Chapter 243: Leaving the Mausoleum
Facing the red morning sun, Chen Changsheng spread his hands and did something that completely violated the principles of cultivation. Looking back on it later, he didn’t know why he had done it at the time. It was like that seemingly groundless surge of emotion. He wanted to do it, so he did it—he spread his hands, found his fate star in the sky that was shifting from gray to azure, and began to draw starlight.
This was his first attempt at drawing starlight to cleanse his marrow during the day.
Or perhaps, this was the first time in countless years that an ordinary cultivator had tried to draw starlight for marrow cleansing in broad daylight.
Perhaps it was luck that he didn’t die or get burned to ashes. Instead, he clearly felt that after the gate to the Netherworld had fully opened, the speed at which he drew starlight was hundreds of times faster than before.
Yes, many parts of his meridians were still broken, especially the middle sections of the seven most important meridians, where the ten-thousand-zhang cliffs still existed. But in those meridians shattered into countless pieces, especially in the organs around the Netherworld, the true essence transformed from starlight was unprecedentedly abundant, even seeming to have partially repaired the damage to his meridians.
Was this the wonder of the Heavenly Book Monoliths? He turned to look at the broken monolith beneath the hut, silently pondering.
At this moment, he stood at the edge of the cliff, a considerable distance away, so he couldn’t see clearly, but he felt he could see that lost stele, and it wasn’t a trick of the eyes.
With this, Chen Changsheng had truly unlocked all the Heavenly Book Monoliths in the front mausoleum, accomplishing what Zhou Dufu had done back then.
If he continued forward, he should enter the other mausoleums and see those even more miraculous Heavenly Book Monoliths. But he glanced at the sky, did not proceed, and left instead.
The early morning Heavenly Book Mausoleum was very quiet. The splendid fireworks of last night were no more. There was no one in front of the seventeen stele huts, and no one on the mountain path leading down from the mausoleum.
Many people were still asleep, not yet awake, or perhaps they wouldn’t wake for many days.
Breaking through a realm was never that simple. Not everyone could be like Chen Changsheng, seemingly casually stepping over that threshold without even feeling a trace of fatigue. Of course, for some people, breaking through wasn’t too difficult either, such as Gou Hanshi.
Gou Hanshi stood at the end of the mountain path, quietly waiting for him.
Chen Changsheng walked up to him, clasped his hands in greeting, and seeing the faint glow in his eyes, knew that his realm had also been elevated.
From the Ivy Banquet to the Grand Examination to the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, the realms of the two of them had finally become completely aligned, both at the upper level of Penetrating Darkness.
Chen Changsheng bid him farewell, saying, “I have to go.”
Gou Hanshi said, “There are still a few days until the Zhou Garden opens. There should be enough time.”
Chen Changsheng replied, “There are still some matters in the capital that need to be handled and prepared.”
Gou Hanshi was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m not planning to go to the Zhou Garden. Take care on the road.”
Chen Changsheng was puzzled and asked, “What are you staying here for?”
“At least I need to finish viewing all seventeen monoliths in the front mausoleum,” Gou Hanshi said with a smile.
Chen Changsheng said sincerely, “I wish you success.”
Gou Hanshi looked at him and said, “All the examinees of this Grand Examination should thank you.”
Chen Changsheng didn’t understand, so Gou Hanshi recounted what had happened last night.
After thinking it over, he said, “No need to thank me. I just did what I wanted to do.”
Gou Hanshi knew he wasn’t being modest, because he truly had only wanted to decipher the monoliths for himself. As for that starlight that had illuminated the capital and the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, it hadn’t been subject to his will.
The two walked side by side toward the thatched hut.
Stepping over the newly repaired fence from just two days ago, Chen Changsheng entered the house and began packing his luggage. Shaking his head at the thunderously snoring Tang Thirty-Six, he noticed that Zhe Xiu wasn’t in the room and felt a bit puzzled.
Shouldering his luggage and walking out the door, he said to Gou Hanshi, “Please take care of Tang Tang for me.”
Gou Hanshi said, “No problem, but you should understand that once we leave the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, we’ll still be rivals.”
Chen Changsheng said, “Understood.”
Gou Hanshi added, “My third junior brother and little junior brother will go to the Zhou Garden. When you’re inside, please look after them a bit.”
Chen Changsheng was a bit confused and said, “You just said we’re rivals.”
Gou Hanshi replied, “Being rivals doesn’t mean we can’t take care of each other.”
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, “That makes sense… but I really don’t think I’m capable of looking after them.”
Liang Xiaoxiao and Qijian were among the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, disciples of the Li Mountain Sword Sect with astonishing swordsmanship. Although Chen Changsheng was now at the upper level of Penetrating Darkness with abundant true essence, due to his meridians, the amount of true essence he could actually use was still very limited. If it came to a life-and-death struggle, he might not be able to defeat them, let alone take care of them.
Gou Hanshi smiled and said, “What I value is your ability in other areas.”
Leaving the thatched hut and arriving at the stone gate of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, Gou Hanshi saw him off all the way.
The ground trembled slightly, and the stone gate slowly opened.
For cultivators, the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was the supreme and only sacred site. No matter who it was, when leaving the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, they would surely feel some reluctance or more complex emotions. But Chen Changsheng’s expression was very calm. He simply walked out of the stone gate casually, without even looking back.
Gou Hanshi and the stele attendants who had come upon hearing the news watched this scene and found it somewhat strange.
As many had said before, Chen Changsheng faced everything with too much composure and calmness, not at all like a fifteen-year-old youth.
That was because he cherished time, and now that he had found his own path, he naturally cherished it even more. Moreover, he believed that one day he would surely enter the Saintly Realm. On that day, he would return to the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. Whether it was traversing the Divine Path or taking the old road, it would be fine. So why be reluctant now? If that day never came, then in a few years he would return to the starry sky above. What meaning would any reluctance have?
Over twenty days of viewing the monoliths, especially starting from the day before yesterday, he had viewed them without sleep or rest, ultimately allowing him to successfully break through to the upper level of Penetrating Darkness. Besides this, there was another very important gain: he understood the last sentence Wang Zhice had written in his notes—there is no fate.
Since stars could be moved, naturally there was no fixed, unchanging fate. Perhaps his master, the Daoist Ji, had let him enter the Lingyan Pavilion to find Wang Zhice’s notes so that he could learn the secret arts of the Founding Emperor and the Taizong Emperor to alter fate. But the Daoist Ji hadn’t expected that what Chen Changsheng had comprehended in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum would lead him down a different path.
He believed, more firmly than ever before, that he could change his own fate without needing to change the fate of others to change his own.
He wanted to enter the realm of Divine Concealment before the age of twenty.
Yes, no one in the world had ever done it.
But who said he absolutely couldn’t?
In the woods, Mao Qiuyu and the dean of the Star Picking Academy watched Chen Changsheng’s figure with complex emotions.
The dean of the Star Picking Academy said, “He should be the youngest cultivator at the upper level of Penetrating Darkness in history, right?”
Mao Qiuyu nodded and said, “Two years younger than Mo Yu.”
After the Grand Examination, Chen Changsheng had become one of the youngest cultivators in the Penetrating Darkness realm.
After viewing the monoliths at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, he became the youngest at the upper level of Penetrating Darkness, without exception.
Looking at it this way, he really seemed adept at turning many seemingly impossible things into possibilities.
Walking into the quiet morning forest and seeing the youth standing under the tree, Chen Changsheng was slightly startled.
Someone had actually left the Heavenly Book Mausoleum even earlier than him.
(Leaving the mausoleum is a new world. People who have always been about to appear but haven’t yet, just like in our world. For certain reasons, a few friends haven’t been able to update on Chuangshi, but recently they’ve been returning one after another. Old friend Xiao Dao Feng Li’s “Proud Sword Sky Dome,” after nearly three million words, is back to updating on Chuangshi. I’m really happy for him. The book is already quite substantial, and I warmly recommend it here. Also, “Zhe Tian Ji OL” officially starts its internal test today. If everyone finds any issues, please speak up quickly so I can have the developers fix them. Thanks for your hard work. The next chapter should be updated before 10:30. Yes, about the saved drafts I mentioned yesterday—I don’t have a single word left now. Let’s continue working hard together. Chen Changsheng also has to go work hard outside the mausoleum. Let’s see who does better.)