"Right, in my past life, it was only after I was abandoned, far away from the troubles of Jingdu, bedridden for a long time, depressed and vomiting blood of frustration, that I bonded with it!"
Vomiting blood was out of the question for now; after all, she had not been harboring pent-up resentment in this lifetime, so naturally she wouldn't be vomiting blood.
Pondering briefly, she decided to try using the blood from the tip of her tongue instead. It still came from the mouth, so rounding it off, it could count as heart's blood.
Decisively biting the tip of her tongue, Jian Xi felt her mouth instantly fill with blood, bringing back that familiar sensation. Without hesitation, she stained all four pieces of White Magnolia Jewelry with the blood from her tongue.
The four pieces of White Magnolia Jewelry gradually absorbed the blood, emitting a soft, non-glaring white light. They floated up and began to spin, faster and faster, before bursting into a brilliant flash of light.
Jian Xi instinctively closed her eyes, opening them again the next moment.
Floating before her was a single white magnolia flower. Looking closely, she saw it was carved from white jade, with crystal-clear petals, red stamens, and a yellow pistil, looking utterly lifelike. It then transformed into a beam of light that shot straight into the center of Jian Xi's brows.
When she regained consciousness, the sun was about to set. Looking at the sunset outside the window, her gaze flashed with complexity and relief.
Her mother had divined her fate, knowing she would suffer losses concerning so-called family ties, which was why she had planned so meticulously for her.
Yet her past self had been far too trusting of these so-called relatives—especially the father who had been absent throughout her entire childhood, and Du Yanran, the best friend she had poured her heart and soul into—ultimately driving her to a desperate end. Fortunately, her family's ultimate treasure had saved her soul from being scattered to the winds.
Come to think of it, the Jian Family was a clan with deep foundations; otherwise, they would never have formed a marriage alliance with the Zhao Family of the capital.
Generations upon generations ago, rumors had circulated that an Immortal had once emerged from the Jian Family. In modern society, this would only be dismissed as nonsense, but in truth, the Jian Family was indeed a family of Immortality Cultivation.
Millions of years ago, before this place entered the Age of Dharma Ending, the Jian Family had produced a mighty figure who was a Grandmaster of Artifact Refining.
In an era rich in Cultivation resources, refining an Immortal Artifact on the level of a family heirloom was no difficult task. Thus, this mighty figure of the Jian Family had spent all his resources and a hundred years of time to refine a growable Immortal Artifact.
The day the Immortal Artifact was successfully refined, it underwent the heavenly tribulation. At the same time, the Jian Family Ancestor reached the perfection of Cultivation and underwent the ascension heavenly tribulation, enduring both tribulations together.
The Jian Family Ancestor had almost been blasted into charcoal by the lightning. Fortunately, the very last bolt of heavenly tribulation was blocked by the newly forged Immortal Artifact, which caused its grade to drop by one level.
However, the Immortal Artifact forged through the tribulation ascended to an even higher level, becoming a growable Immortal Artifact.
Before ascending, the Jian Family Ancestor left the downgraded Immortal Artifact to his most beloved youngest daughter.
To prevent descendants and outsiders from coveting it, he split the Immortal Artifact into a set of magnolia-shaped jewelry that his daughter loved.
On the surface, this set of jewelry appeared merely to be a set of Heaven-grade lower-tier defensive Treasure Artifacts, their sentimental value far outweighing their practical use. Furthermore, they had been generously bestowed in front of everyone, after which the Jian Family Ancestor directly ascended.
Some relatives with ulterior motives wanted to snatch it away, but the younger daughter Jian Xi was no pushover; she declared that it was a keepsake left by the Ancestor, and nobody else was going to lay a finger on it. She then brought out her cultivation partner, Wu Dao, who naturally gave his firm backing to his wife.
After returning to the Wu Family, the Ancestor of the Wu Family also borrowed the set of Treasure Artifacts to examine them. Naturally, Jian Xi could not brush off her partner's Ancestor the way she brushed off others; she very generously had her partner hand the set of magnolia jewelry over to the Wu Family Ancestor for inspection.
Under the fine-sounding pretext of reference and study, Jian Xi knew full well what kind of abacus these people were clicking, but she feigned ignorance on the surface, unwilling to be targeted while her strength was lacking.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jian Xi simply handed the defensive Treasure Artifact over to the family for use, but she also stipulated that the ultimate ownership of the White Magnolia Treasure Artifact must belong to Wu Dao and her own descendants. Furthermore, if the two had offspring, any daughters must take her surname.
Practitioners of Immortality Cultivation cared little for surnames, as bloodlines could never be severed; regardless of everything, they would still be descendants of the Wu Family, so the Wu Family Ancestor gladly agreed.
From then on, this Treasure Artifact remained in the Wu Family's Treasure Pavilion, only to be borrowed when executing special missions. Jian Xi also put the matter behind her, continuing to follow her husband's lead in harmony with Wu Dao, earnestly engaging in Cultivation.
During this period, the Treasure Artifact was passed around and examined by all the elders of the Wu Family. Even if they looked until their eyes burned, it was still just a defensive Treasure Artifact, so these people eventually turned their attention back to Jian Xi.
Yet Jian Xi acted as if she had forgotten all about it, going about her usual routine with Wu Dao—dual cultivating, refining artifacts, crafting talismans, and exploring through trials—wholly focused on raising her Cultivation level. During the Nascent Soul Stage, she conceived children, adding a son and a daughter to the Wu Family.
After her son Wu Fan and daughter Jian Xi stepped onto the path of Immortality Cultivation, Jian Xi went into deep seclusion once to restore the Cultivation level she had lost due to childbirth.
As the defensive array descended, Jian Xi's breathing grew increasingly steady and prolonged. Once entering meditation, her whole body exhaled and inhaled spiritual energy, entering a state of Cultivation.
This Cultivation lasted for fifty years. Not only did Jian Xi recover her lost Cultivation, but she also broke through to the Deity Transformation stage in one go, making her a pillar of strength for the Wu Family.
After breaking through to Deity Transformation, Jian Xi did not immediately go out. She merely met with Wu Dao and their two children, saying she needed to continue consolidating her Cultivation, and went into a minor seclusion once more, this time taking thirty years.
Only then did Jian Xi fully receive the sesame-seed-sized ancestral memories that the Jian Family Ancestor had sealed within her sea of consciousness.