Marrow Cleansing Through the I Ching

After seeing off her guest, the music room returned to silence.

Tang Yuehua's gaze involuntarily fell upon the crystalline Peony Jade Pendant on the table.

The jade was smooth and lustrous, warm to the touch.

"Hm?"

She gave a soft cry, surprise flashing through her beautiful eyes.

The instant her fingertips touched the pendant, she keenly sensed an extraordinarily gentle stream of Soul Power slowly flowing into her body through her meridians.

Though this Soul Power was faint, it was exceptionally pure. If worn close to the body, its effect would likely be no weaker than painstaking cultivation in a mimicry training ground.

"This Treasure Appraisal Pavilion... truly has some skill."

Tang Yuehua could not help sighing inwardly. That seemingly unremarkable Pavilion Master Yang had casually gifted her such a rare treasure.

But was a piece of Sinking Silver truly worth such a precious item?

Or did the Sinking Silver hold some secret?

And this pendant suited me a little too well. Could it be that he knew I was merely an ordinary person whose mutated martial soul made it impossible for me to ever break through level nine?

Then again, in Heaven Dou City, this secret of mine was hardly a secret to many people.

It was precisely because she was an ordinary person that the imperial family had chosen to turn a blind eye, using her and Moonlight Pavilion as a bridge to communicate with the Clear Sky Sect.

Tang Yuehua sighed, then put away both the poems and essays Yang Fan had sent and the Peony Jade Pendant before turning toward the depths of the music room.

She stopped before an ink-wash painting and lightly pressed a spot along the edge of its frame with her jade-like fingers.

With a faint mechanical click, the wall slowly slid apart to either side, revealing a dim secret chamber.

There was not much gold or silver in the chamber. Most of it consisted of calligraphy and paintings by famous scholars, along with several pieces of rare metal emitting strange fluctuations.

Her eldest brother, Tang Xiao, had secretly sent them to her so she could sell them and support herself in Heaven Dou City.

At the sight of those metals, Tang Yuehua's eyes dimmed somewhat.

Eight or nine years ago, her second brother had killed Spirit Hall's Pope, Qian Xunji, with a single hammer blow for that woman. Not only had this forced her second brother onto the road of exile, it had also caused the reputation of the Clear Sky Sect's direct line to plummet.

The Clear Sky Sect had always revered strength above all else.

Her second brother had vanished without a trace, leaving only her eldest brother to shoulder the sect's banner. Otherwise, a useless person like her, whose martial soul had mutated and whose Soul Power had forever stalled at level nine, would likely have long been used as a bargaining chip and married off to another faction.

It was because of this helpless inability to control her own fate that she had shut herself away within Moonlight Pavilion.

At noon the next day, the sunlight was just right.

As promised, Yang Fan entered Moonlight Pavilion. Besides bringing several new lyric and music manuscripts, he had specially prepared a box of fine Calming Tea.

"Lady Yuehua, after parting yesterday, I still felt we had not spoken enough. I was inspired last night and wrote these new lyrics. I have come specifically to ask for your appraisal."

Yang Fan gently placed the manuscripts on the table, his gaze warm as he looked at Tang Yuehua.

Tang Yuehua took the manuscripts. Her fingertips accidentally brushed the back of Yang Fan's hand, and that warm touch made her heart tremble slightly.

She lowered her eyes and softly said, "Pavilion Master Yang, you are most thoughtful."

She lowered her head to read through the lyrics, only to discover that she was somewhat distracted.

Her mind was filled with Yang Fan's deep eyes and the gentle temperament he shared so closely with Ah Yin.

"If life were only like our first meeting, why should the autumn wind bring sorrow to a painted fan..."

She recited softly, her voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.

The melancholy and deep affection within those lines were like an invisible thread, gently plucking at the softest corner of her heart.

She raised her head and met Yang Fan's smiling gaze.

Tang Yuehua hurriedly looked away, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

She sighed inwardly. What was wrong with her? Her heart had been still as water for so many years—why was a young man she had known for barely two days stirring her emotions into disorder?

Yang Fan seemed to notice her unusual state, but he did not expose it. He merely smiled faintly and changed the subject. "Lady Yuehua, I came today not only to deliver these lyrics and collect the Sinking Silver. There is another matter I would like to discuss with you."

Tang Yuehua drew a deep breath, doing her best to restore calm to her voice. "Please speak, Pavilion Master Yang."

Yang Fan's expression turned serious. He looked directly at her, his tone carrying a hint of solemnity. "I have heard that you have cultivated for many years, yet because of your mutated martial soul, your Soul Power has never been able to break through level nine. Is that... true?"

Tang Yuehua's body suddenly stiffened. She stared fixedly at Yang Fan, her voice trembling slightly. "You... what are you trying to say?"

Yang Fan did not avoid her gaze and said frankly, "When you wore that Peony Jade Pendant close to your body yesterday, you should already have noticed its spirit-gathering effect."

He paused, then continued, "My Treasure Appraisal Pavilion has obtained a secret technique specifically for those with mutated martial souls and obstructed meridians. If you trust me, perhaps... I can help you break through level nine."

Yang Fan was not lying.

In truth, he had always been intensely curious and eager to explore cases of people born without Soul Power, or whose Soul Power had reached a bottleneck that was difficult to overcome.

By a fortunate coincidence, he had once come across a yellowed ancient book while browsing the archive pavilion of the Spirit Pagoda.

According to the preface, it was a medical text passed down orally within the family of a man named "Jixiang" twenty thousand years ago.

The name "Jixiang" might be exceedingly unfamiliar to most people on the continent, but if his identity were mentioned, the entire Douluo Continent would likely be shaken.

He had been the Sea God Tang San's personal disciple.

Jixiang's martial soul was a needle. He had been born without Soul Power, yet under Tang San's guidance and assistance, he had ultimately cultivated to become a Soul Douluo.

"What?!"

Tang Yuehua sprang to her feet. Her movement was so abrupt that she even knocked over the teacup on the table.

Scalding tea splashed onto the back of her fair hand, yet she was utterly unaware of it. She only stared at Yang Fan, her gentle eyes filled with disbelief.

"You said... you can help me break through level nine?"

Her voice shook violently, and her eyes instantly reddened, as though she had seized the last straw that could save her life.

"However, I believe in one principle." Yang Fan looked at her loss of composure, a gentle smile curling at his lips as he said evenly, "An equal exchange."

He paused, then continued, "Over the past half year, the development of our Yang's Treasure Appraisal Pavilion in Heaven Dou City has basically reached its limit. Next, we will need to expand outward..."

Tang Yuehua took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She looked at the refined and composed face before her, then at those deep, pool-like eyes. After hesitating for a long while, she finally bit her lower lip and replied, "Why should I believe you? This kind of bottleneck is not something human effort can alter. Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan could not help Yu Xiaogang, whose Innate Soul Power was only level 0.5, break through level twenty-nine. What... gives you the right?"

"Because my Innate Soul Power was also level 0.5, yet I have already cultivated to level thirty-two."

Yang Fan chuckled, a trace of confidence flashing through his eyes.

He quietly released his spiritual power, spreading it outward like ripples across water. Only after confirming that no one was watching the music room did he slowly raise his right hand.

One yellow ring, one yellow ring, one purple ring.

The theoretically optimal soul ring configuration of this era pulsed with dazzling light.

Tang Yuehua was completely stunned as she stared at those three soul rings.

A useless martial soul with Innate Soul Power of level 0.5 had actually broken through level thirty and even obtained a thousand-year third soul ring?

Naturally, Yang Fan did not dare reveal his true soul ring colors of black, black, black. In this era, that would have been far too shocking.