Chapter 3948: Nothing Beats Dumplings
The sundial was activated within the Celestial Academy.
Zhang Ruochen spent seven hundred years successfully condensing ten clusters of yang-attributed Dao light within his embryonic core, arranged in a mysterious pattern and operating with regularity, officially stepping into the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite.
The scorching energy contained in the ten clusters of yang-attributed Dao light was not merely twice that of five clusters; there was both quantitative change and qualitative transformation.
Every time he mobilized divine Qi, it felt like magma flowing through his meridians, burning and painful.
Even with his current powerful physical body, this was the case, showing just how domineering the divine Qi within him was. Relying solely on this divine Qi, he could threaten cultivators below the peak of Indestructible Infinite, like divine fire and heavenly flames.
Fortunately, the Five-Colored Colored Glaze Cover protected his embryonic core, so there was no need to worry about being burned to death.
Under the repeated tempering of this yang-attributed power, his physical body would only grow stronger. Zhang Ruochen was confident that, as time passed, he would eventually adapt to the discomfort brought by the sudden surge of energy.
This was the process of consolidating his cultivation realm!
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, which seemed to have slept for billions of years. Beneath him was a dense and bright sea of time imprint light, and in the space around him, countless time rules flowed.
The sundial sat ten zhang away.
Zen Bing and Qiangu Nüdi sat like left and right guardians on either side of the sundial. It was thanks to their help over the years that the sundial could support Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation at the initial stage of Indestructible Infinite. Although seven hundred years had passed, only two years had gone by in the outside world.
This was the time they had fought for him with all their might.
Zhang Ruochen silently remembered this.
Sensing Zhang Ruochen’s awakening, Zen Bing and Qiangu Nüdi opened their eyes and stood up.
“Did you really break through so easily?”
Zen Bing sensed a different aura on Zhang Ruochen and said incredulously, “Back then, it took me an entire eon to go from the initial stage of Indestructible Infinite to the middle stage.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Thank you both for these years.”
“With our friendship, mentioning the word ‘thanks’ is too formal!” Qiangu Nüdi had a natural air of unrestrained heroism, her eyes shimmering with hidden sharpness, not inferior to any man in the world.
Zhang Ruochen took out a Heavenly Venerable Orchid Divine Pill and handed it over, smiling, “You know, Empress, I never owe favors. Don’t refuse. This divine pill isn’t given for free. I’m giving it to the Indestructible Infinite-level Hua Ying Qingchan; in the future, I’ll need you to hold down one side.”
Qiangu Nüdi was by no means a pretentious person. She accepted the divine pill and strode away quickly, leaving this time domain: “Don’t worry, I won’t let you steal the show. This Empress will soon ascend to Indestructible.”
Zen Bing stared at Zhang Ruochen and said, “Does Imperial Dust count as owing me a favor?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “What does Miss Zen Bing want?”
“I like that title—it sounds even more comfortable than Ice Ancestor,” Zen Bing said. “Just a Heavenly Venerable Orchid Divine Pill.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. Heavenly Venerable Orchid Divine Pills were not abundant; giving one meant one less. In the future, once news of this pill spread, how many people would come knocking?
Even the wives, fiancées, and close female friends around him were already not enough to go around.
Moreover, there were also Xue Hou, Underworld King, Chi Kunlun, Zhang Hongchen, Qingqing… and other supremely talented relatives, children, and disciples who might need it in the future.
There were also cultivators like the Moon God who liked to forcefully demand things without reason.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Miss Zen Bing is already at Indestructible Infinite; the Heavenly Venerable Orchid Divine Pill has no effect on you. How about…”
“I plan to take it back and give it to Jue Miao. She is the most promising cultivator of the next generation in White Clothes Valley and represents the future of White Clothes Valley,” Zen Bing said.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God flew out from the sundial and said, “I want one too! You’ve already reached the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite; this god should also charge toward Indestructible Infinite.”
“None of your business, don’t meddle. You were at the peak of Great Unbound Infinite an eon ago, and I’ve spent no small effort on you over the years. If you can’t break through to Indestructible Infinite, no divine pill will help.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a Heavenly Venerable Orchid Divine Pill, handed it to Zen Bing, then teleported away, disappearing from this time domain.
Yuan Sheng was waiting outside, having spent the last two years recuperating her divine soul.
“Father!”
Zhang Yuyan walked out from a gravel path in the bamboo grove, carrying a dark red food box.
Her eyes were clear and bright, with a quiet fragility unusual for her age. Approaching, she said, “Did Father calculate that I was coming to bring food, so you came out of seclusion early?”
Zhang Ruochen looked at the food box and said, “What is it this time?”
“Sister Nalan and Sister Luo made dumplings. Today is the Winter Solstice. Since you’re a Celestial Perfection, you should know everything under heaven—how could Father not know?” Zhang Yuyan said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Knowing is a decision. Not knowing is a choice. Knowing and not knowing have no hierarchy. Spiritual power cultivation is not just about pursuing knowledge. Being able to control knowing and not knowing is a further elevation of the mind.”
Yuan Sheng, standing nearby, said, “I really find it hard to understand. The cultivators in this Celestial Academy have long reached the realm of severing the five grains and blood, so why do they care about a mundane world festival? Why spend time preparing mundane meals? What’s the point?”
Zhang Yuyan retorted, “People live in the mundane world and should integrate into it. Master Candeng says that those who only pursue cultivation have no meaning in their cultivation; they are just the loneliest wretches in the universe. Those who lose their pursuit of life’s joys can no longer be called human—they are like the grass and trees by the roadside, only needing to grow, then wither, leaving nothing behind.”
“Master Candeng truly understands life,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Zhang Yuyan said very seriously, “Sister Nalan says that we can cultivate, study, and teach in peace at the Celestial Academy, nurturing generation after generation of Confucian children, and can enjoy the joy and festivity of ordinary people during festivals—all because people like Father carry the burden, bleed and fight outside, and hold up a paradise for us.”
A warmth of indescribable emotion rose in Zhang Ruochen’s heart. He took the food box from her hand and said, “Come on, let’s go see what it’s like when Sister Nalan and Sister Luo, who are like fairies descending to the mortal world, become cooks. I haven’t seen this kind of worldly atmosphere in them yet.”
The Winter Solstice seemed to have become the most important festival at the Celestial Academy. In the bamboo grove, bright yellow lanterns hung everywhere, folded from white paper, some inscribed with poems, others painted with orchids and bamboo.
The academy was vast, covering a large area, with bamboo groves, pine forests, and sacred trees like yellow apricots and green locusts.
Though it was still morning, it was already packed to the brim, bustling, and the usual tranquility was gone.
Many Confucian and Buddhist cultivators who had left the Celestial Academy had returned. They were either students of Nalan Danqing, Luo Shuihan, or Zhang Yuyan, or disciples of Xu Rulai, Grand Minister of Works, or Second Minister of Works.
Everyone’s face shone with the most genuine smiles—old friends reuniting, lovers leaning on each other, monks gathering in small groups to discuss the Dao.
Zhang Ruochen was swept into this vibrant and festive atmosphere, feeling both an infinite love for life and a sense of distance, as if he had been separated from this world for too many years.
Perhaps this was what Master Candeng meant by being in the mundane world and not detaching from it.
His grandmaster had said something similar back then.
Amid the boiling and clamorous festive atmosphere, a familiar and clear voice called out: “Hey, over here.”
Zhang Ruochen knew it was calling him. Turning his head, he saw Nalan Danqing under the row of bamboo huts with curling cooking smoke. She stood on a stone-piled step, having shed her untouchable ethereal beauty and immortal grace. She wore a green dress, her sleeves rolled up, revealing two snow-white forearms.
There were traces of flour on her green dress.
Between her and Zhang Ruochen, many male and female Confucian scholars walked by. Even though she was simply dressed and the other female cultivators were vying for attention, she still stood out like a green jade in stone.
Nalan Danqing’s “hey” and the almost innocent smile on her face gave Zhang Ruochen an indescribable sense of closeness, melting the distance between them.
Zhang Ruochen walked over with the food box and said with a smile, “How does the talented woman’s cooking compare to Qing Mo’s?”
“Eat it, and you’ll know.”
Nalan Danqing smiled at Zhang Ruochen, then returned to the kitchen to continue working.
Zhang Ruochen followed her in and saw Luo Shuihan kneading dough, Second Minister of Works carrying water, and various men and women bustling about.
Without disturbing them, Zhang Ruochen found a wooden table in the corner, sat down, opened the food box, and took out a plate of dumplings.
The dumplings were still steaming, emitting white vapor.
Zhang Ruochen handed a pair of chopsticks to Yuan Sheng, but she shook her head.
She had no interest in such mundane food and couldn’t understand the joy and busyness of these people.
Xu Rulai walked over, took the chopsticks from Zhang Ruochen’s hand, and sat down unceremoniously across from him.
He had already shaved his head, his bald pate gleaming. After eating three dumplings in one go, he asked, “Is Gong Nanfeng dead?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
He knew that in the Destiny Temple, the one with the best relationship with Gong Nanfeng was Xu Rulai.
“Oh, everyone dies.”
Xu Rulai put down the chopsticks, sat upright, then turned and left, as abruptly as he had come.
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, finishing the dumplings on the plate. Then he saw Nalan Danqing bring another plate and sit down across from him, staring at him without a word.
Zhang Ruochen wiped the corner of his mouth and said awkwardly, “What’s wrong? What are you looking at?”
After a long silence, Nalan Danqing asked, “When are you leaving?”
“One last thing, and then I’ll go,” Zhang Ruochen said.
A flicker of gloom passed through Nalan Danqing’s eyes, and then she smiled, “I knew you had endless big things to do.”
“But I remember our thousand-year promise. It’s just that many times, I really can’t help it,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Nalan Danqing’s eyes rolled, and she said, “How about changing it to ten thousand years? Or a hundred thousand years?”
“Do you really not want to see me that much?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Nalan Danqing said, “I just don’t want to spend every day of that thousand-year period in disappointment. Hehe, I’m joking. I’m not a little girl; I’m Nalan Danqing. You know, I’m a god!”
Zhang Ruochen stared at her intently, and her smiling eyes looked back at him, her cheek slightly tilted, a carefree and indifferent expression.
Even Yuan Sheng, standing nearby, was anxious for him.
The girl had already made it so clear; why didn’t he take a step further?
“These days, who isn’t a god?”
From outside came Jie Tian’s old and experienced voice.
The next moment, he appeared, hands behind his back, looking around, his nose sniffing vigorously. He walked to the big pot, stood on tiptoe to look inside, and said, “Hey, Second Blackie, give me two bowls, soup ones. They smell amazing—I could smell it from the Nine Heavens Celestial World!”
Jie Tian plopped down at the wooden table where Zhang Ruochen and Nalan Danqing sat, tossed a pill to Nalan Danqing, and said, “I found a divine pill left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable in the Nine Heavens Celestial World. Take it, and with your talent, you have a good chance of becoming not just a great god but even a god venerable.”
“Let me see what refining method the ancestor used for this divine pill.”
Zhang Ruochen was very uneasy about the pill Jie Tian had taken out and reached for it.
“Slap!”
Jie Tian slapped Zhang Ruochen’s hand hard, glaring, “You’re a Celestial Perfection, and you’re still eyeing this? Is this pill for you? Girl, take it.”
Nalan Danqing glanced at Zhang Ruochen.
“Oh, so hesitant, and you call yourself a god?”
Jie Tian struck Nalan Danqing’s neck with a palm wind from a distance, and the pill shot into her mouth like a light shuttle.
It dissolved upon entry.
“Old fellow, don’t mess around.”
Zhang Ruochen stood up abruptly, his eyes utterly serious.
“What am I messing around with? What’s wrong with giving a pill? You’ve given away plenty. When it comes to being wasteful, can you compare to me?” Jie Tian said.
Just then, Second Minister of Works brought two large bowls of steaming soup dumplings, set them down, and fled.
Jie Tian pulled out two chopsticks, ate heartily, and said while chewing, “Don’t worry, nothing will happen. This pill is a great tonic, but not too strong.”
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power to examine Nalan Danqing’s body and, finding no abnormalities, finally relaxed.
“I’ve broken through again and can mobilize more ancestral divine Qi and ancestral rules.”
“Do you know that something strange happened at the ancestral land of the Zhang Clan in Kunlun Realm? Some descendants came to report that they often hear strange noises from the ancestral land, like dog barking. Damn it, I hope no clueless fool goes grave-robbing at the ancestral clan.”
Jie Tian talked to himself, but no one paid him any attention.
Zhang Ruochen was caught in great conflict. He knew very well that he should maintain an appropriate distance from Nalan Danqing—that would be best. He already had too many women around him, and some things had happened that he couldn’t control. He felt guilty toward many of them.
He didn’t know if this self-perceived distance and beauty was too selfish.
To enemies, he could swing his blade without hesitation.
Because he knew what was right and what was wrong.
With emotions, swinging the blade or embracing without regard for consequences both seemed like mistakes.
Outside, someone shouted, “The All-Heaven Sacrifice has begun!”
Then came a wave of cheers and jubilation.
On the Winter Solstice, in every corner of the universe, sacrificial ceremonies were held to open the passage to the “God Realm” and obtain Divine Martial Marks.
The Heavenly Court also held a sacrificial ceremony, usually by the Heavenly River, to seek Divine Martial Marks for all newborn children of the Heavenly Court.
This year’s All-Heaven Sacrifice was held at the Heavenly Palace.
The power of the sacrifice could cover the entire Heavenly Court.