Chapter 46: The World Within the Scroll
The next morning, the page of the Lost Scroll arrived as promised.
Escorted by four Palace Master-level experts from the Ice Shield Palace, it was delivered to the Sea Concubine Palace from thousands of miles away.
Even though it was just a single page, the fact that four Palace Masters personally escorted it spoke volumes about its value…
In the collaborative plan between the Ice Shield Palace and the Sea Concubine Palace, Gong Lianyue, the Sorrowful Saintess, as the key figure in the mission alongside Luo Kuxin, was granted the first opportunity to examine the page.
“A divinely gifted maiden like the Sorrowful Saintess, with such extraordinary grace… even in our Ice Shield Palace, she would undoubtedly be elevated to such a revered position.”
“Collaborating with the Variant Water Emperor is naturally beneficial, but I fear this woman might become a stumbling block for Luo Kuxin’s rise to the top of the Sea Region.”
Before leaving, a woman with ink-wash-colored hair sighed.
She was the one who had uttered “I see” when Gong Lianyue entered the main hall during the recent meeting.
“Hehe~~~”
Hearing the woman’s praise, Shui Qinghou’s expression was unreadable, a strange mix of pride and annoyance.
Was the Ice Shield Palace truly certain that the Frost Snow Woman would choose Luo Kuxin?
The pseudo-Holy Water Body with the Horn of the Depths talent of the Variant Water Emperor was no joke. Its allure to other Saint-ranks was no less than the Misty Heart Lotus, perhaps even greater.
How things would unfold remained to be seen. They would have to wait for the upcoming trip to the snowy mountain.
Hee hee, she hoped they wouldn’t lose both the page of the Lost Scroll and a Saint-rank spirit beast in the process…
Learning from her previous mistake, Shui Qinghou was very careful when sending the message, afraid of provoking the Saintess’s “fragrant breath.”
“Yue’er, the scroll has arrived. Come quickly~~~”
Awakened by the soft, mosquito-like whisper, Gong Lianyue felt her teacher sounded incredibly weak.
Such a soft voice… was she trying to do ASMR?
“Could you speak a little louder?”
“Wah, okay~~ I’m sorry!!”
“No, I wasn’t criticizing you…”
Still half-asleep, Gong Lianyue quickly got out of bed and rushed over.
She couldn’t wait to witness the miraculous technique that was on par with a Saint-rank spirit beast.
Outside the ice chamber where the Lost Scroll was kept, a blue-haired beauty in a water-colored robe had been waiting for a long time.
“Yue’er, you have three days to study the Lost Scroll alone. No one will disturb you.”
“But I must warn you, don’t force yourself to comprehend it. Cultivating the Lost Scroll is an elusive endeavor. Even you will find it difficult to make progress.”
Gong Lianyue nodded silently, listening attentively.
“In the hundreds of years the Ice Shield Palace has possessed this page, fewer than five Spirit Masters have grasped its secrets. Some have even been driven mad trying…”
“They insisted they saw the true contents of the page, but their spirit energy remained unchanged.”
“If it were just a few cases, it could be dismissed as lies for attention. However… there was once a member of the Ice Shield Palace who mocked those who claimed to have learned it, accusing them of stubborn denial. Strangely, after she emerged from the ice chamber, she immediately insisted she had mastered it. The result, as you can imagine, was the same…”
“Is it really that mysterious…?”
Gong Lianyue blinked in surprise.
Shui Qinghou nodded. “In fact, ninety-nine percent of Spirit Masters feel nothing when examining the Lost Scroll, no reaction whatsoever. Perhaps those who went mad were actually close to succeeding.”
“Alright, I haven’t personally witnessed the power contained within the Lost Scroll. Cherish your time and study it carefully!”
Led to the door by Shui Qinghou, Gong Lianyue entered the ice chamber with a slightly nervous feeling.
The door closed behind her with a bang.
“A page of the Lost Scroll…”
“I’ll just take a quick look, right?”
As she looked up, a shimmering, azure water curtain enveloped her vision.
Strange, ice-blue snowflakes fell from the sky, instantly transforming the entire chamber into a flowing ink painting, the watery ripples shimmering, a canvas of frost and snow!
In reality, it was just a blank scroll, no images, no text, no symbols, the edges rippling like water.
“This is the Lost Scroll…”
Gong Lianyue touched the edge of the scroll, slightly awestruck.
A dense, almost tangible water spirit energy washed over her, radiating a pressure comparable to a powerful spirit beast.
A single page possessed such power. She wondered what a complete Lost Scroll would be like.
Gong Lianyue couldn’t see any images. She had expected this. Ninety percent of Spirit Masters experienced the same thing. No matter how long they waited, nothing would happen.
She gently stroked the scroll, releasing a faint wave of spirit energy.
As her teacher had said, there was no common trait among those who claimed to have mastered the Lost Scroll. Talent, constitution, bloodline, cultivation level, spirit beast—none of it mattered.
Saint-rank Spirit Masters failed, while low-rank nobodies succeeded.
Success with the Lost Scroll seemed to be purely a matter of luck.
Whoosh!!!
Ice-blue spirit energy surged from Gong Lianyue, like a tornado, or a spinning, two-toned globe, spreading outwards.
After waiting silently for more than ten seconds, the page remained unresponsive.
“Did I fail…?
Gong Lianyue’s heart sank, and she withdrew her spirit energy, disappointed.
It seemed she had no affinity with the Lost Scroll. The compatibility was too low to resonate with it.
However, the girl didn’t notice…
Two teardrops spilled from her eyes, landing on the scroll with a soft plink before silently sinking into its depths.
The next second, a wave of seawater rippled outwards, engulfing the entire room.
Everything in Gong Lianyue’s vision began to dissolve: the air, the walls, even her clothes and body evaporated in an instant.
When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by nothingness, a deep, dark void.
“Eh!？？？”
“What’s going on?”
“Where is this…?
The girl instinctively reached out, but she couldn’t even see the outline of her body.
In the darkness, a silver crescent moon hung in the void, its surface covered in tiny characters, a strangely familiar sight.
Gong Lianyue looked around, bewildered. How had looking at a scroll transported her to another dimension? Was she going mad?
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