Volume 1, Chapter 71 – Nine Yin Severed Meridians

The next day.

In front of the main hall, Gu Han was fully prepared.

Today, she had changed into a plain white dress suited for travel, and she secured her silver hair with a simple jade hairpin.

She looked a little less like the graceful and dignified Palace Master, and a little more carefree and capable, like someone ready to roam the world.

Little A-Yao was nestled in Gu Han’s arms.

She had also dressed up especially for the occasion, wearing a pale yellow dress with a Storage Pouch embroidered with cloud patterns hanging from her waist.

The pouch was filled with many of her favorite snacks and toys.

“Master Mommy, how are we going there? Are we taking a really big flying vessel?”

A-Yao wrapped her arms around Gu Han’s neck. Her large eyes were full of curiosity as she looked left and right.

“We’re not taking a flying vessel.”

Gu Han smiled faintly and gazed tenderly at the little girl in her arms.

“Master will take you by a faster route.”

She raised her other hand toward the empty space before her, brought two fingers together like a sword, and lightly slashed.

“Chi!”

A pitch-black spatial rift silently tore open.

Holding A-Yao, Gu Han stepped into the rift.

Space rippled slightly. Their figures were instantly swallowed by a starlit passage, and the rift closed behind them as though it had never appeared.

…

Inside the spatial passage.

A-Yao clung tightly to Gu Han, burying her little face in the crook of her Master’s neck. Only one eye peeked out as she surveyed their surroundings with curiosity and a hint of fear.

The passage was not a physical structure. It was more like a “shortcut” carved through the endless void.

On both sides, bizarre scenes rapidly receded and twisted into brilliant streams of light, as though mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, the sun, moon, and stars across billions of li had all been compressed into the space of an arm’s reach.

There was no sound of wind and no sensation of weightlessness, only a strange daze, as though they were traveling against the current of the river of time.

“Master Mommy… are we flying? We’re going so fast!”

A-Yao asked softly, her voice filled with wonder.

“We’re not flying. We’re traversing space.”

Gu Han explained patiently, her voice exceptionally clear within the silent passage.

“Look. With a single step, we’ve actually crossed an immense distance.”

“The world outside is flowing past us at incredible speed.”

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A-Yao nodded without fully understanding. After watching for a while longer, her eyes began to blur, so she buried her head again.

“Master Mommy, is that big sister named Ye Ling’er, the one we’re going to see, really very pitiful?”

A-Yao suddenly remembered what Master Mommy had told her while coaxing her to sleep the night before.

“Mm. She has a very special constitution. Here, it is regarded as an incurable condition that makes cultivation impossible.”

Gu Han’s voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.

“But in Master’s eyes, it is not an incurable condition. It is a buried treasure.”

“We are going to find her so we can unearth that treasure and let it shine again.”

“Is it like when Master Mommy brought A-Yao out of the stone?”

A-Yao asked innocently.

Gu Han paused, then laughed and gently patted her back.

“More or less. Everyone is a unique piece of unpolished jade, and sometimes they need someone to help polish them.”

“And A-Yao is the brightest and most adorable piece Master has ever seen.”

“Hehe, Master Mommy…”

Embarrassed by the praise, A-Yao nuzzled against Gu Han.

Before long, the steady and wondrous sensation of spatial travel lulled her into a deep sleep.

Two days passed amid the seemingly endless journey through space.

At the same time, Gu Han gained a much more direct understanding of the vastness of the Canglan Continent.

Just as the geographical jade slip had described, countless dangers lay between the Southern Region and the Eastern Region.

She “saw” the endless sea below, known as the “Forbidden Zone for Living Beings.”

Black seawater churned, while terrifyingly enormous shadows could faintly be seen cruising beneath the surface, radiating a presence that made one’s heart tremble.

She also “saw” the unbroken primordial mountain range that seemed to uphold heaven and earth.

Its majestic and perilous terrain far surpassed that of the Wanjue Mountain Range, and several ancient presences could be faintly sensed within it.

“It seems the waters of this continent run deeper than I imagined.”

While Gu Han crossed billions of li of mountains and rivers toward the Eastern Region…

Eastern Region, Falling Star City.

This medium-sized city stood at the border between the Eastern and Northern Regions.

The powers within the city were tangled and complex, but when it came to the most renowned name and the strongest backing, it was undoubtedly the Ye family.

The Eastern Region was home to two mighty Immortal Ascension powerhouses:

Venerable Baiyun and Empress Qingxuan. Like two insurmountable divine mountains, they anchored the fortune of the Eastern Region.

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Beneath them were the superpowers and ancient clans that had attached themselves to the two.

The Ye family’s ancestor, Ye Lingshuang, was Empress Qingxuan’s most favored disciple.

As a result, the entire Ye family rose along with her, rapidly ascending in the span of only a few thousand years.

From an ordinary cultivation clan, it leaped into the ranks of the Eastern Region’s first-rate powers. Several Mahayana ancestors had even emerged from the family, giving it profound foundations.

Of course, the Ye family in Falling Star City was only a small branch of the main Ye family line.

The Ye estate was located in the eastern part of the city. It occupied a fairly large area, with pavilions and towers stretching one after another, presenting an impressive sight.

However, compared with the main Ye family estate in Tianfeng City, which resembled a small kingdom, it looked considerably shabby.

At that moment, deep within the Ye estate, in a remote and desolate courtyard…

A young woman in a plain white ruqun sat quietly by the window.

She appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, and her skin was so fair it was almost translucent.

Her eyes were clear as autumn waters, yet they carried a faint melancholy that never seemed to fade.

Most unusual of all, her hair was not pure black, but tinged with the palest shade of icy blue.

A faint sheen flowed across it beneath the sunlight, complementing the barely perceptible cold and aloof aura surrounding her.

She was Ye Ling’er.

She was the youngest daughter of Ye Nantian, head of the Ye family’s Falling Star City branch, and also the “joke” of the entire branch family.

Nine Yin Severed Meridians. Unable to cultivate. No different from a waste.

At that moment, Ye Ling’er held a volume of mundane poetry in her hands, but her gaze was not on the book.

Instead, she looked through the half-open lattice window at an old tree in the courtyard that still stubbornly clung to a few yellow leaves in late autumn.

Her expression was calm, but deep in her eyes lay the faintest trace of unwillingness, one that even she was close to abandoning.

“Ling’er.”

A gentle voice came from outside the door.

Ye Ling’er returned to her senses, hurriedly stood, and walked quickly to open the door.

Standing outside was a refined-looking middle-aged man, though an irresolvable sorrow lingered between his brows. It was Ye Nantian.

“Father.”

Ye Ling’er called softly and stepped aside.

Ye Nantian entered his daughter’s room and glanced over the books on the table.

Then he looked at the thin dress she wore, and his heart ached.

“The weather is turning cold. Why aren’t you wearing more? Your body is already…”

Ye Nantian stopped halfway and swallowed the rest of his words.

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The Nine Yin Severed Meridians not only made cultivation impossible, but also left her constitution far weaker than that of an ordinary person.

“I’m not cold.”

Ye Ling’er smiled faintly. The smile was gentle and shallow, yet it seemed capable of soothing the heart.

“How did you find time to visit today, Father?”

Ye Nantian sat beside the table and sighed.

“The main family… sent word.”

Ye Ling’er’s delicate body trembled almost imperceptibly. She lowered her eyes, and her long lashes cast faint shadows across her pale face.

“Is it… about the clan gathering?”

Every five years, the Ye family held a grand clan gathering.

All disciples of suitable age from the branch families whose cultivation had reached the required standard could travel to the main family and participate.

Those who performed exceptionally well might catch the main family’s attention and receive better resources and training.

For every branch family, this was an enormous opportunity.

But for Ye Ling’er…

“Mm.”

Ye Nantian’s voice was dry.

“For this clan gathering, you… do not need to attend.”

Although she had expected it, when those words truly came from her father’s mouth, Ye Ling’er still felt as though an invisible hand had clenched tightly around her heart, making her breath catch.

No need to attend.

Four simple words, spoken lightly, yet they completely excluded her from the family’s future.

She was not even allowed to attend as a symbolic participant.

“Your eldest uncle and the others…”

Anger appeared on Ye Nantian’s face, only to turn into profound helplessness.

“They said the main family will be hosting many distinguished guests, and you…”

“Your constitution is unusual. If you appear at the clan gathering, they fear it will invite gossip and embarrass the Ye family.”

“So… they want you to remain in Falling Star City and focus on recuperating.”

Recuperating?

Bitterness welled in Ye Ling’er’s heart.

They simply found a “waste” like her offensive to the eye and feared she would tarnish the Ye family’s reputation for producing generation after generation of geniuses.

“I understand.”

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Ye Ling’er raised her head, still wearing that gentle smile as though she did not care in the slightest.

“This is fine too. I have never liked crowded gatherings. Staying in Falling Star City is quite nice.”

The more understanding she was, the more miserable Ye Nantian felt.

His daughter had been clever and quick-witted since childhood, with a kind heart. If not for those damned “Nine Yin Severed Meridians”…

“Ling’er…”

Ye Nantian’s voice choked.

“Your father is useless… I’ve called upon every connection I could find and tried every method available… but I still couldn’t cure you…”

“Father, don’t say that.”

Ye Ling’er took his trembling hand. Her icy fingertips carried a soothing strength.

“I came to terms with it long ago. Being unable to cultivate does not necessarily mean I cannot live happily.”

“I can read, paint, and stay beside you and Mother to fulfill my filial duties… That is already a good life.”

She comforted her father with words that even she did not quite believe.

Deep in her heart, her longing for cultivation remained.

Like a spark buried beneath a glacier, it had never truly gone out. Reality had merely kept it frozen for far too long.

Only after offering his daughter a few more words of comfort did Ye Nantian leave, his heart filled with guilt and helplessness.

Ye Ling’er closed the door and sat alone beside the window.

The smile she had forced onto her face slowly vanished, replaced by exhaustion and confusion.

She raised her hand and stared at her pale palm, which seemed to contain a shard of glacial ice.

As she had done so many times before, she tried to sense and guide the omnipresent spiritual energy in the air.

Yet the result was the same as always.

She could draw a faint amount of spiritual energy into her body, but it vanished instantly, like a stream flowing into a desert.

She could not retain it, refine it, or use it.

The Nine Yin Severed Meridians were like a funnel that could never be filled, severing every possibility she had of cultivation.

“Why…”

She murmured, her voice almost inaudible in the vast and silent room.

“Why me…”

“If I truly cannot cultivate, why was I born into a cultivation clan?”

“If I was destined to be a waste, why…”