Chapter 00229: Su Cen's Spirit Refinement
# Su Cen's Spirit Refinement
Chapter 229
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 229: Su Cen's Spirit Refinement
On Earth, stepping into the Spirit Refinement Realm meant reaching the pinnacle of power.
In the decades since the spiritual energy eruption, few had managed to cross into this realm.
Including the rumored individuals, the number wouldn't exceed the fingers on one hand.
At this moment, on the main peak of the Xinyuan Sect, dense arcs of lightning rained down.
Within the lightning stood a delicate woman.
Everyone in the Xinyuan Sect, including the sect leader, watched nervously from the periphery.
This was Su Cen, the sect's most talented disciple, undergoing her Spirit Refinement Tribulation.
If she succeeded, she would become a powerful Spirit Refinement cultivator.
Despite it being her first tribulation, Su Cen showed no signs of nervousness.
From the day she began her cultivation journey, all fear and apprehension seemed to have been experienced long ago.
When the final lightning arc was blocked, Su Cen fully stepped into the Spirit Refinement Realm.
Feeling the surging true essence within her, she was overwhelmed with excitement—she had succeeded.
On Earth, those who could enter the Spirit Refinement Realm were exceedingly rare.
There were rumors that someone from the Seven Sounds Mountain had achieved it, but that was just hearsay.
Now, within the Xinyuan Sect, she had surpassed everyone, becoming the most powerful cultivator.
Once she entered the Spirit Refinement Realm, she would qualify to use the teleportation array on Kunlun Mountain, entering a higher realm—perhaps a heavenly paradise where everyone was kind and benevolent.
A spiritual cloud descended, and Su Cen quickly sat down to stabilize her cultivation.
In the distance, the Xinyuan Sect's leader, Duan Lao, and the other disciples were ecstatic to see Su Cen successfully pass her tribulation.
Duan Lao was especially grateful that he had accepted Su Cen as his disciple all those years ago.
Over the years, Su Cen had brought great honor to the sect.
Whether it was in resource allocation battles between sects or serving the nation, she had always been the most outstanding.
Now, she had directly crossed into the Spirit Refinement Realm.
It was said that reaching this realm required the refinement of one's primordial spirit.
Even her master, Duan Lao, had yet to refine his primordial spirit, yet his disciple had surpassed him.
Half an hour later, Su Cen stood up.
Just as she was about to inform the sect leader of her success, an endless flood of memories surged into her mind.
Her newly refined primordial spirit was still fragile, and the overwhelming memories nearly destabilized it.
"Lan Xiaobu, do you think the sky will ever turn blue again?"
"Lan Xiaobu, did you mean it when you said you would marry me?"
"Xiaobu, I'm struggling to breathe..."
"Xiaobu, I'm sorry, but I have to go first..."
"Xiaobu..."
Su Cen stood frozen like a statue.
She finally understood what the name Lan Xiaobu meant to her.
She finally understood why, despite thinking she didn't love Lan Xiaobu, she had dreamed of marrying him.
She also finally understood the meaning behind Lan Xiaobu's last message to her: "In this life, I can't accompany you. You must take care of yourself..."
When she stepped outside the protective barrier, she saw a nearly crazed Lan Xiaobu, his eyes filled with heart-wrenching despair.
If she were to live another life, she would still say, "I'm sorry, but I have to go first..." because she had burdened Lan Xiaobu far too much.
In the apocalypse, Lan Xiaobu had struggled to keep her alive.
Perhaps if he hadn't studied medicine, their lives wouldn't have been so difficult, because they wouldn't have survived the apocalypse at all.
"Xiao Cen, today I performed ten surgeries. It looks like this month's bonus won't be too low. Wait, I brought some medicine back for you..."
"Xiao Cen, today Dr. Qin was taken away. He performed too many surgeries and fell ill, resulting in muscle atrophy in his hands. He's completely disabled now."
"No, if there's a next life, I will still marry you."
"Xiao Cen, I'm worried no one will take care of you. I'm worried you won't sleep well. I'm even more worried that when you cry alone at night, no one will be there to wipe your tears..."
"Xiao Cen, do you think I can go on living without you? Without you, I no longer know why I should live."
These were the words Lan Xiaobu had spoken to her.
"Xiaobu, this medicine is too expensive. My illness can't be cured. Let's give up..."
"Your hair has turned white. You're not even forty, yet you've aged so much..."
"Xiaobu, if there's a next life, don't marry me again. Be a little selfish like me and find someone who loves you... I'm sorry, Xiaobu, I'm struggling to breathe..."
"Xiaobu, don't come out, no matter what..."
"Xiaobu, I'm sorry, but I have to go first..."
These were the words she had spoken to Lan Xiaobu.
Su Cen stood in place, tears streaming down her face.
She wasn't a heartless person, but in front of her husband, she had acted heartlessly.
In her previous life, she had been ill, and Lan Xiaobu had worked himself to the bone, performing countless surgeries to afford the expensive medicine that kept her alive.
In this life, when she met Lan Xiaobu again, he was unshaven and his dantian was shattered.
Yet, what had she done? She had merely bowed and thanked him for saving her life, then said she was sorry, because in this life, she believed they were from different worlds.
When she said those words, she might have even felt proud of herself—a cultivator, bowing to an ordinary mortal.
She thought she was staying true to her roots, but where were her roots?
When she told Lan Xiaobu she couldn't marry him and even hinted that he should find a place to live out the rest of his days in peace, she must have shattered his heart.
Even so, Lan Xiaobu had still pushed the Blue Wing Star toward her.
"Su Cen, let's just say we were husband and wife in our past life. In that life, you suffered with me for so long. This Blue Wing Star is my compensation to you. I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself."
She finally understood why, when she saw Lan Xiaobu's lonely and desolate figure, her heart ached.
She had been heartless all along...
"Lan Xiaobu..."
Su Cen looked into the distance.
Now that she was in the Spirit Refinement Realm, no matter what, she would find Lan Xiaobu.
Even if his dantian was shattered, she would do everything in her power to heal him.
She would tell him that when she left the protective barrier and lay outside waiting for death, she had already fallen in love with him.
It had nothing to do with mutual dependence—it was simply love.
Su Cen carefully took out the Blue Wing Star and hung it around her neck.
From this day forward, she would never take it off.
...
The Xinyuan Sect's leader, Duan Lao, looked at Su Cen, who was still standing motionless, with confusion.
"What's wrong with Su Cen?"
Duan Lao's eldest disciple, Ge Xin, quickly said, "I'll go check on Junior Sister Su."
Duan Lao, however, corrected him, "Su Cen is now in the Spirit Refinement Realm. You can no longer call her 'Junior Sister.' She is the future of our Xinyuan Sect, and the sect's development will rely on her."
"Yes," Ge Xin's steps faltered.
He suddenly felt like a clown.
Everyone in the Xinyuan Sect knew he had a crush on Su Cen, but now Su Cen had stepped into a new realm and might even leave Earth.
Meanwhile, Ge Xin hadn't even reached the Golden Core Realm.
Fortunately, Su Cen finally moved.
She walked up to the sect leader and bowed.
"Sect Leader, I've just recovered some memories. I need to attend to some personal matters. Please grant me permission."
Duan Lao laughed heartily.
"Su Cen, from now on, you are the First Elder of the Xinyuan Sect. You don't need my permission for such matters. Go ahead and take care of your business. Congratulations on entering the Spirit Refinement Realm. In a month, the Xinyuan Sect will hold a grand ceremony, inviting peers from all over to celebrate your achievement and your status as one of Earth's strongest cultivators."
"Thank you, Sect Leader."
Su Cen knew this ceremony was the Xinyuan Sect's way of announcing to the world that they now had a Spirit Refinement cultivator.
...
The first place Su Cen went was the Lou family in Dongqing City.
In her previous life, it was because the Lou family's second son, Lou Ruyu, wanted to marry her that she fled her home and found Lan Xiaobu, asking him, "Lan Xiaobu, did you mean it when you said you would marry me?"
Because of that one question, Lan Xiaobu had taken care of her for nearly twenty years, working day and night on the operating table to earn money just to keep her alive.
In this life, she had also received news that Lou Ruyu wanted to marry her.
Just as she was panicking, the Lou family had suddenly called off the engagement.
With her memories from her past life, Su Cen didn't believe the Lou family would willingly cancel the engagement, so she went to investigate.
The Lou family village was still there, but it was far less prosperous than before.
With the rise of martial arts and the spread of immortal cultivation, the Lou family had failed to produce any outstanding talents, and their decline was inevitable.
The family headship had been passed down to Lou Xuemao's descendants, though Lou Xuemao himself was still alive, albeit aged.
Looking at the nervous and uneasy Lou Xuemao sitting before her, Su Cen felt a sense of déjà vu.
In her past life, the Su family had been just as nervous in front of Lou Xuemao.
"Immortal Su, your visit honors our humble home. Please forgive us for our poor reception," Lou Xuemao, despite his advanced age, bowed deeply.
Even without leaving his home, Lou Xuemao had heard of the prodigy Su Cen, one of the few geniuses to emerge in Huaxia.
Su Cen didn't even sit down.
She simply asked, "I only have one question, and then I'll leave. Why did the Lou family suddenly cancel the engagement with the Su family back then?"
Lou Xuemao's distant memories resurfaced, and he quickly replied, "Back then, Lan Xiaobu came here and told me that you were the woman he loved. No matter how bold our Lou family was, we wouldn't dare to offend him."
Su Cen was stunned, and her eyes immediately reddened.
She turned and rushed out of the Lou family village, unable to hold back her tears.
No wonder she had been able to live peacefully, find a job, and avoid the hardships of the apocalypse.
Her family's improved circumstances had allowed her illness to be nipped in the bud.
She had been able to live this way because someone had silently shouldered the burden for her, without her ever knowing, just to ensure her peace and safety.
Other than her life partner, who else would remember these things? Who else would have the courage to approach the once-powerful Lou family and resolve these issues for her?
Everyone has burdens they cannot bear, and in both her past and present lives, someone had borne those burdens for her.
Su Cen didn't wipe away her tears.
She would search every corner of the Earth to find Lan Xiaobu and do everything in her power to restore his dantian.
Then, she would tell him that she would repay him for everything he had done for her in their past life.
No, that wasn't the right way to put it.
She would tell him that when she struggled to crawl out of the protective barrier, she had already fallen in love with him.
...
(End of Chapter)