She was angry at herself but also at the prophecy she had received. How could she be treated so unfairly? Yet, she also believed her ancestor had seen through her and understood what she was experiencing. The chance he spoke of must be exactly these memories.
Although he had said there would be things she needed to do to prove herself worthy of that chance, he had not worried at all. Not because this wasn't a true difficulty or because she had immense confidence, but because her ancestor had clearly told her these things were matters of the Upper World.
Thanks to many opportunities, the female lead had been able to rush through the cultivation ranks and finally ascend after only around a thousand years of cultivation! This was a fifth of the lifespan of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, which marked the peak of the Middle World.
This meant that even with all the opportunities, it had still taken the female lead a thousand years to ascend. If she had time to worry about things that would happen after a thousand years, she might as well just cultivate a bit more.
Lingshe closed her eyes, closely following the guidance of the jade crown, which acted as an automated teacher while she cultivated. Her meridians were cleared as spiritual power flowed through them, gathering at the left side of her chest.
She quickly understood the core of the Jade Heart Sutra—it was actually a body-refinement technique. It would create a cycle between her blood heart and the jade heart. The blood heart retained its function of creating blood, while the jade heart took over the function of promoting blood circulation.
Gradually, through this cycle, her body would become full of vitality. She would develop jade-like skin and bones, gaining strong defenses while becoming increasingly flexible. This Jade Heart represented the Nourishment aspect of the three aspects of jade.
This technique had been used in ancient times by the Yu Clan to infuse spiritual power into the body. Even mortals could cultivate it, making it the foundation of the Yu Clan. As for cultivators, the jade heart would be even more extraordinary.
Beyond everything else, the Jade Heart of a cultivator would gradually infect the blood heart, and eventually, both would become jade hearts with the ability to produce and promote blood. This effect would be further enhanced, but the key point was that the cultivator would possess two hearts as a result.
Regardless of the situation, once the blood heart transformed into the jade heart, even if one heart was lost, the other could regenerate it. Before this stage was reached, the jade heart could sacrifice itself to defend against a fatal attack on the blood heart. Though doing so would cause the cultivator to lose all cultivation of the Jade Heart, they would ultimately survive.
As Yu Lingshe cultivated, she slowly felt her body becoming stronger. Beyond the vitality surging within her, she felt as though she were being polished. It hurt a little at first, but she gradually became numb to the pain as her body healed immediately afterward.
Time passed unknowingly, and when she awoke, she realized she was still in the treasury.
Looking around, she saw that the candles were lit. Although the treasury was enclosed, it was still brightly illuminated since the entrance faced east. Now that the candles were burning, she was certain it must be late.
Scanning the room, she also saw her grandfather, who was gradually regaining his youth while seated on a chair next to the table, deeply immersed in cultivation. His appearance became younger and younger. After all, as a martial artist only in his fifties, he should have been able to maintain an appearance in his early thirties. Even when approaching the end of his lifespan, he should have looked as though he had barely turned sixty.
The change was somewhat drastic for Lingshe, but she did not mind it too much. She had seen portraits of her grandfather from his younger days—she had to admit, he had looked like a heroic general capable of overturning armies while still exuding the air of a scholar.
As she stood up, she saw her grandfather waking up as well. He looked at her, then smiled, stood up, and bowed deeply. Lingshe did not dare to accept the bow and quickly dodged. Her grandfather, however, did not mind and solemnly declared, "Yu Clan's Great Elder greets the Ancestor!"
Lingshe was confused at first, but upon hearing his words, she understood. This was an acknowledgment of her authority. She also knew that everyone with the Yu bloodline, regardless of whether they were from the direct, main, or branch family, would instinctively feel awed by her presence.
This was one of the effects of the crown. She did not comment on her grandfather's greeting but instead walked up to him, helping him up.
She exchanged a few words with him before approaching the table at the entrance. She knew that during her cultivation, she had taken the first step into the world of cultivation.
There was a significant difference between cultivation and martial arts. In fact, martial arts was merely a branch of physical cultivation, where the first stage replaced qi refining with body building. Though the further stages were essentially the same, they still differed greatly from spiritual cultivation, which was the standard cultivation art.
With her entry, she had officially become a cultivator. Although her spiritual power was still weak, with the help of the jade crown and the vast amounts of jade stored in the treasury, she had successfully reached the first stage of Qi Refining!
She smiled and sat down, her grandfather standing protectively in front of her.
This was exactly what she wanted. A moment later, she closed her eyes and focused on the jade bead in her mind. She concentrated, and light began to shine from it, forming holographic images before her. It felt somewhat similar to looking at a screen.
'My subconscious must have changed it. Now it looks like a system… Haha, in my mind, I still feel like I'm a transmigrator who crossed into this world, and this family inheritance is my system!'
Three screens appeared, each with a respective title above. On the left, there was an [Inheritance] screen. There were two categories: [Library] on the left and [Storage] on the right. From this, it was clear that the library contained all the techniques and arts left within the crown, while the other side housed a storage space.
She clicked on the storage and saw that it was empty.
At the bottom right corner, a small note read [100 Cubic Meters]. From her understanding, this represented the size of the space. It was vast in her eyes—far larger than what a cultivator at her stage would normally be able to possess in a cultivation world.
Then, she turned away and clicked on the library.
More subcategories appeared: [Cultivation Arts], [Techniques], [Spells], and [Literature].
Surprised, she checked out Literature first. There were numerous books and even a search bar. Just hovering over the titles, she realized that these were various biographies of her ancestor, as well as books on materials and other subjects. She even noticed a picture symbol—when she clicked it, she discovered that it allowed her to scan an item and identify it.
Excitement stirred within her. With this inheritance in her grasp, the path ahead held endless possibilities.