Yun Jin didn't bother to guess what the others were thinking. She sat cross-legged on her little boat, quietly observing her surroundings with curiosity.
She and Jin Yu had boarded nearly at the same time, and she could vaguely see his boat just ahead. Jin Yu seemed to be putting on some sort of show. Golden light pulsed constantly from his body, eye-catching and over-the-top. Several white light spheres were already floating around his boat, but Jin Yu made no move to absorb them.
Naturally.
A soul could only hold ten fragments at most. If all the slots were taken up by low-grade white ones, and higher-quality fragments came later, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Yun Jin thought the same. She wouldn't absorb any white fragments unless it was absolutely necessary.
However...
Yun Jin's gaze flickered, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her.
She asked, "Senior, An Tong said that as long as the soul can withstand it, I can bring all the fragments with me?"
Jin Yu and the others were all at the peak of the Divine Transformation stage.
Ten fragments—that was likely the upper limit for cultivators like Jin Yu.
But…
That wasn't her limit.
Even Yun Jin didn't know exactly how powerful her own soul was. Most of it had been sealed, and yet she could still crush someone like Duan Yiwei across cultivation stages with ease.
So maybe...
Her soul could hold even more fragments?
Tian Po Sword nodded slightly. "That's correct. Normally, ten fragments is the limit for someone at the Divine Transformation stage. But your soul, Young Master, should be at least on par with Jin Yu's. Absorbing ten fragments shouldn't be a problem."
Yun Jin's eyes gleamed.
But what she meant was...
Ten fragments might not be her limit at all.
While they were speaking—
Yun Jin hadn't even done anything yet when she suddenly sensed movement and turned her head to the left.
A white light sphere had drifted over of its own accord.
"Huh? Young Master hasn't shown anything yet, and the fragments are already coming to her," Tian Po Sword muttered, then added regretfully, "Unfortunately, it's only a low-grade white fragment. You can choose to repel it. If you do, it won't appear again during this crossing."
Oh?
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow.
Jin Yu had apparently figured out that the fragments could be repelled. He had already chased away all the white ones that had floated near him.
Yun Jin chuckled. "No rush. Let it stay. Don't underestimate these white fragments. A pile of them can still come in handy."
As she spoke, Yun Jin leisurely activated the Mystic Codex, releasing the five-elemental aura from her body.
The moment the Mystic Codex began to circulate—
The previously calm river responded, faint ripples spreading across the water.
Then, as if some signal had been triggered, light spheres in the surrounding area suddenly surged toward Yun Jin like moths to flame.
In no time at all, she was completely surrounded by white light spheres—with a few faint hints of green ones hidden among them.
From the boats behind her, the other cultivators watched in stunned silence.
What the hell was going on?
Weren't they supposed to work hard to win the fragments' approval?
So why did it feel like that rule applied only to them?
Over on Yun Jin's side, she looked every bit the sovereign queen. The fragments practically threw themselves at her, as if willingly joining her imperial harem.
Yun Jin smiled faintly.
She increased the intensity of the Mystic Codex's circulation.
Gradually, light spheres from even farther away began to respond and float her way.
The boats were still drifting forward slowly, and the group gradually became more spread out.
Instead of panic, the others felt a bit relieved.
If they had kept following Yun Jin, they probably wouldn't even get a single fragment—she was attracting every last one of them.
"The space within the Enlightenment River is boundless. For fragments farther away to sense your aura, it'll take time," Tian Po Sword explained. "Or, you could intensify your pull. Young Master, try revealing one of your Concepts."
Yun Jin nodded.
She raised her hand, and a small flame blossomed in her palm. The fire coiled and surged, transforming into the shape of a dragon—a miniature Fire Dragon.
Tian Po Sword murmured inwardly.
[High-grade Concept: Fire Dragon Concept.]
The moment she released it, fragments resonating with the fire attribute began to drift toward her in large numbers.
This time, she attracted high-grade Concept fragments as well.
Their aura confirmed it—more fire-based high-grade Concepts.
Yun Jin went on to showcase all her fire-type Concepts one by one. In the end, she only managed to attract a single orange light sphere. She did gather several green ones, though. The white ones were gradually pushed to the outer edges.
Still, Yun Jin didn't reject a single fragment. She towed the whole glowing swarm along as her boat slowly moved forward.
Tian Po Sword stared in disbelief. "Young Master, don't tell me you're using these fragments to slow down the boat? That won't work. The Enlightenment River doesn't have a fixed distance. When the two hours are up, the crossing ends automatically."
Even as he said it, Tian Po Sword knew how ridiculous it sounded.
Who would even come up with such an idea?
Then again… knowing Yun Jin's glorious track record, he felt the need to say it out loud just in case.
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow, feigning shock. "Tian Po Sword, what's with you? Slowing down the boat with light spheres—how could you even think of something so absurd!"
Her voice was full of disbelief, as if Tian Po Sword had just said the most outrageous thing imaginable.
Tian Po Sword was speechless.
Wasn't he just worried she might actually try something that crazy?
He sighed. "Then why are you keeping so many fragments, Young Master?"
Yun Jin gave a cheeky laugh, her tone full of self-satisfaction. "I think I'm naturally gifted. Sure, I'm only in the Nascent Soul stage, but what if my soul is on the level of an immortal or divine being? When the time comes, I'll just absorb all of them. Even the white ones—we shouldn't let anything go to waste!"
If Tian Po Sword had a human form, he would've rolled his eyes right then and there.
Honestly, his previous guess had seemed more reasonable in comparison!
But the Young Master always had these unpredictable ideas. Let her try it. Once she realized it wouldn't work, she'd give it up herself.
Most of the fire attribute fragments had already been attracted.
Next, Yun Jin conjured a sharp, metallic Concept tied to the gold element.
Immediately, many matching Concept fragments started heading her way. Again, she managed to bring in just one orange light sphere.
Yun Jin mumbled in dissatisfaction. "Tian Po, this isn't working. The Enlightenment River is stingy. These golden light spheres—shouldn't I be seeing ten of them at least? How come not even a shadow shows up?"
Back on shore, she'd at least seen a few scattered golden light spheres.
Now that she was deep in the Enlightenment River, not a single one was in sight.
Tian Po Sword sounded as if he were gritting his teeth. "That's a supreme-grade Concept—supreme-grade! If someone takes just one, the Enlightenment River needs hundreds of years to nurture another! If it were that easy to obtain, this place would've been empty ages ago!"
As he spoke, Tian Po Sword raised his voice with pride. "When my Master first entered the Enlightenment River, he attracted three supreme-grade fragments. That's the best record since the founding of Wushuang Sect! Young Master, you've got talent too, but compared to him… there's still a bit of a gap. Still, this is just the beginning. With my guidance, we might still draw at least one supreme-grade fragment."
Only one?
Yun Jin muttered internally.
That's not gonna cut it.
She could only enter this place once a year—she had to find a way to squeeze every last drop of benefit out of it.