The hexagram of death
Seeing Yun Qian fall heavily under the fifth bolt of heavenly lightning, the string of "reason" in Bai Ji's mind snapped instantly! He could no longer care about his senior sister's gesture to stop him and rushed forward without thinking.
The moment he took a step, a silver-white figure appeared on the jade platform with speed as if tearing through space!
It's a white banquet!
He returned from who-knows-where, and at the critical moment, he stood firmly in front of Yun Qian. With a flick of his wide sleeves, his hands swiftly formed a complex and ancient hand seal in the air, and a solid barrier of spiritual light instantly rose up, barely managing to block and eliminate the last and most ferocious sixth heavenly lightning!
All six bolts of heavenly lightning struck down.
The heavenly tribulation has finally ended.
In the sky, the churning, roaring, thick dark clouds seemed to have completed their mission, vanishing without a trace in just a few breaths, revealing a clear, blue sky once more, as if the earth-shattering scene just moments before was merely an illusion.
Bai Ji's thoughts paused for a moment until his gaze fell on the stone platform again. Yun Qian lay on the charred and broken stone surface, her light-colored dress stained with blood, her breath so faint that it was almost imperceptible.
"Senior Sister! Master!" The tears that had been welling up in her eyes burst forth instantly, Bai Ji's voice trembling with sobs and the relief of surviving a disaster.
Only now did he truly understand the perilous situation hidden behind his senior sister's casual remark, "struck by lightning," when he first entered the sect!
Those bolts of heavenly lightning just now could have really killed my senior sister! So, this is the Heavenly Dao's "punishment" for those who cultivate too quickly?
No wonder…no wonder that in recent years, Senior Sister hasn't been as diligent in meditation and cultivation as they have; she's spent most of her time lazily lying on the stone platform basking in the sun. Yet, even so, she still advanced without any obstacles. Bai Ji's gaze towards Yun Qian was filled with lingering fear and deep worry. He seemed to have…gained a vague understanding of the mysterious word "destiny" that his master had spoken of.
But he still didn't understand. If it was fate that allowed his senior sister to have such talent and advance, why did it have to bring down such a cruel tribulation of lightning, almost killing her?
A mountain breeze swept by, ruffling a few strands of Bai Yan's silver hair, which gently brushed against Yun Qian's face, which was stained with blood and dust. At that very moment, Yun Qian's remaining consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness, and she fell into a deep coma.
Bai Yan looked down at his disciple, who was barely breathing in his arms. He saw that her once elegant robes were now soaked in blood and tattered. His brows under the mask furrowed tightly, forming deep lines.
He bent down and, with extremely light yet remarkably steady movements, scooped up the unconscious Yun Qian in his arms. His gaze swept over Bai Ji, who had rushed to the edge of the stone platform and whose face was streaked with tears. His voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable warning: "You are still in the Foundation Establishment stage. Your physical body and primordial spirit are both fragile and cannot withstand the power of heavenly lightning. One strike would be enough to annihilate you, body and soul. Next time, do not risk your life like this again."
“Yes, Master…” Bai Ji lowered her head, biting her lip hard, her heart filled with regret and resentment towards herself. She hated that her cultivation was too low, and that she couldn’t even get close to her senior sister when she was in the most danger, let alone help her.
"Hurry up and cultivate." Bai Yan's gaze seemed to penetrate his inner self-reproach as he stated calmly, "You will need to help her through the next tribulation."
These words, like a thunderclap, exploded once more in Bai Ji's heart. Was her senior sister really going to experience that terrifying heavenly lightning again?!
"Master, Senior Sister... she will also encounter a tribulation of lightning?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Bai Yan didn't say much, just nodded slightly, then stopped and, holding Yun Qian, disappeared from the stone platform in a flash.
Yun Qian's sudden advancement, though she successfully entered the Nascent Soul stage, was severely damaged by five terrifying heavenly lightning strikes. Her spiritual energy was in complete disarray, and her cultivation level was on the verge of collapse.
For five consecutive days after the end of the Heavenly Tribulation, Yun Qian remained unconscious.
At the same time, she was unable to control the raging true energy within her body. The entire Jinghe Courtyard was shrouded in an out-of-control, powerful vortex of true energy, forming an invisible barrier. Anyone whose cultivation level was lower than the Nascent Soul stage could not even get close to it.
When Baichuan returned from gathering herbs that day, the tribulation had already ended. Although he did not witness the horrifying scene with his own eyes, he could already glimpse the extreme danger at that time from Baiji's red and swollen eyes and his master's more solemn and stern expression than usual.
His cultivation level was also insufficient to step into Jinghe Courtyard, but his worries and anxieties were no less than Baiji's. He could only guard the courtyard gate day and night, as if that would bring him closer to his senior sister.
In the past few days, the entrance to Jinghe Courtyard has been almost completely filled with medical books and classic texts brought by Baichuan. He frantically searched through them, trying to find a way to heal the injury to his primordial spirit and stabilize his cultivation. However, despite the vast amount of ancient books, he could hardly find a suitable remedy.
Even so, he never left his post, like a stone statue rooted to the doorway. Like Bai Ji, he deeply blamed himself for his uselessness.
After being adrift in darkness for an unknown amount of time, Yun Qian's consciousness finally struggled out of the chaotic mire.
She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, and the first thing she felt was the still restless and almost out-of-control massive true energy around her.
She subconsciously tried to draw it back into her inner self, but as soon as she activated her consciousness, a violent churning occurred in her chest, and a metallic taste rose in her throat. She abruptly turned her head away.
"puff--"
A mouthful of dark red blood spurted out without warning, landing precisely on the spotless white robe beside the bed, spreading a glaring stain.
Yun Qian looked up in surprise and saw Bai Yan sitting by the low couch on the edge of the bed. His hand, which was scattering copper coins to perform divination, paused noticeably.
The copper coin, which had been suspended in mid-air and had not yet fully settled, seemed to lose its pull. Its spiritual light dimmed, and it clattered and scattered on the stone platform. The mysterious spiritual energy that had been flowing within it also vanished in an instant.
Bai Yan abandoned this divination.
“Master…” Yun Qian’s voice was hoarse and weak. She leaned against the wall and slowly sat up straight, her brows furrowed slightly due to the intense pain in her body. “Why… did you not finish the divination?” She remembered reading in an ancient book that once divination began, it had to be completed from beginning to end. Forcibly stopping it in the middle could very likely cause a backlash to the practitioner.
"It's alright." Bai Yan's tone remained calm. With a wave of his wide sleeve, he collected all the scattered copper coins. His gaze lingered briefly on her pale face. "First, suppress your true energy."
"Yes." Yun Qian dared not act rashly again. She sat cross-legged as instructed, enduring the throbbing pain from her primordial spirit, and very slowly and carefully guided the turbulent vortex of true energy around her back into her inner palace.
Outside the courtyard, Bai Ji, who had been staring intently in the direction of Jinghe Courtyard, suddenly grabbed Bai Chuan's arm.
"It's dissipating! Senior brother, the true energy is dissipating!" His voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and elation. "Senior sister... Senior sister must have woken up!"
Upon hearing this, Baichuan immediately looked up from his medical book. Sure enough, the vortex of true energy that had shrouded the courtyard for five days, causing palpitations, was slowly calming and dissipating at a visible speed.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief and joy in each other's eyes. Unable to contain themselves any longer, they got up and hurried towards the Jinghe Courtyard.
The commotion outside the door naturally did not escape the notice of the two people inside. Seeing that Yun Qian had woken up and her true energy was gradually coming under control, Bai Yan slowly stood up.
"I need to go down the mountain for a while." He looked down at Yun Qian, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "You have just entered the Nascent Soul stage, your realm is not yet stable, and your primordial spirit has been severely injured by the Heavenly Tribulation. Before I return, remember to stay in the mountain and do not step out of Cangmin Mountain even half a step."
"This disciple will remember." Yun Qian respectfully replied.
Bai Yan said no more and turned to walk out the door. He met Bai Chuan and Bai Ji, who had rushed over, at the door. After giving them a few brief instructions, he transformed into a streak of sword light and flew away.
However, as soon as he left the Cangmin Mountain area and moved away from the protective array, Bai Yan's originally upright figure swayed, and his face turned pale rapidly. He had no choice but to stop his sword light and land on a secluded cliff edge.
As soon as he stood still, he could no longer hold back and coughed up a mouthful of blood, the crimson blood splattering out in a shocking sight.
Yun Qian was unconscious for seven days, and he spent those seven days divining without sleep.
He had analyzed this divination countless times, and each time the result was exactly the same, chillingly despairing.
Could this be... destiny?
This hexagram is deathly still, leaving no room for maneuver; it is a doomed hexagram with no chance of survival.
This divination was foretelling Yun Qian's future.
How ironic that the only variable in the entire fate of Cangmin Mountain was Yun Qian.
However, Yun Qian's own destiny offered no hope whatsoever.
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