Chapter 148: That Year, Old Friends Were Still the Same

Jiang Yu had little confidence that he could find Yun Shang’s reincarnation.

The cycle of life and death was one of the most profound laws in all of creation. With Jiang Yu’s insight, experience, and strength, he understood no more than one ten-thousandth of it. Even that understanding had come only from accidentally touching upon the domain while advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

The higher one’s realm, the more one could comprehend.

Take the mortal martial world, for example. Only those who reached the Grandmaster realm could sense the spiritual essence that existed between heaven and earth. Below that level, whether they were Transforming Force Grandmasters or Condensing Force experts, they could spend their entire lives without ever sensing the existence of spiritual essence.

Not knowing that something existed did not mean it did not exist.

When it came to life and death, Jiang Yu felt especially helpless.

Fortunately, after advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm, he had cultivated the divine ability known as Reflecting the Heavens. With it, he could seize the workings of heaven and earth, steal the secrets of yin and yang, and search for Yun Shang’s reincarnation.

This was much like how, on the summit of Yandang Mountain, Jiang Yu had used their blood connection to kill every close relative and descendant of the Flamebreaker Venerable. So long as one possessed a bloodline as a conduit, one could kill from across the void by methods so unfathomable they seemed the work of ghosts and gods.

It was said that in the Primordial Era, there had been mighty beings capable of using Reflecting the Heavens to cross countless dimensions and kill anyone at the end of a bloodline. Even if that person was not on the same planet, even if he were hiding at the farthest edge of the universe, he would still remain within the bloodline’s reach—unless every drop of blood and every fragment of his soul had been replaced.

Once cultivated to perfection, the technique could nearly transcend time, penetrate causality, and kill several generations at once.

If bloodline tracing could be used to kill someone, then naturally, it could also be used to find someone.

When Yun Shang had died all those years ago, Jiang Yu had taken a drop of her essence blood and half a strand of her soul. As long as she had been reincarnated and still lived on this planet, he would be able to find her.

“Truly worthy of being an immortal art. Such power is indeed domineering.”

With a smile, Jiang Yu lit a cigarette and walked to the roof of the hospital.

“Unfortunately, even if I find Yun Shang’s reincarnation, she will have lost all her memories and become an ordinary person. So be it. If I find her, I will grant her a lifetime of peace and put an end to this regret in my heart.”

There was no longer a Yun Shang in this world. How could Jiang Yu not understand that?

According to his plan, he should have used the divine ability to locate her the moment he advanced to Foundation Establishment. But the incident in Yuzhou had delayed him for quite some time.

At this moment, the image of an incomparable, peerless face appeared in his mind. The calm surface of his heart began to ripple faintly.

He drew a deep breath and slowly opened his mouth.

A crystalline drop of blood drifted gently from his lips. The instant it appeared, a vast pressure descended from nowhere. Yun Shang’s cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul stage back then, and this drop of essence blood contained the might of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

With Jiang Yu’s current Foundation Establishment strength, he could not withstand it at all. It was as though Mount Sumeru had been pressed down upon him. In the blink of an eye, his clothes were soaked through with cold sweat.

For more than three thousand years, Jiang Yu had kept the essence blood hidden within his abdomen, preventing its vital essence from scattering and losing its effectiveness. Even though the drop had come directly from a Nascent Soul cultivator, it would have dissipated in the river of history after so many years if it had not been preserved properly.

Nourishing the blood within his own body was the best method of preservation.

A gradually emerging golden gleam appeared in Jiang Yu’s dark eyes. Over the next few seconds, it spread across his pupils.

In an instant, Jiang Yu vomited blood violently. His spirit became listless. To search through the vast sea of humanity, to cross time and space and find Yun Shang’s reincarnation—how could that possibly be easy?

The backlash that struck him nearly sent him tumbling from the roof. Fortunately, one hand seized the railing in time. After his body swayed several times, he barely managed to steady himself.

“By my command, let all laws open!”

Jiang Yu endured boundless agony. Every inch of flesh throughout his body seemed on the verge of being torn apart by invisible energy. Tracing back through the ages and transcending time dealt a devastating blow to his spiritual sense.

The essence blood floating before him suddenly shot out a thread of golden light. One end of that thread connected to Jiang Yu’s eyes.

Had anyone been present, they would have discovered that countless scenes were now appearing in Jiang Yu’s eyes, changing constantly like frames in a film. Within his pupils, stars shifted and myriad images intertwined. Even scenes from several thousand years ago appeared one after another.

Blood continued to trickle from the corners of Jiang Yu’s mouth. His fingers had already pressed fine imprints into the railing. Within his mind, countless images surged toward him in an instant, vast as a tidal wave.

Only because Jiang Yu’s spiritual sense had expanded more than twofold after advancing to Foundation Establishment could he withstand it. Otherwise, that enormous flood of information would have torn his spiritual sense apart in an instant.

Jiang Yu’s spiritual sense seemed to be drawn onward by something, darting through the countless scenes. These were all places where Yun Shang had once appeared.

The vivid drop of essence blood also dimmed considerably.

“Almost there.”

Jiang Yu clenched his teeth. His heartbeat quickened, and he raised his entire cultivation to its peak.

At last, the scenes before him gradually blurred. The images shattered into specks of golden light, yet that faint connection still remained. Jiang Yu pressed two fingers together and sliced open his left palm. Blood immediately poured forth.

The flowing blood streamed into his eyes, and the blurred scenes once more became clear. The images accelerated. Within a single second, millions of scenes flashed before his eyes.

Suddenly, the scene changed.

Jiang Yu saw a beautiful young woman sitting on the grass of a sports field, holding several textbooks in her arms. A breeze swept past, sending her long hair flying. With one hand, she held down her skirt; with the other, she brushed back the strands of hair falling beside her face.

From this angle, one could vaguely make out four gilded words written on the teaching building:

Zhongzhou University.

Jiang Yu wanted to see more clearly, but he had already reached the limit of what he could endure. The scene lasted only a few seconds before shattering with a thunderous crash.

As he withdrew his spiritual sense, dizziness immediately overwhelmed him, and he dropped to one knee, utterly weak.

Jiang Yu opened his mouth and gasped for breath.

“Zhongzhou University?”

China had more than thirty provinces. How many universities could possibly bear the name Zhongzhou University?

There was too little useful information. Jiang Yu had remembered only the young woman’s face and the large characters on the teaching building.

“Just as I expected. Yun Shang will be reincarnated in this life. Back then, I expended half my cultivation to preserve her primordial spirit, all so that one day she could be born human again.”

Jiang Yu struggled to his feet and examined his condition. He discovered that every trace of spiritual essence within him had been drained away. His spiritual sense, which had once been capable of covering an entire city, could now extend no more than a dozen meters.

“I finally understand why bloodline tracing is considered a forbidden art. The higher one’s cultivation, the farther one can trace through space, and the more terrifying the backlash. If a True Immortal of the Divine Bridge realm used this divine ability, crossed an entire star region, and received the backlash all at once, would he not die on the spot?”

What a terrifying forbidden technique.

Still, the rewards it brought were equally immense.

Jiang Yu took out his phone and called Xiahou Sheng, asking him to find out how many universities in China were named Zhongzhou University.

Half an hour later, when Xiahou Sheng saw Jiang Yu, he suddenly froze.

“Master Jiang, what happened to you?”

Looking at Jiang Yu, covered in blood and visibly drained, Xiahou Sheng was filled with astonishment. In his mind, Jiang Yu was an invincible existence. Someone capable of injuring him to this extent—could it be…

Xiahou Sheng was mistaken. He probably did not know that even Gu Changsheng could not have injured Jiang Yu to such a degree.

Jiang Yu waved his hand. “It’s nothing. Did you find out?”

Xiahou Sheng nodded. “I sent people to investigate. There is only one school in all of China called Zhongzhou University. It is located in Tianhe City, Zhongzhou Province. That is Xu Daozhi’s territory. Why are you suddenly looking into Zhongzhou University?”

“Tianhe City?”

A faint laugh escaped Jiang Yu’s lips.

That was more than two thousand kilometers from Yuzhou, was it not?

Jiang Yu said, “Help me obtain an admission letter from Zhongzhou University. I’m going there to look for an old acquaintance. I’ll stay for a while.”

Going to university?

Xiahou Sheng was filled with questions, but he did not say anything more.

“An old acquaintance? Perhaps this person is precisely why you refuse to accept Gu Feifei and Ning’er.” Xiahou Sheng smiled complicatedly. How could he fail to see that another woman occupied Jiang Yu’s heart?

He was intensely curious. What sort of woman could possibly win Jiang Yu’s attention?

Looking at Jiang Yu again, Xiahou Sheng considered the matter for a moment and decided to settle certain affairs before leaving.

He did not know how long he would remain there. Moreover, he had already made up his mind that once the matter in Zhongzhou was resolved, he would immediately head overseas and annihilate Shadow Kill.

“Master Jiang, are you leaving?”

Jiang Yu nodded. “Take care of the arrangements for Tianhe City as soon as possible.”

That evening, Jiang Yu arrived at the Hidden Sect’s branch in Yuzhou. His sudden visit put everyone on high alert, and they all watched him warily.

“Jiang Yu, what are you planning to do?” Qin Huishi asked curiously.

With a faint smile, Jiang Yu sat down. “Are you all so afraid of me?”

Everyone in the room fell silent.

What a joke. That night, even the Hidden Sect’s five Combined Force Grandmasters had been defeated by him. Now, the Hidden Sect’s branch in Yuzhou had only five Transforming Force Grandmasters stationed there.

If Jiang Yu suddenly lost his mind and came to slaughter them, who could possibly stop him?

Jiang Yu took out several pills and placed them on the table.

A middle-aged man picked one up and held it beneath his nose. His expression changed dramatically, and he cried out in astonishment:

“Supreme-grade pills?”