Dawn light stabbed through the curtains as Chu Yang jerked awake, his fingers still clenched around the jade slip. The golden crack on its surface had deepened overnight.
7:23 AM. One unread message:
**「Roof. 8 AM sharp.—S」**
The cold shower did little to clear his mind. Under the water, he observed the blue meridian networks beneath his skin—now more defined, spiritual energy flowing like micro-rivers.
Dressed in the black tee and jeans Su Yuyan had left (a perfect fit), he ascended to the rooftop.
Morning wind carried the city's greasy breakfast smells. Su Yuyan stood at the edge, back turned, her white athletic wear stark against the skyline. Spiritual vision revealed her aura—dense cyan energy dwarfing every other cultivator in the inn.
*"Two minutes late."* She didn't turn.
*"No watch. How?"*
*"Qi fluctuations."* She tapped her temple. *"Every cultivator has a unique frequency. Yours is... unusually structured. Like programming code."*
Before he could ask how she knew his profession, she cut to the chase:
*"The cultivation world exists. Has for millennia."* Her gaze stayed fixed on the horizon. *"But since the Ming Dynasty, spiritual energy has been decaying. Sects went into hiding—hence the modern arrangement."*
Sunlight gilded the city below. Chu Yang gripped the railing. All this, hidden beneath the mundane surface?
*"That old man who gave you the jade slip was likely the last of the Tai Xu Sect."* Her voice turned grim. *"A grand lineage specializing in celestial calculations. Wiped out overnight three centuries ago. For their core scripture to resurface now..."*
*"Why me? Just a programmer."*
*"The slip chooses its bearer."* Her eyes flicked to the artifact. *"You've reached Qi Refining Stage?"*
He summarized last night's battle with the shadow-eater. When he mentioned controlling qi via programming logic, her eyebrow twitched—almost imperceptibly.
*"Fascinating."* A rare admission. *"Most take years to advance from Qi Sensing to Refining. You did it in one night."*
*"What was that creature? Why can't normals see them?"*
*"Nether-feeders. Low-tier demons consuming negative emotions."* She produced a talisman. At her touch, it burned to ash, forming a rotating array in midair. *"Mundanes have cognitive filters—brains edit out the inexplicable."*
The ash-diagram displayed various grotesques: *"Cleaning these is cultivators' duty. Especially in cities."*
*"So sects live in remote mountains?"*
*"Most. Some, like me, remain in the secular world."* She dispersed the diagram. *"We follow the Hidden Realm Pact—no magic before mundanes, no interference in governance."*
*"Like superhero secret identities?"*
*"More like endangered species hiding from poachers."* Bitterness crept into her tone. *"In this Dharma-Ending Age, exposure means dissection tables, not worship."*
Chu Yang thought of tabloid "paranormal" reports—how many were real?
*"Final question."* He met her eyes. *"Why help me?"*
A sparrow landed on the railing, then fled as if sensing danger.
*"Two reasons."* Her voice dropped. *"First, my family has ties to Tai Xu Sect. Second... I need an ally untraceable to them."*
Before he could probe further, she shifted topics: *"Cultivation basics. Three tiers—Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, etc. Five elemental attributes with variants. Talismans, arrays..."*
Her lecture lasted thirty minutes. Chu Yang absorbed it all—his memory now razor-sharp.
*"Theoretically, how long can cultivators live?"*
*"Foundation—200 years. Golden Core—500. Nascent Soul—1000+."* She said it like discussing weather. *"But no one's broken through to Nascent Soul in three centuries."*
The jade slip suddenly vibrated violently, leaping from his pocket to hover midair.
*"What—?"* Su Yuyan backstepped, a blue talisman materializing in her hand.
The slip's golden cracks spiderwebbed across its surface. With a *click*, its outer shell shattered, revealing a crystalline core. New text cascaded into a hologram:
The complete *Tai Xu Yan Tian Jue*—nine cultivation tiers, spell manuals, alchemy recipes. Most staggering was the final section: *"Celestial Divination: Calculate Yin-Yang, Pierce Past-Future..."*
*"Impossible."* Su Yuyan's hands trembled. *"Tai Xu's full lineage was lost!"*
A star chart concluded the display, Earth highlighted with an annotation:
**「Dharma's End: Not Natural. A Seal. Keys Lie With Nine Cauldrons.」**
Then—gone. The reformed slip dropped into Chu Yang's palm, its patterns now intricately refined.
*"Man-made seal?"* Chu Yang frowned.
Su Yuyan paled. *"Whatever this means, it's dangerous. Tai Xu Sect was annihilated for investigating..."*
She whirled toward the rooftop entrance. Empty—yet Chu Yang's spiritual sense screamed *danger*. A needle-like gaze prickled from a distant high-rise.
*"Scrying."* Her whisper was steel. *"Not eyes—high-level divination. They're watching *the slip*."*
A hand-seal conjured a soundproof barrier. *"Listen. Never speak of this—not even to other cultivators. That divination art is a treasure wars are fought over."*
The weight of it hit Chu Yang. He held not just a manual—but a *key* that could upheave the entire cultivation world.
*"What now?"*
*"We bait them."* She dissolved the barrier. *"Since 'Darkmoon' already hunts you, hiding's pointless. Draw them out."*
*"Use me as bait?"*
*"I'll be your shadow."* For the first time, something like a smile touched her lips. *"Besides—you're Qi Refining now. Time to test those fangs."*
---
Back in the room, Chu Yang booted his laptop, translating cultivation methods into code. Su Yuyan watched, stunned, as 3D meridian models optimized energy flow routes in real-time.
*"You're *algorithmizing* cultivation?"*
*"Watch."* He modified a parameter. *"The slip says 'gentle in, abrupt out' for Du Meridian flow. But with progressive acceleration—"*
The model showed 15% efficiency gain.
*"This defies classical theory!"*
*"But it works."* He ran the revised method—qi circulated smoother, faster. The slip glowed in approval: **"Innovation Confirmed. Tai Xu's Path Is Evolution."**
Su Yuyan exhaled sharply. *"Now I see why it chose you. Three hundred years, every bearer clung to tradition. Only you *improved* it—"*
*THWIP!*
She yanked him aside as a black streak vaporized his chair into acid.
Outside the window, three black-robed figures hovered midair. Leading them—the bloodsword wielder from the alley.