St. Ancestral Mountain, Li Shuan Lake
Xue Hui and Silver stood on top of the frozen water above the lake, watching as a large amount of water crashed down below, creating massive splashes and thunderous noise.
The stream of water was so strong that anything falling underneath would be decimated in an instant, including people below Silver rank.
Deep in thought, Xue Hui pursed his lips, as his eyes fixed on the wall hidden behind the raging water.
Xue Hui patted Silver, signaling him to send another blast of energy directly toward the falling water.
"RAUL!"
BOOM!
WOOSH!
Disrupting its flow, Xue Hui was able to catch a glimpse of the inscription patterns hiding behind the water.
Memorizing every part of it, Xue Hui returned to thought, cracking the inscription pattern within his mind, without minding the world around him.
Beside him, stood protectively is Silver,
His task is to keep on guard while driving away any demon beasts that dare approach their direction.
Floating around Xue Hui were the Ten Whiskers Water Attribute Needles, which he used to freeze the water beneath them.
Eyes flashed in realization, Xue Hui had finally found a method to crack the inscription's lock and immediately sent a voice transmission to Silver, telling what to do.
Receiving the instructions, Silver stood firmly on the iced platform, as Xue Hui took a deep breath to ready himself.
With another tap signaling his companion, Silver unleashed a powerful blast of condensed energy toward the waterfall, disrupting its stream once again.
"RAUL!"
BOOM!
WOOSH!
Once the gap opened, both Xue Hui and Silver lunged forward, positioning themselves directly beneath the waterfall.
With a flick of his finger, Xue Hui used the Ten Whiskers Water Attribute Needles to create a small ice dome, enclosing both him and Silver inside.
BOOM!
SHOOOOOOOOOSH!
CREAK! CRACK!
The moment they were enclosed inside, the water above the ice dome immediately crashed down onto them, the immense pressure cracked the surface of the ice.
Without stopping, Xue Hui swiftly broke apart the inscription patterns carved into the rock wall.
Silver remained quiet while Xue Hui did his things, while watching the cracks on the ice dome crawled rapidly in the dome with every passing second.
CREAK! CRACK! Creak! Crack!
"It's open!"
WOOOOOOOOOSH!
The moment Silver felt the rock wall slide open, he immediately picked the boy up and dragged him inside.
Right before the water above them crashed down, shattering the ice dome into pieces.
"That was close," Xue Hui muttered under his breath, chuckling, as he stood up and dusted the dirt on his clothes.
"Ra-ul." Silver with a deadpan expression, stood beside.
Looking around, what welcomed them was a cave with a huge open space. At the center sat a corpse in a cross-legged position, and nothing else as the cave is empty.
Approaching the corpse, Xue Hui picked up the scroll held within its bone-dry hands and spread it open.
The moment Xue Hui saw its contents, all the excitement within him died down faster than the time he died beneath the claws of a demon beast.
"What a bummer, it's just a cultivation technique." His shoulders slumped as all his earlier enthusiasm vanished.
"All those locking measures you laid down just for this? Heaven Lightning Kirin Cultivation Technique," Xue Hui complained, ignoring the fact that the Heaven Lightning Kirin Cultivation Technique was probably the only complete cultivation technique in the entire Glory City, powerful enough to push someone to Legend Rank within a short ten years of time.
Due to Xue Hui being trapped inside the [CREATION ORIGIN ANCESTRAL MANUAL], he had been exposed to a vast number of supreme cultivation techniques.
Which made him completely desensitized to any cultivation technique below the supreme level.
Unknowingly.
In his previous life, this cave had been discovered by a demon spiritualist named Du Ze.
A member of a extremely decline family, Du clan.
In order to finance his cultivation, Du Ze had no other choice but to travel outside the city walls prompted him to searched of any valuable resources, he could either use or sell.
Back then, the house master of the Du Family, Du Meng, had abdicated his patriarchal position due to declining health and passed the seat of the house master to the most promising member of their family, Du Ze.
Along with the responsibility, Du Meng also passed down the Du Family's treasured heirloom, the Kirin Crystal.
This Kirin Crystal was the very reason why Du Ze managed to enter the cave and obtain the Heaven Lightning Kirin Cultivation Technique.
Allowing him to have a fortunous encounter, the technique allowed Du Ze to reached Gold Rank Demon Spiritualist in a short period of time.
Unfortunately for Du Ze, both time and resources were lacking.
Just like everybody else, Du Ze died during the demon beast horde attacked before he could reach Legend Rank.
Feeling dejected, Xue Hui placed the Heaven Lightning Kirin Cultivation Technique back into the corpse's hands.
'How could a Heaven Lightning Kirin Cultivation Technique can be compared to his [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon]' Xue Hui thought while shaking his head dejectedly.
Sighing, he looked around, trying to find anything that could interest him, but only saw nothing.
"Now what!?" He asked, sighing in frustration, looked at Silver for any idea, but the white donkey just shrugged at him in response.
"Maybe I should try to comprehend the power of the law?" Xue Hui pondered.
Back then, during their fight in the treasure chamber, Xue Hui had a close encounter with the Law of Piercing within Guān Ning's nails, allowing him to comprehend a small fragment of its natural law.
The power of law was like an inscription pattern laid down by a supreme expert.
To comprehend the power of a law was to comprehend that supreme expert's vast insight into the natural order.
According to Xue Hui's understanding, once the power of a law was fully comprehended by a person, that individual would become the very personification of that law itself.
This meant that for thousands of years, no one else had been able to comprehend the Law of Piercing because Guān Ning was still around.
Now that she was gone, the fragments of the Law of Piercing had been passed down to the next person with the deepest insight into its power, and that person was Xue Hui.
Despite that, Xue Hui found himself hesitant to fully comprehend its power.
He could tell that the power of law was deeply connected to that supreme expert.
Controlling the power of the law was like placing oneself within that supreme expert's grasp.
And Xue Hui hated that idea.
He was already dancing in the palm of the Origin God of Lights, the one who had created and passed down the [CREATION ORIGIN ANCESTRAL MANUAL].
To willingly placed himself within the grasp of another unknown supreme expert, someone who Xue Hui judged as below to the Origin God of Lights, felt utterly wrong to him.
His pride simply wouldn't allow it.
Sitting cross-legged, Xue Hui contemplated what to do with the fragments of the law within him.
Pondering, Xue Hui remained in deep thoughts, eyes closed, ignoring the world around him.
Silver sat next to him. He had been ordered by his master to keep Xue Hui safe, and since he judged that the cave was fairly secured, he used the opportunity to take a nap.
Time passed and the cave gradually darkened. Apparently, whatever light source that was illuminating the cave was connected to the light outside, as the sun set and the world lost its light, so did the cave.
That's when Xue Hui slowly opened his eyes, as a flash of excitement glinted within them.
"I know what to do!, the answer is so simple!" Xue Hui yelled, his voice reverberated inside the cave.
Without second thought, Xue Hui disregarded the fragments of law of Peircing within him. He had already comprehended their structure and had no more use for them.
"Just like my cultivation technique, I'll make my own power of law!" Xue Hui declared, as excitement surged through his heart. "I've already created my own path, so I might as well continue in that direction."
The power of law Xue Hui intended to create would undoubtedly be inferior compared to the existing ones.
But Xue Hui was confident that once he grew in strength, so did the power of law he was about to create, and in the future, how could his power of law be inferior to that of the supreme experts.
Xue Hui smirked, as his heart was set to surpass that supreme expert strength.
Sitting cross-legged, Xue Hui began creating the power of law within his soul realm.
It was not spiritual energy, nor heavenly energy.
It was a completely different set of power, something that came from deep understanding the Law of all existence, its Origin.
If any other expert tried to comprehend the profundity of Origin, they would have to spend their entire lifetime just to gain a tiny bit of insight about Origin.
But for Xue Hui, who had read the scroll of the [CREATION ORIGIN ANCESTRAL MANUAL] and comprehend the truth of the creation of all existence itself, his understanding of Origin had already reached an unprecedented level.
Xue Hui remained in a meditative state, his consciousness peering deep into his soul realm, seemingly waiting for something to appear.
One hour.
Four hours.
Sixteen hours.
Xue Hui waited, his mind focused entirely on his soul realm. Sweat dripped from his clothes as fatigue slowly crept over him.
Despite that, Xue Hui never allowed his mind to wander even once.
"There it is!"
Sensing a tiny ripple, Xue Hui's eyebrows knitted. He immediately recited the first four chapters of the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon], altering his cultivation path and connecting himself to the power of natural law.
The tiny ripple was immediately seized by Xue Hui, preventing it from dissipating.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Like reeling a fish, Xue Hui struggled for control as the tiny ripple attempted to escape.
Reaching the brink of exhaustion, Xue Hui poured every ounce of his strength into controlling the ripple within his soul realm. Slowly, he began to see a void-like hole forming and circling inside it.
'This is it!' Xue Hui yelled within his mind.
The void gave the same sensation Xue Hui had felt during the time he read the story of Creation Origin. It carried the same feeling as the Origin Tree and the Origin Gods.
It was minuscule compared to the vastness of the Origin Tree and the Origin Gods, but the power was there.
The void circulated rapidly, beginning to take the shape of a sphere.
"Okay… water? Or piercing?" Xue Hui pondered, choosing between the powers of law he's more familiar with.
"Piercing it is!"
Having decided which Origin he would create first, Xue Hui grasped the void and shaped it with his insight into the Law of Piercing. The void gradually formed into a sphere containing the Law of Piercing, reshaping it to be Origin of Piercing.
"I DID- arck!"
Before Xue Hui could celebrate, he was bombarded by the feeling of a tearing sensation within his soul realm.
It was sudden, yet the sensation was extremely intense. Blood burst from Xue Hui's mouth, eyes, and ears as his body convulsed violently before collapsing onto the ground, completely unmoving.
"RAUL!"
Seeing Xue Hui collapse, Silver rushed toward him, anxiously checking his condition.
"I'm f-fine… just… need… to… rest…" Xue Hui muttered weakly as consciousness gradually faded.
Sixteen hours later.
As Xue Hui began to stir in his sleep, the feeling of something gently tugging at his sleeve as they shook his body, Xue Hui groaned as he slowly opened his eyelids. At the same time his ears could pick up the faint noise around him.
Remembering what had happened before everything he lost consciousness, Xue Hui took out a Nine Transformation Pill, and tried to bring it to his mouth, only to discover that he couldn't move his arm at all.
Lucky for Xue Hui, his companion, Silver, noticed the pill. As the white donkey picked up the pill and carefully placed it into Xue Hui's mouth.
Swallowing the nine transformation pill, Xue Hui closed his eyes once again, letting the pill's medicinal effects take hold.
Another hour passed, and Xue Hui's body had fully recovered, thanks to the Nine transformation pill.
With his little strength back, Xue Hui pushed himself up, taking out a pitcher of water, Xue Hui poured the liquid to his lips, relieving the feeling of dryness to his mouth and throat.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, and thanking Silver.
Xue Hui sat down to check the current conditions of his physique.
Xue Hui's internal injuries were completely healed, but he grimaced upon discovering what had happened to his soul realm.
One-Star Bronze Rank.
Xue Hui's soul force had regressed back to One-Star Bronze Rank. All the progress he had made up to this point had all vanished.
Another thing Xue Hui noticed was a purple-colored sphere slowly circling within his soul realm. While emitting a faint trace of power of law.
No!, actually, scratch that.
It wasn't the power of law.
It was the power of Origin.
The Origin of Piercing.
Xue Hui had succeeded. He had created a new form of power, something entirely unique to him.
Although Xue Hui looked at his current strength, he couldn't help but let out a weary laugh.
'it seems that the cost of creating such a power seemed quite exorbitant.' he pondered, already imagining the amount of work he needed to put out just to continue to grow in strength.
As he continued to probe the purple sphere, Xue Hui's eyes went wide, as he realized that the orb possessed its own soul realm, which was connected to his.
Currently, the purple orb only possesses one point of soul force.
Curious, Xue Hui took out several bottles of Soul Enhancement Elixirs and used them.
After a couple of hours, the second soul realm had increased its soul force to sixty-seven, while his own soul realm showed no sign of increasing.
Taking out another batch of elixirs, Xue Hui continued to cultivate, increasing his Soul force, until an entire two days had passed.
"Two-Star Bronze Rank," Xue Hui muttered as he stood up.
During his small experiment, he concluded that the violet sphere functioned as a second soul realm.
Only when the violet sphere caught up in terms of soul force strength with his main soul realm did his cultivation begin to show signs of increasing again.
This meant that his soul force had effectively doubled, even though his rank remained the same.
Furthermore, Xue Hui now needed twice the amount of cultivation resources he originally required to break through.
"It's like having an amount of soul force akin to Silver Rank while I'm still in Bronze Rank," Xue Hui pondered.
Another thing he discovered was that the Liu-Jiaren had actually disappeared, leaving behind only one sphere.
Summoning it, what floated in front of him was a sphere similar to the Origin of Piercing, but larger in size compared to Liu-Jiaren. No, actually, Xue Hui could sense that he could change its shape at will.
Trying it out, the violet sphere swelled to a size larger than Xue Hui himself before shrinking down to the size of a grape.
"Neat!," Xue Hui exclaimed, grinning in excitement.
He then sent the violet sphere toward the inscription lock placed at the entrance.
WOOSH!
CHING!
The purple sphere penetrated the inscription lock with little to no resistance, completely destroying the array.
Satisfied, Xue Hui called the violet sphere back to him.
"Once I fully comprehend this Origin of Piercing, no defense will be powerful enough to stop me." He stated, as the glow within his eyes intensified.
Although Xue Hui had lost massive progress in his cultivation, the end result was still a tremendous boon to his cultivation foundation.
Reaching Legend Rank wasn't enough for Xue Hui. In order to protect Glory City, he needed to become an absolute powerhouse, someone who could crush an entire demon beast horde with a flick of his finger.
The Power of Origin.
Xue Hui grinned. With this newfound path, he would surely change the fate of Glory City.
"Silver, I think we can go back now." He said, while storing the cultivation technique in the corpse's hand, now that the inscription lock is broken, it will be dangerous if a member of a dark guild stumbled upon the cave.
"Ra~ul." Silver answered, eager to return home himself.
Relieved to see the boy safe, Silver followed him as they headed out.
Divine Family Mansion.
Chen Linlin could be seen sitting cross-legged, practicing a breathing exercise her mother had taught her.
Opening her eyes, her gaze landed on a scroll, making her eyes glimmer with anticipation. It was a book all about the Holy Orchid Institute.
In a few years, she and Xue Hui will enter the academy, starting their journey as students, and protector of Glory City.
Snow Wind Family Mansion.
Leaning against a window is Ye Ziyun, she stared outside, lost in thought as she replayed the scene from a month ago.
the one where she sat beside Xue Hui, as she wiped the sweat from his forehead while he tirelessly treated her mother's illness.
"Xue Hui…" she murmured.
Wind Dragon Family Mansion.
The sound of quiet sniffles could be heard inside one of its rooms.
Hiding beneath layers of blankets was Xiao Ning'er. The poor girl had just learned that she was going to be married off to the young master of the Sacred Family, a young master who's widely known to be a terrible kid.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
She didn't want to become that person's wife.
But she was powerless to resist.
Drowning in her despair, she suddenly remembered the small boy riding a funny-looking donkey.
Driven by desperation, Xiao Ning'er unknowingly muttered a few words before tiring herself from crying as she fell asleep.
"Please save me..."
Heavenly Marks Family.
A boy stood on top of a tree branch, gazing at the distant sky. His eyes were filled with wonder.
"Lord Nie Li… that's what you'll all gonna call me someday," he declared, imagining himself becoming a Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist like Ye Mo.
St. Ancestral Mountain.
Xue Hui summoned the violet sphere, changing its shape to a platform, so that he and Silver could stand on top of it as it carried them, drifting gently through the air.
Xue Hui looked at the setting sun, admiring its soft rays coloring the sky.
For a moment, he forgot everything about the chaos that was bound to happen in the future. Just for that brief moment, Xue Hui allowed himself to enjoy the peace brought by the silence and tranquility of the world around him.
End of Chapter 35