"Do you feel anything off?" Jian Dan asked with a smile. Her voice was steady, watching him closely as the last of the medicinal energy settled into his meridians.
Jia Zhēnzūn stepped forward from his position beside the bed and helped Jia Yushu sit up from the smooth surface of the jade bed. The young man moved slowly, his body feeling both light and strangely unfamiliar after the ten-day ordeal.
Almost instinctively, he reached for his dantian, his hand hovering over the area as he closed his eyes to look within. Only then did he realize that the Yuányīng he had spent centuries nurturing was gone. In its place sat a vibrant Golden Core shimmering with five colored halos of light, spinning slowly. It was clearly at the early Golden Core stage, but the energy it radiated was far denser and more complex than any wood attribute power he had previously possessed.
After moving his arms and legs a little to test his coordination, Jia Yushu cupped his fists toward the two elders, his expression one of profound relief.
"Ancestor, Zhēnzūn, I don't feel anything unusual. The process should have worked perfectly."
Only then did the Jia Ancestor finally relax his shoulders, the tension that had gripped him for days finally dissipating. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he looked at his descendant.
Seeing that there were no immediate issues with the fusion, Jian Dan flicked her finger with a graceful movement. A five-colored sphere of light, pulsing with ancient information, shot straight into Jia Yushu's forehead and sank into his sea of consciousness.
"Receive the cultivation art," she commanded.
Jia Yushu didn't even have time to thank her for the gift. He immediately sat cross-legged on the jade bed and began accepting the profound knowledge of the Primordial Chaos Art. The complex sections from Qi Refining all the way to the Golden Core stage slowly unfolded in his sea of consciousness like an opening scroll, while everything beyond those realms remained sealed by a powerful restriction.
Because he had once cultivated all the way to the Nascent Soul stage, his divine sense was significantly stronger than his current physical realm. It took him only half an hour to fully absorb the techniques from Qi Refining through the Golden Core stage, and he could already sense the incredible profundity within the art. It was far more advanced than anything he had ever seen in the sect.
With his current early Golden Core cultivation and the power of this new art, he could at least fight a late Golden Core cultivator without falling behind in strength—naturally assuming he fought as a sword cultivator.
Jia Yushu opened his eyes again, the clarity returning to his gaze. The calm in them was now mixed with clear excitement at the prospect of his new path. He immediately performed a deep bow toward Jian Dan, his forehead nearly touching the bed.
"Thank you, Zhēnzūn, for granting me this cultivation art. You have given me another chance to pursue the Great Dao when all hope seemed lost."
Jia Zhēnzūn, who had already spoken with her for a while regarding the future, then said, "Senior Sister Tian Lu, since you have already passed the cultivation art to him, you're effectively Yushu's master now. Even though you have already accepted a closed-door disciple, that doesn't stop Yushu from becoming your registered disciple. What do you think of this arrangement?"
Jian Dan laughed softly when she heard the suggestion. She knew Jia Zhēnzūn was worried that she might only pass on the art without offering any further personal guidance. Without her specific guidance, the young man could easily go astray in his cultivation of such a unique path. The Jia family didn't have anyone with a Chaos spirit root in their history, so no one else could guide him properly. That left only her.
"Yushu was originally a disciple of the Novice Hall when I first met him, so we already share a bit of a master-disciple bond from those days. Since Martial Junior Brother Jia has brought it up so formally, Yushu can become my registered disciple."
She said this with a smile, looking at the young man with approval. She had already given him the priceless Chaos Pearl and the ancient cultivation art, so this last formal step didn't matter much to her. His character was solid and his cultivation attitude had always been diligent. His future achievements wouldn't be low. She was happy to extend this favor to the family.
Even if she ascended to a higher realm one day, given what she had done now, if her other disciples ever ran into trouble, the Jia family couldn't simply stand aside and watch. Taking him as a registered disciple only deepened that political and personal connection.
"Master, please accept your disciple's bow," he said.
Jia Yushu was quick-witted and understood the honor. The moment she agreed, he stepped forward and bowed low once more.
"Good. This is your initiation gift from your master," she said.
Jian Dan casually handed him a storage ring of exquisite design. It came from a corner of the Immortal Realm she had explored. She still had a matching set of such rings, and she had personally selected the items stored inside for him. Everything was perfectly suited for his current stage of cultivation and would help stabilize his foundation.
"Thank you, Master."
He accepted the ring with reverence, marked it with his own divine sense, and slipped it onto his index finger, where it adjusted to fit him perfectly.
"Let's go out now. They have probably been waiting anxiously for news all these days," she suggested.
Jia Zhēnzūn smiled until his eyes narrowed with joy. With a sweeping wave of his hand, he withdrew his domain, and the golden walls of light vanished. Everyone waiting in the reception hall sensed the change and turned to look toward the inner chamber, tension written across their faces—especially the young man's parents.
When the Ancestor and the Master walked out with calm expressions, Jia Yushu followed closely behind them. Everyone first noticed that his cultivation had fallen, then they sensed the subtle change in his overall presence. Even though he was only at the early Golden Core stage, the spiritual energy radiating from him was steady, harmonious, and surprisingly deep. Everyone finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Yushu, my son!"
His mother was the first to reach him, her eyes misty. She immediately grabbed his arm and sent a concerned strand of spiritual energy into his meridians to check his health. However, the Chaos spiritual energy inside him was overbearing and treated that strand as an intruder, forcing it out of his body at once. She blinked in surprise at the strength of his new power.
"Father, Mother, there is no need to worry. Master has replanted my spirit root and granted me a suitable cultivation art. I can continue cultivating from here," he reassured them.
Hearing his certainty, wide smiles spread across the faces of everyone in the room.
However, Jian Feng, Jian Chong, and Jian Miao—the three senior siblings—caught that specific word "Master" and immediately surrounded the young man.
"Yushu, you acknowledged my master as yours?" Jian Miao asked, her eyes wide. After all, she was the closed-door disciple and was naturally curious about the change.
"Jian Miao, don't worry. No one is taking your place in her heart. Yushu is only my registered disciple," Jian Dan explained with a chuckle.
Only then did the Jia family truly relax, the last of their reservations fading away. All the worry vanished from their faces. As long as the boy was fine and had a future in cultivation, his fallen realm was nothing in their eyes.
So the first thing they did was solemnly thank the Master and the white beast cicada standing quietly to the side.
Yu Jiajia and Zhao Yunhai also took the chance to step forward and congratulate their friend. After everyone sat down again in the hall, the Master finally spoke about what came next for his development.
"Yushu, your newly planted spirit root will fuse better with your body as your cultivation improves and as time passes. The spiritual energy you cultivated before has already been converted by me to create an environment suitable for the spirit root to take hold within your dantian.
"So for the next hundred years, you need to focus on comprehending the cultivation art and cultivate steadily on your own. There aren't any shortcuts for you here. Your previous natal spirit sword is no longer suitable for this energy, so you will need to reforge it using new materials. In short, you need to make sure your spirit root, spiritual energy, and physical body are fully compatible.
"If there is anything you don't understand during your meditation, you can come find me at Tianyue Peak anytime."
"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. Yushu has memorized it all," he answered seriously. He knew everything she said was for his own sake.
"And the rest of you, since you're back, stay in the sect and settle down for a while," she said, pointing out Yu Jiajia and Zhao Yunhai as well.
Over the past ten days of the procedure, they had already exchanged their recent experiences with Jian Feng and Jian Miao. They understood what the two had gone through and also understood her intentions for their safety. They obediently nodded in agreement.
"These insect race lackeys are like venomous snakes lurking in the dark, waiting for a chance to strike. Stay alert in your daily lives, even inside the sect."