Chapter 258: Where Clouds Run Deep, No One Knows

Jiang Jian struggled to steady himself, enduring the searing agony in his soul, and activated the ice-blue radiance once more.

He temporarily halted the chaotic, surging spiritual energy.

The acupoints and meridians throughout his limbs and bones also ceased cracking.

“Pure World Divine Flame is too high a tier—I can only wield a fraction of it.”

“These ice-blue rays won’t last long.”

Jiang Jian’s expression was cold as he carefully sensed his acupoints.

He roughly estimated that, in his current state, he could sustain it for at most half a day!

The cosmic rule backlash from his failed breakthrough was terrifying.

Had his will not been unyielding, had he not endured the excruciating pain and barely held onto consciousness to activate the ice-blue radiance and forcibly suppress it,

his soul would have already shattered, killing him on the spot!

Jiang Jian lifted his head and attempted to take a step—immediately, piercing, splitting pain surged through his entire body!

Blood seeped from his seven orifices, yet his expression remained unchanging, blank, as he took one step, then another, toward the edge of the island’s barrier.

At this point,

deep within his mind, a chilling clarity emerged, unprecedented in its transparency.

His thoughts surged rapidly.

In an instant, two methods came to mind!

“First method: find Shen Qingchanyi!”

“Her Weaving Fate divine art, if fully unleashed, would surely alleviate the soul’s fissures!”

As he pondered,

Jiang Jian reached the barrier and stepped through.

A tremendous pulling force seized him.

In just two seconds,

Jiang Jian opened his eyes—he was back at the edge of Shengshan, outside the Breakthrough Hall!

For some reason,

Shengshan was eerily quiet.

As far as he could see, white stone buildings stood in rows, yet not a single soul was visible.

“Second method: activate the Earth Store Scepter and summon the Guide Messenger to return to Yinshan!”

Jiang Jian walked to the edge of Shengshan, gazing down at the vast, mist-shrouded landscape below, and made his decision.

In the Tenth Hall of Yinshan,

not only could the Wheel of Rebirth Manifestation be freely used,

but the cost of wielding the Earth Store Scepter would be greatly reduced.

This scepter’s nature is mastery over the “Rebirth” attribute.

This attribute also has the effect of stabilizing the soul.

However,

the Earth Store Scepter’s true purpose lies elsewhere.

Its soul-stabilizing effect is merely incidental—it cannot repair soul fissures, only prevent further damage.

Activating this treasure consumes enormous soul-source energy.

It would be counterproductive.

Until now, Jiang Jian had never used the Earth Store Scepter precisely because of this.

But if he returned to the Tenth Hall of Yinshan right now,

under minimal cost,

the scepter’s nature could maintain his soul from shattering.

For his current situation, this would be immensely helpful!

As his meridians cracked and the damage halted,

the two realms’ acupoints gradually restored a trickle of spiritual energy through self-sustaining circulation.

The backlash from his failed breakthrough had been too violent.

The Shenque and Yongquan acupoints each suffered distinct injuries, riddled with cracks.

But Jiang Jian’s cultivation in both realms was exceptionally profound.

He had activated the ice-blue radiance in time to suppress the backlash.

That was why his two realms’ acupoints had not fully collapsed and could still be used—for now.

“If anyone else had attempted this,”

“they would have died instantly upon failure.”

As his thoughts churned,

Jiang Jian’s expression turned icy, and he took a step forward.

With the little spiritual energy he had left, a jet-black phoenix appeared beneath him, hurtling toward the Lihai direction!

The Diyue Academy was empty—this was highly unusual.

But right now, Jiang Jian had no time to care.

The Long Quexu form beneath him appeared semi-transparent.

His flight speed was much slower than usual.

Every slight recovery of Shenque spiritual essence flowed into the Long Quexu form, barely sustaining its existence and preventing its disintegration.

“Yinshan Wonder Realm, Guide Messenger!”

Standing atop Long Quexu’s head, Jiang Jian gritted his teeth against dizziness and drew a thread of soul-source energy into the Earth Store Scepter.

Activating the token required little energy.

Jiang Jian knew this well.

His current state was extremely dangerous.

One misstep, and he would perish here.

No matter what,

he must ensure he could return to Yinshan at any moment.

If he went to Lihai’s Qiushuigong and failed to find Shen Qingchanyi,

or if

Shen Qingchanyi could not help him,

he would immediately leave—through the Guide Messenger—to return to the Tenth Hall of Yinshan, slowly restore his acupoints and meridians, and seek out the hidden measures left by the physician.

The Moon Realm barrier was on the verge of collapse; heaven’s tilt was imminent.

The struggle for the Earth Store Seat in the Yinshan Wonder Realm was also drawing near.

If he could not resolve these issues quickly,

merely competing for the Earth Store Seat would kill him!

According to the Wonder Realm’s rules,

the other nine Hall Masters were almost certainly all Divine Palace cultivators!

If he could not break through, fighting Divine Palace cultivators with only Yongquan-level cultivation would be extremely perilous!

“How are you here?!”

A startled voice rang in his ear.

Jiang Jian’s expression remained blank; he sheathed the Earth Store Scepter and said, “Can you extract me?”

The Guide Messenger clicked its tongue. “If the distance is sufficient, I can use the Wonder Realm’s power to forcibly teleport you here.”

“But if the Yinshan Wonder Realm has just shifted to the opposite side of Earth, and the distance is too great, I cannot do it.”

After a moment,

it examined carefully and spoke again: “You’re lucky—right now, the Yinshan Wonder Realm’s coordinates are not far from Chang’an Prefecture.”

“Do you want to return?”

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian shook his head slightly. “Wait a while—I still have things to do.”

His soul fissures urgently needed healing.

Though returning to Yinshan would stabilize them and prevent further cracking,

it could not repair the cracks.

At that point,

even if he fully healed his meridians and acupoints,

he would still face the other nine Hall Masters—Divine Palace cultivators—with only Yongquan-level cultivation. The disadvantage would be too great.

“How did you end up like this?”

The Guide Messenger asked, curious. “Half your meridians collapsed, your acupoints shattered—and yet you’re still alive? It’s unbelievable.”

Suddenly,

it seemed to sense something.

Its tone paused, then grew cautious.

“How could the reserves hidden deep within your Divine Palace be so profound!?”

“But you’re clearly still at the Gushing Spring realm!”

“Logically, the Divine Illumination barrier should still be intact!”

As he spoke, the Guide Messenger grew even more puzzled.

Jiang Jian remained silent, sitting atop Long Que, quietly restoring his spiritual essence.

His soul ached with splitting pain; every bone and joint stabbed with agony.

It felt like needles piercing his flesh at every moment.

He ignored the Guide Messenger, and amid this torment, his mind grew clearer and purer.

He carefully pondered every detail concerning the Physician.

A memory surfaced quietly.

It was the dialogue from the moment the Physician severed his soul fragment!

His subconscious had buried this memory deep within his mind.

Only when he went to the Hall of Contemplation did he barely recall it!

The Physician had once said something.

“I took a fragment of your soul—not as payment.”

“But to save more people.”

Her words still faintly echoed in his ears.

It made Jiang Jian’s gaze grow colder.

He even recalled the moment he first met the Physician.

The Physician seemed to know everything about his sister’s illness.

At that time, he was still very young.

Though deep within his mind, he had many defenses.

He still made a deal with her.

“So.”

Jiang Jian murmured to himself, “She saw me as medicine.”

“Medicine to cure and save lives.”

In that instant,

when his breakthrough failed,

that mysterious sensation rose from deep within his mind.

The Divine Illumination barrier remained, now only a thin layer.

Like a transparent water curtain, shimmering with ripples.

As if a mere touch would shatter it, collapsing into the Divine Palace.

“My soul was once purified by Pure World Divine Fire—there was nothing abnormal.”

Jiang Jian sensed the Divine Illumination barrier and quietly formed a hypothesis.

If the Physician truly did something,

there was only one place it could be.

The Divine Illumination barrier, thin as a cicada’s wing, before the Divine Palace.

“Her goal was to prevent me from breaking through to the Divine Palace.”

“But from start to finish, the Physician never mentioned this.”

As Jiang Jian pondered, his mind stirred, and suddenly another thought arose.

Ordinary beings,

if they failed a breakthrough, would die immediately.

But in his case, the faint blue-white light had forcibly suppressed the backlash of failure.

The Divine Illumination barrier still existed, reduced to a thin layer.

Yet the original complete Divine Illumination barrier had already fallen into the Divine Palace, becoming the foundation of his third realm!

If he healed his meridians and acupoints, and fully replenished his spiritual essence and qi,

at that time,

striking the Divine Illumination barrier would be effortless!

Perhaps,

he could even use the Physician’s lingering method

to pull more matter from the Starry Rules, continuously forming new Divine Illumination barriers and further enhancing his Divine Palace’s foundation!

But Jiang Jian knew better.

Before that, he must fully understand the Physician’s method before attempting another breakthrough.

“By the way.”

The Guide Messenger suddenly spoke, his tone strange, “In the past two years, most of the Chosen Ones of Yinshan’s Ten Halls have ascended to the Hall Master position.”

“Only the Chosen One of the Seventh Hall remains.”

“He is one step away from becoming Hall Master.”

“The contest for the Earth Store Throne will begin soon.”

“With your current condition—”

“Tsk tsk.”

His form flickered, projecting itself onto Long Que’s back, his gaze shifting.

Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment, then asked, “What are you getting at?”

The Guide Messenger stared at Jiang Jian and said, “That black wood staff—you’ll take it to your grave. Better give it to me before you die.”

He spoke with deadly seriousness, no hint of jest.

Clearly,

as one of Yinshan’s Guide Messengers, he knew much about the other nine Hall Masters.

He had almost already concluded,

given Jiang Jian’s cultivation state,

he would inevitably lose in the contest for the Earth Store Throne!

“Fine.”

Unexpectedly,

Jiang Jian’s expression remained calm—he agreed outright.

He stood up, gazing at the Guide Messenger’s projection, and softly said, “If I truly die, I won’t just give you the Earth Store staff.”

“I’ll also issue a personal command to the Wheel of Rebirth before I die, transferring all Ten Hall Soul Jade to you—to grant you your freedom.”

Hearing this,

the Guide Messenger froze.

A few seconds later,

he snapped back, looking at the boy beside him.

When had it happened?

The blood scabs on the boy’s face had completely washed away.

Around him, soft golden light wove together, transforming his robes into a flowing, magnificent robe of golden threads and white silk.

His former disheveled state was gone.

“But,”

“there will never be such a day.”

Standing alone atop Long Que, the white-robed boy spoke softly.

His gaze crossed mountains and rivers, fixed ahead.

There, stretched an endless expanse of azure sea.

(End of Chapter)