The Legendary Apex Sign

Ji Ning felt his consciousness piercing through layer after layer of obstruction between worlds, advancing endlessly… advancing… until, after breaking through an unknowable number of barriers, he finally entered an infinite, measureless void. At the deepest reaches of this void hung two inconceivably enormous stars.

One was a colossal star wreathed in unending raging flames, pillars of fire erupting from its surface like a giant conflagration, illuminating countless worlds.

The other was a star of boundless icy cold, with an immense osmanthus tree towering high upon it, its endless frigid moonbeams shrouding every realm as well.

Two ancient stars—the Taiyin Star and the Sunstar.

“So beautiful… so unbelievable.” Ji Ning was awestruck. He could even ‘see’ the enormous jets of flame; he could even ‘see’ the immense branches of the osmanthus tree…

For others cultivating the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, just vaguely sensing the Taiyin and Sunstar was already extremely difficult. Yet Ji Ning could ‘see’ even the flames and the branches of the osmanthus tree.

…

Inside the hall.

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow, the couple, stared in astonishment at the sight before them. Countless streams of starlight converged around Ji Ning’s small body, dividing mainly into gold and silver. The blazing golden starlight and the frigid silver starlight swirled around him, gathering ever denser. Gradually, above his left hand, which he held cupped upward, a miniature star began to coalesce and hover—a star upon which the faint shape of an osmanthus tree could be discerned. It was the Taiyin Star.

Above his right hand, another miniature star formed, a star of flame with a Golden Crow faintly circling it. That was the Sunstar.

One hand holding the Taiyin Star, the other the Sunstar.

Bathed in the flowing starlight, Ji Ning’s face was serene, his expression utterly reverent.

“This… this…”

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow looked at each other, wide-eyed and speechless.

“One hand the Taiyin, one hand the Sunstar?” Ji Yichuan, for all his habitual calm and composure, now wore an expression of sheer shock. “The osmanthus appears, the Golden Crow circles?”

“The legendary one-hand-Taiyin one-hand-Sunstar?” Yuchi Snow stared fixedly at the two miniature stars hovering above her son’s hands. “And the osmanthus tree and Golden Crow have manifested as well…”

The couple was in utter shock. Neither of them was an ordinary person; they naturally knew far more than most. Having both read the detailed contents of the Crimsonbright Diagram, they understood exactly what this spectacle meant. The Crimsonbright Diagram was notoriously difficult to cultivate, and the speed of progress was generally very slow.

Those who could enter the gate were divided into several types.

The first was ‘starlight like threads’—only two thin strands of starlight slowly merging into the body. This was the worst type of entry, dooming the practitioner to extremely sluggish progress.

The second was ‘starlight like clouds’—a great mass of starlight wrapping around the body like mist, which was already considered very good.

The third was ‘starlight like a whirlpool, one hand the Sunstar, one hand the Taiyin Star’—countless rays of starlight swirling around the body like a vortex, the left hand cupping a miniature Taiyin Star, the right hand a miniature Sunstar. This represented the highest tier of talent. If the two miniature stars coalesced into solid form and even ‘an osmanthus tree grew on the Taiyin Star and a Golden Crow circled the Sunstar,’ that was the legendary, most supreme apex sign.

In truth, this outcome was not surprising.

Ever since birth, Ji Ning had visualized the Nuwa Diagram—the most supreme visualization method even in the Heaven Realm. As a result, he could already split his mind by the age of four; his soul’s power was unimaginable. Moreover, from the day of his birth, he had been bathed daily in the primal energies of heaven and earth. His body was as pure as a newborn infant’s, utterly without impurity—pure enough to rival a Xiantian Dao Body.

A body as pure as a Xiantian Dao Body. A soul already strong enough to split its attention.

Combined, these made his aptitude for the Fiendgod Body Refining method the absolute pinnacle.

“Our son… has such talent…” Yuchi Snow’s fair face flushed crimson, her body trembling with excitement. “Yichuan, one hand the Taiyin, one hand the Sunstar—the osmanthus appears, the Golden Crow circles! This is a legendary omen. Our son will achieve great things cultivating the Crimsonbright Diagram.”

“Mm.” Ji Yichuan was also stirred.

When the child was first born, he had examined him and found that his meridians were fragile and his bones merely average. He knew it was because of the injury suffered in the womb, but he had still felt a pang of disappointment. He understood well that on this brutal land where the weak were prey to the strong, it was very difficult to live well without strength. While he lived, he could protect his son. But if he died?

“This is my son—my son, Ji Yichuan’s son!” Ji Yichuan clasped his wife’s hand. The couple gazed at their son with excitement and hope.

What parent did not wish their child to become a dragon?

…

Ji Ning knelt with eyes closed, his posture devout, his hands cupped before him. One hand held the Taiyin Star, the other the Sunstar.

The two hovering miniature stars—Taiyin and Sunstar—each transmitted power that continuously merged into Ji Ning’s body. The Taiyin force and the Sunstar force were greedily devoured by every famished cell. His bones, muscles, and even organs all underwent constant transformation.

“Whoosh~” A layer of frost formed on the surface of the animal-hide garment Ji Ning wore.

Then came a hissing, crackling sound as the animal hide on his back began to char and split from heat.

Freezing, then scorching. The process repeated, and the hide began to crack and peel.

“Mm?” Ji Yichuan frowned slightly. With a light flick of his finger, a trickle of water-blue energy lashed out and gently washed across Ji Ning’s back. The tattered hide fell away completely, exposing Ji Ning’s bare back. There, on the left side of his young back, silver light shimmered; on the right, golden light blazed.

The frigid silver light flowed and gradually coalesced into an image.

The blazing golden light also flowed and coalesced into another image.

“Divine patterns!” Yuchi Snow murmured. “He’s forming divine patterns naturally on his very first cultivation session. At this rate, it will probably take only ten days to half a month to complete. Then the first layer of the Crimsonbright Diagram will be mastered.”

“Mm.” Ji Yichuan watched silently.

Time passed…

The divine patterns on Ji Ning’s young back continued to solidify. On the left, the shape of a rabbit could be faintly discerned; on the right, the shape of a bird.

The two great divine patterns—the Taiyin divine pattern was a Moon Rabbit; the Sunstar divine pattern was a Golden Crow.

“Whoosh!” Ji Ning suddenly let out a long breath and opened his eyes. The divine patterns on his back faded and vanished, and the miniature stars in his hands rapidly dissipated. This surprised him, but he had read through the Crimsonbright Diagram in detail and knew exactly what it meant to have one hand the Taiyin and one the Sunstar, with the osmanthus tree and the Golden Crow.

“Such powerful strength.” Ji Ning clenched his fist and felt the surging force throughout his body. “I’m only four years old, and with just a beginner’s grasp of Fiendgod Body Refining, I’ve already changed this much.”

Suddenly a cold voice sounded.

“Change your clothes.” Father Ji Yichuan waved his hand, and a set of child-sized animal-hide clothes appeared from nowhere and was tossed in front of his son.

“Yes.” Ji Ning quickly took them.

Yuchi Snow watched her son, her face full of joy, looking at him with ever-growing happiness. He was her greatest concern, her greatest pride. From the day he was born, she had worried about his future. Now that he had displayed such incredible potential, a mother’s heart was naturally filled with boundless delight.

“Ji Ning.” Ji Yichuan spoke calmly.

“Father.” Ji Ning listened attentively.

“Your potential is extraordinary. But to break through the bottleneck of life and become a Xiantian lifeform, and then to step onto the Immortal path—potential and talent alone are not enough.” Ji Yichuan looked at his son. “You need the best guidance.”

Ji Ning said respectfully, “Please instruct me, Father.”

“Snow.” Ji Yichuan turned to his wife. Yuchi Snow nodded. She turned her hand and produced two items: one was a deep green crystal about the size of a fingernail, cut very beautifully. The other was a fist-sized stone that shimmered with multicolored light.

“This deep green crystal is called a ‘Jie Stone.’” Yuchi Snow explained with a smile. “It is a naturally formed crystal containing a tiny spatial pocket. The Jie Stone can be made into a ring, a pendant, or woven into a belt. You need only drip a drop of blood onto it, and it belongs to you.”

“A Jie Stone!” Ji Ning was overjoyed.

He knew the two major streams of cultivation: Body Refining and Ki Refining.

Body Refiners followed the Fiendgod path and did not understand how to control magic treasures.

Ki Refiners, at the very least, had to reach Xiantian to condense true energy before they could wield some low-grade treasures. As for artifacts created through refining, even the lowest required at least a Xiantian cultivator, and a Ki Refining one at that. So most Fiendgod Body Refiners also practiced Ki Refining.

But heaven always left a tiny loophole.

Naturally born treasures—items that were not forged—could be used simply by dripping blood on them, without any cultivation level restriction. The Jie Stone was one of them.

“First, drip some blood.” Yuchi Snow handed him the Jie Stone and a short sword.

“All right, Mother.” Ji Ning took them without hesitation. He gently cut his finger with the sharp blade. A drop of blood rolled onto the Jie Stone and quickly seeped in, causing a faint red tint to spread through the crystal.

Ji Ning immediately sensed the small spatial pocket within the Jie Stone. It was very small—half a zhang in diameter—and completely empty.

“In.” He focused his mind, and the short sword in his hand vanished, appearing inside the Jie Stone’s pocket.

“Out.” The sword appeared again in his hand.

“Truly wondrous.” Ji Ning was delighted.

He had long known about natural spatial stones. Unlike forged storage treasures—which had larger spaces—Jie Stones were naturally occurring and had far smaller interiors, some only the size of a fist or a head. One half a zhang across was definitely very valuable.

“Mother,” Ji Ning quickly said, “please sew a belt for me and hide the Jie Stone inside it.”

“All right.” Yuchi Snow nodded. “The Jie Stone counts as a treasure, but it means little to the Ji Clan. Given your father’s status, a Jie Stone is nothing. But this other treasure—this one your father and I obtained only after risking our lives!”

Yuchi Snow solemnly held up the fist-sized, shimmering stone.

“Drip blood,” Yuchi Snow said to her son.

Ji Ning extended his finger again, cut it lightly with the short sword, and let a drop of blood fall onto the shimmering stone. The blood quickly soaked in, forming countless red veins throughout the stone. Then, the fist-sized stone rapidly dissolved into liquid that flowed toward Ji Ning.

“This is…?” Ji Ning felt a chill on his body.

“Like the Jie Stone, this is also a naturally formed treasure. It is called the Golden Dust Garment.” Yuchi Snow explained. “Just drip blood and it will merge into your skin. With this Golden Dust Garment protecting you, any attack below the Xiantian level cannot harm you.”

Ji Ning was astonished. “That powerful?”

He had never even read about such a thing.

“The Grand Xia Dynasty has existed since the Primordial Fiendgod Era. Endless years have passed, and its territory is vast beyond measure. Our Ji Clan is a great overlord in the Yan Mountain region. But in other extremely distant regions… there are tribes even more powerful than ours.” Ji Yichuan said. “In some ancient, mighty tribes, designated heirs are very vulnerable in their youth. They are given Golden Dust Garments to protect themselves.”

Ji Ning paused for a moment. He looked at his parents, and a warm feeling filled his heart.

His parents… they truly had treated him with the deepest care.