Chapter 19: Broken Promise

When he awoke, the sky was already shrouded in a dim gray light.

Jiang Ning had been roused by the sound of Erhuang pacing restlessly around him.

“Hm?”

Dazed for a moment, he slowly pieced together the events that had transpired before his loss of consciousness.

“Could it be that the so-called evolution method from the inherited memory has tricked me…”

But seeing Erhuang lively and energetic, not at all as if anything were amiss, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He patted Erhuang’s head and stood up, feeling an indescribable comfort flooding his entire body.

“Wait, something’s different about my body…”

First, he noticed that the imprint of the Great Dao within him had all but vanished! With his spiritual energy circulating to its utmost, the mark was nearly gone—though traces remained, it was almost fully erased.

“There’s no more sense of obstruction—I can sense the fluctuations of the Dao in the world!”

Jiang Ning had always possessed a Celestial Spirit Body. After this sudden enlightenment, he could clearly grasp that mysterious, ineffable sensation.

This was the benefit brought by enlightenment itself.

It was also the reason why the Dao imprint had been worn away so extensively; he was no longer so greatly hindered.

At the same time, Jiang Ning became aware of the changes within his own bloodline…

“Did I actually… succeed in absorbing it?”

His eyes widened. Seeing Erhuang bouncing about, he’d believed that at the final moment, he had managed to halt his own body’s nearly violent plundering of Erhuang’s bloodline.

But now, within himself…

“One in the dantian, two and three at the shoulder meridians…”

According to the evolution method of the Celestial Spirit Body, after absorbing a bloodline, the power would be divided into three, circulating in a tripod formation within.

At this moment, his dantian was abuzz with the surge of new bloodline power.

In other words, Erhuang’s bloodline had been absorbed into his body, becoming a part of this evolutionary method.

“Erhuang’s bloodline is of the first grade?!”

Three strands of first-grade bloodline would reside in three locations within the body, and when perfected, would be fused as one.

This would simultaneously evolve his own bloodline.

“…Wait!”

Even in his astonishment, Jiang Ning’s first concern was still Erhuang’s safety. The little creature was still circling his feet, head cocked to the side in curiosity at Jiang Ning’s bewildered expression.

“Erhuang, let me take a look.”

He scooped Erhuang up and examined him. The little fellow seemed to have forgotten all about last night’s events and was, if anything, more lively than usual.

“Hm? What’s going on in your body…”

Jiang Ning was utterly stunned—Erhuang was completely unharmed.

That wasn’t all; spiritual energy was coursing within Erhuang, who now possessed a cultivation level not at all inferior.

The concentration of spiritual energy was on par with a practitioner who had stepped into the Opening Meridian Realm.

“A yellow dog at the Opening Meridian Realm…”

But at least Jiang Ning could finally set his mind at ease.

“In other words, I still absorbed Erhuang’s bloodline, but this little fellow’s recovery is extraordinary—and he’s even reached the Opening Meridian Realm because of it…”

Jiang Ning clicked his tongue, not knowing what else to say beyond marveling at the fact.

“I was too reckless. Faced with this situation for the first time, I let excitement get the better of me and acted rashly.”

He understood in his heart that, given another chance, he would never risk Erhuang’s safety again.

“The density of Erhuang’s bloodline power, according to the inherited memory, is indeed that of a first-grade bloodline.”

Jiang Ning regarded the lively creature with new eyes—incredibly, it was a first-grade bloodline.

He had both underestimated the domineering nature of the evolution method’s bloodline plundering, and had not expected true success. He’d only been envious of Erhuang’s means of escape, never imagining that Erhuang’s bloodline would be classified as first-grade, or that the process would actually work…

“Let me check the inherited secret arts…”

Inherited secret arts, also known as innate abilities, were unrelated to bloodline grade—a kind of Daoist ability one was born with.

“Today’s my lucky day!”

Jiang Ning activated his bloodline power, feeling for the inherited secret arts within, and his eyes widened in shock.

“Erhuang, are you some old monster reincarnated?”

“Woof!”

At the words “old monster,” Erhuang immediately barked in protest.

Yet Jiang Ning could hardly believe it.

Besides the abilities to fly through the air and traverse a certain distance through the void—both vital escape techniques—Erhuang actually possessed another secret art.

“A passive inherited secret art—regeneration…”

No wonder Erhuang’s injuries always healed at an astonishing speed.

Erhuang looked rather indignant at that moment.

Hearing Jiang Ning suggest he was an old monster, the little fellow was full of indignation.

“I really can’t figure out why you’d appear in the uninhabited Tianshan Mountains, and with three innate secret arts to boot.”

Jiang Ning suspected Erhuang harbored secrets unknown even to himself.

But such mysteries might well be beyond Erhuang’s own understanding.

…

For the entire following day, Jiang Ning continued to explore Erhuang’s spatial traversal ability.

“The distance is only about a dozen meters, and it seems to consume my own spiritual energy, with a time limit that prevents continuous use. Erhuang, on the other hand, uses it naturally without any energy expenditure…”

He was beginning to get the hang of it.

As the secret art wasn’t truly his own, using it felt awkward and forced—it was, after all, seized through plundering.

His bloodline power hadn’t yet reached first grade, but Jiang Ning could sense it circulating within him. With the Celestial Spirit Body merging with all things, and alongside his transformed bloodline, his comprehension of various Daoist arts seemed markedly clearer.

“One must reach the Body Tempering Realm before practicing cultivation methods and Dao techniques.”

Jiang Ning believed that the true might of this bloodline power would only reveal itself at the Body Tempering Realm.

When cultivating, the results would be twice as effective for half the effort.

Comprehending Dao techniques would become effortless for those with strong talent.

By contrast, talent in cultivation was of the utmost importance.

Jiang Ning, of course, was still oblivious to what was unfolding elsewhere.

At the First Peak of Idle Cloud Sect, above the floating palatial towers, a significant change was taking place…

Yang Xiangtian now stood in a secret chamber before his father, Yang Zhengfeng.

The highest master of Idle Cloud Sect.

“My cauldron will be reforged in about seven days.

In these two days, keep a close watch on that boy and don’t let him take a single step out of Idle Cloud Sect…”

Yang Zhengfeng was seated before the cauldron, medicinal fragrance wafting everywhere. The chamber was filled with radiant light, heavenly treasures melding into a single elixir, the scene resplendent and wondrous.

“Yes…”

Had anyone seen Yang Xiangtian at that moment, they would have been shocked.

His eyes first showed a trace of struggle, then turned utterly lifeless. His pupils were empty, gray energy coiling around him, his visage like that of a corpse—by aura alone, he seemed less alive than dead!

A moment later, he left the chamber, life returning to his face, expression cold, as if nothing had happened. He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and departed at a measured pace.

…

Jiang Ning was completely unaware of any of this.

He remained immersed in comprehending the inherited secret arts.

As his bloodline power shifted, he examined every subtle change in his body, delighted by each new discovery.

By the time he came back to himself, the sun had already set behind the mountains.

“Oh no!”

He suddenly recalled something.

Today, he was supposed to meet with Senior Sister Lin Qian.

He had completely forgotten—and had stood her up…