Chapter 458 - 432: The Jade-Belt River and a Thousand Miles of Ice and Snow

Song Ciwan had no idea what was happening far away in the Capital.

Over the next three days, she traveled upstream along the banks of the Jing River, passing several cities.

However, Song Ciwan did not enter any of them. When she stopped to rest at night, she would simply summon the Han Guang Glaze Residence on the roadside. With this Treasure Residence protecting her, wherever she went, her home was with her.

This feeling of carrying her home with her meant that even though she was a lone traveler, she didn’t feel adrift or rootless. On the contrary, surrounded by the vastness of the world, Song Ciwan felt an extraordinary sense of freedom and exhilaration.

Even the chill in the air felt refreshingly crisp and invigorating as she breathed.

The long river flowed like a jade belt across a thousand miles of ice and snow. Mountains and streams were cloaked in white, and every blade of grass and tree branch was coated in frost.

To Song Ciwan, this winter landscape felt more crisp and clear than bleak and desolate. After witnessing the world’s vastness and freedom, no one would ever want to be trapped in a tiny space again, scrambling for trivial gains without knowing what lay ahead.

Sometimes, all it took to free the mind was a spontaneous journey like this.

Traveling was, in itself, a form of Cultivation.

During this time, her proficiency in the Third Layer of the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting also increased rapidly.

Her Dantian was as vast as a sea of stars. After she broke through to the Divinity Transformation Realm, the True Qi that had once gathered like droplets of water was compressed even further, once again taking on a form as viscous as lead and mercury.

As a result, the "water level" in her Dantian Sea dropped once again.

She would have to refill the seemingly empty Dantian Sea before she could break through to the Mid-Stage Divinity Transformation.

As for breaking through to the Late Stage, or even Perfection, and then advancing further to the Divine Refining Stage, that was no longer just a matter of accumulating True Qi. It required a spiritual metamorphosis, strengthening her spirit until it was almost tangible, able to leave her body and withstand the world’s astral winds and the myriad mortal thoughts. Only then could she even touch the threshold of the Divine Refining Stage.

However, Song Ciwan had already forged her spirit back in the Qi Refining Stage. Since then, it had been stationed in her Sea of Consciousness, constantly tempered by the Samadhi True Fire. In terms of spiritual strength, she was already on par with a typical Divine Refining Stage cultivator.

All she lacked was the ability to have her spirit freely leave her body at will.

It was worth noting that she had already obtained something similar to the Outer Body Incarnation—a technique unique to the Divine Refining Stage—long ago by trading materials through the Heaven and Earth Scale.

Over the past few days, whenever she had the chance, she would take out the Celestial Fiend Incarnation she had acquired and work on its Refinement in the Cultivation Room of her Han Guang Glaze Residence.

By now, she had refined the Celestial Fiend Incarnation to the point where, within a thousand-mile radius, she could command it to move freely. She could split her focus at any time, using the incarnation to act in her place and handle any inconvenient tasks.

Of course, Song Ciwan wouldn’t use this incarnation unless it was absolutely necessary.

An incarnation like this was best saved for critical moments, kept hidden as a trump card.

During those three days of traveling north along the river, Song Ciwan was both leisurely and busy.

During this time, she sold off the various spoils she had acquired from killing Steward Luo.

For instance, the first thing she sold was the Treasure Map.

Along with it, she offered up ten thousand Primordial Pearls, which had also been looted from Steward Luo’s Storage Ring.

It had to be said, Steward Luo was absolutely loaded. The wealth he carried with him actually surpassed that of the former Second Young Master!

It wasn’t that the Second Young Master was necessarily poorer than Steward Luo. The main reason was that when Song Ciwan fought him, her Cultivation was still relatively weak, and the battle had been so intense that many of his belongings were destroyed in the process.

When it came to Steward Luo, however, Song Ciwan had completely overwhelmed him. It was an easy victory, so naturally, none of his possessions were damaged.

Furthermore, the Second Young Master wouldn’t have carried his entire fortune on his person, whereas Steward Luo clearly did.

Besides the Treasure Map, he had two Upper Grade Magical Treasures, three Middle Grade Magical Treasures, and five Lower Grade Magical Treasures.

In addition, there were six hundred thousand Primordial Pearls!

There were also over a hundred Four-star Elixirs of various types and six hundred Three-star Elixirs. As for the other miscellaneous items like Talismans and materials, they weren’t worth mentioning in detail, but suffice it to say they were numerous, varied, and quite valuable.

Steward Luo carried five Storage Pouches alone.

He also had a Storage Ring, a Storage Belt, a Qiankun Basket, and other similar items.

Song Ciwan even discovered a Four-star Marvel called an Injury Exchange Order clutched in Steward Luo’s hand. This order could only be used three times. To use it, one had to hold the order in one hand while the other hand simply needed to touch any part of the target—

And that meant *any* part.

This "any part" even included things like the corner of their clothing or the sole of their shoe. A mere moment of contact with one of these objects was enough; upon activating the Injury Exchange Order, the injuries of both parties would be swapped.

After taking stock of this item, Song Ciwan finally understood why, back when Steward Luo was on the verge of death from his grievous wounds, his human desires had still contained a sliver of "anticipation."

Obviously, Steward Luo had been hoping Song Ciwan would get closer to him.

At that moment, he would have suddenly lashed out and touched any part of her.

A single moment of contact would have been enough to swap their injuries. At that point, the tables would have been turned in an instant!

This was Steward Luo’s ultimate trump card, but unfortunately for him, he never got the chance to use it.

Marvels were truly bizarre things that defied all logic.

With Steward Luo having been so wealthy, Song Ciwan spent the next few days on a very satisfying selling spree.

[You have sold one Celestial Immortal Secret Realm Treasure Map with special markings and 10,000 Primordial Pearls. You have received the Middle Grade Magical Treasure: Yuan Storage Map.]

Yuan Storage Map: An item that stores Vitality. When placed outdoors, it automatically absorbs and stores immense amounts of Vitality. The Vitality within the map is pure and gentle, and can be drawn upon at any time or withdrawn in a large burst.

’This... This is a fantastic treasure for replenishing True Qi, and it’s perfect for use in combat!’

Song Ciwan immediately bound the Yuan Storage Map to herself through Refinement and quickly filled it with Vitality in batches.

[You have sold one Four-star Marvel, the Injury Exchange Order, in perfect condition, and 10,000 Primordial Pearls. You have received the Middle Grade Magical Treasure: Thought Scythe.]

Thought Scythe: This blade is formless and intangible, existing only within one’s thoughts. Where the thought directs, it exchanges injury for injury.

’What a peculiar Magical Treasure. Even though it’s only a Middle Grade Magical Treasure, its effect is so strange that it’s almost like a law of reality!’

Song Ciwan quickly refined this Magical Treasure as well. You either never used bizarre items like this, or when you did, the results were often an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

With her pile of new acquisitions, Song Ciwan arrived at the upper reaches of the Jing River.

Just as she was about to cross the river, she suddenly came across a fish and a bird chasing each other.

The Fish Demon leaped from the water as the Bird Demon swooped down. As they fought, they traded insults in human speech, cursing incessantly.

During the chase, the Fish Demon revealed a shocking piece of news. It dove back into the water, shouting as it cursed, "You wretched bird! All you know is how to bully me, but you have no idea that something huge is about to happen at the border. Instead of seeking your fortune, you’re wasting your time tangling with a little fish like me. It’s just as the Human Race says: you’re picking up sesame seeds while dropping the watermelon!

Why are you so stupid?"