333: Chapter 333 Fairy Qingyun

Linghe Realm.

This is a vast, boundless fantasy world, so expansive that even the divine sense of an immortal cannot reach its end.

And at the center of this great world,

there lies a mighty celestial river that has traversed the ages of antiquity, with an origin unknown and a destination unseen.

It is named the "Spirit River."

The Spirit River is the only source of vitality in this land, the origin of spiritual energy for the entire Linghe Realm, and the absolute lifeline for the evolution of all things.

In the entire Linghe Realm, life exists only along the banks of the Spirit River.

The remaining areas

are desolate, silent, dead lands without a single trace of life.

The Spirit River is like a brilliant galaxy stretching across the cosmic starry sky,

dividing the entire Linghe Realm into two.

Its waters pour down from the heavens, branching and winding as they flow downstream,

nurturing the myriad lights and countless cultivation sects on both banks.

In the Linghe Realm, there exists an extremely strict and inviolable iron law.

The further one goes downstream, the thinner the essence of heaven and earth within the Spirit River becomes, and naturally, the spiritual energy in the air becomes thinner as well.

By the time it reaches the final branches, the spiritual energy there has withered to the extreme.

Those living there

are all ordinary mortals subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death, with lifespans of no more than a hundred years.

But if one travels upstream to the very source of the Spirit River,

one finds a forbidden land perpetually shrouded in nine-colored celestial light and chaotic currents.

Crouching there

are the top ancient sects that dictate the rise and fall of the entire Linghe Realm,

and immortal holy lands that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years.

The Qingxuan Sect

is one of the top sects at the source of the Spirit River, occupying the most core waters.

...

Within the Qingxuan Sect, atop Luoxia Peak where the Sect Master resides,

which serves as the forbidden area with the most concentrated spiritual energy in the entire sect,

normally, apart from the Sect Master and his daughter, the Holy Maiden Qingyun,

anyone who dares to step even half a step inside will be ground into dust by the mountain-protecting formation.

Inside an antique and luxurious bedchamber,

on the cloud bed of the chamber, a breathtakingly beautiful woman was lying quietly.

She wore a thin, plain white gauze dress, and her three thousand strands of dark hair were scattered like a waterfall across the jade pillow.

Her skin was whiter than snow, and her features were so exquisite that they seemed like the heavens' most perfect masterpiece.

Between her brows, she carried an air of cold, aloof, and otherworldly immortality.

This woman was the peerless genius who was famous throughout the source of the Linghe Realm and revered by countless talented prodigies as their dream goddess.

Fairy Qingyun of the Qingxuan Sect.

At only one hundred and twenty-six years old, her cultivation had already broken through to the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Although the terrifying spiritual energy at the source of the Spirit River played a part,

there is no doubt that this fairy's talent was also astonishing.

However, at this moment, this Fairy Qingyun, who was usually high and mighty, with sword energy that could stir the nine heavens,

was lying stiffly on the bed like a puppet that had lost its soul, unable to move a muscle.

Her mute acupoint had been tightly sealed, and she could only use those clear eyes to stare fixedly at the familiar yet strange man beside the bed.

Her eyes were filled with shock and despair that could not be described in words.

Beside the bed stood a middle-aged man wearing a dark green cloud-patterned Daoist robe, his aura extremely profound.

His face was gaunt, and he wore a three-strand long beard under his chin.

His face, which commanded respect without anger, revealed the majesty of someone who had held the power of life and death for many years.

This man was none other than the current helmsman of the Qingxuan Sect, and also the biological father of Fairy Qingyun.

Sect Master Qingxuan.

But at this moment,

this Sect Master, who usually spoke of benevolence and morality, and kept "The Great Dao is ruthless; protect the common people" on his lips,

had completely changed into a different person.

In his hand, he was holding a jade box.

Inside the jade box was a large piece of dark red ointment.

Throughout the great hall, a fishy, sweet scent that made one's soul tremble was spreading.

Sect Master Qingxuan expressionlessly extended two fingers and scooped up a dab of the dark red ointment.

Then, with gentle movements, he applied the ointment bit by bit onto his own biological daughter's fair and delicate skin.

As soon as the ointment touched Fairy Qingyun's skin, it acted like a living thing, rapidly merging into her bloodline.

Although it left no traces,

judging from Fairy Qingyun's reaction,

the feeling of this thing entering her body was definitely not pleasant.

Because, as the ointment was continuously applied, unbearable pain welled up in Fairy Qingyun's originally cold eyes.

A crystal-clear tear slid from the corner of her eye and smashed onto the jade pillow,

shattering into a thousand pieces.

Fairy Qingyun did not make a sound.

Because she could not make any sound at all.

But the resentment and disbelief pouring out from her eyes

were enough to move anyone with a heart of stone.

Of course, except for Sect Master Qingxuan.

He just looked at his biological daughter coldly and continued to smear large chunks of ointment onto her delicate body.

She did not understand.

Why the father who had regarded her as the apple of his eye since she was a child and had carefully taught her to cultivate

would suddenly put the "Nine Nether Tendon-Softening Powder" in her tea to seal her cultivation,

and then imprison her here, smearing this ointment, which was clearly from a heterodox path, all over her body.

"Yun'er, do not blame your father for being heartless."

Sect Master Qingxuan noticed his daughter's gaze.

He finished applying the last bit of ointment, tossed the jade box onto the floor, and slowly stood up straight.

With his hands behind his back, he looked down at his own flesh and blood on the bed

and said,

"You also know that your father has been stuck at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm for a full fifteen hundred years."

Sect Master Qingxuan looked up at the dome of the bedchamber, which was carved with the stars of the heavens, and sighed heavily.

"Legend has it that the civilization of the Linghe Realm is constantly reincarnating."

"When a civilization is first born, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is at its most concentrated, and the water level of the Spirit River is at its highest."

"Thereafter, for every inch the water level of the Spirit River drops, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth becomes one part thinner."

"If the Spirit River were to dry up, this cycle of civilization would come to a complete end."

"Although I do not know if this legend is true or false, from the time your father was born until now, the water level of the Spirit River has dropped by a full six zhang, and this is still in the Qingxuan Sect, the source region."

"The spiritual energy has also become much thinner."

"Fifteen hundred years."

"Even though your father is exceptionally talented, and even though my Qingxuan Sect possesses the most core blessed land at the source of the Spirit River,"

"just because I was born at the wrong time, that legendary Mahayana Realm has always been like flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water—visible but unattainable."

"Your father's lifespan is coming to an end."

"If I cannot break through, within a hundred years, your father will surely face the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and turn into a handful of soil in this world."

He suddenly lowered his head, his eyes reddened as he stared at Fairy Qingyun.

"The Mahayana Realm."

"As long as I step into the Mahayana Realm, I can choose to ascend to the upper realm at any time and share the same lifespan as heaven and earth."

"Given that there is currently no one in the entire Linghe Realm in the Mahayana Realm, my Qingxuan Sect will completely stand above all other holy lands and become the sole supreme power of this Linghe Realm."