Chapter 99: Cultivation Transcends Life and Death
Xuan Yuan Po walked in carrying a food tray. The Hundred Herbs Garden was now empty, with no one left to deliver meals. The National Academy had to start cooking for itself. In these first few days, the unfortunate soul who drew the lot to be responsible for cooking was this young demon tribesman.
Starlight leaked in through the windows of the Library Pavilion, faint and insipid, much like the meals he had prepared today.
At noon, Jin Yulu had taken a taste and then told them not to wait for him for dinner from now on.
Tang Thirty-Six set down his chopsticks, looked at him very seriously, and said, “Did you forget to add salt again?”
Chen Changsheng smiled at him and said, “As you often say, this topic shift is too forced.”
Tang Thirty-Six replied without changing his expression, “That’s because your demands are too excessive.”
After finishing their bland dinner, the three of them began to stroll around the lake within the National Academy. Faintly, they could see light spilling from the newly built small house at the academy gate, accompanied by the fragrant smell of roast chicken and a few wisps of wine aroma.
Catching those scents, Tang Thirty-Six was quite envious of Jin Yulu’s dinner. He suggested that from tomorrow onward, they should just order takeout. After all, neither he nor Chen Changsheng was short on money, and even if Xuan Yuan Po could eat a lot, he couldn’t possibly eat them into poverty. Xuan Yuan Po was somewhat tempted by this, but Chen Changsheng explicitly opposed it—takeout food was heavy on oil and salt, with no benefit to health. Although Xuan Yuan Po’s cooking was bland, it had no lack of nutrition.
Chen Changsheng’s meticulous, even strict, lifestyle habits were something Tang Thirty-Six and Xuan Yuan Po had grown accustomed to. They merely shook their heads in regret, too lazy to argue with him. The three continued their walk around the lake until the night grew deep, and countless stars fell upon the lake’s surface.
The branches of the great banyan tree stretched toward the lake, swaying gently in the night breeze, as if trying to pluck those stars.
Chen Changsheng watched this scene and thought of Luo Luo.
It had only been two days since they parted, but he already missed her deeply. He wondered if she was happy at the Li Palace’s attached academy, who she was studying cultivation with, whether she had broken through the obstruction in her left second radial meridian’s true energy, and whether she… remembered this pond and the great banyan tree by its edge?
Tang Thirty-Six and Xuan Yuan Po, smelling the aromas drifting from the gatehouse, also thought of Luo Luo.
Without Luo Luo, the Hundred Herbs Garden was empty, devoid of all kinds of delicacies, without the pretty little girl. Not seeing Her Highness was disheartening, and facing so many troubles was truly troublesome. When will you come back? Hurry back, your teacher really can’t hold on much longer.
After their walk, Tang Thirty-Six planned to go out for a stroll, but he saw Chen Changsheng enter the Library Pavilion, sit down on the floor, and prepare to begin meditation cultivation. Xuan Yuan Po, by the lake, was also starting to wrestle with the big trees. Tang Thirty-Six couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed.
He thought it over, walked over, and sat down opposite Chen Changsheng. Closing his eyes, he calmed his breath, casually resting his hands on his knees, palms facing the starry sky, and began his own meditation cultivation.
After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes, quietly sensing the flow of true essence within his meridians. Using his spiritual awareness as a line of sight, he carefully observed the state of his inner palace. This was the practice of Inner Observation by Still Reflection. As his inner observation continued, a faint, translucent glow could be seen forming in his eyes.
Inner Observation by Still Reflection could manifest externally, proving that he had already cultivated to the upper level of Still Reflection. A sixteen-year-old at the upper level of Still Reflection—whether in the Heavenly Dao Academy, the Li Mountain Sword Sect, or any other sect—would undoubtedly be a key training target. Yet now, he could only study on his own in the National Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six naturally had no regrets, but without a teacher’s guidance, his cultivation progress was inevitably affected, and it severely undermined his confidence in breaking through to the next realm.
Just then, Chen Changsheng opened his eyes. Tang Thirty-Six looked at him, thinking, *You can teach Her Highness Luo Luo, so why shouldn’t I humble myself and ask you to teach me?* As he was still pondering this, his voice had already sounded, asking several cultivation questions that had troubled him for days.
Chen Changsheng thought seriously for a long time, then said, “…I don’t understand.”
Tang Thirty-Six was a bit annoyed and said, “You managed to solve such a difficult problem as how the demon tribe circulates true essence… If it weren’t for Her Highness Luo Luo and Chief Historian Jin, I’d bet you’d have been kidnapped by the White Emperor’s men to the Red River by now. And yet you say you don’t understand my questions?”
“The demon tribe’s physique is special, and Her Highness Luo Luo is even more so. But precisely because of that specialness, I could come up with some methods… because I’ve spent many years researching meridians. But your question involves the specific techniques of Inner Observation by Still Reflection. I can’t perform Inner Observation by Still Reflection myself, so how can I even begin?”
Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, “I think you shouldn’t be so impatient. You’re still so young and have already reached the upper level of Still Reflection. The threshold of the Penetrating Darkness realm is right before you. You just need to cultivate naturally, and one day you’ll break through. It’s best not to let your mindset get unsettled.”
“This has nothing to do with the Grand Examination.”
Tang Thirty-Six, seeing the look in his eyes, knew he had misunderstood. He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the countless stars in the night sky. After a moment of silence, he said, “Cultivation is like rowing a boat upstream. The further you go, the harder it gets. I’ve already cultivated to the upper level of Still Reflection, which is impressive by any measure, but… that threshold is too hard to cross.”
Chen Changsheng remained silent.
Back in the old temple in Xining Town, he had no understanding of cultivation. Now, after studying at the National Academy for half a year, he knew what Tang Thirty-Six wanted to say. But he himself hadn’t even succeeded in Marrow Cleansing yet, and that day was still far off, so he had never seriously thought about it.
The further cultivation goes, the harder and more dangerous it becomes. From Still Reflection and Inner Observation to entering Penetrating Darkness, that threshold is the first great mountain. Every subsequent breakthrough in cultivation is like climbing an ever-steeper peak. The most people fall before that first great mountain because, at that stage, cultivators lack experience.
Countless years ago, when the Heavenly Book descended and human wisdom awakened, humans began to cultivate. In the long ages that followed, countless geniuses emerged. In their youth, or even childhood, they could easily undergo Marrow Cleansing and reach Still Reflection, only to fall before the Penetrating Darkness realm, paying with their lives as the price for progress.
Those geniuses who, like Tang Thirty-Six, once attracted much attention—or the names on the Azure Cloud List—failed to cross that threshold. After their deaths and the dissipation of their techniques, they were soon forgotten by the people of the continent, replaced by new youths.
Why were figures like Qiu Shan Jun, Xu You Rong, Gou Han Shi, and earlier ones like Mo Yu and Tianhai Shengxue regarded as true geniuses, even looked upon differently by senior experts? It was because they had broken through to the Penetrating Darkness realm at a very young age.
These people had already crossed that threshold with the highest failure rate and the highest mortality rate. Although in the long years of cultivation that followed, they might still fall at the feet of peaks like the middle stage of Star Gathering, turning into a wisp of a soul, their chances of becoming true experts were already infinitely higher than others.
Tang Thirty-Six didn’t want to die, nor did he want to be forgotten. To break through the Still Reflection realm, to win in next year’s Grand Examination, and to continue climbing the Azure Cloud List, he had left his hometown, come to the capital, and entered the Heavenly Dao Academy to study.
Only academies and sects with deep foundations and true strength, like the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect, could maximize their disciples’ success rates in breaking through realms.
Now, he had withdrawn from the Heavenly Dao Academy and come to the National Academy, which had students but no teachers. Who could help him?
Chief Historian Jin was undoubtedly powerful, but he cultivated demon tribe techniques, which made it hard for him to assist.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time, then said, “If you trust me, maybe I can try to learn and see if I can find some way to help you.”
Tang Thirty-Six forced a smile and said, “Are you planning to use me as a guinea pig?”
“Unwilling to accept?” Chen Changsheng asked with a smile.
Tang Thirty-Six said, “I’m quite bold.”
Chen Changsheng said, “I think you have a lot of confidence in me.”
Tang Thirty-Six was speechless and said, “If I remember correctly, you haven’t even succeeded in Marrow Cleansing yet, have you?”
There was no need to remember such a thing; one glance was enough to tell.
Chen Changsheng’s hands, exposed outside his sleeves, and his hair were no different from an ordinary person’s—utterly ordinary. If you took a not-so-sharp knife and cut his wrist, a thin red line would definitely appear, and blood would soon flow out.
“I don’t understand why either.”
For half a year, he had meditated every night, drawing starlight to cleanse his marrow. Though all the steps were correct, there was no effect. Even someone as strong-willed as he sometimes felt weary. He looked at the stars outside the window, shook his head, and said, “It might really be a talent issue.”
After listening to him describe all the details of drawing starlight to cleanse his marrow, Tang Thirty-Six reached out and grasped his wrist. Closing his eyes, he carefully sensed the condition inside his body with true essence. Finding no trace of starlight within him, he too was puzzled.
He had always believed Chen Changsheng was a true genius. After learning of Chen Changsheng’s engagement to Xu You Rong, this view had become even more unshakable. He couldn’t understand how the genius he was so sure of could have a talent problem in cultivation. How could he not even succeed in Marrow Cleansing?
“Or maybe it’s a problem with the meridians.”
A voice sounded from the entrance of the Library Pavilion. Jin Yulu walked in, glanced at Chen Changsheng, and said, “We demon tribes also bathe in starlight for cultivation, but because our meridians differ from humans’, our methods are different. I wonder if your situation might be similar.”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Yes, my meridians have some issues.”
Tang Thirty-Six was slightly surprised and said, “Earlier, you were talking about talent.”
“Meridians are innate, so naturally, they are also a form of talent.”
Chen Changsheng didn’t explain too specifically, because it involved his greatest secret. If Tang Thirty-Six pressed further, he wouldn’t know how to answer. The pressure brought by that shadow was too great, and he was very clear about it, unwilling to let others bear it with him.
Jin Yulu looked at him quietly and suddenly said, “Heaven’s way has never been fair.”
Yes, Heaven’s way has always been both extremely fair and extremely unfair—diminishing the surplus to supplement the deficiency. These seven words say it all.