https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-92-Breaking-the-Xian-Tian-Secret-the-Heritage-of-Runes-/13688246/
Chapter 91: The Regret of a Xian Tian Perfect Cultivator
"This Heritage Jade Scroll truly is miraculous—such a small piece of jade, yet it holds so much information!" Lu Qing's eyes sparkled with awe.
He had already absorbed most of the inheritance data stored within the jade slip. The revelations it contained had filled him with immense surprise—slightly different from his initial assumptions.
The Heritage Jade Scroll wasn’t left behind by the mysterious figure who had carved the Jade Transformation Cavern. Instead, it had been crafted by the very Xian Tian realm cultivator whose remains lay before him.
However, when creating the scroll, this cultivator had added a fragment of his own insights—gleaned from meditating on the mysterious runes outside the cavern—into the design. That was why the patterns bore a faint resemblance to those of the original runes.
From the scroll, Lu Qing learned many things he had long wished to know.
First, about the Xian Tian cultivator himself.
According to the information left behind in the jade slip, the man’s name was Li Weitian. He had once been a legendary martial master, feared and revered across the realm. Even among the elite of the Xian Tian realm, he stood at the absolute pinnacle.
His overwhelming strength had once forced neighboring kingdoms’ Xian Tian cultivators to their knees, striking awe into all who witnessed his power.
But even Xian Tian cultivators, no matter how mighty, eventually faced the end of their lifespan. Without breaking through to a higher realm, a Xian Tian cultivator could live at most three hundred years.
In his twilight years, Li Weitian had tirelessly searched for a breakthrough. Finally, when his life was nearly spent, he stumbled upon this hidden sanctuary.
At first, discovering the Jade Transformation Cavern had filled him with ecstatic wonder. Within the runes left by the mysterious originator, he had glimpsed a fleeting chance to transcend the Xian Tian realm—ascending to a higher, unfathomable realm.
With only days left before death, he immediately sealed himself in a death retreat, determined to break through.
But fate had dealt him a cruel hand. His life force was fading, his spirit and essence far from their peak. And after enduring the trials of the cavern’s defenses, he had suffered grievous injuries and drained his reserves.
Even with the aid of Dipulse Spiritual Fluid, his final attempt failed. His spirit and essence burned out completely, leaving him unable to reach that transcendent realm.
On the brink of death, he engraved all this knowledge into the Heritage Jade Scroll—a final testament to a life once blazing with glory.
At the end of the transmission, Lu Qing read the last words Li Weitian had left behind:
“Alas, I began my path in youth, ever eager to contend with others, always striving to surpass everyone else. After achieving cultivation, I marched across the land, challenging the greatest masters, defeating my enemies, and earning fame that echoed throughout the world. I reveled in my dominance, overshadowing all my contemporaries—my peers, the prodigies of our age, reduced to mere shadows.
Only in my later years did I finally awaken. I realized how much time I had wasted chasing fame and glory. My lifespan was already short. Even when I finally found a chance to break through, my time ran out. I could not overcome the final barrier, could not step into that supreme, profound realm.
Regret. Sorrow. Anguish.
May future generations learn from my fate. In cultivation, one must place cultivation above all. Never become lost in the pursuit of fame and competition—do not waste your life in vain. Remember this, and remember it well.”
After reading these final words, Lu Qing fell silent.
He could feel the depth of Li Weitian’s sorrow and regret in every syllable.
He had come so close—so close to the very peak he had dreamed of all his life—yet had been denied by time itself. Lu Qing could barely imagine the agony of that final moment, knowing victory was within reach, yet slipping away.
Yet beneath the regret, there was clarity: Li Weitian deeply mourned the years he had squandered in the endless pursuit of dominance and recognition.
"Devotion to cultivation above all else," Lu Qing murmured, sighing softly. "Too bad this lesson came too late for Li Weitian."
Still, one couldn't deny the truth: Li Weitian’s strength had been forged in battle. His unyielding will to fight had driven him to push his limits, to unlock his innate potential, and reach the pinnacle of the Xian Tian realm. Without that fierce competitive spirit, he might never have become so powerful in the first place.
So, was his obsession with fame and victory what made him great—or what ultimately destroyed him? The answer was far from clear.
"Li Weitian… perhaps one day, if I have the chance, I’ll look into your life story," Lu Qing mused.
The jade slip had only offered a brief summary of Li Weitian’s life. No detailed accounts of his deeds. And with Lu Qing’s knowledge of this world still so limited, he had never heard of this man before.
But judging by the state of his remains—decades, perhaps centuries, dead—most traces of his legend had likely vanished with time.
As he reflected on the past, Lu Qing finally turned his attention to the other details within the scroll.
Li Weitian had also mentioned the origin of the cavern.
He revealed that this place had existed for an incredibly long time. He had discovered it by chance, guided by fragments of ancient texts he’d found in a forgotten book. The original defenses—complex spatial arrays—had long since decayed. When Li Weitian arrived, their power was but a shadow of its former self. Even so, dismantling them had drained him severely, contributing directly to his failure to break through.
Now, Lu Qing understood.
That was why he and Xiao Li had entered the cavern without encountering any danger. He had been puzzled—how could such a miraculous place lack any defenses?
The answer was simple: Li Weitian had already cleared the way.
Li Weitian’s account continued: when he first stepped into the cavern, he was stunned by what he saw.
First, the pool of spiritual liquid gathering on the stone pedestal—an extremely rare substance known as Dipulse Spiritual Fluid. It was mentioned only in ancient scrolls, a legendary elixir capable of healing the dead, restoring life, prolonging life, and refining one’s cultivation foundation. A treasure coveted by every martial artist.
Yet, here it was—hidden within a mundane mountain’s belly.
But while this elixir was priceless to ordinary people, Hou Tian cultivators, or even average Xian Tian realm masters, it meant little to Li Weitian.
Having reached the peak of the Xian Tian realm, his lifespan had already been sealed by celestial laws. No matter how potent the Dipulse Spiritual Fluid, it could not break the boundaries set by heaven itself.
Even if he had consumed every drop of the liquid gathered over a thousand years, it would only have healed the wounds he’d sustained during his arrival—nothing more.
Yet what truly amazed Li Weitian was not the elixir.
It was the mysterious runes inscribed on the cavern walls—the very ones that had drawn the spiritual liquid into existence.
From them, he had glimpsed a sliver of the elusive, transcendent power beyond the Xian Tian realm—something he had pursued relentlessly throughout his life.
And at that very moment, his life force reached its end.
Without hesitation, he drank the entire reservoir of Dipulse Spiritual Fluid—over a thousand years of accumulation, only a single drop formed every twenty years.
Then, he sealed himself in a death retreat, determined to use that fleeting insight and the elixir’s power to break through.
But in the end… he failed.
His spirit burned out. His essence extinguished.
He never reached that higher realm.
(End of Chapter)
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