Essences of Heaven, Earth, and Man

The examination space, with Kong Jiao's departure, returned once more to its ancient, enduring silence.

The solid ice that had covered the entire space because Kong Jiao cultivated the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture was slowly melting as well.

But the silence here did not last long.

A childish girl's voice suddenly rang out, shattering the brief tranquility.

"Yi-Twelve, the cultivation method you gave him was wrong, wasn't it? The Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture is a cultivation method only inner sect disciples can practice."

"Even if that fellow passed the examination, he would only be an outer sect disciple. He should be cultivating the Cold Palace Wonderful Moon Scripture, using Frostsnow Essence to nourish his wheel."

As she said this, the little girl's voice became somewhat envious. "That would have been one thing, but you actually let him take away two essence souls at once. The Snow-Soul Essence is nothing much, but there was also a portion of Lunar Essence."

"With his talent, becoming an inner sect disciple is merely a matter of time. Giving it to him later is no different from giving it to him now." Yi-Twelve's dull voice rose from the darkness in reply to Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi.

Yi-Twelve's answer left Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi speechless. She could only reply resentfully, "You really are generous. The Lunar Essence that Frostmoon Altar gathered only after such long years—you gave it away just like that without even blinking."

Yi-Twelve did not respond. His dark golden pupils slowly dimmed in the darkness, as if he had entered some dormant state once again.

Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi, radiating crystalline light, said nothing further either.

Outside.

Shangguan Yuzhou stood at the edge of the great canyon cliff, facing Kong Jiao. Completely unconcerned with the bruises on his face, he pointed at the wrecked Frostmoon Altar below and said cheerfully:

"I searched every corpse here and couldn't find you."

"That was when I knew you weren't going to die that easily. You must have been hiding away somewhere."

"Sure enough, you really did survive..."

Kong Jiao merely grinned noncommittally. Had he not been clever enough to exploit the special nature of his cultivation method, lowering his body temperature to its lowest point and blending perfectly into the snowfield—

His fate would likely have been no different from those who had died here.

But he offered no further explanation on the matter and instead casually asked Shangguan Yuzhou, "Senior Brother Shangguan, why did you come to Frostmoon Altar?"

"As soon as I left seclusion, I heard Junior Sister Zhou say something had happened at Frostmoon Altar. She said you had failed to escape while covering her retreat. So I hurried over." Shangguan Yuzhou smiled carelessly, breezing over his journey here as lightly as clouds drifting on the wind.

Kong Jiao knew Shangguan Yuzhou's temperament. The process had likely not been so simple.

Still, he did not ask further, merely nodding calmly.

Since Shangguan Yuzhou had met Zhou Tingyu, he should have known how dangerous Frostmoon Altar was. Yet he had come to save him without hesitation the moment he left seclusion.

That stirred Kong Jiao slightly.

But men expressed their feelings differently.

The two merely exchanged a smile. Everything was left unspoken.

As the two spoke briefly—

"If you don't leave now, I won't wait for you."

A light, impatient voice suddenly came from behind them.

The exquisitely delicate girl, like a porcelain doll, sat atop a bare bluestone amid the snow. Resting her delicate chin in both hands, she reminded them in a mild tone:

"Let me tell you, Han Dong isn't dead. Who knows when he'll come charging back to kill you. Then you'll be in for a sight."

Kong Jiao turned at the right moment, his gaze settling on the girl, his eyes concealing deep wariness.

He had been paying close attention to this girl, who was astonishing in every regard—her bearing, appearance, and strength.

Only just now had Kong Jiao learned that she was the one who had fought Han Dong at Frostmoon Altar.

That sharp aura on the ground which had devoured Han Dong's killing intent had been her handiwork.

Of course, that was not what concerned Kong Jiao most.

Kong Jiao's gaze shifted imperceptibly to the top of the girl's head. The thing representing her fortune was no longer a cloud mass.

It was instead a brilliant expanse of golden liquid, gilded in flowing gold and formed by nature itself.

Merely looking at that golden fortune made Kong Jiao's eyes ache and swell. He could not stare at it for long.

Fortune of this magnitude could no longer be described by common sense.

Looking at this girl, only five words came to Kong Jiao's mind: heaven-ordained destiny.

This girl was one whose fate carried the secrets of heaven.

Simply sitting there and doing nothing, her terrifying destiny already churned the fortune above Shangguan Yuzhou's head without cease.

As for Kong Jiao's own fortune, the instant the girl appeared, it had become a tangled mess.

Fortunately, the girl's destiny did not affect Kong Jiao for long. The Cloud-Pattern Stele deep within his consciousness trembled, suppressing the fortune cloud above his head that had been boiling like scalding water.

How terrifying. Shangguan Yuzhou's fortune is simply pale and powerless before hers. Kong Jiao was secretly alarmed.

The fate of such heaven-ordained people affected those around them at every moment.

Had Kong Jiao not possessed the Cloud-Pattern Stele to suppress it, he too would have been affected.

Through Shangguan Yuzhou, he had also learned her name.

Huangfu Wuqin, the cherished daughter of Huangfu Ying, the Cangwu Sect's sect master.

Being the sect master's daughter was merely a dispensable title to her.

Because she herself was a peerless genius, a fiery girl whose strength was monstrously terrifying.

According to Shangguan Yuzhou, Huangfu Wuqin had once gone out to watch some excitement when a renowned genius cultivator from Wudong accidentally grazed her with a Dao technique.

She had relentlessly pursued that genius cultivator for tens of thousands of li, only stopping after he fled beyond Wudong's borders.

Had Sect Master Huangfu Ying not strictly forbidden her from leaving Wudong, she would likely have chased him another several tens of thousands of li.

In Shangguan Yuzhou's words, it was precisely because of Huangfu Wuqin's existence that Cangwu Sect's younger generation could overpower countless sects and become one of the foremost among this generation in Wudong.

Her name was not merely legendary among Cangwu Sect's outer disciples. Across vast Wudong, there were few among this generation who did not know of Huangfu Wuqin.

Shangguan Yuzhou had encountered this famed powerhouse at Frostmoon Altar and could not resist asking her for a spar.

The result went without saying. Huangfu Wuqin had shown no mercy and given him a ruthless beating.

It was one of Shangguan Yuzhou's rare defeats over the years—a crushing defeat.

Yet he was not discouraged. Instead, he remained cheerful.

Just as Kong Jiao was secretly astounded by Huangfu Wuqin's heaven-ordained destiny—

Shangguan Yuzhou had already begun speaking with Huangfu Wuqin.

"Junior Sister Huangfu, don't joke around. With you here, even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare come back." Shangguan Yuzhou went along readily with Huangfu Wuqin's threat.

"Still, Junior Sister Huangfu is worth her weight in gold. How could the sect master bear to send you to this bitterly cold place?"

Huangfu Wuqin's ethereal eyes, vacant with boredom just moments before, immediately narrowed into dangerous crescents upon hearing Shangguan Yuzhou call her Junior Sister again and again. Looking at him in a calm yet threatening manner, she slowly said, "Call me Senior Sister Huangfu!"

"Senior Sister Huangfu!" Shangguan Yuzhou's bruised and swollen expression did not change. Without the slightest hesitation, he called her Senior Sister Huangfu outright.

Beside them, Kong Jiao covered his forehead and sighed, lamenting that he had chosen his friends poorly.

After being defeated by her, did even your dignity shatter? Shangguan Yuzhou, I still prefer the way you feared neither heaven nor earth.

Where was Shangguan Yuzhou's usual wild and uninhibited demeanor now?

Upon hearing "Senior Sister Huangfu," Huangfu Wuqin was greatly pleased, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents.

Because she was young and the sect master's daughter, everyone older than her called her Junior Sister Huangfu.

After hearing "Junior Sister Huangfu" for sixteen years, she had long been sick to death of it.

Only now, in her excellent mood, did Huangfu Wuqin feel like explaining. "Of course I came of my own accord. Your sect master can't control me."

At this point, Huangfu Wuqin paused. Her gaze passed over Shangguan Yuzhou and fixed on Kong Jiao.

She slowly said, "A girl who grew up with me cried in front of me and asked me to come save someone. What could I do?"

Those words instantly made Kong Jiao and Shangguan Yuzhou's expressions turn solemn.

There was only one girl who matched Huangfu Wuqin's description, and only she would ask someone to save Kong Jiao.

"Zhou Tingyu!" Kong Jiao and Shangguan Yuzhou exchanged a glance and saw the answer they had both guessed in each other's eyes.

Junior Sister Zhou hid herself deeply. She actually grew up with Huangfu Wuqin. Her background is far from simple. Had Huangfu Wuqin not said it herself, Kong Jiao would never have guessed it even if he racked his brains.

That girl who spent all day playing around and would not even cultivate had such a background.

She had been far too low-key in ordinary times.

When Huangfu Wuqin mentioned Zhou Tingyu, her pretty face showed mostly helplessness. Then she added, "Of course, that wasn't the whole reason. I mainly came for Han Dong."

"He uses cultivators' blood to nourish his spirit wheel, cultivating Human-Spirit Essence. And the people he killed were Cangwu Sect disciples. For that reason alone, I had to come."

As she said this, although Huangfu Wuqin's expression remained as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, a sharp killing intent flashed through her lively eyes.

As the sect master's daughter, Huangfu Wuqin still possessed that awareness.

Kong Jiao had just emerged from the examination space, with a bellyful of questions and nowhere to find answers.

Upon hearing Huangfu Wuqin speak—

The Human-Spirit Essence she mentioned seemed connected to what Yi-Twelve had said about using essence to nourish the wheel.

He immediately asked earnestly, "What is Human-Spirit Essence?"

Huangfu Wuqin was the sect master's daughter as well as a heaven-defying genius. She surely knew secrets that ordinary disciples did not.

Once he missed this village, there would be no such inn.

"That is what I wanted to ask too." Shangguan Yuzhou was also deeply interested in the topic. He stretched out his neck and stared straight at Huangfu Wuqin, hoping to hear her answer.

Huangfu Wuqin did not answer at once. Her eyes swept over the two of them one by one, and only after a brief consideration did she respond, "Actually, after you cultivate a little longer, the sect will send someone to tell you these things."

"Still, there is no harm in telling you now."

As she spoke, Huangfu Wuqin's expression rarely became solemn. Sitting on the bluestone, she adopted the posture and tone of someone imitating another person and said, "The Wheel-Nourishing Realm nourishes the innate wheel, the innate foundation of the Dao. Nourishing it with spiritual energy alone is the lowest of low choices. One must supplement it with the essences of heaven and earth to nourish the wheel, so that this innate wheel will not be a pearl covered in dust."

It was Huangfu Wuqin's first time teaching someone, and she appeared exceptionally serious. Her pretty face even carried a trace of excitement, though she thought she had concealed it well.

She immediately raised three fingers and counted them off one by one. "The essences of heaven and earth can be divided into three grades: heaven, earth, and man."

"Heaven-grade essences are the essences of heaven, earth, sun, and moon. Spiritual energy is scarce in the world today, and the conditions for a heaven-grade essence to be born are extremely harsh. Over the past several hundred years, there has rarely been any news of heaven-grade essences. Only those with great fortune can obtain them. There are eighty-eight kinds of heaven-grade essence in total, all recorded in an ancient book called Immortal Foundation."

"There are more earth-grade essences, one hundred and seventy-nine kinds in all. They are also recorded in Immortal Foundation, though I cannot remember what they all are. Such essence qi is also a precious treasure. Once one emerges, it will draw contention from every side."

"The Ancient One Heavy Water obtained by the head of our Cangwu Sect's Enforcement Hall was found in the Azure River, where countless rivers converged, when he was young. Back then, quite a few people were killed in the struggle to seize that opportunity."

"There are even more man-grade essences, and I remember even less about them. Compared to heaven- and earth-grade essences, man-grade ones are easier to obtain. Most people cannot find heaven- or earth-grade essence anyway, so they make do with man-grade essence."

Huangfu Wuqin was rather amusing. When she said she could not remember, her expression was perfectly natural, her pretty face calm.

Kong Jiao quietly listened as Huangfu Wuqin finished, carefully weighing and savoring every word.

He had roughly understood what this "essence" in using essence to nourish the wheel meant.