Shaoyang Star

This primordial, dense jungle—its towering ancient trees, tangled brambles, old vines, shrubs, and weeds, even the thick carpet of withered leaves beneath Li Weiyi—seemed to be torn to shreds and wiped away like a painting, dissolving into the blood-red mist. The ground beneath him lay bare, stripped down to an expanse of brownish-red earth. The soil was neither hard nor dry; rather, it resembled a desiccated seabed that had been steeped in fresh blood for endless ages. *** Sitting cross-legged with eyes closed in calm meditation, Li Weiyi was completely unaware of the changes in the outside world. When Senior Tablet had taught him the meditation method for the spirit god path, he had explained it thus: "Light can penetrate indestructible metals, boil seas, incinerate skies, and illuminate the cosmos. It is the most wondrous thing between heaven and earth, the fountainhead of all energy, and the fundamental root of consciousness." "Mind force is power cultivated from the soul's consciousness. It is an entirely different path from the dharma power cultivated through the physical body." "The soul's consciousness is an anomalous transformation of light particles." "To cultivate mind force is to absorb the light particles between heaven and earth and convert them within your body into spiritual light particles. When you gather enough spiritual light particles, they coalesce into a ball of spiritual fire, which in turn breaches the Yintang spirit realm located between your brows." *** Li Weiyi could appreciate the grandeur and mystery of light in the natural world, just as nearly all energy on Earth ultimately originated from the sun. That massive star suspended in the void could be called the most awe-inspiring sight visible from Earth, possessing overbearing power that surpassed all gods. Yet precisely because it was always there, people took it for granted, regarding it merely as a bright patch in the sky. The meditation method Senior Tablet taught was called the "Single Blade of Grass Meditation." One visualized oneself as a tiny plant endowed with the ability to draw in an endless stream of light particles. Li Weiyi wanted to visualize himself as a blade of grass, yet the magnificent sight of the Divine Fusang Tree he had glimpsed from afar aboard the Bronze Ship kept rising in his mind. So he simply followed his inclination. He visualized himself as two Divine Fusang Trees, hauling all the light particles between heaven and earth into his body to forge his own Golden Crow or sun. *** Under the blazing sun, Xue Zheng stood atop a hill in the Mount Mang Range, saber in hand. He had tracked the signs of Li Weiyi's flight all the way to this place. The misleading scent of Yang Yun's blood had indeed sent him on a wild-goose chase. Only after doubling back had he found Li Weiyi's true trail on the opposite bank of the Sui River, costing him a great deal of time. By the time he caught up here, it was already noon. In his field of vision, lofty mountains rose on all sides, vast seas of forest stretching between peaks enveloped in swirling mist. Flocks of enormous strange birds soared through the clouds. From deep within the mountains came deafening roars of unknown beasts, inspiring awe and warning trespassers not to act rashly. There were simply too many legends surrounding the eerie, perilous, and uncanny nature of the Mount Mang Range. Even with Xue Zheng's resolute will and confidence, penetrating deep into this region weighed heavily upon his mind. Tens of li away, a vast expanse of land suddenly turned dark. There were no clouds overhead and no peaks blocking the light, so how could such a bizarre thing occur? *Whoosh!* Murong Xiao caught up, folding her black wings as she landed beside Xue Zheng, her quiver fully replenished with arrows. "Gang Chief Xu Changlin personally escorted Yang Yun back to Jiuli City to claim credit. Vice Chief Tang Yan will arrive here in fifteen minutes at most." In a voice resounding like clashing metal, Xue Zheng said, "Li Weiyi is severely wounded and cannot have fled far. We must find him before his injuries heal, or killing him will become a terrible headache once again." Murong Xiao was well aware of how formidable Xue Zheng was as the fourth rank in Seven Springs Hall. Known as the Undefeated Saber Guest, he truly had never suffered a single defeat. Though three old fellows stood ahead of him, not even those three could breach the defenses of his Silver Semi-Immortal Physique. They were ranked higher only because their battle records were more illustrious and they had lived longer. Xue Zheng was far younger than they were. The reason he had not yet broken through to the Wuhai Realm was that he sought to push for the Nine Springs Perfected Person. Although Murong Xiao was ranked twenty-first, she knew that in a one-on-one duel on the ground, Xue Zheng would need only a single stroke to slay her. She said, "The Yang Clan's Eldest Miss multiplied the bounty several times over and added the news that Li Weiyi possesses multiple dharma artifacts to the kill order. This is bound to set off quite an earthquake. I reckon even some Wuhai Realm experts might be drawn in. We must hurry!" *Swish! Swish!* Pursuing the lingering traces Li Weiyi had left behind, the two vanished from the hilltop. *** Countless specks and particles of light gathered from every direction between heaven and earth, converging toward Li Weiyi's Yintang acupoint between his brows. More and more arrived. They condensed into a larger, brighter point of light that filled the entire acupoint, bringing with it a swelling sensation of pain. *Boom!* The acupoint shuddered. A tiny space was abruptly torn open between his brows, only a square inch in size. Suspended within it was a spiritual light flamelet no larger than a grain of rice. Countless particles of spiritual light swirled around the flamelet, fusing into it. *A world born inside the brow... The human body truly is an inscrutable treasury.* *I only just experienced a flash of spiritual light, yet I managed to amass enough spiritual light particles to open the Yintang spirit realm in one go? Isn't this speed of absorbing light particles a bit too absurd?* Li Weiyi remembered clearly that after Cai Yutong experienced her flash of spiritual light, it had taken her seven days of accumulation to open her Yintang spirit realm. Even so, a figure like Senior Tablet had showered her with praise, repeatedly calling her a natural genius of the spirit god path. Though Li Weiyi's eyes remained shut, he could clearly see that tiny world beneath his brow and the spiritual light flamelet floating at its center. The boundary walls of that world shimmered with brilliant, fantastical hues, extraordinarily wondrous. This was the very first level of the mind master's three realms—Square-Inch Flamelet. "Square-inch" referred to the size of the Yintang spirit realm. "Flamelet" referred to the size and intensity of the spiritual light flame. The second and third realms of a mind master were Square-Inch Blaze and Square-Inch Brightfire. As for the Earth Fire Realm that Li Ling had attained, that belonged to the first of the great mind master's three square-foot realms. A great mind master's combat strength corresponded to the Wuhai Realm of dharma-martial cultivation. Further above were the spirit mind master's three square-zhang realms, corresponding to the Seed Dao Realm of dharma-martial cultivation. Square-inch, square-foot, square-zhang... Mind master, great mind master, spirit mind master... It was said that only upon reaching the level of a spirit mind master did the true spirit god cultivation and transformation of mind force genuinely begin. The first two realms were merely swallowing light to nurture the fire. Li Weiyi opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. Just as he felt the exhaustion, pain, and weakness in his body ease considerably, he was instantly stunned by the dramatic transformation before him. He looked around and scrambled to his feet. "Where is this?" Blood-red mist drifted everywhere in wisps, like gossamer and smoke. Every step he took upon the muddy ground left a footprint that seeped bloody water. His hair stood on end. He remembered vividly that before meditating, he had been sitting in a primordial jungle, with an iron-barked ancient tree three paces away and a thick carpet of fallen leaves giving off the smell of rotting vegetation. Could he... have run into something supernatural? The Mount Mang Range was itself an imperial burial ground with immense yin qi, and countless eerie tales of departed spirits and apparitions had circulated from it. What was more, the other side of the range connected to the boundless, fathomless darkness of the Nether Realm of the Dead. Because Li Weiyi knew the Tomb of the Cang King lay within the Mount Mang Range, he had inquired into it extensively. Precisely because he knew so much, he felt all the more unsettled. *Clack! Clack! Clack!* He hastily brought out the evil camel bell and released the stone coffin, spirit tablet, and urn from inside. The three of them certainly understood the Mount Mang Range. If he had inadvertently stumbled into some forbidden territory, they might know a way to help him escape. The moment the blue-and-white porcelain urn touched the ground, it seemed to catch a scent. Overwhelmed with excitement, it hopped back and forth across the blood-soaked mud. "How could it be here? How did you do it? How on earth did you do it... Haha! I thought you'd need to reach the Changsheng Realm before you could bring us here! This is too sudden! Am I dreaming?" Seeing Master Jar so thrilled and familiar with the place, Li Weiyi relaxed his tense heart and asked, "Master Jar, please stop jumping around. Exactly what kind of place is this?" Senior Tablet was bewildered. "You don't know where this is? Then how did you get here?" Li Weiyi recounted how he had experienced a flash of spiritual light earlier and opened the Yintang spirit realm in a single breath. The three were already accustomed to his heaven-defying talent for cultivation, but they still fell into a gloomy silence for a long while. Senior Coffin spoke first: "It seems entering Shaoyang Star is not overly difficult for the master of the Daozu Taiji Fish. One only needs to cultivate spiritual light." Senior Tablet said, "This is simply incredible!" "What is there for you two to sigh over? How could a supreme treasure like the Daozu Taiji Fish be fathomed by the likes of us? Besides, the fact that he could become its master proves he has an innate connection with it," Master Jar said. Listening to their conversation, Li Weiyi grew pensive. He reached toward his neck and pulled the Daozu Taiji Fish out from his collar. Of the eyes on the two bronze yin-yang fish, only the pale-cyan Daozu's brow bone remained. The light-red Buddha relic was missing once again, leaving behind a bean-sized hole where the eye had been. Unable to believe it, he ventured tentatively, "We are... atop the Buddha relic right now? The Buddha relic is what you call Shaoyang Star?" Li Weiyi had heard Zhao Meng describe it in detail. Under a microscope, the Buddha relic was a pale-red planet resembling Mars, complete with towering mountain ranges, dried-up ancient riverbeds, and a vast, deep-red desiccated sea. The Bronze Ship had originally been moored upon the shore of that dry sea. Senior Tablet gave an affirmative answer: "Shaoyang Star is that very fish eye! This bloody mud beneath our feet should be a corner of that star. The three of us know of it because on the eve of the great war a thousand years ago, all combatants assembled upon this planet. Its wonder—or rather, the wonder of the Daozu Taiji Fish—far surpasses your imagination." Senior Coffin said, "You can try walking outward to see if you can step through the bloody mist." If they truly were standing upon a bean-sized Buddha relic at this very moment, how utterly inconceivable was that? Li Weiyi forced himself to stay calm. He took seven consecutive steps forward until he reached the bottom edge of the bloody mist, then reached out his hand to touch it.