Two Ancient Characters

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

"Burning Heart Sunfire..."

Lu Xuan murmured softly, delight in his voice.

Burning Heartfire, as its name implied, could burn the thoughts within one's heart. This fire was formless and went straight into the heart, scorching an enemy cultivator's thoughts. If those thoughts were extinguished, the fleshly 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 profound thoughts that could not be burned away, it could still turn those thoughts into fire, leaving them unbearably parched and feverish, their intentions and actions at odds. In battle, that naturally meant seizing every advantage.

And sunfire meant to dry.

There was a line in the Book of Songs from Lu Xuan's previous life: "The reeds grow lush; the white dew has not yet dried." Sunfire referred to the morning sun drying the dew.

This character appeared unrelated to "Sharpness," yet it was in truth deeply imbued with the meaning of "Sharpness."

Once sunlight emerged, dew was bound to dry.

Once Sunfire emerged, the heart's thoughts were bound to burn—its sharp edge irresistible, impossible to halt.

Lu Xuan did not dare say for certain that his Sunfire was truly one hundred percent unstoppable. Just as with "the reeds grow lush; the white dew has not yet dried," if the reeds were thick enough, perhaps the dew truly would not be dried away.

But... with this one additional character, the ability of this Daoist art had abruptly risen by a 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, a single instant might have been enough to dry up Bright Ape's thoughts, leaving behind only a fleshly body devoid of thought.

"The might of ancient characters truly is unfathomable..."

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

It truly did not make him stand out from the crowd.

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

But now that he had acquired the Daoist art [Burning Heart Sunfire], he possessed a small advantage.

The road of cultivation was long. Gaining 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 as his mind sank down onto the Jade Disc.

"Hmm..."

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 straining his mind to its utmost could he touch it.

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

Yet... it remained as mysterious as ever. If Lu Xuan did not make an effort to perceive it, he still could not sense it.

It seemed unrelated to Spiritual Sense.

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

"This is..."

Unlike before, the azure light on the Jade Disc was even brighter this time. To Lu Xuan's astonished perception, two ancient characters actually 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 have appeared at the same time?"

"Why is that? Is it because my Minor Offering Ritual succeeded, and I have truly become 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 Qi Refining Second Layer and conduct another Minor Offering Ritual, could I obtain three ancient characters? Or four? Would they manifest in multiples?"

"Can these ancient characters be reflected simultaneously, or must I choose one of them?"

For a moment, Lu Xuan's thoughts inevitably raced.

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 blurry, but upon close scrutiny, he could still recognize them.

What did the character Jia mean? Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding—did it mean first rank?

Bypath? To blaze a separate bypath?

But without "Movement" being reflected at present, Lu Xuan could only guess.

As for whether two characters could be reflected at the same time, Lu Xuan had no way of knowing either. He could only leave it for the future and verify it gradually.

With that thought, Lu Xuan no longer considered the Jade Disc. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the newly appeared "Sunfire Branch."

"The immortal path values life. Thus, this 'Life' Offering Ritual is performed. Let us see whether one who conducts a Minor Offering Ritual can gather the source into form and mend Heaven and Earth anew."

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

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

It was merely an imitation that Lu Xuan had created by linking earthfire and Heavenly Light, simulating the spiritual resonance of the Sunfire Branch, and reshaping its true source. It was fashioned from earthfire and Heavenly Light, bearing only a trace of true Sunfire intent.

It possessed only the form.

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

Using a spiritual object to open one's orifices, then reshaping its true source to allow the spiritual object to be "reborn"—what did that signify?

Could it be that the Minor Offering Rituals and Grand Rites of those great, high-level cultivators could truly bring spiritual objects back to life?

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

Lu Xuan's thoughts scattered, 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 only contained the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment sections. Thinking too much would bring harm without benefit.

In one more day, he would enter the Spirit Directorate for instruction. Perhaps he would gain more by then.

With that in mind, Lu Xuan put away the "Sunfire Branch," rose, and rode Cloud Qi back to Righteous Qi Hall. After returning his token, he headed back to his own residence.

Tomorrow was the day he would enter the Spirit 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 residence.

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

After nine years in this residence, they were finally moving out. There were inevitably quite a few trivial matters to attend to.

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

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

But the previous owner of this body had been cold by nature and had no real 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 them 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.

That day, he had pawned his fleshly body in exchange for spiritual herbs, only then allowing his Grand Rite to succeed.

He had been busy these past few days and had lacked the time to visit, but now that he was about to enter the inner sect, he ought to inform them.

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

With his Minor Offering Ritual complete and his Spiritual Sense opened, Lu Xuan felt that his cultivation at Hibernation Academy had reached completion. Thus, his thoughts wandered, and he thought of many things.

Just then, the residence between the cliffs came into view in the distance.

Lu Xuan decided to return to his residence first and pack up. Afterward, he would visit Scarlet Flame Madam in Red Pine Fief and tell her that he was entering the Sea-Calming Bureau, lest she be unable to find him if something happened in the future.

"Hmm?"

But at that moment, through the clouds and mist, Lu Xuan saw a figure standing before his cliffside courtyard.

Lu Xuan focused his eyes and was immediately astonished. Still, he rode the clouds back to his residence, landed upon the cliff, and said to the person:

"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.