Gold Seed? Cheers? Support?
Shen Yanzhou knew nothing about any of it. At that moment, he was fighting for his life.
The pain in his body was already unbearable, but the suffering of his soul was far worse. It felt as though his soul were being torn apart, piece by piece. His thoughts became scattered, and his awareness grew weaker with every passing second.
He was on the verge of losing consciousness.
I can't give up... I must hold on!
He tried to strengthen his will, desperately clinging to the last bit of awareness he had left.
Then, something changed.
Silence.
The unbearable pain suddenly disappeared.
"Hmm?"
Shen Yanzhou slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself surrounded by endless darkness.
"Hmm? Am I dead?"
His voice echoed through the empty space, but no one answered.
He began to walk, hoping to find something, anything, in this strange place. Yet no matter how far he went, there was nothing but darkness.
Then, without warning, the ground beneath his feet vanished.
"Ah!"
His body plunged downward. He fell deeper and deeper into the endless darkness, with nothing to grab onto and no way to stop himself.
What's happening?!
For the first time in his life, Shen Yanzhou felt truly afraid.
"Father! Grandfather! Help me!"
His voice shook as he desperately called for help.
"Please! Someone, help me! Ahhh!"
But no one came.
He continued falling, unable to see anything around him. The darkness seemed endless, and his consciousness grew weaker as he sank deeper into it.
His eyelids slowly grew heavy.
Is this really the end?
Just as he was about to lose consciousness completely, a light appeared above him.
It was brilliant.
A pure, gentle light shone through the darkness, illuminating the endless void. Its radiance was so bright that even in his fading state, Shen Yanzhou could still see it.
Then, a woman's gentle voice came from the light.
"Yanzhou..."
He tried to look up, but his vision was already fading.
The voice sounded familiar, yet he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
As his consciousness slipped away, the light suddenly moved toward him.
In an instant, it entered his forehead.
Shen Yanzhou's body trembled.
The fading awareness within him began to recover, little by little. His scattered thoughts slowly returned, and a flood of memories suddenly appeared in his mind.
He saw himself as a newborn baby, held in the arms of a beautiful woman.
She looked down at him with eyes full of love, gently touching his tiny face.
Mother? Is that my mother? New chapters come out on g.com first.
Shen Yanzhou stared at the woman in disbelief.
He had almost forgotten her face, but now he could see it clearly. Her smile, her gentle eyes, and the warmth of her embrace were all so real.
The memory changed.
He saw himself growing up in her arms. She played with him, held him close, and spoiled him whenever he wanted something. No matter how mischievous he became, she always looked at him with a loving smile.
Then, he heard her voice again.
"Zhou'er, when you grow up, Mother hopes you'll live a peaceful life and enjoy being an ordinary person. If I ever disappear one day, please take care of your father, all right? And never try to look for me."
She gently stroked his head, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"Even if I disappear, my love for you and your father will never fade."
Mother...
Shen Yanzhou's eyes widened.
A strange ache filled his chest, and tears began to fall from his eyes.
"Mother..."
His voice broke as he reached toward her, but his hands could not touch the figure in his memories.
"Mother!"
He cried out, his tears falling freely.
He had spent so much of his life chasing beautiful women and enjoying himself that he had rarely thought about the mother he had lost.
But now, as he watched these memories unfold, he realized just how much she had loved him.
And he had never even known what had happened to her.
More memories flooded his mind.
He saw his father sitting alone, his face filled with sorrow. Yet whenever little Shen Yanzhou approached him, Shen Hongyuan would quickly hide his sadness and force a smile.
He would pick up his son, hold him close, and pretend that everything was fine.
Father...
Shen Yanzhou's tears fell even faster.
He had never understood why his father sometimes looked so sad when he thought no one was watching.
Now, he finally understood.
His father had been suffering too.
Yet for his sake, Shen Hongyuan had hidden his pain and continued raising him.
The memories continued to appear, from his childhood to his teenage years. He saw the happy moments, the ordinary days, and even the times he had sneaked into brothels to spend time with beautiful women.
But he paid no attention to those memories.
There was only one thing he wanted to know.
Mother... what happened to you?
He desperately searched through every memory, hoping to find an answer.
Where are you now? Are you still alive?
But the memories offered no explanation.
The more he searched, the more painful his heart became.
He wanted to see her again.
He wanted to hear her voice one more time.
And more than anything, he wanted to know the truth.
Inside the Formation
The petite young woman had already lost consciousness.
Since she had awakened a Gold Seed, the three sect elders immediately sent people to take care of her. Her talent made her a top priority, and none of the sects wanted to lose such a promising young cultivator.
Her parents could only watch from a distance.
Both of them looked pale with worry. They wanted to rush to their daughter, but they knew she was in the hands of the three sects' experts. All they could do was wait and pray that she would be safe.
Guilt weighed heavily on their hearts.
If only we hadn't insisted that she take part in the ceremony...
They had wanted their daughter to have a chance at a better future. They had never imagined that the ceremony would leave her in such a terrible condition.
Now, they could only hope that she would wake up.
Meanwhile, Chang Shiyue was still conscious, though barely.
The pain had become so terrible that she bit down on her tongue to keep herself awake. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth and her nose. Even tears of blood began to appear at the corners of her eyes.
Her body trembled, but she refused to stop.
She wanted to reach the highest grade of Seed possible.
No matter how much it hurt, she would keep going.
"Shiyue..."
Chang Weiming watched his daughter with a pained expression. His hands trembled as he looked at the blood running down her face.
As a father, he wanted nothing more than to pull her out of the formation.
But he could only stand there, watching helplessly as his daughter endured the terrible pain.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
The energy of heaven and earth began to gather above the Sacred Square.
The sky trembled as an enormous amount of spiritual energy rushed toward the formation. The three elders immediately looked up, their expressions changing as they felt the sudden surge of power.
Then, a magnificent green light appeared in the sky.
It was a shade of green unlike anything they had seen before. Brilliant and pure, it shone like the finest jade, with countless layers of green light flowing through it.
The light spread across the sky like a vast ocean of emeralds. Its edges shimmered with a soft golden glow, while countless tiny specks of light drifted within it like stars.
The entire Sacred Square was bathed in green radiance.
The buildings, the viewing stands, and the ground below all reflected its beautiful glow. The light was so grand that the spectators could only stare in wonder, unable to understand what they were witnessing.
Then, the enormous energy descended.
BOOOOM!
The green light struck the formation created by the three sect elders.
The entire formation shook violently, and the three elders' expressions changed at once. They immediately focused their attention on the formation, ready to respond if anything went wrong.
Yet the green energy did not destroy the formation.
Instead, it passed through it and flowed toward Shen Yanzhou and Chang Shiyue.
Streams of green light entered their bodies, one after another. The energy was immense, far greater than anything they had experienced during the previous stages.
Strangely, neither of them felt any pain.
Instead, a warm sensation spread through their bodies.
It was gentle and soothing, as though they were being bathed in the warmth of spring after enduring a long winter.
The three elders stared at the scene, their eyes widening as they finally understood what was happening.
"This... this is the Jade Seed!"