Chapter 26: Accumulation
If Chen Changsheng had immediately begun the process of drawing starlight into his body for marrow cleansing after lighting his fate star that night, the young girl in the Herb Garden just one wall away from the National Academy might have been able to rely on her talent to follow the unbroken sensation and discover his existence. If the sweat that had pooled on the floor hadn’t strangely evaporated upon contact with the wind, seeping into the planks until it was no longer visible, she might also have found him.
The problem was that, at this moment, Chen Changsheng once again displayed a temperament or mindset very different from ordinary people. He unhesitatingly resisted the temptation of marrow cleansing, went straight back to the small building to bathe and sleep, and by then, not even a trace of sweat stain remained on the floor.
The next day, Chen Changsheng carefully reviewed the Marrow Cleansing Treatise again, especially the final section on drawing starlight to cleanse the marrow. He took many notes, and after confirming that he had fully grasped the content, he went to the lakeside meadow to rest with his eyes half-closed. He waited until the setting sun fell below the city wall and night arrived. Only after verifying that his physical state and mental focus were in excellent condition did he push open the door of the Scripture Library and officially begin the marrow cleansing.
His spiritual sense spread into the air, not piercing through the library’s roof to reach the night sky, yet he knew that a mysterious connection had been established between himself and that distant red little star. This feeling was not tangible; more precisely, the link between him and that star left no perceptible trace in his body or spiritual world. But he was utterly certain that the star was there, and no one could take it away.
Just as that former Pope had once said: that thread truly exists.
Chen Changsheng closed his eyes, calmed his mind, opened his soul, and followed the method in the Marrow Cleansing Treatise, entering a state of complete forgetfulness of self and surroundings, absolute relaxation. He quietly waited for the essence condensed from starlight to travel along that thread and arrive before him.
Time gradually passed. The night wind was sometimes gentle, sometimes still.
The grove outside the Scripture Library was silent. The day before, workers from the Teaching Administration Office had pruned the trees, cutting off many superfluous branches. The stumps of those severed branches were exposed to the air, emitting the unique fragrance of wood, carried far away by the night breeze.
The reason the woody scent from those branch stumps was so strong was that they were oozing a nearly transparent, gelatinous substance—tree sap. The trees in the National Academy were extremely diverse, naturally including fruit trees, so the smell was quite pleasant.
There was a thick locust tree. The thick branches near the ground had all been cut off, and one spot looked very much like a scar. A large amount of tree gum had congealed there, and when brushed by the night wind, it slowly trickled down the trunk toward the ground. If someone fond of slaughter had seen this scene, they might have thought the locust tree was bleeding from its severed arms. But in reality, under the silver starlight, the flowing sap looked more like sweet honey.
After a long time, the honey-like sap finally reached the ground, falling onto a clump of grass. It didn’t have the luck—or cruelty—to turn some insect into the initial form of amber. In the end, it would become food for those insects.
A similar scene occurred inside the Scripture Library.
The radiance of countless stars fell upon that invisible, undetectable thread, condensed into a slightly thick essence, and then slowly dripped down along that thread. Crossing who knew how great a distance, ignoring the library’s roof, it finally landed on Chen Changsheng.
The starlight was soft and moist. The skin on Chen Changsheng’s face seemed to turn into jade. Yet the next moment, that starlight seeped in like sand or wind passing through fingers, becoming invisible. His face remained as before, unchanged.
Much more starlight fell upon him. It seemed able to ignore any obstacle, easily penetrating his clothes and landing on the surface of his body. Yet it still didn’t linger, seeping deep into his body and disappearing to who knew where.
Chen Changsheng kept his eyes closed. He didn’t see these scenes, nor did he know these things were happening.
It wasn’t until every ray of morning light fell upon the capital, and roosters began to crow, that he awoke.
He was excited—rarely so excited in fourteen years. Because if the marrow cleansing succeeded, he would step onto the path of cultivation. Whether or not he could take first place in the Grand Examination, he would gain some say over his own fate.
This kind of emotion was bad for his body, he told himself silently. With a willpower that belied his age, he calmed down in an extremely short time. Then he looked at his hands. His expression shifted slightly, his eyes full of confusion and incomprehension.
His hands had no change. They were as clean as the night before.
He took a small round mirror from his bosom, looked at his face in it, and after a moment of silence, put the mirror away. He pulled open his collar to look at his body, finding no change at all. It was as clean as it had been all these years.
A successful marrow cleansing shouldn’t be like this.
According to the Marrow Cleansing Treatise, humans live in the world, eating, drinking, and breathing. While absorbing nutrients, they also bring the turbid qi of heaven and earth into their bodies. That’s why one must draw starlight into the body—to use the purest, gentlest power of the stars to expel all those things.
According to the ancients, after a successful marrow cleansing, the body would expel large amounts of foul, stinking sweat, and might even suffer severe diarrhea. Only this would prove that the turbid qi had been excreted.
But Chen Changsheng’s body had no change.
He was a person with mild cleanliness obsession. He loved being clean. But at this moment, he desperately wished to see filthy black mud appear on his body. Because this matter had nothing to do with cleanliness; no matter how he looked at it, it shouldn’t be like this.
Chen Changsheng stared at the rising sun outside the window for a long time.
Suddenly, he pressed the back of his hand against the floor and rubbed it hard twice. When he felt real pain, he lifted his hand and saw a large red mark, faintly showing blood vessels. So he knew that his marrow cleansing had indeed not succeeded.
When starlight descends, it first contacts the skin. So at the very beginning of marrow cleansing, the skin is strengthened.
His skin had no change from the night before.
Chen Changsheng remained silent. He had originally thought that the problem of his severed meridians would only cause his spiritual essence to easily dissipate, making it hard to convert starlight into true essence and store it in his body. But he had at least thought he could complete the marrow cleansing step. He hadn’t expected that even this wouldn’t work.
The morning light grew brighter. He stood up and walked out of the Scripture Library. Because he had been sitting cross-legged for an entire night, his body was somewhat sore, and his movements were slow. Seen from behind, he looked like a child just recovering from a serious illness.
Walking back to the small building, he looked at the kettle steaming over the fire and felt sad. According to the records in the Marrow Cleansing Treatise, he had thought he would return covered in filth, so he had prepared hot water in advance. Who could have imagined that he wouldn’t even shed a single drop of sweat?
He thought it over and finally decided to take a bath anyway.
Not because he had sat on the floor all night, nor because there was some dust in the academy.
His body had problems, which made him dislike his own body. He had always felt that his body was somewhat dirty.
He washed frequently, loved cleanliness, and had mild cleanliness obsession—all because of this.
He poured the hot water into the large tub in the corner, stepped in, covered his face with a wet towel, leaned back against the tub’s edge with his arms spread, and felt very tired.
From beneath the wet towel came a barely audible sigh.
Just then.
From beyond the courtyard wall, faintly, there also came a sigh.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, it turns out sad people are everywhere.
……
……
No one knew that Chen Changsheng had attempted marrow cleansing—not even those who had seen him light his fate star. Because marrow cleansing was even more common than fixing a star. Whether it was a cultivator at the Marrow Cleansing realm or even the Star Gathering realm, as long as they were cultivating, they needed to do this night after night. And those capable of seeing a fate star being lit couldn’t see that thread, so naturally, they didn’t know who held the other end.
There was no upper limit to human self-strengthening.
Marrow cleansing was never a one-day affair.
That night, Chen Changsheng entered the Scripture Library again, sat on the floor, and continued trying.
For a fourteen-year-old boy to rouse himself from the frustration of failure in such a short time—this was all thanks to the things he had experienced and would experience. Of course, he should resent those things even more.
He had no time to be dejected. He could only keep trying, keep striving.
“Succeed or die”—these six words suited him best.
Calming his mind in meditation, countless thick yet invisible essences of starlight flowed along that intangible thread of fate, dripping down from the distant night sky, landing on him again, lingering like a spring breeze.
Those starlights, as on the previous night, silently seeped into his body and then became invisible.
This process lasted a long time. It wasn’t until the sky was about to lighten that he awoke again.
He examined his hands, found no change. He touched his forehead with his hand, found not a single drop of sweat. His old clothes were still dry. The morning breeze drifted in from the window, easily stirring his sleeves.
He didn’t understand. Even if his meridians were severed, his skin and hair should have shown some change from receiving the starlight.
Where had that starlight gone?
He thought it had all dispersed into the air, becoming formless.
He didn’t know that when he closed his eyes in meditation, those starlights passed through his black hair and his hands, through his old clothes and the short sword at his waist, silently entering his body without a single bit being lost.
Like snowflakes passing through wind and forest to fall upon the ground.
Not a single leaf caught a single snowflake—this was a rare occurrence.
But it really happened.
Now, the forest still looked lush and green, without a trace of white.
But in truth?
Beneath the forest, the snow had already accumulated thickly.
This was accumulation.
One day, it would be released.
Or perhaps, erupt.