Chapter 002: Struck by Lightning, That's All

A strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, instantly alarming the entire Xuantian Sect.

Disciples and elders from the various peaks hurried out of their dwellings, eager to investigate the cause.

“Was that thunder from the Supreme Peak? Could it be that Martial Aunt Yan has advanced in her cultivation?”

“That doesn’t seem likely. Martial Aunt Yan is already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. If she were advancing, it would be to the late stage, and that shouldn’t attract heavenly lightning.”

“You can’t be sure of that! What if Martial Aunt Yan’s breakthrough skips the late stage altogether and directly enters the Spirit Severing phase? Don’t forget, she’s a mutated spirit root—her cultivation advances even when she’s sleeping. We can’t judge her by common standards!”

“You have a point. After all, Martial Aunt Yan isn’t just a mutated spirit root—she was born with a Dao Embryo. Even if she advances across realms, it’s not impossible.”

“But… is the heavenly lightning for the Spirit Severing phase really so slight?”

“If it’s not Martial Aunt Yan, it can’t be that useless spirit root, Xiao Jihan, can it? Besides, he only just built his foundation not long ago. With his spirit root, he’d need to cultivate for over a hundred years just to reach Core Formation!”

“So it’s not this, nor that—how did this heavenly lightning appear then?”

As everyone speculated and debated the origin of the heavenly lightning, Yan Shu—her face smudged with ash and even emitting a trace of black smoke—received several communication talismans from her senior brothers.

She quickly cast a dust-repelling spell on herself, tidied her hair into something less wild, and then activated the Mystic Spirit Mirror.

Five images unfolded across the surface of the mirror, revealing four different faces. Seeing Yan Shu’s slightly disheveled appearance, they all paused in surprise, then asked in unison, “Junior Sister, what happened to you?”

“Oh, nothing. Struck by lightning,” Yan Shu replied indifferently. “What brings all four of my senior brothers to contact me at once?”

Her coldness was nothing new to them. Their little junior sister was unlike ordinary people—a celestial phenomenon marked her birth, and the moment she touched the earth, their master had taken her in as a personal disciple, bringing her back to Xuantian Sect for personal guidance.

At that time, even the youngest of the four senior brothers was already several centuries old. To them, Yan Shu was not only their one and only junior sister, but also a child they’d helped raise themselves.

Now that their master had fallen, they cherished her even more. Though they each presided over different peaks, the moment they saw an anomaly above the Supreme Peak, all four reached out to her at once.

Seeing that she was unharmed, Eldest Senior Brother Wen Youhe spoke first. “Junior Sister, why did heavenly lightning suddenly descend without warning?”

“It’s nothing,” Yan Shu replied with a straight face, fabricating a story. “I have just expelled my heart demon, which triggered the lightning.”

At this, the four faces in the mirror all froze. Lightning when expelling a heart demon? They had never heard of such a thing.

But that didn’t matter—what mattered was that their junior sister’s heart demon, which had plagued her for years, was finally gone!

All four let out sighs of relief, smiles appearing on their faces. Second Senior Brother Bing Shien even sighed wistfully, “If only Master were here to see this day…”

At his words, the group fell silent.

Yan Shu, too, felt a weight in her heart. To suppress the original soul’s heart demon, the sect master had expended his own cultivation, leading to his untimely demise. It was because of this that the original soul became obsessed with suppressing her heart demon, ultimately going astray.

“Enough. Junior Sister’s success in expelling her heart demon is something to celebrate. There’s no need to dwell on other matters,” Wen Youhe broke the silence. He looked at Yan Shu and said, “You must be tired, Junior Sister. Get some rest.”

“Mm.” Yan Shu agreed, but as she was about to end the call, she suddenly remembered something.

She cleared her throat and looked at the four faces in the mirror. “Senior brothers, I was recently able to comprehend the Dao and expel my heart demon because I discovered a unique cultivation method called ‘Guiding Lightning Into the Body.’ If you see lightning in the future, don’t be alarmed.”

She had promised Xiao Jihan not to take his heart blood anymore, which meant the plot was bound to change. If lightning struck in the future, she’d have no plausible excuse. It was better to warn them now and avoid trouble later.

Her words left the four senior brothers bewildered. What kind of cultivation method required being struck by lightning at random?

Nevertheless, their trust in Yan Shu was absolute. Even if it sounded implausible, they quickly accepted it.

Third Senior Brother Liu Zhiqing asked with concern, “This Guiding Lightning Into the Body method—will it harm your body?”

“It won’t,” Yan Shu replied with utmost seriousness. “Don’t forget, my spirit root is a mutated lightning attribute. A little feeble heavenly—”

Boom.

As if dissatisfied with being called feeble, the sky overhead rumbled again.

Yan Shu swallowed nervously. “Although the lightning is strong, my spirit root is inherently attuned to it. So, it’s really nothing serious for me.”

Seeing that she was unharmed and had expelled her heart demon, the four senior brothers finally let go of their worries. They advised her to rest well and not to rush her cultivation, then severed the connection.

Yan Shu put the Mystic Spirit Mirror back into her mustard seed pouch, picked up her life-bound flying sword, and looked at its blackened blade with a sigh. “Old friend, I got you into trouble today.”

The sword seemed to understand, vibrating slightly and letting out a low hum.

Yan Shu smiled, cleaned the sword with a dust-repelling spell, stored it away, and then trudged wearily back to her room. While the lightning hadn’t harmed her, the tingling aftereffects of being struck by a hundred thousand volts were more than enough for her to handle.

From another nearby room, Xiao Jihan watched her from the window, frowning.

Could it be that, in the dungeon earlier, she hadn’t been deliberately provoking him, nor pretending she couldn’t break the black iron chains, but had truly expelled her heart demon?

Yet, as soon as the thought arose, he dismissed it.

Impossible!

This woman was vicious to the core. If not for that cold and compassionate expression on her face back then, which had deceived him into thinking she truly held goodwill toward him, he would never have endured a year of such heart-rending agony!

As her graceful figure disappeared from his sight, Xiao Jihan’s phoenix eyes grew colder still.

Yan Shu, even if you are a mutated spirit root born with a Dao Embryo, the agony of having your heart's blood torn from you—one day, you will pay for it in blood!

“How strange… By rights, I should be impervious to heat and cold. Why does my back feel chilly all of a sudden?”

Yan Shu rubbed her arms, climbed onto her bed, wrapped herself in the quilt, and sat there sighing.

Alas…

Though the original soul had reached mid-Nascent Soul, she only retained the memories—not the full power. At best, she was at mid-Core Formation now.

She was no match for Xiao Jihan. Even if she were, she couldn’t escape; she’d just been struck by lightning for trying to run. If she tried to kill him, wouldn’t heaven simply obliterate her on the spot?

She couldn’t fight him, nor could she flee. Even the plot wouldn’t allow her to change her fate. Was she really supposed to just sit and wait for death?

No, she had to find a way to preserve the life she’d so painstakingly gained!

Sitting on her bed, Yan Shu racked her brains—and then, suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her!