Heavenly Wheel Ascension

Shen Ruolan fell silent for a moment. A stillness was born from a subtle surprise creeping through the Holy Maiden’s mind. In Chi Di, and indeed across all the Nine Plains, refusing to be part of an Ancient Clan’s banner was an irregularity, but providing conditions for such an offer was a bravery bordering on madness.

One second, two seconds passed, until finally Shen Ruolan’s melodious laughter broke out, ringing clearly as it swept through the silent alleys of East Tiger City. The laughter contained no insult, but a glint of genuine fascination.

"Interesting... truly interesting," Shen Ruolan murmured as she sheathed the Frozen Heart Eternal Sword back into the void. "Zhi Xuan, it seems the people around you truly suffer from the same disease. The disease of mortal arrogance that does not know its place."

Shen Ruolan looked at Zhao Xue with a warmer gaze, as if she had just found a raw gem amidst a pile of pebbles. "Very well, little lotus. I accept your conditions. You shall not be a disciple who prostrates at the gates of the Shen Clan, but rather my personal student who will follow me without the shackles of a clan from now on."

"You said you do not wish to borrow strength," Shen Ruolan said, manifesting the sword back into her body. "Therefore, the Frozen Heart Eternal Sword is also not a blade that will accept the soul of the Thousand Winters Sword. If you desire that sword, you must conquer it yourself later."

Shen Ruolan waved her hand, and a void rift immediately appeared behind her and Zhao Xue. The spatial rift emitted a silvery-purple glow that sucked in the moonlight around it. Shen Ruolan looked toward Zhi Xuan’s back, which was still turned away from them, standing tall like a coral monument in the middle of a night ocean.

"Senior, I will take this little lotus with me for the next few days," Shen Ruolan said, her tone returning to the untouchable elegance of a Holy Maiden. "Seven days is enough time to cleanse the filth left by that bastard Bei Yun from her meridians."

Zhi Xuan slightly turned his head, revealing his strong jawline under the starlight. "Zhao Xue, will you be going to Huang Tu?"

"My goal has been achieved, avenging my master upon Bei Huanteng through your hands," Zhao Xue answered, exhaling a soft breath. "I am not a fool; with Weavers scattered there, Soul Transformation... is merely lowly before a Weaver."

"I see," Zhi Xuan murmured. "A wise choice. Going with Shen Ruolan will give you the chance to stabilize your nearly cracked soul foundation. Do not let the remnants of resentment become a barrier for your next steps."

Shen Ruolan smiled meaningfully, her fingers waving gently at Zhi Xuan. "Seven days, Senior. I hope you have enough chance to live longer. Don't go getting lost among those sand dunes and ancient bones, alright?"

With a graceful step, Shen Ruolan pulled Zhao Xue into the pulsing purple spatial rift. Instantly, the void closed again with a subtle hiss, leaving Zhi Xuan alone in the middle of the East Tiger City streets, which now felt much wider and lonelier.

Ao Sheng, who had been curled up as a small dragon on Zhi Xuan’s shoulder, raised his head. His golden scales glowed faintly under the moonlight that was beginning to be covered by dark clouds.

"Senior, are you really going to let Sister Zhao Xue follow that woman from the Shen Clan?" Ao Sheng whispered, his voice containing deep doubt. "That woman... though she looks enchanting, she has an aura more unpredictable than a storm at sea."

"Shen Ruolan is no fool, Ao Sheng," Zhi Xuan replied while stepping forward, his feet heading toward the city gates to leave the mortal commotion. "She will not waste the talent of Zhao Xue’s Ice Sacred Body. Despite her guile, she appreciates pure beauty. Zhao Xue will be safer with her than following me to where I am headed."

Xiao Die and Yuyan Die slowly emerged from behind his robe collar; the small moth and the small butterfly seemed to be buzzing with annoyance toward Shen Ruolan, whom they regarded as a flirtatious woman.

"Master, the scent of desire is so pungent," a small hum echoed from Yuyan Die; the Six-Desires Devouring Butterfly had apparently observed Shen Ruolan quite closely. "How did Master... get acquainted with that Holy Maiden Shen? Her desire is unrestrained, as if she were not a figure from an Ancient Clan."

"Heh, I’ve been watching her from the start," Xiao Die’s buzzing voice sounded full of irritation. "I wanted to ensnare that woman with these moth threads; if it weren't for Senior, perhaps I would have come out and tried to challenge a Divine Transformation practitioner like her."

Zhi Xuan chuckled lowly, a sound nearly swallowed by the whistling night wind that began to carry the scent of dry sand. He stroked the delicate wings of his two spiritual insects with his fingertip, calming the small emotional turmoil they radiated.

"Enough, are Holy Maidens not always like that," Zhi Xuan said, turning briefly to Yuyan Die. "Yuyan, how is your recovery?"

"Yuyan is fine, Master," Yuyan Die answered in a now more stable tone, though her light pendar was still dim within the folds of Zhi Xuan’s brown robe. "Only slightly shaken by the regression, but it is no matter. In fact, it ensures Yuyan will not appear too arrogant."

Hearing this, Xiao Die’s moth antennae slumped sharply. "Heh, you, you are new to Senior’s side. Even though you were previously a Rank 2 Sacred Beast, you also regressed because that rotten Han Clan soul seal was destroyed by Senior. And now, you’re starting to be bold again?!"

"Why not? Master has allowed me," Yuyan Die replied, her voice clear yet filled with mockery. "Besides, new or not, you are Rank 40, and I am Rank 29; we are far apart on the list of Ancient Insects."

"Hah, insects who only know how to buzz," Ao Sheng growled, closing his eyes on Zhi Xuan’s shoulder. "Go on and fight; moths and butterflies should be sucking nectar in a field of flowers, not bickering about the order of Ancient Insects."

"How dare you?!" the squeaks rang out from the two insect figures. "A rotten dragon like you who only knows how to sleep and wear an arrogant face as if you were a ruler. Rotten Golden Dragon!"

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Zhi Xuan let the small debate flow over his shoulder like a river current unable to disturb the stillness of the lake bottom. To him, the chatter of the small dragon and spiritual insects was the only reminder of a life still pulsing in the middle of the lonely path he traveled. His steps had now passed the boundary of the East Tiger City gates, leaving behind the lantern flickers that began to dim in the distance.

"I will return here in seven days," Zhi Xuan thought, ignoring the ongoing argument. "The journey to Huang Tu is dangerous, and the void between plains cannot be crossed easily if I haven't reached Divine Transformation. Using the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron would also create rifts like back then."

Zhi Xuan stepped forward, closing thousands of zhang in an instant and reappearing in the middle of the Chi Di forest he had previously passed through with the caravan. The moon still showed its peak, but Zhi Xuan dropped onto a flat rock, sitting cross-legged. Under the shade of ancient trees whose branches twisted like giant fingers, he closed his eyes.

In his sea of consciousness, he opened his eyes again and stood before the Devil Tree of Life, looking at Ruo Xianxue who was gazing at her slender fingernails as usual. "Great Saint, you heard everything about Huang Tu, right?"

Ruo Xianxue shifted her gaze from her fingers, her Sun and Moon double pupils flashing; a thin smile laden with mystery graced her ruby-red lips.

"Of course I heard, boy," Ruo Xianxue’s voice flowed melodiously, yet contained echoes of power capable of shaking the soul's foundation. "The Sacred Bell of Heaven’s Creation... it seems my race’s Ten Mysterious Treasures fell there. That is not pleasant to hear at all."

"I know the Ten Mysterious Treasures were forged by the Ancient Devils," Zhi Xuan said, his brow furrowing. "I actually want to study the Mountain and River Style of the Ten Great Secrets again. But, well, do you think this forest is sufficient to be used as a ground?"

Ruo Xianxue laughed softly, the sound like porcelain breaking in a storm, triggering ripples of energy that made the leaves of the Devil Tree of Life rustle violently. She leaned back further, her cloak of darkness hanging as her nine tails glowed.

"This forest?" Ruo Xianxue glanced toward the outside of Zhi Xuan’s consciousness, piercing through layers of reality toward the withered ancient trees of Chi Di. "Boy, if you use the Mountain and River Style in a place this small, you won't just level the forest, you’ll draw the attention of the entire region near East Tiger City. Are you tired of living?"

Zhi Xuan frowned for a moment before stroking his chin. "You are right, but the Mountain and River Style cannot be aimed only within my sea of consciousness. At least, there are still several seals that haven't been released from that disk."

He waved his hand, grabbing the Mountain and River Style disk. The disk appeared in his palm, radiating an ancient brownish-yellow glow and aura.

"If the first technique is the Descent of the Ancient God Mountain," Zhi Xuan murmured. "Then, the second should be related to a river that might be similar to the Jiu-Quan water within the Divine Cauldron."

"Stupid, that is a technique formed by the Ancient Gods, not the Ancient Devils," Ruo Xianxue interrupted, returning her gaze to her nails. "The Jiu-Quan water will not appear within that technique. However, if you are stupid enough to open that seal and try to do it with Jiu-Quan, then just try it. But do not be in a place near trade routes like this."

Zhi Xuan opened his eyes in the real world; the cold Chi Di night felt increasingly biting. He rose, his brown robe rustling softly as he sped away like a shadow crossing the horizon, moving away from the main trade route toward the southwest.

After a while, he reappeared hundreds of li from where he had been. Before him was a chasm quite far from the fertile region of Chi Di, appearing so deep it formed a canyon that seemed endless. He dropped himself into the chasm; the canyon's atmosphere immediately pressed down as he approached the canyon floor.

The air at the bottom of the canyon felt heavy, as if every inch of the atmosphere contained an unspoken burden of thousands of years. Zhi Xuan landed as light as a feather upon the canyon floor, which was filled with sharp black rocks and frozen remnants of earth essence.

He stood tall, letting his brown robe drag across the barren ground. In his hand, the Mountain and River Style disk began to vibrate violently, responding to the silence of the place with an increasingly intense brownish-yellow glow.

"This place is isolated enough," Zhi Xuan murmured, his eyes as deep as the ocean sweeping across the towering canyon walls, imprisoning him in natural darkness. "Now, I will begin to open the seal."

Zhi Xuan dropped onto the rocks, sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes. There, his consciousness reached toward the disk in his hand; a void formed as he slowly saw once again a giant figure standing upon an ocean of boundless rivers.

The giant figure no longer appeared to be painting or dancing across the sky; he seemed merely still, gazing at the expanse of the river, then suddenly with a stomp of his foot, the river twisted and split its flow until it resembled three great streams flowing through heaven and earth.

"I walk between mountain and river, experiencing the change of the river and the permanence of the mountain," the voice thundered, heavy and ancient. "I see a finned creature and watch it pierce the horizon with its wings, born alongside Heaven and Earth, yet not making all existence submit beneath the Dao. This is when a single river fills the entire void, the change atop the unshakeable permanence."

In his sea of consciousness, the giant moved his fingers, which were like heavenly pillars. The previously calm river flow suddenly surged, its water turning into a thick ink-black yet sparkling like a cluster of stars. The flow twisted, entangling space and time, until it created a horrific yet beautiful phenomenon.

Every droplet of water in that vision carried the weight of a mountain, and every ripple bore the echo of thousands of lives that had vanished. Zhi Xuan felt his spiritual body vibrate violently; it was as if every inch of his soul was being forced to contain that endless flow of water.

"Every ripple carries the Kun Peng ocean within it," Zhi Xuan thought, feeling the chaos pearl within his sea of consciousness vibrate. "That energy is reacting; His Majesty should also feel it as I open this understanding."

The roar within Zhi Xuan’s sea of consciousness grew louder, as if the chaos pearl residing at the center of his soul were trying to swallow the entire vision of the ancient river. Outside, at the bottom of the silent canyon, Zhi Xuan’s frame began to emit a golden steam mixed with a thick black mist. The pressure around him surged drastically, causing the black rocks beneath his cross-legged form to crumble into fine powder.

"The river that fills the void..." Zhi Xuan murmured in his trance, his voice echoing doubly, merging with the ancient vibration from the disk in his hand.

He opened his eyes, his movement incredibly graceful as he floated upward slowly. He imitated what the giant had done, looking down as if the earth beneath him were a ripple that would continue to change just as water is an element that will always be a part of the soil.

Zhi Xuan spread both his arms, letting the wide sleeves of his brown robe flutter like wings about to embrace a storm. Beneath his gaze, the previously dead canyon floor seemed to begin to breathe.

The earth essence buried for thousands of years reacted to the glow of the Mountain and River Style disk, creating spatial curvatures that made the stone walls around him appear to warp like reflections on a water surface.

"Mountain and River Style, second technique..." Zhi Xuan’s voice was low, yet contained an authority capable of silencing the wind’s whistle. "Heavenly River Flowing through the World!"

Instantly, the disk in Zhi Xuan’s grip exploded in a glow that was no longer brownish-yellow, but a sky-blue that radiated an ancient coldness. From the spatial rifts behind his back, three grand gates appeared wide open, pouring forth a roaring deep ocean that shook the heavens.

He moved his arms in a circular motion, and the three river flows began to spin around him, forming a giant water vortex that filled the entire canyon cavity. The blue light radiating from this technique illuminated the towering cliff walls, revealing ancient shadows that seemed to rise from the cracks in the stone.