Another Cliché Cultivation Story

Ji Xian and Xia Lihua eventually landed in front of a large building that was carved out of ice. It was much smaller than the four main pavilions of the Ardent Yin Sect but it was more exquisitely detailed.

Disciples were gathered here and there. Some were entering the building while some leaving. Many also stood in a circle, enthusiastically talking to each other,

When Ji Xian touched down on the ice-ridden ground, he immediately noticed the excitement on all the disciple's faces. His brows raised with questions as he listened in on the conversations going on around him. After a moment, he finally understood. They were talking about the battle between him and Fang Yu.

“Senior Sister, that was my first time seeing a battle between Holy realm experts! It was so intense!”

“I thought it was an enemy attack at first! Those Myriad Yin Blade scared me!”

“Did anyone know who was fighting?”

“All the Elders are keeping a tight-lipped on who it was. It’s hard to say.”

“I know! I recognized one of the aura, it was the First Yin Pavilion Master! I’m not too sure who the person is though, they were too far away…”

“It should be another Elder from our sect, There were two different Myriad Yin Blade!”

Ji Xian only listened for a little while before he stopped.

Xia Lihua glanced at him and smiled but didn’t say anything.

Li Yifan was waiting in front of them, the moment the couple landed, she led them to the Sacred Yin Hall.

When the disciples saw her, their expressions changed. The volume in the surroundings noticeably lowered as the conversations gradually stopped. The air became a little more formal and serious.

“Second Yin Pavilion Master!

“Greetings, Second Yin Pavilion Master.”

The disciples bowed before quickly leaving.

Ji Xian’s eyes flickered in amusement when he saw this. It was obvious to him that the disciples were only bowing to Li Yifan due to the difference in their status and not out of respect.

“Looks like someone’s not popular,” he muttered.

Li Yifan’s ears slightly twitched but her expression didn’t change. As the disciples greeted her, she didn’t acknowledge anyone, giving them a cold shoulder. She walked to the entrance of the building with Ji Xian and Xia Lihua leisurely following behind her.

Many disciples stared at the couple as they passed them, or rather, at Xia Lihua. Her kingdom-toppling beauty and extraordinary bearing made almost everyone stop and do a double take. Next, they looked at Ji Xian. Seeing his shady appearance, their eyebrows raised.

“Who the heck is this person?”

“He looks like a thief…”

“Does anyone else feel unsafe all of a sudden?”

“…”

Ji Xian lightly coughed but didn’t say anything.

Xia Lihua giggled. She reached out and playfully ruffled his hair.

“My little thief…” she joyfully muttered as she shuffled his hair to have them hide his face even more.

Ji Xian groaned but he let her do as she pleased.

When Li Yifan was close to the doors of the Sacred Yin Hall, a barrier appeared with a picture of a wooden boat and two paddles in a cross.

The jade pendant hanging from the belt of her dress glowed with a white hue as though responding to it. She waved her hand and the barrier faded away,

Seeing this, Ji Xian mumbled to himself, “The Sixteen Directional Oar Formation, huh? Those are pretty easy to solve…”

Being so close to him, Xia Lihua naturally heard him. She couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. Ji Xian’s words were suddenly reminding her of their nightly escapades in the last several months.

She let out a sigh but didn’t dwell on it.

As they entered the building, Xia Lihua took a deep look at the unassuming woman leading them.

There was a wisp of foggy mist in her Dantian that was currently glowing pink and subtly pulsing. As the distance between her and Li Yifan shorten, the color would turn redder while the pulsation would become stronger and more rapid. This had been happening ever since she met Li Yifan.

As Xia Lihua felt this, she instantly knew that this plain looking woman was a Graha.

Ji Xian smiled and glanced at her. He sent her a spiritual sense message.

“Can you sense it?”

Xia Lihua nodded, “Yes, it’s reacting to her.”

She narrowed her eyes as she said this. She had been cultivating the Soul Liberation Art with Ji Xian not long after he attained it. After all this time, she had only been able to read a page of the book,

A single page.

Every time she attempted to read its content, it felt like her head was going to burst. The book was simply too strange. If it weren’t for the fact that her bloodline had strengthened her soul to a much higher degree than ordinary people, perhaps she wouldn’t be able to read a paragraph from the book.

Every letter, every stroke, every word would gather a tremendous mysterious pressure into her mind. It was like a bomb, the longer she tried to read the content of the book, the more the pressure will accumulate until finally, it will explode!

But while the danger was obvious, it also brought improvements. She could feel the strengthening of her mind as well as the boost in power and range of her spiritual sense.

Xia Lihua wasn’t sure of the true effects of the Soul Liberation Art, but just those two benefits were enough for her to treat the book as if it was a treasure.

On the day that she finished the first page, a wisp of foggy mist appeared in her Dantian.

This foggy mist was the Soul Essence Vessel!

Compared to the Yahui and Yazhu’s Soul Essence Vessel, what she had in her Dantian was faint and negligible. Theirs was the size of a fist while hers was just a strand. However, if any Graha were to learn of this matter, they would be endlessly shocked! There has never been a case of someone from another race that could read the Soul Liberation Art much less form their own Soul Essence Vessel.

Xia Lihua naturally told Ji Xian about the wisp of foggy mist. When he learned of it, he didn’t think too much of it and merely nodded. Afterward, he passed on to her a modified ability that he created.

It was called the Soul Signal.

He had made this after gaining inspiration from the Soul Pulse, the Graha race’s equivalent of the spiritual sense.

This ability had only one usage, to detect other Soul Essence Vessels in the vicinity.

Xia Lihua learned it immediately, knowing that this would allow her to detect the Graha without too much effort.

Surprisingly, this ability demonstrated its usefulness pretty fast as she wasn’t aware that a Graha could blend into humanity so easily without anyone knowing.

After she observed Li Yifan, she glanced over at Ji Xian.

I wonder how far he’s progressed in the Soul Liberation Art… He created the Soul Signal, which means he’s already formed his own Soul Essence Vessel, right?

When they entered the Sacred Yin Hall, Ji Xian and Xia Lihua were immediately welcomed with rows and rows of tall shelves that stood uniformly in front of them.

Li Yifan turned around and indifferently said, “You are only allowed to read the books from the first and second floors, the rest are off-limits to outsiders.”

Xia Lihua faintly smiled, “As expected…”

Ji Xian casually nodded before looking at her,

“Will you be reading with me?”

“No, I have my own inheritance from my bloodline so these books aren’t all that useful to me. I’ll use this time to cultivate for a while.”

“Oh,” This was Ji Xian’s first time hearing about an inheritance from Xia Lihua but he didn’t question her on what it was. Although it’s true that he has a curious nature, he still knows a thing or two about restraint and boundaries.

“Then maybe you should’ve stayed with Yueyin-”

“No,” Xia Lihua quickly interjected. “I want to be with you.”

Ji Xian lightly chuckled, “All right, just wait for me then.”

Xia Lihua nodded before walking away to the corner of the room. She sat down and crossed her legs. A barrier appeared and hid her figure away.

A few disciples that were also in the building saw this and raised their eyebrows. People don’t usually cultivate in the Sacred Yin Hall as it just wasn’t a suitable location to do so but seeing as Xia Lihua came in with the Second Yin Pavilion Master, they knowingly said nothing.

Ji Xian glanced at Li Yifan, who had yet to move her gaze away from him. he stepped forward to a shelf and randomly grabbed a book, immediately beginning to read it.

…

A few minutes later, he put it back before grabbing another one.

He repeated this with one book after another.

Before anyone even realize it, he was already standing on the other end of the tall shelf.

Li Yifan didn’t immediately leave, instead, she stood behind Ji Xian and watched him.

Seeing that he was only spending a couple of minutes on each book before putting it back, she slightly frowned.

What is he doing? Is this even considered reading? There’s no way he can comprehend the content of the books within such a short amount of time. Not even I can do that.

In the next three hours, Li Yifan continued to watch Ji Xian with a thoughtful expression.

It was strange to have someone’s eyes constantly on your shoulders as you read but Ji Xian wasn’t bothered by it.

After another two hours, Ji Xian put the last book back on the shelf. He had finished reading all the books on the first floor.

At this time, a small crowd of disciples had actually formed and was secretly watching him.

They silently whispered to each other.

“What’s going on? Why are there so many people here?”

“It’s because of that person over there.”

“Huh? What’s so special about him, actually, who is that? Why is a man in the sect and why is he in the Sacred Yin Hall?”

“I think he’s an important guest. Look, the Second Yin Pavilion Master brought him here. He’s been here for several hours already.”

“Ohh, but so what? Are you telling me everyone is gathering here just because of that?”

“Of course not! It’s because he’s clearly looking down at our sect! Look at how fast he’s putting down each book, he obviously doesn’t think it’s worth his time!”

“What! That bastard, does he know who we are?”

As the disciples chattered amongst themselves, Bing Yi was surprisingly in the crowd as well. She was in the Sacred Yin Hall to look for something, anything, that could inspire her to take the next step in her cultivation. She had always been hesitant about whether or not she should breakthrough into Life Destruction. After all, this realm requires you to put your life on the line so it was no small matter.

However, after witnessing the huge battle outside the sect, she became determined. She can’t stop at the Crystal realm, she wanted to continue walking the path!

Currently, she had an odd look on her face.

Isn’t that Senior Xia Lihua’s servant? Why is he here?

Just as she was feeling confused, Ji Xian suddenly walked toward her.

He was planning to take the stairs to go to the next floor but after he took a step up, he stopped.

Ji Xian spotted Bing Yi and his eyes softly lit up.

“Oh, it's you. What a surprise.”

“Uh, is it?” Bing Yi awkwardly replied. She was a disciple of the Ardent Yin Sect, why would it be a surprise to see her here?

“Looks like you have yet to break through Life Destruction,” Ji Xian chuckled, “You should check out the fourth shelf. On the second row to the leftmost side is a book that could help you.”

“Huh?”

Before Bing Yi could process what just happened, Ji Xian had already walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Li Yifan followed him. She indifferently glanced at Bing Yi but said nothing.

Bing Yi speechlessly watched them leave. When she saw their figures disappear, she turned around and looked at the fourth shelf. An unsure expression appeared on her face but she ultimately followed Ji Xian’s words.

…

On the second floor, Ji Xian repeated what he did on the first floor while Li Yifan continued staring at him.

Every once in a while, the light in his eyes would dull and he would stand eerily still.

Li Yifan noticed this, causing her curiosity to increase.

Finally, after another several hours, Ji Xian put back the last book. He pinched his chin and looked to be in deep thought. Then, the light in his eyes faded once again.

…

A moment later, life returned to his eyes and he inwardly sighed.

I already expected as much, but pity… none of these books can assist me in simulating the next realm. Fortunately, this wasn’t a total loss, I’ve gained new ideas for the Inverse Flame.

Also, I think I may have a found a clue on how to help Lihua absorb True Essence. Yin and Yang, fire and water, balance and harmony. True Essence is incompatible with Astral Essence, but at the end of the day, the interconnection between these two Essences should be possible. Everything in the universe originates from one source. There must be something that can be used as a medium to tie them together. I just need to find what it is…

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