The next day
In front of the Main Hall, Gu Han was ready.
She had changed into a plain white traveling dress, her silver hair pinned up with a jade hairpin.
Gone was the palace lord's grandeur; in its place was a free, brisk air of someone ready to roam the world.
Little A Yao was cradled in Gu Han's arms.
She too had dressed up, a goose-yellow skirt at her waist and a cloud-embroidered Storage Pouch dangling from her sash.
The pouch held her favorite snacks and toys.
"Master-Mama, how are we going? On a big flying boat?"
A Yao clung to Gu Han's neck, big eyes darting curiously.
"No flying boat."
Gu Han smiled faintly, her gaze tender on the little one.
"Master will take you a faster way."
She lifted her free hand, fingers like a sword, and slashed lightly at the Void Realm before her.
A soft hiss—
A pitch-black spatial tear opened silently.
Holding A Yao, Gu Han stepped into the rift.
Space rippled; starlight swallowed them, the gap sealing as though it had never been.
Inside the passage, A Yao hugged Gu Han tight, cheek buried in her neck, only one eye peeking out in wonder and fear.
The tunnel was no solid thing, just a "shortcut" carved through endless Void Realm.
On both sides, distorted rivers of color streaked past, compressing countless mountains, seas, suns and moons into inches.
No wind, no weight—only the strange sensation of drifting backward through time.
"Master-Mama… are we flying? It's so fast!"
A Yao whispered, voice full of awe.
"Not flying—shuttling through space."
Gu Han explained patiently, her words clear in the hush.
"With one step we've already crossed a vast distance.
The outside world is racing past us."
A Yao nodded, half understanding, then tucked her head back when her eyes grew dizzy.
"Master-Mama, is the sister we're going to see—Ye Linger—really so pitiful?"
She remembered the bedtime story from the night before.
"Yes. She bears a special Physique considered a fatal flaw here, barring her from Cultivation."
Gu Han's tone was calm, utterly certain.
"But to me it's not a flaw, only a buried treasure.
We're going to dig it out and let it shine again.
Just like when Master-Mama pulled you from the stone?"
A Yao asked innocently.
Gu Han blinked, laughed softly, and patted her back.
"Much the same. Everyone is a unique uncut gem waiting to be polished.
And you, A Yao, are the brightest, cutest one I've ever seen."
"Hehe, Master-Mama…"
Blushing, A Yao nuzzled closer and soon drifted off in the steady, wondrous drift of the shuttle.
Two days passed in that endless spatial stride.
Gu Han gained a sharper sense of the vastness of the Canglan Continent.
Between the Southern and Eastern Domains lay the boundless perils described in the geographical Jade Slip.
She "saw" the endless sea dubbed the "forbidden zone of life"—black waves rolling, colossal shadows gliding beneath, exuding heart-shaking aura.
She also "saw" the primordial mountain range that seemed to prop up the sky, dwarfing even the Wan Jue Mountain Range, several ancient auras lurking within.
"This continent runs deeper than I thought."
While Gu Han crossed millions of li toward the Eastern Domain…
Luoxing City, Eastern Domain.
A medium-sized city straddling the border of the Eastern and Northern Domains.
Its powers were tangled, but the loudest name with the hardest backing was the "Ye Family."
Two Immortal Ascension titans stood over the Eastern Domain—
Venerable White Cloud and Empress Qing Xuan—like unscalable divine peaks, suppressing the domain's Luck.
Below them clung super powers and ancient clans.
Old Ancestor Ye Ling Shuang of the Ye Family was Empress Qing Xuan's most cherished Disciple.
Thus the entire Ye Family soared on her coattails, rising from an ordinary clan to a top Eastern Domain force in mere millennia, producing several Mahayana ancestors and deep heritage.
Of course, the Luoxing branch was only a twig of the main line.
The Ye Residence lay east of the city, its pavilions and towers sprawling and imposing, though modest beside the main Family's city-state-like estate in Tianfeng City.
Deep within the Ye Residence, in a quiet, neglected courtyard, a girl in plain white ruqun sat by the window.
She was about sixteen or seventeen, her beauty flawless, skin almost translucent.
Eyes clear as autumn water carried a lingering, unshakable melancholy.
Most striking of all, her hair wasn't pure black, but carried the faintest hint of ice-blue.
In the sunlight it shimmered softly, perfectly matching the subtle chill that seemed to linger around her.
She was Ye Linger.
The youngest daughter of Ye Nantian, head of the Luoxing City branch of the Ye Family—and the laughingstock of the entire branch.
Born with the Nine Yin Absolute Meridian, she couldn't Cultivate; she might as well be trash.
At the moment Ye Linger held an ordinary book of poems, yet her eyes weren't on the pages.
Instead, she gazed through the half-open lattice window at the old tree in the courtyard, still stubbornly clinging to a few yellow leaves deep in autumn.
Her gaze was calm, but deep within it hid a trace of resentment—so faint she herself had nearly given up on it.
"Linger."
A gentle voice sounded outside the door.
Ye Linger came back to her senses, rose quickly, crossed the room, and opened the door.
Outside stood a refined middle-aged man whose brows were etched with worry—Ye Nantian.
"Father."
Ye Linger greeted him softly and stepped aside.
Ye Nantian entered his daughter's chamber, his eyes sweeping over the books on the table.
Then he noticed the thin dress she wore, and his heart ached.
"The weather's turned cold; why haven't you dressed more warmly? Your body is already…"
Halfway through, Ye Nantian swallowed the words.
The Nine Yin Absolute Meridian not only barred Cultivation but also left the body weaker than ordinary people's.
"I'm not cold, Father."
Ye Linger smiled faintly; the soft curve of her lips seemed able to soothe the heart.
"What brings you here today?"
Ye Nantian sat at the table and sighed.
"The main Family… sent word."
Ye Linger's delicate frame quivered almost imperceptibly; she lowered her lashes, casting faint shadows across her fair face.
"Is it… about the Clan Gathering?"
Every five years the Ye Family held a grand Clan Gathering.
All branch children of suitable age who met the cultivation standard could attend at the main Family.
Those who performed well would be noticed and given better resources and training.
For every branch, this was a heaven-sent opportunity.
But for Ye Linger… "Yes."
Ye Nantian's voice was hoarse.
"This time… you needn't go."
Though she had expected it, hearing the words from her father's mouth still felt like an invisible hand gripping her heart, her breath catching.
Needn't go.
Four simple words, spoken lightly, yet they shut her out of the Family's future entirely.
She wasn't even allowed to attend as a symbolic participant.
"Your eldest uncle and the others…"
Anger flashed across Ye Nantian's face, only to sink into helplessness.
"They said the main Family will have many honored guests, and you…"
"With your special Physique, your presence might invite gossip and disgrace the Ye name."
"So… they want you to rest in Luoxing City."
Rest?
A bitter smile tugged at Ye Linger's lips.
They simply found this "good-for-nothing" an eyesore, afraid she would mar the Ye Family's reputation for producing Geniuses.
"I understand, Father."
Ye Linger lifted her head, the same soft smile on her face, as if it didn't matter.
"It's fine; I've never liked crowds. Staying in Luoxing City suits me."
The more sensible she was, the worse Ye Nantian felt.
His daughter had been bright and kind since childhood; if not for this cursed Nine Yin Absolute Meridian… "Linger…"
Ye Nantian's voice choked.
"Your father is useless… I've searched every connection, tried every cure… and still can't heal you…"
"Father, don't say that."
Ye Linger clasped his trembling hand, her icy fingertips offering comfort.
"I've accepted it. If I can't Cultivate, it doesn't mean I can't be happy."
"I can read, paint, stay with you and Mother to show filial piety… that's enough."
She spoke words she barely believed herself to comfort him.
Deep inside, the yearning to Cultivate
lay like a spark beneath a glacier, never truly extinguished—only frozen by reality for too long.
After a few more words of comfort, Ye Nantian left, burdened by guilt and helplessness.
Ye Linger closed the door and sat alone by the window.
The forced smile faded, replaced by weariness and bewilderment.
She raised her hand and looked at her fair palm, as though ice lay beneath the skin.
She tried, as she had so often, to sense and guide the ever-present Spiritual Qi in the air.
Yet the result was the same as always.
The faint Spiritual Qi she inhaled vanished instantly, like water poured onto desert sand.
It could not be retained, refined, or used.
The Nine Yin Absolute Meridian was a bottomless funnel, severing every possibility of Cultivation.
"Why…"
she whispered, her voice almost inaudible in the silent room.
"Why me…"
"If I truly can't Cultivate, why was I born into a cultivation clan?"
"If I'm destined to be trash, then why…"
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