Fifteenth Immortal County, Reincarnation Mountain.
The wind on Reincarnation Mountain carried an ancient chill, shimmering with a faint, dim light like an old man's bronze mirror. Qin Yi stood at the peak, the wind stirring his robes, as if he could still hear the laughter of that Qingqiu fox demon. Slowly, he opened his left palm, and a cyan-blue flame rose gradually from it, flickering like a stubbed-out cigarette butt, yet resembling crushed stars.
"Still unable to gather spiritual Qi?" Qin Yi smiled self-deprecatingly.
Ever since he returned from a trial outside the sect three years ago, Qin Yi seemed cursed. His personal cultivation kept diminishing, and that once-proud spiritual Qi was being eroded bit by bit, as if swallowed by darkness. He had searched for the cause, but could never find an answer.
Yet, although his cultivation had suffered a bizarre backlash, he had managed by sheer luck to complete the trial and successfully ascend to become an inner disciple of the Fifth Immortal County—a blessing in disguise, of sorts.
With the inner sect techniques and his master's assistance, the spiritual Qi backlash was well under control. Even so, as a direct descendant of the Qin family, he remained the family's disgrace—a good-for-nothing born with severed meridians.
In the eyes of his clansmen, he would never amount to anything. Had his parents not fought desperately to protect him back then, smuggling him away to the Fifteenth Immortal County, his fate would likely have been worse than that of pigs and dogs.
"Big Brother Qin Yi."
Unbeknownst to him, a woman had walked up behind Qin Yi, a warm smile on her face. She wore a light green long dress, fresh and natural like a spring bud. Her eyes flickered with a gentle glow like stars in the night sky.
Qin Yi collected his thoughts, hastily putting away the faint, nameless flame. He turned around, offering the woman a natural smile, and asked, "Lin'er, why are you here?"
The woman stepped forward with a trace of worry in her expression. "I heard some commotion over here, so I came to take a look. Big Brother Qin Yi, are you alright?"
Faced with her inquiry, Qin Yi hid his sorrow deep within as best as he could. After all, there was really nothing to be said about his innate severed meridians. He shook his head with a smile. "I'm fine. The Immortal County Grand Tournament is approaching, and I want to use this time to further ponder the Profound Guidance Scripture."
Gu Lin remained silent.
She knew very well that Qin Yi's special constitution of innate severed meridians made him completely unsuited for practicing such techniques—especially a tricky cultivation method like the Profound Guidance Scripture that tested one's own spiritual Qi.
He had thought he was the only one who knew about this matter, little realizing that the news of his innate severed meridians had already spread across the Fifteenth Immortal County two years ago.
Innate severed meridians were not entirely a bad thing. Practitioners with this constitution could acquire spiritual Qi very rapidly, and those with good luck could even pioneer their own destined domain. At the same time, however, it meant that anyone with this constitution could never step into the Reincarnation realm or awaken the Divine Wheel. To anyone, this was a severe blow.
The Divine Wheel was the destination for practitioners in the Puanyuan world, as well as the starting point of another dimension. Every practitioner aimed to awaken the Divine Wheel, but very few truly succeeded.
The Divine Wheel resembled a bright moon suspended within the practitioner's body, representing their power and wisdom. Once a practitioner traversed the five major realms—Body Tempering, Foundation Establishment, Spirit Crossing, Qi Perfection, and Reincarnation—and successfully passed the final trial, the Divine Wheel would awaken on its own, unleashing formidable power.
"The Immortal County Grand Tournament is the ultimate assessment for all inner and outer disciples of the Fifteenth Immortal County. The disciple who wins first place gains the opportunity to study in the Guanchan Pavilion, and it's also a special shortcut for outer disciples to be promoted to inner disciples..." At this point, a hint of shyness appeared on Gu Lin's face, and her tone grew even softer. "I believe Big Brother Qin Yi can definitely do it..."
With that, Gu Lin stepped forward and hugged Qin Yi. Her breath gently brushed against his cheek, bringing him an unprecedented sense of reassurance.
"Big Brother Qin Yi, no matter what difficulties you encounter, Lin'er will always stay by your side."
The setting sun pierced through the clouds, casting its light upon the two of them, the warm sunshine wrapping them as if within an independent space.
Rumble—
Suddenly, a massive explosion shattered the tranquil afternoon, shaking the soul.
In the sky, dark clouds churned, and lightning darted across the cloud tops like silver snakes, draining all color from everything around them.
A fierce wind howled, whipping up dust from the ground into one vortex after another, as if trying to swallow the entire Reincarnation Mountain.
"Let go!"
A voice descended from the sky—a woman's voice, crisp and majestic.
The two looked up and saw a sudden fracture in the sky, resembling a time-space gate, out of which stepped a woman draped in white immortal robes.
She was breathtaking, like someone stepped out of a painting or an immortal descending to the mortal realm, her entire being radiating an icy majesty that made it impossible to look her in the eye.
"Mother!"
Gu Lin cried out in alarm.
The newcomer was the Sovereign of the Third Immortal County—Heart-Sui County.
Shangguan Li.
The newcomer looked familiar, having crossed paths with Qin Yi a few times.
Just as Qin Yi was about to bow in salute, he was blasted flying by a surge of spiritual Qi. Seeing this, Gu Lin tried to step forward to stop it, only to find herself restrained and suspended by an immortal aura.
"Qin Yi? A good-for-nothing born with severed meridians, yet delusional enough to want to marry my daughter?"
As those words fell, Qin Yi instantly felt a heavy pressure bearing down on him, making it hard to breathe.
"No... Lin'er!" Qin Yi struggled to rise, constantly worrying about the person he loved. He wanted to save her, but right after, another explosion thundered inside his mind.
This time, he couldn't move!
Heart stopping, the six senses fading, mastering another's life and death in a single thought. Was this the legendary Reincarnation cultivator?
Shangguan Li's gaze revealed a cold detachment as she spoke sternly: "In this grand tournament, seize first place and win the qualification to enter the Guanchan Pavilion. Otherwise, no matter how powerful your Qin clan background is, I will personally cripple you!"
Whoosh—
The moment her voice trailed off, Qin Yi suddenly felt the pain all over his body ease considerably, the agony from the inside out slowly receding. Yet the pain in his heart felt carved into his bones, hard to dissipate. He clenched his fists, every knuckle feeling as though it were crushed to pieces, his gaze fixed straight ahead, focused on the endless void.
Before his eyes, that familiar yet distant figure seemed to resurface once more, his gaze filled with resolute determination. He knew that in this upcoming grand tournament, he had to give it everything he had.
No matter the cost...