Ji Wanyun was genuinely delighted that Ji Changkong now possessed the primal energy of Heaven and Earth. A cheerful smile graced her face as she slowly savored the last morsel of cooked beef. She then rose with barely contained excitement, eager to rush Ji Changkong back to the Ji family to offer congratulations to her Third Grand-uncle, Ji Yusheng, who had always watched over him with such care.

She understood better than anyone the immense hopes Ji Yusheng placed on Ji Changkong. For years, he had observed the boy from the shadows, longing for the day Ji Changkong would finally manifest his primal energy and soar through the Ji clan like his father.

Yet, for over a decade, he had watched in dismay as the one he pinned his hopes on remained stubbornly ordinary, unable to gather any energy. This had been a massive blow to him. Already unaccustomed to expressing his feelings, the disappointment of learning Ji Changkong could never become a Heavenly Master had crushed him. Coupled with the grief from his son Ji Haotian’s unknown fate, he had grown increasingly melancholy within the Ji family.

……

As Ji Wanyun stood up, preparing to call Ji Changkong to mount the horses, she froze once more.

Before her, Ji Changkong sat cross-legged, utterly still, appearing perfectly unremarkable.

However, as Ji Wanyun gazed at him, a shocking realization struck her: though his physical form remained, he projected an ethereal, elusive, and utterly marvelous sensation to her senses……

Seated there, Ji Changkong possessed no discernible trace of life force; it was as if he had completely merged with the very fabric of the world—transformed into a steadfast boulder, a towering tree, or perhaps the air itself, visible yet intangible……

&m;m;y;—a sensation of unreality. Ji Changkong was right there before her eyes, yet he seemed to have vanished from the mortal coil!

Ji Wanyun gasped in terror, stunned by the profoundly bizarre state Ji Changkong was in. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and attempted to perceive him using her spiritual consciousness (Shenhun).

Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

With her eyes shut, Ji Wanyun extended her Shenhun to sense everything around her, only to discover that aside from herself, the surroundings were utterly empty—devoid of even the slightest ripple of life fluctuation!

Alarmed, Ji Wanyun snapped her eyes open, gazing forward in mounting dread.

—Ji Changkong was still there!

……

Ji Wanyun was completely thrown into a panic. She closed her eyes again, trying once more to probe the environment with her Shenhun.

That specific location registered no life signature, an absolute void, yet when she opened her eyes, Ji Changkong remained fixed there, unmoved by even a fraction of an inch!

Heavens, what in the world was happening?

Ji Wanyun was paralyzed with shock, finding it almost impossible to believe the utterly bizarre scene unfolding right before her; she stood transfixed, momentarily overwhelmed by astonishment!

With her cultivation at the Four Symbols Heaven Realm, Ji Wanyun’s Shenhun was incredibly acute. With its perceptive power, she could easily detect any anomaly in the vicinity. Any creature possessing life, within a certain radius, stood no chance of evading her spiritual detection.

Unless, of course, they were Heavenly Masters significantly stronger than her, capable of using their own Shenhun to create a conceptual barrier, masking their vital aura.

—Clearly, Ji Changkong was not in that category. Having just awakened to the primal energy of Heaven and Earth, no matter how profound his inner power felt, he was, by definition, merely a One-Primal Heavenly Master!

By all logic, Ji Changkong should not have been able to evade her spiritual perception, yet the inexplicable reality presented before her forced Ji Wanyun to accept this intensely strange occurrence.

……

Ji Wanyun stared blankly at Ji Changkong for a long time before suddenly snapping back to awareness. She hurriedly called out, “Changkong! Changkong!”

A peculiar fluctuation instantly emanated from Ji Changkong’s body. In that very instant, the Ji Changkong who had been utterly devoid of any ‘vitality’ suddenly burst forth with vibrant life!

At this moment, Ji Wanyun could finally sense that the person before her was a living, breathing human being—not a cold stone, not empty air.

He seemed to stir slowly from some profound state, his eyes gradually clearing from confusion to sharp lucidity. His entire being suddenly exuded an aura of transcendent grace, giving off a delicate feeling as if he were about to take flight on the wind.

After a moment, Ji Changkong seemed to register his surroundings and exclaimed sharply, “Auntie, the primal energy in my body has already managed to circulate down to the marrow of the bones below my waist! How could this be so fast!?”

Ji Wanyun was utterly dumbfounded, staring at him with the look one reserves for a genuine anomaly, speechless for a full minute.

“Auntie, why were you calling me?” He stood up fully and stretched, and as he moved, a series of crisp, melodious crack sounds echoed from his joints. With each click, Ji Changkong felt a sense of clarity and invigoration, as if the whole world lay open for him to roam freely.

The sharp, piercing pain that had accompanied every attempt to gather energy for the past decade seemed to have vanished forever, never to return.

……

After a long, long pause, Ji Wanyun finally came to her senses. Watching the overjoyed and energetic Ji Changkong bounding around, she managed a wry smile. “Changkong, what just happened to you? I couldn't sense a single trace of the life force a person should possess on you? …It was as if you had permanently disappeared from this world, or perhaps completely dissolved into the ether, becoming part of the grass, the trees, or even the void itself.”

Hearing this from Ji Wanyun, Ji Changkong suddenly recalled the precise process detailed in the Taixu Secret Scroll he had been following just before entering that state.

The Taixu Secret Scroll, starting from the third page, contained the arcane secrets for cultivating Heavenly Masters. From the third page all the way to the final leaf, it detailed the precise cultivation steps from the One-Primal Heaven up to the Seven-Star Heaven. Ji Changkong had just been attempting the tenets for One-Primal Heaven when he suddenly achieved the ‘Realm of No-Self.’

The ‘Realm of No-Self’ was a wondrous state of cultivation where one had to shed the ego, forget everything, becoming the Great Void itself, integrated with Heaven and Earth. In this realm, the self was the cosmos, was the Taixu.

Ji Changkong had no idea how he fell into this state. Within the ‘Realm of No-Self,’ he had forgotten his identity, instinctively following the formulae in the Taixu Secret Scroll to manipulate the primal energy within, unconsciously driving it all the way to the marrow of his leg bones.

Had it not been for Ji Wanyun’s sharp cry, he might have remained dormant in that ‘Realm of No-Self’ indefinitely.

“Auntie, there is a scripture in my mind called the ‘Taixu Secret Scroll.’ I don’t know why it exists there, but whenever I try to practice Heavenly Master techniques, it automatically manifests. I was cultivating according to the ‘Taixu Secret Scroll’ just now, and that’s how I entered that marvelous state,” Ji Changkong explained the truth to Ji Wanyun with a puzzled expression.

“What?” Ji Wanyun cried out in disbelief, reaching up to touch Ji Changkong’s head, her expression odd. “Changkong, haven’t you injured yourself somewhere? How can a scripture exist inside your head?”

“It’s true!” Ji Changkong replied with a troubled smile, shrugging to show that he, too, had no idea what was going on.

He paused in thought before deciding to explain to Ji Wanyun, “I truly don’t know the specifics. It’s just there, in my mind, and it appears the moment I wish to practice Heavenly Master arts. I feel that the Taixu Secret Scroll is exponentially more profound than the so-called Heavenly Master techniques recorded in our Scripture Pavilion. The ancient script is difficult and cryptic—it’s simply not comparable to the techniques in the Pavilion.”

“How is that possible?” Ji Wanyun’s face was etched with suspicion. After a moment’s hesitation, her expression shifted slightly, and she murmured softly, “Could it be related to your father back then…”

“What?” The word ‘father’ struck a raw nerve in Ji Changkong, and he snapped sharply.

For years, resentment had festered within him. Others had the comfort of parents, yet he had never even seen their faces. The disdain, the mockery, the cold remarks he suffered in the Ji family seemed largely rooted in this ‘father’ he had never met!

“Nothing,” Ji Wanyun cut herself off, then turned serious. “If what you say is true, and a scripture resides in your mind, then cultivate using the techniques recorded there. However, you must remember this: you must never mention this to another soul, not even those closest to you! Everything concerning that scripture must remain buried in your heart, starting today. Not a single word to me about it in the future, either!”

“Why?” Ji Changkong frowned deeply, demanding an answer.

“Don’t ask so many questions. I don’t know the full details myself. Perhaps when you are strong enough, you can find the answers on your own,” Ji Wanyun sighed softly, a look of helplessness on her face.

“I understand.” Ji Changkong might disregard others’ commands, but he would never ignore Ji Wanyun’s words. He knew too well the heartache she had endured for his sake!

“Let’s go back. If your Third Grand-uncle learns you possess primal energy, and furthermore, miraculously reached the point of energy entering the bone marrow, who knows how ecstatic that old man will become!” Seeing him nod obediently, Ji Wanyun smiled radiantly. Just imagining Ji Yusheng’s look of astonished ecstasy brought her immense satisfaction.

“Right, let’s return to the Ji family!” Ji Changkong nodded, then looked toward the towering, cloud-piercing Mount Wu, murmuring softly, “Wushan Old Mother… Lu Yun…, just wait. One day, I will make you repay tenfold the insult my aunt suffered yesterday!”

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