Chapter 15 Exceptional Excellence (Part 3) Lin Feiran suddenly smiled, and felt…

"Not Wenfei, but naturally so."

A look of astonishment flashed in Lin Feiran's eyes.

Ru Xian smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Surprised? The day you first arrived at Yao Guang Platform, I saw the light of your sword bones all over your body. Those born with sword bones are one in ten thousand, and it is common for them to be fought over and schemed against. When I was young, I traveled through the human world and saw many people whose bones were removed and whose flesh was peeled off."

Lin Feiran agreed: "Indeed, Your Excellency is knowledgeable and erudite, so it is not surprising that you guessed it. I risked my life to escape the mountain that day and managed to survive. Now that my sword bones are safe, I humbly request Your Excellency to explain the matter of the spiritual veins."

To everyone's surprise, Lin Feiran nodded and said, "No, I've read banned books and know a little about them."

Ru Xian chuckled: "Your demeanor is more like that of someone who guards forbidden books, neither reading them themselves nor letting others read them. I never imagined you would also sneak a peek at forbidden books."

Lin Feiran didn't think she was wrong. She not only flipped through the pages herself, but also dragged Wei Chang along with her.

"A book is just a book; there is no good or bad in itself. It is because people are different and their thinking is different that books are different."

During her ten years at Daohe Palace, she had very few friends. In her spare time, she loved to borrow books from Liuzhu Pavilion. Books contained countless worlds and universes. In her eyes, books had no taboos; it was people who had taboos.

So when she accidentally stumbled upon the top of Liuzhu Pavilion and discovered the eighteen volumes of forbidden books, she went along with it and started reading them.

These eighteen volumes were hardly forbidden books; most of them contained strange magical techniques. However, she surprisingly found a simple and normal travelogue among them.

One volume of the travelogue is titled "The Extraordinary People," which records the strange and unusual people in the world, some without hearts, some with severed heads, some as tall as giant trees, and some as short as children. On the last page, a type of extraordinary person is recorded, whom the book calls the Skywalkers.

The so-called "Skywalker" walks the world on behalf of Heaven and Earth, needing neither hand seals nor talismans; their words are the will of Heaven and Earth, granting life or death at will. This is a spell, and spells cannot be broken.

If cultivators in the world want to use spiritual power and successfully cultivate techniques, they need to form hand seals, draw talismans, or perform incantations. These are not only mediums but also means communicating with heaven and earth.

But the Skywalkers need not. Their words are the will of Heaven and Earth. Their words become incantations, and their words carry the power. If they want to kill someone, they only need to shout the word "death" from a thousand miles away.

In the original book, Qiu Tong and her companions fell off a cliff and were guided by a frail old man, which greatly improved their skills. This man was one of the Skywalkers. Unfortunately, "Qing Qing Zhi Wo Yi" is a standard sweet romance novel and does not focus much on this aspect.

As Ru Xian listened to her description, she nodded slightly: "It's pretty much the same, but a travelogue is still just a travelogue, it's not complete."

He raised his hand, and the blue-eyed fox immediately leaped to his side, raising its head to let him stroke it.

The Skywalker uttered a spell, which others transformed into runes, thus giving birth to runic magic. Later generations expanded and innovated upon it, creating countless techniques. Combining these with objects created incantations for controlling artifacts; when these incantations were heard by living beings, they became methods for controlling insects and beasts.

He neither pretended to be profound nor put on airs. Instead, he explained the whole story in a simple and easy-to-understand way, which made Lin Feiran change her opinion of him.

This person may revere power, but he is certainly also a good reader.

As he raised his eyes, a shimmering light flashed across his emerald pupils. He flipped his wrist, and a ray of light shot into Lin Feiran's brow.

"Words are always powerless; it's better to see some things for yourself than to have heard of them before."

Lin Feiran opened her eyes, her gaze trembling.

What lay before me was no longer the bright palace, but rather a dark room, yet as vast as a galaxy.

Dozens of enormous veins crisscrossed and supported the heavens and the earth, shining with faint golden-red light in the darkness, flickering like starlight struggling in the wilderness.

Upon closer inspection, the dark color on the veins was actually inlaid with strange and bizarre black runes, which stretched endlessly.

The veins, which should have been entirely golden, were now like gray snakes nailed to the spot, unable to struggle, with only narrow, fragmented light, barely perceptible as breathing, shining through the vein walls.

"This is your spiritual vein."

Dry, stagnant, and devoid of life.

Lin Feiran closed his eyes and exhaled, then heard him say, "This dense incantation should have prevented you from cultivating again, but someone left you a way out, which is why you were able to cultivate to the state of forgetting the past."

When she opened her eyes again, the emotion in them had been concealed, leaving only a barely perceptible aftertaste.

Another glimmer of hope appeared, as if she were destined to be entangled with this word until her death.

While Lin Feiran was feeling unsettled, Ru Xian, who was on the jade throne, had already risen and walked to her side in a few steps. Holding a copper lotus in her hand, she slightly turned her fingers, and the vines lifted her wrist. A golden light swept across, and strokes of black incantation appeared and disappeared.

He stared for a moment, then suddenly lifted his eyelids, a faint smile on his face: "Do you know the meaning of these incantations?"

He said, word by word, "The incantation says: If one cannot make progress in this life, one will die at the age of twenty."

"Have you read 'The Theory of the Evolution of Heaven'? Heaven and earth have constant principles, which are called the Dao. The Dao gives birth to all things and bestows blessings upon them. There is a representative of Heaven who can utter incantations. Incantations are the will and destiny of Heaven, which cannot be stopped."

Therefore, it was fate that she could not advance in the country, and it was destiny that she would not live past twenty.

Lin Feiran suddenly smiled, realizing that life was both coincidental and absurd.

The Daoist Canon states, "One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things, and nine returns to one, in a continuous cycle, until heaven and earth are purified."

Nine is a peculiar number in Taoist practices, and it is also true for her.

When she was nine years old, both her parents passed away, leaving her completely alone, in a vast and desolate world, utterly isolated.

At the age of nineteen, she finally awoke from her dream. In order to survive, she fled to the mountains in a panic, thinking that she had escaped the judgment of fate, only to find that her life had already been destined to end at the end of the nine.

As if retracting the bronze lotus, Ru Xian paced beside her and whispered, "But, do you believe in fate?"

Lin Feiran stood in the hall, clutching his wrist, his shadow stretched long and slanted.

I don't believe it.

These words were spoken softly, yet they carried a powerful weight.

Meeting Lin Feiran's gaze, the smile in his eyes lingered as he spoke as if enticing him: "All things in the universe are balanced by yin and yang. They possess the strongest spells in the world, yet they also have the weakest bodies. The spiritual veins of the Skywalkers are so delicate that they cannot even withstand the spiritual energy required to break through to the Heart Cleansing Realm, so they have to rely on others to transfer spiritual power to them to survive."

There is no such thing as an immortal, eternally existing Daoist practice; I can easily break the curse of such a weakling.

Lin Feiran released her wrist and looked directly at him: "What do you want?"

As if a strange light flashed in Ru Xian's eyes, he smiled and said, "I want you."

Three years of service in exchange for a complete set of spiritual veins—there is no better deal in the world.

Lin Feiran, however, was not blinded by the news of the improved spiritual vein. Instead, he became even more cautious: "You are already very strong. What difference does it make if you have one more sword or one less sword? There are plenty of people who would do whatever you want. Why do you need me?"

Lin Feiran stared at him for a long time, then took a step forward and said, "We've only known each other for less than half a day, and you already know I'm strong?"

"A cautious and aloof person, yet he repeatedly showed leniency to an unknown visitor who had impersonated him, giving her medicine to heal her wounds, and agreeing to make a deal with her after less than half a day of conversation, and such an unfair deal at that." Lin Feiran looked at him, her tone certain, "You knew me before, didn't you?"

Her steps were neither hurried nor slow, but steady as she approached him. She did not stop when she was right in front of him. Her eyes were like a sword that had been hidden for many years, drawn again, its sharpness undiminished and its cold light as bright as ever.

Lin Feiran actually stopped and looked him over carefully for a long time: "I don't remember seeing you before."

Just as Ru Xian was about to make a sarcastic remark, she heard her say, "I would never forget a face like yours once I've seen it."

And so the irrepressible sarcasm dissipated, replaced by complete agreement; no one could forget him after seeing him.

At the grand banquet that day, when he saw the faint light of the sword bone, he felt a sense of familiarity. So he asked her to put down her fan to confirm her identity. Although she had grown up, her appearance still retained the shadow of that year, especially her eyes, which were exactly the same.

He had been searching for the sword for many years, never settling for anything less, because he had already seen the best one. However, he did not know her identity, which was like searching for a needle in a haystack. As the time drew near, he had no choice but to settle for second best. But then, she appeared again.

Who can say this isn't fate? Even Heaven had to help him.

He raised his hand to gently touch the red marks on his eyes, and parted his lips slightly: "Any other concerns? Ask away."

At the grand banquet, even though he had already recognized her, she remained completely oblivious. Therefore, he did not bring up the past, as it was, in his opinion, a disgrace. However, out of consideration for what had happened, he could forgive her.

Lin Feiran frowned. She really didn't have any memory of it. But Ru Xian had no reason to lie to her. If she hadn't noticed something was wrong, he wouldn't have even bothered to tell her.

What exactly is wrong? Could it be that I was too young at the time and forgot?

Unable to come up with a solution after a moment's thought, Lin Feiran put the question aside for the time being and simply said, "What do you want me to do for you? Let me make it clear first, I don't know how to kill."

So, are you going to take this deal? Sometimes, a chance to survive is in your own hands.

Lin Feiran did not immediately agree. Her clear eyes swept over him, her gaze devoid of any aggression, carrying a hint of unspoken frankness and clarity.

"You are very good at negotiating."

First, he patiently explained to her in great detail what sorcery and the Skywalker were. Then, he approached her with the curse of death at twenty, making her recall how she fled to the demon realm covered in wounds and how she sought a glimmer of hope. He then lamented to her about fate and finally told her that as long as she agreed to the deal, everything would be resolved.

He is very good at understanding people's hearts.

But everything he said was true.

She asked, "How do we make the contract?"

As the snowflakes curved their lips into a smile, he knew all along that she would agree; it was already destined the moment he asked her if she believed in fate.

She is by no means a believer in fate.

"make a deal."

Finally, Lin Feiran couldn't help but ask, "I really have no recollection of what happened before."

Ru Xian bent down and grabbed the green-eyed fox by the neck, saying casually, "Think for yourself. It's best if you can't remember, then I've gotten the better deal."

After he finished speaking, the palace doors burst open with a bang. He looked up and his emerald eyes shimmered with light: "Now, you can leave."

A note from the author: