Chapter 8: The Perilous Descent and an Unexpected Encounter

Lu Yuan swore he would never again endure the experience of free-falling from tens of thousands of meters above the ground.

Even the body of an Earth Immortal in the Grand Ascension stage could not withstand such torment.

Even if it didn’t kill him, a direct impact with the ground would leave him severely injured, at the very least.

Fortunately, as he plummeted, Lu Yuan sensed the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth spontaneously flowing into his body, replenishing his depleted True Essence. Though the process was agonizingly slow, he could undeniably feel his True Essence gradually recovering.

Upon introspection, Lu Yuan noticed that his True Essence was no longer the faint cyan it once was. In his previous life, he possessed dual spiritual roots of water and wood.

However, after entering the Grand Ascension stage, his True Essence had transformed into a brilliant golden hue.

With a moment’s thought, Lu Yuan understood the reason behind it.

The early Grand Ascension stage marked a period of transition from mortal to immortal, where the various elemental True Essences within one’s body would gradually convert into the immortal-attributed True Essence of an Earth Immortal.

This conversion was a process of intense condensation and sublimation. The True Essence originally within his body would be entirely consumed, compressed, and then transformed.

The efficiency of this transformation was less than ten to twenty percent, which explained why, even after advancing to the Grand Ascension stage, Lu Yuan’s True Essence couldn’t withstand even a single sword strike.

Consequently, many cultivators chose to enter secluded cultivation after their advancement. Lu Yuan’s cultivation path, however, had been entirely self-taught since his master’s passing, leaving him unaware of these intricacies.

Yet, once the conversion was complete, the same spells cast with Earth Immortal True Essence would be several times more potent than those unleashed with ordinary True Essence.

But even with this newfound understanding, it did nothing to alter Lu Yuan’s current predicament: plummeting from ten thousand meters with his True Essence utterly depleted!

‘At this speed, it will still be some time before I hit the ground,’ he thought. ‘That duration should be enough to recover a certain amount of True Essence.’

Panicking would serve no purpose. Lu Yuan swiftly regained his composure.

After silently assessing the rate of True Essence recovery within his body, Lu Yuan’s expression settled back into tranquility.

‘This rate… it’s viable!’

‘While I won’t be able to resume sword flight immediately, I’ll have enough to brace myself before impacting the ground!’

Then…

Before long, Lu Yuan saw a dark rooftop rapidly expanding in his vision.

Just before the violent impact, he could only muster enough True Essence to shield his body.

The colossal impact lasted only an instant before the sensation of weightlessness abruptly returned. Dazed and disoriented from the collision, Lu Yuan felt himself plummeting once more.

Amidst the chaos, a warm sensation washed over his entire body.

‘Hmm… did I land? It doesn’t quite feel like it… Why does it feel so warm?’

Finally, after an indeterminate amount of time—perhaps two or three seconds, possibly five or six, or even seven or eight—Lu Yuan slowly regained his ability to move and gradually pushed himself up.

The surroundings were shrouded in a hazy mist, leaving him disoriented. He had no idea where he had fallen, only recalling that he seemed to have crashed directly into a magnificent complex of buildings.

As he pondered, he detected a faint gasp behind him.

‘Eh? Someone’s here?’

Lu Yuan slowly turned around, preparing to ask where he was. But the moment he saw the figure behind him, he froze.

A scene of breathtaking beauty unfolded before Lu Yuan’s eyes. A petite girl, clutching her chest, was curled up in a pool of water.

Her long, raven hair lay damply draped over her shoulders, and her jade-like cheeks sparkled with tiny droplets, making her appear as fresh and ethereal as a lotus emerging from water.

She seemed only twelve or thirteen, yet at such a tender age, she possessed unparalleled beauty. Her vibrant eyes, long eyelashes, delicate nose, and rosy lips—every feature was captivating.

Even though the surroundings were enveloped in rising steam, Lu Yuan’s Earth Immortal-level eyesight allowed him to discern every inch of the girl’s skin.

This face was even more exquisite than that of the young girl named Merlin whom Lu Yuan had encountered upon his rebirth.

At the same moment, the girl saw Lu Yuan. A look of terror instantly blossomed on her pretty face, and a scream tore from her lips: “Help! There’s a pervert!”