“Of course not! But Master, your blood contains an energy I recognize—it can heal my wounds,” Gungun said.
“Huh?”
Could it be that her flesh and blood were not only useful to humans, but also to Xianqi?
“It’s, it’s a kind of energy inside your body. Hmm, what’s it called… it’s, it’s… it’s the power of the stars!” Gungun’s voice suddenly grew excited. “Yes, that’s it—Astral Power!”
“Astral Power?” You Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled those white specks of light. She gathered some at her fingertip. “You mean this?”
“Ahhh—yes, that’s it!”
“This is Astral Power?”
“Yes, yes, exactly this.” If Gungun had a physical body, it would have already thrown itself at her fingertip, screaming in delight. “Master’s Astral Power is very pure and fragrant! It can repair the instability in my space.”
“So when you suck my blood, you’re actually absorbing Astral Power?”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“Then why don’t I just channel Astral Power directly into you?”
“Uh… I suppose that could work! But can it actually be channeled in?”
“Let’s try.” After saying this, You Yu channeled all the Astral Power in her body into the Kongjian Huanjie.
At first, she thought it might not work, but the moment the Astral Power touched the Kongjian Huanjie, it was absorbed inside.
This time, since she was actively outputting the Astral Power, she could control the flow. Once all the Astral Power in her body was depleted, she stopped.
Then she extended her consciousness inside and found that there wasn’t much change.
“There is a change! The static zone has expanded by several dozen cubic meters!” Gungun said.
You Yu was slightly embarrassed. The static zone was already very large to begin with—expanding by a few dozen cubic meters was hardly noticeable to her.
“I’ll channel more Astral Power to you when I have it again.”
“Great, great! Master, I love you so much!”
Gungun’s childish, milky voice was pleasant to hear. In a good mood, You Yu soothed it with a few words, then withdrew her Divine Sense.
She closed her eyes and began to cultivate. Seeing those white specks of light, her mind began to wander with many thoughts.
In the latter half of the night, she quietly snuck over to Jiang Wenji’s mountain peak. As she was pacing outside, the main gate suddenly opened.
“Come in.” Jiang Wenji’s voice was calm, and it was unclear how long he had sensed her presence.
You Yu entered and bowed to him, who was sitting on a meditation cushion. “Master.”
Jiang Wenji waved his hand. “In the middle of the night, neither cultivating nor sleeping, you come all the way here to pace in circles around your master’s place?”
“Master, this disciple has something I wish to ask.”
“What matter is so important that you’d come in the dead of night?”
You Yu hesitated for a moment, then said, “Master, do you know about Astral Power?”
Jiang Wenji didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he tossed a meditation cushion over, and You Yu sat down across from him.
“Astral Power is a force that can connect heaven and earth. With it, elemental Lingli can unleash far greater power. However, no one can absorb Astral Power anymore.”
“Why?”
“I’ve heard that hundreds of thousands of years ago, heaven and earth underwent a cataclysmic transformation. From that point on, the human body changed, and the Jingmai could no longer withstand the energy of Astral Power. If anyone managed to sense Astral Power and forcibly drew it into their body, they would explode and die—not a single one survived.”
You Yu broke out in a cold sweat and asked timidly, “What if the Astral Power entered one’s body on its own?”
Jiang Wenji looked at her. “You’ve absorbed Astral Power?”
“When I first began cultivating, I could see white specks of light. I never absorbed them—they drilled into my body on their own,” You Yu said.
“Let me examine the situation inside your body. There’s no need to be afraid.”
Jiang Wenji sent a stream of Lingli toward her. You Yu was enveloped by it, and she felt as though she was being inspected from the inside out.
Soon, the stream of power withdrew.
“Your constitution is somewhat special—you can actually absorb Astral Power,” Jiang Wenji said.
“Master, I won’t explode and die, will I?”
“The Astral Power within you is very docile. That won’t happen.”
You Yu let out a sigh of relief.
“Come with me.”
He led her to the back mountain. This place was different from the other mountain ranges—the entire mountain was shrouded in a thick mist, and the outside couldn’t see what was within.
You Yu recognized this place. It was the sect’s Jindi that the senior senior sister had mentioned.
“Walk forward.”
You Yu obediently walked forward and encountered a barrier.
“Concentrate your Astral Power in your hands.”
You Yu tried it and discovered that the barrier actually revealed its shape, shimmering with a faint flowing light.
“Master?”
“This is a Zhenfa created by the founding ancestors. It requires Astral Power to break through,” Jiang Wenji explained. “Your Astral Power isn’t sufficient yet, so you can only make it visible. After you advance in rank, you can try going inside to take a look.”
“Master, do you know what’s inside?” You Yu asked.
Jiang Wenji shook his head. “All I know is that what’s inside is the Inheritance left by Taiyi Zong—it is the very foundation of the sect. What’s in the Cangshu Pavilion now isn’t even a tenth of what’s in there. Moreover, much of what circulates outside consists of copies.”
“Master, you said that people haven’t been able to absorb Astral Power for hundreds of thousands of years. How could this place use Astral Power to break the seal? Could it be that Taiyi Zong…”
“Exactly. Taiyi Zong was once the most prestigious sect on this continent, and the one with the longest history. But as time has passed down to the present, many people no longer know of Taiyi Zong’s former glory.” Jiang Wenji sighed.
During Taiyi Zong’s most difficult period, the entire sect had only a single member left. Compared to that worst time, the current situation was still considered decent.
You Yu felt the power of the flowing light beneath her palm, and her heart stirred with a surge of emotion.
For Taiyi Zong to have endured for such an incredibly long time, one could only imagine how magnificent it must have been in the past.
Jiang Wenji gazed at the flowing light. “Let’s go. Come back here once your Astral Power has advanced.”
That would be the moment Taiyi Zong rose anew.
Back at Jiang Wenji’s residence, You Yu was about to take her leave when Jiang Wenji brought out a box and handed it to her. “I examined your Linggen earlier. You possess a Quan Linggen, which is extremely rare—one in ten thousand years. Currently, aside from your two Heavenly Linggens of Fire and Wood, all your other Linggens are Yin Linggens that require stimulation to manifest. This is a crystal I happened to obtain in the past. Take it here and see if it can awaken your Shuilinggen.”
You Yu hadn’t expected that her Fire and Wood attributes were actually Heavenly Linggens. She marveled inwardly at how remarkable her master was—one glance and he knew everything about her condition.
As for the crystal, she didn’t stand on ceremony. After all, it was a gift from her master.
She opened the box, and in an instant, a dense Shuilingli rushed toward her face. Unfortunately, without a Shuilinggen, she couldn’t absorb any of that spiritual power.
“Swallow it directly. I will provide Dharma Protection for you.” Jiang Wenji reminded her.
You Yu saw the small, teardrop-shaped crystal inside. Without hesitation, she picked it up and swallowed it whole.