[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-watching-the-immortals-fall":3,"chapter-watching-the-immortals-fall-watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-22":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Watching the Immortals Fall",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2259895,4410,"Chapter 22: The Immortal Woman in the Heavenly Book","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-22",22,"\u003Cp>“Who are you? Why are you in my mirror?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several moments of mutual gaze, the woman parted her crimson lips and spoke first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed just as confused, hesitating before asking: “Are you the spirit of my mirror?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought the same thing when he first saw her—assuming she was the spirit, wondering no wonder so many had risked everything to sense the Heavenly Book, for indeed there was a beauty within its pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now it seemed she had entered for the first time too, and had mistaken him for the spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not the spirit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him stunned, the woman’s gaze instantly sharpened with caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You opened his mouth: “I just got here too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are you from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was meditating in the mountains when I saw a flash of spiritual light, followed it to see what it was, and ended up here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You did not know the woman’s identity and kept his guard up, revealing little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: she was too beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Ruoyao could be called a delicate beauty—her features refined but lacking grandeur, perhaps due to her upbringing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qingqiu was a true noble lady, radiant and fair, yet her eyes carried a hint of seductive charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this woman before him was flawlessly perfect, her aura transcendent and otherworldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Wuji’s mother once said: such beautiful women are the best liars—you must be wary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, when the woman saw he knew nothing, she narrowed her eyes slightly: “I was just testing you. In truth, I am an immortal who has ascended; this world is under my control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s how it is. May I ask your immortal name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An immortal’s true name is not for you to know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If this is your domain, then I must have wandered in by accident. Please release me from your world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do not instruct an immortal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman cast him a cool, disdainful glance, sensing his disbelief, then stepped forward barefoot on snow-white soles, ascending the mountain to inspect the celestial light with curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, beautiful women are the best liars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You muttered inwardly, watching her climb onto a black stone, then ignored her entirely, lifting his gaze to the swirling, mysterious patterns above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But only a moment of staring—and a crushing pressure descended instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the dizzying, overwhelming heavenly will, he collapsed to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he realize: he was observing heaven with his spiritual sense. Though his cultivation speed was swift, his spiritual sense remained weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Chu He and Lu Qingqiu, who could replenish their spiritual sense daily with pills, he held no advantage here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tong Xuan…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As the name suggests, the key is ‘tong’—to comprehend, to understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must see the evolution of the Dao, then experience, grasp, and wield it freely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You recalled what Instructor Cao had told him, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began observing the Dao of Heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after only a few glances, his spiritual sense erupted in searing pain—as if flesh were being carved and bones scraped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His reasoning was correct, but the might of the Dao was no empty words; with his current spiritual strength, he could not endure much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only observe intermittently, gritting his teeth to endure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like rain falling in a desert—you had no vessel to catch it, and what little you could retain was vanishingly small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three breaths…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At my limit, I can hold on for only three breaths…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This drain is stronger than spiritual sense flight…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the fourth attempt, Ji You gasped, collapsed on his knees beneath the desolate, empty mountain, his spiritual exhaustion beyond recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he pushed further, he feared his spiritual sense might shatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You slumped onto a rock, resting for a long while, his gaze idly drifting to his right rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barefoot girl in the flowing celestial robe seemed to have gained insight too—she sat cross-legged atop a flat black rock, back turned to the void mountain, already in deep meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since she wasn’t the spirit…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could she be an inner court senior sister?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, not quite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her accent carried a southern lilt, similar to the shopkeeper at Chunhua Station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As far as he knew, the Seven Immortal Sects placed great importance on selecting new disciples from their own regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the Chu brothers, they could join Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion or Chen Shixian Clan, or even the Heavenly Book Academy, because they were from northern immortal sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they could never join Shanhai Pavilion, Wenda Sect, or Lingjian Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You stared at her for a long while, then unconsciously drew closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes were too beautiful—he had overlooked how long and curled her eyelashes were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her meditative state, half-asleep, made her appear pure and innocent, her skin so fine it seemed to break at a breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Up close, her delicate nose stood out, high and refined—even a runny nose would look beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze dropped lower: she sat in lotus posture, her snow-white feet translucent and luminous, her rounded toes faintly pink like peach blossoms—tiny, exquisite, as if they could fit perfectly in his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before coming to Qingyun Tianxia, Ji You had seen many beautiful girls, but none as vivid, flawless, and alive as this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This must be what they call ‘national beauty and heavenly grace.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the girl who claimed to be an immortal suddenly opened her eyes, lifting them lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You startled—he realized he had been so lost in thought that his inner words had slipped out as muttering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their gazes met; hers remained proud and cold, yet her pale cheeks flushed faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could react, the immortal woman swept her sleeve—and flung him away instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual sense has no weight; a gentle breeze can carry it a thousand li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he came to, his five senses returned to reality, and his ears filled with clamor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You opened his eyes; the celestial light around him faded, but two mysterious lights now floated above his forehead—one unformed, yet clearly marked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the onlooker disciples gasped in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu He had spent ten full days to condense his mysterious light—even after swallowing countless pills and meditating day and night without rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Ji You, in less than an hour of enlightenment, had nearly caught up to Chu He—and the crowd erupted in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Ji, what did you see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Young Master Ji, did the Heavenly Book reveal the Great Dao? Can you tell us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard from inner court disciples that in the beginning of Heng Wu, there was no form—within the book, it was a void opening from nothingness, filled with swirling, boundless energy, where myriad Dao patterns evolved. Is that true?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long silence, Ji You spoke softly: “I saw an immortal woman inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, the entire crowd erupted in uproar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To mortals, “immortal” meant a cultivator; but to cultivators, “immortal” meant a true being who had ascended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they didn’t know that in some eras, “immortal woman” was also called “pretty girl.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Ban Yangshu, who had once viewed the Heavenly Book, dismissed it entirely—he had debated Dao with many senior disciples after entering the inner court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the Heavenly Book was primordial, unformed heaven and earth, where the Great Dao first took shape—a pure void, nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Ji You was surely hiding something, refusing to speak the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, rumors of the strange celestial lights began spreading rapidly by word of mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, someone just sensed the Heavenly Book…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Chong Prince’s mansion in Shengjing, candlelight flickered. The prince sat before his desk, holding a Daoist classic, reading intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a cultivator too, but with mediocre talent, stuck at the Mid-Ninghua realm for years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, cultivation demanded innate talent—truly one in ten thousand, even for princes and generals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet anyone with even slight cultivation could extend their lifespan and ward off evil and illness, so many royal relatives in the capital flocked to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the servant’s cry pierced his nerves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prince looked up, turned the screen, and stepped into the front hall: “So soon? This Chu family truly isn’t ordinary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prince’s servant blinked: “Your Highness, how can you be sure it’s Young Master Chu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A few days ago, I sent men to inquire—only he, a Chu, was still attempting to sense the Heavenly Book. The Chu name lives up to its reputation—I am truly awed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Chu merely had good fortune in rebirth, but Your Highness is the one with true discernment!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prince beamed at the flattery, ordered a banquet for tomorrow, then picked up his brush to write the invitation himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as he dipped his brush, Ban Yangshu arrived in haste from Nishan, rushing to the prince’s mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, someone sensed the Heavenly Book.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know—it’s Chu He?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s… Ji You.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is Ji You?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prince froze, then his eyes widened slowly: “That… country cultivator…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, along Yonganjie, directly facing Nishan’s Heavenly Book Academy, countless cultivators gathered in the city had also witnessed the recent celestial lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the Chu family was famous in the cultivation world, many knew he had refused Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion and entered the Heavenly Book Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And tonight, with the sky so vast and radiant, many speculated that Chuhe had resonated with the Heavenly Book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, rumors began to leak from the Heavenly Book Academy, contradicting their guesses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is said the one who resonated with the Heavenly Book is not Chuhe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If not Chuhe, then who else could it be?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's a... a rural self-cultivator named Ji You.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1617,"2026-06-19T15:28:39.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","889a3a4798b480e8102aa06f47f583c7482b9769ff68817a98b4e6676e9568bf","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-23","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-21",430,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwatching-the-immortals-fall-cover.jpg"]