novelraw Chapter 236 : Defying Heaven, Altering Fate
Chapter 236 : Defying Heaven, Altering Fate
Chapter 236: Defying Heaven, Altering Fate
Chu Huaixu sat on the meditation cushion, his thoughts adrift.
Dao Ancestor once held at least 300 pieces of the Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin?
"In here playing jigsaw puzzles or what? With 300 fragments, you could piece together something already!" Chu Huaixu was speechless inside.
This made him recall again what that Nascent Soul had said earlier—【Realm Lord】.
"Realm Lord... does that mean the lord of a realm?" he guessed inwardly.
After thinking for a while, Chu Huaixu stopped pondering.
Some answers had to be found, not figured out.
To find answers, not think them out.
At this thought, he decided to head to the Scripture Pavilion tomorrow and first look into the secrets of the Body of Profound Yin.
There were too many secrets about the Dao Ancestor.
Better to first understand his own Dao Companion.
The next day, after breakfast, Chu Huaixu went to the Scripture Pavilion.
Besides wanting to consult the texts, he also planned to redeem the third volume of the 《Dao Canon》 early.
He wasn’t sure when he would break through—better to be prepared.
The price of a Heaven-rank cultivation method for the Third Realm wasn’t cheap.
This made him realize just how much of a scam the 《Dao Canon》 would be if one couldn’t truly master it.
"If one fails to truly grasp the Dao Canon, then its effects are only equivalent to Earth-rank."
"But out of respect for the Dao Ancestor, the Dao Gate has always classified it as Heaven-rank."
"And the redemption cost is also set at Heaven-rank."
"No wonder it's become a pit no one dares jump into."
Once everything in the jade slip had imprinted in his mind, Chu Huaixu asked the white-robed Scripture Pavilion Manager: "Manager, where are the texts on Spirit Embryo traits placed?"
"Those types of books are on the shelves on the first floor. You can look at the Comprehensive Guide to Spirit Embryos." the other replied.
"Alright, thanks."
Chu Huaixu quickly found the Comprehensive Guide to Spirit Embryos and began reading through it carefully.
He wasn’t just curious about the Profound Yin Spirit Embryo—he was curious about most Top-grade and even Supreme-grade Spirit Embryos.
Besides, he wanted to know if these texts had any record of the Heart Sword Spirit Embryo!
After a brief skim, Chu Huaixu didn’t find anything about the Heart Sword.
"But that’s understandable. In this vast world, there’s nothing too strange. The Xuanhuang Realm has all kinds of Spirit Embryos—Heart Sword might be a very niche type," he thought.
Then he began carefully studying the peculiarities of the Body of Profound Yin.
As he read, his expression suddenly hardened.
"Extracting Yang to replenish Yin... destroying one's foundation?"
"And that’s with dual cultivation techniques."
"Otherwise, the Yin power of the Body of Profound Yin is nearly unbearable."
"Both parties must be Major Cultivators at least."
Upon reading this, Chu Huaixu let out a long breath.
"That’s a relief!"
So long as the cultivation was high enough, it was just a case of being extracted from, huh.
"I'm 【Flesh Becomes Saint】, what the hell would I be afraid of her for!"
Big buttocks weren’t such a big deal.
Besides, he had that exaggerated self-healing speed.
His regenerative ability wasn’t just about healing wounds.
Next, Chu Huaixu flipped through two more texts, but still didn’t find any mention of the Heart Sword Spirit Embryo.
He had hoped to see if anyone else had cultivated a Heart Sword within their Sea of Consciousness.
"But even the Sect Master and the others said it was their first time seeing it."
"These cultivation powerhouses are all experienced and knowledgeable... uh, Chu Yinyin aside—she seems a little uncultured."
"They were all shocked at the Heart Sword back then, found it miraculous—it must truly be a rare thing."
Still, Chu Huaixu had one lingering question.
The little black sword in his Sea of Consciousness—was it because he cultivated the 《Sword Refining Art》 and happened to have a Heart Sword Spirit Embryo, and somehow, by chance, refined himself into a sword and even created a Sword Spirit?
Even if that were the case, wasn’t this Sword Spirit’s Rank a little too high?
Its appearance could be called unexpected yet not unreasonable, with signs to trace.
But its Rank... was actually on par with the Bronze Sword.
It was just that the Heart Sword wasn’t in great condition—just more fragile.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in the Imperial Capital of the Moon Country—
The Heir of Prince Rui, Qin Xuanxiao, carried a food box to the Daoist Academy.
The old State Preceptor, Ming Xuanji, had once served as head of the Daoist Academy.
But now he had stepped back from the position, and it was the Female State Preceptor who took over.
Qin Xuanxiao had heard the old State Preceptor had been seriously injured a few days ago, so he made a point to visit.
He had interacted with the old man quite a few times already.
His Highness always felt that the old Preceptor had reached a terrifying state of nearly complete detachment.
The only thing the elder still cherished was his last disciple, Lin Zixuan.
Thus, the food box in his hands was purely for bringing food to his future Consort.
Qin Xuanxiao was led by attendants all the way to the back mountain of the Daoist Academy.
Halfway up the slope, there was a quaint little courtyard.
Ming Xuanji was seated alone before a chessboard, "watching" a game left incomplete.
Lin Zixuan was steeping tea for her master at the side, occasionally tossing a roasted bean into her mouth.
She knew that her master, when deep in thought, mustn’t be disturbed.
But she still had a greedy mouth.
So this petite young lady tried her best to chew quietly.
She noticed Qin Xuanxiao being led in and initially just gave him a simple smile.
But when she saw him lift the food box, she immediately used her secret sound-transmitting technique and called out sweetly, "Big Brother Heir."
Though Qin Xuanxiao was of noble status, he didn’t dare disturb Ming Xuanji when he saw the latter deep in contemplation, and simply stood silently.
He quietly studied Ming Xuanji.
"Why did the old Preceptor suddenly age so dramatically?"
"Like he aged ten years in an instant!" His heart tightened.
With Lin Zixuan in the mix, the old State Preceptor was one of his greatest backers.
He was confused—what could possibly cause a Peak Eighth Realm expert to be so heavily injured, even damaging his lifespan?
"Qi deviation? Or some mishap?"
"Surely it wasn’t something Cheng Yuyan did?"
Anywhere else, the gap between Eighth and Ninth Realm would be like a chasm—but in the capital, even Cheng Yuyan wouldn’t be a match for the old Preceptor!
About half a stick of incense later, Ming Xuanji finally spoke calmly: "You’ve come."
"Yes. Xuanxiao pays respects to the old State Preceptor." He bowed.
Ming Xuanji gave a slight nod. "The Emperor sent you to ask me why I was injured?"
The Heir of Prince Rui answered frankly, "Exactly."
The old man finally reached into the basket and placed a chess piece onto the board.
Then he turned around, his hollow eyes facing Qin Xuanxiao.
Ming Xuanji didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, "Heir, Zixuan—if you see Chu Huaixu again, let him plant another【Soul Seed】in Zixuan’s body."
"Yes!" Qin Xuanxiao immediately responded.
Although in his heart he thought: "Again?!"
It felt a bit off.
Why was there a second time?
I’ve only done it once myself...
Then he cautiously asked, "Old State Preceptor, was there something wrong with the Soul Seed Chu Huaixu left before?"
"I cast a spell and removed it," Ming Xuanji didn’t hide it.
Lin Zixuan nodded slightly at Qin Xuanxiao.
She also didn’t know what method her master had used to make the Soul Seed exit through her mouth.
She had thought once someone left a Soul Seed in her body, it meant she was marked forever—it couldn’t be removed.
She never expected it could be forced out.
Qin Xuanxiao sighed inside.
"Didn’t expect the old State Preceptor to value Chu Huaixu this much, even wanting another Soul Seed in Zixuan."
But thinking about it, it made sense—he had won once in the Origin Spirit Realm.
And no one knew how he did it, but he even captured a wisp of Nascent Soul’s Soul Seed alive.
After returning to the Moon Country and reporting this to the Emperor and others, everyone had been utterly shocked.
A First Realm cultivator doing all that?
Simply unbelievable!
From the grand scheme of things, Chu Huaixu had performed flawlessly—utterly impeccable!
Yet Ming Xuanji’s next words stunned him on the spot.
"Didn’t the Emperor send you to ask why I was injured? Because I extracted Chu Huaixu’s Soul Seed and cast a【Curse-Killing Technique】on him," he said flatly.
"What?!" The Heir of Prince Rui was shaken, staring at the old man’s hollow eyes.
"Chu... Chu Huaixu is dead?" Qin Xuanxiao couldn’t help blurting out.
The strangest part was that his feelings were mixed.
Joy, satisfaction, regret, even a hint of dissatisfaction.
"I’ve been training so hard lately just to beat him in the Third Realm Grand Competition."
And now, he’d been cursed to death?
In that case, the world would only sigh over a genius dying young.
The greater his own future accomplishments, the more Chu Huaixu would be remembered—Qin Xuanxiao was once defeated by him!
That thought made him feel very uneasy.
But then it hit him, and he scolded himself: "Wait! I’m being stupid! The old State Preceptor just said, 'Next time you see Chu Huaixu, let him plant another Soul Seed!'"
So he wasn’t dead!
He had just instinctively assumed that a Curse-Killing Technique from an Eighth Realm, sacrificing lifespan, would be absolutely fatal!
He quickly asked, "Preceptor, I didn’t react for a moment—how is Chu Huaixu now?"
"He’s perfectly fine—unharmed," Ming Xuanji replied.
This line hit like thunder from a clear sky.
Second Realm withstanding a Curse-Killing Technique from the Eighth Realm, which came at the cost of lifespan?
Impossible!
That Chu Huaixu had survived was shocking enough—how could he be unharmed?
Did someone intervene?
"Was it Jiang Zhi?" the Heir of Prince Rui began guessing wildly.
But the old man’s next words were like another bolt of lightning—
"And I even suffered backlash," Ming Xuanji laughed self-deprecatingly.
"His fate... has been tampered with."
"Someone defied the heavens... and altered it."