Shi Yunzhao’s consciousness has been pulled into a mysterious illusory sea by the remnant Soul of Lingxiao Immortal Lord. In that place where illusion and reality intertwine, Shi Yunzhao not only awakens the legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root, but also passes Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial, gaining his Soul’s Legacy and approval.”
Yan Hanzhou asked calmly, “What are the Immortal Lord’s trials?”
“First, the pressure!” Ning Yin gazed at Shi Yunzhao with admiration.
“Not everyone can withstand the might of a Soul, but Shi Yunzhao is different. She’s the female lead! She’s the center of the world! The core of the whole story! She passed the first trial with the conviction of ‘better shattered jade than intact tile!’”
Shi Yunzhao slowly opened her eyes, facing a boundless void shrouded in mist.
“You are the one who entered my Cave Residence?”
A voice reverberated through Shi Yunzhao’s consciousness.
The voice was calm, indifferent, devoid of emotion. Each word struck her mind like a heavy hammer.
Shi Yunzhao struggled to lift her head, searching for the source of the pressure. She saw a figure, formed of divine radiance, standing not far away.
He stood tall, hands clasped behind his back, his features indistinct. But wherever his gaze fell, Shi Yunzhao’s Soul trembled violently. An instinctive awe, from the depths of life itself, welled up within her.
This was Lingxiao Immortal Lord!
Even a mere wisp of his Soul, lingering for a thousand years and on the verge of dispersing, held such supreme majesty that it inspired terror.
Shi Yunzhao bowed low. “Junior…Shi Yunzhao, greets Immortal Lord!”
“Your will is acceptable. Your aptitude…barely passable.” The indifferent voice sounded again, flat and matter-of-fact.
As soon as he finished, formless divine sense surged from all directions.
Shi Yunzhao collapsed to her knees, unspeakable pain flooding every corner of her mind. Before that vast, mighty divine sense, her consciousness was like a candle in the wind, flickering and on the verge of going out.
She clenched her teeth, forcing her nearly-broken spine straight, gathering every ounce of her will to resist the omnipresent power of the Soul.
“Second is the Mind Trial.” Mentioning the female lead’s past, Ning Yin sighed.
“Shi Yunzhao isn’t like me, or you, or Si Heyu, born into wealth and privilege. She was born into a poor farming family. Her father died young, her mother made a living Cleansing Clothes. When she was eight, she witnessed her loved ones killed by demons and monsters, her entire village engulfed in flames. Only she and her missing brother survived. Later, she was saved by passing Lingyun Sect Disciples. The Elder saw she had a Spiritual Root and brought her back to the Soaring Cloud Sect. All these years of cultivation, she’s been plagued by nightmares, unable to move past that night when her friends and family were slaughtered by demons and monsters.”
Shi Yunzhao closed her eyes, a torrent of chaotic images and sounds flooding her mind.
The despair of being pushed into water as a child, the heart-wrenching agony of seeing loved ones killed by demons and monsters, the cold stares and ridicule on her cultivation path—all of it culminating in that night of flames and blood, her loved ones’ faces stained with blood right before her eyes.
The illusions of heart demons screamed, trying to drag her into an abyss with no return.
Shi Yunzhao’s mind shook violently. Pain, sorrow, resentment—overwhelming negative emotions threatened to drown her.
But after enduring the agony of the pressure, her resolve became even more resilient.
She straightened her hunched back, rose from her knees, and gritted her teeth to stand tall. “The road of cultivation is long and arduous. My Dao Heart is unwavering. Even if I face a thousand tribulations, they are but stepping stones on my path!”
A decisive sword intent slashed forth, forcibly cutting through the chaotic illusions of her heart demons!
“Third is the transmission of the Dao. Don’t think just because you’ve made it to this step it’s all over and you can relax. NONONO. The power of a Soul is vast and boundless—if you can withstand it, you pass. If not, boom! Your body explodes, and you die, your Dao erased.”
“Fortunately, Shi Yunzhao managed to pass the trial—barely, but she did. In less than three days, she even broke through to Golden Core.”
“You actually wanted me to take on such a difficult three-part trial?” Ning Yin rolled her eyes at him. “If I really did, I’d probably be nothing but ashes by now.”
Yan Hanzhou looked steadily at the chattering Ning Yin. “How do you know all this?”
“How can you just ignore what I say? Didn’t I tell you already? This world is a novel. Shi Yunzhao is the female lead. Countless people with higher cultivation than her have failed Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Inheritance Trial, but only she succeeded. Why? Is everyone else’s cultivation path easier than hers? Is Nascent Soul weaker than Golden Core? No! Because luck is a kind of strength too. Even Lingxiao Immortal Lord, the owner of this opportunity and a genius admired by all, in this novel, from the day he started cultivating, his whole existence was just to provide the main couple with golden opportunities.”
Yan Hanzhou’s eyes grew deep and sharp as he looked at Shi Yunzhao on the Platform. “A thousand years ago, when the heavenly tribulation descended, I too had an epiphany. I died and my Dao perished. I thought it was just fate, never realizing it was all arranged in advance.”
Ning Yin sighed. “It’s not our fault we’re not the protagonists. But that’s fine. I know all the future plot. As long as I stay away from the main storyline, don’t fight or compete, don’t oppose the leads, and don’t get involved in anything related to them, I’ll definitely survive to the end!”
Yan Hanzhou didn’t criticize her naive thinking, but said in a low voice, “Cultivation is always about defying heaven. As you said, those two are favored by fate… Then I want to try.”
“Try what?”
Yan Hanzhou ignored her. He stepped up onto the Platform, gazing at the Soul that was now deep in illusion.
Suddenly, he remembered a thousand years ago, after killing his enemies, wandering the world, seeing through all the truths and lies, the warmth and coldness of the world, growing disillusioned, unwilling to get involved in worldly affairs any longer.
Yet he never expected that seeing through human nature and letting go of obsession would allow him to break through to the Grand Ascension and draw down the heavenly tribulation.
All is vanity. Everything in the world is but a chess piece in the hands of the Dao.
How ridiculous.
He pressed two fingers together, condensed his energy into a blade, and drew a bloody line across his palm.
A wisp of dim spiritual energy flew from the wound into Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Soul.
“With blood as the guide, let our Souls resonate!”
At the same time, within the illusion, the hand of the Soul poised above Shi Yunzhao’s head, about to transmit the Dao to her, suddenly paused, then withdrew in an instant, dispersing like mist, leaving only emptiness.
The Soul on the Platform opened its eyes, meeting Yan Hanzhou’s gaze.
A surge of purest Soul power, carrying all of Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s lifetime of sword Dao comprehension, flooded into Yan Hanzhou’s body.
In a flash, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.
Ning Yin lost her balance and fell, scrambling to dodge falling rocks from the cave roof.
When she looked up again, the Lingxiao Immortal Lord’s Soul had vanished, and Yan Hanzhou stood before her.
On the Platform, the treasure box was open, and a wide ring engraved with intricate, mysterious patterns floated in front of her.
“Do you know what this is?”
Ning Yin backed away until her back hit the cliff wall, unable to retreat further, and nodded. “I do. The Cangming Ring. It can hold all things under heaven. It’s the first magic treasure Shi Yunzhao received during her first adventure. It’s said to be the betrothal gift Lingxiao Immortal Lord prepared for his fiancée back in the day, but he was alone for so many years, he never gave it away.”
Yan Hanzhou frowned. “Even the betrothal gift is in the novel?”
“‘Lingxiao Immortal Lord: The Unofficial History’, published by Jiuzhou Press, now widely circulated.”
Yan Hanzhou said nothing more. He gripped her wrist like iron pincers. Before Ning Yin could react, he suddenly drew a line across her palm.
A sharp, piercing pain struck. Ning Yin looked down to see a shocking cut in her palm.
“Ahhh it hurts! What are you doing!”
A drop of blood slid from Ning Yin’s palm onto the Cangming Ring. Instantly, a dim white light flared, then turned into a stream of light that shot into Ning Yin’s forehead.
“Did you forget why we came here?”
Ning Yin: “?”
“Now, the Cangming Ring is yours.”