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Chapter 36 - Chapter 36: The Hanging River and Landing on the Island

Abao had schemed endlessly, thinking he could talk his way around this half-grown youth. 

He had even secretly released more than a hundred insects to send messages outside. 

But little did he expect that everything had already been under Jing Qian's control. 

With one kick, Jing Qian sent the corpse before him tumoring into the sea, where it was swiftly devoured by a swarm of fish. Only then did he continue steering the boat forward. 

The voyage to Hunzhou Island was now less than five days away. He slowed the ship down, making it look no different from an ordinary merchant vessel. 

Then, slipping into the Void Realm, he stripped off his treasured attire and replaced it with the clothes left behind by Jing Qian. 

His entire bearing changed, transforming him into a frail-looking youth. 

Another day and night passed as he sailed, and suddenly, the scenery before him shifted dramatically! 

Across the crystal-blue ocean rose a murky, suspended river, defying all natural laws as it lifted skyward from the sea. 

It was like a turbid current fallen from the heavens, utterly at odds with the azure waters around it. 

This river of mud measured exactly six hundred and sixty-six feet, six inches, and six fractions wide, stretching forward as far as the eye could see. 

In the distance, Jing Qian could already see ships sailing upon its surface. 

This "Hun River" was the only route to Hunzhou Island, conjured when a mighty cultivator had planted a seventh-rank artifact in the sea, giving birth to this wonder. 

The battered black-sailed skiff pressed onward without slowing, leaping onto the river, and began to rise steadily along its current. 

Jing Qian relaxed his grip on the boat, allowing the power of the Hun River to carry him upstream. 

Then he returned to the cabin, resumed his Dragon-Suppressing Stance, and began once again to temper his body with life essence while resting. 

For the next three days, he did not need to steer; the river itself would bear him to Hunzhou Island. 

When Jing Qian had first heard of this hanging river, he had doubted its existence. 

But seeing with his own eyes this ceaseless, self-sustaining current, a living conveyor that never stopped, he could only marvel in awe. 

A burning desire for greater cultivation welled within him. 

Even in the cabin, he did not allow himself a moment's idleness. 

While envisioning all the possible outcomes awaiting him after setting foot on the island, he wove together his four soul-threads, attempting to braid them into a unique knot. 

His inherited Soul-Weaving Pattern, core to his lineage, pointed directly toward the Dharma Form of the Soul-Spider, a path that bridged the essence of life itself with its manifested form. 

And though Jing Qian carried the exalted Sumeru Life Pattern, a golden root among fate-seeds with boundless potential, far outstripping any ordinary practitioner of Soul-Weaving 

He still had to test and search for techniques truly worthy of matching Sumeru, to decide the direction of his future cultivation at the Dragon-Elephant Stage. 

That did not prevent him, however, from strengthening himself through Soul-Weaving, making it one of his chief tools for power. 

The knot he worked on was, in fact, a complex rune script, containing tens of thousands of branching patterns. 

His spirit sense and yuan energy wove nimbly between the four threads. Each thread was like an extension of his will, crossing and binding under his control. 

It was as though he were composing a silent symphony, each movement exact, each gesture full of hidden meaning, a reflection of his deep understanding of the rune. 

This was the culmination of more than a month of research! 

As the sun set and rose again, the little boat had already climbed to an altitude of a thousand meters. 

At last, Jing Qian completed the rune. 

The process had consumed nearly seven full hours. 

The moment it was finished, an immense tide of energy surged into the rune, carrying it straight into Jing Qian's sea of consciousness. 

There, the Soul-Weaving Pattern absorbed it completely. 

The rune vanished, and the gathered energy crystallized instantly into a White Fang Life Essence! 

At the same time, his mastery over the Soul-Weaving Pattern advanced noticeably. 

The new Life Essence replenished his depleted energy in an instant and even pushed his cultivation a step higher. 

He had finally mastered the Art of Yuan Drawing! 

The combination of Soul-Weaving and Rune-Crafting was the true foundation of this path. 

Each successful rune not only replenished his strength but also served as a step forward on the ladder of cultivation. 

Moreover, as the number of silk threads and his weaving experience increased, he could greatly shorten the time required for each weaving and streamline the structure of the rune. 

According to the Morning-Dusk, Dawn-Breaking Fate Scripture, there was once a predecessor who managed to reduce the casting time of this Rune-Weaving Technique to less than a quarter of an hour, simplifying more than sixty percent of the rune's structure. 

Such training efficiency was dozens of times greater than Jingqian's current weaving! 

His potential for improvement was still vast. 

Jingqian was very satisfied that he finally had a way, apart from soul-slaughtering, to replenish his Life Essence and advance his cultivation. 

And his reverence for the cultivation methods of this world grew deeper. 

Each fragment of the cultivation world revealed to him was filled with richness and depth. 

After completing this critical round of training, he glanced at his Fate Stele: 

[Host: Jingqian] 

Lifespan: 150 years 

Life Essence: 13.14 (White Fang) 

Life Patterns: Sumeru (Golden Root), Tidal (Blue Blood 1.3/10), Soul-Weaver (Azure Wing) 

Life Arts: Dragon-Swimming Technique, Rune-Weaving Technique 

Life-Casting Chances: 4 

With these Life Patterns and Life Essence, he was already far beyond most wandering cultivators. 

He was fully prepared to face the next challenge! 

Two more days passed as his boat sailed along the Muddy River, and at last Jingqian stepped out of the cabin. 

The long-awaited Hunzhou Island finally revealed itself. 

At the end of the Muddy River, a majestic mountain towered before him, rising three thousand zhang high! 

The lower thousand-zhang section of the peak had been sliced away by great magical power, leaving a sheer cliff face smooth as a mirror, stretching endlessly to either side. 

To mortals, this was a place where, once you climbed up, you could never get down, and once you descended, you could never get back up. 

The only way in or out of this great island was to follow the Muddy River upstream to the cavern dock at its end. 

The river waters plunged deep into a cavern within the cliff, piercing into the heart of the island. 

There, a massive dock had been built inside the cavern. 

From that dock, one had to walk thirty li through a tunnel before emerging onto the true surface of Hunzhou Island. 

From A'bao, Jingqian had learned that this Hunzhou Island was the only Sixth-Rank Life Island in all of Hunzhou, having ignited the Violet Life Furnace. 

Its landmass stretched over a million square kilometers, housing tens of millions of inhabitants, serving as the political, economic, and cultivation center of the entire region. 

In comparison, Jiangzhu Island, which had only just ignited its Azure Flame Hearth, was as tender and fragile as a newborn chick. 

Standing at the prow, Jingqian's heart swelled with anticipation as he sailed into the cavernous passage. 

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