Chapter 10: The Mysterious Pendant
At this moment, Qin Yongping's blood gushed out like a broken dam, rapidly staining his snow-white clothes and soaking the jade pendant he had worn around his neck and treasured since childhood in a glaring, bloody crimson.
Kneeling beside him, Zhou Qingqing turned deathly pale at the sight. Without hesitation, she pressed her hands firmly against Qin Yongping's bleeding wound in an attempt to stem the flow and slow the bleeding. Yet, despite exerting all her effort, Qin Yongping's injuries were simply too severe, and blood continued to seep endlessly between her fingers.
Just then, the unexpected happened. The blood-soaked jade pendant suddenly flashed with a dazzling white light, and the tiger engraving upon it began to quiver slightly, as if suddenly imbued with life. With another fierce flash of white light, everything returned to peace.
At the same time, Qin Yongping shuddered in his unconscious state, his consciousness seemingly pulled by a powerful force straight into a mysterious and unpredictable space.
"Am I dead already? Is this hell or heaven? Why is it so deathly quiet, not even a ghost in sight?" Qin Yongping muttered to himself, his heart filled with fear and confusion. As he spoke, he cautiously looked around. The place appeared completely empty, surrounded by a vast expanse of whiteness without any distinct boundaries or landmarks.
"What on earth is this place? It looks to be only about ten meters across, and no matter how I walk, it seems impossible to leave this area. Could this really be a prison in hell? But I have never done anything heinous in my life; why would I be locked up here?" The more Qin Yongping thought about it, the more perplexed he felt.
After the initial tension subsided, Qin Yongping gradually calmed down. He slowly sat cross-legged and began to carefully ponder his current situation and how to escape his predicament. As time ticked away, just as Qin Yongping was racking his brains, a kind and gentle voice suddenly broke the silence in the empty space without warning: "Long years have passed, and finally someone has entered. I wonder what the present world looks like..."
"Who? Who is speaking?" Qin Yongping started, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine. He frantically turned his head in panic, nervously scanning his surroundings. Just then, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness, gradually drawing closer to him. As the figure approached, Qin Yongping finally saw that the newcomer was an elderly man with a full head of white hair!
The white-haired old man wore a white robe, his sleeves fluttering as if he were an immortal descending from the heavens. His steps were steady yet light, each stride carrying a mysterious and unpredictable aura. Qin Yongping stared wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of the old man, momentarily struck speechless.
The white-haired old man spoke up: "Young man, do not be alarmed. I am the artifact spirit of this jade pendant. Only when you offer a drop of blood to bind it and meet certain conditions can you enter this place." With that, he gently raised a hand, pointing at the glowing jade pendant in Qin Yongping's hand.
Hearing this, Qin Yongping felt somewhat reassured, though he remained full of doubt and curiosity about everything happening before him. He asked cautiously, "Senior, thank you for clearing this up. I am Qin Yongping, a junior. May I ask what the origin of this jade pendant is? Why did it choose me? Is it related to my background? I have been an orphan since childhood."
The white-haired old man smiled faintly, then slowly began to recount the story of the jade pendant. As it turned out, the pendant was a legacy left by a mighty figure, the White Tiger Venerable, from ancient times, containing powerful strength and a mysterious cultivation method. However, acquiring this power was no easy feat; it required passing a bloodline test. Whether it had anything to do with Qin Yongping's background was unknown, as he had remained in deep slumber until the pendant was bound, completely oblivious to the outside world.
Having finished explaining the pendant's origins, the white-haired old man said no more, instead directly beginning to impart a miraculous cultivation method to Qin Yongping.
"This is the White Tiger Heart Scripture, a top-tier mental cultivation method from ancient times! Although you have missed the optimal age for cultivation, your powerful bloodline force shines brightly like a dazzling star. You were born with twenty percent White Tiger Bloodline; even in ancient times, you would have been among the elite prodigies, which perhaps makes up for it slightly. However, your physical body has suffered severe trauma and resembles a candle in the wind. As an ordinary mortal who has not yet reached Qi Refining Level 1, you must first commit this mental scripture to memory and then practice it with single-minded devotion. If you have any doubts, come ask me. This is a supreme-grade Bao-yi Pill, also crafted by the White Tiger Venerable. This supreme pill is like a rare treasure capable of strengthening your bloodline and awakening its dormant power. Swallow it quickly."
The artifact spirit waved his right hand gently, and a supreme-grade pill shimmering with golden medicinal markings, along with a roll of animal skin, fell like a shooting star from the sky, landing steadily in front of Qin Yongping.
With trembling hands, Qin Yongping caught the pill and the cultivation manual as if cradling a rare pearl, then swallowed the pill without hesitation. As the pill slid down his throat, its rich fragrance swept across his face like a spring breeze, instantly invigorating his spirit. Immediately afterward, a warm current surged within his dantian, darting through his entire body like an agile white tiger. Qin Yongping's bloodline power was awakened at that very moment—the White Tiger Bloodline was truly a supreme, top-tier constitution, even in ancient times!
Nourished as if by sweet rain, the white tiger aura circulated through Qin Yongping's body for a full ten cycles. Before he had even begun studying the mental scripture, his cultivation soared like a rocket, breaking through continuously to Qi Refining Level 9. His meridians expanded to more than twice their original width, and their toughness increased dramatically.
Qin Yongping felt utterly refreshed, as if bathing in a spring breeze—a sensation he had never experienced before. He couldn't help smiling, completely intoxicated by the feeling...
Seeing the astonishing effect of the pill, the artifact spirit nodded with satisfaction and praised: "Though this pill has been stored for a long time, its medicinal potency has hardly diminished. The preservation power of this sandalwood treasure box is truly peerless in the world."
Watching Qin Yongping sit there like a dummy, grinning foolishly without making any move to practice the cultivation method, the artifact spirit coughed lightly to remind him: "Little host, it is time to practice the cultivation method."
Awakening as if from a grand dream, Qin Yongping let out a shy, soft laugh, then impatiently unrolled the animal-skin scroll and began studying the White Tiger Heart Scripture with rapt absorption. The method was as abstruse and difficult to comprehend as a heavenly book; yet Qin Yongping possessed a photographic memory, as if the words were deeply etched into his mind. Though he did not yet understand their deeper meaning, he could clearly perceive the flow of the air, as though the characters were dancing within it.
"Senior artifact spirit, I have memorized the mental scripture, but I truly cannot make heads or tails of it. And what kind of script is that anyway?"
"Haha, too much time has passed, and the script has evolved. That is simple enough. This is not some restrictive cultivation method; I shall impart it to you directly." With that, the artifact spirit pressed two fingers together like an immortal pointing the way, gently touching Qin Yongping's forehead. In an instant, a dazzling white light flashed across his fingertips, subsiding shortly after. In Qin Yongping's mind, a flood of memories instantly rushed forth, making all the ancient characters fully intelligible to him.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, Zhou Qingqing felt as though her heart were being torn apart by thousands of ants, completely unaware of what was happening to Qin Yongping.