There is a price for acting cool… for aura farming.
Using [Sword Light Refraction] once dented my mental capacity by a lot. It is a major realm higher than my current capabilities.
My Qi cultivation that reached middle Purple Mansion or my mental cultivation in late Purple Mansion did not have any chances.
That single attack in this frozen lake almost knocked me out cold.
I used a Golden Core power in Purple Mansion Realm. It is very nerfed. Still, this nerfed version killed Chiyou in one hit.
Crunch-!
Crunch-!
I bit onto the pills I prepared earlier. Prior to the fight, I placed them in my mouth.
They came from the gacha: a middle third grade qi restorative pill and a late third grade mind restorative pill. There are quite a few bottled pills amidst my treasure pile.
A sense of coolness headed straight to my almost empty dantian. My mind felt ‘refreshed’. I swiftly regained my normal processing speed.
Truly, taking drugs… spiritual pills is the right way.
I watched as its medicinal effect got filtered by my crystal dantian. The semi-smelted high grade Spirit Roots ensured there won’t be any leftovers… impurities, to speak.
All of this happened while staring at the Xuanyuan Sword.
An entire minute of staring later, a soul flew out of it. Her appearance is the same as I saw.
The former empress of Shenzhou, Ji Xuanyuan.
Her eyes are sent to a daze. It took another minute for her to snap out of it.
“For vanquishing this evil beast… thank you.” She did not give me a chance to breathe. “I will imbue my remaining power to this sword. You—”
“Hold up! Is that it?!”
Another voice came out of the Xuanyuan Sword. It is extremely similar to Ji Xuanyuan’s. Both of them sound courageous and dignified.
“We both know he isn’t talking about the Xuanyuan Sword!”
She’s right.
I can see how she wanted to leave this world after "enhancing" the tenth Divine Key.
“We have different interpretations of the sword.” I spoke out. “Ultimately, it lies in our realizations. A strong will? Unbreakable blade? To protect humanity?”
Her soul looked at me.
“All I want to say is… Don’t you want to step onto this road?”
I saw through her fatigue. She must have wanted to follow the footsteps of Fuxi and Nuwa. I can still recall the part of the game when Chiyou got dealt with.
My eyes can tell their condition. Only her soul is left… and it is dissipating fast. Ironically, it is her dark version that is in a better condition; just slightly.
By doing nothing, they will truly die.
“You speak like an old monk. Be more direct. What is this sword way you speak of?”
Grandpa Su must have rubbed off of me.
“Immortal Cultivation. It is a power that lies beyond the honkai. Cultivate well and you will beat the honkai.”
“Pfft—!”
The normal Ji Xuanyuan looked at me seriously. Her dark counterpart, on the other hand, scoffed at it.
“You might as well say you are an Immortal!”
This is where I would say “Presumptuous!”
There’s even the classic “You have eyes but cannot recognize Mount Tai.”
It rhymes and rolls of the tongue smoothly.
I chose not to speak.
I fully let out the power of [Sword Light Refraction]. Both the real Ji Xuanyuan and her dark counterpart fell silent.
Just when I showed off my momentum, a peering gaze landed on me.
It feels like…
Spiritual consciousness?
My own spiritual consciousness extended upwards. Immediately, I saw a huge aircraft. I don’t know if it is the Hyperion or not.
I pushed it aside for the time being. I searched for the origin of that gaze.
Soon, I finally saw who it was.
The Tuna.
*****
Twenty minutes ago.
A huge spike in honkai energy erupted in Shenzhou. This wasn’t the first time it happened. Both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy reacted immediately.
This time, Anti-Entropy arrived the fastest. It took a total of twenty minutes for Kiana to respond.
The nearby coastal area did not have any residents. The nearest city is more than twenty kilometers away.
‘A reading belonging to a Herrscher.’
Kiana kept it in mind as she flew. The huge ice lake could be seen even from the satellite feeds. The sharp increase in honkai energy showed it, too.
Cross-referencing from their database…
Herrscher of Ice.
‘I will strike first. I won’t be an uber cool popsicle!’
She teleported to arrive here and then opted to spiritual qi to lay low.
Soon, she arrived at the scene of the incident. The ice lake was no more. It is crumbling down into smaller pieces.
Most importantly, a sharp intent permeated its center.
Kiana’s heart skipped. An outrageous thought came to her mind.
‘Is it—?’
Her spiritual consciousness extended downwards.
It did not take long to see a huge carcass split into two. Inside its body are a bunch of soulium orbs.
Her sight shifted to the soul of a woman… and then to the man standing nearby.
The moment she saw that silver light, her entire world paused.
Kiana forgot to breathe and speak. The overwhelming surge of emotions prompted her to fly straight to Chiyou’s corpse.
She did not say a word. Consequently, the man… Shi Tian removed the silver light hiding his face.
His eyes met Kiana’s head-on. His spiritual consciousness alone sensed her turbulent mind.
Tap.
Her feet landed on the ground.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Several afterimages stood in place. Kiana herself is already in front of him. Her free-flowing long white hair momentarily mesmerized Shi Tian.
Their height difference prompted her to look up. Her eyes carefully scrutinized each and every detail on Shi Tian’s face.
Without a word…
“Ow!”
She locked him in a tight hug. The force behind it is not meant for ordinary humans.
Hum-!
Buzz-!
The atmosphere around them turned heavy… literally. Gravity responded to Kiana’s state of mind.
‘She’s a T-Rex again…’
Shi Tian thanked his physical body. He is at the late stage of body cultivation with a supernatural seed related to his body (Dao of Extremity). He could not help but think Kiana’s gotten one too.
Amidst this meeting, the unfortunate duo became the spectators.
“An emotional reunion…”
Dark Ji Xuanyuan did not give out a response. She is still stuck at the impact of Shi Tian’s [Sword Light Refraction].
“What do you plan to do..?”
Ji Xuanyuan asked her.
“...It’s none of your business.”
Shi Tian patted Kiana’s head. She understood it and freed him… for now.
“There’s not much time left. You came out and started your death timer. Especially your condition.”
He pointed to Ji Xuanyuan. As he did, a blank jade tablet appeared in front of him. It bore huge similarities to ancestral tablets.
“It’s time to change your home. Come inside here.”
His fingertip touched the jade tablet.
“...”
“...”
The two Ji Xuanyuans were put at a loss.
*****
A/N: We reached the 500 powerstone milestone. Be prepared for a bonus chapter tomorrow ;)
PS: If we happen to reach 1k powerstones one day, I'll pitch another bonus chapter aside from the two that needs to be published that time.