Chapter 1: Severe Injuries (Shāng Zhòng)
It was the dead of winter, with a biting wind and howling snow. Within the southeast region of the Yùkūn Xiānjiè [Jade Kun Immortal Realm], a mountain range stretched out for thousands of miles, its endless peaks now buried beneath a thick coat of white. From above, it resembled a giant silver-backed dragon slumbering peacefully upon the earth, which was why, starting from some forgotten era, it bore the wonderfully poetic name of Miánlóng Mài [Sleeping Dragon Vein]. The Miánlóng Mài [Sleeping Dragon Vein] swirled with dense spiritual energy across its thousands of peaks, making it an absolute paradise for cultivators.
Right at the foot of its northern slopes sat a weathered old stone stele carved with the words "Rogue Cultivators Halt." Tangles of sharp thorns choked the space behind the stele, while right in front of it stood a tiny, drafty tavern open to all four winds. On this freezing day, a charcoal fire crackled indoors to ward off the biting cold. Huddled inside the drafty main hall were a few shivering young rogue cultivators, their faces turned blue from the frost. Lacking high cultivation to withstand the cold, they clung to their warm wine bowls, eagerly listening to the tavern owner tell a tale.
"Roughly two hundred miles from this very spot sits Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace], one of the grandest immortal sects in the entire Miánlóng Mài [Sleeping Dragon Vein]. Today, my friends, I shall tell you the story of Chóngxū Gōng's [Chóngxū Palace's] Sect Master..." Hearing the famous name of Jiāng Zhǐ [Sect Master Jiang Zhi], the rogue cultivators instantly perked up, eyes shining. But then, the owner pulled a sudden twist. "...or rather, the story of his Zhǎngmén Fūrén [Sect Master's Wife]."
The Zhǎngmén Fūrén [Sect Master's Wife]? Jiāng Zhǐ's [Jiang Zhi's] fame echoed across the lands, but his wife? Everyone shook their heads, as none had ever heard a single word about her. "Ah, indeed, the Zhǎngmén Fūrén [Sect Master's Wife]. Her real name remains unknown, for she was originally Jiāng Zhǐ's [Jiang Zhi's] Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister]. You see, the former master of Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace] took six direct disciples—four men and two women. The first four were shīxiōng [senior brothers], and the last two were shīmèi [junior sisters]. Most of these six were dazzling prodigies, especially the Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] and the Liù Shīmèi [Sixth Junior Sister]. Only this Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] possessed utterly mediocre talent, unable to outpace even ordinary disciples, making her cultivation path an agonizing struggle."
The owner took a leisurely sip of wine to moisten his throat before carrying on. "Originally, the one Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] held in his heart was Liù Shīmèi [Sixth Junior Sister]. In both talent and looks, they were a match made in heaven. Alas, a single sect trial mercilessly beat the mandarin ducks apart." Naturally, he paused right there to sell the suspense. Whether mortal or immortal, this kind of dramatic, dog-blood romantic entangling was universally irresistible, leaving everyone itching to hear what came next.
"Stop stalling!" Someone in the crowd caught the hint and tossed a handful of immortal coins onto the table. The owner smiled brightly, sweeping the coins into his sleeve. "As the story goes, many years ago, Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace] selected over a dozen elite disciples for a trial in the Lánggǔ Mò [Wolf Bone Desert] of the Western Regions. Who could have guessed that two greenhorn disciples would disobey orders and trespass into a forbidden realm, awakening a fallen, demonic high cultivator hidden within? Enraged, the demonic cultivator gathered the desert sands into a giant dragon, trapping everyone inside the forbidden grounds."
He vividly painted the scene of flying sand and shattering rocks, leaving the inexperienced rogue cultivators wide-eyed and breathless. " Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] led a team to save them, battling for seven days and seven nights without victory until they too were trapped. It turns out that demonic cultivator had been an all-powerful clan leader centuries ago, who fell for a foreign female cultivator—only to be betrayed for his clan's ultimate treasure. His treasure stolen, his cultivation stripped, and his eyes gouged out, he hid in the forbidden realm to cheat death, turning into a demon. Trapped for five hundred years, devoid of hope, he sought only revenge. He swore that if someone willingly swallowed his parasite, he would let the rest go—otherwise, everyone would perish together."
"It was Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister]!" someone slammed the table and blurted out. "Smart!" the owner chuckled. "Among everyone there, only Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] stepped forward, taking the parasite into her body to save her fellow disciples. But who knew that demonic parasite was the dread Suǒqíng Gǔ [Heart-Lock Gu]? During the battle, it had absorbed Dà Shīxiōng's [First Senior Brother's] essence blood. Once inside her, her heart was bound to him for all eternity, or her body and Dao would crumble into dust. With no cure available, Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] became her only antidote. In the end, the two were forced to become jiéxiū [cultivation partners], and thirty years have passed since then."
The listeners let out sighs of disappointment. "What a shame..." It was hard to tell if they pitied the ruined romance between Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] and Liù Shīmèi [Sixth Junior Sister], or lamented that a peerless genius was bound to an ordinary Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] for life. "Though, Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] certainly got a sweet bargain, using a life-saving favor to secure such a brilliant cultivation partner." "Right? Who is to say she didn't plan it all along? Scoring Dà Shīxiōng [First Senior Brother] and becoming the Zhǎngmén Fūrén [Sect Master's Wife] in one move." "If so, she is truly a scheming, calculating woman..."
As chatter erupted in the tavern, the owner merely closed his eyes and sipped his wine without a word. Suddenly—BOOM! A terrifying clap of thunder crashed outside the tavern. Thunder in a snowstorm? Everyone rushed outside and looked up at the sky. A serpent of lightning sliced through thick clouds, striking straight at Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace] two hundred miles away, where a colossal shadow, half-man and half-beast, loomed above the clouds.
RUMBLE! The lightning crashed down, slicing open the heavens like a divine blade. A silhouette plummeted from the clouds, crashing right through the roof of the Bàixiān Diàn [Paying Respects to Immortals Hall] at Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace], leaving a giant hole in its wake. The entire sect panicked, rushing toward the hall. Yet, at the same moment, a teleportation array flashed with magical runes beneath the stone stele at the entrance. After three pulses of light, a faint shadow materialized. The moment it solidified, it stumbled forward in desperation. The gate guards drew their swords in alarm, only to hear a rasping, faint voice: "It is me."
The guard looked closely and gasped in shock: " Wǔ Shīshū [Fifth Martial Aunt]?!" Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] had no idea that Chóngxū Gōng [Chóngxū Palace] was in utter chaos today. She had chosen a terrible time to return, as everyone was distracted by the hall disaster. Nobody cared about her blood-soaked form, except for the gate guards who carried her back to her quarters. She lay there in a daze, feeling as though her blood was completely draining away. After an eternity, footsteps sounded in the hall. Someone took her wrist to check her wounds—it felt like her Èr Shīxiōng [Second Senior Brother], Xià Huái [Xia Huai]. She wanted desperately to tell him her fatal injuries were in her chest and belly, but she couldn't make a sound.
" Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] is fine. It is merely spiritual exhaustion. She just needs rest," Xià Huái's [Xia Huai's] voice sounded. Fine?! She was run through by a beast's sharp claws! How was that fine?! "That is good then. Things at Qúlíng Dòng [Spirit Jade Cave] are chaotic. If something happens to her too..." another calm, indifferent voice spoke up. Qúlíng Dòng [Spirit Jade Cave]? Liù Shīmèi's [Sixth Junior Sister's] abode? What happened? Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] heard them clearly, but trapped in her body, she could only scream in her heart.
"Rest assured, I will do my best for Yíngxuě's [Yingxue's] injuries," Xià Huái [Xia Huai] replied. "Thank you," the other man said, then paused. "What is this?" "A Qīngsuǐ Sǔn [Green Marrow Shoot]?!" Xià Huái [Xia Huai] gasped. "How can it be so coincidental?" Yú Nántáng's [Yu Nantang's] heart froze. "Is this the missing catalyst for the Yǐnyuán Dān [Origin-Guiding Pill] you are making for Yíngxuě [Yingxue]?" "Indeed." A heavy silence filled the room. Guessing their intentions, Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] grew desperate.
" Wǔ Shīmèi [Fifth Junior Sister] is not awake. Taking the Qīngsuǐ Sǔn [Green Marrow Shoot] like this seems improper," Xià Huái [Xia Huai] hesitated. Not improper—it's terrible! That shoot is my lifeline! She screamed in her mind, but could not move. "How long until she wakes?" "At least a day and night." The man replied decisively, "Saving a life comes first. Take it to mix the medicine. I will explain to her when she wakes." Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] felt her clenched fist pried open. She fought with all her strength to stop them, but her body refused to obey.
She had risked her life for that Qīngsuǐ Sǔn [Green Marrow Shoot]! Unlike her talented martial siblings or even ordinary disciples, her talent was pitiful. She could only rely on sheer hard work. Yet a century had passed; her peers formed cores long ago, and Jiāng Zhǐ [Jiang Zhi] had reached the Yuányīng [Nascent Soul] stage. Even her lower-ranked senior brothers were in late Jīndān [Golden Core]. Only she had spent a hundred years just reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment. A Foundation Establishment cultivator lived only a century—if she failed to form a core now, she would die of old age like a mortal!
This Qīngsuǐ Sǔn [Green Marrow Shoot] was meant to soothe her inner demons and help her form a core—it was her literal life-saver! She had braved the frozen northern caves alone, fought a terrifying ancient beast, snapped the shoot, and used a teleportation talisman to escape. Though she avoided being shredded, the beast's claws pierced her chest, leaving her bleeding out at the gate before she could even store the shoot away. Now they were giving her hard-earned medicine away so casually! How could she ever accept this?
" Jiāng Zhǐ [Jiang Zhi]! Give me back my Qīngsuǐ Sǔn [Green Marrow Shoot]!" Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] bolted upright from the bed. The grand hall was empty, filled only with the soft glow of various treasure displays. The transition from stupor to clarity took only a second. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but Jiāng Zhǐ [Jiang Zhi] and Xià Huái [Xia Huai] were long gone, and so was her shoot. She scrambled off the lotus bed and rushed toward the doors, only to freeze mid-step.
She clearly remembered the beast's razor claws piercing her chest. Instinctively, Yú Nántáng [Yu Nantang] pressed her hand against her heart, checking her robes, feeling her chest left and right, and reaching around to her back... Where were her injuries? Where did those five bloody, gaping holes go?!
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