471: Chapter 471 Su Ning's Qualitative Change

The Time Power within the crystal manifested in her perception as a mysterious pulse. It was not a sound, nor a beam of light, but a feeling that could not be described in words—like countless hearts beating in unison, or like countless strings vibrating simultaneously. She attempted to "press" that pulse with her Qi, transforming her spiritual sense into an invisible hand, reaching out toward those pulsating time nodes.

The first time, the moment her Qi touched the pulse, it became chaotic, like a hand thrust into rapidly spinning gears. Those time nodes beat frantically, tearing her Qi into shreds. Su Ning felt a tightness in her chest, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out, splattering onto the crystal. The blood slid down the surface of the crystal, dripping onto her robes.

She did not stop.

The second time, she was more careful, condensing her Qi into a thread as thin as a hair, slowly approaching the time node. The moment of contact, the Qi became chaotic again, and this time the backlash was heavier. She felt her body being drained in that instant, an invisible force sweeping through her. She reached out to touch her hair and discovered that a strand had already turned silver-white.

The third time, the skin on her right hand became rough, like dried tree bark. With the fourth failure, a wrinkle appeared on her left cheek. The fifth time, her voice became hoarse, like that of a sixty-year-old woman. Every failure, the backlash of the Time Power left irreversible marks on her body. Her left hand was withered and thin as a stick, her left cheek was covered in wrinkles, and her hair had turned mostly gray. She looked like an old woman on the verge of death, but she did not give up.

The eleventh time, failure. Her right leg began to go weak, her knee throbbing with pain.

The twelfth time, failure. Her left eye's vision blurred, and she saw double.

The thirteenth time, failure. Her teeth began to loosen, and she spoke with a lisp.

The fourteenth time, failure. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, which contained black clots.

The fifteenth time, the sixteenth time, the seventeenth time.

After the seventeenth failure, Su Ning collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. More than half of her body had been eroded by the Time Power; her left hand was withered, her left cheek was wrinkled, her hair was gray, and her right leg trembled incessantly. Her Qi was nearly exhausted, and the light of the Space-Time Crystal had dimmed significantly. The seclusion chamber was deathly silent, with only her heavy breathing echoing within.

She closed her eyes, and the text from the Star Clan bamboo slip surfaced in her mind. She had read that bamboo slip many times, and every page was etched into her heart. The last page bore her name, and the small line of text beside it read—"The last descendant of the Star Clan, carrying the hope of the Star Clan's revival."

"Star Clan... revival..." she muttered to herself, her voice so hoarse it was barely audible, "I cannot even protect myself, how can I protect the hope of the Star Clan? How can I protect them?"

She remembered Tianxin's figure facing the remnants of the Shadow Demon Clan alone in the Shadow Realm, the determination of Luo Li to rebuild the musical defense line in Tianyin Pavilion, the persistence of Chu Lan in cultivating Five Elements Spirit Plants in Changsheng Valley, the promise of Yaoguang to rebuild the Yao Family in the Green Wood Realm, the dedication of Lin Yue to perfecting the Ten Thousand Arrays Rock Demon Map in the Ten Thousand Array Sect, the backs of Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan honing their Sword Intent in the Sword Abyss, and the loneliness of Gao Feng facing the trials alone in the Lost City.

They were all fighting with their lives. She could not fall here.

No.

She could not give up. She was not fighting alone. She had companions, family, and people who needed her protection. She could not fall here. Su Ning gritted her teeth, used her withered hands to brace against the ground, and struggled to sit upright. She injected her last trace of Qi into the Space-Time Crystal, closed her eyes, and once again perceived the pulse of time.

This time, she thought of nothing. She did not think about the consequences of failure, did not think about the pain in her body, and did not think about the past seventeen failures. She simply let her perception immerse itself in that silver-white light, feeling the beating of those time nodes.

Then, she "saw" it.

It was not seen with her eyes, but with her heart. The essence of time was not a river, not an ocean, but a giant web—every thread was a time node, and every node was beating, just like countless hearts beating in unison. The nodes were connected by threads as thin as hair, and moving one would affect the whole. Master Void said to "press the pulse of time," which did not mean pressing the entire river, but pressing a single node. As long as one node was pressed, all the nodes connected to it would pause.

Su Ning opened her eyes.

She no longer tried to "press" the entire flow of time, but locked onto a target before her—a speck of dust suspended in the air of the seclusion chamber. It was very small, so small it was almost invisible. But it had its own time node, its own pulse. She locked onto the position of the dust with her space perception, captured the dust's time pulse with her time perception, and then transformed her Qi into an invisible hand, gently and precisely reaching out toward that node.

Touch.

Press.

The dust stopped. It was not an ordinary stop—it was Space-Time Stasis. The dust hung in the air, motionless. Its molecular movement had ceased; it was frozen on the timeline. Su Ning watched that speck of dust, an indescribable excitement surging in her heart. She wanted to shout, to laugh, to cry, but she could not make a sound. As she released her Qi, the dust resumed movement and slowly drifted down.

She had succeeded.

The aging of her body remained. Her left hand was still withered, her left cheek was still wrinkled, and her hair was still gray. She did not rush to deal with those, but closed her eyes, replaying the successful experience in her mind over and over. The method of locking, the precision of capturing, the force of the Qi output—every detail had to be firmly remembered. After confirming everything was correct, she opened her eyes, raised her right hand, and cast Time Reversal. Silver-white light poured from her palm, enveloping her entire being.

Time flowed backward on her body.

Her withered left hand became plump again, her gray hair began to turn black from the roots, and the wrinkles on her left cheek were smoothed out bit by bit. The marks eroded by the Time Power disappeared one by one, and her appearance returned to youth. Her aura also changed from weak to steady, and her Qi flowed slowly through her Meridians.

Her cultivation broke through at this moment. The barrier of the Middle Stage of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment shattered, and her Qi surged like a tide into new meridian nodes. Peak of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.

It was only one step away from the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. But this step, she had not yet crossed. Master Void had said that in the path of cultivation, haste makes waste. She needed time to settle, needed to continue honing herself in actual combat, and needed to wait for an opportunity.

Su Ning stood up and pushed open the door of the seclusion chamber. Master Void was waiting outside, and seeing her youthful face restored, he smiled with gratification: "You have succeeded."

Su Ning walked out of the seclusion chamber, and the silver-white light behind her slowly dimmed: "I have succeeded."

Master Void's eyes were full of approval, and his tone carried a hint of emotion: "You are the most outstanding space-time Cultivator I have ever met. You may take the Legacy of Taixu Palace with you. After you return, teach it to your companions."

Su Ning was startled; she had not expected Master Void to be willing to let her pass on the secret techniques of Taixu Palace to outsiders. Master Void saw her confusion and said calmly that the threat of the Dark Palace was not just a matter for the Wuxiang Sect, nor just a matter for Taixu Palace, but a matter for the entire Cultivation World. If the secret techniques of Taixu Palace could help more people, why not? Moreover, your companions are not outsiders. They are your family. With family, there is no need to hide things.

Su Ning bowed deeply: "Thank you, Senior."

Master Void took a silver-white token from his sleeve and handed it to her; holding this token, she could come to Taixu Palace to Cultivate at any time without any restrictions. He then took a sealed letter from his bosom and asked her to pass it to Gao Feng. Su Ning asked what the content was. Master Void's expression became serious, and his voice lowered slightly: "Some information regarding the Blood Venerable of the Dark Palace. The Blood Venerable's cultivation is not the ninth level of the Golden Core Stage, but the first level of the Nascent Soul. He has been hiding his strength, and those Golden Core Stage assassins active outside for the Dark Palace are merely smoke bombs he released."

Su Ning's expression changed: "First level of the Nascent Soul?"

Master Void nodded: "His Blood Spirit Demonic Technique has already been cultivated to the ninth level, and he is only one step away from the tenth level. Once he breaks through, his cultivation will reach the second level of the Nascent Soul, and at that time, the Dark Palace will launch a full-scale invasion. You must find a way to restrain the Blood Venerable before he breaks through, otherwise, the entire Human Realm will fall." Su Ning put the letter into her Storage Pouch: "I will deliver it."

Master Void gave a few more instructions regarding the precautions for using Space-Time Stasis in actual combat, then let her go to rest.

On her last day at Taixu Palace, Su Ning stood on the terrace of the Hall of Space-Time, overlooking the sea of clouds. The sun rose from the east, dyeing the sea of clouds gold, and the distant mountains appeared and disappeared in the morning mist. The wind blew her robes, and silver-white Qi swirled at her fingertips. She remembered the scene when she first met Gao Feng. At that time, she was a loner in the inner sect of the Wuxiang Sect, watching coldly from the sidelines, thinking Gao Feng was just a boor who only knew how to charge forward, not understanding strategy or how to maneuver. Unexpectedly, this boor had become the most important companion in her life. She remembered the back of Gao Feng facing the King of Ten Thousand Races on the walls of Meteor City, remembered his gaze when he confronted Gu Changkong in the Void, and remembered his reluctance when he distributed gifts in the War God Pavilion.

"Thank you, Gao Feng." She said softly to the distant sky, "It was you who let me know that I am not alone."

Su Ning left Taixu Palace and returned to the Meteor Realm. She needed to continue cultivating in the War God Pavilion, consolidating "Space-Time Stasis," while waiting for the return of her other teammates. Her cultivation was at the Peak of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the Golden Core. Her abilities were Mastery of Space Cutting, Introduction to Time Reversal, and Introduction to Space-Time Stasis. She carried Master Void's letter with her, regarding the true cultivation of the Blood Venerable.

First level of the Nascent Soul. Su Ning looked at the distant sky, her eyes full of seriousness. The sea of clouds surged beneath her feet, and the wind blew her robes.

She raised her hand, and silver-white light condensed in her palm—that was the Qi of Space-Time Stasis. She had not yet used this secret technique in actual combat, but she knew it would be her greatest trump card in the battles to come.