A bold conjecture
Yun Qian went into seclusion for a full three months.
Her physique was unlike that of ordinary people, making her an anomaly. Over the years, due to her fear of the tribulations that occurred during her advancement, she had never truly devoted herself to cultivation.
Yes, Yun Qian had never cultivated properly, yet she still broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, a level that countless cultivators in this world could not reach even after a lifetime of effort.
If this matter were to spread, it would likely infuriate that self-proclaimed genius, Sili. After all, the Mahayana stage that he was so proud of, which took him hundreds of years to achieve, and his so-called demigod body, were now within Yun Qian's grasp.
Some people are born with extraordinary talent, destined to become the main characters in a story.
The protagonist is often destined to pay an unimaginable price, or even die, for the people, things, and events they want to protect.
On this day, Cangmin Mountain, which is covered in snow all year round, suddenly began to snow heavily without any warning.
Yun Qian sat cross-legged on the jade platform, her mind sinking into her inner palace, feeling the spiritual energy within her surge like a river, circulating endlessly through her body. Above her head, thick dark clouds were quietly gathering, pressing down heavily, as if accumulating some kind of destructive power.
Yun Qian was just one step away from the Great Ascension stage, so the Heavenly Tribulation that the Heavenly Dao would send down was quietly lurking above the clouds, waiting for the moment she completed her final advancement before striking down.
Qin Wu and Bai Chuan stood like two silent guardian statues at the edge of the jade platform, their expressions solemn, not daring to relax in the slightest, for fear that their senior sister might make any mistake at the crucial moment.
Qin Wu looked up at the gray sky, cold snowflakes falling one by one onto his shoulders, quickly covering them with a thin layer of white. After a long while, he spoke softly, his voice sounding somewhat faint in the rustling snow: "Senior brother, have you noticed that whenever something big happens, it always snows on Cangmin Mountain?"
Bai Chuan nodded slightly; he had also noticed this almost predictable phenomenon. Every heavy snowfall on Cangmin Mountain seemed to carry some kind of fateful premonition. He, too, looked up at the gathering, seemingly brewing something, dark clouds, his heart heavy. What would happen this time, beneath this familiar snow curtain?
Bai Chuan stared intently for a long time, then suddenly his brows furrowed tightly. The tribulation clouds that had been gathering thicker and thicker began to slowly dissipate!
Bai Chuan was stunned. He subconsciously looked down at Yun Qian in the center of the platform.
Yun Qian had opened her eyes. She slowly stood up and walked steadily down the jade platform.
"You two have worked hard, go back and get some rest." Yun Qian stretched her limbs, which were stiff from sitting for a long time, and spoke in a relaxed tone, as if the impending tribulation had never existed. "I probably won't be advancing anytime soon."
Upon hearing this, Bai Chuan's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and he almost subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief. It's good he wasn't promoted! As long as he's safe and sound.
Although Qin Wu did not speak, the relaxed shoulder line also revealed his inner relief.
Yun Qian took in her two junior brothers' reactions and couldn't help but chuckle, teasingly saying, "Why do you two seem so happy that I didn't succeed in advancing?"
"No." Qin Wu immediately denied it, his tone as cold and concise as ever. Then, with a flicker, he disappeared from the spot, disappearing faster than a rabbit.
"Senior sister, I... I almost forgot I was refining medicine in my alchemy furnace!" Bai Chuan quickly made up an excuse, and before he finished speaking, he had already used his movement technique to escape.
They naturally didn't want their senior sister to take that life-or-death risk.
Promotion is good, but staying alive is more important.
After her two junior brothers had completely disappeared, the relaxed smile on Yun Qian's face gradually faded. She squatted on the edge of the cold jade platform, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the smooth surface, her brows furrowed as she fell into deep thought.
Why is it that even though I'm only one step away and my spiritual energy circulation has reached perfection, I still can't take that crucial step? It's as if there's an invisible membrane blocking the path between the Nascent Soul stage and the Mahayana stage.
After thinking for a long time, Yun Qian vaguely understood. Even for a genius, truly reaching the Mahayana realm seems to require a special opportunity.
Yun Qian hadn't figured out what this opportunity was. But she suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Zhihua and Lin Huaiyu down the mountain for three whole months.
With that thought in her mind, she no longer hesitated. In a flash, she transformed into a pale golden streak of light, heading straight for the familiar little courtyard at the foot of Cangmin Mountain.
Inside the courtyard, Lin Huaiyu sat alone at a stone table, his expression focused. On the table, several ancient copper coins were arranged according to some mysterious pattern, forming a constantly changing and elusive design.
Zhihua curled up in the other corner of the table, yawned, and said lazily, "You've been calculating this divination over and over again for three months, and each time the result is completely different. When I ask you what you're trying to calculate, you just won't say."
Lin Huaiyu stared at the few copper coins that seemed to contain endless variables for a long time, remaining silent.
He was divining for Yun Qian.
Strangely, during these three months, every time he cast a divination, no matter what method he used, the result was never the same.
The divination results sometimes showed auspicious signs, sometimes great misfortune, and sometimes complete chaos, as if her destiny was shrouded in a thick fog, constantly changing and difficult to fully comprehend.
Why is this happening?
Lin Huaiyu was completely baffled. He had studied divination for many years, and although he dared not say that he was absolutely certain of his ability to glimpse the secrets of heaven, he had never encountered anyone whose fate was so... unpredictable and difficult to define.
Just as he was deep in thought, a familiar golden light flashed in the courtyard, and Yun Qian's figure quietly appeared.
The first thing she saw was Lin Huaiyu's back as he stared at the table, and those few familiar copper coins. A sudden, inexplicable thought flashed through her mind like lightning, making her heart sink.
Sensing the familiar presence behind him, Lin Huaiyu quickly snapped back to his senses. With a flick of his sleeve, he discreetly collected the copper coins on the table that revealed the chaotic secrets of heaven.
He stood up, a smile naturally spreading across his face, and reached out to take Yun Qian's hand.
However, just before his fingertips were about to touch her, Yun Qian subconsciously pulled her hand back slightly, avoiding his touch.
Lin Huaiyu's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his smile stiffening slightly, a hint of surprise and confusion flashing in his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, somewhat bewildered. Had he done anything to her in the past three months? It had only been three months since they last met, so why wouldn't she even let him hold her hand?
Looking into Lin Huaiyu's beautiful eyes, filled with innocence and confusion, Yun Qian felt a complex mix of emotions. That fleeting thought... that connection between Lin Huaiyu and a silent, powerful figure from her memory, inexplicably made her feel a sense of awe and distance when facing him.
"Lin Huaiyu," she called out, her voice a little hoarse.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lin Huaiyu noticed her strange expression and tentatively took another step closer to her.
Yun Qian took a half step back, creating some distance between them again. She opened her mouth, the words on the tip of her tongue, but when she saw the clear concern and doubt in his eyes, she swallowed them back. How could she ask? Ask him if he...? That was too absurd.
However, before she could figure out how to speak, a sudden change occurred!
A powerful beam of spiritual energy, carrying an aura of destruction, shot out from outside the courtyard without warning, its target the two people inside!
Lin Huaiyu reacted extremely quickly, sensing the spiritual energy attack almost the instant it arrived. He whirled around, and with a wave of his hand, a solid cyan spiritual light shield instantly appeared, barely blocking Yun Qian's path and colliding violently with the spiritual energy!
"boom!"
The air surged, kicking up dust from the ground.
As the dust settled, Yue Sheng's figure slowly appeared outside the courtyard gate. He wore a fake and cold smile, his gaze fixed on Lin Huaiyu, and his tone carried an uncomfortably intimate tone: "Long time no see, junior brother."
Lin Huaiyu frowned, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust. He disliked both the title and Yuesheng himself.
Almost simultaneously, Yun Qian's eyes sharpened, and with a flick of her wrist, the jet-black longsword appeared in her hand. Without even looking, she swung her sword backhand, precisely parrying a dazzling, ornate longsword that was attacking from another tricky angle!
"clang!"
Sili's figure descended from the sky as the sword's momentum was parried, and he firmly grasped the trembling longsword. He looked at Yun Qian, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "You've become stronger."
Yun Qianxin understood.
It seems everything has been brought forward. In the original book, the plot of the major sects joining forces to besiege Cangmin Mountain was supposed to unfold gradually a year after the Immortal Sect Tournament. Now, less than half a year has passed, and they've already made their move.
At the same time, figures with different auras but all carrying hostility appeared one after another around the courtyard, subtly surrounding the entire courtyard.
Yun Qian's gaze swept across the room and she saw several familiar faces that she remembered from the Immortal Sect Competition.
Sili turned to look at the composed Yuesheng and suggested, "Shall we go together?"
The next moment, as if receiving a silent command, the crowd surrounding the courtyard suddenly lit up with various colors of spiritual light. The light of spells, sword energy, and magic treasures poured down on Yun Qian and Lin Huaiyu in the center of the courtyard like a sudden rain!
Yun Qian and Lin Huaiyu stood back to back, their spiritual power erupting without reservation. The blue and gold spiritual lights intertwined and merged, forming a tough barrier to jointly resist the fierce attacks from all directions.
"This can't go on." Amidst the intense clash of spiritual energy, Yun Qian turned her head and whispered rapidly to Lin Huaiyu behind her, "I'll activate the teleportation array later, and we'll go together!"
"Okay!" Lin Huaiyu agreed without hesitation.
Seizing an opening in the attack, Yun Qian suddenly knelt on one knee, her fingertips imbued with pure spiritual power, and swiftly pointed at the ground! A complex and hidden golden array quietly spread out from beneath her fingertips.
Zhihua, who had been crouching warily on the stone table, now hunched over, his heterochromatic eyes filled with an unusual solemnity and vigilance.
Just as the teleportation array was about to fully illuminate, a resolute glint flashed in Yun Qian's eyes. She raised the sword in her hand and, without hesitation, slashed the sharp blade with her palm! Crimson blood instantly gushed out.
She turned swiftly, and with astonishing speed, lightly grazed the paw pad of Zhihua's raised forepaw, leaving a bloody mark. Then, she grasped Zhihua's bloodied paw.
A complex golden contract mark flashed between the palms and paws of the human and the cat as they touched, and a powerful contract was instantly established: Master-Servant Contract, complete!
Before Zhihua could even fully grasp what this sudden contract meant, Yunqian picked her up in one go.
The next second, a dazzling golden teleportation beam shot into the sky! Yun Qian, Lin Huaiyu, and Zhihua's figures blurred instantly and then completely disappeared from the courtyard, leaving only a mess on the ground.
Yue Sheng looked at the empty courtyard and snorted coldly, "You ran away quickly!"
Sili sheathed his sword and walked over, asking, "Should we give chase?"
"What are you chasing?" Yue Sheng closed his eyes speechlessly, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "What do you think is the reason that Cangmin Mountain has been living in seclusion for so many years?"
"Why?" Sili asked instinctively.
Yue Sheng turned his head and looked at Si Li as if he were an idiot, feeling as if the word "stupid" was almost tangible floating above the other's head. He let out a long breath: "Because! Cangmin Mountain has a protective spirit array! Only disciples of our sect can enter! Otherwise, why do you think Yun Qian was in such a hurry to form a master-servant contract with that cat?!" After forming the contract, the cat would be considered an item associated with Cangmin Mountain, and could naturally be brought into Cangmin Mountain.
“Then Lin Huaiyu naturally can’t get in either.” Sili seemed to have just realized what was going on and suggested, “Shall we go and catch him?”
Yuesheng: "..."
He felt his patience was about to run out.
Working with someone who's slow to react is exhausting.
Instead of wasting time and energy dealing with Lin Huaiyu, whose strength is comparable to his own, it would be better to study how to break the damned Cangmin Mountain protective spirit array!
Clearly, it was only now that Sili's mind finally began to wander and consider this point.
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