Chapter 366 355: What in This World Can Be Eternal?

Nations rise and fall, and eras change. How could human hearts and feelings be any different?

"Foolish child, you've long understood. You just refuse to accept reality, constantly dragging yourself back into the past, wallowing in misery. If you still refuse to see it, then so be it. If a person won't save themselves, not even an Immortal can help!"

'If a person won't save themselves, not even an Immortal can help...'

These words echoed not just in Yan Hanzhang's ears, but deep within his heart.

His confusion, his pain, his wallowing, his resentment... along with the countless times he had given up on himself, the countless times he had teetered on the brink of despair... and the harrowing agony of forcibly pulling himself back—all of it finally converged in this moment, merging with his surging emotions to form a tidal wave.

The wave crashed and scoured, finally smashing through the fog of delusion in his heart.

BOOM!

His emotions poured forth, instantly becoming a torrential, thousand-mile river.

In that instant, his surging emotions stirred a certain star in the heavens and touched upon a mysterious, unseen power.

Unseen by any, a clear ray of light descended from the dark night sky.

The clear light streamed down, instantly enveloping the kneeling Yan Hanzhang.

All sound seemed to fade into the distance. An indescribable spirituality flowed within the clear light.

Still kneeling, Yan Hanzhang slowly raised his head and extended his hands.

As his palms received the light, countless words and images flowed through his mind.

The books he had read, the events he had experienced, the low points and highlights of his life, the pain, the nostalgia... and even the release he felt in this very moment.

Yan Hanzhang tilted his head back. A power surged from his newly opened Sea of Consciousness, combining with the strange Spiritual Light between heaven and earth. At last, in this very moment, the character 'Transformation' formed in his palms.

Celestial Spiritual Light!

After decades of study, now in his middle age, Yan Hanzhang—who had wasted half his life—had finally, on this cold autumn night, in this dilapidated house, in his most wretched state, received the Celestial Spiritual Light. He had generated Talent and become a true Scholar.

But that wasn't all for Yan Hanzhang, who had just experienced a sudden epiphany.

It seemed his years of accumulated experience were too profound. Bathed in the Spiritual Light, his emotions churned, and the wisp of light in his Sea of Consciousness grew from a subtle stir into a turbulent, surging font of Talent.

From a mere sliver, to half an inch, to a full inch!

One inch of Spiritual Light meant the Qi Nourishing Realm.

Kneeling on the floor, Yan Hanzhang seemed to be in a state between joy and sorrow, laughter and tears.

He laughed out loud, his voice like a mournful song. "The mortal world is transient, but the universe is constant. The foolish cling, while the wise let go. Divine Venerable, this disciple understands now! Hehehe, HAHAHAHA..."

He chuckled softly, but the sound still alerted his neighbor.

As the Talent in Yan Hanzhang's Sea of Consciousness grew from one inch to two, from two inches to three, and finally to a full foot, his door was slid open.

His next-door neighbor stood at the doorway, blurting out in a rough, hoarse voice, "Holy shit, son of a bitch! Yan Hanzhang, are you ascending?!"

The brilliant Spiritual Light illuminated the desolate, cold autumn night.

Far away, across space and time, Song Ciwan stood in the flower hall as a divine light rippled in her Sea of Consciousness.

The Heaven and Earth Scale materialized beside her, and she received another batch of power: [All things have a spirit and are worthy of belief. The Wish Power of a Qi Nourishing Realm Scholar. Value: Two pounds, one ounce. Redeemable.]

[All things have a spirit and are worthy of belief. The Wish Power of a Qi Nourishing Realm Scholar. Value: Three pounds, two ounces. Redeemable.]

[All things have a spirit and are worthy of belief. The Wish Power of a Vast Qi Realm Scholar. Value: Four pounds, three ounces. Redeemable.]

[All things have a spirit and are worthy of belief. The Wish Power of a Vast Qi Realm Scholar. Value: Five pounds, six ounces. Redeemable.]

In the end, Yan Hanzhang had become a Vast Qi Realm Scholar!

The Vast Qi Realm, if compared to Cultivators, was roughly equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Stage.

She recalled how the award-winning actor Wang Yi had deceived the heavens, the earth, and even himself. Even when his emotions had surged to their absolute peak, he had only managed to obtain a faint Spiritual Light and struggle his way into the Qi Nourishing Realm to become a true Scholar.

But now Yan Hanzhang, reaping the rewards of his long accumulation, had actually managed to enter the Vast Qi Realm in a single burst of Celestial Spiritual Light!

A foot of Talent—this was a realm that Wang Yi had diligently pursued for years but had never reached.

Of course, ten years had passed, and Song Ciwan had no idea if Wang Yi had since reached the Vast Qi Realm or perhaps an even higher level.

She wasn't too concerned about this now-obsolete cash cow.

She just felt a bit wistful. A Scholar's Spiritual Light was truly the most unpredictable thing in the world.

It was said that some Scholars, with a sudden epiphany, could even become an Instant Saint!

The historical records, for instance, mention the Saint of Investigation, who was a classic example of an Instant Saint.

Compared to that, someone like Yan Hanzhang naturally entering the Vast Qi Realm from a single instance of Celestial Spiritual Light didn't seem so extraordinary.

Then again, comparing anyone to a Saint was just plain unfair.

As Song Ciwan was reflecting on this, she first happily accepted a large amount of Wish Power from the Vast Qi Realm Scholar. Then, through that same mysterious, unseen connection, she saw several flashes of Magic light up from the center of Huailing City.

This was followed by peals of long laughter echoing from within the lights.

"Celestial Spiritual Light? Talent over a foot long? HAHAHA! To think my Huailing City has such a Talented Scholar! If that old bastard Chen finds out, will he still dare to laugh at Huailing City and call it a Talent wasteland?"

"Which Scholar is it? The one who received the Celestial Spiritual Light! Come out and meet me at once! I am the Huailing County Magistrate!"

As these voices drew closer, Song Ciwan, from her great distance, suddenly felt an immense pressure. A sharp pain stabbed at the divine presence in her Sea of Consciousness, and the Samadhi True Fire began to burn faintly, protecting her True Spirit and keeping it stable.

She felt a flicker of disorientation, and in that instant, her True Spirit, which had been wandering in a distant land, finally returned to her body.

All images from beyond her time and space vanished. Song Ciwan dazedly came back to her senses. When she looked again, the flower hall was still the flower hall, but the Third Princess, who had been lying on her side on the large bed giving birth, had at some point stopped.

Even more miraculously, where her lower body had previously been a swollen and enormous appendage, like the giant tail of a worm, Song Ciwan could now clearly see a pair of shapely human legs extending from beneath the Third Princess's dress.

The Third Princess had finished giving birth and had returned to a complete human form.

Song Ciwan turned her head and met the Eldest Princess's brilliant smile.

The Eldest Princess's voice was crisp and her smile was wide. "Little Sister Song," she said, "well? With those ten Golden Hawthorns in hand, what did you comprehend?"

A sudden realization dawned on Song Ciwan. The effect of the Golden Hawthorns was to enhance one's comprehension.

She looked down and saw that the ten Golden Hawthorns she was holding, which had once been gleaming with golden light, had now completely faded.

The ten round, golden spheres had now become ten dull, white ones.

At this, even without using the Heaven and Earth Scale to appraise them, Song Ciwan understood that these Golden Hawthorns were indeed extraordinary treasures.

Still, she was at a loss for words.

If she hadn't personally witnessed the... production process of the Golden Hawthorns, she would naturally have been delighted to receive a treasure that could so greatly enhance a Cultivator's comprehension.

But the origin of these Golden Hawthorns was simply too bizarre and grotesque. Holding the treasures in her hands, Song Ciwan was momentarily unsure what to do.

Of course, regardless of their origin, the Golden Hawthorns had ultimately helped Song Ciwan comprehend something truly incredible.

One had to respect the facts, and for that, Song Ciwan was grateful.

She paused for a moment before finally replying to the Eldest Princess, "I comprehended a little Space Magic. This item is truly wonderful. Thank you both for the gift."

With that, Song Ciwan transferred the ten faded Golden Hawthorns into her personal Storage Pouch.

Then, she cupped her hands and bowed in thanks to the Eldest and Third Princesses.

The reason she didn't put the used Golden Hawthorns into her Vast Sea Grotto Heaven or the Heaven and Earth Scale was mainly that she was still on guard against the Eldest and Third Princesses.

It was better to put them in the ordinary, unremarkable Storage Pouch for her own protection.

At the same time, her curiosity about the race and origins of these two only grew.