Chapter 3: Enlightenment

“Wow, my mind finally feels clear.”

Yu Yuan rubbed his forehead with one hand and said calmly, “The past years have felt like a long nightmare. Today, I am finally awake. I wonder, what do I actually look like?”

The three Souls of Heaven, Earth, and Life were the foundation of human consciousness. They were also the basis for the Path of Cultivation.

The Soul of Earth, which bears the memory, with persistence and hard work, can transform into the Yin God after breaking past the Profound realm.

After that, the Soul of Heaven, which is the source of wisdom, would transform into Yang God after breaking past the Soul Wanderer realm.

The Soul of Life, also called the Soul of Human or the Main Soul, is the core of the Main Path. After both Yin and Yang Gods had settled, it would become a Free Spirit and then condense into a Divine Spirit.

Yin God is void, Yang God is solid, and Divine Spirit is eternal.

Since Yu Yuan’s Soul of Earth and Soul of Heaven had only just returned, he missed a large portion of his memories and experiences of the past seventeen years. The maid in front of him was perfectly placed to help him fill in some of the blanks.

He had to figure out his identity and current situation.

“Young Master, you are the future master of the Yu Clan. You were not smart but not that bad either. But there are still many people who actually want you dead…”

The maid’s name was An Ziqing. She told him almost everything she knew about Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan interrupted the young maid often in an attempt to better understand his present situation.

It took Yu Yuan most of the morning to get a good enough understanding of his status in this new life. Apparently, he had gone through endless criticism and was often bullied by people of his generation.

“Land of Qianxuan, Silver Moon Empire, Yu Clan’s Young Master, an arranged marriage without my permission, an evil old man that wants to kill me…”

Brand-new memories streamed into his Soul of Earth and mixed with his previous life’s experience.

The Yu Clan was just a small clan in the Silver Moon Empire that grew medicinal herbs for a living. Those were mainly sold to the Su Clan.

The Su Clan was the second-largest clan in the Empire. They had dedicated alchemistshere refers to medicinal alchemy, people who refine pills professionally working day and night to refine various pills, which supplied most of the warriors and cultivators in the Empire.

There were a lot of families in the Silver Moon Empire like the Yu clan that supplied the Su family with medicinal herbs.

The Su clan also purchased large amounts of those herbs from other Empires to refine medicine.

In his past life, Yu Yuan was the leader of the Medicine God Sect, so he knew both the powers of alchemists and the importance of medication.

The refinement of medicinal pills was a huge industrial chain. Families like the Yu clan, however, were at the very bottom of it.

“What about my parents?”

“Soon after you were born, everyone thought that your mind was not developed since you couldn’t speak properly. Both of your parents went out to try and find a cure, and I heard that they both died at the Nine Deep Cliffs. Grandpa Yu was heartbroken by the news. The Huang Clan, our long time enemies in Dark Moon City, took the chance to hire some masters to invade the mansion and break your grandfather’s knees.

“From that point on, our Yu clan never recovered from the losses, and your grandpa was greatly discouraged.

“Three months ago, your fiancée came to see you. She helped us fight against the Huang Clan, effectively stopping them from doing more damage. We expected that, thanks to her influence, the Yu Clan would be able to make a comeback, but she had only her greedy desires in mind. Her servant Yin Jue already told us that they want our family’s treasure, the Ice Soul Crystal.

“I am so sorry for you, young master…”

An Ziqing quietly wiped tears off her face. The story of their clan was truly not a happy one.

Yu Yuan’s eyes narrowed and his expression got colder.

He never thought that, even in this new life, he would encounter so many difficulties right from the start.

Because of him, both of his parents died and his clan was perpetually shamed.

He was also an orphan in his previous life. After he was brought into the Medicine God Sect by his master, he never experienced what it was like to be part of a clan.

“Now my three souls are finally reunited while my meridians are unobstructed. This means I will have unlimited possibilities in this life! Aside from refining medicine, I will have a chance to see the end of the Path with my own two eyes!

“Many regrets from my past life can finally be fulfilled!”

After realizing the unpleasant situation he was in, Yu Yuan didn’t feel frustration, instead, only enthusiasm and courage filled his heart.

“Squeak!”

The door opened once again and Ning Yue came in with a sad look. He had come to confirm Yu Yuan’s death on behalf of his old friend.

“You!”

He screamed in amazement after he saw Yu Yuan, “You! How are you still alive? How is this possible? Before I left, your Soul of Life was about to fade away!”

“Well, I still have to thank you for setting up the flags that woke me up. It seems my other two souls were in a deep coma. I might not have been able to awaken if not for you!”

Yu Yuan got up and thanked him for his efforts.

“What!” Ning Ji awkwardly stuttered, “Bo-both your Souls of Earth and Heaven are complete?”

Yu Yuan nodded with a smile.

Ning Ji stood there like a statue.

Ning Ji knew that the Soul Attracting Flags were all but useless. There was simply no way for them to have had such a spectacular effect. The Flags could not even stop Yu Yuan’s Soul of Life from fading, not to mention awakening the Souls of Heaven or Earth.

That was because he was quite inept at controlling the Flags’ power.

But now Yu Yuan’s eyes were clear and filled with energy, obviously showcasing a full return of all three souls!

“Where is my grandpa? Why isn’t he here?” Yu Yuan wondered, “Don’t tell me that he didn’t want to see me even on my deathbed.”

“Oh yeah, where is he?” An Ziqing wiped off her tears and tried to put on a smile, and said, “This is great news that will definitely cheer him up. I’ll go tell him immediately!”

Ning Ji’s eyes dimmed, “He may not be able to hear the good news right now.”

“Why?” Yu Yuan frowned.

“When I visited him this morning, I learned that after returning last night, he fell unconscious. I checked his pulse and it seemed to just be a high fever.” Ning Ji seemed confused, “The injuries from yesterday were already mostly healed. Logically, even if he had caught a cold, he wouldn’t have fallen unconscious or suffered from such a high fever.”

“I need to go there now! Take me to the city!”

…

Two hours later.

Dark Moon City, North Side, Yu Clan.

In the clan leader’s pavilion, members of the Yu Clan were gathered around Yu Can’s bed wearing worried and defeated expressions.

“It must be Yuan’s death that caused the old man’s condition to deteriorate to this point.”

“Hey, no wonder Uncle can’t bear it. Yuan hasn’t had any children yet. Doesn’t this mean that Uncle’s direct bloodline will end?”

“Since Yuan is dead, Young Lady Lin will most likely not marry into the clan. If she takes back her support, I’m afraid that the Huang Clan will be back in no time.”

“If Grandpa doesn’t wake up, who will be the backbone of the clan?”

The members of the Yu Clan chattered among themselves. They felt that the Yu Clan’s end was quite near.

“Uncles and brothers, please do not panic. Before Grandpa wakes up, I will support our Yu Clan!”

A strong-sounding young man walked into the pavilion.

“You, you are…?”

Yu Wei looked shocked and stared at Yu Yuan for a while without reaction.

He knew he was looking at his nephew, but the Yu Yuan in front of him looked so vigorous and energetic that he had trouble believing his own eyes. Yu Yuan’s whole spirit was filled with power from his Souls of Earth and Heaven.

Not only Yu Wei but the other members of the clan also almost didn’t recognize this Yu Yuan from the one they had grown used to.

“Uncles, I am Yu Yuan! I regained my missing Souls and am in better health than ever!” Yu Yuan said loudly.

“What!”

“You are Yu Yuan? You’re not dead?”

“You… you can speak now?”

“What? What happened to you? ”

The Yu Clan members all exclaimed at the same time.

Ning Ji and An Ziqing soon came in as well to explain to the shocked people what happened to Yu Yuan and how he was able to wake up from his coma.

The pavilion was suddenly overwhelmed by the noises of heated discussions.

Yu Yuan’s uncle looked at him suspiciously. Some suspected that Ning Ji was lying, and some even thought the Yu Yuan in front of them was fake.

“Calm down everyone. Can I please have a moment alone with Grandpa?” Yu Yuan gave a little cough and waited for everyone to be quiet before he said, “I know that you are all having a hard time accepting the reality of my return. To be honest, I myself was quite disoriented when I awoke.”

“When Grandpa wakes up, I want to be the first to talk with him. This should also give all of you some time to process this situation.

“You needn’t worry, Mr. Ning can certify that I am the real Yu Yuan. If you still don’t trust me, Mr. Ning can stay with me until Grandpa recovers from the fever.”

“…”

Finally, after his extended speech, the clan members inside Yu Can’s pavilion left the trio by themselves, their minds filled with doubts.

An Ziqing was also asked to stay outside, informing everyone who passed by to keep their distance.

On the bed, the old man was burning up. His breath was heavy and his cheeks red.

Pieces of ice jade, wrapped in towels, were placed on his forehead and under his neck to help cool him down.

“Last night, you were the one that fell ill. This morning, when you finally woke up, your grandfather fell ill.” Ning Ji checked Yu Can’s pulse and heartbeat again, frowning, “It seems just like any other fever, but why is he not conscious?”

Looking at the old man with a high fever, Yu Yuan remembered what An Ziqing said. For years his grandpa had suffered endless grievances because of him, and yet he never once gave up on him and always lovingly took care of him.

Ever since his parents went missing in the Nine Deep Cliffs, none but his grandpa cared for him in the clan.

It was for this reason that the old man did not hesitate to insist on his marriage with Lin Zhuyun, something that greatly offended the rest of the Lin Clan.

“I am now awake and will make sure that you will be safe.” Yu Yuan took a deep breath and turned to Ning Ji, “I heard the maid say that Yin Jue fought with my Grandfather?”

“Yes, but he was quickly stopped by your fiancée. She also helped your grandfather and myself to recover from most of our injuries and loss of spiritual energy.” Ning Ji said.

“Can you describe what happened when Yin Jue attacked Grandpa?”

“There was a thin bloodred line that appeared on his forehead and started emerging from in between his eyebrows before he was stopped. But after your fiancée healed us, it has become much lighter. Now if you don’t look closely, you can hardly even notice it.”

“Oh?”

Yu Yuan lowered his head toward the old man’s forehead and found a faint, thin line of blood, easily mistakable for a small red hair.

Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes and his pupils shrunk. He then said quietly, “Red Shell Bloodworm!”

…

Edited By He-Ka