jdhmnovel Chapter 334 Returning to Normal
Chapter 334 Returning to Normal
The morning mist in the mountain village had not yet dissipated when the baby's cries startled the sparrows in the bamboo grove. Midwife Li wiped the sweat from her brow and stared at the crying baby girl in her swaddling clothes. Suddenly, she was stunned—the vermilion mark between the child's eyebrows had naturally formed the shape of nine orifices connected by stars, faintly gleaming in the morning light.
“This child…” Li’s hand trembled, and the brocade pouch in her arms slipped out. Half a scroll of medical books and a gold-threaded whip fell to the ground. The pendant on the whip and the baby girl’s birthmark lit up at the same time, startling the old hen so much that it flapped its wings and knocked over the bamboo basket. The village women who had rushed over after hearing the commotion gathered around, only to see the baby girl suddenly stop crying and start laughing, reaching out her little hand to grasp the cold handle of the whip.
Meanwhile, inside the Linglong Pavilion of Xianyang Palace, three spirit orbs trembled violently. Xiao Qicheng looked up from his memorials, gazing at the strange phenomenon projected onto the wall by the spirit orbs—the Nine Aperture Star Chart overlapping with the Western Regions desert, finally settling on the direction of the mountain village. The Nine-Tails burst through the carved window, its nine tails bristling like banners: "Your Majesty! The Nine Aperture Linglong Heart has been reincarnated!"
Three months later, a procession of richly dressed carriages arrived at the mountain village. Xiao Qicheng stood in front of the bamboo house, holding the young prince, watching the baby girl chasing butterflies in the courtyard. She was dressed in coarse cloth, but the mark between her eyebrows was becoming more and more clear. The gold-threaded whip she held in her hand was worn, but she polished it until it shone.
“Child, would you like to return to the palace with me?” Xiao Qicheng squatted down, his voice trembling involuntarily. The baby girl tilted her head and suddenly stuffed the soft whip into his hand, saying in a clear voice, “Big brother, help me tie the bow!” The villagers watching burst into laughter, but they did not notice that the spirit pearl at the prince’s waist was burning hot.
On the way back to the palace, the baby girl pressed her face against the carriage window, counting stars. Suddenly, the Nine-Tails jumped onto her lap, its tail curling up a strand of hair: "Little girl, do you know who you are?" The baby girl giggled and reached for its tail, when suddenly a phantom image of Shen Mingyue flashed through her hair. Xiao Qicheng turned his head sharply, but only saw the child's innocent smiling face.
Time flies, and ten years have passed. In the Mechanical Academy of Xianyang Palace, the young girl Shen Nianli is troubled by a broken mechanical beast. Her fingertips deftly weave through the gears, and the nine-aperture mark between her brows glows faintly with her focused expression. Suddenly, the mechanical beast's wings unfold with a "click," and instead of arrows, it shoots out a shower of flower petals.
"You're being silly again!" Xiao Qicheng's voice came from behind. Looking at his daughter sticking out her tongue, he vaguely saw Shen Mingyue's mischievous expression when she was being punished. Nianli threw herself into her father's arms, the scent of magnolia in her hair overlapping with the familiar fragrance: "Dad, I improved the mechanical beasts, so they won't hurt people in battle!"
However, the peaceful days didn't last long. A caravan from the Western Regions brought devastating news: the seal on the Netherworld Abyss had cracked, and eerie chanting frequently echoed through the desert. While packing her belongings, Nian Li discovered a medical book left by her mother. A note tucked between the yellowed pages made her heart race—"If the Netherworld returns, use the nine orifices to draw the three pearls, transforming light into a shield, and blood into a prison."
When Nian Li arrived in the Western Regions with the delegation, the scene before her was horrifying. Oases had turned into scorched earth, the sand was covered with strange totems, and the survivors' pupils shimmered with an eerie gray-blue. She took out the Spirit Pearl, but the pearl became scalding hot the moment it touched the totems. The Nine-Tails suddenly growled, "These are ancient forbidden arts! Someone is using living people for sacrifice!"
Late at night, Nian Li sneaked alone into the ruins of the Netherworld Abyss. Under the moonlight, a black-robed figure in the center of the altar was chanting incantations; the array beneath his feet was drawn with the blood of three hundred young boys and girls. When Nian Li revealed the Spirit Pearl, the black-robed figure suddenly let out a shrill laugh: "The Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart has finally arrived! Perfect for offering as a sacrifice to the evil god!"
The battle was about to erupt. The bone dragon summoned by the black-robed man spewed putrid flames, while Nian Li lashed out with her golden silk whip, the pendant at the tip resonating with the spirit pearl to form a golden barrier. However, as the sacrificial array advanced, the cracks in the sky grew wider and wider, and the tentacles of the evil god had already reached into the mortal realm.
In the nick of time, Nian Li remembered the records in the medical classics. She bit her fingertip, dripping blood onto the spirit beads, and chanted an ancient incantation. Three spirit beads floated in the air, connecting with the mark between her brows to form a pillar of light. In the golden light, the phantom of Shen Mingyue appeared, gently stroking her cheek: "My child, it's time to end this cycle of reincarnation."
A beam of light shot straight into the sky, enveloping the remnants of the evil god and the man in black robes. Nian Li felt her power being drained, and in a daze, she saw countless past and present lives—she was the sealer from ancient times, she was Shen Mingyue, and she was also the reincarnation of countless future guardians of the world, the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart.
"So we've been protecting the same belief all along." Nian Li smiled through her tears, channeling her last bit of spiritual power into the Spirit Pearl. A tremendous explosion resounded through the heavens and earth. When the light faded, the Netherworld Abyss vanished completely, replaced by a lake filled with blooming lotus flowers, its waters reflecting the peaceful starry sky.
Upon returning to Nanzhao, Nianli planted a magnolia tree in front of Linglong Pavilion. Every time it blooms, the petals automatically form the shape of a nine-aperture star diagram. Watching his daughter's busy figure, Xiao Qicheng finally understood what Shen Mingyue meant when she said, "Reincarnation is not the end, but a new beginning."
Years later, Nianli traveled the world with the Spirit Pearl. She established a medical clinic in the Western Regions, using mechanical arts to improve people's lives; in the Southern Frontier, she taught the art of Gu medicine, resolving a thousand-year-old feud. People often saw a woman with nine orifices between her eyebrows, riding a mechanical kite through mountains and rivers, followed by a nine-tailed fox that could speak human language.
Reincarnation Weaves Dreams: Star Orbits Reforged to Protect All Living Beings
On the stone table under the magnolia tree, Shen Nianli was using a silver needle to pry open a lock, while the Nine-Tails squatted beside her, idly swishing its tail. Suddenly, the gears of the lock made an unusual clicking sound, and instead of a key, half a bronze fragment engraved with the Xuanming totem popped out of the lock cylinder.
"This is..." Nine-Tails' tail bristled instantly, "A token that disappeared from the Netherworld Pavilion a hundred years ago! How could it be inside the Nanzhao's mechanical lock?"
Nian Li's fingertips traced the cool bronze, and the nine-aperture mark between her brows glowed faintly. Memories flooded back—last night in her dream, she had seen the same fragments, pieced together by a pair of hands covered in incantations to form the complete Xuanming Token. She put the fragments into her brocade pouch and looked northwest: "Jiu Li, let's go to the Northern Desert."
The winds and sands of the northern desert, carrying the stench of blood, swept over her. Nian Li lifted the curtain of a merchant caravan's tent, revealing wooden crates piled high with Western Region talismans. When she opened one of them, dozens of children's corpses lay exposed amidst the putrid stench, each child's chest bearing an unfinished nine-aperture star map.
"It really was them." Nine-Tails' voice was filled with murderous intent. "The Netherworld Pavilion is collecting offerings from those with the Nine Aperture Bloodline!"
Before the words were even finished, chanting suddenly filled the air. The caravan's guards shed their human skin, revealing writhing black patterns beneath. They raised their scimitars, forming a bizarre array, the cold light reflecting off their blades trapping Nian Li in the center. At the critical moment, the familiar roar of machinery echoed through the air—Xiao Qicheng led the Royal Mechanized Army through the clouds, their massive black iron crossbows wrapped with soul-suppressing talismans.
"Nianli, catch!" The golden whip her father threw drew a graceful arc in the air, resonating with the old whip in her hand. Nianli flicked her wrist, and three spirit orbs flew from her sleeve, forming a barrier of light in the air. When the barrier touched the Netherworld Pavilion sorcerers, they let out a shrill scream, and before turning to ashes, they revealed a sinister smile to her: "Nine-Aperture Bloodline...you can't escape..."
During the post-battle inventory, the guards found a notebook on the caravan leader. Tucked between the yellowed pages was half a star map, marked with the location of Nian Li's birth village. Suddenly, the Nine-Tails leaped to a high place, its nine tails pointing south: "Oh no! They're trying to destroy the source of the Nine Apertures Bloodline!"
When Nian Li rushed back to the mountain village, the scene before her made her pupils shrink. The old locust tree at the village entrance had been cut in half, and the complete Xuanming Token was embedded in its core. Dozens of villagers knelt beneath the tree, their foreheads forcibly branded with incomplete nine-aperture marks. The spirit pearls in Nian Li's arms trembled violently, and one of them even developed a tiny crack.
"Stop!" She rushed forward, but was repelled by an invisible force. The Lord of the Netherworld Pavilion emerged from the shadows, the ghostly face totem on his black robe lifelike: "Shen Nianli, do you think that improving mechanical arts and traveling around practicing medicine can stop reincarnation? The Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart was born to be sacrificed to an evil god!"
The Pavilion Master raised his hand, and the Xuanming Token erupted with black light, engulfing the villagers into the air. Nian Li saw the despair in their eyes and suddenly remembered the last annotation in her mother's medical book: "Where blood ties connect, there is a shared will for all living beings." She bit her tongue and spat blood onto the spirit pearl, while simultaneously untying her hair ribbon—hidden among her cascading black hair were the same temporary marks as the villagers.
"With my blood, I will ensure their safety!" Nian Li's voice echoed through the valley. The spirit pearl shone brightly, resonating with the marks on the villagers' foreheads. Within the golden pillar of light, she saw the memories of the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Hearts of past generations: ancient warriors sacrificing their lives to seal the evil god, her great-grandmother Mu Qingling battling the plague, her mother Shen Mingyue giving her life...
The Pavilion Master roared in fury, attempting to destroy the pillar of light with the Xuanming Token. At the critical moment, a deafening roar of mechanical devices came from the direction of Xianyang Palace. Xiao Qicheng piloted the newly developed "Yutian" mechanical city, soaring through the air, its giant cannons on the city walls engraved with runes from the "Heavenly Secrets Scroll".
"Nianli, catch this!" The jade bottle her father threw shattered in mid-air, containing the spiritual power passed down through generations of the Nine Aperture Exquisite Heart. Nianli infused the spiritual power into the spirit beads, and the three beads finally merged into one, transforming into an "Eternal Heart" that shimmered with seven-colored light.
The light emanating from the Eternal Heart illuminated the entire mountain village, shattering the Xuanming Token piece by piece. The Pavilion Master let out a miserable scream of despair amidst the intense light. When the light dissipated, the villagers landed safely, and the Netherworld Pavilion's influence vanished from the Nanzhao Kingdom forever.
After the battle, Nianli established the "Nine Apertures Academy" in the mountain village. The academy not only teaches medicine and mechanical arts, but also collects the stories of the guardians of the past generations. She embedded the Heart of Eternity in the dome of the academy, and every night, the heart-shaped gem projects a brilliant star map. The twinkling points in the map are the kind-hearted citizens of the Nanzhao Kingdom.
After Xiao Qicheng abdicated, he often brought his grandchildren to the academy to audit classes. The children especially loved to pester Aunt Nianli to tell them those legendary tales that transcended time. And at the end of each story, there was always this scene: in the light of the Eternal Heart, the phantom of Shen Mingyue smiled gently, and beside her were countless guardians, who together wove a star network to protect all living beings, passed down from generation to generation, never to be extinguished.
As the morning bell of the Nine Apertures Academy startled the egrets lining the mountain, Shen Nianli was adjusting the latest mechanical star charting instrument. With the clanging of bronze gears, the Eternal Heart at the top of the instrument suddenly burst forth with blinding light, projecting the star chart from the dome onto the clear blue sky. Nine-Tails leaped out of the mechanism box, its nine tails trembling violently: "It's a spacetime rift! To the northwest!"
On a desolate wasteland swirling with sandstorms, a colossal bronze tower, hanging upside down, emerged from the ground. Its surface was covered in twisted, mysterious runes, each line emanating a dark purple mist. When Nian Li led the academy disciples to the scene, they found over a dozen children suspended by chains atop the tower. The nine-aperture mark between their brows was identical to Shen Nian Li's—they were the nine-aperture bloodlines abducted by the Netherworld Pavilion.
"As expected, they had a backup plan." The surviving elder of the Netherworld Pavilion appeared, his arm covered in scales extending from beneath his black robe. "Although the Pavilion Master died back then, we sealed the evil god's consciousness within a bloodline curse! These children are the key to opening the Gate of Eternity!"
The colossal tower trembled violently, and countless tentacles emerged from the cracks at its base. Nian Li lashed out with her golden silk whip, attempting to ensnare the nearest child, only to discover that the chains the whip touched were devouring her spiritual energy. Suddenly, the Nine-Tailed Fox leaped onto her shoulder, its nine tails transforming into blades of light that severed the chains: "Resonate with the memories of the Eternal Heart! That is the key to breaking the curse!"
Nian Li placed her palm on the Heart of Eternity, and a thousand years of memories flooded her mind. She saw nine ancient warriors using their souls as a catalyst to forge a seal; she saw the secret mechanisms left by her great-grandfather, Xiao Jingchuan, in the rift of time and space; and she saw her mother, Shen Mingyue, resolutely pouring the power of the nine orifices into the Spirit Pearl before she vanished. As these memories transformed into golden runes and merged into the soft whip, the chains binding the child shattered instantly.
However, just when everyone thought the crisis was over, all the Xuanming runes at the top of the giant tower suddenly lit up. The elder laughed maniacally: "You think sealing the evil god is the end? The true core of reincarnation is to trap the nine orifices of the bloodline in a cycle of protection and sacrifice forever!" His body turned into black mist, seeping into the core of the giant tower, and the entire tower began to rotate in reverse, forming a spacetime vortex that devoured everything.
The rapid clanging of machinery echoed from the direction of Xianyang Palace. Xiao Qicheng arrived in his improved version of the Yutian, its bow cannons loaded with demon-suppressing bullets crafted from fragments of the *Tai Su Gui Lu*. "Nian Li, use the Heart of Eternity to locate the vortex's weakness!" his father's voice came through the communication conch shell. "Together, we'll break this damned cycle of reincarnation!"
Nian Li raised the Eternal Heart high, and the phantoms of guardians from past generations appeared on the gem's surface. As she channeled her spiritual power into the vortex, Shen Mingyue's voice suddenly echoed in the void: "Remember, the true essence of the Nine Apertures Power is not sacrifice, but inheritance." Before her words had even finished, the Eternal Heart erupted with seven-colored light, striking the core of the vortex simultaneously with the Demon-Suppressing Bullet from the Imperial Sky Ship.
In the midst of the violent explosion, spacetime began to distort. Nian Li saw countless scenes from parallel worlds: in one spacetime, the Netherworld Pavilion ruled the continent; in another, the Nine Aperture Bloodline became ordinary people living peacefully. As the light of the Eternal Heart enveloped all spacetime, she finally understood what her mother meant by "breaking the cycle of reincarnation"—not destroying the enemy, but freeing the will to protect from the shackles of fate.
In the instant the tower collapsed, Nianli transformed her last wisp of spiritual power into a net of light, saving all the children with the nine-aperture bloodline. After the dust settled, only the Heart of Eternity remained suspended in the air above the wasteland. The patterns on its surface were no longer a simple nine-aperture star map, but had evolved into a network of countless interwoven points of light, each point representing a soul with a heart full of protection.
After the war, the Nine Apertures Academy was expanded into the headquarters of the Guardian Alliance. Shen Nianli disassembled and reassembled the Eternal Heart into twelve "Star Wish Beads," which were distributed to various forces in the Western Regions, Southern Frontier, and other areas. From then on, the Nanzhao Kingdom no longer relied on the sacrifice of a single person or bloodline, but instead formed a Star Network system of universal protection.
On the day Xiao Qicheng abdicated, father and daughter stood atop the Xianyang Palace tower. Gazing at the children playing in the streets and the passing caravans, Nianli handed her father a Star Wish Bead: "Look, the protection we have now comes from every tiny act of kindness amidst the myriad lights of homes." Xiao Qicheng gripped his daughter's hand tightly, his eyes moistening—in the distance, at the Nine Apertures Academy, young disciples were using mechanical arts to repair houses, their laughter carried on the wind.
A century later, children in the Nanzhao Kingdom still sing ancient songs: "Nine orifices connect to the stars, illuminating the long night; an eternal heart protects all living beings. Do not lament the many storms of reincarnation; sparks form a net, illuminating the universe." In the secret chamber of the academy, a long scroll embroidered with gold thread slowly unfolds, recording the stories of each generation of guardians, from Xiao Jingchuan to Shen Nianli. At the end of the scroll, a line of small characters is inscribed: "Guardianship is not a predetermined cycle, but a choice of free will."