Chapter 264 : Ever-Changing

Chapter 264: Ever-Changing

Yuqing Immortal Sect, Library.

Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beasts Compilation Section.

A young man sat cross-legged before a jade table, his divine sense sweeping over the Temperament Studies of Thirty-Six Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beasts.

‘Five Qi Vine, ever-changing, takes delight in those possessing all five elements. Its patterns resemble engravings; its nature akin to a thief.’

After reading the temperament study on the Five Qi Vine, a gleam flickered in Chen Beiwu’s Guarding-the-One Mirror within his spiritual platform. He cleared away his startled thoughts and purified his mind.

The Bixiao Immortal Sect’s exclusive treasure beast, the Biluosong, while commendable and compatible with cultivators of the All Laws Converge, Heaven Book of the Divine Tree, still paled considerably in comparison to the Yuqing Immortal Sect’s Five Qi Vine.

What did “ever-changing” truly mean?

The Five Qi Vine could suppress the five elements. Based on the opponent's elemental balance and interactions, it could freely shift its own elemental attributes to gain an overwhelming advantage.

Moreover, during battle, the Five Qi Vine could sever its tendrils, parasitize its opponent, and convert the host into a puppet fully under its control—capable of absorbing transferred damage or even substituting itself at critical moments.

In ancient times, the Five Qi Vine was a transformed offshoot of the Yuqing Grotto-Heaven’s Sect-Protecting Divine Tree—an extremely dangerous top-tier Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast that once instilled fear in cultivators.

Cultivators lacking sufficient aptitude or strength, let alone contract it, could instead fall prey and become its human puppet.

However, in the era of the Immortal Alliance, the Five Qi Vine was gradually tamed by powerful cultivators of the Yuqing Immortal Sect. Its descendants became significantly less dangerous.

In recent years, cultivators venturing into the depths of the Yuqing Mountains seeking recognition from the Five Qi Vine were almost always blocked by puppets under its control—never seeing its true form and avoiding the fate of becoming a puppet.

Of course, if a sect disciple tried to force their way closer and provoked its wrath, there remained the risk of perishing.

‘Only those possessing all five elements may glimpse the true form of the Five Qi Vine.’ Chen Beiwu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

His spiritual root purities were: Metal 20, Wood 83, Water 89, Fire 23, Earth 22.

That meant his Metal, Fire, and Earth roots were mixed-grade roots, while his Wood and Water roots were Heavenly Roots—still far from possessing a complete five-element balance.

If he wished to venture into the Yuqing Mountains to contract the Five Qi Vine, he would need to take an alternative route—perhaps lure it with five-elemental heaven-and-earth treasures.

With this in mind, Chen Beiwu stood and returned the Temperament Studies of Thirty-Six Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beasts to the shelf, leaving the Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast Compilation Section and entering the Myriad Phenomena Miscellany Section.

This section mostly contained heterodox tomes or unverified essays.

A sweep of his divine sense caused Chen Beiwu’s gaze to settle on Record of Dragon Veins Responding to Heavenly Fate. He took it and began reading.

The first thing that caught his eye was the preface:

“Earth veins are like dragons, responding to heaven’s fate. At the beginning of the world, pure qi rose to form stars, and turbid qi sank to form mountains and rivers. At their nexus, where essence remained undivided, lies the dragon vein—the very fate of Heaven and Earth.”

‘Interesting.’ Chen Beiwu grew intrigued and continued reading.

Ever since learning that Nine-Breath Chaos could extract the fate of dragon veins, Chen Beiwu had frequently studied related materials during his leisure.

“Dragon vein fate may manifest in five aspects.”

“Dormant Dragon, Emerging Dragon, Vigilant Dragon, Leaping Dragon, Flying Dragon.”

“Dormant Dragon corresponds to Hidden Fate (unmanifested), Emerging Dragon to Immortal Fate (Dao path), Vigilant Dragon to Ominous Fate (calamities), Leaping Dragon to Transformative Fate (opportunities), Flying Dragon to Heavenly Fate (great tides of destiny)…”

Upon reading this, Chen Beiwu’s heart stirred.

The Dormant Dragon Vein was actually what Southern Wastes cultivators commonly referred to as the Hidden Dragon Vein.

Dormant Dragon represented unmanifested Hidden Fate—so the Crimson Fortune Dragon extracted by Nine-Breath Chaos was likely more compatible with Golden Egg?

If he sought to improve his own fate, he would need to locate a vein corresponding to Immortal Fate (Emerging Dragon), Transformative Fate (Leaping Dragon), or even Heavenly Fate (Flying Dragon).

One of these three dragon vein fates was bound to align with his.

Of course, Chen Beiwu could also be mistaken—these five aspects of dragon veins might not directly enhance a cultivator’s fate. But the chances of that were slim.

“In the ninth year of the Grand Enterprise era, the East Sea rogue cultivator Blood Infant Demon attempted to refine a Xuan-Yin Corpse Emperor by interring nine Golden Armored Corpse Kings in a Leaping Dragon Vein using the Nine Corpses Seize Dragon Burial Technique. True Venerable Jiajing encountered and slew him.”

“During the Huiyu era, a Nascent Soul True Monarch destroyed an Emerging Dragon Vein in an attempt to steal its fate. Three days later, he encountered a deadly foe and perished.”

“In the early Yonghe era, the Golden Core rogue cultivator Mystery Child severed the remnant vein of a dynasty and set a grand formation with himself as the core to absorb the dragon qi for a breakthrough—and died.”

…

“Dragon veins are not dead things. To steal their fate is to seize their life. Those who take by force must bear the dragon’s resentment.”

Upon reaching the final passage, Chen Beiwu realized the latter half of Record of Dragon Veins Responding to Heavenly Fate recounted tragic tales of cultivators forcibly seizing dragon veins—serving as a warning: dragon veins must not be taken lightly.

Chen Beiwu returned the book and sank his consciousness into the Chaos World.

“Whew.”

Moments later, he let out a breath of relief.

Perhaps because Nine-Breath Chaos suppressed it, or because the Hidden Dragon Vein in the Southern Wastes wasn’t destroyed by him, no scarlet baleful fate had emerged within the Chaos World.

As for forcibly destroying a dragon vein to let Nine-Breath Chaos extract fate—this was something Chen Beiwu believed warranted cautious testing.

There was a saying: “A ten-thousand-li dragon vein for a ten-thousand-li layout; a thousand-li landscape for a thousand-li omen.”

To play it safe, he would start by testing on weak veins—such as Weak Dragon Veins or Leaf Dragon Veins.

He would avoid grand and majestic five-aspect dragon veins—or higher-grade ones.

That way, even if destroying a vein risked inciting dragon resentment and backlash, with Nine-Breath Chaos suppressing it, the consequences to him would be minimal.

‘That mysterious Spirit Lake is indeed a dragon vein treasure ground. Judging by its scale and layout, it should be an Advancing Dragon Vein—just slightly stronger than a Weak Dragon Vein. It makes for a good test subject,’ Chen Beiwu mused.

Besides, the mysterious Spirit Lake was already claimed—used as a corpse-refining site by a Golden Core patriarch of the Pei Clan, with a Third-Tier Corpse Refining Evil Formation set over it. It was utterly defiled. Destroying it meant nothing to him—he felt no remorse.

The only question was whether such an Advancing Dragon Vein—polluted and exploited by a demonic cultivator—could still yield fate when struck by Nine-Breath Chaos.

If it worked, who would bear the backlash of the dragon’s resentment—him or the Pei Clan’s Golden Core patriarch who defiled it first?

The more Chen Beiwu thought about it, the more he felt it was feasible. He rose, returned Record of Dragon Veins Responding to Heavenly Fate to the shelf—

Just then, a cold and aloof female cultivator walked over, her jet-black hair tied up, clad in a moon-white flowing immortal skirt, her skin as fair as snow.

Chen Beiwu nodded slightly at Yu Zhaohua, offering a silent greeting.

They were both frequent visitors of the library and occasionally crossed paths.

At first, Chen Beiwu didn’t know who she was.

After meeting her once or twice, he realized that this aloof female cultivator was the top-ranked newcomer Yu Zhaohua—the only innate Dao Body holder among this generation of Yuqing Immortal Sect freshmen. She hailed from the illustrious Heavenly Origin Yu Clan, a Dao Venerable immortal family famed across the Immortal Alliance—her clan’s heritage was unfathomably deep.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that if any freshman of the Yuqing Immortal Sect could win her heart and become her Dao companion, they could rely on her father’s resources and guidance to “freeload” their way into becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

There were even rumors in Fallen Dragon Manor that the renowned True Monarch Jing Yuan, despite his humble origins, was able to soar to fame in just three hundred years and break the Immortal Alliance record to attain the Nascent Soul True Monarch position—not solely because he shone during the Grotto-Heaven Grand Competition and received public praise from a Divine Transformation Venerable.

The most critical factor was that he had been exceptionally accepted into the Sword‑Abyss Immortal Sect, one of the Thirteen Immortal Sects, and during his time there, he met and became Dao companion with the direct daughter of the Northern Dipper Mo Clan.

At the True Monarch Grand Ceremony, Fang Shanglong even publicly thanked his Dao companion, claiming, “Without Fairy Mo’s wholehearted assistance, there would be no present-day True Monarch Fang.”

As a result, there were tales circulating in Fallen Dragon Manor of the story, “A virtuous wife supports my ambition to soar.”

This made it clear just how much support a suitable Dao companion could provide to a heaven’s chosen cultivator born of poverty.

Of course, one still needed strength to forge iron.

If True Monarch Jing Yuan lacked talent and aptitude, he never would have been exceptionally admitted into the Sword‑Abyss Immortal Sect, nor would he have ever had the chance to meet the Mo Clan heiress, let alone become Dao companions.

That was why Chen Beiwu often saw geniuses gather around Yu Zhaohua.

Noticing Chen Beiwu’s gaze, Yu Zhaohua’s eyelashes lightly trembled, and she nodded slightly in return.

After so many encounters in the library, Chen Beiwu had never taken the initiative to exchange pleasantries, so she held a good impression of him.

Sitting in her usual spot, Yu Zhaohua’s will stirred, and she casually pulled out a book to read.

True Canon of Dragon-Taming: Study on the Four Seas Scaled Clans

Seeing the title, Chen Beiwu raised his eyebrows slightly.

This book was rumored to have been written by the descendants of the ancient Dragon-Taming Clan, containing methods for taming, contracting, and dragon-transforming of all scaled species under Heaven.

The library’s copy of True Canon of Dragon-Taming: Study on the Four Seas Scaled Clans was merely a transcribed version. The true original was written on dragon hide and inked with dragon blood—something ordinary cultivators would never glimpse.

It seemed the rumors within Yuqing Immortal Sect were not baseless.

Yu Zhaohua had remained at the Foundation Establishment stage for over a decade in order to activate the bloodline of her Companion Mystic Beast, the Flintrock Coiled Dragon, before forming her titled Golden Core—but this had nothing to do with him.

Chen Beiwu walked to a corner on the other side and saw, in the Immortal Alliance Spell Compendium Section, Golden Egg floating on clouds, earnestly flipping through books on techniques.

Golden Egg’s speed of flipping was so fast it seemed more like he was flipping randomly than actually studying.

Meanwhile, Iron Egg was comfortably sprawled on the ground, lazily browsing through numerous fire-element techniques.

Among them were not only Second-Tier Peerless Spiritual Arts but even several Third-Tier Treasure Arts that only Third-Realm Beast Generals could master.

Looking at the book Chaotic Heaven Treasure Flame floating before Iron Egg, Chen Beiwu spoke through his will, “Can you understand this Third-Tier Treasure Art?”

Iron Egg shook his head, indicating it was merely flipping out of boredom.

“Buzz!”

Suddenly, Chen Beiwu’s phone buzzed in his pocket and displayed a message:

[2:30 PM, Final Examination at Yuqing Teaching Building Room 404. Remember to report early.]

‘Time to go, the final exam is about to begin.’

With that thought, Golden Egg immediately shrank in size, drooped its head, and coiled around Chen Beiwu’s neck like a luxurious golden chain.

Iron Egg looked at Golden Egg with envy in its eyes.

It couldn’t learn the Ruyi-style spiritual art that allowed free size transformation; otherwise, it too would want to perch on Chen Beiwu’s shoulder.

‘What a strange pairing.’

Only after Chen Beiwu’s figure vanished did Yu Zhaohua set down her book, a glint of confusion flickering in her eyes.

A Mutated Golden‑Scaled Beast with potential to transform into a flood dragon was indeed a promising Companion Beast when impoverished, but what use was an innately crippled black dog?

Though Yu Zhaohua didn’t care about reputation rankings, she still understood the privileges of being ranked third on the Rising Stars List.

If Chen Beiwu were willing to spend his credits, contracting a Third-Tier Treasure Beast would be effortless. Why would he keep a black hound with mismatched attributes?

‘Is he a sentimental cultivator who values old bonds? Rare indeed,’ Yu Zhaohua thought to herself.

…

“This should be the place.”

Glancing at the classroom sign, Chen Beiwu walked straight in.

At that moment, twenty-three cultivators had already gathered inside. These cultivators grouped in twos and threes, forming small cultivation cliques, each with a glow of fate shimmering above their heads.

Pale orange, amber, bright gold, bronze, crimson gold…!

Without a doubt, these fellow freshmen were all geniuses with potential to break through to the Golden Core.

‘That’s Chen Beiwu, the third on the Rising Stars List?’

‘Who else could it be?’

‘Interesting. I wonder which elective course he took that we haven’t seen him all term, only now at the final exam.’

‘He probably selected a Ninth or Tenth-Rank sect-level course. Otherwise, how could we have never run into him in class?’

“Tenth-Rank courses? Impossible, only peak Foundation Establishment cultivators or even Golden Core True Persons can comprehend those!”

Some of the more familiar students exchanged divine sense whispers in hushed discussion.

Chen Beiwu paid no attention to the curious stares around him and casually found a seat.

His current cultivation was already near Core Condensation. It was highly likely he would skip grades. There was no need for him to blend in with a group of overachieving Qi Refining geniuses.

Yes, nearly a year had passed, and most of the Yuqing Immortal Sect freshmen who joined alongside Chen Beiwu were still consolidating at the Qi Refining overlimit stage, seeking the possibility of a Flawless Foundation Establishment, rather than rushing to break through.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, these prideful geniuses would likely remain stuck in Qi Refining for another seven or eight years, trying every possible method to achieve Flawless Foundation Establishment.

Only after failing repeatedly would they set aside their pride and advance to Foundation Establishment from the overlimit stage.

After another ten minutes, six more students entered the classroom one after another.

Each time a student entered, their gaze instinctively fell upon Chen Beiwu.

Fortunately, this attention didn’t last long. The Nascent Soul True Monarch overseeing the final exam finally arrived and ascended the podium.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Su Miao, and I’ll be overseeing this term’s Water-Wood Department final exam.”

At this, True Monarch Su Miao paused briefly, her gaze subtly brushing past Chen Beiwu. “This exam will be a Dueling Contention.”

“You will enter the Contention Stage. It will match you with projected opponents drawn from the past ten terms of Yuqing Rising Stars List cultivators, based on your cultivation level and innate talent.”

Upon hearing this, every student present turned their gaze toward Chen Beiwu with curious expressions.

With their cultivation levels, they probably wouldn’t be matched against a monster like Chen Beiwu—hopefully!

“Teacher, what happens if we lose in the Dueling Contention?” a female cultivator seated in the front row raised her hand to ask.

“Failing once is no big deal. Three consecutive losses will affect your final grade, and you’ll be held back a year.

If you lose five times in a row, it indicates you’re unsuited for the Yuqing Immortal Sect. The sect will revoke your student registration and process your expulsion.”

At those words, several students who had entered the sect via background connections widened their eyes in shock.

“Of course, penalties come with rewards.” True Monarch Su Miao smiled. “Three consecutive victories in the Dueling Contention will earn you a custom-made Third-Tier Artifact. Five wins will grant you a Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core.”