Chapter 301: Qingxu

Chen Qingyang looked up, feeling as if a pair of eyes were staring right at him.

‘This Child is quite bold, asking about his own Master from so close by. Isn’t he afraid of being found out?’

“The Master won’t let me say. Why don’t you go ask her?”

Qingfeng’s expression immediately darkened. “Fine, fine, I won’t ask!”

After one last glance at the fourth floor, Chen Qingyang executed the Void Step Introduction and arrived back at his small courtyard in a matter of moments.

Once back, he began to meditate, preparing to rest and gather his strength for his trip to Sun-piercing Peak the next day.

‘Using the Great Soul Scripture to carefully perceive it, I can tell the True Dragon Divine Soul within my Conscious Fish has been suppressed quite a bit. With the refinement from the Demon Suppression Array, it should be completely restored after two more sessions. This is a good thing. The next time I run into that True Dragon, it will have to understand that it can’t control me.’

‘Although I was forced to reveal one of my trump cards today, at least Yun Ci didn’t press the matter. Besides, with her personality, even if she knows, she knows. It won’t affect me in the future.’

‘As he thought, the image of the Master appeared in his mind again—clad in a white Daoist robe, sitting before him with her bare Jade Feet.’

‘From what I saw today, the True Dragon Fire is greatly beneficial to her Cultivation; I could clearly feel her injuries healing much faster. This Master is truly proud. She obviously felt it but didn’t mention needing my help when I left.’

‘If her injuries don’t heal fast enough, I’ll help her out next time. It would be indirectly helping myself, too.’

He centered himself, clearing his mind of all distracting thoughts, and meditated peacefully until daybreak. Then, he set out for Sun-piercing Peak.

Dawn was breaking, blanketing the world in a clear, cold light.

The mountains were majestic, crowned by a dazzling red sun. At the very highest point of the peak, a great multitude had gathered—nearly ten thousand people in all.

From all directions, multicolored lights drifted in. Some rode the wind, some stood upon Magical Artifacts, and others arrived in a burst of radiance—a host of glorious, immortal-like figures, heralding the start of this grand assembly.

Dazzling, rosy light shone upon the Golden Summit, visible for dozens of miles in every direction. A few auspicious clouds drifted over, hovering in the sky and refracting the light into a kaleidoscope of colors.

What he saw today gave him a newfound appreciation for the sheer scale and majesty of Sun-piercing Peak!

This time, there were three hundred Masters attending the Essence Splitting assembly, with their disciples numbering close to ten thousand. This was no exaggeration, and they only occupied a third of Sun-piercing Peak.

The top of the peak looked as if it had been sheared flat by a single sword strike, leaving a massive plateau paved with White Jade and dotted with decorative rocks.

Everyone stood upon it, waiting from early morning until nearly noon.

Chen Qingyang’s true body was hidden far away, and his Conscious Fish didn’t dare get too close either. He had just sensed a sudden shift in the world’s Qi Mechanism, as if Star Power was gathering.

He activated his Array True Understanding and observed with his Star Eyes. All around, a Grand Array began to activate. Every star hanging above Sun-piercing Peak was being linked together by fine, silver threads.

The threads then converged in midair. All that Star Power, gathered bit by bit, finally formed a Star Gate in the void, right beneath the blazing sun.

‘What an incredible formation. A Miscellaneous Task disciple is still just a Miscellaneous Task disciple, after all. Despite being here for decades, I’ve never seen such a magnificent spectacle.’

“The Sun-piercing Essence Splitting Assembly begins today! The younger generation of the Tai Xu Sect must brave the rapids and forge ahead, thriving and rising up like a great rainbow piercing the sun, to honor the name of our Tai Xu Sect! Within the next hour, gather first in the Qingxu Land, then we shall activate the array for the observation ceremony…”

An ancient voice rolled in from all directions, carrying both a sense of cosmic compassion and supreme authority.

Chen Qingyang guessed that this must be the one presiding over the Grand Array, Master Miaoyou.

No sooner had he thought this than a thousand-zhang-tall phantom appeared, standing in the void. It had the appearance of a handsome, middle-aged man dressed in a blue Daoist robe, his long hair tied in a topknot. He was simple and plain, yet refined and elegant. He bowed with clasped hands to the crowds in all four directions.

Phantoms of a dragon and a tiger swirled around him, emitting golden light that shone for more than ten thousand zhang. Above his head, the Three Flowers condensed. His appearance was solemn and majestic, as if he were a True Immortal from the Nine Heavens!

The gentle breeze that swept past was stirred by his Qi Mechanism alone.

‘So strong!’

‘The gap between a Master Life Light and a Foundation Establishment cultivator is this vast! And this one, in particular, is in the Upper Realm of Life Light.’

He held an oval-shaped Jade Disc of a greenish-blue color, engraved with intricate golden patterns. In the center were four large, inscribed words: Attaining the Dao of Tai Xu.

‘This must be the nexus of the array.’

With one hand, Master Miaoyou raised the Jade Disc high in a sky-supporting gesture. A luster emanated from it, shooting straight toward the Star Gate. Light rippled across the gate’s surface, and it swung wide open, revealing the profound and wondrous realm within.

One after another, the disciples bathed in the starlight, mounted clouds and rode the air with graceful poise, and drifted into the portal.

Such a magnificent sight was truly rare, and even Chen Qingyang was moved by what he saw.

He deployed his Conscious Fish, not through the gate, but by quietly infiltrating through the path he had scouted the day before yesterday. He remembered the first time he entered the True Dragon Cave via the Void Bridge; he had felt Star Power scan over him, nearly exposing his Conscious Fish.

‘This Star Gate must be the same.’ Fortunately, he had explored the route in advance and was familiar with the way. It didn’t take much effort for him to slip into the Sumeru Secret Realm.

Then, observing the direction of the stream of people in the air, he first flew close to the ground for a while. Once he got near, he blended in, landing on the hilt of a senior brother’s Flying Sword and following him deeper inside.

With so many Qi Mechanisms jumbled together, he wouldn’t be noticed.

The six of them seemed to be from the same sect lineage and were chatting amongst themselves.

“Sigh, another year, another Essence Splitting day. The years pass so quickly. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to find a fateful opportunity down there this time and get a chance to break through!”

“Senior Brother, why all the sighing? If you’d just put in more effort than in previous years, you’d have your breakthrough.”

“Sigh!” The man heaved a breath, not seeming very optimistic. “It’s all about Star Shifting and the whims of the cosmos. All these Cave Mansion opportunities are unpredictable. If one appears in front of you, you’ve got it. If it doesn’t, you could search forever and never find it!”

A young man answered him, “It’s fine. I still think there’s a pattern to it all. You just have to be observant enough to find it.”

“Heh heh… Junior Brother, you really are too young!”

Chen Qingyang understood now. The Cave Mansion opportunities here weren’t in fixed locations; they appeared randomly.

‘Just as I suspected. Sumeru itself is a concept of the void, so why would anything within it be fixed? To find these opportunities, one must have exceptional talent, a powerful Divine Soul, and perhaps even the ability to perceive or see through an array or two.’

‘In this way, Sun-piercing Peak ensures its resources go to the most talented individuals.’

“Oh, come on, Senior Brother. You just failed to break through in your Cultivation once. No need to be so gloomy about everything. Who knows, maybe this time we’ll find the Tai Hao Qingxu Palace directly! Just a little bit of luck from there would be enough for you to break through.”

‘Taihao Qingxu… According to Jing Shu’s description, it’s the very foundation of the Tai Xu Sect. He had wanted to ask for more details that day, but considering that asking too much might make the clever Jing Shu suspicious, he had stopped himself.’

“Junior Brother, don’t tell me I’m gloomy. I think your delusions are getting worse and worse. Only one or two people find the Tai Hao Qingxu opportunity each year. How could it possibly be our turn?”

Just as Chen Qingyang was wondering what was inside, the young man asked, “You make it sound so mysterious. Senior Brother, what’s actually in the Taihao Qingxu?”

“The Dao.”

“The Dao? What does that mean?”

“Our sect’s supreme technique, the Tai Xu Returning to Truth Technique, was comprehended from within it. What do you think that means?”

‘The Dao.’

‘It means this is a place for Enlightenment. If you can gain some understanding there, the benefits will be endless.’

‘No matter how many Magical Treasures or how much Spiritual Qi one has, if one’s own Cultivation is limited and unable to achieve a breakthrough, one’s potential will always be capped.’

‘It was just like himself back then. His aptitude was exceptionally poor, and it was only after cultivating the Great Soul Scripture that his comprehension became outstanding. Otherwise, how could he have understood those Elixirs on his own? How could he have used the Array True Understanding to traverse the world?’

“When you put it that way, it really is wondrous!”

One of the two was at the Essence Condensation Second Realm, while the other was at the Fifth Realm. The four companions with them also chatted idly, but it was all about matters of their own lineage and had nothing to do with Chen Qingyang.

Everyone maintained a steady, unhurried pace. After traveling for about half an hour, they reached the Qingxu Land, where the mountain terrain was so immense it was impossible to take in its full scale.

They had already entered the mountain itself!