Chapter 65: Resolving the Power of Primal Origin

In the end, Huo Tianqing decided to reveal the truth to Xie Yingying. Though it might cause her to lose confidence, it was better than letting her cling to false hope, only to end up disappointed, or even in despair.
"You should let go of this thought and focus on cultivating, strive to live longer. Who knows, perhaps one day you'll ascend, and then the Primordial Force will no longer threaten you."
Hearing his words, the fervor in Xie Yingying’s eyes only burned brighter, and she agreed at once, "Alright!"
Seeing her respond so cheerfully, Huo Tianqing began wondering if he had been too gentle in his wording, so much so that she hadn’t understood the underlying message.
He let out a soft chuckle, "What I mean is, you should abandon this idea, because it is essentially impossible."
"Impossible?" Xie Yingying’s expression was resolute. "I want to try."
Her reaction was no surprise to Huo Tianqing; he knew well her temperament, so he simply stopped trying to persuade her.
A bright light flashed from the Purple-Gold Bell, the iron thorns withdrew, and the electric serpents ceased baring their fangs at Huo Tianqing. Instead, they obediently returned to Xie Yingying’s hand, gently rubbing against her fingertips, before sliding down and retreating back inside the bell.
Xie Yingying found these electric serpents inexplicably endearing, but recalling how they’d just treated Huo Tianqing, she was overcome with a complex mix of emotions.
Having said all he needed to say, Huo Tianqing withdrew the formation and reminded her, "Be extra careful with the Primordial Force in your body."
Xie Yingying nodded lightly. "I will, Master, you need not worry."
Hearing this, he turned and left. His expression shifted suddenly as he walked away, becoming cold and sinister, heading toward the entrance of the Evil Sect.
Watching him depart, Xie Yingying made her way to the Spirit Spring for her appointment.
At the Spirit Spring, mist swirled about. Silver Bell lay comfortably within, her back against a stone wall. Hearing footsteps, she opened her eyes and saw Xie Yingying, whose mood was far from cheerful.
"Senior Sister, what’s wrong?" Silver Bell asked anxiously.
Xie Yingying had been brooding over the Primordial Force threatening her life. At Silver Bell’s words, she snapped back to the present, noticing the worry in her friend’s eyes. She quickly masked her sorrow, giving a gentle shake of her head.
She waded into the spring, sinking to the bottom and touching the stone beneath. She closed her eyes, as if trying to vent her inner frustration through this action.
Suddenly, a slender jade hand reached into the water, grasping Xie Yingying’s shoulder and forcibly pulling her up.
Before Xie Yingying opened her eyes, Silver Bell was already before her, worry etched deeper onto her face. She asked in alarm, "Senior Sister, you nearly scared me to death! Were you trying to kill yourself?"
Xie Yingying hadn’t had time to answer before Silver Bell shook her shoulders fiercely, making her dizzy.
"Senior Sister, you absolutely cannot die! You’re only a few decades old!"
"I wasn’t trying to die," Xie Yingying replied with a wry smile, pushing away her hands. "I just wanted to take a nap."
"A nap?" Silver Bell’s face was full of disbelief, fearing that Xie Yingying’s mindset had changed drastically after returning from Gu Feng Mountain. She hurried out of the spring to fetch her clothes. "Then go sleep in your room, don’t sleep here!"
Taking the clothes, Xie Yingying guessed what Silver Bell was thinking, unsure what to say. She simply accepted the robes, nodded, and said, "Alright."
Afterward, she returned to her quarters, lay on her bed, and began reflecting on her conversation with Huo Tianqing earlier that day.
Though she had acted confident, showing no concern over the Primordial Force or the Purple-Gold Bell, she was truly anxious within; after Huo Tianqing left, that anxiety grew unchecked.
First, she feared the Purple-Gold Bell might harm innocent people; second, she feared truly dying.
Xie Yingying sat up, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and calmly sensed the chaotic spiritual power within her body.
Since entering the Spirit Spring, her spiritual power had grown much steadier, even beginning to repair her damaged meridians on its own. Yet, the spiritual power and blood blocked within her heart vessel remained unsmoothed.
Her focus shifted to her dantian. There, spiritual energy abounded, warm and gentle. At the very center of her dantian, she sensed a round object.
"Golden Core," the words suddenly arose in her mind.
Her consciousness drew closer, and the warmth intensified. As she stood before the Golden Core, the heat became searing, scorching her spiritual awareness.
Within the Golden Core, something else resided. Unlike her jet-black spiritual energy, this entity radiated golden light, much like the sphere Huo Tianqing had produced earlier.
She gathered her willpower, opened her eyes wide, and sensed that familiar Primordial Force.
The Heavenly Fox Primordial Force was continually bred and nurtured within her Golden Core. As its quantity grew, so did its power.
Xie Yingying was astounded; she never expected the Primordial Force to gradually strengthen, seemingly on the verge of dissolving her Golden Core entirely.
She quickly withdrew her consciousness, troubled by how formidable the Primordial Force had become.
"No!" she whispered. "If this goes on, won’t I truly die?"
Fear grew ever more prominent on her face. She scrambled from bed, pushed open the door, and dashed out of her quarters, heading swiftly for the study she recalled from memory.
When searching the memories of her original self, she had discovered recollections of this study.
The study rivaled the Evil Sect’s scripture pavilion, filled with countless tomes and treatises, all collected for her by Huo Tianqing.
Thus, as Xie Yingying entered, she was greeted by thousands of books, neatly arranged on towering wooden shelves.
Her mouth fell open in awe at the sight, but she didn’t have time to marvel. She grabbed a tome and began reading, only to find it unrelated to eliminating the Primordial Force—merely a treatise on cultivation techniques. She quickly switched to another.
She combed through countless books all day, yet found nothing on resolving the Primordial Force, though she picked up plenty of odd and arcane cultivation knowledge.
Sweat beaded on Xie Yingying’s brow, yet she refused to give up, determined to keep searching.
Even as the ghosts of the Evil Sect began to emerge from the shadows and celebrate, she had still not found a relevant treatise. Instead, she discovered many texts on medicinal herbs, secret histories, and even explicit illustrated manuals on dual cultivation.
Her cheeks flushed red as she shut those books, moving on to the next.
By midnight, several ghosts perched atop the study, peered inside, and saw Xie Yingying already slumped asleep over her desk. They clicked their tongues in admiration of her diligence, then drifted away at a leisurely pace.