Daoist Ji and Yuren walked through the plains.
They did not walk on the official road, did not take a boat to cross the Luo River. They only walked in the places with the least people, the places where the weeds were the thickest. Their Daoist robes were covered in bits of grass, and beneath their walking sticks was a crushed praying mantis.
Because he was not good at walking, Yuren walked very slowly. Daoist Ji had to take care of his disciple's speed, so he naturally could not go too fast. Yet they had clearly been in the snowy plains to the north of Mount Han a few days ago, so why were they here, in the plains where they could see that mighty city?
That city had no walls, but on a day like today when the sky was as blue as if it had been washed, it could be seen from several dozen li away. This was because within the city was a high platform, and outside the city was a high hill, as well as countless buildings that towered into the clouds.
Returning to this place after so many years, Daoist Ji's face showed no emotion. It was still calm and indifferent, perhaps numb. Yuren had no impression of the capital, nor did he have any feelings, but his face still revealed some curiosity and yearning. But in the next moment, those emotions on his face transformed into solemnity and unease.
He gazed at a certain place in the blue sky for a very long time.
The stifling wind of the plains ruffled the black hair on his forehead.
He only had one eye that could see, so staring into the distance like this was very easy to make him feel sore. He rubbed his eyes and couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him earlier.
"You didn't see wrong. That is your junior brother's Fated Star."
At some point, Daoist Ji had also gazed up at the sky. An extremely faint smile finally appeared on his usually calm and emotionless face. Although the smile was faint, it concealed a very strong emotion.
Too many years had passed, and he had almost forgotten which direction the wind was blowing in the Palace of Great Clarity when Emperor Taizong said those words to him before returning to the sea of stars.
Hearing Daoist Ji's words, Yuren became even more uneasy.
"There's no need to worry, this is a good thing."
After saying this, Daoist Ji continued forward.
Yuren looked at his back and opened his mouth to shout something, but no sound came out. He gestured with his hands, but he could not be seen. He could only shake his head and follow.
The wind rustled the weeds on the plains, parting them to form a path.
Master and disciple walked along the path in the wild grass. One was happy, the other worried.
At the end of this path, the capital loomed.
… …
…
At the peak of Mount Han, by the lakeside of the Heaven Lake, many people had already guessed what Chen Changsheng was doing, or what he was experiencing. Countless shocked discussions sounded, turning into a buzzing sound like that of a swarm of wild bees. Then, it disappeared in an extremely short period of time, becoming absolutely still.
Looking at Chen Chang Sheng who was sitting cross-legged, everyone's faces were filled with shock.
He … was at Star Condensation!
During the Grand Examination, Chen Chang Sheng had broken through to Ethereal Opening on the spot. Could it be that today, he would also break into Star Condensation? This genius of the Orthodoxy, who had already created far too many miracles, was he going to shock the entire continent once more? Could he succeed?
Choosing to break through at such a time was shocking enough in itself, but the real key to this matter was still whether he could do it in the end.
If he could, it would be a miracle. If not, it would be a joke.
Moreover, just being able to do it wasn't enough.
What was Star Condensation? If those who did not understand cultivation had read a few related books, they would perhaps believe that Star Condensation was a higher level of Purification, that one could borrow the radiance of the myriad stars bestowed by the sea of stars in the instant of breaking into Star Condensation and directly raise the strength of the body to an unimaginable level … this view was not completely without reason. Even if human Star Condensation experts did not condense a Star Domain, they would still be able to directly battle against demon experts in terms of physical strength and strength.
But the true crux of Star Condensation lay in the four words' condensing a Star Domain '.
Cultivators borrowed the frenzied radiance of the stars to directly open up the many meridians and circulations in their body, doing their utmost to light up more than three hundred Qi openings. From then on, they would possess an unending stream of true essence that, under normal circumstances, could be called inexhaustible. The radiance of the stars would manifest, forming a world of its own. Only at this moment could one be said to have entered the ranks of true experts!
The problem was, how to distribute the amount of star radiance? How to choose the order and number of Qi openings to light up? This was an extremely complicated problem. Even disciples of great sects with extremely deep resources had to undergo a long period of preparation with the help of their teachers before breaking into Star Condensation. If they were even the slightest bit careless, there was a high chance that they would fail in breaking into Star Condensation. There was even a chance that the star radiance would reverse, causing the cultivator to be heavily injured and their cultivation to greatly decrease. They might even lose all hope of breaking into Star Condensation for the rest of their lives.
Among the numerous thresholds of cultivation, although Star Condensation was not as dangerous as Ethereal Opening, it could not be taken lightly. It especially required the person breaking through to have sufficient experience and comprehension.
No matter how much of a genius Chen Changsheng was, he was still not even seventeen years old. Moreover, he did not possess the bloodline of the True Dragon like Qiu Shan Jun. Ever since he was a child, he had floated in the sea of the Dao and had cultivated for less than two years. How could he have had enough time to comprehend, comprehend, and experience?
Even if he forcefully broke through and was fortunate enough not to experience a reversal of star radiance, if the order in which he opened the Qi openings was wrong or if the number of Qi openings was too much, there was a chance that the Star Domain he condensed would be flawed. Let alone perfect, it might even be very ordinary.
To ordinary cultivators, as long as they could condense a Star Domain, it was an extremely extraordinary feat. In the present world, it was very difficult for even the Star Domains of Star Condensation experts to be called perfect, but he was Chen Changsheng, the future Pope. The common people naturally had different requirements for him — just like what Su Li had mocked in the wilderness, could such a Star Domain even be worthy of being called a Star Domain?
The crowd waited for the result with different moods, so the expressions on their faces were naturally different.
Gou Hanshi's expression was very calm, Guan Feibai's very solemn, and Liang Banhu's expression was rather desolate. This was because they had a deep understanding of Chen Changsheng. Since he had chosen this moment to break into Star Condensation, he had assuredly made ample preparations and was confident in himself.
Zhexiu's expression was very indifferent, but his pupils slightly constricted. Tang Thirty-Six's face was rather pale, his hands tightly clenched. They understood Chen Changsheng even better and also believed that Chen Changsheng could successfully break into Star Condensation. However, they were still somewhat nervous, afraid that some accident might occur.
No one knew that the person who was the most nervous was Xu Yourong. She sat behind the curtain, her face expressionless, but her body was slightly leaning forward, as if she could stand up at any moment.
A star began to shine in the daytime. Star radiance descended from the heavens and poured into Chen Changsheng's body. The hard stone platform sank half a foot because of this, and the scenery of the lake and mountain fell silent.
Chen Changsheng's eyes were still closed, but he had already woken up and returned to the real world. He performed Meditative Introspection and examined the situation in his body. He confirmed that his Ethereal Palace was already wide open, that all his true essence had begun to ignite, and that the star radiance pouring into his body was about to go out of control. He knew that it was time to make a choice.
He naturally wanted to condense a perfect Star Domain, and he also had the confidence that he could do this.
Star Condensation required a very long time to comprehend, sense, experience, and prepare? Although he had only cultivated for two years, he had already spent a great deal of time. Because his cultivation had always been different from others.
He had begun Meditative Introspection before he had even succeeded in Purification. When he had been drawing in starlight for Purification, he had actually been at Ethereal Opening. He had always been using methods that surpassed his true cultivation level to cultivate.
Last year in the Mausoleum of Books, when he was at Ethereal Opening, he had already begun Star Condensation ahead of time.
In the wilderness, when Su Li had passed on the Intellectual Sword to him, he had stood by the lake and gazed at the starry sky, pondering how to break the Star Domain of a Star Condensation expert. At the same time, he was also pondering how to project the sea of stars into his own body, how to light up his Qi openings, and what kind of Star Domain to condense.
His starry sky had already been there for a long time.
All he needed to do was wait for it to light up.
… …
… …
(Because I was stuck on a specific method of telling a plot, I pondered it for a very long time, but in the end, I still could not come to a conclusion. I decided to move it to the next chapter. I thought for another night and stopped here.)
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