Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 248 - Awakening of the Bloodline (2)

In an instant, countless dense golden characters emerged from the damaged book, seemingly animated, and all flew into Zanxing’s body, merging into her mind.

This heart sutra was different from the one given to her by Fairy Qinghua.

Fairy Qinghua’s teachings came from years of accumulation in the Duzhou cultivation world, and since Zanxing had not been involved in cultivation for over twenty years, understanding it was inevitably difficult. However, this Peerless Heart Sutra was, as described in the book, neither demon nor immortal, and had nothing to do with the cultivation methods of the immortal realm or the demonic essence. For Zanxing, who was like a blank slate, it was the most suitable method.

The path of cultivation usually involves harnessing the power of heaven and earth, using the spiritual energy of the cosmos to enhance one’s cultivation, focusing on ‘gathering’. But this sutra went against the grain, advocating for dispersing one’s own power into the world, focusing on ‘scattering’.

All cultivators follow existing rules, but constantly repeating others’ paths has its limits. Instead, forging a new path that others haven’t walked, creating new rules, might offer glimpses of the primordial Great Dao.

Zanxing’s eyes closed again.

The Abyss of Extreme Ice became silent once more.

The Abyss of Extreme Ice, like the oldest place in the world, collected the vast expanse of snow-white jade stones from heaven and earth. The green seed, the small tree that had struggled to sprout in the coldest and most desolate place, continued to grow fervently and slowly towards the abyss’s exit.

Like its owner, it explored alone in the cracks of fate, moving forward with unwavering determination.

Day after day, month after month, the long silence; in the vast world, the Abyss of Extreme Ice was just a tiny corner. What was happening in this abyss was merely a fleeting moment in the grand universe. The Great Dao was endless, and the challengers climbing towards the sky always come and go, never ceasing.

Bu Jiang anxiously watched the corner of the ice cave, where there was no sign of a human figure. The snow and ice came with a fiercer, more urgent, and more murderous intensity than ever before. They tightly enveloped the silent, seated girl, swallowing her along with her will, trying to transform her into one of the countless names within the boundless white snow.

Her name was indeed engraved on the ice, growing more deeply etched with each passing day. Yet, unlike the other names on the ice wall, “Yang Zanxing” always stood out as particularly bright. Unlike the names that seemed shrouded in a layer of white mist, hers was always clearly visible and easily recognizable, as if it would forever remain apparent who the name belonged to.

No one knew how long such days would continue. The ice cave was still expanding, but inexplicably, Bu Jiang’s heart had grown calm. For some unknown reason, she had come to believe with growing certainty that the Abyss of Extreme Ice was not insurmountable and that one day, Zanxing would find a way out.

The ice abyss seemed like a block of frozen ice embedded in the Duzhou Continent—cold, desolate, and eternally still.

However, in that prolonged waiting period, subtle changes began to occur in unnoticed places.

For example, the large cat sleeping in the girl’s arms had its snow-white fur slowly turning silver, like countless flowing specks of light, gradually growing and quickly regaining its former luster.

On the Duzhou Continent, dark clouds were gathering in layers, shrouding heaven and earth in pitch darkness.

Pea-sized raindrops pelted down from the clouds, and people on the streets hurriedly ran to avoid the sudden winter rainstorm. A cultivator in the town stood on a small building, gazing up at the clouds, gradually showing a look of astonishment. “This is…”

Boom—

The thunder roared with a violent force that seemed to tear the heavens apart. The sound was so terrifying that some children were frightened and ran into their mothers’ arms.

“Thunder Tribulation?” The cultivator murmured, “Such a large thunder tribulation, could someone nearby be breaking through?”

The thunder rolled from afar, piercing through layers of mountains and rivers, and eventually reached the top of the Abyss of Extreme Ice. Bu Jiang, who had been drowsy, was jolted awake by the thunder. She was initially stunned but quickly glanced toward Zanxing.

The girl in the ice cave remained motionless, the ice cave that encased her like a silent tomb, quietly entombing her.

Yet, on this lonely tomb, a shadow of a tree had begun to grow.

The green tree had unknowingly grown very lush, becoming a giant tree with a dense canopy that extended alongside the Abyss of Extreme Ice. Its branches and leaves radiated a rich vitality, infusing the desolate abyss with a sense of life.

Boom—

Another thunderous roar erupted as lightning streaked down from the clouds, striking the girl. Bu Jiang’s gaze sharpened, her heart both alarmed and delighted: “It’s the Tribulation Cloud!”

The delight was because the Tribulation Cloud indicated that Zanxing must have made some breakthrough in her cultivation. After such a long time in the abyss, Zanxing hadn’t spoken, and Bu Jiang’s demonic essence could not dissolve the ice cave’s constraints, leaving her unaware of Zanxing’s condition. Now it seemed that Zanxing must have had some fortuitous encounter or even a breakthrough, which was a good sign. The alarm was due to the terrifying nature of the Thunder Tribulation. For ordinary cultivators, surviving the tribulation was already challenging, let alone Zanxing, who was trapped in the ice abyss. Many formidable cultivators had perished during their tribulation due to a single misstep.

She was now shackled in the prison of the ice platform, unable to leave. Even her demonic essence couldn’t melt the snow in the abyss, let alone assist Zanxing in surviving the tribulation.

This time, Zanxing had to rely on herself.

The Thunder Tribulation continued with increasing intensity, each thunderclap louder and more ferocious than the last. It seemed as though all the Tribulation Clouds from the entire continent of Duzhou had converged overhead, pressing down on the sky as if to collapse the heavens.

On Gufeng Mountain, the disciples of the sect emerged one by one, gazing at the rolling black clouds in the sky with fear and trepidation.

“So many Tribulation Clouds, I’ve never seen anything like it. Normally, a cultivator faces only one Tribulation Cloud at a time. Even during a breakthrough from the Astral Projection Realm to the Soul Formation Realm, there are usually just seven clouds. But look at this—there must be dozens of Tribulation Clouds. Could this person be breaking through from Foundation Establishment to Great Ascension all at once?”

“Not only that,” another disciple pointed at the distance, “but they’re purple Tribulation Clouds! The colors of Tribulation Clouds are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Purple clouds are the most vicious, and all the clouds in the sky are purple! It’s terrifying!”

Amidst the swirling black clouds, streaks of purple were faintly visible, rolling and writhing like a dragon of purple clouds, weaving through the heavens.

On the Wulei Platform, where Gu Baiying was once punished, even the lightning there was only blue. Yet, over the decades, no cultivator had ever endured a full forty-nine days of such a blue Thunder Tribulation.

“This is quite the spectacle. Who is undergoing the Tribulation here? When did our Duzhou have such a prodigy? Even when Senior Sister Meng and Seventh Uncle underwent their tribulations, we never saw such a grand display!”

“Indeed. I heard that when the former Sect Leader, Sage Yushan, ascended, it was also under such purple Tribulation Clouds. Could it be that someone is about to ascend?”