Chapter Fifty-Four: Divine Path Legacy

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Divine Path Legacy

Upon entering the tower, the interior proved to be anything but complicated. Rows of cabinets lined the walls, faintly exuding the scent of medicinal herbs. At the center stood a nearly three-meter-tall bronze furnace, which, despite the unknown passage of countless years, retained a gentle warmth—likely drawn from the earth below.

It was Dreamfox’s first time inside as well. She couldn’t help but look about with curiosity, trailing after Xia Zheng as he explored.

“Wow, Master, there’s a whole stash of dried Vitality Fruit here!” Dreamfox exclaimed in delight. Xia Zheng hurried over and discovered, to his surprise, that an entire large cabinet was indeed filled with dried Vitality Fruit—easily over a thousand pieces by rough estimate, a sudden windfall of ingredients.

They both excitedly rummaged through the cabinets. After a thorough inspection, they found that only about a tenth of the shelves still held any herbs—the rest were empty, evidence of ages of consumption. Even so, the remaining herbs formed a considerable stockpile, though Xia Zheng cared only for making Vitality Pills at the moment; the rest held no immediate interest.

Dreamfox wrote out the method for refining the Vitality Pill and handed it to him. He stared blankly at the ancient script. Fortunately, his grounding in classical texts was solid. After a week of study under Dreamfox’s guidance, he could now read and understand the writing, though composing it himself remained difficult.

The process for creating these pills relied heavily on the refiner’s spiritual sense, which controlled the release of medicinal power and the intensity of the flame. Too fierce, and the medicine would disperse in smoke; too weak, and the ingredients would be wasted.

Dreamfox offered her advice, passing on what knowledge she’d gleaned from her elders. The rest, however, Xia Zheng would have to grasp on his own.

Three days later, he began his first attempt. It failed swiftly, but he was undeterred. After reflecting on his mistakes, he tried again the next day—another failure. Still, he persisted, learning from each attempt.

Half a month passed. After using up nearly two hundred portions of dried fruit, he finally succeeded and produced a finished Vitality Pill. Swallowing one, he found his energy restored by more than half within ten seconds—this, when his spiritual power was nearly exhausted. The effect was remarkable.

Over the next two weeks, he refined all the remaining fruit, producing around five hundred pills in total—enough to last a long while if used sparingly.

He set aside a hundred pills for Dreamfox. She tried to refuse, but Xia Zheng insisted—after all, her contribution to this bounty was indispensable.

One day, while cultivating in his chamber, Xia Zheng was suddenly seized by longing. He realized he’d been away for four months; the New Year was approaching, and he missed home.

He found Dreamfox and said, “Yaoyao, I’ve been away too long. My parents are waiting for me. Why don’t you come with me this time? Some tasks remain unfinished, but we’ll have to put them aside. We’ll set out tomorrow.”

Dreamfox nodded happily and began gathering her things. In truth, the resources of this sanctuary were nearly depleted; nothing of value remained—no hidden treasures or secret caches. Even the herbs and Vitality Pills were a stroke of luck.

Most of the sanctuary’s stores had long since been used up by its previous master. The most valuable asset was likely the protective teleportation array—its immense power, Xia Zheng noticed, far surpassed anything Shen Hua could muster, which explained how it had safeguarded the place for so long.

The other resources had been consumed by the fox clan stationed here. Dreamfox told him her people had guarded this place for nearly ten thousand years—stretching back, almost, to the mythic age.

Now, as Xia Zheng wandered through the sanctuary, he took in its surroundings and relaxed—a stark contrast to the past month of feverish pill refining, during which he’d barely eaten or slept, relying on Dreamfox’s care.

At some point, he reached the end of the sanctuary, where a stone stele stood inscribed in ancient characters: "Cliff of No Return," warning all that the path ahead had come to its end.

“Return, return... Yet so often, we cannot turn back. Such is life, such is fate—ever onward, powerless to change its course,” Xia Zheng mused aloud. He recalled parting ways with his master Shen Hua, forging his own path, being courted by the Nalan family and resolutely refusing, then heading north for further training. It was as if some unseen force was propelling him forward, always just out of his control.

Then came the mysterious military officer at Black Ice Lake; the assassination attempts by the Black-marked Scorpion King and the enigmatic killer—all leading him here. Destiny seemed to shape the course of life, but how could one choose or alter fate? The notion was almost laughable.

At this thought, he glanced again at the stele and found himself strangely amused. Acting on impulse, he flicked a stone with his toe, guiding it with his spiritual power so that it shot out like a bullet and shattered the stele.

With a thunderous crack, the stele broke apart, and a cascade of profound ancient characters drifted out from the fragments, pouring into Xia Zheng’s mind. He stood transfixed, his eyes vacant.

“Heaven and earth are impartial, treating all things as straw dogs...”

“We cultivators defy the heavens with our every step...”

“The way of the divine is the way of intent—by steeling the heart and enduring hardship, nothing is impossible...”

“Heaven endures, cycling for ten thousand ages; with a single thought, one can shift yin and yang, grant life or death...”

The ancient characters echoed in his mind, arranging themselves into a scripture titled "The Divine Path"—not a technique, art, or method, but simply "Path," as if it encompassed all things in the universe.

When he returned to himself, he found his mind had gained a complete spiritual cultivation method from the ancient era, the legacy of a sect known as the “Divine Path Sect.”

“My master once told me she practiced the Spirit-Refining Sect’s teachings, and the Soul-Refining Art I obtained came from the Soul-Refining Sect. I’ve always suspected both sects shared a common ancestor—could this Divine Path Sect be their forebear?” Xia Zheng marveled at this unexpected windfall, though he’d only skimmed the text and already felt a resonance within him.

Just then, Dreamfox hurried over, anxious. “Master, what happened? I heard a loud crash from here.”

Xia Zheng pointed apologetically to the ruined stele. “I’m sorry, I broke it in a moment of anger.”

Dreamfox glanced at it, then giggled behind her hand. “This whole sanctuary belongs to you now, Master. What’s a stone stele compared to that?”

“Hmm?” Xia Zheng was momentarily stunned, then realized he was now the sanctuary’s new master. He smiled awkwardly, having not consciously thought of it as his own. It was like being an ordinary office worker who suddenly received a call to inherit billions—utterly unreal.

The next day, Xia Zheng and Dreamfox left the sanctuary together; this time, Dreamfox could swim out on her own.

Emerging from the water, Dreamfox was soaked, while Xia Zheng remained perfectly dry. She looked at him enviously, then realized his gaze had settled on her. Her drenched clothing clung to her slender figure, highlighting every enticing curve. She blushed and chided him shyly, “Master...”

Xia Zheng snapped out of it and walked away, embarrassed. Ever since his night with Shen Hua, he finally understood the allure of women; yet, faced with a pure and noble girl like Nalan Sheng, he’d always been restrained, mindful of her family and their connection.

The valley of this blessed sanctuary remained as tranquil as ever, as if time itself had stopped—eternally poised between spring and summer. Outside, winter raged with biting cold, but within, it was another world entirely.

After Dreamfox changed into a fresh, traditional outfit, Xia Zheng considered whether to give her modern clothes. With her figure and beauty, she could easily become an internet sensation.

“By the way, Master, you mentioned some incomplete tasks before—what kind are they?” Dreamfox asked, shouldering her bag.

Xia Zheng explained the four tasks he’d accepted. Only the “Hunt the Black-marked Scorpion King” mission was complete; the other three remained.

Dreamfox gave Xia Zheng a peculiar look, which puzzled him.

“Master, I don’t know this wanted criminal—Wadsworth, was it?—but I can help with the other two tasks,” Dreamfox explained.

“Really?” Xia Zheng was overjoyed, finding hope where he thought there was none. Gripping Dreamfox’s shoulders in excitement, he blurted, “Tell me—oh, sorry.” Seeing her wince, he quickly let go.

Dreamfox explained that she could help him find Fortune Grass for the collection task, and that the “Jueming Snow Fox” was tied to another mission.

“You’re saying the Jueming Snow Fox is with the Fei Beast?” Xia Zheng asked, surprised.

Dreamfox nodded. “The Jueming Snow Fox is still a beast, but it’s innately intelligent. Its flesh and blood are treasures; consuming it grants wisdom and advances cultivation, making it the target of many beasts and cultivators. To protect itself, the Snow Fox sought out the Fei Beast, which, for some reason, allows it to stay. The two have been inseparable ever since, and hunters seeking the Snow Fox have perished in droves, never succeeding.”

So that’s how it was—making the task seem even harder to complete.

“Don’t be disheartened, Master. The Fei Beast is immortal, but every ten years it undergoes a three-day rebirth. If you hunt the Snow Fox during that window, you’ll have a chance,” Dreamfox encouraged him.

With this, Xia Zheng regained his confidence and asked for more details. It turned out Dreamfox often left the sanctuary to forage or seek opportunities. She’d seen the Snow Fox and Fei Beast together—and was the only one who knew about the Fei Beast’s cycle of death and rebirth.

After discussing their plan, Xia Zheng unfurled his spiritual wings, scooped up Dreamfox, and soared from the sanctuary into the icy world outside, heading for their next destination.

As she experienced flight for the first time, Dreamfox felt all the more proud and delighted in her master’s extraordinary abilities.