Chapter 3: The Eighteenth Birthday Gift

Her father, Ji Kun, upon recognizing his daughter's talent, used his former imperial connections to introduce her to the secret chamber of the royal family of the Luo Xuan Empire—the Celestial Secrets Pavilion—where he himself had once retreated for cultivation.

Yet, over the past three years, every time Ji Jiu’er returned home for a visit, she would first seek out Bai Ling before coming back to the family.

Unexpectedly, not long ago, rumors began to spread that Ji Jiu’er had been recommended by a high-ranking figure within the Luo Xuan Empire to enter the Shengyuan Immortal Palace. Even more astonishing were whispers that after stepping into the Shengyuan Immortal Palace, she had been accepted as the personal disciple of the current palace master.

The Shengyuan Immortal Palace remained silent, issuing no denial.

Such silence only fueled speculation that the rumors might indeed be true.

The Shengyuan Immortal Palace, located on the northern side of the Jueyuan Continent, was one of the ancient forces with a legacy spanning thousands of years—an entity even the royal family of the Luo Xuan Empire sought to curry favor with in secret.

The first sword upon landing must sever the heart’s desire.

And Ji Jiu’er’s sword had struck directly at her fiancé.

Bai Ling clenched his palm tightly, his face contorted with anger...

Until this day.

Everything felt unbearably hollow.

His mother’s cold words.

Ji Jiu’er’s past promises—now, they seemed nothing but a cruel joke.

If only he too could infuse his body with primordial energy, step onto the path of cultivation, and walk alongside Ji Jiu’er on equal footing.

Then, perhaps the scene that unfolded earlier today would never have transpired.

This was a world of cultivation, where everyone awakened their innate bloodline, absorbing the primordial energy from the air, retaining it within their bodies to enter the Initial Primordial Realm, thus becoming a cultivator.

Beyond the Initial Primordial Realm lay the Spiritual Primordial, Earth Primordial, True Primordial, and Heavenly Primordial Realms...

Each realm divided into ten lesser stages.

Legend told that reaching the Heavenly Primordial Realm would grant one the ability to transcend the void and soar across the heavens.

But for Bai Ling, it seemed as if Heaven was playing a cruel joke.

God had not only closed his window of opportunity but had also welded shut his door.

He felt abandoned by the world, like dust amid ruins, never awakening his bloodline and remaining an ordinary man.

Today marked his eighteenth birthday, and Ji Jiu’er’s sword had pierced his heart mercilessly at the most vulnerable moment.

Bai Ling clenched his palm tight, eyes gleaming coldly as he gazed up at the bright moon.

“Damn you, cruel Heaven! You’re toying with me!!!”

Suddenly,

The pendant hanging around his neck emitted a faint green glow, flickering briefly before vanishing... yet Bai Ling remained oblivious to this subtle anomaly.

***

Under the moonlight in the courtyard,

A girl clad in a flowing white gown pushed open the door and stepped inside.

A familiar figure flickered at the corner of Bai Ling’s eye.

Could it be...

Yueyue?

The girl blinked and smiled warmly. “Brother Ling, long time no see!”

“Yueyue?” Bai Ling murmured in disbelief atop the rooftop, as if in a dream.

The girl in the courtyard was Xuan Ningyue, whom Bai Ling had affectionately called Yueyue since childhood.

Xuan Ningyue returned his gaze with a gentle nod, then, seeing Bai Ling’s dazed expression, climbed up the ladder to sit beside him.

Bai Ling glanced sideways, disbelief evident in his eyes. His previously fierce expression melted into one of joy.

Pinching her cheeks, he feigned anger, “Where have you been all these three years?”

Xuan Ningyue quickly dodged his hand, rubbing her rosy face, sneaking a glance at Bai Ling, and pointing toward the rising sun, “Hehe... I went to a very faraway place.”

Then carefully, she produced from her bosom a delicate jade box tied with a butterfly knot, presenting it to Bai Ling with a radiant smile: “Brother Ling, happy birthday!”

Bai Ling’s eyes widened, lips slightly parted, a warm tide washing over him. After a moment, he chuckled softly, “Besides Third Uncle, you’re the only one who knows today’s my birthday.”

Today was indeed his eighteenth birthday.

“Open it and see,” Xuan Ningyue urged, her smile bright.

Bai Ling took the gift gently, carefully undoing the butterfly knot. The moment the box opened, a rich, fragrant aroma wafted forth.

Inside the wooden box floated a pill, encircled by four distinct markings.

Bai Ling froze. “Is this a Fourth-Grade Primordial Pill?”

Medicinal pills were ranked from first to ninth grade, with each pill’s markings denoting its level.

This pill was a rare Fourth-Grade Primordial Pill, renowned for its ability to continuously refine and condense the primordial energy from the air into a pill, capable of healing injuries and repairing damaged innate primordial veins.

A first-grade pill was worth a thousand primordial crystals; second-grade, ten thousand; third-grade, a hundred thousand; and fourth-grade, a million primordial crystals—its value beyond imagination!

Xuan Ningyue made a cheering gesture, “I spent a great deal of effort to find this. With it, Brother Ling will surely awaken his bloodline and step into the Initial Primordial Realm.”

A sharp pang struck Bai Ling’s chest, as if it were being constricted. Could it be that Yueyue had vanished for three years solely to find this pill, to help him awaken his bloodline and begin cultivation?

In all his memories, she too had never awakened her bloodline—a frail mortal. Yet now, here she was, holding this invaluable pill.

She must have endured untold hardship over those three years. Bai Ling dared not ponder further...

***

Suddenly, he pulled the girl tightly into his embrace, inhaling the familiar scent of the young maiden. His moist eyes closed gently as he whispered, “Thank you, Yueyue.”

Xuan Ningyue leaned on his shoulder happily, “I believe my Brother Ling will definitely awaken his innate bloodline!” Memories of the past three years flooded her mind. Each time the young man watched others awaken and enter the Initial Primordial Realm, despite his words of congratulations, his eyes were always hollow.

“Cough, cough!”

At that moment, a dry cough sounded.

Bai Zhentian had somehow appeared behind Xuan Ningyue, his face flushed. Watching the two tightly embracing, he shook his head slightly.

“Yueyue has returned,” Bai Zhentian broke the silence, coughing again.

Startled like a frightened rabbit, Xuan Ningyue broke free from Bai Ling’s shoulder, a blush blooming on her cheeks as she turned to Bai Zhentian and bowed respectfully:

“Greetings, Third Uncle.”

“Heh, you’re finally back. Ling has been searching for you all these years,” Bai Zhentian nodded with a smile.

His gaze flickered briefly at the white pill in Bai Ling’s palm—a subtle shift unnoticed by the two before him.

He studied Xuan Ningyue carefully, seeking to uncover the secrets behind this once ragged scavenger girl. This Fourth-Grade Primordial Pill must have been gifted by her.

In his memory, this girl had once lived by scavenging.

After a moment, Bai Zhentian still could not fathom how she had procured such a rare pill.

Found it by scavenging?

Impossible!

“Ling, this is your birthday gift,” Bai Zhentian said, producing a wooden box the size of a fist from thin air.

The hour was already past midnight. First, the long-lost Xuan Ningyue appeared, bearing a priceless Fourth-Grade Primordial Pill. Bai Ling understood it was intimately tied to awakening his bloodline.

Now, his Third Uncle arrived, bearing another birthday gift—surely also connected to his bloodline’s awakening.

The two most important people in his life had simultaneously bestowed upon him invaluable treasures.

Bai Ling’s heart ached deeply as he looked at Bai Zhentian, whose hair had grown increasingly white over the past three years, his once robust frame now gaunt.

Beside him stood Xuan Ningyue, who had disappeared for three years and now returned on this special day...

“Foolish boy, hurry and accept it,” Bai Zhentian placed the wooden box into his hand and turned away.

“Third Uncle!!!” Bai Ling called after him.

“I believe in my Ling—he is no ordinary man!”