Heavenly Wheel Ascension

"Senior, you seem a little... different," Shen Ruolan whispered as she circled Zhi Xuan, inspecting the black-and-white robes he now wore. "There is a sharper aura about you, as if you have just whetted your soul at the bottom of the deepest abyss. Did the Heavenly Path Pavilion grant you such a precious enlightenment?"

Zhi Xuan remained standing tall, his face as flat as the surface of an ancient, rippleless well. "That place merely reminded me of what I should have known long ago. Holy Fairy Shen, is this ship ready to depart?"

Shen Ruolan chuckled, the sound like the chiming of silver bells. "Of course. But before this ship is steered toward the Chi Di Plains, isn't there something left behind? A promise is a debt of gratitude, and in the world of practitioners, an unpaid debt can become a suffocating karmic snare, can it not?"

Zhi Xuan exhaled a thin breath, a sigh that carried the remnants of a chill. He moved his hand, and a small, softly glowing jade box appeared in his palm.

"This is what you wanted," Zhi Xuan said as he handed the box over.

Shen Ruolan’s supple fingers brushed the surface of the jade box. She could feel a rather interesting vibration of energy—something cold yet possessing a faint pulse of life. Slowly, she opened the lid.

Instantly, a fresh scent of bamboo mixed with a subtle sword intent wafted from within. There lay a tassel ornament woven from eternal Black Bamboo fibers, with a small jade pendant shaped like a lotus bud at its peak.

It was pitch black, yet when exposed to the light, it emitted a mysterious purple glow that harmonized perfectly with Shen Ruolan’s own aura. Her eyes widened slightly. As a Holy Maiden, she had not expected Zhi Xuan to give her something of this nature.

"This..." Shen Ruolan lifted the tassel, letting it dangle between her fingers. "You made this yourself?"

"Just a common thing that was easy to do," Zhi Xuan replied curtly, though he knew it had been somewhat troublesome to refine those bamboo fibers within his divine furnace. "If you find it useless, you can toss it into the sea of clouds."

Shen Ruolan smiled, this time a smile that lost its thin layer of artificial charm. She immediately hooked the ornament onto her silk belt, letting it rest beside her short, jewel-encrusted shawl.

"Toss it away? Oh, Senior, you truly don't know how to treat a woman's heart," Shen Ruolan teased again. "This gift... Ruolan will keep it well. Consider this a sign that you have marked me as your..." She paused, leaning closer to whisper softly, "...your karma."

Zhi Xuan turned his face away, avoiding the purple gaze that flashed with triumph. "Do not indulge in too many fantasies, Holy Fairy. Let this ship depart immediately. I do not wish to waste any more time at this border."

"Still so cold and enchanting as ever," Shen Ruolan sighed as she touched the man's chest, then pulled her body away. She turned, her velvet cloak rustling. "Return to Chi Di."

Instantly, a vortex formed in front of the flying ship, shaping a void gate that served as a passage for the ship to traverse the emptiness between the Plains. The giant vessel of the Ancient Shen Clan vibrated for a moment, triggering the series of seals engraved along its hull to glow brilliantly.

The void gate before them was like the gaping maw of a dragon, swallowing the ship's bow into the eternal darkness that separated dimensions. Shen Ruolan turned again; she looked at Mo Chen, who immediately understood and stepped back, leaving Shen Ruolan and Zhi Xuan alone.

"This journey will take some time, Senior," Shen Ruolan said melodiously. "Come, Ruolan will show you a place for us to rest."

Zhi Xuan did not respond; he simply followed Shen Ruolan’s graceful steps as she led him toward the innermost part of the ship. They passed through corridors whose walls emitted a scent of tranquility capable of suppressing emotional turmoil in anyone who inhaled it.

Shen Ruolan stopped in front of a beautifully carved double door. With a wave of her hand, the door opened, revealing a spacious room facing a giant crystal window, showing the turbulent void outside.

"This is Ruolan’s private meditation room, but for you, Senior, Ruolan is willing to share it," she said while seating herself on a silk cushion. She patted the empty cushion beside her, her eyes glinting with playfulness. "Sit, Senior. Do not stand there like a tomb guardian statue."

Zhi Xuan glanced at the couch with a flat gaze, but instead of approaching Shen Ruolan, he waved his hand and pulled the silk cushion to the opposite side of the table, sitting across from her. "Thank you for your generosity, Holy Fairy."

Shen Ruolan pouted her lips as if disappointed by the rejection, but she did not insist. She poured fragrant tea from a pot into two small cups. "Senior... that night, it was you who hosted Ruolan. This time, it is Ruolan who hosts you."

Ruolan set the pot down with a graceful motion, then lifted a cup before her face, leaning forward to offer it to Zhi Xuan, her pupils flashing with an enchanting purple light. "Senior, please..."

Zhi Xuan accepted the cup without touching Shen Ruolan’s delicate fingers, though the chill from his fingertips briefly clashed with the warmth of the Holy Maiden’s charm. He sipped the tea; it was bitter but left a lingering sweet trail—a high-grade spiritual tea.

"Good tea," Zhi Xuan said shortly, placing the jade cup back onto the stone table. "The Dao of Charm that you cultivate... I have seen it at least once before. Without meaning any disrespect, did it originate from your understanding of the Crescent Moon Clan's legacy within the Secret Realm of Ocean Chaos?"

Shen Ruolan stopped her movement instantly, the cup she was about to touch to her lips suspended in mid-air. Her beautifully arched eyebrows rose slightly, revealing a flash of genuine surprise behind her purple pupils.

"Senior is truly... very sharp," Shen Ruolan replied, not losing her poise. "Quite right. If brother Shen Jiuxiao gained an understanding of the Heavenly Judgment back then, then I, Ruolan, gained an understanding of the Charm and Illusion that has ensnared many."

The cup tipped to her lips, then returned gracefully to the table. She leaned her body slightly to the side, resting her jaw on her palm. "Well... at least there is one who is not so easily... ensnared."

"Senior’s Dao Heart is very cold and vast," Shen Ruolan continued. "No wonder you can gaze upon the Ancient Clans without trembling. And yes... it only makes various lotuses more inclined to draw near when a different river mouth appears."

Zhi Xuan did not immediately respond to the veiled compliment. He turned his gaze out the crystal window, watching the flow of the void rushing by like silver threads amidst the darkness of the dimension. "A lotus that approaches a cold river mouth will only freeze, Holy Fairy."

"But sometimes," Zhi Xuan said, pausing for a moment, "a lotus also has its own arrogance, refusing to be swept away by the current. If some lotuses indeed allow themselves to be dragged along, then the river mouth cannot be called cruel for swallowing them."

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Goodness, hurting Ruolan’s heart again," she replied playfully, a small laugh dancing on her lips. "But I admit, perhaps only Senior was brave enough back then to stand before the Nine Ancient Clans, then challenge the Ancient Han Clan right after the Holy Sons and Daughters had ascended to the Divine Transformation realm."

Shen Ruolan straightened her posture slightly, causing her velvet cloak to slip down unintentionally. "Then do not blame the Lotus if the river mouth itself is so enchanting."

"Twenty years," Zhi Xuan murmured, ignoring her words. His voice sounded heavy, like an echo of an inevitable future. "The time given by fate for Han Shanshan to sharpen her fangs, and for me to collapse the sky she prides herself on."

Shen Ruolan withdrew her charm slightly, allowing the atmosphere to become more serious. She observed Zhi Xuan’s face, illuminated by the glow from outside the window. The man’s resolve was not born of pure hatred, but from a promise that seemed carved onto the Samsara Wheel.

"Your name—or the name currently spreading across the Nine Plains as Gu Fengyan—is indeed being widely discussed," Shen Ruolan said. "Even in Chi Di, every practitioner from the eastern horizon to the western horizon has heard of you. The promise you made that day truly created a new page in the history of the Nine Ancient Clans, Senior."

Zhi Xuan curled his lips into a thin smile, an expression that resembled a sword strike more than friendliness. "I did not set out to exalt my name in the hopes of the Ancient Clans. However, I will not simply allow the Ancient Clans to oppress practitioners who come from mortality like me."

"This grandeur you provide will also not hide the storm waiting for me in Chi Di, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan remarked. "You brought me there not just to see the Ancestral Hall, did you? The Shen Clan must have factions that will not welcome the presence of a stranger who has a connection to their Emperor’s Monument."

Shen Ruolan sighed, her fingers appearing restless as she rubbed the velvet of her cloak. "Senior is always cautious. Shen Jiuxiao, who is now the crown since Father ascended to the Upper Realm, might have a broad vision."

"However, the Grand Elders..." Shen Ruolan paused slightly. "They are stubborn old men. To them, the Shen Clan Ancestral Hall belongs to the Shen Clan; no one outside their bloodline is allowed entry, especially someone hunted by the Han Clan."

"But the decree will not lie," Shen Ruolan continued. "The guidance provided by the Ancestral Hall points directly toward you."

Zhi Xuan tapped the surface of the stone table with a slow rhythm, each tap triggering a small ripple in the tea within his cup. Her explanation was not surprising to him. The Ancient Clans, with all their grandeur and long history, always suffered from the same disease: bloodline arrogance. They viewed the outside world as dust and themselves as pure gold that must never be tainted.

"The decree you speak of is the rope pulling me there," Zhi Xuan said, his voice low yet containing an invisible pressure. "And those Elders... they would rather cut that rope than let a stranger touch their ancestors' legacy. Is that what you are trying to say?"

Shen Ruolan did not deny it. She sipped her now-cooled tea, letting silence envelop the meditation room for a moment. "The Elders will not dare to do anything to you. They know that you have the Ancient Zhu and Hua Clans behind you. The Nine Ancient Clans know this. The Ancient Shen Clan also has no intention of becoming your enemy, Senior."

"Ruolan brought you purely because it is the decree of the Ancestral Hall," she continued. "I also did not expect you to be in Cang Hai; my original plan was to go to Xing Luo and consult with Holy Daughter Zhu to find out exactly where you were and bring you back."

Zhi Xuan leaned his back against the fragrant sandalwood chair, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. "Searching in Xing Luo? It seems the Ancient Shen Clan truly pays great attention to my existence. However, linking my safety to the support of the Zhu or Hua Clans is a mistake, Holy Fairy. I stand here by my own will, not by taking shelter under the shade of any clan."

Shen Ruolan set her cup down with a very slow movement, her purple eyes now gazing at Zhi Xuan with a rare honesty. "Senior, in these Nine Plains, pride is often sharper than a sword. I do not doubt your strength, but the situation is heating up after your promise to the Ancient Han Clan. The worst-case scenario could come for you at any time, Senior."

Her voice rose slightly at the end, as if her grace and charm were cracking under the weight of an unintended worry. Zhi Xuan remained silent; he had indeed considered that relations between the Ancient Clans would become strained after his conflict with the Han Clan.

If he appeared in the Shen Clan, it meant the Han Clan might also feel free to infiltrate Chi Di and damage their respective territories. He looked back to when Bai Wuchen said he had kicked back messengers from the Han Clan several times from the Cang Hai territory. Now, it was highly likely the Han Clan would do the same.

Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, letting the flow of energy within the ship guide his mind toward the increasingly complex map of power in the Nine Plains. "The Ancient Han Clan will not stay quiet," he hissed. "If Bai Wuchen had to repel their messengers in Cang Hai, then in Chi Di, they might act more aggressively. Letting me enter your Ancestral Hall is the last thing they want to see."

Shen Ruolan nodded, the black bamboo tassel at her waist swaying gently with her movement. "Correct. Han Shanshan is not someone who will wait twenty years in silence. To her, every day you breathe is a slap to the Han Clan’s honor. News that you are under the protection of the Shen Clan ship will reach her ears faster than a storm wind."

"When I arrive in Chi Di, give me at least three days," Zhi Xuan interrupted coldly. "Show me a place in the vast Chi Di that has no life. I, too, do not enjoy someone constantly pressing their blade against my neck whenever I walk."

Shen Ruolan was stunned for a moment, looking into Zhi Xuan’s sapphire eyes which now glinted like the surface of ice reflecting starlight. The request sounded odd to an ordinary practitioner, but she caught a vibration of a much darker, bloodthirsty intent behind the man's calm.

"A place without life?" Shen Ruolan repeated, her voice losing its coquettish tone. "Chi Di is known for its eternal fertility, Senior. However, at the northern edge, there is a region called the Forest Spirit Land. It is so vast that practitioners rarely occupy the north. Though the land there looks lush and fertile, it hides vegetation that often swallows anything entering its territory."

She observed Zhi Xuan’s motionless expression. "Why do you want such a place? If you seek silence, the Hall at Ruolan’s residence is far more suitable and pure."

"I am not looking to meditate, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan answered flatly as he rose from his seat. He walked toward the crystal window, staring at the flow of the void. "Rather, it is to remove the blade from my neck that continues to make me sick. However, I will not stain the soil of Chi Di even if it is a lifeless place; the blood from the blade pressed against my neck shall not fall upon Chi Di's soil, not even a single drop."

Shen Ruolan was somewhat stunned, and just as she was about to reply, the black-and-white robe obscured her view as Zhi Xuan reappeared before her and pressed his finger against her lips.

"Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan whispered, his voice low yet containing an undeniable authority. "I did not agree to come to Chi Di for protection, but because I want to see what the Ancient Clan Ancestral Hall is... and perhaps find answers to my own origins through that Emperor’s Monument."

Zhi Xuan withdrew his finger, leaving a cold trail on Ruolan’s reddish lips. He turned his back to the Holy Maiden and looked again at the darkness of the void behind the crystal window.

"I do not need to involve someone like you in this," Zhi Xuan continued without turning. "That might... stain the lotus that should stand proudly in its own current, without being dragged away by the river mouth that swallows everything. Holy Fairy Shen, is that not so?"

Shen Ruolan froze, her amethyst eyes trembling violently. That brief touch on her lips had left more than just a chill; it was a silent seal that stifled all the arguments she had prepared to steer this man.

She looked at Zhi Xuan’s firm back, realizing that the man before her was not a pawn she could move on the Ancient Clans' chessboard, but a storm that chose its own path. She understood now why Holy Fairy Zhu and Holy Fairy Ye had anchored their karma to him.

"Senior is truly a cruel man," Shen Ruolan finally whispered, her voice hoarse yet slowly regaining its challenging sensual tone. She touched her own lips. "You always act like a lonely wanderer, yet you only make me want to hold onto you even more."

Zhi Xuan did not answer directly; he still did not turn. "Forest Spirit Land... it would be suspicious if you dropped me right at its face, Holy Fairy. I will choose the place to descend myself. As for the rest, you can wait quietly while I fulfill the Ancestral Hall's decree once I am finished."

"Ruolan understands," she replied as she stood up, her velvet cloak rising again. She turned, walking gracefully toward the door. "Then, Ruolan will leave Senior alone here. And, Senior..."

She stopped her step right at the doorway, but did not turn back. The dim light from the ship's corridor framed her beautiful silhouette, creating a long shadow that fell at Zhi Xuan’s feet.

"Come back alive," Shen Ruolan whispered, her voice no longer playful but carrying a sincere warning. "Because if Senior disappears for more than three days, then Ruolan will not hesitate to search for, ensnare, and possess Senior for herself."