A Ying Of Time [II]

The cultivation chamber had been secretly carved out from deposits of emerald green jadeite and emerald blue nephrite, located at the heart of the knoll. The walls of the cave were all emerald green jadeite while the large area at the centre was all emerald blue nephrite. A clear and peaceful stream of water could be seen flowing through it. The circular sides of the floor were made of white marble, while attached to the cave's ceiling were the red rubies. It was a marvel of a cave that could only be a heavenly blessing.

Since her pregnancy had manifested, Zhang Xiu Ying had been absorbing spiritual and stygian energies that were occasionally trapped inside the cave. She was also consuming Chi in the form of blue crystallines. The blue crystallines were edible transparent essence rocks formed on the surface of the emerald blue nephrite due to the combination of highly dense spiritual energy, streams of water and the emerald blue nephrite.

The effect of one blue crystalline on the dantian could last for several months. And a couple of the powerful crystallines had been formed over the course of hundreds of millions of years that the cave had stayed hidden. Knowing their worth, they had quickly picked the crystals and created a safe storage room for them underground. It was out of those they had been consuming for their cultivation.

Although she would reach ascension's stage without any external aids as a demigod, Zhang Xiu Ying's advancement in cultivation had abounded in leaps due to the crystallines. She had advanced to the late stage of the silver core within a hundred years. At the young age of five hundred. Since she was born a half demigod with the divine evasion heritage, she had quickly grown into a full Asura[demigod]. She could survive on her own with the last resort of divine escape.

"Mastery of the mind. Order and harmony within oneself. Only by this can one's conscious awareness be free to understand the laws and nature of the universe and become harmonized with the universe."

Zhang Xiu Ying stared at the blue crystal in her hand which was the last of her own share of the crystals and wondered why the heavens had been so good to them. She put the crystalline in her mouth before closing it with a crunch. A strong Chi stormed her dantian, making her close her eyes in raging delight as the ravishing energy entered her body.

As a full demigod, she could handle the storming effect of the crystallines without any lasting difficulties. And it would take a time for her to fully process the energy.

She quickly commenced the circulation of the Chi from her dantian through her meridians and back into her dantian. She didn't stop, but continued her breathing exercise and meditation using the Timeless-Soul technique.

"Understanding true mortal self, is the beginning of understanding the true nature of our universe."

After cultivating for a while, she exited the chamber and headed towards the training area. She would be practicing the Infernal-Beasts mystical art with her sword, Navaris. The sword was an ancient ancestral heirloom of immense value belonging to her mother's Asuran bloodline. The feather blade alone, was crafted from the single tail feather of an ancient phoenix at the heart of the Eternal Rest. Certainly, it was a powerful worldly weapon at the imperial level.

After becoming a full demigod as a result of her rapid advancement and development, her mother had decided to give her the heirloom. Her mother, Zhang Wang Jing, had decided there was no point in her keeping the heirloom. Although she was of the Asuran bloodline, she herself, had no manifestations of a demigod's inheritance. Thus, she couldn't bring out the full power of the ancestral sword.

And by the way things were going, it would take her eternity to reach a stage of using the sword. So, who else could she even have given it to? Although some of her clans were demigod, none could utilise its full power like her daughter.And if her daughter could become so powerful in a short time as a demigod, what prevented her from having it? She could only be a heavens sent to do that. Hence, her mother had decided that the sword would be safer in her hand, and would be properly used.

With her eyes closed, Zhang Xiu Ying slowly swung the feather blade. Her martial art was already at the Yinhu[Silver tiger] level, where she could call herself a ranked martial artist. Her swordsmanship was still at the expert level. She knew she had a long way to go before reaching the world-legend level. First, she had to become a master, and then a grandmaster before becoming a legend.

Although not much of a difference and she was at a bottleneck, her joy was in her mystical arts. She was at the fourth stage of the Infernal-Beasts technique.

"Both mind and body must be attuned to understand the true self. The rhythm of a sword and the motion of fire. They nourish the body and soul, yet they can also be destructive. It takes a true self discovery to bring out the constructiveness of a sword and the protectiveness of fire. Intent of the heart determines the nature of a martial and mystical arts. Peace is needed, yes, inner peace, in order to be one with nature."

She thrust her sword forward, and flaming ribbons spread out from it in different directions. They covered the training area in spirals of flame without burning what they touched. The spirals of the flaming ribbons were truly beautiful to behold.

"Art is nature and nature is art. "

Zhang Xiu Ying smiled before turning towards the direction of a familiar footsteps picked up by her divine sense.