Feiyan was both overjoyed and somewhat worried. Although she had failed when she tried to refine the Yao Yue Heart years ago, having stayed in Yao Yue Palace for so many years, she naturally knew that fusing with the Yao Yue Heart should not be rushed. Being able to refine it was already quite an achievement; to fuse with it would require a very, very long time—decades, even centuries, perhaps even millennia.
Han Dong had just refined the Yao Yue Heart and was now immediately attempting fusion. It was far too hasty. Feiyan tried to see if she could communicate with Han Dong to persuade her. However, the Han Dong in this state seemed completely unable to hear her words. Moreover, the cold, moonlit radiance surrounding her grew increasingly powerful, her expression more and more pained, and her body trembled more violently.
"Your Majesty, look at Little Dong, she..." Gu Qingfeng was not familiar with the Yao Yue Heart and had never come into contact with it. He didn't know if Han Dong's current condition was normal or not.
He released his divine sense to investigate. On the surface, everything seemed normal, but that was only superficial. What puzzled Gu Qingfeng was that the speed at which Han Dong was fusing with the Yao Yue Heart seemed rather violent. The two seemed to attract each other, rapidly merging—first the acupoints throughout her body, then her bloodline, meridians, Purple Mansion, and so on...
Almost every sect possessed its own Legacy, passed down by the founding patriarch who established the sect. This Legacy was not only connected to the sect's spiritual veins but also intertwined with the sect's many formations and secrets.
If that were all, it would hardly be worthy of being called a Legacy.
In truth, the sect's Legacy also contained the founding patriarch's final instructions, tenets, even spiritual aspirations, will inheritance, and so on. It was then passed down through successive generations of sect masters. Simultaneously, the Legacy Heart would grow stronger and stronger, like a rolling snowball. In other words, the longer a Legacy Heart was passed down, the more difficult it was to refine, and even harder to fuse with.
The Yao Yue Palace's Legacy was nearly ten thousand years old and had passed through several palace masters. Logically, fusing with the Yao Yue Heart should have been even more difficult. So why, when it came to Han Dong, was it so rapid—rapid to an utterly exaggerated degree?
Not only was there no rejection during the fusion, there wasn't even a hint of discomfort. The two were like long-lost relatives, or even more like they were originally one entity.
In a very short time, the Yao Yue Heart not only fused with Han Dong's acupoints, bloodline, meridians, and Purple Mansion, but also merged with her primordial spirit. Even more exaggerated, after the fusion, Han Dong's primordial spirit grew at an inconceivable speed—taking form, gaining spirit, becoming divine.
Whoosh!
The cold, moonlit radiance blazed like a raging flame.
Then, Han Dong actually condensed a Dao-heart.
"How could Little Dong's cultivation level..." Feiyan stared wide-eyed, utterly dumbfounded. This scene completely exceeded her understanding. Although she knew that fusing with the Yao Yue Heart would lead to some advancement in cultivation, that was supposed to be an extremely long process.
Yet Han Dong not only refined and fused with the Yao Yue Heart in such a short time, but her cultivation level also broke through three realms in the span of a few breaths.
Looking at all the past palace masters of Yao Yue Palace, aside from Empress Zhuoyue, the other masters took hundreds or even thousands of years just to refine the Yao Yue Heart, let alone fuse with it. Their cultivation advancements were also gradual and step-by-step.
Could it be that Han Dong was also a peerless prodigy like Empress Zhuoyue?
She still clearly remembered that when Empress Zhuoyue refined the Yao Yue Heart, it also took a very short time. The fusion was the same. As for her cultivation, she broke through several realms consecutively. However, Empress Zhuoyue was a peerless prodigy, and her mother was the previous palace master. It could be said that Empress Zhuoyue had been absorbing the Yao Yue Spirit from the womb, born with a psychic connection to the Yao Yue Heart.
Both refinement and fusion were beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
Although Han Dong's aptitude was good, it was far inferior to Empress Zhuoyue's, and she had no blood relation to the Empress. So why did her refinement and fusion of the Yao Yue Heart seem even more exaggerated than Empress Zhuoyue's?
"What is the relationship between Han Dong and Feng Zhuyue?"
Gu Qingfeng seemed to have noticed something and suddenly asked.
"Relationship? Little Dong and the Empress share no blood relation. The Empress disappeared over fifty years ago, while Little Dong is only in her twenties."
"Who are Han Dong's parents?"
"I don't know. Little Dong is an orphan."
"An orphan?"
Gu Qingfeng slightly furrowed his brow and asked again, "Then how did she enter your Yao Yue Palace?"
"It was the Yao Yue Heart."
"The Yao Yue Heart? What do you mean?"
"This is how it happened. After the Empress mysteriously disappeared, I was unable to refine the Yao Yue Heart. In my hands, the Yao Yue Heart was like a dead object, without even a trace of spirituality. But then one day, for some reason, the Yao Yue Heart suddenly seemed to come alive, very excited. It guided me to find an abandoned baby in a forest. That baby was Han Dong. She wasn't even nine months old at the time."
"The Yao Yue Heart possesses spirituality. Since it found Little Dong, it meant Little Dong's aptitude was excellent, or at least very suitable for cultivating our Yao Yue Palace's Yao Yue Spirit. For me, this was a very fortunate thing, as I couldn't refine the Yao Yue Heart. So I took Little Dong as my disciple, hoping that when she grew up, she could refine and fuse with the Yao Yue Heart, inherit the position of Yao Yue Palace Master, and thus give an account to the Empress."
Feiyan's explanation was both reasonable and logical. Gu Qingfeng couldn't think of anything strange about it.
After all, a sect's Legacy inherently fused the spiritual will of successive sect masters. It wasn't strange for it to possess spirituality and naturally sense a suitable corresponding spiritual body. Many major sects also relied on their Legacy Hearts to select direct disciples, even heir apparent disciples.
However!
Even if Han Dong's physique was suitable for the Yao Yue Heart, the speed of fusion couldn't possibly be this fast.
Gu Qingfeng kept staring at Han Dong. He realized that what was happening between Han Dong and the Yao Yue Heart could no longer be called fusion. It was more like a return, extremely natural, as natural as two drops of water merging into one, indistinguishable from each other.
What in the world was going on?
For the moment, Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out.
"Your Majesty, with Little Dong's cultivation growing so rapidly, could there be any problems? She has already condensed a Dao-heart now, and for the Dao-heart realm, consolidation is most crucial. If her Dao-heart is unstable, Little Dong's future might be..."
"Let's wait and see for now. Many things vary from person to person."
Gu Qingfeng's voice came through. Feiyan, already anxious and fearful, grew even more uneasy. At that moment, Han Dong, sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly underwent a strange transformation. Her expression grew increasingly pained. Her body no longer trembled but instead became blurry, as if fusing with the cold, moonlit radiance.
"No! No! No!"
"Why! Why!"
Instantly, Han Dong's agonized cries rang out.