Chapter 5: Chapter 5 — Rebirth and Renewal

“Not much time left?” Fang Han’s mind was still wandering through the vast new world he’d just glimpsed—the outside world was far more magnificent than he’d ever imagined.

“Correct. I took Fang Qingxue’s Violet-Lightning Yin-Thunder Blade head-on. My life force has been cut off—I can only hold on for a short while longer. That Violet-Lightning Yin-Thunder Blade is one of the Eight Great Divine Abilities of the Yuhua Sect. It gathers lightning, true fire, and the essence of the five elements through one’s mana. Its destructive power is immense.”

Bai Haichan paused to catch his breath. “Just now, it was the power of the Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir that briefly woke me.”

“The Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir can restore your injuries?”
Fang Han’s eyes flickered.

“The Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir is the finest medicine in the world for solidifying one’s foundation and replenishing vitality. Had I taken it before my injury, I would’ve stepped into the Divine Ability Realm. But now it’s too late.”
Bai Haichan shook his head.

“Master, please accept your disciple’s bow.”

Fang Han didn’t hesitate. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed—this was the greatest opportunity of his life; only a fool would let it pass.

After watching him knock his head to the ground three times, Bai Haichan nodded.

“From now on, you are a disciple of our Myriad Stars Sect. The Myriad Stars Sect stands shoulder to shoulder with the Yuhua Sect among the Ten Great Immortal Sects. Your teacher is one of its disciples. This time, I obtained the Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir and the Dragon Lurking in the Yellow Springs Map by chance at Mount Huangquan. I was going to present them to the sect and become a true-transmission disciple.”

So that’s it… Fang Han thought. No wonder he didn’t just swallow the elixir himself. Present it to the sect and the reward is even greater. Looks like in the future, if I get a good thing, I should eat it right away instead of dreaming about future gains. Only what goes into my own belly truly belongs to me…

“Since Master is a disciple of the Myriad Stars Sect, why not just have me deliver the elixir and map to the sect?”
Fang Han asked.

“The Myriad Stars Sect lies tens of thousands of li away, beyond Great Li’s borders. Can you even reach it?”
Bai Haichan replied. “And even if you did—our disciples are many, all hungry for the position of true-transmission disciple. The moment you arrived, those treasures would be taken from you.”

He went on, “So my plan is this: first, get you close to Fang Qingxue and have you enter the Yuhua Sect. Survive there. Grow stronger. When your strength is sufficient, steal the Yuhua Sect’s core scripture, the Feathered Ascension Sutra, and present it to our Sect Master. With such a great merit, the Sect Master might consider my contribution and, using supreme methods, restore my life. You would also earn boundless credit.”

“I’m just a stable boy in the Fang household. There’s no way the Eldest Young Miss will ever notice me.”
Fang Han licked his lips.

“The Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir will change that. It will transform your entire constitution, overturn your blood and marrow, and make you into rare talent—jade among stones. Ordinary people won’t see it, but Fang Qingxue has already cultivated her Divine Ability to the Third Stage—the Yuan-Gang Realm. She’ll definitely see your extraordinary foundation,”
Bai Haichan said, clearly having thought this plan through.

“Third Stage of Divine Ability… Yuan-Gang Realm? What’s that?”
Fang Han seized on another fragment of cultivation knowledge.

“The Flesh Realm has ten stages. After stepping into the Divine Ability Realm, there are also ten stages.”
Bai Haichan’s gaze turned distant. “When divine abilities reach the Tenth Stage, you can reverse life and death, step into the Longevity Secret Realm, and exist for a thousand years without decay—changing forms at will, reborn from a single drop of blood. At that point, you are a true overlord of the universe, a true lord between heaven and earth.

But those who step into the Longevity Realm are only Sect Masters of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, the Great Emperors of the demonic path, and a few hidden existences. They are not on the same level as us—we are ants; they are great roc-birds soaring through the skies.

As for the ten stages of the Divine Ability Realm, I can’t explain each one to you now. For you, the most important thing is to do exactly as I say.”

As he spoke, Bai Haichan’s breath grew rough. His earlier exertion had clearly consumed a huge portion of his strength and spirit, and he sensed his end approaching. Suddenly, he moved.

Slash.

Fang Han felt long fingernails—greenish-black, sharp as blades—tear open his clothes at the chest.

Then those nails dug into his flesh; blood spurted.

“Damn! He’s not a good man—he’s going to rip out my heart!”
The pain was so intense Fang Han nearly blacked out, chest feeling as if a hand were clawing for his heart.

Pop.

At that moment, Bai Haichan picked up the Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir. “What a pity. My entire body is scorched; my blood barely flows. This elixir will have to go to you.”

He pressed the elixir against Fang Han’s bleeding chest wound.

He did not feed it to him—he forced it into his flesh, pushing it directly inside the opening above his heart and letting the wound close over it.

“The Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir isn’t meant to be swallowed, nor applied externally,”
Bai Haichan explained. “Even if you swallowed it, it wouldn’t be digested—it would pass intact right back out.

The only correct way is to open a hole near the heart, embed it inside, and use the heart’s blood circulation to wash over it constantly. Its medicinal power will gradually merge into the blood, cleansing it entirely, washing the marrow and cutting away filth—rebirth and renewal. After that, no matter what martial art you cultivate, your progress will be a thousand li a day.”

“It really hurts…”

The stabbing pain in Fang Han’s chest was almost unbearable, but he gritted his teeth and endured. Then, pain gave way to relief. Once the Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir was embedded in the flesh by his heart, its power began to spread. The torn skin knit together, the bleeding stopped, and soon only a faint red scar remained.

An indescribable coolness flowed through his body. His mouth filled with sweet, fragrant saliva; he gulped it down again and again. Foul qi seeped out of his pores, rank and sour.

He hurried to the riverbank to relieve himself. What came out was thick, black, stinking clots of filth. His pores, too, exuded a layer of black, greasy sweat. He simply waded into the water and scrubbed himself clean.

When he stepped back onto the sandbank, his entire body felt light and refreshed. Every breath carried a faint fragrance.

It was as if he had grown an extra heart. With each breath, the region around his heart pulsed twice; with each pulse, his strength seemed to grow stronger.

The Nine-Orifice Golden Elixir had become a second, more powerful heart, assisting the original heart in driving his blood.

With his body renewed, his mind became crystal clear. The day’s encounters suddenly interwove in his thoughts; countless ideas rose and fell, as though a fool had suddenly been enlightened and become sharp.

“Just as I thought—the stronger the body, the clearer the mind. A powerful physique can nourish the brain and awaken divine abilities.”
Fang Han felt his stolen theories about martial cultivation once again proven.

“Don’t celebrate too soon,”
Bai Haichan said coldly. “You’ve only patched up the deficiencies of your original body. To push the Flesh Realm to its peak will still take time—but you’ll walk the path much faster than others.

From today on, you can undergo extremely intense training and your body will have the nourishment to keep up. Now sit. I’ll teach you my martial art—Seven-Star Fist—and tell you the story behind the Dragon Lurking in the Yellow Springs Map.”

Fang Han sat quietly on the sand and listened.

He gradually sank into the rhythm of it.

But Bai Haichan’s voice grew weaker and weaker. At last he said, “Our Myriad Stars Sect created its techniques by studying the motions of the stars themselves. By using the flesh to connect heaven and earth, we stabilize essence and nourish vitality, then step into the Divine Ability Realm. Remember this well. Watch the stars whenever you can. Learn their paths.”

Then his body stiffened again.

“Remember… You must enter the Yuhua Sect and steal the Feathered Ascension Sutra! Present it to our Sect Master! The benefits will be immeasurable for us both. And my body—you must bury it quietly, leave it whole, never burned. When you’ve earned great merit, you can request one favor from the Sect Master—have him resurrect your teacher. But if my corpse is damaged, there will be no rebirth. Don’t forget. Don’t forget…”

With those last words, Bai Haichan’s body went rigid. His breath stopped completely.

He was dead.