Back then, a sword and a map had plummeted together from beyond the skies. In that instant, the sword had inadvertently slashed apart the Celestial Dragon residing within the Qinglan River, and the dragon's soul had subsequently been absorbed by the Rivers and Mountains Map.
Ji Qingzhu truly had no idea about this sequence of events. After all, her understanding of this world was superficial; the settings she had written in her past life could only serve as a reference point, making it impossible to cover every single detail. Being able to use this foresight to her advantage was already a tremendous help!
She pondered the matter. Afterward, that wretched dragon's soul must have slowly repaired the Rivers and Mountains Map bit by bit, while the holy sword gradually decayed. Had she not visited this place ahead of time, the holy sword likely would have been consumed by the dragon's soul to mend the map in another month or two.
Just now, the only reason she was able to suppress the Rivers and Mountains Map by simply turning the sword over was that the dragon's soul had been jolted by the holy sword into recalling some unpleasant memories. As it stood, the Rivers and Mountains Map had barely been repaired by ten or twenty percent, while the holy sword was just a hair's breadth away from shattering completely.
"Such immense fortune, young mortal, to have actually acquired this Saint Artifact, the Rivers and Mountains Map!"
"Why do you not quickly put down that broken sword in your hand and pay homage to this deity?!"
Just as Ji Qingzhu was examining the two items, a booming, ancient voice rolled into her ears like the chime of a great bell.
Ji Qingzhu lowered her gaze, fixing her eyes on the Rivers and Mountains Map.
"Is that you speaking? What kind of creature are you? I've never heard of a Spirit Artifact whose spirit could actually speak!" the young woman feigned surprise, asking with a puzzled expression.
"Humph, what is a mere Spirit Artifact compared to this? The Rivers and Mountains Map where I reside is a Saint Artifact, possessing the power to move mountains and drain seas, the ability to pluck stars and capture the moon. Obtain it, and you can roam the entire world unchallenged!"
"It is fate that we meet today. If you do not believe me, you can first use a drop of your blood to refine it, leaving your spiritual imprint. I shall lead you to glimpse the profound wonders of the Great Dao; achieving Sainthood and becoming an ancestral figure in the future is not beyond reach."
"Oh? I see. Thank you for the enlightenment, senior. But I wonder, what grade does this silver-crystal sword in my hand belong to?" Ji Qingzhu looked at the two characters "Yinqiu" engraved on the blade, blinked, and asked the Rivers and Mountains Map.
"That sword is nothing more than scrap now. Hand its fragments over to me, and this deity will impart to you a supreme divine ability!" the voice within the Rivers and Mountains Map replied.
Hearing this, Ji Qingzhu could not help but roll her eyes. *You old dragon, who are you trying to fool with that act?*
She gave the Rivers and Mountains Map a few jabs with the Yinqiu Sword, startling the map into a frantic dance.
There was no helping it; having been hacked to death in her sleep by a sword, the dragon's soul still harbored a deep-seated terror even ten thousand years later—even though that sword was on the verge of completely shattering.
"I say, Old Dragon, do try to make your lies a bit more believable. Impart a supreme divine ability to me? Everyone knows there are only twenty-four supreme divine abilities in this world. If you knew any supreme divine abilities, would you have been hacked to death with a single sword stroke?" Dropping all pretense, Ji Qingzhu directly exposed the dragon soul's true identity.
"!!!"
"You, you, you! How do you know of these deep secrets?! Ever since I died ten thousand years ago, I have remained dormant within the Rivers and Mountains Map; no one could possibly know about this. What kind of person are you, daring to toy with this deity?! Damn you, go and die!"
The dragon's soul within the Rivers and Mountains Map was first struck dumb with astonishment, and then consumed by the fury of embarrassment.
An awe-inspiring aura—one that encompassed the universe, gathered the cosmos, and suppressed rivers and mountains—erupted from the Rivers and Mountains Map. In an instant, the heavens and earth lost their color, and distant stars seemed ready to plummet. It left no doubt that if the Rivers and Mountains Map unleashed its fully brewing strike, millions of miles of land would be pulverized into the abyss!
"Stop making a fuss. If you have the ability, leap right out here and now." Faced with all this, Ji Qingzhu remained completely unmoved. With a slight communication with the Will of Heaven, the aura of the Rivers and Mountains Map instantly collapsed and dissipated.
When it came to sheer presence, she was utterly fearless. Nothing could surpass the grandeur she displayed when invoking her Innate Divine Ability to communicate with the Will of Heaven; the might of a Saint Artifact was nothing more than a splash of water in comparison.
Moreover, she knew the Rivers and Mountains Map and that dragon's soul inside and out. The soul could only manage to release a sliver of Saint Artifact aura through the map; it was incapable of doing anything else.
"You're merely a dragon's soul suppressed by the Rivers and Mountains Map. Do you really take yourself for the artifact spirit of a Saint Artifact?" Ji Qingzhu bluntly stripped away its facade.
"What on earth is your background?"
The dragon's soul was thoroughly and fiercely intimidated by that trace of the Will of Heaven; it no longer dared to bluff. If that will were to truly descend, its meager remnant soul would be ground into dust.
Now, it would believe Ji Qingzhu even if she claimed to be the avatar of some Saint strolling idly through the mortal realm. There was no helping it—before its death, it had been a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the realm of Saints. It had no choice but to panic.
"You don't need to worry about my background... However, I do have a way to repair the Rivers and Mountains Map, and even rescue you. Do you have any interest?" Ji Qingzhu's tone was laden with temptation.
"Are you asking me to follow you? Since you know so much about me and the Rivers and Mountains Map, I suppose that would be acceptable," the dragon's soul said in a deep voice.
To its surprise, Ji Qingzhu waved her hand, chuckled lightly, and said, "Who said I wanted you to follow me? I find this sword much more pleasing to the eye."
"The artifact spirit of that sword has already vanished, and the blade is utterly ruined, long since losing its former power. What use could you have for it? You'd be better off choosing me. I have already merged completely with the Rivers and Mountains Map and can act as its artifact spirit. You can cultivate spiritual herbs and precious medicines inside, and raise spiritual beasts..." The dragon's soul began eagerly selling itself.
Regardless of Ji Qingzhu's background, just looking at her extraordinary performance upon breaking through to the Divine Ability realm was enough to show that her future prospects were boundless. No matter how one looked at it, following her was a profitable trade; otherwise, relying on its own efforts alone, who knew when the Rivers and Mountains Map would ever recover?
Ji Qingzhu shook her head, her slender fingers gently brushing across the crack-filled blade of the Yinqiu Sword.
Within this ruined holy sword, a trace of a brand-new sentience was quietly breeding!
This was its final struggle, born of the hope that this sliver of sentience might bring an opportunity for resurrection.
"Come with me for now. I will find a good destination for you, and I will certainly fulfill my promise to repair the Rivers and Mountains Map and rescue you. However, you must submit to my command for a period of time first," Ji Qingzhu said calmly after a moment.
"It seems you don't know everything after all; you still harbor misgivings and vigilance toward me." The dragon's soul was no fool. Calming down from its shock, it guessed this person's intentions, yet it had little choice in the matter.
"So be it, so be it. Being able to leave can also be considered a good thing. Finally, I won't have to tangle with that broken sword in this lightless underground anymore. I'll take a chance on your promise."
"A wise choice," Ji Qingzhu said with a faint smile.
"Humph!" The dragon's soul let out a cold snort.
Who would have thought it—an aloof and haughty old dragon.
Ji Qingzhu paid it no mind. With a delicate grasp, she picked up the Rivers and Mountains Map, extended her divine sense into it, and beheld a dilapidated world.
"The Rivers and Mountains Map is a minor world carved out independently. It originally possessed ninety-nine large spiritual veins, but now ninety-nine percent of it has decayed. Only this dragon mountain to which I am attached can still be considered intact."
Amidst the gloomy gray clouds, a yellowish Celestial Dragon lowered its head and spoke.
Ji Qingzhu glanced at it. Indeed, throughout the entire minor world, this was the only mountain that still retained any vitality.
"My name is Ji Qingzhu. What is yours?"
"My name is Cangyuan!"