The black stone looked dull and lightless.
Its shape was unevenly round, and the surface rough like any ordinary stone one might find along a riverbank.
But as Ning Zhen’s hand drew closer, The Dragon Point in her chest trembled.
At first, the vibration was faint, almost like a heartbeat that had fallen out of rhythm.
A few seconds later, it began to quicken.
Thump… thump… thump…
Something inside the stone was calling to her.
Or perhaps something inside her was answering that call.
Ning Zhen froze.
Her body was still weak, but the instincts she had cultivated over countless years returned immediately.
Her eyes narrowed as she sensed a strange resonance coming from the black stone.
A familiar feeling filled her chest.
It felt like two pieces separated by space and death had finally found each other again.
Ning Zhen’s fingers trembled as they touched the stone’s cold surface.
Yet beneath that coldness, she could sense a faint pulse, almost like life.
The world around her seemed to stop.
For a moment, the greenhouse seemed to fall silent.
Then, crack…
A faint sound came from the stone’s surface.
Ning Zhen’s eyes widened.
Thin cracks began to split the black stone, spreading like faint lines of light.
Little by little, its outer layer crumbled into black dust that fell between her fingers.
And the thing hidden inside finally appeared.
It was a clear purple gem the size of a marble.
Soft violet light shone from within it, illuminating Ning Zhen’s face and the dim greenhouse around her.
The reflection of that color moved across the fogged glass and wet leaves nearby, making the old greenhouse look as though it stood somewhere between dream and reality.
The moment the light touched her skin, warmth spread through her entire body.
A familiar warmth that had once accompanied her since childhood.
But along with it came a pain deep in her chest.
A sense of loss she had suppressed for too long rose again.
Ning Zhen’s body trembled again.
She recognized this stone, the Purple Dragon Stone.
The last fragment of her father’s soul.
Her eyes burned.
For the first time since awakening in this world, the calm she had maintained finally cracked.
Her hand closed tightly around the gem.
Her head lowered.
“Father…”
Her voice was almost swallowed by the silence around her.
The silver snake crawled closer before silently climbing onto her lap.
Ning Zhen looked at the creature for a while.
“So you were the one who found this stone.”
Her voice remained hoarse.
“This stone came here with my soul…”
The snake tilted its head, then gave a small nod.
For a moment, Ning Zhen did not know what to say.
There was something unusual about the little snake.
It lacked the aura of Azura’s spirit beasts, though its instincts and awareness were far beyond those of an ordinary creature.
Her gaze lowered once more to the purple gem in her palm.
Its light still pulsed with warmth.
And before she could stop them, old memories began to surface one by one.
The sky of Azura always turned golden before sunset.
Clouds of qi drifted between towering mountains, while thousands of spiritual lanterns glowed beneath the Dragon Palace like stars that had fallen to earth.
The wind carried the fragrance of flowers that bloomed through the night.
In the stone garden near the main hall, a large man sat while holding back laughter.
Unlike most people in Azura, Ning Zhen’s father rarely wore grand robes within his own palace.
He preferred simple dark clothing, though even without formal attire, his presence alone carried a calm authority.
At that time, his rough hands were carefully tying the hair of a little girl seated before him.
Young Ning Zhen pouted impatiently.
“Father is taking too long.”
The man laughed.
“That’s because your hair is always messy.”
“I’m not a child anymore.”
“You’ll always be a child in my eyes.”
Young Ning Zhen snorted in annoyance, but she did not move away.
That large hand then patted her head gently.
Whenever he looked at Ning Zhen, his eyes always softened with warmth.
“You must learn to walk in two worlds.”
“Two worlds?”
“The world that can be seen… and the world that remains hidden.”
Back then, Ning Zhen had not understood what he meant.
She only thought her father was speaking as usual, strange and difficult to understand.
Now, she finally understood.
The memory shifted to another moment.
Azura’s golden sky disappeared.
In its place came a storm of black qi that swallowed the heavens above the palace.
The Dragon Palace collapsed.
Fire and blood filled the air.
Human screams and the roars of spirit beasts merged into chaos that tore through the night sky.
Her father’s body was covered in wounds.
White dragon scales had emerged across parts of his skin, which had cracked under excessive spiritual pressure.
Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Still, he stood before Ning Zhen to protect her.
Ning Zhen herself was seated on the stone ground, a sword piercing through her body.
Blood ran from the corner of her lips.
The qi in her meridians had nearly been destroyed.
In the distance, Mo Xian stood laughing while black qi churned around him, pulling at his robes like a living storm.
His face showed neither regret nor guilt.
Only the cold certainty of someone who had abandoned everything for power.
Even now, the black qi behind him continued to expand.
And for the first time in her life, Ning Zhen saw exhaustion in her father’s eyes.
Even then, he still tried to smile at her.
“You must live…”
His voice was heavy.
“…even if it has to be in another world.”
His hand touched Ning Zhen’s chest.
He used forbidden technique to save Ning Zhen’s soul and send her to any dimension.
Mo Xian screamed with anger.
White and purple light flooded the world.
And just before everything shattered, Ning Zhen heard his final words.
“I’m sorry… Father can’t stay with you anymore.”
The memory ended abruptly, like a door forced shut.
Ning Zhen was pulled back to reality.
The greenhouse returned before her, filled with morning dew and the scent of wet soil.
The violet light still pulsed in her hand.
Something warm slid down her cheek.
Ning Zhen raised her hand and touched her own face.
She stared at her fingertips for several seconds.
It was her tears.
Strange…
she was not someone who cried easily.
Since childhood, she had been taught that a cultivator must be stronger than her own emotions.
But this mortal body was less capable of suppressing emotion.
Or perhaps… She had simply held everything in alone for too long.
“Thank you… Father.”
Her whisper was barely audible.
Grief could not change the past.
But a person could still choose how to move forward after losing everything.
And Ning Zhen had no intention of stopping here.
Her gaze gradually became calm again, though sorrow still remained deep within her eyes.
She brought the Purple Dragon Stone to her chest, right above the Dragon Point.
The moment the gem touched her body, violet light spread outward, forming a thin layer around the Dragon Point.
Thump… thump… thump…
A gentle resonance appeared within her body.
Thin streams of qi began moving through meridians that had previously been completely lifeless.
The damaged energy pathways reacted to the purple light, receiving a spark of new life.
A steady heat spread beneath her skin.
The energy was not powerful, but it was steady.
The qi finally began moving again.
Ning Zhen closed her eyes.
She could feel her father’s warmth still lingering inside the stone.
It was enough to help her survive in this unfamiliar world, and to remind her that she was not truly alone.
A few minutes later, the weakness in her body began to ease a little.
Her strength had not fully returned, but at the very least, she no longer felt as though this body might collapse at any moment.
The pallor of her face also improved a bit.
Her breathing became steadier.
Ning Zhen picked up the remaining Fire Tuber and bit into it.
Warm energy spread through her body once more.
Although it was not as strong as before, it was enough to strengthen the newly formed thin flow of qi.
She could sense her damaged meridians beginning to react to the combined energy of the Fire Tuber and the Purple Dragon Stone.
Even though it reacted very slowly, that was a good beginning.
After some time, she finally stopped.
Forcing this body any further would only damage the meridians that had just begun to open.
She opened her eyes.
The greenhouse was quiet again.
Dew still clung to the fogged glass, while sunlight began slipping through the gaps between the trees.
Birds called in the distance.
The new world was waking.
Ning Zhen looked at the little silver snake near her feet.
“I’ll come back.”
The snake blinked, it understood.
Then the little creature slipped down from her lap and curled itself once more near the old apple tree.
Its tail moved through the wet grass.
Ning Zhen placed the Purple Dragon Stone, now no longer glowing, into the pocket of her worn clothes.
Then she stood.
Her body was still weak, but the spark that had nearly been smothered inside Lin Qingyu had not disappeared after all.
She stepped out of the greenhouse.
The sun had begun to rise in the east, which meant time was running out.
Soon, Lady Su and Lin Xue would wake.
Morning mist drifted across the Lin family’s backyard as Ning Zhen walked back toward the storage room.
Her steps remained unsteady but firm.
And beneath that frail body, the Dragon Point pulsed once more.
Like a second heart beginning to awaken.
In the city center, Xie Yan woke before dawn.
He was sweating.
The sky beyond the window was still deep blue, while the city lights glimmered in the distance.
The scent of Linghua still lingered in the air.
A real scent, not a dream.
Xie Yan sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for the strange beat in his chest to calm down.
But his body only grew more alert than usual.
He felt like something inside him had just awakened.
Tonight’s dream had been different.
The girl was still standing by the golden river, her face hidden behind faint mist.
Her white robes moved gently in the wind.
Behind her, thousands of spiritual lanterns floated above the water like stars.
And for the first time—
She spoke.
Her voice was too soft for him to hear clearly, as though swallowed by the wind and an immeasurable distance.
But Xie Yan was certain of one thing.
The girl was calling someone.
And strangely… For a brief moment, he felt that voice had almost reached him.