The twenty-eight words that Chen Changsheng saw on the stone monolith, when put together, formed a poem.
"A misty river illuminates the clear mist, the houses on both sides meet the painted eaves, the pale lotus leaves a section of autumn light, the fragrant wind curtains ten li."
This poem was written two thousand years ago by the Master of the Way when he entered the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths. The first Heavenly Tome Monolith in the Mausoleum of Books was named Reflecting Clear, and it came from this.
The method that Chen Changsheng used to comprehend the monoliths was to take fragments of the monolith inscriptions and form their own meanings.
This method of comprehending the monoliths was actually very simple, very primitive.
Countless years ago, when the Heavenly Tomes fell onto the continent, the still ignorant ancestors finally overcame their fear and cautiously arrived in front of the monolith.
The first ancestor to understand the monolith also used a similar method, but what he saw was a simple picture. That picture could be a cow, a sheep, or even a dragon. Afterwards, someone saw an even more complicated picture on the Heavenly Tome Monolith, with numbers and even more information, and thus, words.
This method was also the cleanest, because it did not have any unnecessary thoughts attached to it.
At the very beginning, the ancestors definitely did not think that these strange stones hid some riddle that needed to be solved, nor did they think that there was any true essence flowing within those lines.
It was just like what he and Gou Hanshi had discussed before.
Two thousand years ago, the Master of the Way saw a poem on this Heavenly Tome Monolith. He thought that this poem was a question. In the countless years that followed, countless cultivators tried to find the true answer from that poem, but they all came up empty-handed.
Today, Chen Changsheng also saw this poem, but this did not mean that he and that peerless expert from two thousand years ago used the exact same method of comprehending the monoliths. Because he did not think that the poem was a question, he thought that it was what the Heavenly Tome Monolith wanted to say.
The heavenly light was different, and the lines were sometimes visible and sometimes hidden. The incomparably complicated lines could reveal countless words.
These words could be combined into countless possibilities. They could be a poem, or they could be a great prose.
The monolith did not speak, it was a text of its own.
He had sat in front of this monolith for more than twenty days, and he did not know how many words he had seen. At any time, he could find countless poems that already existed in the world from those lines. But he clearly understood that those poems had always been in the Heavenly Tome Monolith inscriptions.
The monolith viewer only needed to find, see, and understand. There was no need for any other unnecessary thoughts.
There were tens of thousands of ways to comprehend tablets in the world. Regardless of the meaning, shape, or momentum, they were all deciphering, learning, and imitating the information contained in the tablet inscriptions.
But the Heavenly Tome Monoliths never waited for anyone to decipher, study, or imitate them.
The Heavenly Tome Monoliths had always been waiting for someone to understand them.
Chen Changsheng had attempted to prove this point, and in the end, the Mausoleum of Books proved that his understanding was correct.
Thus, he comprehended his first Heavenly Tome Monolith, and then he saw the second Heavenly Tome Monolith.
…
…
In the depths of the lush forest, there was a stele in the hut. Next to the stele, there was a poem written by a great scholar. The poem was called the Piercing Cloud Stone.
The second Heavenly Tome Monolith was the Cloud Piercing Monolith.
There were over twenty people sitting around the monolith hut. They stared at the somewhat flat and wide stone monolith beneath the hut. Some of them furrowed their brows in deep thought, while others muttered to themselves.
Chen Chang Sheng walked to the front of the hut and saw some familiar faces in the crowd.
The junior sister from Holy Maiden Peak called Ye Xiaolian heard the footsteps and raised her head. When she saw that it was him, she couldn't help but be startled.
Some people also noticed Chen Changsheng's arrival and were just as startled as her. In the past few days, the monolith viewers of the Mausoleum of Books had long become accustomed to seeing Chen Changsheng's figure outside the Reflecting Monolith hut. Today, when they suddenly saw him appear in front of the Piercing Cloud Monolith, they were momentarily stunned.
In the next moment, the crowd understood that Chen Changsheng had finally comprehended the first Heavenly Tome Monolith.
The crowd outside the monolith hut began to grow restless, and then they began to discuss with ridicule.
"You only managed to comprehend the first monolith now. What's there to be proud of?"
"Correct. I always thought that my aptitude for comprehending scriptures was not good, but now it seems that I'm at least a little better than a certain someone. "
Chen Changsheng was not proud. It was just that his appearance brought an indescribable pressure to the people outside the monolith hut. It was like a student who had always had excellent grades, but had suddenly fallen to the last place in a certain subject. Those students in the latter half of the class had been gloating over his misfortune for several days, but suddenly realized that the student was slowly catching up. How could they not be nervous?
Especially when they thought of the ridicule they had given him a few days ago, some people could not help but feel somewhat flustered.
In order to dispel this pressure, to wipe away the flustered emotions, then, as a matter of course, even more excessive ridicule appeared.
Chen Changsheng did not pay attention to these discussions, and continued to walk forward. He entered the monolith hut, arrived in front of the Cloud Piercing Monolith, and raised his right hand.
Outside the monolith hut came a cry of surprise.
… …
… …
The news that Chen Changsheng had comprehended the Reflecting Monolith was like the wind, spreading out of the Mausoleum of Books with extreme speed. It spread to the various manors in the capital, and it also spread to the Imperial Palace and the Li Palace.
Upon hearing this news, some people finally let out a sigh of relief, such as Archbishop Mei Lisha. Prince Chen Liu's cheerful laughter resounded in the prince's estate. Mo Yu was currently dipping her brush in cinnabar. Hearing her subordinate's report, she was slightly startled, and then said with slight ridicule, "To only comprehend the first monolith at this time, what future does he have?"
Several students of the Heavenly Academy were having a banquet in a restaurant. As they drank to their heart's content, it was inevitable that they would talk about comprehending the monoliths of the Mausoleum of Books. Just as they were ridiculing Chen Changsheng and the Orthodox Academy, they received this news. The banquet instantly became quiet, and after a moment, a student said with ridicule, "With this speed, whether Chen Changsheng can comprehend the second monolith this year is still a problem. Senior Zhuang already reached the third monolith the day before yesterday, how can they be compared?"
Another student sighed, "It's still Gou Hanshi that's scary. He can probably be ranked in the top three of the last ten years, right?"
Upon hearing Gou Hanshi's name, the previous student was silent for a moment, and then said, "If he can maintain his current speed of comprehending the monoliths, I'm afraid he can be ranked in the Ranking of the Past Hundred Years."
At this moment, a fellow student of the Heavenly Academy hurriedly ran up the stairs. His entire face was covered in sweat, and he could not hide his frightened expression. With a trembling voice, he said, "Chen Changsheng … just comprehended the second monolith."
Upon hearing this, the several students of the Heavenly Academy were greatly shocked. They hurriedly stood up, and actually knocked over a few plates of food and wine on the table.
They looked at the fellow student, and asked in disbelief.
"What!"
"How is this possible!"
"Didn't he just comprehend the first monolith? How could he immediately comprehend the second?"
No one answered their questions.
The restaurant immediately became deathly silent.
… …
… …
The Mausoleum of Books had seventeen monoliths, and the third monolith was called Broken Osmanthus. Compared to the Cloud Piercing Monolith, there were a lot less people around the monolith hut. Other than a few previous year's monolith viewers, only the senior from Holy Maiden Peak, one person from Star Seizer Academy, Zhong Hui, Zhuang Huan Yu, and the four people in the grass hut had participated in this year's Grand Examination. It must be known that the Heavenly Tome Monoliths became more and more difficult to comprehend. They had only entered the mausoleum for around twenty days, and had already arrived in front of the third monolith. This could already be said to be very impressive.
Seeing Chen Changsheng appear, everyone was very shocked. This was because in the morning, they clearly saw him outside the first monolith hut. Didn't this mean that he only used half a day's time to consecutively comprehend two monoliths? Tang Thirty Six immediately bounced up from the ground, walked up to him, and said with his eyes wide open, "I say, what are you doing?"
Although his expression was somewhat evil, in reality, his eyes looking at Chen Changsheng were full of surprise.
Chen Changsheng did not know how to explain.
Zhexiu's face was still a sheet of indifference, but his eyes faintly began to burn. He asked, "There has to be a reason."
Chen Changsheng thought about it, then said, "The Heavenly Tome, first of all, should be a book."
Hearing this, some people outside the monolith hut became pensive, while Zhuang Huan Yu gave a cold snort.
Chen Changsheng said to Tang Thirty Six, "I'll be leaving first."
"You want to go back just like that? That's right, take a good rest. "
Tang Thirty Six subconsciously said. In his view, Chen Changsheng had used half a day to comprehend two Heavenly Tome Monoliths, so his mind must have been greatly exhausted. He really should return to the grass hut to rest.
Chen Changsheng stared blankly, then pointed at the monolith hut and said, "I said to go there."
Tang Thirty Six was dumbfounded, and stared blankly as he walked in front of the monolith and extended his hand.
Seeing this scene, Zhuang Huan Yu's complexion suddenly changed.
Zhong Hui, who had been sitting silently by the hut, became incomparably pale.
… …
… …
The fourth Heavenly Tome Monolith was called the River Guiding Monolith. This monolith just happened to be at the edge of a cliff, and the terrain was rather dangerous.
There were quite a few people in front of this monolith hut. Last year, those who had entered the top three grades of the Grand Examination and entered the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths were basically all here.
Qi Jian sat at the outermost edge of the monolith hut. His thin and weak body was blown by the wind at the edge of the cliff, giving off a feeling that he was on the verge of collapse.
Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised. This junior from the Mount Li Sword Sect had actually comprehended the monoliths faster than Guan Fei Bai and Liang Banhu.
Of course, even more surprised were Qi Jian and the people present.
Seeing him walk to Qi Jian's side and sit down, everyone's faces revealed an expression of shock.
Compared to the first three Heavenly Tome Monoliths, the inscriptions on the River Guiding Monolith were somewhat simpler. More accurately, it should be said that the lines on the monolith were still complex, but faintly, there seemed to be some sort of pattern. Having a pattern was not necessarily a good thing for those viewing the monoliths, because their minds could easily be disturbed, or even restricted.
After Chen Changsheng and Qi Jian exchanged a few words, he turned his gaze to the monolith and began to earnestly observe it.
… …
… …
"Back then, how many days did it take for you and me to walk to the River Guiding Monolith?"
The voice of a Sacred Hall Archbishop reverberated in the spacious main hall of the Li Palace. He looked at the several dozen statues of the virtuous predecessors, his expression somewhat perplexed, and his eyes still contained some shock.
Similarly one of the Six Prefects of the Orthodoxy, another Sacred Hall Archbishop did not answer this question. After a moment of silence, he said, "Although the front mausoleum monoliths are easy to comprehend, this is still a little too fast."
Perhaps in the eyes of some people, Chen Changsheng had used around twenty days to reach the fourth Heavenly Tome Monolith, but important figures of the Orthodoxy like them naturally knew that it should not be calculated like this. From the moment he had begun comprehending the monoliths until now, Chen Changsheng had only used half a day, so it was half a day.
"Cultivating for a year to reach Ethereal Opening, viewing the monoliths for half a day to see the River Guiding Monolith … no wonder His Holiness values this child."
Conversations like this were happening all over the capital, and only like this could they dispel the shock brought about by Chen Changsheng.
When the news that Chen Changsheng did not directly comprehend the monoliths like before, but instead sat down in front of the River Guiding Monolith, many people simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. These people did not have any enmity towards Chen Changsheng, such as Prince Chen Liu and Priest Xin. It was just that they felt that everything was too unreal. Now that Chen Changsheng had stopped advancing, it actually made them feel that everything that had happened today was real. Gou Hanshi's performance in the Mausoleum of Books these past few days had already shaken the entire capital. Chen Changsheng's performance today was even more flabbergasting. If he still wanted to continue, who could stand up to him?
However, as was often said, reality was often more inconceivable than one could imagine. Not too long after, everyone in the capital knew a piece of news.
Chen Changsheng stood up from the cliff.
Chen Changsheng walked into the monolith hut.
Chen Changsheng had comprehended the River Guiding Monolith.
Immediately after, Chen Changsheng comprehended the fifth Heavenly Tome Monolith — the Fowl Language Monolith.
Chen Changsheng arrived in front of the sixth Heavenly Tome Monolith.
This monolith was called the East Pavilion Monolith.
The first rank of the First Banner in last year's Grand Examination, the Divine State's Third Law, Liang Xiaoxiao, had spent the past few months trying to comprehend this monolith.
When he saw Chen Changsheng's figure, his cold and arrogant expression instantly disappeared without a trace, leaving only shock and intense confusion.
Chen Changsheng nodded to him in greeting, but his feet did not stop.
In front of the seventh Heavenly Tome Monolith, there was only Gou Hanshi.
He was currently gazing at the distant mountains. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head and discovered that it was actually Chen Changsheng who had come. He could not help but slightly raise his eyebrows.
Chen Changsheng walked to Gou Hanshi's side.
After a moment of silence, Gou Hanshi said, "Extraordinary."
Chen Changsheng did not know what to say, so he did not say it.
Looking at him, Gou Hanshi gradually became emotional. He said, "For the first time, I feel that you have a chance of becoming my senior's opponent."
His senior was Qiushan Jun. Even now, he still believed that Chen Changsheng had this possibility.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "There are still problems with the method of comprehending the monolith, but there's not enough time. I can only walk around and see."
Gou Hanshi sighed. "Walk around and see? If other people heard these words, besides shame and anger, what other emotions would they have? "
Chen Changsheng glanced at the monolith and said, "I'm preparing to leave."
Gou Hanshi did not misunderstand like Tang Thirty-Six. Looking at him, he said, "It seems that you have decided to go to the Garden of Zhou."
Chen Changsheng thought it over, then said, "Let's walk around and see."
It was still these four words.
To many monolith viewers of the Mausoleum of Books, taking a step forward was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
But to him today, it seemed like he was just casually walking around.
… …
… …
There were two people in front of the eighth Heavenly Tome Monolith.
He had seen these two people before. A few days ago, these two people had specially come to the Reflecting Monolith hut to see him and talk to him.
That night, Tang Thirty-Six told him the names and backgrounds of these two people.
Seeing Chen Changsheng, the two people looked like they had seen the Demon Lord, their faces filled with shock.
Chen Changsheng walked into the monolith hut, then suddenly stopped. He turned around and asked them, "You two are Guo En and Mu Nu?"
That day in front of the monolith hut, they had asked him, "You are Chen Changsheng?"
After all, Chen Changsheng was not a little girl selling buns, but a youth in the prime of his youth. How could he not have a temper?
So before he left, he had also asked them a question.
In the cool breeze that lingered around the monolith hut, Guo En and Mu Nu's faces were incomparably red and hot.
… …
… …
Arriving in front of the eleventh Heavenly Tome Monolith, it was finally quiet. Not far from the hut was a clear stream that gurgled delightfully.
With Chen Changsheng's level of cultivation, he did not know that several Mausoleum Monolith Guardians were currently watching him from a distance.
Ji Jin's complexion was extremely unsightly. That night, in order to help Zhong Hui break through and comprehend the monoliths, he had consumed a great deal of energy that would be very difficult to recover from.
Nian Guang watched Chen Changsheng walk towards the stream. He said nothing, his mood extremely complex.
The Orthodoxy had ordered him to look after Chen Changsheng in the Mausoleum of Books, but he had done nothing, because whether it was before or today, there was no need for him to do anything.
Many years ago, he had been a student that the Temple Seminary had focused on nurturing, but he had been suppressed by those geniuses of the Orthodox Academy to the point where it was difficult for him to breathe. In the end, all his hopes turned to dust, and he decided to enter the Mausoleum of Books as a Monolith Guardian. Today, seeing Chen Changsheng comprehend ten Heavenly Tome Monoliths in a row, he very naturally thought of those old friends of the Orthodox Academy. Logically speaking, he should have been somewhat angry, but for some reason, he actually felt somewhat gratified. Just like ten-odd years ago, when he learned that those geniuses of the Orthodox Academy who had suppressed him to the point where he could not breathe had all been killed, he did not feel happy, but rather somewhat sad.
A Monolith Guardian said, "He is the fastest in the last ten years, even faster than Wang Po and Xiao Zhang."
After a moment of silence, Nian Guang said, "Not just faster, but much faster, so fast that it can shock the world."
Chen Changsheng walked to the stream bank and washed his face. Feeling somewhat refreshed, he continued to comprehend the monoliths.
Seeing the cool breeze rise once more, the Monolith Guardians were silent.
There were naturally many people in the Mausoleum of Books who had walked even further than Chen Changsheng. Let alone a monolith viewer like Xun Mei, it was rumored that there were cultivators in the seventh mausoleum who had viewed the monoliths for several hundred years.
But … Chen Changsheng had only used one day.
Ji Jin thought back to all those years ago. When he arrived at the eleventh monolith, he had used a whole seven years. For a moment, he could not help but feel somewhat absent-minded. He began to have unprecedented doubts about his own life as a cultivator. His spiritual sense shook uneasily, and the injuries he had suffered from a few days ago secretly flared up. He leaned against an old tree beside him, swaying and on the verge of collapse.
Nian Guang and the others did not notice his abnormality, because they were also still immersed in shock.
"If his surname was not Zhou, I really would have suspected that he was that person's descendant …"
… …
… …
The sunset filled the sky, and he finally felt a trace of exhaustion.
He gazed into the distance, and saw that the capital in the twilight was incomparably magnificent.
He quietly stood there for a while, then turned around. Facing the setting sun, he walked into the monolith hut.
The front mausoleum of Books had a total of seventeen monoliths, and this was the last one.
In the past, there was Zhou Dufu, and now there was Chen Changsheng.
In one day, he had seen all the monoliths of the front mausoleum.
… …
… …
(Please cast your monthly vote at the beginning of the month, please cast your recommendation vote on Monday. Thank you, everyone. Please cast two more votes, thank you very much. In addition, I've already told everyone in the first few chapters that comprehending the monolith will definitely not have any new ideas. Just designing the method is exhausting, so how can I care about new ideas? What we want is to feel refreshed … But … nonsense! Do you really think that there is nothing new at all? Can I be guessed by you! You underestimate me too much! What did Tang Niu say again! Everyone watch carefully in the next two days! That is called a brand new future. Young man, please continue to create miracles!) Be fast. "
After a moment of silence, Nian Guang said, "Not all of them have to be fast, but very fast, so fast that it will shock the world."
Chen Changsheng walked to the stream bank and washed his face. He felt much more refreshed, and then continued to comprehend the monoliths.
Seeing the cool breeze in the monolith hut rise again, the Monolith Guardians were silent.
There were naturally many people in the Mausoleum of Books who had walked further than Chen Changsheng. Let alone a monolith viewer like Xun Mei, it was rumored that there were cultivators in the seventh mausoleum who had viewed the monoliths for hundreds of years.
But … Chen Changsheng had only used one day.
Ji Jin thought back to all those years ago. When he reached the eleventh monolith, he had used a whole seven years. For a moment, he could not help but feel somewhat absent-minded. He had unprecedented doubts about his own life as a cultivator. His spiritual sense trembled uneasily, and the injuries from a few days ago secretly flared up. He leaned against an old tree next to him, swaying and about to fall.
Nian Guang and the others did not notice his abnormality, because they were also still immersed in shock.
"If his surname was not Zhou, I would really suspect that he was that person's descendant …"
… …
… …
The sunset filled the sky, and he finally felt a trace of exhaustion.
He looked into the distance, and saw that the capital in the twilight was incomparably magnificent.
He stood there quietly for a while, then turned around. Facing the setting sun, he walked into the monolith hut.
The front mausoleum of Books had a total of seventeen monoliths, and this was the last one.
Before, there was Zhou Dufu, and now there was Chen Changsheng.
In one day, he had seen all the monoliths of the front mausoleum.
… …
… …
(Please cast your monthly vote at the beginning of the month, please cast your recommendation vote on Monday. Thank you, everyone. Please cast two more votes, thank you very much. In addition, I already said to everyone in the first few chapters that comprehending the monoliths is definitely not something new. Just designing the method is already exhausting me to death, so how can I care about anything new? What I want is to feel refreshed … but … nonsense! Do you really think that there is nothing new at all? Can I be guessed by you! You underestimate me too much! What did Tang Niu say! In the next two days, everyone watch carefully! That is called a brand new future. Young man, please continue to create miracles!)
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