Chapter 71: The Male Protagonist with Dual Spiritual Veins
Yi Tianling’s breakthrough was earth-shattering, with thunderbolts crashing down one after another.
Ning Xianyu thought to herself that if she were standing beneath those heavenly thunders, she would have been blasted to ashes long ago.
Yet Yi Tianling had already risen to his feet, gripping his treasured sword and confronting the lightning head-on.
Ning Xianyu remarked, “Isn’t holding a sword against the heavenly thunder just asking to be struck even worse?”
Metal conducts electricity, after all—what sense did it make to face the lightning with a sword in hand?
Xuan Yuan Tunhan shot her a glance, and she dared not speak further.
Perhaps he had some unique method; the man still looked vigorous and unfazed.
She counted silently. When the great demon had assisted her in advancing, she had been struck by thirty-six bolts of heavenly lightning. By that logic, Yi Tianling, having a similar situation, should have faced the same.
However, after every nine bolts, an additional black lightning would appear.
Ning Xianyu had never imagined that thunder could come in black.
“Ancestor, what is that?”
Why was his situation different from hers?
Xuan Yuan Tunhan frowned. “Because he has dual spiritual meridians.”
Ning Xianyu did not understand what that meant.
Xuan Yuan Tunhan, for once, offered an explanation. “Most people have only one set of spiritual meridians in their bodies, but he has two. Thus, when he forms his Golden Core or Nascent Soul, there will be two as well.”
Ning Xianyu considered this, then said enviously, “Doesn’t that mean he’ll have an extra Golden Core and an extra Nascent Soul compared to others?”
Double the spiritual power—how formidable!
It was like other cars had only one engine, but he had two.
Even the great demon only had one set of spiritual meridians and one Nascent Soul—not as remarkable as Yi Tianling.
No wonder he was the protagonist.
But Xuan Yuan Tunhan said, “Even so, his cultivation is slower and more exhausting, and he is more prone to inner demons and the risk of losing control.”
Cultivating one set of spiritual meridians was already difficult—few truly succeeded, let alone with two.
Ning Xianyu thought, but he’s the protagonist, with his own special advantages—what’s there to fear?
Xuan Yuan Tunhan’s expression grew grim.
He did not envy Yi Tianling’s talent.
Over his hundreds of thousands of years on the immortal path, he had seen countless prodigies, all of whom eventually fell.
In the long history of cultivation, only those who laugh in the end are true winners.
If Yi Tianling truly was the so-called protagonist, Xuan Yuan Tunhan did not mind if he acted a little out of the ordinary.
Perhaps the twist of fate lay in him.
When the last of the heavenly thunderbolts struck, Yi Tianling remained standing in place for a long time, the spiritual energy around him still surging violently.
He stood there for an entire day, until Ning Xianyu, bored and sleepy from waiting, was yanked awake by the great demon.
“No sleeping. Watch closely, observe carefully, see how he cultivates—this will benefit you.”
Ning Xianyu was utterly frustrated. “But I don’t understand what I’m looking at.”
She was clueless—the fact that she’d reached the Qi Refining stage was pure luck, all thanks to the great demon acting as her cheat.
Now, to suddenly make her learn something so profound—how could she possibly grasp it?
Xuan Yuan Tunhan forced her to try, placing his hand on her head and guiding her to see through his own eyes.
What Ning Xianyu saw now was what he saw: the previously colorless air had turned golden, countless points of light streaming toward Yi Tianling, surging into his dantian, then flowing into his limbs and internal organs.
Then, in Yi Tianling’s abdomen, there seemed to be two radiant little figures. From a vague and illusory state, they gradually became solid and distinct.
“Hey, one’s a boy and one’s a girl.”
Yi Tianling was impressive indeed—he’d formed a pair of Nascent Souls.
Xuan Yuan Tunhan hadn’t expected her focus to land there, and couldn’t help but ask, “How can you tell one is a boy and one is a girl?”
Ning Xianyu pointed out, “Look—one has a little thing, and one has a chest.”
Xuan Yuan Tunhan looked as well and saw she was right. But he quickly realized that, as a venerable ancestor, why was he discussing the gender of someone else’s Nascent Souls with this woman?
“For cultivators, there’s no real difference between male and female.”
“All right,” she agreed.
Ning Xianyu continued watching for a bit. She saw the two little figures in Yi Tianling’s abdomen turn into lively children, bouncing about.
Gradually, the surrounding spiritual energy settled down. The air was no longer dazzling with golden light—though some still shimmered, it was only occasional.
All the spiritual power Yi Tianling had drawn forcibly now returned to its original place, and tranquility was restored.
Xuan Yuan Tunhan released her head. “Did you understand?”
“Huh?”
What did he mean, did she understand?
Was she supposed to do homework now?
Ning Xianyu glanced at him cautiously, as though facing the head disciplinarian.
“I watched... I saw...”
But she hadn’t understood at all.
She truly had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for.
Xuan Yuan Tunhan was about to scold her out of frustration when Yi Tianling approached, rescuing Ning Xianyu just in time.
“Elders, you’re still here?”
He walked over, clearly quite different from before; in just over half a month, he had ascended from a Golden Core cultivator to the Nascent Soul stage—his power had soared.
Ning Xianyu offered her congratulations, studying him anew, feeling he seemed steadier than before.
Yi Tianling cupped his hands to the two of them. “It was you two who saved me, wasn’t it? Thank you.”
Xuan Yuan Tunhan said nothing, so Ning Xianyu replied in his stead.
“No need to thank us.”
But Yi Tianling suddenly changed the subject, his tone turning angry. “Senior Xuan Yuan, when you needed nine branches of Ephemeral Lotus to neutralize poison, I handed them over without hesitation, believing you were a man of honor and righteousness.”
Xuan Yuan Tunhan showed not the slightest reaction, entirely unconcerned.
But Yi Tianling’s anger did not abate. “When the Demon Realm came to seize someone, you returned the Blood Source Stone—fine—but why did you let them take Akali away and not intervene?”
“You knew perfectly well what fate awaited her—why could you just stand by and watch her fall into the abyss?”
He was furious, and with a wave of his hand, struck a deep crater into a distant mountainside.
Ning Xianyu glanced at the crater, thinking the snow in this region had truly suffered—a miserable half month, tormented by them all.
As for Yi Tianling, well, he certainly lived up to his role as the protagonist: bold enough to stand up to the great demon head-on—impressive, courageous, remarkable.
Ning Xianyu retreated tactically to leave space for their confrontation.
Xuan Yuan Tunhan merely looked at Yi Tianling with icy disdain. “Do you really believe the safety of the entire continent is less important than a single woman? Or do you think your feelings can resolve the Demon Realm’s crisis of tens of thousands of years?”
In the face of the continent’s fate, what did one woman’s freedom matter?
“Since she’s accepted the Demon Realm’s offerings, she must fulfill her duty—nothing more.”
His words were curt and cold, but Yi Tianling could not accept them.
“She never chose to receive those offerings—she should have the freedom to choose! Didn’t you snatch her away for your own motives?”
“If you care so much about the safety of the continent and the Demon Realm’s people, with your immense power, why haven’t you dealt with that demon beast yourself?”
Doing nothing but lecturing others—what kind of ability is that?
But before he could finish, Xuan Yuan Tunhan suddenly pointed to the side. In an instant, the peak of a distant snowy mountain vanished, revealing bare stone beneath.
He said coldly, “How do you know I haven’t tried?”
His hand trembled slightly, revealing black markings winding across his arm.