Rise of a Lunar Legend

The following morning, Tang Chun Xi rested on the silk bed, her eyelashes fluttering like petals touched by a gentle breeze. Shortly after, her eyes opened, revealing the familiar confusion of someone waking from a deep and unusual slumber. She blinked, letting her gaze wander across the room. The familiarity of her surroundings contrasted with the strangeness she felt within herself.

'When did I fall asleep?' — she thought, rising slowly. Her mind seemed shrouded in mist, the events of the previous night fragmented like shards of glass.

"Wait... what happened yesterday?" Tang Chun Xi rubbed her temples, trying to piece together her scattered memories. The searing pain she had felt after consuming the Amber Natal Milk resurfaced as a vivid recollection, but everything that followed was a blur. She vaguely remembered an ethereal dream, where she seemed to dance among floating lights, free of any worry, enveloped in indescribable comfort and lightness.

But something else was different. Tang Chun Xi realized this as soon as her feet touched the cold floor. Her body felt notably light, as if she had shed an invisible weight she had always carried. She took a deep breath and experienced something unprecedented: she could sense the spiritual energy in the air.

"Wait... if I can sense spiritual energy, that means..."

Wasting no time, she returned to the bed, crossed her legs, and assumed a lotus position. Closing her eyes, she began meditating. Her mind dove deeply into herself, carefully exploring her body. Her focus centered on her dantian, the core of all spiritual energy. When she did, a wave of astonishment hit her.

Her dantian, previously closed and empty, was now open and pulsing with vitality. Tang Chun Xi could feel the spiritual energy flowing toward it, like rivers rushing into a newly discovered ocean.

Guided by an instinctive feeling, she began to draw the spiritual energy into her body, directing it toward her dantian. As soon as she initiated the process, the spiritual energy reacted in an unexpected way. The five elements — fire, earth, metal, water, and wood — entered her body simultaneously, a chaotic whirlwind defying her attempt to control it.

She tried to separate the energies, bracing herself for the arduous task of refining each into its essence, but the frantic pace and mixture were overwhelming. "So it's true... having an affinity for all five elements is considered a 'waste' because of this," she thought, acknowledging the challenge. After all, each cultivator with this trait needed five times more energy and effort to achieve the same results as others.

Tang Chun Xi took a deep breath, focusing on organizing the chaos. But before she could act, something unusual occurred. A strange, shimmering, and mysterious energy emanated from her body. This unknown energy seemed to have a will of its own; it enveloped the five elements, uniting them in harmonious balance.

Astonished, Tang Chun Xi observed as the mixed energy began cycling through her body. She felt the elemental currents flow through her muscles, bones, and organs like a crystalline river before returning to her dantian. When the energy returned, it had been transformed — purer, more potent, with a shimmering hue and a solemn aura.

The transition was swift and surprising. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Tang Chun Xi felt a definitive change in her body and spirit. She had broken through the first level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Her heart raced, but it was also filled with questions. How was this possible? What was that shimmering energy that seemed to be the key to harmonizing the five elements? Tang Chun Xi took a deep breath, trying to calm her mind. She knew that, while she had advanced, her discoveries were only beginning.

Lost in a whirlwind of emotions and questions, something peculiar caught her attention: her reflection in the silver ornaments of the bed. Her hair, once black as night, now displayed a luminous platinum sheen, almost as if it had been bathed in the light of a full moon.

With her heart racing, she practically leaped out of bed, heading straight to the full-length mirror near the intricately crafted silk screen she used to change clothes. Upon seeing her reflection in the mirror, another shock hit her.

It wasn't just her hair that had changed. Her eyes now glowed with a rare, dazzling shade of violet that seemed to shimmer and sparkle. Her entire appearance appeared transformed. Her face, which once bore the refined elegance of a noble lady, now radiated something beyond human comprehension. She displayed an ethereal and transcendent beauty, like that of a noble fairy whose presence could attract admiration and greed, but at the same time discourage such feelings due to the purity she exuded.

Tang Chun Xi stood frozen, staring at her reflection as if it belonged to someone else.

"Why do I look like this?" she whispered, confusion etched into every line of her face.

In that instant, something in her mind seemed to respond—a soft, familiar vibration that stirred forgotten memories. In the blink of an eye, something appeared in her hands: an ornate umbrella that seemed more like a celestial masterpiece than an earthly object.

She recognized it, though she had thought it was a distant dream, something she would never touch again. The delicate handle bore a carved crescent moon, and its surface, which should have been made of cloth or bamboo paper, was a mystery. The material seemed like a blend of reality and fantasy, adorned with cloud-like patterns against a dark background. Amid the clouds, tiny moons and stars appeared and disappeared, like a living night sky hiding secrets in its shadows.

When she touched the umbrella, a name surfaced in her mind: Lunar Umbrella. Immediately, fragments of knowledge began flooding her consciousness, as though the object was conveying the answer to your question.

Before she could fully grasp what was happening, hurried knocks interrupted her thoughts.

"Knock, knock, knock."

— "Miss, are you awake? May I come in to help you get ready? Miss, you won't believe what happened yesterday while you were practicing! I made sure no one disturbed you!" Ah Tao's curious and eager voice sounded from outside.

Tang Chun Xi blinked, trying to calm the storm in her mind. Her reflection in the mirror reminded her that her transformation was far too evident to go unnoticed. 'I can't let anyone see me like this until I understand what happened, she thought quickly'.

— "Ah Tao, please call my father for me and tell him it's an emergency. Inform the guards that no one is to enter except him," she responded with a firm and solemn tone.

On the other side of the door, Ah Tao sensed the seriousness in her lady's voice and, without asking further questions, instructed the guards before hurrying off to find Patriarch Tang Wei.

Tang Chun Xi sat down again, carefully holding the Lunar Umbrella as if it contained the key to the mystery of her transformation. Her gaze returned to the mirror, but this time, it no longer held only confusion. A subtle determination began to glimmer in her eyes as she absorbed the information being transmitted by the artifact in her hands.

She knew that something extraordinary had occurred, and the next step would be to uncover the meaning of her new appearance and the connection to the object that now felt like an extension of her very essence.