Two Ancient Characters

Lu Xuan opened his eyes. Ripples immediately spread through the void, as though some invisible, scorching thing had pierced through it, lingering for a long while.

"Burning Heart Sunfire..."

Lu Xuan murmured softly, delight in his voice.

Burning Heartfire, true to its name, could burn the thoughts within one's heart. This fire was formless, entering directly into the heart to scorch an enemy cultivator's thoughts. If those thoughts were extinguished, the physical body was no different from dead.

It was an exceedingly tyrannical [Burning] art, and what it burned were thoughts.

Even if an enemy cultivator possessed powerful Spiritual Sense and robust thoughts that could not be burned away, it could still set those thoughts ablaze, leaving them unbearably feverish and restless, their thoughts unable to move as one. In battle, it would naturally seize every advantage.

And xi meant dry.

A line from the Book of Songs in Lu Xuan's previous life went: "The reeds grow lush; the white dew has yet to dry." Xi referred to the morning sun drying away the dew.

This character seemed unrelated to "Sharpness," yet it in fact held the profound meaning of "Sharpness."

Once the sunlight emerged, the dew was bound to dry.

Once Dawnfire emerged, thoughts were bound to burn—unstoppable in its sharpness, impossible to block.

Lu Xuan did not dare say for certain that his Dawnfire truly could not be blocked one hundred percent of the time. Just as with "The reeds grow lush; the white dew has yet to dry," if the reeds were dense enough, perhaps the dew truly would not dry beneath the sun.

But... with the addition of this one character, the power of this Daoist art had suddenly risen by an entire great step. Among cultivators of the same realm, there would surely be very few capable of matching it.

Had he possessed this Daoist art when he fought Bright Ape that day, then in but an instant, Bright Ape's thoughts would likely have withered away, leaving only a physical shell devoid of thought.

"The power of ancient characters truly is wondrous..."

Lu Xuan knew that while his True Qi was indeed mysterious, it was still merely one kind of True Qi. Within the Immortal Cult alone, seventy-two people of this cohort had gathered True Qi, each with their own mysteries.

It truly did not count as standing head and shoulders above the rest.

Obtaining the [Sunfire Branch] and having top-grade Character Jia Spiritual Sense had only put him slightly ahead. It could not be considered an advantage.

But now that he had obtained the Daoist art [Burning Heart Sunfire], he had gained a measure of advantage.

The road of cultivation was long. Such an advantage was enough to bring comfort.

Because this was only the second ancient character he had obtained.

"What will the next ancient character be?"

Lu Xuan pondered inwardly, sinking his mind onto the Jade Disc.

"Hm..."

The moment his mind descended, Lu Xuan noticed something strange.

Normally, the Jade Disc lay in the deepest reaches of his thoughts, beyond his perception. Only by exhausting all his effort to sense it could he touch upon it.

But now, the Jade Disc seemed to be within his Mud Pellet Palace, amid Lu Xuan's Consciousness Sea.

Yet... it remained profoundly mysterious. Unless Lu Xuan made an effort to perceive it, he still could not sense it.

It seemed unrelated to Spiritual Sense.

But just as Lu Xuan activated his Spiritual Sense and wished to continue investigating, light and shadow stirred across the Jade Disc once more.

"This is..."

Unlike before, this time the cyan light atop the Jade Disc shone even brighter. To Lu Xuan's astonished perception, two ancient characters flowed out at once!

Two?!

Yet just as before, both were dim, as though there were insufficient ink to make an imprint.

"Two ancient characters appeared at the same time?"

"Why is that? Is it because I completed the Minor Offering Ritual and truly became a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator?"

Lu Xuan did not understand and could only speculate.

And all these changes seemed to be connected solely to his cultivation.

"If that is so, then when I reach the Qi Refining Second Layer and hold another Minor Offering Ritual, will I obtain three ancient characters? Or four? Will they manifest by multiples?"

"Still, can these ancient characters be manifested simultaneously, or must I choose one from among them?"

For a moment, Lu Xuan's thoughts scattered like drifting clouds.

But in an instant, he steadied his mind, cast aside his stray thoughts, and carefully sensed the two newly appeared ancient characters.

"Jia..."

"Bypath..."

The ancient characters were blurred, but upon close inspection, they could still be recognized.

What did the Character Jia mean? Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding—did it signify one of the first rank?

Bypath? To blaze a separate path?

But with no "Movement" character appearing at present, Lu Xuan could only guess.

As for whether two characters could be manifested at once, Lu Xuan had no way of knowing either. He could only wait until later and verify it slowly.

With that thought, Lu Xuan ceased considering the Jade Disc and turned his gaze toward the newly appeared "Sunfire Branch."

"The immortal Dao values life. Thus, with the 'life' ritual, let us see whether the one conducting the Minor Offering Ritual can gather the source into form and replenish Heaven and Earth anew?"

This "Sunfire Branch" was naturally not the original one.

Nor did it possess the ability to help others open their orifices.

It was merely an imitation that Lu Xuan had created by linking Earthfire and Heavenly Light, imitating the spiritual resonance of the Sunfire Branch, and reshaping its True Source. Fashioned from Earthfire and Heavenly Light, it contained a trace of the Sunfire Branch's true intent.

It possessed only the shape.

Yet the meaning behind this Minor Offering Ritual itself was exceedingly profound.

Using a spiritual object to open the orifices, then reshaping its True Source to allow the spiritual object to be "reborn"—what did that mean?

Could it be that the Minor Offering Rituals or Grand Rites of those great and lofty cultivators could truly cause spiritual objects to be reborn?

Such a method was somewhat too mysterious, was it not?

Lu Xuan's thoughts spread outward, and he considered many things. But in the end, he shook his head and suppressed these matters that were too difficult to fathom.

His realm was too low. The Qianyuan Six-Dragon Imperial Heaven True Scripture had only granted him the scriptures for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. Thinking too much would bring harm without benefit.

The day after tomorrow would be his entry into the Directorate for instruction. By then, perhaps he would gain more.

Thinking this, Lu Xuan put away the "Sunfire Branch," rose to his feet, and rode Cloud Qi back to Righteous Qi Hall. After returning his token, he went back to his own quiet dwelling.

Tomorrow would be his entry into the Directorate for instruction, so he still needed to make some preparations today.

Once he entered Cangyun Island, he would be granted a cave abode and would no longer need to live in this quiet dwelling.

That was precisely why Jiang Muying and Lin Suyun had not come to watch Lu Xuan's Minor Offering Ritual.

After nine years in this dwelling, they would finally be moving out. There were inevitably quite a few miscellaneous matters to handle.

There were also some fellow students he ought to meet—after all, not everyone could successfully complete the Grand Rite.

As Lu Xuan flew upon the clouds, he also considered whether there were any fellow students he needed to see.

But his predecessor had possessed a cold and aloof temperament and had no close friends.

Jiang Muying and Lin Suyun counted as two, but both had entered the inner sect. Though they were not in the same Spirit Directorate, they were both inner sect disciples and would meet eventually, so there was no need to pay a special visit.

There was no need to disturb Jiang Ningxue either. Perhaps she was looking for a Dao companion...

Beyond them, there was only the Red Fox Clan.

Back then, he had pawned his physical body in exchange for spiritual herbs, and only then had he successfully completed the Grand Rite.

He had been busy these past few days, so it was understandable that he had not gone. But now that he was about to enter the inner sect, he should at least notify them.

He also had to keep the [Cold Crystal Lunar Essence] in mind.

Now that he had completed the Minor Offering Ritual and opened up his Spiritual Sense, Lu Xuan felt that his cultivation at Hibernation Academy had reached completion. Thus, his thoughts spread far and wide, and he thought of many things.

At that moment, his quiet dwelling between the cliffs came into distant view.

Lu Xuan decided to return to the dwelling first and pack up, then visit Scarlet Flame Madam in the Red Pine Fief to inform her that he was entering the Sea-Calming Bureau, lest she be unable to find him if something arose in the future.

"Hm?"

But just then, through the clouds and mist, Lu Xuan saw a figure standing before his cliffside courtyard.

Lu Xuan focused his gaze, and surprise immediately rose in his heart. Still, he rode the clouds back to the dwelling, landed atop the cliff, and said to the man:

"Senior Brother Lin, have you come to my humble dwelling on important business?"

The person before the courtyard was none other than Senior Brother Lin, whom he had met several times before.