Chapter 89: The Heavenly Way Cannot Be Defied
On the stone platform by the lake, there was now no wind, nor any sound. Suddenly, however, a muffled clap of thunder rang out.
This thunder was somewhat strange, for it did not sound in the real world, but rather within the sea of people’s consciousness.
The thunder came from within Chen Changsheng’s body as he sat cross-legged, not from the trembling and vibration of the air, but from the surging of his true essence and the blazing transformation of his energy apertures.
A certain place in Chen Changsheng’s chest and abdomen suddenly became bright. The light came from within his body, piercing through his tattered Daoist robe, entering everyone’s sight.
That energy aperture had been lit by him.
Then, more and more muffled thunderclaps sounded. These thunders seemed to come from beyond the heavens, but in reality, they came from within his body.
More and more bright spots appeared deep within his Daoist robe. The order in which these energy apertures were lit seemed to have no pattern, and there seemed to be no connection between these apertures. If one were to connect these apertures with lines, it would only be a very rough sketch, revealing nothing special.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the arena grew increasingly tense, and the gazes falling on Chen Changsheng became more and more concerned. He had already lit many energy apertures in his body, and his Daoist robe grew brighter and brighter, as if it were a glass lamp, shining with light from the inside out.
Until at some point, the thunder finally ceased, and he finally stopped the process of lighting energy apertures with starlight. People simply could not see clearly how many energy apertures he had lit—was it the dozens of an ordinary cultivator, or the hundred or even two hundred of a gifted one?
The still world around him began to move. A gentle breeze from the lake brushed by, stirring his tattered Daoist robe. The light within the robe gradually faded, revealing starlike points of light.
These points of light seemed chaotic, but in fact, they had their own pattern. They were like the countless stars in the night sky, forming a complete star chart.
This was the Star Domain.
Chen Changsheng opened his eyes. His gaze was still as clear as before, but compared to earlier, there had been a very subtle change. Deep within his clear eyes, the radiance of stars faintly shimmered, like jade that had been washed by water for countless years. His aura had undergone a great transformation, becoming more condensed and pure, more powerful.
The lake breeze gently blew, his Daoist robe stirred slightly, and he stood up. Stardust drifted from the hem of his robe, dancing slowly in the air.
The stardust gradually disappeared, and the countless stars on his Daoist robe slowly faded, but an invisible barrier remained.
He was still standing in the same place, but he was no longer in this world.
The arena was dead silent.
Chen Changsheng had succeeded in gathering stars!
And the Star Domain he had condensed looked so complete, even giving people a feeling of perfection!
Earlier, Gou Hanshi had revealed his Star Condensation realm in front of Huaiyuan’s Zhong Hui, shocking and impressing everyone. What about now?
He had broken Qiu Shanjun’s record, becoming the youngest Star Condensation cultivator in history!
The silence was finally broken by excited discussions and awed exclamations, and the arena became extremely lively.
Seeing Chen Changsheng open his eyes, Tang Thirty-Six finally unclenched his tightly balled fists. Then he looked at Guan Feibai, raised an eyebrow, and was indescribably smug.
Guan Feibai did not look at him, nor at Chen Changsheng. Instead, he looked at Guan Bai, who was slowly rising to his feet, with respect on his face.
Many people were looking at Guan Bai like him, with admiration in their hearts.
It was only then that some people fully understood why Chen Changsheng had asked Guan Bai to wait for him earlier.
And Guan Bai had actually just waited quietly like that.
Such grace was truly admirable.
Some people were looking at the high platform, at the beautiful figure behind the gauze curtain.
Those people thought to themselves that since Chen Changsheng had successfully broken through to Star Condensation, the Holy Maiden’s mood must be very bad.
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Chen Changsheng sensed the distant star in the sky, felt the power of starlight, and the true essence flowing unceasingly through several meridians. He was filled with emotion.
Because of his long period of insight and preparation, he was very confident about condensing a perfect Star Domain. But the Star Domain was one thing; for him, the most important thing about succeeding in Star Condensation was that it could partially solve the problem of his limited true essence output caused by blocked and broken meridians. It might even be possible to use this power to directly break through the blockages in his meridians.
He now felt a vast and mighty power within his body. He believed that if the Demon Lord came again, he could hold up his yellow paper umbrella and at least block two of the opponent’s attacks. This meant that even facing the strongest experts in this world, he could at least save his own life for an instant.
An instant might not allow him to travel ten thousand miles, nor last a hundred years, but it was enough for him to use all his hidden methods, allowing him to find a way to tear through space and enter the Garden of Zhou. And once inside the Garden of Zhou, he believed that neither the Demon Lord nor any other terrifying expert could kill him in a short time.
The result of his deduction and calculation was perfect, which made him feel at ease. The flow of true essence within his body and this feeling of abundant power reinforced this feeling. The enhancement of perception from breaking through to Star Condensation made the lake and mountains in his eyes even more vivid. In short, he had never felt this world was so beautiful.
A few nights ago, after his long conversation with Xu Yourong, he had decided to break through to Star Condensation during the Stone Boiling Conference. What he sought was this feeling of peace.
That was why, even knowing that his realm and strength were far inferior to his opponent’s, he still accepted the challenge. He wanted to use this pressure to break through that most crucial wall. Of course, he was most grateful to his opponent for giving him this opportunity and for leaving him enough time with such grace.
Chen Changsheng bowed solemnly to Guan Bai, his expression sincere. “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Guan Bai did not avoid the bow. He had given Chen Changsheng a year to see if he could succeed in gathering stars within that time.
“You have indeed not disappointed me, nor have you disappointed the world.”
He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “But today, I still intend to win this sword battle.”
This battle, Guan Bai fought on behalf of Zhuang Huanyu, who had committed suicide by the Cold Well of the Heavenly Dao Academy. He had the dignity of a sword path expert, the bearing of the young leader of the Heavenly Dao Academy. He could give Chen Changsheng enough time to break through to Star Condensation, even act as his protector, but he would not let Chen Changsheng leave as a victor.
By succeeding in gathering stars, Chen Changsheng had fulfilled the most important purpose of his visit to Cold Mountain. Whether it was the expectations of His Holiness the Pope or Su Li, he had fully realized them. He was not interested in the Heavenly Stone, even knowing that the small black stone in the plate probably had some secret connection with Wang Zhice. He did not care about the outcome of this battle. He could leave right now, but out of gratitude and respect for Guan Bai, he had to finish this battle seriously, offering his first battle after breaking through to Star Condensation to his opponent.
He raised the Stainless Sword in his hand, pointing it at Guan Bai, calm and respectful.
Guan Bai held his sword in his left hand, seemingly casually, and slashed down from above.
Above was the sky, below was the earth.
Slashing from above to below was descending from the heavens.
But his sword was not a waterfall falling from the sky; it was more like high clouds drifting, carrying a deeper meaning.
Seeing this seemingly simple sword strike, Gou Hanshi’s expression immediately became extremely grave.
The hair at Zhe Xiu’s temples suddenly fluttered, as if it were steel wire.
The beautiful figure behind the gauze curtain seemed to move forward slightly.
They could see the terrifying aspect of Guan Bai’s sword.
While Chen Changsheng was gathering stars, Guan Bai had not been idle either. He too had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, continuously accumulating and gaining insight.
Guan Bai was sensing the surrounding world, the lake stones behind him, and the changes in the world and the movements of the lake stones as Chen Changsheng gathered stars. From this, he sought the pattern and then refined it.
His sword was no longer about power, but about pattern.
The pattern of heaven and earth was the Heavenly Way.
Although his sword was far from being the true Heavenly Way, it was an extremely real Sword of the Heavenly Way.
As the head of the Six Ivies for a hundred years, the Heavenly Dao Academy naturally had its extraordinary aspects. The most remarkable was its Dao method of sensing the Heavenly Way above.
Mao Qiuyu, as the former dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy, was naturally very familiar with Guan Bai’s sword.
His face showed many emotions: emotion, recollection, gratification.
In his view, Chen Changsheng had no way to receive this sword, even though he had already broken through to Star Condensation, his realm and cultivation surging forward.
The Heavenly Way Sword was the strongest sword of the Heavenly Dao Academy. This sword required the wielder to elevate their spirit, energy, and soul to the most perfect state, then merge with the surrounding world, before it could be executed.
Cultivators of the same realm could not withstand this sword. Even the wielder themselves, once they began to use this sword technique, had no way to stop.
Because the Heavenly Way cannot be defied, the Heavenly Way cannot be reversed.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, just breaking through to Star Condensation with an unstable realm, facing Guan Bai’s Heavenly Way Sword, they might develop a mindset of giving up.
But Chen Changsheng would not. Although upon seeing this sword descending from the sky, he already knew that he did not have much confidence in defeating Guan Bai, he still wanted to try to receive this sword.
Precisely because this sword represented the Heavenly Way.
He had been struggling against fate all these years. What he had to oppose was the Heavenly Way. He had to overcome it, or at least not lose the heart that dared to challenge the Heavenly Way.
So instead of retreating, he stepped forward to meet the Sword of the Heavenly Way.
With one step, the thunder sounded densely again, as if countless small storms were forming within his body, then beginning to rage and churn.
Boom! The starlight in over a dozen energy apertures began to explode, then connected into lines, and one blocked meridian was thus broken through!
Everyone in the arena clearly sensed that the aura he emitted was now much stronger than before!
But this was still not enough to help him overcome the Heavenly Way.
He calmly took another step forward.
With this step, the lake wind rose, and his Daoist robe wildly danced. Though it was a tattered garment, it was like a battle flag.
Another blocked meridian was broken through, and his aura grew even stronger!
Then, the third step fell!
But… there was no thunder, no wind.
There was no sound at all, only silence.
His brow furrowed, with some pain, some surprise.
He turned his head to look at a certain place, looking very strained, as if this simple action had used up all his strength.
That place was the high platform, separated by a gauze curtain.
He looked at the beautiful figure behind the gauze curtain, his expression slightly dazed, looking very helpless.
What on earth had happened?
He stood on the stone platform, his face pale, seemingly unable to make any move.
And at this moment, the Sword of the Heavenly Way had already slashed down.
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