Chapter 242: A Night of Fireworks and Unending Light
The starlight that fell upon the Mausoleum of Books and the starlight that now poured into Chen Changsheng’s Netherworld reflected off each other. The starlight landed on his body and the broken stele, like snow, and his spiritual sense fled with the wind and snow, vanishing to an unknown place. The starlight also fell elsewhere, such as on the Illumination Stele. The lines on the stele’s surface grew brighter and brighter, flickering from time to time, as if mercury were flowing within them.
He could not see the Illumination Stele, but he could see its inscriptions. Unconsciously, Chen Changsheng’s true essence began to flow through his meridians, just like that mercury flowing through the inscriptions. Those rivers and streams that had been somewhat withered gradually became vibrant and full of life with the nourishment of the true essence. Finally, the clear water plunged into the abyss below the cliff, seemingly the same as before, yet faintly carrying a certain kind of hope.
No matter how bottomless the abyss, as long as the water poured down unceasingly, surely one day it would be filled, right?
The starlight also fell upon the second Heavenly Book Stele. The lines appeared, shifting between light and dark, as if a spiritual sense were drifting through the void, its location impossible to determine. Chen Changsheng’s spiritual sense moved with it, traveling to the bank of a river ten thousand miles away, then instantly returning before the River-Calling Stele. In that back-and-forth, an indescribable law had already been imprinted upon his soul.
The starlight fell upon the seventeen Heavenly Book Steles of the Front Mausoleum. Countless methods of interpreting the steles, discovered by countless sages of the past, fell like snow, drifted like leaves, and appeared one by one in his sea of consciousness. Then they began to take effect within his body. His meridians received unprecedented nourishment, his spiritual sense received unprecedented cultivation, and his aura continuously rose.
Time passed slowly. He sat before the broken stele with his eyes closed, waiting for that moment to arrive.
Starlight illuminated the capital. Sweet Dew Terrace was still burning, but the light it emitted was cold, like flames of ice.
The Empress stood within the indescribably beautiful ice flames, gazing silently in the direction of the Mausoleum of Books. That stele had long since left the Mausoleum of Books, so why could Chen Changsheng still fill that starry sky?
The Mausoleum of Books was shrouded in snow-like starlight. The area around the Stele Pavilion was quiet. Young stele observers like Gou Hanshi, Zhuang Huanyu, and Tang Thirty-Six looked at the mercury flowing within the lines on the stele surfaces, their expressions varied. They could not be certain what exactly was happening tonight, only that it was definitely related to Chen Changsheng.
Gou Hanshi suddenly looked up, gazing at the complex star field in the southeastern corner. After a moment, he stepped toward the Stele Pavilion. Zhe Xiu followed closely behind him. Then Tang Thirty-Six, Qi Jian, and the others hesitated no longer and also entered the Stele Pavilion, then disappeared, heading to their own Heavenly Book Steles.
They did not know why the Mausoleum of Books was as bright as day tonight, but they knew of the strange phenomena in the capital when Wang Zhice broke through his realm many years ago.
They clearly sensed that the starlight tonight was much denser than usual. Even their own destiny stars were much more active than usual, as if waiting for them. For cultivators, how could they miss such an opportunity? Especially since most of them, after more than twenty days of observing the steles, were at a critical moment for breaking through their realms. They had to seize every opportunity and favorable timing.
Not long after Gou Hanshi and the others entered the Stele Pavilion and disappeared before the Illumination Stele, an extremely clear, long howl suddenly rang out from within the mausoleum.
This clear howl came from before the East Pavilion Stele.
Liang Xiaoxiao of the Divine Kingdom’s Three Laws stood before the Stele Pavilion, his expression as cold and proud as usual, but the slight trembling of his right hand betrayed his inner excitement. After breaking through his realm a few months ago, his cultivation had stagnated, and his stele observation had also stopped. Tonight, with the help of this starlight, he had actually broken through to the middle stage of Penetrating Illumination!
Before another Stele Pavilion.
Tang Thirty-Six took out the medicine box Chen Changsheng had given him a few days ago, removed a pill from the box, handed it to Zhe Xiu beside him, then swallowed the remaining pills into his stomach and closed his eyes.
Zhe Xiu glanced at him and swallowed his pill in the same manner.
Gou Hanshi looked at the two of them, distributed the medicine prepared by the Li Mountain Sword Sect to Guan Feibai and Liang Banhu, and did not linger. He went to the next Stele Pavilion, handed the remaining pills to Qi Jian, and then leisurely left.
This was the third Heavenly Book Stele, the Laurel-Cutting Stele.
It was still spring, so there were no osmanthus flowers in the mountains, no golden fragments to be seen, and no cloyingly sweet osmanthus fragrance, which Tang Thirty-Six detested most, to be smelled.
But now, for some unknown reason, an extremely rich floral fragrance suddenly arose around the Laurel-Cutting Stele Pavilion.
Perhaps it was the fragrance emitted by these extraordinarily talented young people outside the Stele Pavilion as they channeled their true essence to digest the pills.
Crack, crack, crack, crack.
A series of very faint yet somewhat startling sounds came from within Zhe Xiu’s body.
Those sounds were as if all his bones had been shattered.
Then, the sound of water boiling came from within his body.
Next, more and more boiling sounds arose around the Stele Pavilion. The young people sitting cross-legged outside the pavilion with their eyes closed, breaking through their realms, were gradually enveloped by white mist.
Boiling—that was the sound of star essence and true essence burning, the sound of those spiritual mountains and netherworlds being gently pushed.
No one knew how much time had passed when Tang Thirty-Six opened his eyes.
The usual mockery in his eyes was gone, replaced only by solemnity and calm, an unfathomable stillness.
Deep within his black pupils, it seemed there were still lingering embers of burning star essence.
This proved that his Netherworld had been opened.
Tang Thirty-Six had achieved Penetrating Illumination!
Guan Feibai then opened his eyes, lightly exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, a wisp of hot mist dissipating from the corner of his mouth.
Liang Banhu opened his eyes, looked around the Stele Pavilion, and a simple, joyful smile appeared on his face, looking extremely content.
The two disciples of the Li Mountain Sword Sect had achieved Penetrating Illumination!
Then, Su Moyu achieved Penetrating Illumination.
That senior sister from Holy Maiden Peak achieved Penetrating Illumination.
A student from the Star-Gathering Academy achieved Penetrating Illumination.
Two young scholars from Huaiyuan achieved Penetrating Illumination.
Outside the Laurel-Cutting Stele Pavilion, Penetrating Illumination was achieved one after another.
Before the River-Calling Stele, Qi Jian achieved Penetrating Illumination.
In the Front Mausoleum of Books, everyone achieved Penetrating Illumination.
Starlight fell upon the Mausoleum of Books, like snow.
When someone broke through to Penetrating Illumination, the qi flow outside the Stele Pavilion was disturbed, and the snow-like starlight would scatter slightly, blooming like flowers, exceptionally beautiful.
Tang Thirty-Six stood before the Laurel-Cutting Stele, gently rubbing his fingers together, smelling that cloying floral fragrance. He suddenly felt that osmanthus flowers were not such an unbearable thing after all.
Starlight fell upon him, splashing away like water, dispersing into the night sky.
Not far away, where Liang Banhu and Guan Feibai stood, starlight also splashed into the night sky.
Outside the Laurel-Cutting Stele Pavilion, more than a dozen streams of starlight splashed, with figures standing among them.
The same scene appeared before many other Stele Pavilions in the Front Mausoleum of Books.
Under the night sky, the Mausoleum of Books was thick with trees. Even shrouded in starlight, it was somewhat dim.
But now, among the mausoleum, dozens of streams of starlight splashed, silver flowers blooming everywhere, a sight too beautiful to take in all at once.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Zhe Xiu.
The white starlight made his face appear even paler, with occasional flushes of red—a sign of a sudden surge of emotion.
His true essence was being controlled by Chen Changsheng’s bronze needles, and he had also consumed many medicines earlier, making it exceptionally dangerous.
This was also one of the reasons why, compared to other stele observers, he had been slow to achieve Penetrating Illumination.
The other reason was, naturally, his monstrous bloodline talent.
Suddenly, only a few sharp whistling sounds of wind were heard before the Stele Pavilion.
Several deep knife marks appeared on the eaves.
From the tips of Zhe Xiu’s fingers, extremely sharp claws extended, gleaming with a metallic luster.
Many gray hairs grew on his face, and his eyes became an incomparably vivid red, giving a bloody feeling.
Suddenly, a powerful aura burst forth from his body.
He lifted his head and let out a howl.
Ao!
This mournful howl was filled with unwillingness and anger, with contempt and pride.
This fierce howl was his declaration to the stars in the night sky, and even more so to that bright cluster far to the north: I won!
In the Mausoleum of Books, starlight fell upon the young people who had broken through to Penetrating Illumination, splashing away, like fiery trees and silver flowers, very beautiful.
If viewed from outside the mausoleum, it looked even more as if the entire Mausoleum of Books was continuously setting off fireworks.
The scene was still beautiful, but even more breathtaking.
At the very front of the Mausoleum of Books’ sacred path stood a pavilion.
Around the pavilion were shallow channels, filled with clear water.
Tonight, these clear channel waters were first covered with a thin layer of frost, then illuminated by the countless fireworks from within the mausoleum.
Under the pavilion, that dusty suit of armor was also illuminated by the fireworks.
On the rusted helmet, a bright light flickered on and off.
The person inside the armor woke up.
An extremely weathered voice came from within the helmet, sounding somewhat muffled.
“Indeed, it has come to the season when wildflowers bloom.”
As the number one divine general of the continent, the old man had left the front lines of the war against the demons and guarded the mausoleum for centuries, guarding humanity’s future. When he saw the fireworks over the Mausoleum of Books tonight, he was naturally gratified, and silently thanked two people in his heart. One was named Xun Mei, and the other was named Chen Changsheng.
The important figures outside the Mausoleum of Books had come to see Chen Changsheng, never expecting to witness such a breathtaking scene.
In a single night, dozens of stele observers had collectively achieved Penetrating Illumination!
Such a scene had never appeared in history.
The gardens outside the mausoleum were silent, occasionally broken by a few long sighs.
The fireworks gradually quieted, the star essence gradually dimmed, and the Mausoleum of Books slowly returned to normal.
The important figures from the National Church, the imperial court, and the various academies and sects made an exception and entered the Mausoleum of Books, waiting at its base.
Too many young cultivators had broken through their realms tonight. Some had achieved Penetrating Illumination, some had entered the middle stage of Penetrating Illumination, and some had successfully gathered stars. For humanity, this was undoubtedly a night of harvest. They had to personally handle the follow-up matters, absolutely refusing to allow any problems at such a time.
Chen Changsheng woke up and found himself sitting cross-legged before the broken stele. He looked at the sky, thought for a moment, and confirmed it was still the fifth hour.
It was just before dawn.
He stood up and walked along the meadow to the edge of the cliff.
The waterfall below the cliff still made its startling sound.
He was not sweating, not tired, not aching, as if nothing had happened.
But he knew that many things had already happened.
It was darkest just before dawn, and the starlight was not enough to illuminate the distant capital.
But in his eyes, the capital was so clear—every street and alley, even the great banyan tree in the National Academy, seemed to be right before him.
The morning light gradually arrived, line by line, extinguishing the starry sky.
But he knew those stars were still above his head.
He could clearly sense his own destiny star.
This was the first time he had sensed his destiny star during the day.
The morning sun leaped over the horizon.
Warm, red light fell upon his face.
For some reason.
He could not say why.
He did not know that such a spectacular scene had occurred in the Mausoleum of Books last night.
He did not know that he had become the youngest cultivator in history to reach the upper stage of Penetrating Illumination.
But he felt deeply moved.
(I wrote this chapter with great joy today, and I hope everyone enjoys reading it. If you all give me more monthly votes and recommendation votes, I would be even more overjoyed! Also, some friends have been asking me on various channels for activation codes for the Zhetianji game. Actually, the official closed beta tomorrow does not require an activation code. You can log in and play the game directly after registering. Yes, tomorrow at five o'clock.)