Chapter 175: A Single Glimpse into the Abyss
Within Chen Changsheng's body, there was a lake.
Yes, it must be said that there was a lake, not a mere pond, because this lake hung suspended in the air, not stingily offering the viewer only a single flat surface to admire.
When Chen Changsheng first achieved Self-Observation, he had once seen this lake. But at that time, most of his attention was focused on the snowy plain. The instant he saw the lake, he was struck speechless with shock and temporarily ignored it. The next moment, he fainted directly from the burning snowy plain, without the chance to carefully observe that lake.
Now, his spiritual sense, like a clear breeze traversing ten thousand miles in an instant, swept across that snowy plain and arrived before this lake. He finally saw the lake's appearance clearly, yet it was difficult to describe. This lake seemed like an incomparably huge piece of colored glaze, transparent and crystalline, yet ripples undulated across its surface. It was also like a droplet of water magnified countless times, yet it could hover between heaven and earth, giving one an extraordinarily wondrous feeling.
Countless rays of light shot into this suspended lake from all directions, then met in the depths of the transparent, clear lake water. Following that, those rays of light merged with each other or refracted off one another, scattering more light rays in even richer colors. The scene was exceptionally magnificent and majestic. At first glance, it seemed like a divine kingdom described in myths. Upon closer examination, one could see those light rays, either straight or curved, constructing a mountain within the lake water.
That mountain had no peak, nor any summit, because every direction had a mountain peak. No matter which direction you began to climb from, the place you faced could be considered the summit.
There was no summit, but this mountain still had cliffs and ravines, jagged and grotesque rocks. Countless trees like coral grew among the mountain, their height immeasurable, towering and immense. Between the trees and rocky cliffs, paths could faintly be seen. Those paths were indescribably complex, extremely narrow and steep.
The clear breeze formed by Chen Changsheng's spiritual sense, after entering the lake water, slowed down slightly. It circled this strange mountain peak, watching with some bewilderment.
He saw, deep within the mountain path, faintly a door.
Behind the door, he didn't know if it was a cave dwelling or a small world like the Academy.
At this point, he still couldn't accurately judge what he was facing, but he could already confirm certain things. Those lake waters and the already-burned-out snowy plain came from the same place, possessing the same nature—yes, these countless thousands of hectares of lake water all came from the night sky of the real world. They were called Star Radiance.
That mountain wrapped in lake water was his heart.
Clear water naturally followed the lake's flow. His spiritual sense entered that mountain, silently winding among the cliff rocks and dazzling trees. Subconsciously, he understood that the key to everything lay in the door at the end of the mountain path. He wanted to find that door, but the cliff rocks blocked it, and there was no sense of up, down, left, or right. That door appeared and disappeared intermittently. He couldn't even confirm its location, let alone approach it.
The lake water gently rippled. The clear breeze broke through the water, carrying a string of bubbles like pearls, and landed on a rock among the mountain peaks. With a soft *pa* sound, he looked down and saw his foot bending a wild grass.
Without any hesitation, Chen Changsheng followed the narrow, steep mountain path and began to walk forward. He had now entered a very mysterious mental state, without sensation or awareness, even forgetting where he came from or where he was going. He only knew to keep moving forward, wanting to find that door.
The mountain path twisted and turned; with a casual glance, one could see eighteen bends. The mountain path stretched endlessly, no matter how long he walked, he was still within this mountain. There were no clouds, and he couldn't see the end. He began to feel tired but didn't stop to rest. His feet were worn raw, but he paid no attention. He ran, walked, observed, turned back, ran, turned back again on the mountain path, repeating this cycle, searching up and down.
Time flowed ceaselessly. He didn't know how long he had walked and searched within this mountain, nor did he remember how long it took. Finally, at a certain moment, he found that path.
The mountain was surrounded by the lake. There was no summit, no up or down, hence no direction. The mountain paths were like a spiderweb, impossible to calculate. But within the mountain, there was water—a lot of water.
The water within the mountain wasn't still like the surrounding lake water; it flowed constantly. Meeting certain steep cliffs, it would fall, crashing into the lake water, splashing up many waves and white foam.
The flow of the water—that was the true path.
Chen Changsheng followed a thin waterfall, ignoring the bizarre scenes of water colliding with water along the way. He climbed with extreme focus, going against the current for three thousand miles, finally arriving at the end of all the waterfalls in the mountain.
That end, more precisely, should be called the source.
Where the mountain ended and the water was exhausted, the water fell and the rocks emerged.
Among the pure white rocks filling the mountain and valley, there was a door.
It was the very door he had been painstakingly searching for.
He walked to the door, for the first time truly stopping. By now, his clothes were tattered, his face covered in water stains, his shoes broken, his ankles injured. He looked extremely disheveled, having walked for who knows how long.
That wasn't a door; it was a gate. Just as this wasn't a pond but a lake. The latter was because the lake was three-dimensional; the former was because this door was simply too large.
This gate was about several tens of zhang high. Its material seemed like metal or jade, but upon closer inspection, it looked like the most common stone, just somewhat white, very similar to the rocks casually piled around.
The surface of the stone gate emitted a faint, soft luster, giving a warm and safe feeling, attracting everyone who saw it to want to place their palm on the gate and push it open with force.
But Chen Changsheng hesitated, because he sensed danger.
He now knew what this mountain was, and naturally guessed what this gate was.
Stranger still, although he had clearly never been here before—he was very certain of this—for some reason, this gate gave him an exceptionally familiar feeling, as if he had been looking at this gate for a long time. Put another way, it was as if this gate had been waiting for him for a long time.
His hesitation actually only lasted a very short time.
Danger couldn't stop him. To survive, he had already risked his life several times. So what could possibly prevent him from risking it once more?
His palm landed on that gate, and he pushed forward with slight force. This stone gate was about several tens of zhang high, and from the outside, its thickness should also be quite exaggerated. Logically, it must be as heavy as a city wall. Yet strangely, with his gentle push, this stone gate was pushed open.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his hand, alert and ready.
The stone gate slowly opened. Countless rays of light scattered from within, falling on his face and body. His brows and eyes were blurred by the brightness, and his tattered clothes shone brilliantly, as if about to burn.
To his surprise, these light rays contained no danger. Instead, they were filled with positive energy, instantly making him feel that his injuries had greatly improved, his fatigue had vanished, and an indescribable comfort settled over him. He felt very powerful, his control over many things becoming effortless, and he even experienced a feeling called freedom.
This feeling was good. This temptation was strong. No matter how unknown the future or how great the danger, it couldn't suppress that longing. Chen Changsheng stepped into the stone gate.
Behind the gate was a world of light. Countless rays of light filled heaven and earth, flooding his eyes, making it impossible for him to see or distinguish direction. He could only walk forward, bewildered and tense.
This time, he didn't walk for long.
The light gradually dispersed, becoming peaceful. Between density and sparseness, it separated into black and white, then gained more colors, such as red representing life and passion, and vast, mysterious blue.
This blue should represent vastness.
Chen Changsheng looked at this blue, silently thinking to himself.
Then he saw a few wisps of white clouds and the dark clouds slowly receding directly above.
Only then did he understand what blue he was seeing—it was the blue of the sky.
Next, he saw a black roof, a second-floor window, and a beautiful woman in palace attire standing by the window looking at him. He knew her. He didn't understand why worry was written on her brows, but he at least confirmed one fact: his spiritual sense had returned to the Academy.
He had returned to the Dust-Washing Tower.
His body was still hurtling backward through the air.
His spiritual sense had painstakingly sought within his body for an immeasurably long time, but for the real world where his body was, it was only an extremely brief moment.
In others' eyes, he had merely closed his eyes and then opened them again. Who could have imagined that in such a short time, he had experienced so much and then returned to his original place? Who could have imagined that he was no longer the same as before, that he had already entered a brand-new world?
His spiritual sense had pushed open that stone gate but returned to the Dust-Washing Tower. This proved that his small world and the great world of reality were now connected, that the gate to his Netherworld Abode had already opened. Although his meridians were still broken and difficult to traverse, his true essence would no longer fall into an abyss and disappear. The trickling streams left from the snowy plain and those lake waters continuously poured into his Netherworld Abode, helping him constantly resonate with heaven and earth.
The heavy rain had already stopped, turning into curtain-like threads of rain. Chen Changsheng's body moved through the rain. His closed eyes opened, his pupils bright as lacquer, his expression utterly calm.
He regripped the short sword in his hand, using his newly abundant true essence to regain control of his body. He slightly bent his knees, tightened his waist and abdomen, adjusted his posture, and landed on the ground. His soles loosened briefly then tightened slightly, like a stone falling into water, and with a soft sound, he stood steady on the ground.
Immediately after, without hesitation, he pulled out a large handful of pills refined from the herbs of the Hundred Herbs Garden, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed and swallowed them as quickly as possible, then looked at the Gou Hanshi opposite him.
Gou Hanshi would never underestimate any opponent, especially Chen Changsheng, whose level he had witnessed at the Green Vine Banquet. Not to mention that Chen Changsheng's ability to fight his way into the final battle of the Grand Examination already spoke volumes. But after the battle began, he realized that he still hadn't made a correct judgment about Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng had burned one snowy plain, ten snowy plains, and finally all the snowy plains. If not for his meridian problems, he would have performed even more powerfully. Even at his current level, he had already shocked Gou Hanshi—at fifteen years old, having cultivated for less than a year, with an even shorter time of Star Radiance marrow cleansing, yet he could already possess such abundant true essence. In his life, Gou Hanshi had only seen his senior brother, Autumn Mountain Lord, achieve such incredible feats. He never expected Chen Changsheng to also accomplish it.
But as he had said to Seven Intervals and the other two junior brothers in the Li Mountain guest courtyard, he firmly believed that Chen Changsheng could not surpass himself and Tianhai Shengxue, because Chen Changsheng could not achieve Netherworld Abyss.
Achieving Netherworld Abyss required at least a hundred nights, each night using Star Radiance to sincerely knock on the gate.
Even the Zhou Dufu of that year was no exception.
Chen Changsheng had succeeded in marrow cleansing for less than a hundred nights—how could he talk about Netherworld Abyss?
Yet now, it seemed something was happening.
Gou Hanshi looked at Chen Changsheng and felt that his own reputation for having thoroughly read the Daoist Canon... suddenly became meaningless. Because even if one searched through the three thousand Daoist scriptures, there was no such thing as this.