The entire process suddenly accelerated on its own initiative, leaving the young girl behind in a mindless haze.
The moment the spiritual essence gathered within the Bingfeng and Tianzong acupuncture points, An Fei had lost control.
By the time she had regained consciousness and her mind had recovered from its shock, the girl squinted her eyes to find a lotus petal of light hovering before her.
…it would be more apt to call it a blade of light than an actual lotus petal.
A snow-white blade in the form of a leaf remained stationary in the air before her. The blade lacked a handle or even a tang, the handleguard hovering level to her chest.
The entire structure appeared corporeal, yet real at the same time.
The blade was flickering with flecks of orange and cyan lights that raced along its length, and An Fei had the premonition that if she tapped it with her finger, it would instantly fall apart. The young girl frowned as she continued to inspect the shimmering blade with an inquisitive gaze, a conjecture slowly forming in her mind.
The blade… it seemed to be shimmering at a rhythmic pace….
Because of the muted, unearthly lights of orange and cyan distorting the exact appearance of the blade, it took An Fei several moments to realize.
However, now that she had adjusted her mind to the idea, the girl could indeed notice and observe that the blade flickered at a pace that was orderly and stable, but not constant.
It seemed to be following her heartbeat…
“But… a blade?” the girl mused, restraining the urge to tap the structure with her finger.
“Wasn’t the <Golden Lotus of Establishment>, by its nature, supposed to produce a lotus petal?”
It was indeed odd, for the result to have diverged by such a margin from An Fei’s expectations.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that the girl had cruelly stripped away the necessary mnemonics and phrases from the cultivation technique, but instead of a calm and placid lotus petal, the blade before her was revealing a faint aura of oppression and malice.
…did she mention that it was at the same time, exceptionally dull?
Releasing a fierce aura, but unable to deliver any tangible harm or serve its purpose. The discovery that the blade of light completely lacked both the edge line or even the edge itself was sufficient to cause the girl to wish to cry and laugh.
With this, perhaps she could blunt a person to death?
“Whatever, not like I want to become battle-crazed,” An Fei sighed, slumping onto the ground with a mixed sensation of exhaustion and exasperation.
The girl frowned at the stack of paper placed onto the drawing table, her eyes reflecting a meshed sea of thoughts.
“How am I supposed to even use this? The <Golden Lotus of Establishment> and this illegitimate child hovering in the air…”
An Fei released a huff of air, her mind flowing into overdrive as the girl attempted to recall yesterday’s readings of the <Eternal Sanctum>.
The <Golden Lotus of Establishment> was a technique designed for spiritual cultivation and martial arts. Thus, almost anything in regards to the technique had an almost certainty of association with spiritual qi.
Spiritual qi… the breath of nature that permeated the atmosphere and every naturally formed existence in the earth. Spiritual qi breathed life into certain existences, and engendered a certain level of sentience.
Cultivators practicing mortal cultivation assimilated the spiritual qi into their physical body, pressurizing and fusing spiritual qi into spiritual essence. Thus, as a natural byproduct, the practitioner themselves obtained a benefit.
Longevity, strength, agility, mental comprehension…
Spiritual essence was in its fundamental existence, propagated spiritual qi forced to compress into a denser existence.
Cultivation and martial arts utilized spiritual essence as the primary resource to their mind-dazzling ability to manipulate worldly phenomena to a certain limit… and spiritual essence, unlike spiritual qi, was obedient to the wishes of its host.
An Fei paused, her lips puckering up into a grim grimace.
In the end… everything had to do with spiritual essence. Then… controlling the size and shape of the rather large and useless blade before her… was it similarly possible?
“Come back!”
A young girl’s cry resounded within the Archives of Time, an invisible ripple expanding outwards from her feet. However, An Fei soon released a despondent sigh, her bottom lip finally pushing outwards into a fabulous pout.
“Come back, please?”
The blade continued to hover in the air, unresponsive to her calls, gestures, and even wishes.
The shimmering and useless weapon of destruction remained to silently cycle its unending stream of orange and blue, and the girl was ruthlessly tossed aside.
Five minutes of persistent wheedling couldn’t cause the blade of spiritual essence to budge, much less fifteen. If it weren’t for the frustration bubbling within her heart, An Fei would have burst out laughing at the comical sight.
A young girl shouting at an inanimate object to return to her side. If this wasn’t abnormal or concerning, what could it be?
Shaking her head, An Fei strode towards the exit of the platform, intending to console her slightly distraught self with a splendid meal.
The instant her bare heel pivoted on top of the crystalline floor, the dull blade moved.
Instead of an actual movement, it was akin to a feeble vibration; the same cry of a newborn. The dull intone was barely audible to the ear, and An Fei only turned around after noticing a streak of golden light.
The Sanctum was reacting once again.
The entire crystalline structure burst aglow with a brilliant and soothing baptism of golden light, illuminating the slumbering platform and reversing the slightly dim lighting.
As the golden light seeped into her skin, the young girl could clearly feel the pores in her body relax, greedily indulge in the light, and dispatch trembling vibrations of content and joy.
It was… quite the breathtaking experience, one that could not be described in words.
Her eyes threatening to close and dispatch her to dreamland, An Fei could only blearily make out her surroundings. However, the shimmering blade fixated her attention, washing away any intention of sleeping.
Under the baptism of the golden light, the useless blade of light finally obtained an edge. The rounded edge had narrowed into a deadly point on either side, the aura seeking death intensifying by the moment.
“This… come back?”
Swish!
This time, the blade immediately sliced through the air towards the girl the moment the words left her lips. Cowering back as she raised her arm in attempt to ward off the blow, An Fei lowered her arms after several moments, realizing that the blade had stopped before her, as if returning to its original position.
The young girl sighed.
“Forget eating food, I should probably settle this first…”
–
A young girl sat at the edge of the bed with her head lowered and swaying from side to side with a clumsy but irresistible rhythm. Her legs swung back and forth, presenting the epitome of laziness.
A small lotus petal flickered in and out of existence atop of her right palm. A faint snow-white radiance gently encapsulated the petal, preventing it from forcefully dissipating into the atmosphere, but similarly restrained its motions.
Her brows scrunched into a unhappy expression, the young girl couldn’t help but repeatedly sigh at the pitiful sight of the lotus petal.
In the Sanctum, it had happily appeared as the blade of a longsword, revealing an unstoppable, domineering might with an infinitesimally sharp edge.
Why was it that upon the moment she left to return to the study of the Flowing Wind Residence, the indomitable blade instantly shriveled into a wilted lotus petal?
…was this the suppression due to the atmospheric spiritual qi’s incompatibility with the spiritual qi obtained from the Sanctum?
…was this even fair?
“<Golden Lotus of Establishment>, <Golden Lotus of Establishment>…” An Fei wrinkled her nose in distaste after comparing the bold name of the technique and her ‘nearly shriveled’ lotus petal.
“Forget it, I should probably call mine the <Crippled Lotus of Establishment>. I’m pretty sure that anyone else who attempted cultivating in this technique would have obtained a significantly better result… not that it matters…”
Shaking her head, the young girl allowed her body to fall into the comfortable sheets, deliberately ignoring the fact that the Eldest Young Master was no more than a few meters away.
After all, this was her place and she hadn’t done anything wrong, so he shouldn’t have any reason to do anything other than sitting quietly in his chair, no?
Da!
Wei Xuan stormed into the study hall, his countenance utterly gloomy and nearing eruption. An aura of coldness and death reeked from his body, and some of the more delicate and intricate furniture began to display signs of corrosion.
“Father, you’re back?”
The quiet voice uttered from the depths of the study caused the minister to jerk backwards in surprise and guilt.
However, Wei Xuan quickly regained his composure, retracting his foul aura and speaking in a warm tone towards the speaker as he stepped forward to smack Wei Chang Feng awake.
