Chapter 23 Unprovoked Provocation

• On Jiugong Peak, Tan Xuan sat cross-legged beneath the ancient pine, its roots twisting like coiled dragons beneath him. The waterfall behind him thundered, but his mind was a void—only the pulse of his cultivation remained, a drumbeat in his veins. Three months of refining the *Divine Wind Golden Chapter* had turned his meridians into channels of liquid light, each breath pulling azure motes from the air, which coalesced into a shimmering vortex around his head. "Finally," Feng Lingzi's voice rasped in his mind, "I thought you'd sit there until your butt grew roots." The old spirit hovered nearby, spectral hands rubbing together. "Now, focus on the Ninth Stratum barrier—imagine it as a silk screen blocking your path." Tan Xuan ignored the banter, eyes closed. He visualized the barrier: a thin, iridescent membrane stretched across his dantian. For weeks, his spiritual energy had lapped at it like waves, but now he gathered every ounce of power. The azure vortex above him spun faster, its light deepening to a cobalt blue flecked with blood-red sparks—echoes of the True Demon Blood in his heart. "Now! Strike!" Feng Lingzi shouted. Tan Xuan exhaled sharply. His dantian exploded with energy, sending a torrent of cobalt light through his meridians. The barrier trembled, its surface rippling like water. Pain flared in his limbs—like tiny needles piercing every pore—but he gritted his teeth, recalling the weakness of his past life. *No more*, he thought, *no more being the weak one*. The cobalt light burst from his eyes, ears, and nostrils, forming a halo that turned the pine's needles sapphire. His skin began to glow, revealing intricate wind runes beneath the surface, each one pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The waterfall behind him seemed to pause, its droplets hanging mid-air as if frozen by the intensity of his aura. "Push through, boy!" Feng Lingzi's voice was urgent. "Feel that? That's the barrier cracking!" Tan Xuan's muscles tensed, veins bulging like cords. He felt the barrier give way—a sensation like tearing wet paper. Cobalt light erupted from his body, blasting the pine needles into the air. The vortex above him collapsed, pouring into his crown, and he gasped as his dantian expanded, filling with a power he'd never known. For a moment, he saw visions: his old body lying in a hospital bed, the Fire Cloud Sect's brand searing his neck, Lan Ziyan's oceanic might decimating Yin Jiuxie. Then it all faded, replaced by a profound calm. He opened his eyes, and twin beams of cobalt light shot into the sky, leaving smoking craters in the rock below. "Done," he whispered, voice hoarse. His skin had returned to normal, but his eyes retained a faint blue sheen. He flexed his hands, feeling energy thrum in every finger—energy that could shatter boulders, that made the air itself quiver. Feng Lingzi circled him, whistling. "Not bad, not bad... for a first timer. Now try not to blow up the peak when you test those muscles." Tan Xuan ignored him, staring at his palms. The Ninth Stratum—so close to Divine Repository. He could almost taste the power, almost see the path ahead. But beneath the triumph, a sliver of unease lingered. The blood-red sparks in the cobalt light... were they a sign of the True Demon Blood's influence? Shaking off the thought, he rose. The waterfall resumed its thunder, but everything felt different—sharper, more alive. "Next stop," he murmured, "Crackwind Valley." Feng Lingzi cackled, vanishing into the bronze scroll. "About time! I was starting to get bored watching you meditate."
• Tan Xuan smiled, feeling the Ninth Stratum energy course through him. The path ahead was dangerous, but for the first time, he didn't fear it. He welcomed it.t for the first time, he didn't fear it. He welcomed it.