Chapter 172: The Snowfield Ignites Again
The Fisherman's Song Three Swords. There was no fourth sword.
Mo Yu stood by the window, silent. Many of the priests of the Li Palace had only seen the elegance and power of Gou Hanshi's Fisherman's Song Three Swords, but unlike them, she understood that Gou Hanshi had expended too much energy in his earlier match against Zhe Xiu. That was why, in this decisive battle, he had unleashed his three strongest swords right from the start—he was seeking a swift victory.
Of course, even though Chen Changsheng had been extremely fortunate to evade Gou Hanshi's Fisherman's Song Three Swords, she still did not believe this youth had any chance of winning. Because the gap in cultivation level could not be fully bridged by magical artifacts, let alone by cheap things like courage. Since that threshold existed, it could not be crossed.
That threshold was called Entering Darkness.
Gou Hanshi had already Entered Darkness. Chen Changsheng was still an immeasurable distance from that realm. This predetermined the outcome of this match, no matter how severely wounded or exhausted Gou Hanshi might be.
What was Entering Darkness? Entering Darkness meant connecting the Dark Mansion to Heaven and Earth. Once one cultivated to this realm, the meridians within the body were fully connected, true essence circulated endlessly, and at that point, Heaven and Earth resonated with the cultivator. Every movement and gesture naturally generated response, and true essence became more condensed and powerful. If a cultivator at the Meditation Realm's true essence was like a stone, then a cultivator at the Entering Darkness Realm's true essence was like an iron spike—many times stronger.
The further one progressed in cultivation, the more difficult and dangerous it became. The barrier of Entering Darkness was especially unique, with a very high mortality rate. That was why young cultivators often called it the "Life-and-Death Barrier" with a mix of fear and longing. The reason the mortality rate during Entering Darkness was so high was because the Dark Mansion... was the heart.
The heart was too fragile. Once injured, it was very difficult to save. So Entering Darkness had to be approached slowly. After cultivating to the upper Meditation Realm, one used extremely subtle self-observation methods to control divine consciousness, guiding starlight into the body to gently knock on the door of the Dark Mansion, until finally the mind and heart aligned with the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth, and the door of the Dark Mansion slowly opened. Hence, there was also a saying that Entering Darkness was about cultivating the mind and heart, which was extremely difficult. It required at least a hundred nights of starlight knocking at the door. With the slightest carelessness, the cultivator's Dark Mansion would be damaged, leading at best to severe injury or paralysis, and most commonly, direct death.
Since the Heavenly Book descended and humans began cultivation, countless cultivators had fallen before this threshold. Countless talented young geniuses had met their regrettable end here. That was why there had always been a saying on the continent: only a genius who had Entered Darkness was a true genius.
Gou Hanshi had Entered Darkness before the age of twenty. He was naturally a genius, even a prodigy.
How could Chen Changsheng possibly be his match?
The Fisherman's Song Three Swords appeared natural and serene, but in reality, they consumed an immense amount of true essence. Even with Gou Hanshi's ability, after unleashing three consecutive swords, he needed to pause for a moment. Moreover, he had become puzzled by certain things.
Chen Changsheng had used the Falling Rain Whip and the Wenshui Sword to receive the first two swords, relying mainly on the power of these two divine weapons. But during the contact, Gou Hanshi clearly sensed that there was something wrong with his true essence. It didn't seem—or rather, shouldn't have seemed—as powerful as it appeared. It should have been more ordinary.
"Your meridians..." He looked at Chen Changsheng, slightly raising an eyebrow, but ultimately said nothing.
Chen Changsheng leaned against the wall, gripping the short sword, watching him warily. His expression was extremely solemn and focused. Only after confirming there was no fourth sword did he relax slightly and, with the fastest possible speed, flipped his palm and flicked his finger.
He lightly flicked the ring finger of his left hand. The golden thread wrapped around the tip of his finger snapped taut with a sharp sound, turning into a golden needle. Its tip was razor-sharp, gleaming with a cold, dark light.
He plunged this golden needle into his neck like lightning, deep enough that only the end remained visible.
With this action, the golden needle entered the acupoint, trembling incessantly, helping him stabilize his divine consciousness as quickly as possible. At the same time, it stimulated the three severed meridians in his upper body to twist and rub against each other invisibly from a distance. Naturally, it couldn't connect the meridians, but it opened a wider channel for the flow of true essence.
Luo Luo and Xuan Yuan Po's bodies were different from his, but through guiding them and treating their illnesses, Chen Changsheng's research on meridians had become increasingly profound. Although he couldn't cure his own illness, he could make some remedial efforts.
Gou Hanshi didn't know what he was doing and assumed it was a method to stimulate potential. For orthodox sects like the Li Mountain Sword Sect, such methods were undoubtedly heretical techniques. He couldn't help but frown.
Chen Changsheng didn't know what he was thinking, nor did he care. He used the short sword to cut a strip of cloth from his shirt, tightly binding his right hand to the sword hilt, and bit it tight with his teeth.
Gou Hanshi's brow furrowed slightly, and his grip on the sword tightened by three parts, because he sensed something different.
Just as his fingers tightened, Chen Changsheng moved. From the Horn Mansion to the Ox Mansion, shifting the eastern sky, in an instant, his figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was right in front of Gou Hanshi.
The short sword sliced through the air as it descended, but it met Gou Hanshi's sword.
Gou Hanshi didn't know all the dense and mysterious positions of the Yashii Steps, but he knew the Yashii Steps. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see through Luo Luo's footwork at the Green Vine Banquet. He couldn't anticipate the enemy's moves, but he could prepare to receive Chen Changsheng's sword, covering all positions around him without a single omission.
The two swords clashed, but didn't truly clash. Separated by an extremely fine distance, their true essence attached to the swords met. Air vortexes formed and reformed, then annihilated and disappeared, forcing them apart.
With a crisp clang, Chen Changsheng drifted backward.
He had intended to use Zhuang Huanyu's method—the very method Gou Hanshi had taught Liang Banhu to defeat Tang Thirty-Six: trading sword for sword, wound for wound, relying on his own powerful physique to seek an opportunity for victory. But he never expected that before the two swords even truly met, he would be forced back by Gou Hanshi's seemingly effortless sword strike.
Most terrifying of all, even though the two swords had already separated, he could clearly feel a strand of condensed true essence, like a thread, traveling along his sword, through his pulse gate, straight toward his Dark Mansion!
With a muffled groan, Chen Changsheng's mind was wounded by the sword intent. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. His feet landed on the ground, unable to steady themselves. He retreated again and again, only managing to stop when he reached the stone wall.
The sword blade cut through the air. He held his sword horizontally in front of him as a defensive posture. His face was pale, blood dripping from the corner of his lips, looking somewhat miserable. But even more miserable was his state of mind at that moment.
Gou Hanshi was truly strong—far stronger than Zhuang Huanyu. He had wanted to trade wounds for wounds, but he couldn't even manage that.
The air in the Dust-Washing Pavilion once again rang with a shrill sound. Gou Hanshi's sword arrived again. This time, he used the Thirteen Inverted Star Swords. The sword struck like a star, seemingly constant, yet elusive.
With more than ten crisp sounds in rapid succession, Chen Changsheng couldn't hold his ground. Forced to turn left, he retreated again and again, his steps chaotic, kicking up damp sand, retreating over ten zhang. When he finally steadied himself, he could no longer suppress the nausea in his chest. With a "puff," he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Gou Hanshi stood still, holding his sword, looking at Chen Changsheng. There was no mockery, contempt, or ridicule in his eyes. Instead, there was a faint hint of appreciation and admiration.
From the Fisherman's Song Three Swords to the Thirteen Inverted Star Swords, he had used his most familiar and most powerful sword techniques. Relying on over a decade of hard training, these sword techniques flowed continuously, swift as lightning, each move complementing the next. Against any opponent, this series of attacks would surely cause panic and reveal signs of defeat.
Chen Changsheng couldn't block these swords. He retreated very awkwardly, shaken by the true essence, constantly spitting blood. But his footing remained steady, and his mind remained calm as usual.
Because he knew how to deal with these swords.
Chen Changsheng's cultivation in the way of the sword, limited by time, couldn't reach its peak. He knew the principles but couldn't fully execute them. However, his knowledge of the sword was extensive, especially his familiarity with the Li Mountain Sword Sect's techniques. Others had no idea how to break Gou Hanshi's sword moves, but he could find the most suitable counter-moves. If not for the vast gap in their cultivation levels, he might have received them more easily.
Unfortunately, the gap between their realms remained insurmountable.
Chen Changsheng looked at Gou Hanshi without speaking. His right hand, gripping the sword, trembled slightly. He truly experienced the power of the Entering Darkness Realm, feeling that strand of true essence still traveling and attacking through his meridians. He was very certain that if he hadn't bound the sword hilt to his palm with the cloth strip, the sword might have already been knocked out of his hand again.
This gap between realms was most clearly manifested in the difference in the condensation or intensity of true essence. He knew very well that this gap couldn't be closed in a short time. So he had to think of other ways, trying to narrow this gap in terms of quantity.
I have all silver; you possess gold. Silver is cheap, gold is precious. So if I want to surpass you in wealth, I can only hope to have many times more silver than you. Yes, it was that simple.
With his mind made up, Chen Changsheng didn't hesitate. He began to meditate and observe inwardly. His divine consciousness traveled from outside to inside, instantly spanning ten thousand li, arriving at that pure white snowfield. His divine consciousness, like a gentle breeze, descended upon a snowfield in the southeastern corner.
At that moment, he seemed to hear a sound. It was the sound of withered leaves accumulated over years being set ablaze, of someone pouring a basin of oil onto a bonfire, of the encounter between the strongest liquor and the most beautiful woman.
With a "whoosh," a rustling sound, followed by a cheer.
The gentle breeze, like fire, descended. The snowfield in the southeastern corner was instantly ignited. The starlight that had been calm for months turned into raging flames, scorching everything around.
Chen Changsheng's body instantly became scorching hot. The air around him grew warm.
Terrifying high temperatures consumed his mind and body. Moisture turned into sweat, rapidly evaporating. Perhaps because of this, his muscles dehydrated, producing a tearing pain.
An even greater pain came from sensation. Instinctively, he stuck out his tongue, greedily licking the corner of his lips, resisting the unbearable thirst between his lips and tongue.
He was truly thirsty. He desperately wanted to drink water, wanted to rush into the cold rain.
The onlookers had been silent all along. Only now, as they watched Chen Changsheng hold his sword horizontally in front of him and the air in the Dust-Washing Pavilion instantly became scorching hot, did they realize what was happening.
"He's doing the First Illumination again?"
"How is that possible?"
"How much starlight does he have inside his body?"
"Where is that starlight hidden?"
On the second floor of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, countless shocked questions rang out.
(This last chapter was really exhausting to write. It took several hours to finish... There are still over three thousand words left to complete tomorrow's task. Shrug. I'm just this strong. What can you do?)