Chapter 485: Law of Life

Hua Changxi once read in a seized copy of the *Qianyuan Travelogue* about an extremely rare treasure of heaven and earth—the Spring Eye Pearl.

The book said: "The Spring Eye Pearl becomes a spring as soon as it touches the ground."

At this moment, facing the fist-sized green gem before her, she was able to recognize it at once as the legendary Spring Eye Pearl, all thanks to its unique "inhalation and exhalation" force.

It was truly too easy to identify.

"Becomes a spring upon landing..."

Hua Changxi's eyes gleamed with light. She had long felt that the scenery of Danyuan Peak was somewhat bland. Although the diligent reclamation work of the many disciples had erased its former desolation, when she looked around, it was still lacking a bit of spiritual charm and vitality.

If she placed this Spring Eye Pearl at the peak, from then on the entire Danyuan Peak would have an endless supply of spiritual springs to nourish it.

And Danding Peak, which was still under development, needed the irrigation of a spiritual spring even more.

Thinking of the infinite benefits a spiritual spring could bring to nurturing the mountain, Hua Changxi's pupils trembled slightly. Unable to suppress her excitement, she reached out a hand to collect the Spring Eye Pearl into her pouch.

Unexpectedly, the moment her fingertip touched the faint green radiance emitted by the Spring Eye Pearl, she felt resistance as heavy as a mountain.

"Hm?"

The green glow was soft and harmless, but it was like an invisible barrier. No matter how Hua Changxi cycled her spiritual power, she could never penetrate the green light and touch the pearl itself, not even a fraction.

Hua Changxi withdrew her hand without surprise. Treasures of heaven and earth as rare as the Spring Eye Pearl had their own spiritual protection. If they were easily obtainable, that would be the real surprise.

If it were truly easy to obtain, she believed it would have long been taken by the successor of the Dan Sacred Hall.

The bottom of Dan Spring was not a hidden place; the sacred land's successor had surely explored it long ago.

If the Spring Eye Pearl could still be sitting safely at the spring's bottom, it was not because no one had found it—it could only be that someone had found it but could not take it away.

Hua Changxi forcibly suppressed the urge to seize it, shifted her gaze from the Spring Eye Pearl in front of her, and looked around instead.

"One, two... nine!"

In the deep recesses of the spring bottom, there were altogether nine streaks of green light reflecting off each other, their halos flowing like a starry river inhaling and exhaling—a magnificent spectacle.

Her figure darted around as she flew to each spot to investigate one by one, and soon she confirmed that the entire Dan Spring had actually nurtured nine Spring Eye Pearls.

"Nine?"

Hua Changxi fell into contemplation. Why exactly nine?

She had a hunch that the number of Spring Eye Pearls was not a random occurrence; perhaps it implied some unknown pattern or hidden mystery?

Although she had doubts about this, she did not dwell on it. Instead, she quickly took out that branch of the Divine Wood which had exhausted its life force.

The reason she had previously collected the vital liquid from the Divine Wood leaves was to nourish this branch. Now that she was inside Dan Spring, if she soaked the branch in the green river of light, it would surely receive even more ample nourishment.

Hua Changxi deliberately chose a spot where the river of light flowed right next to a Spring Eye Pearl, and slowly placed the Divine Wood branch into it.

In this way, it would be convenient for her to both monitor the branch's recovery at any time and explore methods to retrieve the Spring Eye Pearl.

Sure enough, as soon as the Divine Wood branch entered the river of light, its originally withered branches and leaves began greedily devouring the surrounding light specks, visibly shedding their withered state and becoming emerald and plump again, full of vitality.

Seeing the Divine Wood branch recovering quickly, Hua Changxi shifted her attention to the Spring Eye Pearl.

She had no other good ideas now and could only try to forcibly tear apart that layer of faint green radiance with spiritual power to retrieve the Spring Eye Pearl.

Immediately, spiritual light gathered at Hua Changxi's fingertips, condensing into a tough, rope-like strand of spiritual force, which she swiftly lashed toward the green glow, intending to bind the Spring Eye Pearl.

However, the moment the spiritual rope touched the green radiance, that seemingly gentle barrier suddenly erupted with a terrifying rebounding force.

It was not simply a defensive counterattack; it felt more like a rejection—as if... the Spring Eye Pearl had a life of its own and loathed any force with a nature of "plunder."

"Mm~"

Hua Changxi let out a muffled groan and was blasted back several zhang.

After steadying herself, she did not act rashly again, but stared solemnly at the Spring Eye Pearl.

She vaguely sensed something unusual: the protective force of the Spring Eye Pearl was not like the purely aggressive powers she had encountered before; it was more like a will of "rejection" directed at external objects.

To verify her speculation, she cautiously sent out several more strands of spiritual power to test, only to have them all rebuffed without exception.

After several attempts, she gradually discovered that the more intense her desire to acquire and the stronger her intention to take by force, the more terrifying the rebounding force she suffered.

"This..."

Hua Changxi's head ached a little—now, even seizing a treasure required controlling her thoughts?

But having a breakthrough was always a good thing.

Hua Changxi sat down cross-legged on the spot and began silently reciting the Clarity Heart Mantra, trying to calm her mind before attempting to test it.

Meanwhile, by the bank beside the Danquan Stele, several Saint Land elders who had discovered Hua Changxi crept over furtively.

"Hua Changxi has entered the Danquan."

"She's bound to find the Spring Eye Bead at the bottom of the spring."

"Even if she finds it, she can't take it away."

"That's not necessarily true. Don't forget, she holds the two main peaks, Danyuan Peak and Danding Peak."

The nine Spring Eye Beads were born from the Sacred Tree, one for each of the nine main peaks.

Of course, if a peak master from one of the lesser peaks had the fortune to obtain a Spring Eye Bead first, they could also place it on their own peak.

But looking back through the history of the Dansheng Hall, no such exception had ever occurred.

"What if Hua Changxi really gets the Spring Eye Bead but doesn't place it on Danyuan Peak or Danding Peak? Don't forget, she's suspiciously the Lord of Lingguang Hall."

"If she really uses the Saint Land's treasure somewhere else, then we'll definitely step in to demand it back."

"Enough, stop talking about all that. The Spring Eye Bead isn't so easy to take. Even among the main peak masters of ancient times, only a few were able to obtain the Spring Eye Bead; most relied on the hall lord using the power of the divine furnace to retrieve it."

Just as the Saint Land elders were discussing the Spring Eye Bead on the bank, Hua Changxi, at the bottom of the spring, found her heart stirred into turmoil by the same bead.

Because she had been silently reciting the Heart-Calming Mantra, her mind had grown much calmer, but in a moment of inattention, she allowed the Spring Eye Bead, as it pulsed with a river of light, to suck in the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch that was soaking in that light river.

Seeing the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch pierce through the green radiance and touch the Spring Eye Bead, Hua Changxi's heart almost leaped into her throat, terrified that the Spring Eye Bead would swallow the branch.

Fortunately, her worry did not come to pass.

The Sacred Tree Firewood Branch floated above the Spring Eye Bead, bobbing up and down with the flowing light.

Hua Changxi's raised heart settled back down, and her mind began to work again. Soon, she noticed something unusual—the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch could actually pierce through the green radiance!

Seeing this, a thought stirred in Hua Changxi's mind, and she began to summon the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch back.

Watching the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch freely pass through the green radiance and return to her hand, Hua Changxi fell into thought.

"Why can the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch cross through the green radiance?"

The desire to acquire was truly hard to extinguish. Hua Changxi looked at the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch and wondered: if she could refine it, might she be able to use the branch to retrieve the Spring Eye Bead?

As she thought this, she acted.

She bit her finger, dripped a drop of essence blood onto the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch, and began refining it.

Although the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch had recovered quite a bit of vitality from being soaked in the light river, its interior was still withered. Sensing this as the refinement began, Hua Changxi cast the branch back into the light river.

As the refinement progressed, Hua Changxi gradually felt her connection with the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch grow closer and closer.

When she saw the branch once again pierce through the green radiance following the Spring Eye Bead's pulsing and float above the bead, she took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed all her anxiety and possessiveness, slowly closed her eyes, and stopped thinking about how to obtain the Spring Eye Bead. Instead, she let her entire mind follow the branch and merge into the flowing river of light.

At that moment, she was no longer the cultivator eager to seize a treasure but, like the Sacred Tree Firewood Branch, craved the fullness of vitality.

She felt every pulse of life within the river of light.

It was the struggle of breaking through the soil, the joy of sprouting new branches, the ease of being bathed in rain and dew.

There was no plundering, only giving; no resistance, only merging.

After who knew how long, just as Hua Changxi felt as if she had become a single drop of water in the light river, she suddenly sensed the aura of the Law.

Having mastered the Laws of 'Rend' and 'Karma', she was no stranger to the power of Law.

Hua Changxi's heart skipped a beat. She strove to merge with the Law she perceived, and soon, the aura around her transformed. Her originally sharp and piercing spiritual power became warm like jade, radiating a vigorous, upward-rising vitality.

In her sea of consciousness and deep within her dantian, an ancient and profound Dao rhyme silently coalesced, ultimately forming a large, verdant character—'Life'!

Once the character 'Life' was fully formed, Hua Changxi slowly opened her eyes and raised her right hand. A green ring shimmering with the runic character 'Life' suddenly appeared.

The next moment, her eyes widened.

That Spring Eye Bead, emitting dense green radiance, seemed to sense some kind of call. As if endowed with intelligence, it automatically detached from the spring bottom, traced a graceful arc, and docilely landed in her palm.

The pearl's body was warm, perfectly merging with the Law of Life in her palm, without any trace of rejection.

"So that's it..."

Hua Changxi gained some understanding. The spring-eye pearl was not a dead object, but a manifestation of the Dao Rhyme of Life. It fell to the ground and turned into a spring, nourishing all things; it was itself the source of 'Life'.

To obtain it, one must not be a greedy 'plunderer', but rather a 'supplier' of vitality.