The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

"The end times are coming, and spiritual energy is depleting?!"

Tang Xin couldn't help but gasp. This word, which was only occasionally mentioned in the oldest and most obscure classics, sounded incredibly real coming from Zhao Qing's mouth.

"good."

Zhao Qing nodded slightly. "The vital energy of heaven and earth has dried up like the receding tide, spiritual veins have shrunk, and rare treasures have disappeared. The path of cultivation has become more difficult than ever before. It is the winter of the entire cultivation civilization."

"Although the Northern Sea region was the last to be affected, its environment was already extremely harsh and its vital energy was scarce, so the decline was also slow... However, it is a frigid land with very few living creatures. It is basically just vast glaciers and tundra. The only animals available for food are gray wolves, white bears, white deer, snow foxes, snow rabbits, and snow lions. Ice fissures and snowstorms claim many lives every year..."

“Under such circumstances, ordinary people simply cannot survive for long. They need a certain number and level of cultivators to protect them and consume their own vital energy to maintain the tribe’s survival. However, the vital energy is becoming increasingly scarce, and even the cultivators themselves are struggling to survive. Each generation is weaker than the last, and there is no hope.”

Zhao Qing's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, landing on that forgotten ice field:

"Back then, this isolated army was an elite force with a well-established lineage, complete cultivation techniques, and even a powerful leader approaching the eighth realm. However, under the calamity, resources were cut off, and the future was bleak. In the Central Plains, there are still sects and families with profound foundations that are barely surviving, and there are secret realms opened up by powerful beings, but the Northern Underworld... is a true dead end."

"Considering that the remnants of the You Dynasty are unwelcome everywhere, and that any eighth-realm cultivator could easily kill them all if they spent some time, thereby obtaining several magical artifacts that could draw down the primordial energy of stars and were of immeasurable value in the end times of the Dharma, they still chose to hold on and not contact the outside world."

"At the same time, the instinct for survival overwhelmed fear and pride, forcing them to turn their attention to the true 'masters' of this frigid land—those icy native spirits who still tenaciously survive in extreme environments and can even cultivate by breathing in faint traces of cold energy and stellar essence."

"No longer will we be high and mighty cultivators monitoring exotic beasts, but we will truly and humbly learn from these natives of the ice plains. We will observe how they coexist with the cold, how they strengthen their bodies under the barren energy, how they draw on the cold energy from the earth's veins beneath the ice, and how they rely on the power of the stars to replenish themselves during the long polar night."

Zhao Qing's voice carried a calmness that seemed to see through the essence of things: "You have discovered that some spirit beasts and cultivators can establish a spiritual link that transcends master and servant, almost to the point of symbiosis. Through special secret methods, cultivators can refine powerful spirit beasts they have tamed into a unique 'natal creature'."

"After successful refinement, cultivators can not only share some of the spirit beast's talents—such as a stronger physique, the ability to withstand cold, and an affinity for ice—but also integrate this 'bloodline imprint' into themselves, and even... pass it on to their offspring through bloodline! However, usually, it requires a union between direct blood relatives to ensure inheritance."

"***?" Tang Xin was somewhat surprised.

Although he was born in Zhongshan, he had little cultural contact with the grassland tribes. He only lived in Wushi and was accustomed to the local food. However, in the Central Plains, people with the same surname were considered unsuitable for marriage, let alone siblings. Naturally, he found it hard to accept: "Aren't you afraid of giving birth to mentally challenged or deformed offspring?"

Zhan Mohe's face darkened, cursing the ignorance in his heart. Compared to survival and the continuation of the tribe, what did mere childbirth matter? Etiquette and law were nothing but bullshit! Using deformed children as bait for hunting and turning dying blood relatives into bone artifacts were commonplace in that dark era!
“When the cold wind can freeze hundreds or thousands of people to death overnight, when hunger forces mothers to watch helplessly as their young children starve to death, when every hunt could be the last... maintaining the purity and strength of the bloodline, so that future generations can be born to survive on this hellish ice field, is the highest ‘rite’!”

However, because his entire body was sealed, these words were stuck in his throat and he could not say them at all.

"First comes animal instinct, then humanity." Zhao Qing also agreed, reminding him, "As cultivators, the profound significance of the creation of the Beast Taming Technique is undoubtedly something we should pay more attention to."

"The strange Gu Dao of the Southern Frontier can also allow people to refine certain insects with their life essence, entrust them with divine thoughts, and make them into external avatars..." Tang Xin said, seemingly still not quite convinced.

"The methods of using strange poisons and tiger accomplices cannot allow one to gain the bloodline talents of the person being refined. That's the biggest difference." Zhao Qing shook his head slightly and posed a question: "Do you know what extraordinary qualities the hidden bloodline of the former direct line of Tianliang possessed?"

Tang Xin did not answer, but his actions spoke for themselves.

He simply turned his head and glanced at Zhan Mohe in a very indifferent manner.

However, the other two people inside the hall immediately understood Tang Xin's intentions:

Even the last remaining people of Tianliang, with the cultivation resources of the Wu clan, could only barely reach the upper level of the seventh realm. Yet I, relying on myself, far surpassed him and easily captured him alive. The so-called "noble" hidden bloodline is nothing but a joke!
In an instant, Zhan Mohe glared at him angrily. The glory of their bloodline, forged by their ancestors in dire straits, was hard-won and magnificent! How could it be so scorned by a successor?!

“Zhan Maha, you don’t need to fall into violence because of a momentary word.”

Zhao Qing's gaze fell on Zhan Mohe's distorted face, and his tone was steady, "Tang Xin's path is indeed extraordinary and his achievements are remarkable, but what he just said was indeed biased."

"Your ancestors' method of 'taming beasts by destiny and fusing bloodlines' is indeed a feat of survival against all odds and turning decay into magic in the history of cultivation. Its pioneering significance far surpasses any subsequent attempt to climb a single cultivation realm."

"In the end times of spiritual depletion, countless paths to enlightenment are severed."

She continued, her tone filled with admiration: "Yet, in the most challenging far north, such a new path was born, using limited resources to break free from the shackles of bloodlines and give future generations the means to struggle for survival in dire circumstances. How can the value of this wisdom, courage, and sacrifice be simply dismissed as 'nothing special'?"

In fact, based on the known clues, Emperor You definitely also mastered this method, and even more deeply. However, he did not pass it on to anyone, so it did not involve promotion or popularization, and no descendants of him survived. Therefore, it is not included in this count.

At most, the ancestors of Tianliang only drew some inspiration from it; in Zhao Qing's opinion, it was still an independent innovation.

She looked at Tang Xin: "The height of power is certainly awe-inspiring; but it never represents everything... There are quite a few people who have reached the Eighth Realm in the history of Tianliang, such as this Tuoba Wuchou... Could the latter also belittle and humiliate your self-created sword scripture and look down on the achievements of your lifelong hard work?"

Tang Xin fell silent, the disdain in her eyes vanishing, replaced by respect and longing: "I understand."

"It's good if you understand."

Zhao Qing smiled slightly and continued to introduce: "Those naturally powerful beast races, such as deep-sea dragons, have the strength of the sixth realm when they grow up. The best of them can enter the seventh realm. For example, the Nether Dragon and the Taotie can reach the peak of the seventh realm if they live long enough, and even fight against the eighth realm."

"If we calculate based on the proportion of cultivation 'geniuses' born, our human race is far inferior to such powerful life forms. It is only because of our superior numbers and cultivation techniques, as well as the generational transmission of knowledge and wisdom, that we have replaced the ancient beasts and become the masters of the world today after the natural extinction of the ancient dragon race."

"A newborn blue whale calf weighs as much as an elephant and possesses immense strength. How can this be compared to an ordinary human infant?" "Although latent bloodlines do not significantly increase the upper limit of cultivation realm, they can determine the lower limit! They allow one to be born with the ability to sense Qi and understand the profound, possessing unparalleled affinity for primordial Qi!"

"The Tuoba lineage of the Tianliang royal family, as well as other core general families, even newborn infants can begin cultivation, with true essence naturally condensing within their bodies..."

"Born into the Three Realms?"

Tang Xin was genuinely shocked this time, and couldn't help but gasp. The Third Realm! How many years of arduous cultivation and how many trials would an ordinary person need to overcome to reach that level? And yet, the direct descendants of Tianliang were born already at this level?

This...this is practically cheating!

Even in top sects like Lingxu Sword Sect, Minshan Sword Sect, and Immortal Talisman Sect, those "monsters" who are born with the ability to sense Qi are geniuses among geniuses and can join the sect directly without examination, holding a position comparable to a true disciple!

"However," Zhao Qing changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, "the way of Heaven is impartial; for every gain, there is a loss. How can such a defiance of fate be without any price?"

"Integrating into the bloodline of exotic beasts, while giving offspring an extraordinary starting point, also brings irreversible 'alienation'."

"As the power of bloodline becomes more refined and powerful, the fertility of the direct descendants of Tianliang also declines sharply, making it increasingly difficult to reproduce. The infants' plunder of the mother's essence is extremely alarming, and some secret medicines are needed to keep the pregnancy going... Even without considering those defective offspring, the clan's strength is facing new barriers."

"Furthermore, even though all the clansmen have a high starting point, and almost all of them are at or above the fourth realm after adulthood, the cultivation resources in Beiming have not increased. The deterioration of the climate is irreversible. Glaciers are expanding, tundra is shrinking, the number of animals available for hunting is decreasing, and even the polar bears have become completely extinct..."

The polar bears in this world are truly incredibly unlucky.

"Under these circumstances, internal conflicts naturally became increasingly acute, and the descendants of former comrades even drew their swords against each other, no longer united as before... When the end times continued for one hundred and fifty years, the wise men of the tribe reached a consensus: to continue staying here would only lead to death."

"Thus began a grand migration, or rather, a great expedition! The various tribes living in the Northern Sea supported each other, traversed the endless frozen wastelands, and crossed the continuous snow-capped mountain barriers, finally... arriving at this relatively warm and lush northern grassland, which lasted... a total of half a year."

"Why is it so slow?" Tang Xin asked.

For the Beiming descendants and Tianliang ancestors, who were all cultivators, the long journey of ten thousand miles was nothing, right?

"Naturally, it's because we're being cautious and worried about revealing our secrets, so we've spent a lot of effort scouting our surroundings. We'd rather be as slow as a snail than attract any unknown attention."

Zhao Qing replied briefly: "But in fact, they didn't encounter any real danger at all. The benefits brought by their natal beast taming were far more significant than originally imagined. In this Spirit Wasteland Era, a mere few thousand mid-to-high-level cultivators are already the undisputed absolute overlords within a radius of ten thousand miles! Wherever they go, they crush everything in their path!"

"When these people finally arrived at the edge of the northern grasslands with uneasy steps and stepped onto this hilly area full of hope, the faint but real earthy smell and grass seed scent were like heavenly wine to those who were used to the deathly silence of the permafrost! The name of our ancestral land is now truly fitting!"

Zhao Qing sighed with emotion, “How could this land, with its still-existing spiritual veins and abundant water resources, be unclaimed? The Jiankun, Xinli, Mianzhu, Diyuan, Linhu, Quyan, Xubu, Qushe… dozens of tribes, large and small, have lived and multiplied here for countless years.”

"Although the local natives also possessed some great shamans and leaders at the sixth level, and a population of up to a million, how could they possibly resist the might of the dozens of seventh-level ancestors of the Heavenly Liang Ancestor, their strict military discipline, their hierarchical command system, and their cultivation foundation far beyond their time? It was either submission or annihilation."

"Completely crushing! Unstoppable!"

"In just one or two years! With this ancestral land as its capital, and through swift and decisive action and absolute military force, a new steppe empire, with the Ural Mountains as its western boundary and the Donglai Islands as its eastern boundary, rose amidst the flames of war and bloodshed.

“From then on, some members of the Tuoba clan changed their surname to ‘Yuan’ and became the ruling royal family. They adopted ‘Tianliang’ as the name of their country, which means ‘the coldness of the sky, our clan will resist it’, to commemorate the years in the Northern Sea and to demonstrate their indomitable will. They hoped that future generations would always remember and never forget the sacrifices and glory of the past.”

"Because the population was never large, in order to maintain the supreme status of the royal family, the Yuan clan deified their bloodline as 'ancestral blood,' strictly controlled it and did not allow it to be passed on to outsiders. They also stripped all their descendants who had not awakened 'ancestral blood,' or who had only awakened a second-class bloodline, of their status and restored them to the title of 'Tuoba clan.'"

"While maintaining their own purity and nobility, they also allowed the Zhen, Lan, and Zhan clans, whose hidden bloodlines were of slightly lower rank, to engage in limited intermarriages with external affiliated tribes. They publicly announced that merit could be exchanged for rewards such as blood gifts and magical powers, thereby winning people's hearts."

"When the era of spiritual desolation gradually came to an end after fifty or sixty years, the golden age of cultivation returned, and the Tianliang Empire also entered its peak of prosperity. Its population exceeded 100 million, there were more than 200 seventh-realm grandmasters, and several eighth-realm masters were born. Even the sects and dynasties in the Central Plains were inferior to it. It seemed to have the momentum of unifying the south from the north."

"Signs of unification have reappeared since the You Dynasty, which has forced the 'Witch-Slaying Alliance,' which was originally hostile to, targeted, and constantly purged practitioners of the Yin Ghost Path, to put down their pursuit of the young Witch Ancestor Jiang Yan. They set up formations and garrisoned in the Yin Mountain area, forming a standoff, with war clouds gathering and the situation tense."

Zhan Mohe was deeply moved. The epic tale of his ancestors' arduous pioneering efforts and the unleashing of their potential after years of hard work filled him with pride and fervor.

However, a huge question also arose in my mind: How could this person know so much?
"The cold of the heavens, our people will resist it"... The profound meaning of this country's name was only recorded in a few words in the imperial records of the past, and it was only said to the outside world that it was "in accordance with the will of Heaven to suppress the cold desert"!
There are also details of Bei Ming's arduous struggle for survival and the creation of secret techniques, as well as the deliberately sealed secrets of "taming exotic beasts and fusing bloodlines with one's destiny"!

How could she know such a well-known and detailed account of history so well, so deeply buried in the bloodline and so vaguely described, that even he, a descendant of Tianliang, only knew a few fragments of it? How could she connect this history so clearly and in such detail?
Much of the content was something he had never heard of before, as if this person had personally experienced it!
Could it be... that she is also another survivor of the Liang Dynasty?
Before Tuoba Wuchou launched a rebellion and massacred millions of people in Zushan, the royal bloodline who happened to be traveling abroad and thus survived?
Yes!

Otherwise, how could she have easily overcome these several difficult obstacles, ignored the deadly attack at the bottom of the well, and obtained this rare flower?
and many more?

Zhan Mohe seemed to have just discovered something strange that had been overlooked, and couldn't help but shout it out—at this moment, his voice had quietly returned to normal: "How did you do that? Did you refine the 'Two-Life Flower' into your natal object? Or did you inherit its hidden bloodline?"

Otherwise, people like myself and Tang Xin, who are at the seventh level and can be considered among the best of the grandmasters, should have long since fallen into eternal slumber in the fragrance of that flower, feeling their life's journey constantly reversing, returning to the origin before the embryo, and being annihilated and killed without knowing it!
If the soul wasn't erased without any doubt, then it means... an impossible possibility, that the absurd legend might be true!
“I am willing to serve you as my lord, and I ask for only one thing!” Zhan Mohe bowed down and spoke sincerely.

...(End of chapter)