Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 11: Bone Transformation

Chapter 11: Bone Transformation

From within her own shadow, new flesh and blood began to grow…

Lu Chanji had no idea how long she had been wandering.

After leaping from Sword Forging Cliff, she had believed death was certain either becoming a wisp of remnant soul upon the Yinghuo Sword or dissipating into nothingness like smoke and dust.

Yet against all odds, she survived.

Though “survived” wasn’t entirely accurate.

Her state resembled that of a wandering spirit, yet she was not one she was a shadow.

What remained alive was her shadow.

In the beginning, she lingered within the territory of the Sword Inheriting Sect, hiding within the shadows of rocks, watching the moon rise and set beyond the narrow crevices, observing the withering and blooming of plants.

No one would have imagined that a shadow, akin to a wandering soul, lurked within the fissures of rocks. Occasionally, Sword Cultivators passing by for rest would discuss matters concerning the Sword Inheriting Sect, and Lu Chanji would catch fragments of news about Lu Wenshu:

Lu Wenshu had obtained the sect’s treasured artifact, “Yinghuo.” With sword in hand, the youth emerged as an unstoppable genius Sword Cultivator across the Great Ocean Ten Continents.

Lu Wenshu had become the sect leader of the Sword Inheriting Sect, vanquishing demons and eradicating evil, his reputation soaring as a pillar of the Giant Sea Ten Provinces.

Lu Wenshu and Xue Huailing had forged a pact and were soon to become Cultivation Partners. Their union was a match of equal status, a powerful alliance between two great sects, celebrated throughout the Giant Sea Ten Provinces.

She yearned to leap out and tell these cultivators that Lu Wenshu was nothing like they imagined a talented youth with a warm heart. He was a complete madman, a hypocrite with a benevolent face and a wicked heart.

False! All of it was false! Everything was a lie!

But no matter how unwilling or furious Lu Chanji felt, she was merely a shadow.

Just like her laughable thirteen years living blindly on Azure Peak, trusting completely, utterly defenseless, she had become a shadow trailing behind Lu Wenshu. And now, in this timeless existence after death, she was completely unable to connect with the outside world.

In the early days after her death, Lu Chanji often wondered if she was merely trapped in a nightmare.

As time passed, she finally accepted reality.

She could not move, make a sound, touch anything in the mortal realm, or influence the world in any way. Most of the time, she could only lie in dark corners, listening to other cultivators praise Lu Wenshu’s glorious achievements and extol his virtues, seething with resentment yet powerless to change anything.

Time flowed silently, unable to erase even a fraction of the pain in Lu Chanji’s heart, yet it weathered away the rock she hid within.

Afterward, Lu Chanji concealed herself under the shadow of a fallen leaf, drifting away with the wind, far from the Sword Inheriting Sect.

Wherever the wind blew the leaf, she drifted like duckweed, here today, gone tomorrow.

Sometimes, watching eagles soar overhead, she would change her hiding place, following their shadows.

The eagles carried her to distant lands, freely soaring over grasslands and across mountain ranges. By the time they settled, the surroundings were often entirely unfamiliar to her.

And so, Lu Chanji embarked on a journey that seemed to have no end.

She seemed to have traversed every corner of the Great Ocean Ten Continents, unknowingly passing many more years.

Throughout this time, she drifted between sleep and wakefulness, a transient guest in this world, a dreamer in a fleeting existence.

In a desolate marsh-like wasteland, no insect chirps could be heard, no beasts were seen, and the barren land bore not a single blade of grass.
The sky was dim and gloomy, shrouded in heavy darkness of night.

An exceptionally tall tree stretched its thick branches freely, its dense canopy engulfed in raging flames white fire, gentle and silent, like moonlight spilled from the heavens. The blaze illuminated the surrounding ten miles as bright as day, yet unlike the radiance of sunlight, the ground appeared as if frosted over. As the fire burned, leaves from the canopy drifted down incessantly, the white foliage settling on the ground, pure and pristine like freshly fallen snow.

First, a slender, pale hand brushed away the accumulated leaves covering her, followed by the emergence of a head.

Lu Chanji awoke amidst the pile of white leaves.

Her excessively long ink-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, enveloping her naked form. Propping herself up with her hands behind her, she tilted her head back, her pitch-black eyes dazed like those of a newborn infant, staring blankly at the sky for a long time without moving.

It felt as though she had slept for an eternity had she… come back to life?

This body now possessed the tangible sensation of being human, no longer weightless as a swan’s feather, drifting with the wind.

The pulsating rhythm of blood vessels beneath her skin and the beating heart in her chest vividly affirmed that she was alive.

She had grown new flesh and blood from her own shadow. Though exceedingly weak, her breathing was real.

“You’ve awakened, descendant of the Yuanshen Kui Clan.”

An aged voice suddenly echoed from an unknown source, pulling Lu Chanji from her thoughts.

She paused briefly, then, with a flicker of intent, reached out and drew her shadow around herself like a garment, draping it over her body.

Afterward, she rose from the bed of leaves and turned toward the origin of the voice the tree burning quietly.

It was the tree speaking.

Barefoot, Lu Chanji tread upon the fallen leaves, step by step approaching the tree, her heart unafraid.

Instinct told her that her body had undergone changes; she could feel threads of Spiritual Power coursing ceaselessly through her limbs and bones, mending the damaged Spirit Veins from her death.

Having been reborn from death, she was no longer who she once was.

“Who are you? Where is this place?” Lu Chanji asked.

“Me? I am the Inexhaustible Tree. This is Long Island the barren land where the Ancient Remnants cling to life, struggling to survive.”

Lu Chanji had read many ancient texts and knew of Long Island, but she was not very familiar with the Ancient Remnants.

The Great Ocean Ten Continents consisted of Ancestor Continent, Ying Continent, Mystic Continent, Flame Continent, Long Island, Origin Continent, Flowing Continent, Life Continent, Phoenix Scale Continent, and Gathering Abyss Continent.

Since the last descent of the Demon Lord, cultivators from the Great Ocean Ten Continents had sacrificed themselves one after another, preventing the crisis of Annihilation, but at a grievous cost.

The Shennong Clan of Ancestor Continent fell, never to recover. The cultivators of Mystic Continent, Origin Continent, and Life Continent were nearly wiped out, their sects destroyed.

From what Lu Chanji knew, only Ying Continent, Flame Continent, Flowing Continent, Phoenix Scale Continent, and Gathering Abyss Continent remained active among the Great Ocean Ten Continents.

Long Island, however, was unique.

Long Island was said to be the dwelling of the Ancient Remnants, who had long withdrawn from the world even before the Demon Lord’s descent. Even in the Sword Inheriting Sect’s library, records about the Ancient Remnants were scarce.

Unexpectedly, she now stood upon the soil of Long Island.

Lu Chanji asked, “What did you call me earlier? Descendant of the Yuanshen Kui Clan?”

“Yuan Shen Kui-shi, your ancestors, like me, were born on Long Island and raised on Long Island. Since the primordial god Pangu separated heaven and earth, through Kuafu chasing the sun and Nüwa creating humans, the world has undergone tremendous changes. The Great Ocean Ten Continents of today are not the same as before. The current Great Ocean Ten Continents are becoming increasingly unsuitable for old-timers like us to survive. Those who cannot adapt can only face Annihilation. It has been so very long since I last encountered a companion from our homeland you are the first in all these years.” It let out a long sigh, its voice sounding utterly exhausted and ancient.

Snow-white leaves continued to rustle down, soon covering Lu Chanji from head to toe.

She remained motionless, still not fully comprehending: “But I was merely an ordinary mortal before.”

The Inexhaustible Tree explained: “The Ancient Remnants possess unique constitutions, different from modern cultivators. The current Spiritual power is incompatible with our cultivation methods. Our bodies cannot contain Spiritual power, preventing us from practicing magic. After centuries without progress in cultivation, we gradually evolved into ordinary mortals, losing our Immortal Affinity forever, never again qualifying for immortal ascension.”

A Chan, your special constitution makes you the perfect sacrifice for the sword. Yinghuo will greatly favor you.

Lu Wenshu’s words still echoed in her ears. Hearing this, Lu Chanji couldn’t help but reveal an ambiguous cold smile, almost self-mocking.

So this was what “special constitution” truly meant.

Just thinking about it, her body seemed to relive the pain of being split open by Yinghuo’s Sword Qi a single vicious, sharp Sword Qi had torn her flesh open, leaving her bloody and mangled.

Lu Chanji had to dig her nails deeply into her palms to suppress this bone-deep agony from her memories, ensuring no trace of it showed on her face.

After a long while, she finally regained her composure.

Lu Chanji closed her eyes, sensing the differences in her body compared to before. She could feel a strange Spiritual power circulating within her dantian and spiritual mansion, gently brushing against her newly formed body. Though faint and unfamiliar, this Spiritual power obeyed her, controlled by her, serving her purposes.

Lu Chanji opened her eyes and murmured: “Now I can wield Spiritual power. It seems… I can cultivate.”

“Cultivators train their spiritual souls if the spiritual soul doesn’t perish, the physical body cannot die. But you, Yuan Shen Kui-shi, cultivate shadows. If the shadow doesn’t perish, the physical body cannot die. Awakening from the shadows means you’ve been reborn, transformed and renewed. As for me, the Inexhaustible Tree, I’ve managed to survive on Long Island until now by utilizing meager Spiritual power to sustain myself, avoiding withering away.”

Lu Chanji sat quietly among the fallen leaves, her jet-black hair and shadow-made clothing making her appear like a black chess piece dropped onto white paper.

After some thought, Lu Chanji asked: “Are there others here besides you?”

The Inexhaustible Tree shook its crown, causing more leaves to fall from its canopy.

“If anyone awakens and sees my fire, they will naturally follow the light to come here. As long as I stand here, all those outside will never lose their way home.”

In this barren wasteland where not even grass grew, its quietly brilliant flames were indeed difficult to ignore.

Lu Chanji paused in thought, speculating that when she was a shadow, she might have been drawn by the Inexhaustible Tree’s firelight, drifting until she reached Long Island.

But the Inexhaustible Tree had said the Ancient Remnants couldn’t adapt to the current environment. If it kept burning like this, wouldn’t it consume endless Spiritual power?

Lu Chanji asked: “How long do you plan to keep burning?”
“I ignite in April and extinguish by December. This cycle repeats year after year, until the moment I wither completely.” The Inexhaustible Tree murmured in reply, its voice more ancient and desolate than any sound Lu Chanji had ever heard.

A thought stirred in Lu Chanji’s heart, and she asked, “Since you burn in such endless cycles, do you know how long my shadow has been slumbering here?”

“One thousand years,” said the Inexhaustible Tree. “You have slept here for one thousand years. My canopy has withered and flourished one thousand times.”

Lu Chanji stood in stunned silence.

So… it has been a thousand years.