Chapter 1 The Departure

Outside Linzhou City's wharf, the Huanhua Sword Sect cultivators had already boarded the ship.

Although they were cultivators, unless their cultivation reached the third level of the Neng realm, where they could fully interact with heaven and earth and no longer fear consumption, they couldn't fly on their own. Taking a boat equipped with the 'Sishui Formation' down the river was still a faster way for most cultivators to travel.

Beside a small grove of trees on the side of the wharf, Ye Chuxiao and Yue Dongling stood facing each other.

Yue Dongling, having taken some healing pills, although her face was still pale,勉强now had the ability to move on her own.

"Senior Brother Wei! Are you really not coming with us to the Huanhua Sword Sect?"

"With your talent, Senior Brother, joining the Huanhua Sword Sect should be easy. Grand Uncle Hong also admires you. If you could become Grand Uncle Hong's disciple..." Yue Dongling said, looking at Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao shook his head, "No, thank you! The Huanhua Sword Sect is too far. I'm afraid if I go too far, I'll forget my hatred."

Hearing this, Yue Dongling bit her lip, her expression complex and conflicted. Then, she said, "Otherwise… I'll stay with you, Senior Brother. Let's both stay!"

Ye Chuxiao said indifferently, "You stay? To hold me back?"

"Don't be unrealistic. Go back to the Huanhua Sword Sect and cultivate properly. You haven't even survived the Bitter Sea (ku hai) yet. What are you talking about avenging with me?"

"Do you really think Qiu Changling is made of paper?"

Yue Dongling's face stiffened at these words. The courage she had mustered up vanished once again.

She was not a particularly resolute or strong person. In fact, most people were like her.

Even with hatred driving her, she couldn't change her inherently fragile nature.

"Here, take this!" After hesitating, Ye Chuxiao handed Yue Dongling the 'Guiding Qi into Vacuity' (dao qi ru xu) method from the Nine Deaths Demonic Art.

In any case, she was Yue Ting Mountain's daughter.

Ye Chuxiao's cultivation and martial arts had improved rapidly because of Yue Ting Mountain's legacy.

Even for the sake of the 'karma,' whether it existed or not, Ye Chuxiao still chose to do this.

At least, it could make him feel at ease.

With the Guiding Qi into Vacuity method, combined with the commonly known formulas of the Nine Deaths Demonic Art, Yue Dongling had almost obtained ninety percent of the Nine Deaths Demonic Art. As for whether she could use this half of the main formula, combined with the widely circulated formulas, to cultivate something useful, it still depended on Yue Dongling herself.

Any divine skill was just a foundation. The important thing was always the cultivator.

Cultivation was a difficult and lengthy process. It wasn't as if one could achieve success overnight with a divine skill.

Divine skills were certainly important, but looking at it from a higher perspective, it seemed they weren't that important after all.

Looking at the silk scarf Ye Chuxiao handed over, which was covered in formulas, Yue Dongling finally made up her mind. She shifted her position, avoiding the gaze of her fellow disciples on the boat, and took a pendant from her chest.

She twisted off the jasmine flower bead on the pendant and handed it to Ye Chuxiao.

"Senior Brother Wei! This is what my father gave me before I went to the Huanhua Sword Sect. He said it contained a great opportunity."

"I've been studying it for a while, but I can't understand it. I'll give it to you!" Yue Dongling said.

Ye Chuxiao took the bead, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

At the same time, the golden clock in his mind began to stir slightly.

"It's Dao rhythm!"

"There's actually a wisp of Dao rhythm hidden inside."

"And it's an unused Dao rhythm. Given that I've completely digested the previous one, this one can grant me a new talent and increase my comprehension and potential limit." Ye Chuxiao was surprised and suddenly realized.

Yue Ting Mountain himself possessed a Dao rhythm. According to the law that Dao rhythms attract each other, it wasn't strange that he could find another one.

It was just that Yue Ting Mountain wasn't like Ye Chuxiao. He wasn't qualified or capable of boarding the Ship of Fortune and going to other worlds to quickly digest the fused Dao rhythm.

So even if he obtained a second Dao rhythm, he could only preserve it and give it to his daughter.

As for why Yue Ting Mountain didn't let Yue Dongling absorb the Dao rhythm directly, but instead gave it to her in this way for her to preserve…

Perhaps it was because… his feelings were complicated!

He wanted his daughter to become better, but he wasn't satisfied with his own situation and still had the extravagant hope of digesting the Dao rhythm and absorbing it a second time.

"Do you know what's inside this?"

"What your father said is correct. This is indeed a great fortune," Ye Chuxiao said to Yue Dongling.

Yue Dongling took two steps back, forcing a smile at Ye Chuxiao, "Senior Brother Wei! You don't need to tell me. No matter what's inside, it's yours!"

With that, she took a few more steps back and turned around.

She walked to the edge of the wharf, about to step onto the deck, but then turned her head to look at Ye Chuxiao, gazing at him earnestly, as if to imprint him in her heart. Then, she waved vigorously.

"Senior Brother Wei! Thank you! Next time… next time we meet again, I will definitely… definitely get to know you properly." After saying that, Yue Dongling, supported by her fellow female disciple, entered the cabin.

The ropes were untied, and the formations at the bow and stern of the boat activated, generating a gust of wind.

The boat left the wharf. As the sail rose, the boat began to glide rapidly on the river, disappearing from Ye Chuxiao's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Does she already know I'm not Wei Ming?" Ye Chuxiao wondered, thinking about the last thing Yue Dongling had said.

He shook his head. None of that mattered.

With a slight force, the bead shattered, and the Dao rhythm stored within flew out and entered Ye Chuxiao's body.

Fusing with a Dao rhythm once again, that feeling he had experienced before surged out again.

In an instant, his body and mind seemed to unlock another shackle.

The imprisoned inspiration burst forth like a floodgate, continuously generating and pouring into Ye Chuxiao's body, becoming a part of his potential and foundation, stored away.

The crisscrossing River of Dao appeared before Ye Chuxiao's eyes once more.

He tried hard to fly higher, to see more.

But in an instant, he was knocked back to his original state.

A wisp of Dao rhythm could only allow him to glimpse the River of Dao for a brief moment.

But Ye Chuxiao wanted to firmly imprint that scene in his mind.

But the more he tried to recall, the faster it faded.

Only after the impression of the River of Dao had completely faded and disappeared did Ye Chuxiao notice the newly acquired talent.

"Talent: Strong Life. Extremely vigorous vitality. Possesses an extremely strong body activation talent. From now on, methods that榨压生命力 (zhaya shengmingli, squeeze life force) will be much less harmful to me. At the same time, methods involving poison and curses will be less threatening."

"This talent seems to have come about because I cultivated the Nine Deaths Demonic Art."

"When combined with the Nine Deaths Demonic Art, the original 'resurrection from death,' which had less than an eighty percent probability even with full preparation, will now have a success rate of over ninety percent, approaching one hundred percent."

"In other words, as long as my body stores enough 'nutrition,' I can repeatedly revive, having several more lives than others, and become stronger with each fight."