Starting Cultivation During a Trip

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Three Elements and Nine Fortunes, Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit

Eleven o’clock at night.

The He Family Manor was brightly lit. At this hour, the He Family was usually bustling with visitors, with all those who came seeking favors being either rich or influential.

But tonight, the He Family shut its doors to guests; the entire household appeared grave and silent.

Inside the mansion’s inner hall, at the center, He Huan lay naked on the cold bluestone floor. Her breath was barely noticeable, and her body looked stiff.

”She was already like this when we found her.”

He Fei looked at He Huan, now like a walking corpse, and the coldness in his eyes couldn’t hide the fury within.

”Where was she found?”

At that moment, a middle-aged man with an air of authority and a touch of gray at his temples spoke up from above the hall.

This was He Huan and He Fei’s father, the current head of the He Family, He Tailan.

”In her own room.” He Fei shot his father a cold glance and replied in a somber tone.

”Her Primordial Spirit is broken... she’ll never wake up again.” He Tailan only glanced lightly and spoke calmly.

”What?” He Fei’s expression changed abruptly, looking at He Huan with visible pain.

”Who... who on earth did this?”

The pain on He Fei’s face instantly turned to roaring rage.

”What a technique—there’s no trace left at all, not even the method used.”

He Tailan stepped forward and lightly ran his fingertips over He Huan’s body, his brow creasing slightly.

”Either the one who struck is a master, or the one who cleaned up is a master.” He Tailan said indifferently.

”Investigate... the culprit must be someone who entered the He Family today.” He Fei gritted his teeth.

”Investigate? How? Who would you investigate?”

He Tailan’s face sank at once, his gaze sharp as a sword as he looked at He Fei.

Those able to cross the He Family’s threshold were mostly notable people in Yujing City—wealthy or powerful, the very network that allowed the He Family to establish themselves in Yujing City, flourishing and dominating the spirit-mediation circle.

To investigate those people... would that not destroy their own foundation?

”So we’re just going to let this go?” He Fei asked, unwilling.

”These are extraordinary times; everything must be kept low-key. We can’t investigate openly—only in secret.” He Tailan set the tone.

”Extraordinary times? What extraordinary times?” He Fei asked, confused.

”You may leave now.” He Tailan waved his hand.

”But—”

”Leave.”

That single word, spoken with undeniable authority, left He Fei gazing resentfully at He Huan’s body for a moment before turning and leaving the hall.

He Tailan watched He Fei’s departing figure, then softly slid his fingertips over He Huan’s body before turning to bow lightly to the veiled drapery behind him.

Incense swirled; the night wind blew. On the divine altar behind the sheer veil, a shadow faintly appeared, its ears pricked and long tail stretched—resembled a gaunt fox, so skinny its skin clung to bone, yet sitting cross-legged like a human, palms together in prayer.

Burning incense, honoring the fire—wild fox meditating on Zen.

”The He Family has started to see death... just as that man said back then, the twenty-year great fortune is ending.”

At that moment, a strange fox cry drifted from behind the veil, but to He Tailan’s ears, it sounded like a whispering human voice.

”A word worth nine tripods, outshining princes... It was thanks to that man that my He Family enjoyed twenty years of great fortune... but can this fate really last?” He Tailan’s brow furrowed.

”Heaven has Heaven’s fortune, Earth has Earth’s fortune, and men have men’s fate... Heaven and Earth are ever-changing; not a moment goes unchanged... Since ancient times there has been the saying of Three Elements and Nine Fortunes...”

That eerie fox cry sounded again, filled with profound mystery.

The Three Elements and Nine Fortunes—that was a saying from ancient times.

The ancients counted one hundred and eighty years as a [Great Period], divided into three Elements: Upper Element, Middle Element, and Lower Element.

Each Element lasts sixty years, split into three Fortunes, each for twenty years.

Just like the last twenty years, which were the [Eight White Gen Earth Fortune]; so real estate, mining, agriculture, and animal husbandry all flourished rapidly, packed with opportunity, creating countless powerful figures.

As the Eight White Gen Earth Fortune ended, those industries too declined sharply.

This year marks the start of the [Nine Purple Separation Fire Fortune]; fields like technology, artificial intelligence, energy, and the cultural industry will skyrocket, and many people’s destinies will be transformed.

Every era has its own fortune.

If even Heaven and Earth follow this, what of a family, a single person...

”The end of fortune, tribulation draws near... That man once said, when the twenty years’ great fortune is spent, the He Family must choose again... Choose wrong, and there will be no coming back—eternal damnation...”

The strange fox wail sounded again, echoing eerily in the cold, clear hall.

”No coming back? What kind of no coming back?” He Tailan frowned and asked in a deep voice.

”Extinction!”

Just two simple words, yet the head of the He Family, He Tailan, was plunged into deep silence.

...

”Damn it... damn it...”

From inside a room, He Fei’s hysterical voice burst out. Like a raging bull, he smashed everything in sight onto the floor.

”These old bastards in the He Family are falling behind the times...”

At that moment, a voice with a slight magnetic quality sounded from the corner, carrying a hint of irony.

Such a voice brought He Fei somewhat back to his senses.

”You have a way to save her, don’t you?”

He Fei turned to the figure in the corner, as if clutching his last hope of salvation.

”Gluttony is Heaven’s most precious gift to mankind, and the path to becoming immortal.”

The mysterious voice neither confirmed nor denied it. With a shift, it continued, ”In The Immortal Chronicles, it’s written: ’Food is Heaven, transforms all things into elixir, take elixir to become immortal...’”

”All things in the world are ingredients bestowed by Heaven... As long as you eat right, eat well... resurrection and ascension are not impossible.”

The mysterious voice dripped with deep temptation.

Just like a baby—first feeding on mother’s milk, then, a bit older, eating rice porridge, and then, grains and meat; strength grows, the body matures, like a fly molting its wings—wondrous beyond words.

”Gluttony!?”

”A cultivator must pay even more attention to eating... There are far too many delicacies in this world... You should try everything except thoughts...”

The mysterious voice revealed a trace of intoxication.

”You can’t eat thoughts?” He Fei sneered.

”The Divine Demon Holy Embryo feeds on thoughts, the fiercest in the world—that’s not a technique mortals can cultivate.” The mysterious voice sighed deeply. He yearned for it, but mortals can never reach it.

”Aside from that, the Primordial Spirit can also be eaten, but... the Daoist Sect’s ninefold Breaking Mountains and Attacking Temples—there is no such practice in this world anymore...”

Refining and nourishing the Primordial Spirit is a taboo in the Daoist Sect. There’s no fixed Technique, and no inheritance; it’s always been shrouded in mystery, with no one knowing how it arose. The ninefold Breaking Mountains and Attacking Temples have long since wiped it out.

”Heaven creates all things to feed man, and man eats all things to become Heaven... He Fei, follow me, and you’ll see a brand new world.”

The mysterious voice rang out again, bearing a temptation no one could resist.

...

It was late at night.

Zhang Fan returned home, still alone. He sat down in meditation, practiced the [North and South Sect Origin] for a while, then went to sleep.

Soft moonlight poured in through the window, washing over him.

At that moment, on Zhang Fan’s chest, the mark of the [Zhenwu Jade Scroll] glimmered with a faint light, and a gentle figure leapt out—it was none other than He Huan’s form.

”My Primordial Spirit...”

He Huan looked at herself, then at the surroundings, hardly able to believe a fragment of her Primordial Spirit had survived.

Just as happiness welled up in her, she suddenly looked up—and saw a far vaster figure, cross-legged beneath the ceiling, eyes cold as he gazed down at her.

”Zhang Fan!!?”

He Huan’s face instantly turned pale. Staring in horror at Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit—unlike her own, Zhang Fan’s was utterly ethereal and silent, as if fused with the surroundings: no good, no evil, no self, no other, not a trace of instinctual awareness.

”What are you going to do?” He Huan’s Primordial Spirit quivered as she asked.

Bzzzz...

In that instant, Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit opened its mouth wide and suddenly inhaled—swallowing He Huan’s Primordial Spirit whole.

Beneath the pale moon, in the cold room, came a strange sound of chewing—silent as thunder, leaving no trace.