Volume 3 - Chapter 419: Sculpting the True Meaning, Shi Miao Awakens (Part 5)
After returning from the lakeside pavilion, Su Muqing began to subtly keep watch for any sign of Li Hao’s return. But as the days stretched on and he remained absent, her attention slowly refocused entirely on cultivation.
The encounters with those demonic prodigies had shaken her deeply—whether it was the crimson-bearded one from the Spiritblood Clan, or the later confrontation with Meng Qing. But above all, the one who had left the deepest mark was the bearer of the Dao-Origin Immortal Seal—Hei Ji. Even Lin Zhexuan had been no match for her. For the first time in her life, Su Muqing had seen a genius more monstrous than her elder brother Lin Zhexuan.
That pressure pushed her into an obsessive state of cultivation.
In that battle where she had resolved to die, she had planned to activate the forbidden power lying dormant within her.
Now, as her cultivation deepened, she could feel that power more clearly than ever. It was no illusion—it truly existed.
And yet… she had a nagging sense. If she were to fully unleash that power, she might face unimaginable danger.
But in this seclusion, a new thought emerged: What if she could draw it out—refine it, master it?
She resolved to approach it cautiously, like unraveling a thread, slowly guiding the power to the surface, bit by bit.
As her awareness sank deeper, probing that slumbering force, she began to sense an indescribably terrifying presence. It was like a mighty river flowing across eons, being drawn into her body from some remote distance.
And that river—was none other than the most mysterious flow in the True World: the River of Time.
Even a single ripple from that river could drown countless prodigies.
Yet that very current now seemed to extend into her being, surging with an unfathomable power.
The deeper she probed, the more Su Muqing trembled. If she could master it… she felt she could become invincible within the Immortal Lord Realm!
Time… she had always possessed an extraordinary sensitivity and affinity for it. Otherwise, she would never have reached the seventh level of the Time Origin.
But the temporal aura within her now far surpassed anything she had ever grasped—deeper, vaster, older.
As she continued her inward exploration, she suddenly felt a voice from the depths of that power—a call, distant and indistinct.
It echoed across the River of Time, across all space and distance. A whisper, nearly inaudible.
She held her breath, enfolding her consciousness with the full might of her seventh-level Time Origin comprehension. She focused completely on that voice, inching closer to both the power and the message it carried.
Gradually… she could just barely make out a name.
“…Hao… Tian…”
At that moment, Su Muqing froze.
A chill ran down her spine. It was like a nightmare.
Was it an illusion? Was her mind confused?
Why, from the depths of her soul, would she be calling out to him?
People say dreams arise from thoughts lingering in the day—but she… how could she…
As soon as she heard it, the voice vanished, like a mirage.
Her emotions churned, but she quickly forced herself to suppress them.
She and Lin Zhexuan had become top-tier geniuses not just through talent, but through the strength of their focus. They had always prioritized cultivation above all else. Personal feelings could be pushed aside.
She pressed forward, moving closer to that mysterious force.
And soon, she saw it—a radiant, transparent sphere, enveloped in a shimmering halo of multicolored mist.
It looked like a giant fruit, lustrous and beautiful, with time essence flowing across its surface in a dazzling cascade.
But within that radiance, Su Muqing saw something shocking.
There was a figure inside the fruit.
A hazy humanoid shape, curled up as if still in a mother’s womb.
Its silhouette was graceful, refined…
Her heart trembled.
How could this be the form of the force within her?
She tried to draw nearer, but a mysterious power blocked her path.
It was time itself.
That force, though within her, did not exist in her current present. It was embedded in another timeline—one coiled inside her.
If she wanted to access it—control it—she had to drag it into the current moment.
Su Muqing summoned all her strength.
She gathered the full comprehension of her seventh-level Time Origin and condensed it into a razor-sharp temporal blade. With a burst of will, she struck—severing the invisible barrier.
Suddenly, the time essence surrounding the fruit froze.
Then, in the next breath, the radiant fruit surged toward her.
In her perception, it swelled, drawing closer and closer—until it hung directly before her.
And then she saw it clearly.
The slumbering figure inside…
It wasn’t an illusion.
It was real.
And its face… was identical to her own.
Her mind reeled.
That sleeping presence inside her body—how could it look exactly like her?
As she stared in shock, the figure within the fruit slowly opened its eyes and looked at her.
Their gazes met.
In that instant, time and space spun. The threads of past and future tangled in a single moment.
As the vessel, Su Muqing’s memories flooded into the fruit.
And on its glowing surface, a crack suddenly appeared.
A wave of vast, overwhelming power leaked out from within.
…
In the courtyard, Nanny Wu brought Li Hao a pot of tea. He sipped as he quietly placed a chess piece on the board.
Suddenly, a long-lost, familiar aura burst forth—like something hatching.
It came from within the hall before him.
Mid-move, Li Hao froze, struck by lightning.
He snapped his head up, eyes widening, body surging to its feet.
His gaze locked onto the tightly shut doors.
…
At the same moment, deep within the Su family’s ancestral land—
Upon the peach-blossom-covered hills, Su Jiuzhe paused in his drinking.
The wine flask halted midair.
His gaze swept sideways, as though piercing countless petals and vast distance to glimpse the scene unfolding within that distant palace.
“She’s awakened… has she?”
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