Maiden's Stamen Part 2

As if bewitched, he subconsciously reached out to touch the page. The moment his fingertip touched the characters, a great golden light erupted. "Maiden's Stamen" transformed into a seed and flew straight toward him.

The vision disappeared, and the room returned to darkness.

He remained stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked down at his abdomen. He threw off the covers, got out of bed, and ran toward Yin Yan's room next door.

"Yin Yan! I just—"

Yin Yan's door suddenly opened. Yu Zhen's knock met empty air, and his body pitched forward, falling into Yin Yan's arms.

"What's wrong?" Yin Yan caught and held him, asking in a low voice.

The other's embrace was so natural. Sensing his aura, all of Yu Zhen's excitement instantly settled. He looked up at him, foolishly touching the location of his Dantian, and said, "I... right here, it's warm."

In his previous cultivation, he had never felt the existence of his Dantian. Yin Yan had only mentioned things like "sinking qi into the Dantian," which required sensing the Dantian, when he was first digesting the power of the lotus seeds.

He knew that Cultivators were supposed to use their Dantian, but because his cultivation had always been about accumulating Merit and he had never used it, he hadn't paid much attention. He figured his cultivation method was probably special and didn't require a Dantian.

But today, he finally sensed the existence of his Dantian for the first time. That was the foundation of a Cultivator. He hadn't felt it when he cultivated, nor when he was Entering the Dao. Now, he finally felt it.

It was as if the power gained from cultivation in his body finally had a home. It gathered there, like a small furnace, warming his entire body.

He could even clearly feel that a golden seed was lying there at this moment. The Golden Light of Merit floated around the seed, forming a special soil for it to grow in.

It was magical, like a person suddenly growing roots.

Yin Yan's originally calm expression shattered the moment he said this. Losing his composure slightly, he reached toward Yu Zhen's Dantian, power surging in his hand.

"Don't, it's so hot."

Yu Zhen struggled, unable to bear it. After struggling, he froze.

He had sensed Yin Yan's power before, like the first time he met Xu Wu, but it had been infrequent and the feeling was vague. But now, he could clearly sense the trajectory of Yin Yan's power as it enveloped his Dantian, and he could even faintly perceive the excitement and urgency within that power.

He looked up at Yin Yan's rare, solemn expression with furrowed brows, and his heart suddenly beat a little faster.

This person was nervous about him, very, very nervous, far more than he had thought.

"The Root of Life has first appeared."

Yin Yan withdrew his power. His furrowed brows relaxed. He looked up to meet his gaze, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he said, "Congratulations, you've taken the first step."

A Remnant Soul, born with Baleful Qi—Yu Zhen's innate conditions were ridiculously poor. He had thought that nourishing him with Merit to resist the influence of the Baleful Qi and successfully Entering the Dao was already the limit, and that subsequent cultivation would have to be planned slowly. He never expected Yu Zhen to actually take the first step so smoothly.

The foundation of the Taoist School, the once-damaged Dantian, had actually returned after reincarnation.

This person truly... had never disappointed him.

A mix of touched and proud emotions suddenly surged in his heart. Yu Zhen was a little dazed. His mind was muddled, and some vague thoughts were colliding, trying to surface, but they were thrown into disarray by the heat spreading outward from his Dantian.

"You have just advanced. You need to enter the pagoda to stabilize your realm."

Yin Yan suddenly released him, took out a pill for him to eat, then summoned Xu Wu and said, "Last time you entered the pagoda, you were completely unconscious. This time, you need to be careful not to get lost in the illusion."

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth. A cold, clear fragrance filled his mouth, and his mind instantly cleared. All distracting thoughts vanished, leaving only the golden seed resting peacefully in his Dantian.

Yin Yan took the hand of Yu Zhen, who had fallen into a semi-meditative state, and led him to the emptiest room on the second floor. After Xu Wu transformed into its original form, he waved his hand to open the pagoda door, gesturing for him to go forward.

"You..."

"I'll wait for you outside."

His consciousness briefly returned to reality before quickly entering a profound state again. Yu Zhen retracted his gaze and looked at the towering pagoda before him. A strange sense of familiarity rose in his heart as he stepped forward.

The pagoda door, carved with golden runes, was silently open. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen clearly. He stood at the entrance, glanced back at Yin Yan who remained in place, and suddenly hesitated, instinctively not wanting to leave Yin Yan's side.

As if sensing his thoughts, Yin Yan walked over, wrapped his arms around him, stroked his hair, and said in his ear, "Remember, guard your original heart." After speaking, he released him and gave him a gentle push into the pagoda.

Caught off guard, Yu Zhen stumbled two steps into the pagoda. He hurriedly turned around, only to see the pagoda door rapidly closing.

Boom.

The moment the pagoda door closed, a clap of thunder sounded overhead. The surrounding pitch-black scene was torn apart, revealing the figures of a young man and woman with blurred faces.

They stood in a dark forest. The woman's hair was disheveled, and she was tightly clutching a swaddled baby in her arms. The man was trying to snatch it from her.

"Xiao Shu, we can't keep this child. The doctor said his brain development is abnormal, he'll be a fool in the future! He'll only drag us down!"

"No, Jincheng, he's our first child. What if it's a misdiagnosis? Please don't throw him away, okay? Even sending him to an orphanage is fine. I'm begging you not to abandon him."

The man called Jincheng seemed unable to deal with the woman. He irritably pulled his hand back, paced back and forth twice, and asked, "Are you sure you want to keep him?"

The woman wept sorrowfully, clutching the child tightly.

The man punched a nearby tree hard and gritted his teeth. "Fine, keep him if you want, but don't you regret it!"

Yu Zhen stood outside the scene, listening to their conversation. The speed of his heartbeat gradually increased, and his gaze fell on the swaddled baby in the woman's arms.

His intuition told him that the child was him. If his intuition was correct, then these two people currently arguing over whether to keep him should be his parents.

But hadn't Grandpa said his parents passed away not long after he was born? Then these two people...

The scene suddenly changed to that of a small two-bedroom apartment.

The baby, now several months old, lay in a cradle, only able to giggle foolishly and drool. He looked like an idiot.

The woman, looking more haggard, pushed the cradle in a fit of despair and shrieked, "Laugh, laugh, laugh! All you know is how to laugh! You idiot! Idiot! Everyone outside is laughing at me, and Jincheng doesn't like coming home anymore. It's all your fault!"

Bang!

She pushed the cradle so hard it crashed into the wall. The baby inside was startled and finally stopped laughing, starting to wail loudly.

But the woman became even more frantic. She suddenly stood up and reached out to pinch the baby's arm in the cradle.

"No..."

Yu Zhen's heart clenched into a tight ball. He couldn't believe the woman's attitude had changed so quickly.

The scene changed again. The baby had grown a little older, but the woman had changed. She wore a beautiful long dress and sharp high heels, her nails painted bright red. Completely ignoring the heart-wrenching cries of the child in the cradle, she picked up her handbag and left.

Not long after, the man, wearing a suit and reeking of alcohol, came home. He didn't even glance at the cradle, just drunkenly collapsed on the sofa. Before falling asleep, he complained that the child's crying was disturbing his sleep.

Yu Zhen stood frozen, his lips pressed tightly together. He tried hard to see the man's face clearly, but he couldn't make out anything.

The scene changed again. It was still the same two-bedroom apartment. The young man and woman were negotiating with cold words. The child in the cradle had his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

"Yu Jincheng, I was really blind to have gotten together with you."

"The feeling's mutual."

"I'm not taking the child."

"I don't want him either."

The negotiation reached a stalemate. In the end, it was the woman who came up with an idea. "Let's put him in an orphanage."

"I'm not as heartless as you." The man's tone suddenly shifted. "How about this: I get the apartment, you leave with nothing, and I'll take responsibility for the child."

The woman sneered. "You'd be so kind?"

"No." The man was frank. He said bluntly, "My Daoist Priest foster father is a bleeding heart. If I send the child to him, he'll definitely raise him well. It's better than an orphanage. But what about you? Wang Shu, do you have anyone in your family who can help you take care of the child?"

The woman fell silent. She glanced at the cradle for a moment, then resolutely looked away and agreed, "Fine, the apartment is yours."

All the images vanished. Yu Zhen stood in the darkness, stunned for a long time, before letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.

Grandpa... how could you lie to me even about my own past?