Chapter 987: with translation of chapter title

Translation

Yan Xirou laid the unconscious Han Wuxian flat on the stone platform, took out seven silver needles, and inserted them respectively into his seven major acupoints. With each needle inserted, the rampaging spiritual power inside Han Wuxian calmed a fraction, but Yan Xirou's complexion paled a fraction as well.

When the seventh needle fell, she suddenly spat a mouthful of fresh blood, staining Han Wuxian's chest red.

"Ghosts..." she wiped the blood from her lips, shockedly looking at the black hole on Han Wuxian's chest that was slowly contracting: "It can even devour my natal True Essence..."

What shocked her even more was that, as the treatment proceeded, Han Wuxian's cultivation was actually steadily increasing.

Leaping from Core Formation straight to Condensing the Core, he achieved the Golden Core realm. Such cultivation speed is simply unheard of!

"Just who are you..." Yan Xirou murmured, her fingers unconsciously stroking the white patterns on Han Wuxian's chest.

Upon touching the edge of the black hole, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart—both familiar and unfamiliar, as if she had seen something like it long ago.

Han Wuxian suddenly opened his eyes, his black-and-white pupils staring straight at Yan Xirou: "Miss, have you felt enough?"

Yan Xirou jerked her hand back as if shocked, a flash of unnaturalness crossing her face: "I'm saving you."

"Thank you." Han Wuxian sat up, stretched his limbs, and delightedly discovered his cultivation had greatly increased: "Seems I've turned misfortune into blessing."

"You were almost blown to bits." Yan Xirou said coldly: "That kind of power isn't something your current realm can control."

Han Wuxian chuckled indifferently: "I'm used to it. Every time I'm near death, it's like this—waking up, my cultivation jumps a great deal."

Yan Xirou's pupils narrowed slightly: "You mean... you've been cultivating this way all along?"

"Pretty much." Han Wuxian jumped off the stone platform, waved his hand casually, a white light flashed, and the distant stone pillars snapped off at the base: "But this time the gain was greatest—I directly jumped two minor realms."

Yan Xirou stared at him fixedly, her heart churning with shock. This cultivation method completely defies orthodox cultivation wisdom; even the most extreme demonic arts couldn't boost cultivation through self-destruction.

"Is the black hole on your chest something you've had since childhood?" she suddenly asked.

Han Wuxian nodded: "The old servant who raised me said I was like that when they found me. How come, Miss, you know its origin?"

Yan Xirou hesitated a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know. But one thing is certain—the Profound Gate won't let you go. They've probably already broadcast your information to all their branches."

"It doesn't matter." Han Wuxian picked up the torn clothes on the ground and put them on: "Anyway, I never planned to hide for a lifetime."

"What are you planning to do?"

"First find a place to stabilize my realm." Han Wuxian's eyes flashed with sharp light: "Then I'll go check out that secret realm you mentioned."

Yan Xirou frowned: "Are you crazy? With the Profound Gate's methods, the area around that secret realm is surely surrounded by a heavenly net."

"That's exactly why I want to go." Han Wuxian grinned: "The most dangerous places are often the safest. Besides..." he touched the black hole on his chest: "I feel that place is destined for me."

Yan Xirou still wanted to say something, but her face suddenly changed.

She quickly produced a bronze ancient lamp; the wick's flame leapt violently, showing an eerie blood-red hue.

"The Heavenly Secrets Compass has locked onto us!" Her voice trembled with rare panic: "This time it's not just the Profound Gate's people!"

Han Wuxian sensed something and abruptly lifted his gaze to the cavern's ceiling. There, a vortex-like shadow had appeared at some point, within which countless blood-red runes could be faintly seen flowing.

"Go!" Yan Xirou grabbed Han Wuxian's hand and crushed the purple talisman in her palm.

The instant their figures vanished, the entire cavern collapsed with a roar. From the shadow, a giant hand covered in scales reached out, crushing the rock within a hundred-zhang radius into powder!

High in the sky a thousand li above, Han Wuxian and Yan Xirou were enveloped in purple escape light, flying at breakneck speed.

"What is that?" Han Wuxian asked, his heart still pounding.

Yan Xirou's face turned ashen: "It's the Profound Gate's sect-protecting treasure, the Dragon Emperor's Hand. It seems they'll spare no expense to capture you."

Han Wuxian stroked the black hole on his chest thoughtfully: "Just who am I?"

"Now isn't the time to think about that." Yan Xirou gritted her teeth: "We must split up. The Dragon Emperor's Hand locks onto you; I'll take your aura east to draw them away, while you slip south."

Han Wuxian was about to object when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

The white patterns around the black hole spread wildly, in an instant covering his entire chest. What's worse, the black and white qi inside his body began to circulate on its own, and his cultivation started rising again!

"Oh no..." Yan Xirou also noticed the anomaly: "Your body is breaking through on its own! We must immediately find a safe place!"

Han Wuxian curled up in pain, feeling every bone in his body being reforged and every drop of blood boiling.

This kind of breakthrough isn't cultivation at all; it's more like... an awakening!

"Hold on!" Yan Xirou poured all her power into the escape light, flying toward a continuous mountain range to the south: "Up ahead lies the remnants of an ancient cultivators' battlefield, with natural seals that can interfere with pursuit!"

Han Wuxian could no longer hear what she was saying. His consciousness was pulled into a strange space where there was neither heaven nor earth, only endless black and white qi circulating.

In this chaotic space, Han Wuxian felt himself torn into countless fragments, then constantly reassembled. The black and white qi were like two giant dragons, churning and intertwining within his body.

In a daze, he saw a blurry figure standing at the edge of the void. The person wore a dark robe, white hair like snow, and stood with hands clasped behind his back, facing away.

"Who are you?" Han Wuxian wanted to approach, but found that no matter what he did, he could not shorten the distance.

The figure didn't turn, merely letting out a long sigh: "The time has not yet come..."

Before the voice faded, a sharp pain jerked Han Wuxian back to reality. He snapped his eyes open to find himself lying in a ruined ancient temple, its roof half-collapsed, revealing a sky full of stars.

"You finally woke up." Yan Xirou's voice came from beside him, tinged with fatigue: "You've been unconscious for three days."

Han Wuxian pushed himself up, astonished to find his cultivation had stabilized at mid-Golden Core. The black hole on his chest had shrunk a notch, but the white patterns had become even more intricate, like some ancient script.

"Where is this?"

"The remnants at the heart of the ancient battlefield." Yan Xirou handed him a waterskin: "The Profound Gate can't find this place for now, but we can't get out either."

Only then did Han Wuxian notice that a faint blood-colored light curtain shrouded the temple's exterior. In the distance, distorted spatial rifts could be vaguely seen.

"Spatial turbulence?"

"Not just that." Yan Xirou's expression grew grave: "This place was once the battlefield of ancient mighty beings; the residual law power formed a natural seal. We were lucky to find this safe spot, but..."

Her words were cut off by a sudden tremor. The entire ancient temple shook violently; the shattered deity statue enshrined in the center split open, revealing a jade slip emitting a faint glow.

The two exchanged a glance, and Han Wuxian stepped forward to take the jade slip. The instant his finger touched it, a golden light shot into his brow.

"Ah!" Han Wuxian clutched his head and fell to his knees as a flood of information surged into his mind like a deluge.

Yan Xirou was startled, just as she moved forward she was repelled by an invisible force; she watched helplessly as Han Wuxian was wrapped in golden light and floated into the air.

What shocked her even more was that the white markings on Han Wuxian's chest began to glow, resonating with the jade tablet; the markings gradually extended until they formed a complete pattern on his chest—a black‑and‑white Taiji diagram entwined with chains!