From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 502 The Secret of the Divine Artifact Revealed

The tremors in the cave almost shook my bones apart.

Wen Chen's palm pressed against the back of my neck, the warmth of his palm seeping in through the rough linen collar, like a stabilizing force—he was curled up like an eagle protecting its fledglings, his back taut and straight, every muscle resisting the falling rubble at any moment.

"Ah Yao!" His voice, accompanied by a vibrating buzz, pierced my ears, "The thing in your hand—"

Only then did I realize the burning pain in my palm.

The half of the jade pendant that I had been holding in my hand had started to get hot at some point. The cloud patterns on its surface shone with a faint blue light, like ice crystals thrown into boiling water, which were seeping into my bloodstream through my fingers.

This is a piece of broken jade that I picked up in a dilapidated temple three hundred years ago. I originally thought it was just an ordinary old object, but now it is so shocking that my hands go numb and I almost dropped it.

"It's a response." Wen Chen's breath brushed against my ear, carrying the crisp, pine scent unique to martial artists. "It's responding to the power awakening within the earth's veins."

More pebbles fell from above, and Zi Ling's scream was drowned out by Elder Qingfeng's low chant.

I turned my head to look at her. The girl's already pale face was now so white it was almost transparent. Her fingers were almost tearing holes in Elder Qingfeng's monk's robe. Elder Qingfeng's brows were tightly furrowed, and his withered fingers were forming a mudra in front of his chest. Every wrinkle was soaked with sweat. The ethereal immortal released the "Hanxiao" sword, pressed his hands into a mudra on the stone ground, his white hair was shaken into a mess, but he still stood up straight, like an old pine tree that refused to break in the gale.

The trembling of the jade pendant suddenly intensified, and I groaned, feeling as if my fingertips were being burned through.

Wen Chen immediately grabbed my wrist and covered it with his palm to cushion the force.

His hands, calloused from years of wielding swords, were now alarmingly hot, as if trying to transfer his body heat to me: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

The sound of the earthquake suddenly changed—it sounded like some enormous thing had turned over, and the tremors changed from violent shaking to a long, drawn-out hum.

I heard a clear, ancient sound, like that of bells and chimes, mixed with the rapid beating of my own heart.

"Stopped?" Zi Ling's voice was hoarse from crying as she slowly loosened her fingers from Elder Qingfeng's robe.

Elder Qingfeng's magic seal also dissipated. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his cloudy eyes suddenly lit up: "The earth vein lock has been broken."

Mo Yu trapped this power with a soul-locking array for three hundred years; now... it's time for it to awaken.

I looked up.

The golden light at the top of the cave had disappeared at some point, and like a piece of brocade whose thread had been pulled, it slowly sank downwards.

The stone chips that were originally raining down stopped, hovering in mid-air, enveloped in golden light, and turned into stars revolving around the golden ball.

Wen Chen helped me stand up, his arm never leaving my waist.

We watched as the golden light descended lower and lower, finally condensing into a three-foot square platform in the center of the Treasure Pavilion with a "hum".

The platform is semi-transparent, allowing you to see the flowing blue earth veins beneath, moving like living things.

In the very center of the platform, a book the size of a palm floats.

It's called a "book," but it's more like a piece of jade worn down by time.

The cover has a warm, ivory-white hue, and you can vaguely see some worm-eaten patterns engraved on it—these are not ordinary characters, but the "ancient divine script" that I have seen in Wen Chen's ancient books.

The book's pages were half-open, each gleaming with the luster of mother-of-pearl. As the platform trembled slightly, tiny fragments of light occasionally floated up, landing on the stone floor with a "ding," much like the sound of spiritual dew condensing in my medicine hut back in the day.

"This...this is?" My throat tightened.

The jade pendant was still throbbing in my palm, its frequency perfectly matching the trembling of the book pages, like two zithers being played on the same string.

Wen Chen's fingers gently touched the jade pendant in my palm: "Do you remember, three hundred years ago in the dilapidated temple, you said this broken jade 'feels like it has a heartbeat'?"

Of course I remember.

Back then, I was just a beggar on the street, huddled in the haystack of a dilapidated temple to avoid the rain. When I touched the broken jade in the crack of the wall, I really felt it was hopping gently, like I was holding a bird that hadn't opened its eyes yet.

Later, I wore it close to my body, thinking I had found a stone with spiritual power, but little did I know what would happen today...

“It’s the remnant soul of a divine artifact,” the ethereal immortal suddenly spoke.

He had appeared before the platform at some point, his white hair tinged blue by the azure light of the earth's veins, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness. "Three hundred years ago, when my master, as the last guardian of the divine artifact, sealed its core into the earth's veins, he said, 'Only when the remnant soul returns to its rightful place will its true form be revealed.'" He turned to look at me, his gaze falling on the jade pendant in my palm. "What you hold in your hand, young lady, should be the remnant soul stolen by that thief Mo Yu back then."

I suddenly looked down.

The cloud patterns on the surface of the jade pendant had lit up at some point, turning a deep blue like a pool bathed in moonlight.

The light patterns climbed up my wrist, weaving half a lotus flower on the back of my hand—exactly the same pattern as the cover of the book on the platform.

"So..." My voice trembled, "So the answer I've been searching for for three hundred years was hidden close to my heart all along."

Wen Chen's fingers gently covered the light patterns on the back of my hand. His body heat seeped in through the patterns, like soothing a newly awakened little animal: "Now, it's going home."

The platform suddenly emitted a clear and melodious sound.

The book unfolded with a "whoosh," and a ball of light rose from the top page, flying straight toward me.

I instinctively tried to dodge, but Wen Chen pressed down on my shoulder: "Don't be afraid, it recognizes you."

The ball of light landed in my palm, and the instant it touched the jade pendant, a sharp pain shot from my fingertips to my forehead.

Fragmented images flashed before my eyes: a blood-red sky, burning cities, a white-robed immortal placing half a jade pendant into an infant's swaddling clothes, sealing the other half into the earth's veins, saying, "When the two pendants are joined, the divine artifact will appear."

"Ayao!" Wen Chen's call pulled me back to reality.

Only then did I realize that I was kneeling on the ground without even noticing, and the jade pendant in my palm had merged with the ball of light, becoming a complete crescent shape.

The book on the platform was now turning to a new page, with several large characters written in gold paint. Although I didn't recognize them, they felt strangely familiar.

"This is..." Zi Ling had moved closer unnoticed, her fingertips hovering above the pages, hesitant to touch them, "It looks like a record of how to use a divine artifact..."

"The Spirit Suppression Codex." Elder Qingfeng suddenly spoke up.

He appeared behind us without us noticing, his cloudy eyes gleaming with an excitement I'd never seen before. "I've read in ancient texts that the true secret of the divine artifact 'Yao Guang' is hidden in this book... Ah!"

His words were suddenly cut off by a clear sound.

Suddenly, the book on the platform emitted a blinding white light, and the pages flipped to the last page with a "whoosh," revealing an array drawn in cinnabar.

The formation perfectly matched the patterns on the jade pendant in my palm, like two disassembled jigsaw puzzle pieces that had finally found each other.

The ethereal immortal's breathing suddenly became heavy.

I saw his Adam's apple move, and his withered fingers slowly rose, almost touching the cover of the book.

His cuffs billowed in the wind from the earth's veins, revealing an old scar on his wrist—exactly the same as the mark of a guardian of a divine artifact that I saw in Wen Chen's "Ancient God Records".

The temperature inside the cave seemed to have dropped.

I could hear my own rapid heartbeat, mixed with Wen Chen's steady breathing, and Zi Ling's soft gasp.

The light from the book grew brighter and brighter, fading everyone's shadows until only the ethereal immortal's raised hand remained, like a still sculpture in the golden light.

"This..." My voice was hoarse from the heat of the light, "This is the secret of the divine artifact?"

Wen Chen remained silent.

His fingers quietly hooked around my little finger, just like when I was a child in the medicine hut, and he secretly reached out his hand when I was frightened by a poisonous snake.

I turned to look at him; his eyes, reflecting golden light, were clearer than ever before: "Ayao, whatever is written inside, I'm here."

The lights on the platform suddenly dimmed.

The book floated up slowly and stopped in front of the ethereal immortal, its pages automatically turning to a chapter in the middle.

I saw the ethereal immortal's eyelashes tremble, his Adam's apple bob, and finally, he reached out his hand—

The moment the ethereal immortal's fingertips touched the pages, I heard him let out a very soft "hiss," much like the exclamation Wen Chen felt when he found a rare copy in the library years ago.

A faint blush rose to the tips of his ears beneath his white hair, and his withered fingers moved slowly along the gold-painted characters. With each page turned, his brow trembled slightly.

He suddenly stopped as the last page was blown away by the wind, and when he looked up, the light in his eyes almost pierced me: "This book, 'The Spirit Suppression Codex,' records the true origin of the divine artifact 'Cloud Shadow.'"

My breath hitched.

The crescent-shaped jade pendant in my palm suddenly cooled down, like a piece of jade soaked in the morning dew, yet it still beat as if connected to my bloodline—the "heartbeat" in the dilapidated temple three hundred years ago, it turns out that the foreshadowing had been laid back then.

Wen Chen's hand landed on the back of my hand without me noticing, his fingertips gently tracing the luminous patterns on my wrist, as if trying to infuse his warmth into my bones: "A Yao?"

"The Cloud Shadow is a relic of the ancient Moon Departing Immortal." The ethereal immortal turned the book towards us, and flowing golden patterns appeared on the yellowed pages, outlining the phantom of a white-robed immortal in mid-air.

The immortal's wide sleeves fluttered, a cluster of swirling stars gathering at his fingertips. I stared at that light for a long time, and my eyes stung—it reminded me so much of the glass lamp Wen Chen would secretly place on my desk every time I concocted medicine late at night. "She forged an artifact with her own divine soul to suppress the rampaging earth veins of power." His voice suddenly lowered, "Three hundred years ago, that thief Mo Yu destroyed her physical body, unaware that the true core of the divine artifact had long been split in two by the immortal Yue Li: her remnant soul was sealed into the earth veins, and the other half... was lost to the mortal realm with the infant in her swaddling clothes."

I looked up abruptly.

The jade pendant in my palm suddenly became hot, so hot that I almost let go of it.

Wen Chen immediately gripped my wrist, his knuckles turning white from the force, yet he still shielded my hand against his heart: "It's you." His voice was terribly hoarse, "The baby shoved into swaddling clothes three hundred years ago, that was you."

The scene from the ball of light flashed before my eyes: under a blood-red sky, a white-robed immortal placed half a jade pendant into the baby's swaddling clothes. Her face was shrouded in blood mist, but the words "When the two jade pendants are joined, the divine artifact will appear" were as clear as if they were engraved on my bones.

So it turns out I wasn't just some random beggar who stumbled upon the jade pendant; I was originally chosen by the Moon Immortal as... his successor?

"That's not all." The ethereal immortal turned to the middle page, and the golden characters suddenly transformed into fine raindrops of light, which entered my brow.

I stumbled, and Wen Chen immediately caught me around the waist.

Those light particles exploded in my sea of ​​consciousness, transforming into the voice of the Moon Immortal: "The power of cloud shadows is the pulse of heaven and earth."

But its conditions for recognizing a master... are neither bloodline nor cultivation level.

“It’s a pure heart,” Elder Qingfeng suddenly interjected.

He had somehow moved closer to me, his cloudy eyes glistening with tears. “I once saw a few words in the ‘Unofficial History of Cangwu’—that ancient divine creatures, when choosing a master, would observe the soul of the creature.”

If the mind is filled with distracting thoughts, even if one crushes their spiritual root, they cannot grasp even a fraction of its power.

My nails were almost digging into my palms.

Three hundred years ago, I knelt in front of a dilapidated temple begging for food, and fought with people for half a pancake; two hundred years ago, I worked as a handyman in a medicine shop, and was punished by the manager to kneel in a cold pond for stealing the recipe; a hundred years ago, when I was besieged by the righteous sects, I crushed the spiritual veins of my opponents—how can someone like me be considered "pure-hearted"?

Wen Chen's thumb gently brushed against my trembling eyelashes: "What are you thinking about, A Yao?" His voice was as light as a feather. "You always say you're a good-for-nothing, but you saved a frozen little fox in the snow, stole grain from a granary during a famine to share with the people, and even when someone pierced your dantian, you were still protecting the child behind you." He lowered his head and kissed my forehead. "If Immortal Yue Li saw you, he would surely say... this is the purest soul."

My throat tightened, and just as I was about to speak, I suddenly felt the platform beneath my feet tremble violently.

The book "Suppressing Spirits" flew back into the air with a "hum," and the pages flipped to the last page with a rustling sound. The array that was originally drawn in cinnabar suddenly came to life—countless chains of light as thin as hair shot out from the array's eye and wrapped around the jade pendant in my palm.

New runes emerged on the surface of the jade pendant, interwoven with blue and green, much like the light flowing through the earth's veins.

“It’s guidance,” Zi Ling suddenly whispered.

She had retreated to the edge of the cave without her noticing, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her eyes shining with an astonishing light. "I've seen similar light patterns on Penglai Island; they were the guiding lights of an ancient teleportation array."

I stared at the runes on the jade pendant; they were climbing up my arm and condensing into a half-open lotus flower at my collarbone.

The blue light of the earth veins suddenly intensified, and I heard Wen Chen gasp – the previously suspended stone fragments began to rearrange themselves, forming a star map at the top of the cave, exactly the same as the runes on the jade pendant.

"It's time to set off." The ethereal immortal carefully put the "Suppressing Spirit Scripture" into his sleeve, the guardian scar on his wrist glowing with a pale gold. "The core of Cloud Shadow is in the deepest part of the earth's veins, where the soul of Moon Departure Immortal is sealed."

To awaken the artifact, we must...

“Go to the source of the earth’s veins,” I replied.

The jade pendant in his palm suddenly started throbbing rapidly, as if urging him on.

Wen Chen's arms tightened around my waist. I could feel his heart pounding like a drum, yet he still said in the calmest voice, "I'll stay with you."

Ziling suddenly ran over and shoved a warm porcelain bottle into my hand: "It's Qingling Dew, it can protect you from the earth's heat poison." Her fingers still smelled of the medicine, exactly the same as the scent I had when I was in the medicine hut.

Elder Qingfeng stroked his beard and took out a jade tablet engraved with lightning patterns from his sleeve: "This is a barrier-breaking talisman; the barrier within the earth's veins... might come in handy."

The light in the cave grew brighter and brighter, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

With my last glance, I saw Wen Chen's sword "Hanxiao" suddenly fly out of its sheath and hover beside him, humming—this was how it always looked when facing a tough battle.

The runes on the jade pendant were still flowing, but they gradually stabilized, like a star map that had been blown about by the wind finally finding its place.

"Ah Yao." Wen Chen's hand slipped between my fingers, our fingers intertwined. "No matter what lies ahead, I'll be there."

I looked at the runes in my palm that were gradually stabilizing, and suddenly smiled.

Three hundred years ago, that little beggar huddled in a dilapidated temple could never have imagined that one day he would hold a divine artifact that could control heaven and earth, and together with his beloved, venture into the deepest secrets of the earth's veins.

The runes that had just stabilized were glowing with a deep blue light, as if telling a story... a grander tale was just beginning.