Rise of a Lunar Legend

Back in her quarters, Tang Chun Xi paced slowly across the luxurious room her father insisted on maintaining as a refuge fit for a lady. The space was adorned with fine fabrics, jade ornaments, and furniture crafted from spiritual wood, exuding a faint fragrance of lotus flowers. The room was meant to bring comfort, but at that moment, it felt heavy, as if the walls themselves were observing her hesitation.

She sat cross-legged on the bed. Recalling the gift she had received from her uncle Chen, she decided to unravel the mystery surrounding it. Carefully, she retrieved an object wrapped in silk from her pouch, revealing an old and well-preserved book. Her fingertips brushed the delicate fabric before fully unwrapping it. The book's cover bore a title engraved in golden letters: Winged Phoenix Step.

For a moment, she hesitated. But curiosity soon won, and she opened the book. The initial description captivated her immediately: it was a second-level auxiliary movement technique designed to balance speed, agility, and offensive power, especially with a fiery touch of energy. The words seemed to dance across the pages, evoking vivid images of the legendary Phoenix, whose graceful and devastating movements inspired the technique.

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As she read, she absorbed the core details:

Agile Movement: The practitioner could perform incredibly swift movements, changing direction with remarkable fluidity. It was ideal for combat situations where speed and positioning were crucial.

Offensive Impact: While moving, the cultivator could leave behind trails of energy that varied depending on their attribute—blazing flames for those aligned with fire or slicing wind streaks for others—dealing additional damage to enemies.

Secondary Ability: Phoenix Wings: In critical moments, the practitioner could summon spiritual projections of flaming wings. These wings increased their speed by up to 50% for a short period while creating a shockwave that repelled nearby enemies.

The text also highlighted a vital point: the technique could be cultivated up to the peak of the Primary Origin Level. Moreover, it could be practiced by both spiritual and physical cultivators, though it was significantly more challenging for physical practitioners. This distinction made the technique far more valuable than others of its level.

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Surprised and elated, she thought of thanking her uncle Chen for such a meaningful gift—a new possibility for advancing on her immortal path.

She pondered over the methods of cultivation. There were three approaches: the conventional one she already knew, as well as physical and soul cultivation. Conventional cultivation relied on spiritual roots to gather and refine energy. Soul cultivation, on the other hand, was a perilous choice, with the constant risk of the body collapsing. Only spiritual beings or ghosts could safely tread that path. For someone like Tang Chun Xi, the only viable route was physical cultivation, which depended solely on the body's strength and resilience.

Coming to her senses after thinking about this, Tang Chun Xi had the urge to practice the technique right then and there, but she held back when she thought she had something more important to do. She first put the technique back into her bag and took out another item: a bottle containing Amber Christmas Milk. The liquid glowed softly, like an encapsulated sunset, enveloped in an aura of serenity. Despite its mesmerizing appearance, Tang Chun Xi hesitated, holding the bottle in both hands as her gaze wavered between admiration and doubt.

—"Will it work this time?"— she wondered, as old memories flooded her mind. Each rare resource she had consumed over the years seemed to echo in her memory, transforming into a blend of frustrated expectations and painful disappointments. It was as if, with every failed attempt, her hope diminished a little more, leaving behind a restless skepticism.

But this time, something felt different. The Amber Natal Milk was no ordinary resource. Formed from spiritual milk that petrified over ten thousand years within amber, its creation process was as rare as it was fascinating. Tang Chun Xi recalled the information she and her father had gathered about this precious liquid.

It was found only in the depths of hidden grottoes within dense forests, protected by natural formations or spiritual beasts. Only high-level cultivators, typically at the Sea of Spirit stage, had the ability to explore such locations—but they rarely bothered. For them, Amber Natal Milk was almost useless. After all, its effects were limited to the Body Tempering stage, offering no benefits to more advanced cultivators. Despite its extreme rarity, it was not used in pharmaceutical recipes. Its effects were too gentle to combine with other ingredients, unable to amplify medicinal or magical properties. For many, it was a prestige item, valued more for its rarity than its functionality.

Still, for someone like Tang Chun Xi, this substance could mean the difference between stagnation and progress. According to records, Amber Natal Milk possessed unique properties: it helped those without spiritual roots break through the barrier of the first level of physical cultivation. It was akin to a gateway for an ordinary mortal to begin their journey on the martial path.

Tang Chun Xi knew what this meant. She had already reached the 3th level of Bone Fortification, equivalent to the 3th level of Body Tempering, through sheer effort and determination. But advancing beyond that in physical cultivation was extraordinarily difficult. The comparison was clear in her mind: while spiritual cultivators could rely on the natural flow of their roots to gather energy, those who walked the physical path depended on brute strength and resilience, facing increasingly overwhelming challenges.

There was another crucial detail: Amber Natal Milk acted directly on spiritual roots. If those were absent, its effects would be redirected to breaking a physical level. This was her only hope. If it failed again, it would add another layer of frustration for her and perhaps another proof that the path she walked was a dead end.

She looked at the vial once more, feeling the weight of the decision in her hands. Should she try?

With a heavy heart but resolute mind, she finally tilted the vial, allowing the golden liquid to flow down her throat, carrying her last hopes with it.