Volume 1, Chapter 356 – A Flaw in Her State of Mind

After sweeping over Shi Lan’s major achievements at a glance, the middle-aged man’s gaze slowly came to rest on the final line of annotation, his expression turning unreadable.

‘Upper limit of combat strength unknown. Possesses methods that can sharply raise combat strength in a short time. Has a deep connection to a Sovereign Weapon…’

“King Xuan, should our investigation into Shi Lan continue?” Seeing the look on the man’s face, the old man asked cautiously.

Once someone made it onto the Prodigy Rankings, it was equivalent to gaining an extra protective talisman among the human race. Snuffing out a heaven-blessed prodigy was an absolute forbidden zone in the Vast Land of Shenzhou, something no one was allowed to touch.

The middle-aged man put away the rankings. His brow tightened slightly, and after pondering for a long while, he said,

“Find out where she is at present, and send her an invitation from Yunlai Immortal Palace.”

“Yunlai Immortal Palace?”

The old man was momentarily stunned before he suddenly understood.

“This subordinate understands. Then as for some of our earlier arrangements…”

“Suspend all preparations targeting Shi Lan. The Divine Phoenix Heavenly Secret Jade should be in her hands. After this, I will personally meet with her to discuss the matter.”

“King Xuan, are you placing too much importance on this Shi Lan?”

The old man could not quite suppress the doubt in his heart. In his view, if King Xuan wanted the Divine Phoenix Heavenly Secret Jade, he only needed to send word. Why would he personally step in to negotiate with Shi Lan? That would undoubtedly be beneath his status.

The human race was not lacking in prodigies. Even the top-ranked figure on the Prodigy Rankings would not warrant such treatment from a Human King who ruled his own vast domain.

No matter how monstrous one’s talent, before one had truly grown, it was all empty talk.

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“How long has it been since a Myriad Phenomena Realm martial artist appeared at the age of twenty-three?”

“It seems… I haven’t heard of one for around two thousand years.”

After thinking back for a moment, the old man nodded in confirmation.

“Since Ye Chenkong, the top-ranked figure on the Prodigy Rankings, stepped into the Myriad Phenomena Realm at the age of twenty-two, two thousand three hundred years ago, no one has entered the Myriad Phenomena Realm at such an age again.”

“What if she has practiced martial arts for less than four years?”

“How is that possible?!”

The old man sucked in a breath of cold air, his expression growing grave.

“Unless she…”

King Xuan waved a hand, cutting him off.

“You may go. I have my own arrangements for this matter.”

“Yes. This subordinate will go prepare the invitation from Yunlai Immortal Palace at once.”

After the old man left, the expression on King Xuan’s face gradually returned to calm. Only deep in his eyes, strands of brilliant divine light remained interwoven.

“In this troubled age, in this era of great contention, by the time this younger generation grows up, the very heavens of Lingyang will already have changed. Taishi… what exactly are you thinking…”

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“In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken…”

…

…

The changes to the Heavenly Prodigy Record and the Immortal Maiden Ranking this time were simply too shocking. In an instant, they shattered the vague barriers between the three races and thrust the most outstanding prodigies among them onto center stage.

It stirred up a frenzy throughout the entire Lingyang Realm. The living beings in the Lingyang Realm numbered not merely in the hundreds of millions, but beyond count.

As the influence of the rankings expanded, Shi Lan’s reputation points also began skyrocketing. In just a few short days, they had already approached the twenty million mark.

On the Prodigy Rankings, among the top thirty, the human race held only seven spots. As one of them, Shi Lan had practically made a name for herself overnight.

As for the Immortal Maiden Ranking, the world paid it noticeably less attention, because every one of the top ten was a demon or devil, and the top three had all been swept by the Tushan clan of fox demons.

…

Not long after the rankings changed, Shi Lan received a copy. News in the Central Heaven Domain was always the quickest.

She felt nothing about her own position on the rankings, but she was somewhat worried by the proportion of humans occupying the very top ranks.

Judging solely from the rankings, the younger generation of the demon and devil races was clearly stronger than the human race by more than a single degree.

“There’s definitely something wrong with these rankings. With Big Sister’s talent, how could she be ranked only twenty-seventh?!”

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Shi Qinghu had some complaints about the rankings. In his view, even if his big sister could not be considered the best under heaven, she should at least rank in the top ten.

Shi Yiming, on the other hand, did not feel much about it. He had always had a somewhat cold temperament. Ever since abandoning the martial path for literature, the many complicated thoughts he once had had gradually faded without his noticing. Toward the elder brother who had suddenly become his eldest sister, he had always lacked a sense of closeness.

Shi Tianlu smiled for several days straight, even his steps seeming lighter than before. Unlike him, however, Su Lanyue was somewhat troubled. A tall tree catches the wind, and she worried that this ranking might bring Shi Lan some trouble.

After all, great fame inevitably pushed Shi Lan to the forefront of the storm.

…

“How should I use twenty million reputation points…”

Shi Lan knew nothing of the different thoughts in the minds of her family. At the moment, she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, seriously considering that question. Tianbai lay sprawled across her lap, dozing, her snow-white hair spreading over half the bed.

Ever since exposing her human form in front of Su Lanyue, she had never changed back into her original form again.

In human shape, she always felt a little closer to Shi Lan.

Twenty million reputation points was no small fortune. It was enough for even two high-level draws.

But the risk of a high-level draw was enormous. The upper limit of eight-star items was certainly very high, but the lower limit of three-star items was equally terrifyingly low.

Although the odds of drawing a six- to eight-star item were said to be relatively high, probability was still probability in the end.

“Samsara, do you have any suggestions?”

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Along the way, Samsara had been with her longer than anything else. Shi Lan wanted to hear its opinion.

“You currently do not lack cultivation arts. There is no need for pills or talismans either. Your cultivation is already rising quickly enough. Although your foundation is stable, your state of mind has a flaw and has not yet reached completeness. External aids will have limited effect.”

“With your current situation, I would advise you to temper your state of mind first and refine your own Martial Dao. There is no need to rush the rest.”

There were more Supremes who had come from under Samsara’s hand than one hand could count. Naturally, it had its own unique insight into the path of cultivation.

“A flaw in my state of mind?”

Shi Lan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. She had not sensed the problem Samsara was referring to.

“That’s right. The speed at which your cultivation has risen is too fast. Your current martial cultivation is still only at the Myriad Phenomena Realm, so it is not yet obvious. But once you step into the Nascent Soul Realm, your state-of-mind cultivation will inevitably fail to keep pace.”

“By rights, your current state of mind should not be sufficient to allow you to step into the Spirit Transformation stage of the immortal path. But you devoured too much spirit soul essence, producing a qualitative change. Your subsequent cultivation will inevitably encounter bottlenecks.”

In truth, Samsara had known this for a long time. Shi Lan was still too young. The path of cultivation was not something achieved overnight. It required water dripping through stone, a slow and steady flow.

Some things did not require an increase in strength, but the tempering of time itself. One had to experience them personally, live through them, and only then could growth occur.

“How should I improve my state of mind?”

“That is something you must feel for yourself. Most of my previous hosts chose to enter the mortal world as ordinary people and taste the rolling dust of mortal life. But that method may not necessarily suit you.”

Hearing Samsara’s words, Shi Lan unconsciously rubbed Tianbai’s head, and a plan gradually formed in her mind.