Chapter 177

Mei Ruoxue's icy gaze swept over the two, finally landing on Shi Ran's face. She did not pursue the matter of the "karmic debt," merely repeating Gu Yusheng's words and adding: "The aura here has changed, the spiritual light is completely gone; something may happen, so we should indeed leave."

The three finally glanced at the empty jade platform and the already dim, lightless white jade pool, then turned back along the way they came. Passing through the narrow corridor, they returned to the battlefield-scarred ruins. The sky remained gloomy; though the demonic qi had thinned considerably, it still weighed heavily on their chests, as if a different world from the pure spiritual qi inside the stone chamber.

Shi Ran held the Heaven-Patrolling Token, feeling it like a piece of ice and also like a piece of charcoal, pressed tightly against her palm. Go back, or stay? This multiple-choice question was like a huge whirlwind, constantly tugging at her thoughts. Yet a more realistic, urgent problem loomed before her—her sea of consciousness remained sealed! No matter what choice she made, restoring her strength and opening her sea of consciousness were the first steps.

"We must quickly find a safe place, thoroughly expel the lingering demonic qi from our bodies, and heal our injuries." Gu Yusheng looked around, his brows slightly furrowed. "Shi Ran, you forcibly fused three powers earlier, damaging your meridians considerably; you need rest all the more."

Shi Ran nodded, feeling the faint ache in her meridians and the empty, imperceptible sea of consciousness; a sense of helplessness welled up. Without divine sense, many exquisite arts could not be cast, and her perception of the surroundings was greatly diminished, like a blind man feeling an elephant.

"I know a place," Mei Ruoxue suddenly said. "Three hundred li to the east lies a cold pool named the Azure Congealed Pool; its water is utmost yin and freezing, able to suppress heart demons, cleanse impurities, and its location is hidden, not easily detected by demonic creatures. Perhaps it suits us for temporary refuge."

Gu Yusheng pondered briefly, then agreed: "Fine, let's go to the Azure Congealed Pool."

The three immediately set off, riding escape light, flying east cautiously. Along the way, all they saw was desolation: mountains and rivers collapsed, vegetation withered; occasionally they could sense faint demonic qi wandering far off, but it seemed to dare not approach, awed by their still-undissipated formidable aura.

Shi Ran followed silently behind the two, most of her mind sinking inward as she repeatedly tried to communicate with her sea of consciousness. But the sea of consciousness, sealed by the three powers, was as firm as a rock; each time her divine sense tendrils approached, they were rebounded by a gentle yet immensely tenacious force, unable to find even the slightest gap.

She tried calling out in her heart: "Fan Tian? Bai Xiao Hong? Can you hear me? Answer me!"

The sea of consciousness was deathly silent, with no reply whatsoever. It seemed as if the slumbering entity within, together with the divine sense she had painstakingly cultivated, had been completely cut off in another time and space.

Anxiety grew like vines, silently spreading. Having lost her divine sense, she was like a bird with broken wings in this perilous world; her sense of safety dropped to freezing point. Moreover, the appearance of the Heaven-Patrolling Token made her need power more than ever to explore and verify.

"What's wrong?" Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue sensed her unstable aura, so they slowed their pace, walking side by side with her, and transmitted their voices: "Is your injury acting up? Or... is it because of that token?"

Shi Ran shook her head, then nodded, giving a wry smile: "The injury is fine, I can suppress it. It's the sea of consciousness... Earlier, to fight that demonic creature, I used some forbidden powers, damaging my sea of consciousness and causing it to seal itself." She chose a reasonable explanation: "I originally thought that merging the three powers would burst open the sea of consciousness, but I never expected I still couldn't use divine sense, causing many inconveniences."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yusheng's expression grew graver: "The sea of consciousness is the foundation of body and soul; it must not be taken lightly. Though self-sealing is protective, if it remains unsolved for too long, it may harm the Dao foundation. At the Azure Congealed Pool, I and Ah Xue can try to assist you, seeing if external force can gently break the seal."

"Thank you." Shi Ran thanked them sincerely. Although she knew hope was slim, this kindness warmed her a little.

Mei Ruoxue also turned to glance at her, a flash of understanding in her cold eyes: "Injuries to body and soul most dislike haste. The water of the Azure Congealed Pool may help you calm your mind and steady your qi."

The three-hundred-li distance was not far for them; even with injuries, they arrived within an hour. The Azure Congealed Pool Mei Ruoxue mentioned lay hidden at the bottom of a secluded valley, surrounded by sheer cliffs embracing it, vines draping down; unless deliberately sought, it was extremely hard to find. The pool water indeed lived up to its name—emerald and congealed—yet before they drew near, a stark chill swept over them, invigorating Shi Ran's spirit and somewhat clearing her tangled thoughts.

By the pool were several naturally formed stone caves; the three chose the driest, most spacious as a temporary abode. Gu Yusheng set up a simple concealment and warning formation at the cave mouth, while Mei Ruoxue drew a thread of the pool's cold qi, letting it swirl inside to dispel turbid air, creating a cool, quiet environment.

Each took medicinal pills and regulated their breathing to heal wounds. After several hours, Gu Yusheng's and Mei Ruoxue's injuries stabilized, their breath recovering largely. Shi Ran also improved to about ninety percent under the pills and her own spiritual nourishment, but her sea of consciousness remained utterly still.

"Shi Ran, are you ready?" Gu Yusheng approached her, his expression solemn. "I and Ah Xue will each send forth a thread of origin sword intent, attempting to pierce the seal surrounding your sea of consciousness. Remember, do not resist; guide our power, inner and outer response."

Mei Ruoxue also stood on the other side, condensing a point of extreme cold ice radiance on her fingertip.

Shi Ran took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, relaxed body and mind, focusing all her consciousness on the entrance of her sea of consciousness. "Let's begin."

The next instant, a matchless, sharp sword intent bearing the clear radiance of moonlight (Gu Yusheng), and a bone-chilling, soul-freezing sword intent (Mei Ruoxue), simultaneously and cautiously probed into Shi Ran's forehead, contacting that intangible barrier.

"Ong——"

As the two powerful sword intents contacted the seal of the sea of consciousness, Shi Ran's whole body jolted violently, feeling her head struck as if by two huge hammers, her vision darkening. The seal's light flowed, rippling in layers, steadily repelling the external force, not moving a hair.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue both grunted, a flash of astonishment crossing their faces. They could sense that the seal was not a simple energy barrier; its structure was complex, containing ancient, profound legal aura beyond their imagination. Their sword intents were like striking a rubber wall imbued with infinite vitality—force was layered, dissolved, absorbed, and could not penetrate at all.

After persisting about the time of an incense stick, Gu Yusheng withdrew his sword intent first, his face slightly pale. Mei Ruoxue followed closely, her fingertip ice radiance fading; she looked at Shi Ran and shook her head: "No. This seal... cannot be broken by brute force. Its nature is exceedingly high, bearing a kind of... ancient protective will."

Gu Yusheng nodded, speaking solemnly: "Indeed. Forcibly charging would likely trigger a backlash, harming Shi Ran's body-soul foundation. This method won't work."

Although Shi Ran had anticipated this, hearing the result in person still stirred a wave of disappointment. Even the male and female leads joining forces couldn't open it? Fan Tian and Bai Xiao Hong, what exactly have you done!

"Perhaps a specific opportunity is needed, or... a key." Mei Ruoxue looked thoughtfully at Shi Ran. "What caused this seal? Is it related to your 'same-origin' power?"

Shi Ran's heart stirred. Key? Opportunity? Heaven-Patrolling Token? Same-origin soul?

She instinctively tightened her grip on the Heaven-Patrolling Token in her sleeve; its cold touch let her scattered thoughts gradually focus.

If one were to say: Fan Tian and Bai Xiao Hong, when she tried to forcibly draw upon power not belonging to this world to fight the demonic creature, joined hands to seal her sea of consciousness to protect it from bursting or being backlashed by that force. The core of that power seems tied to her vague "transmigrator" identity. Likewise, the Heaven-Patrolling Token was left by a predecessor of the same-origin transmigrator, seemingly also linked to cross-world power.

Could there be some connection between the two?

"I... want to try alone." Shi Ran raised her head to Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue. "Perhaps I need to use that token."

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue exchanged glances, each seeing complexity in the other's eyes. They knew Shi Ran harbored a great secret, and that secret seemed closely tied to that "Heaven-Patrolling Token."

"Alright, we will guard your practice." Gu Yusheng asked no further, merely speaking solemnly. Mei Ruoxue also gave a slight nod.

The two retreated to the vicinity of the cave mouth, sat cross-legged, gathered their breath, yet constantly monitored the situation inside the cave.

Shi Ran took a deep breath, placed the Heaven-Patrolling Token in her palm, clasped both hands together, and pressed it to her forehead. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and attempted to slowly infuse her spirit, will, and the illusory aura belonging to the "Earth soul" into the token.

At first, it remained still. The token was cold, with no response.

She did not give up, recalling the memory fragment she had seen in the stone chamber—the short-haired youth in a jacket, lost and struggling in the primeval forest, yearning and desperate to return home... that cross-time-space loneliness and drifting feeling was remarkably similar to her current state of mind!

Tears slid down silently again. Not sorrow, but a deep resonance. She longed for home, for that world with air conditioning, WiFi, takeaway milk tea, parents' nagging, friends' laughter and scolding; even if that world was ordinary and trivial, lacking mountain-moving divine powers, it was the original anchor of her soul.

"I want to go home..." she silently shouted in her heart, all her longing, bewilderment, struggle, merged into this call, following her mental power, surging toward the Heaven-Patrol Token.

Just then, an abrupt change occurred!

The Heaven-Patrol Token in her palm shuddered violently, the icy cool sensation instantly turned warm and moist, even faintly hot. The complex cloud patterns on the token's face seemed to come alive, slowly flowing, emitting a faint, starlike pure white light. The three ancient seal-script characters "One-Seven-Three" on the back blazed with piercing golden light!

At the same time, Shi Ran felt that deep in her long-dormant sea of consciousness, something seemed to have been stirred!

"Hum—"

A low, resonant hum, not coming from the outside but directly echoing in the depths of her soul! The impregnable seal of her sea of consciousness, at the moment this hum rang out, violently undulated; the once solid barrier actually rippled open in rings of seven-colored light.

"Now!"

Shi Ran, inspired, focused all her spirit, guiding the warm, ancient, seemingly timeless "common source" aura emanating from the Heaven-Patrol Token into a slender yet tenacious stream of light, carefully probing toward the sea of consciousness barrier rippling with seven-colored light.

No resistance, no rebound.

The barrier that even Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue together could not shake, before this stream of light imbued with the obsession to "return home" and the "common source" soul aura, was like ice meeting sunlight, slowly, gently melting open a small hole!

"Boom!!"

Like a breached dam, the accumulated divine sense power surged forth like a mighty river from that small hole! The long-lost sense of power filled her whole body; the world around her, in her "eyes", instantly became clear, three-dimensional, and vividly colored! The flow of spiritual energy in the air, the ripples of the cold pool outside the cave, even the slowly circulating spiritual power within Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue's bodies, were all clearly reflected in her heart-lake.

Sea of consciousness, opened!

Moreover, it was not just a simple opening. Under the light of the Heaven-Patrol Token, in the baptism of the "common source" aura, her sea of consciousness seemed to have widened a fraction; her divine sense power became more refined and condensed, bringing an unprecedented sense of clarity.

At the same time, a clear stream of information flowed from the Heaven-Patrol Token into her newly opened sea of consciousness:

"Detected common source soul fluctuation, meets minimum activation standard."

"Heaven-Patrol Token (serial number: One-Seven-Three) basic permission opened."

Information Archive (Damaged) Partially Unlocked.

Energy Core (Extremely Depleted) Status Display.

Cross‑Spacetime Beacon Positioning Function (Requires Sufficient Energy and Specific Conditions) Awaiting Activation.

……

The impact of the information made her slightly dizzy, but more so it was great joy! Not only had her sea of consciousness opened, the Heaven‑Scanning Order had also been preliminarily activated!

She "saw" within her sea of consciousness, the blurry figure of Brahma flickering beneath the sapling, as if still slumbering, but its aura had become much steadier. The red umbrella transformed from Bai Xiaohong opened and closed, conveying feelings of intimacy and reliance.

The lifting of the seal also seemed to take away some shackles, allowing her control over her own power to reach a new height.

She slowly opened her eyes; the divine light in her pupils retracted, clear and profound, no longer the previous confusion and hesitation, replaced by a steadfast clarity.

"Success?" Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue almost simultaneously rose, asking with concern. Although they couldn't perceive the exact process, they could clearly sense that the aura on Shi Rou's body had undergone a qualitative transformation at that moment—a state of soul completeness and spiritual radiance overflowing, which could not be faked.

Shi Rou rose to her feet, solemnly putting away the Heaven‑Scanning Order, whose light had gradually faded and returned to its ancient simplicity, and gave the two a beaming smile—like parting clouds to see the sun, bringing an unprecedented ease and resolve:

"Yes, success. Thank you for guarding my Dharma."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue, finally turning toward the gloomy sky outside the cavern, and spoke softly:

"Now, I think I know what to do next."

Whether to find the way home or to better navigate this world, she needs greater strength, and she also needs to fully uncover the secrets of this Heaven‑Scanning Order and the Heaven‑Scanning Pavilion. All of this rests on the foundation of her restoring and enhancing her own power.

The opening of the sea of consciousness is merely a new beginning. The road ahead remains shrouded in mist, but she now holds the first lamp in her hand.