Chapter 5: Changing Path

“Master.”

“You failed to break through the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, didn’t you? I have always said that cultivation requires avoiding arrogance and impatience.”

Water Moon Immortal Aunt opened her eyes.

Within them glowed what seemed like a full moon.

Behind her, the Water Moon continually transformed into sacred images— a water monkey reaching for the moon, a jade rabbit worshipping the moon, a cold toad bowing in reverence…

One image after another appeared, each scene profoundly divine.

In the next moment, the illusions faded, and Lin Lingshu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly:
The might of a Nascent Soul cultivator is truly terrifying.

“Master, I believe the Water Path isn’t suitable for me. I wish to change my cultivation path.”

Lin Lingshu looked directly into Water Moon Immortal Aunt’s eyes, demonstrating her unwavering determination.

Water Moon Immortal Aunt chuckled lightly.
Instantly, the moon behind her ceased retracting its illusions.

Lin Lingshu suddenly felt a heavy gravitational force pressing down on her body.

“Master, even if you expel me from the sect today, I will not change my decision.”

“Presumptuous! Do you understand that if you fail to change paths, your entire life will remain trapped below Foundation Establishment?”

“Disciple understands. But… if I don’t take this path, at most I will stagnate at Golden Core. I… want to see higher landscapes.”

The pressure grew heavier, yet Lin Lingshu refused to yield.

Just as she was about to collapse, Water Moon Immortal Aunt retracted the illusions.

“Fine. What path do you intend to change to?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Lingshu knew her plan had succeeded.
It had not been in vain to put herself through such a trial.

In the original story, Water Moon Immortal Aunt was deeply fond of Lin Lingshu.
Even when she was kidnapped by a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Blood Demon Palace, her master had single-handedly fought to rescue her.

But that battle had left Water Moon Immortal Aunt gravely injured, forcing her into seclusion.
From the mid-point of the novel onward, she rarely appeared.

“Master, I intend to change to the Thunder Path.”

“The Thunder Path?”

Water Moon Immortal Aunt sighed softly. Then she spoke words that left Lin Lingshu utterly confused.

“Perhaps… this is destiny. Do you know your origins?”

The question stunned Lin Lingshu.

How would I know? she thought.
I’m not the original… and even she wouldn’t know. There were no memories of it.

So she answered honestly: “I don’t know.”

“That is to be expected.”

Water Moon Immortal Aunt drew a jade pendant from the void.

“When I found you amid the icy snow, this jade pendant was by your side. It may have belonged to your biological parents. Within lies a highly refined Thunder Path cultivation technique. Unfortunately, it stops at Golden Core. If you wish to continue along this path, you must carve your own road beyond. If you prefer other Thunder techniques, I will collect them for you.”

“The disciple thanks the Master from the bottom of her heart.”

Tears welled up in Lin Lingshu’s eyes.

“But, Master, if this jade pendant truly came from my parents, then I have no choice but to pursue it.

Besides, aren’t all cultivation techniques created by predecessors?
If they could create them,
Why can’t Lingshu forge her own path to Nascent Soul?

There are no inherent techniques in this world; they exist only because people practiced them first.”

Hearing this, Water Moon Immortal Aunt rose and supported her disciple. She laughed heartily.

“Such ambition! Truly worthy of being my disciple. Who says a woman is inferior to a man? My disciple Lin Lingshu will one day rise to the Phoenix Ming Spirit Pavilion!”

“Master…”

“Enough. This pitiful appearance does not suit my Lingjian Phoenix.”

She gently wiped the tears from Lin Lingshu’s face with a handkerchief, then placed the jade pendant into her hand.

“An inch of time is an inch of gold. Don’t waste it.”

“Disciple Lin Lingshu thanks Master.”

Suppressing her tears, Lin Lingshu bowed deeply, then departed Water Moon Tower.

She summoned Han Li Sword, transforming it into a long rainbow streak as she flew away.

Back at the original Lin Lingshu’s residence, she repeatedly toyed with the jade pendant in her hand.

Though her eyes were slightly red, her face revealed no trace of sorrow.

Pretending was easy. But to fool a Nascent Soul cultivator was another matter entirely— they could sense even the faintest ripple of emotion.

Therefore, she left everything to the Heavenly Dao.

With its aid concealing her emotions, and her own skill in acting, she had successfully deceived an almost two-thousand-year-old “grandmother.”

Though this tested her conscience,

Lin Lingshu’s moral boundaries were remarkably flexible.

Moreover, what she had said was not entirely false.

She did have pride deep within.

For her, Nascent Soul was never the final goal.

Her true aspiration was to become a mighty True Spirit Immortal, to stand alongside the male lead as a Great Ascension Immortal.

Of course, a faint thought also lingered— Why can’t I…?
But that was a thought she buried deeply, never to surface.

Her choice to abandon the Water Path for the Thunder Path wasn’t made lightly.
It was a way to make up for lost cultivation experience— to choose strength and brilliance.

Which boy hasn’t dreamed of becoming a cultivator?

Lin Lingshu sat cross-legged, drawing in the world’s spiritual energy.

Above her, the smooth pale-white Heavenly Dao sphere appeared in the sky, guiding thunder-attributed qi to pour into her body, flushing through her limbs and marrow.

This was the very guarantee that allowed her to dare change paths. The Heavenly Dao controlled all things; mere spiritual energy was nothing before it.

Tiny electric currents continuously enacted the Divine Thunder Law— lightning bolts intertwining, rotating, precipitating, until they birthed countless divine thunder beast forms.

Endless threads of lightning shimmered like dragon whiskers, like serpent scales, flashing outward from her body in radiant bursts.

As the thunder brilliance condensed like flowing water, layer upon layer of thunder patterns emerged.
Thunder beast images grew clearer, each one etched into her soul.

Soon, an entity took form— the sovereign thunder beast of “Inner True Thunder,” with the body of a dragon and the head of a man, its belly glowing with divine radiance— the Thunder Ze Realm.

One after another, thunder beasts manifested: Shouyao, Dragon Horse, Thunder Rhinoceros, Kui Ox, Guo Snake…

Each carried with it the power of great techniques:
“Inner True Thunder,”
“Ruyi Divine Thunder,”
“Eight Trigram Immortal Thunder,”
“Myriad Illusion Azure Thunder,”
“Heaven-Shaking Golden Thunder,”
“Northern Star Immortal-Slaying Thunder.”

The six supreme manifestations merged as one, forming the image of a Grand Supreme Divine Demon, seated upon a throne of endless thunder, like the sole Sun dominating the universe.

Around it, thunder particles glittered like stars, weaving into a celestial river revolving about the Sun.

At that moment, a surprisingly human-like chuckle echoed faintly from the Heavenly Dao.

The next instant, all the thunder beast illusions—Thunder Ze, Shouyao, Dragon Horse, Thunder Rhinoceros, Kui Ox, Guo Snake— shattered into fragments.

But Lin Lingshu felt nothing unusual, remaining utterly immersed in her path-changing cultivation.