Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Within Chen Chang Sheng’s body, there is a lake.

That’s right, it had to be said that it was a lake and not a stretch of water in the form of a lake, that’s because this lake was suspended within mid-air; it was not ungenerous, giving the gazer an unhindered and appreciating view.

When Chen Chang Sheng first meditated, he had seen this lake, yet at the time, most of his attention was focused upon the snow plain. The moment he saw this lake, he had been shocked speechless, but he had put it aside temporarily, thus, at the next moment, due to entering a coma after having set the snow plain alight, he hadn’t had the chance to carefully examine this lake.

At this time, his divine sense was akin to a gust of wind, traversing tens of thousands of miles in an instant. He passed by the snow plains and arrived before the lake, he could finally observe the lake clearly, but it was hard to describe.

The lake was akin to an immensely large glass ball, transparent and radiant, yet its surface showed the signs of water ripples, making it also resemble a drop of water that had been expanded countless times, a drop of water that could hover in the air, giving an unusually miraculous feel.

Countless rays of light shot into the suspended lake from all directions, then came together at some point deep within the transparent and bright lake water. Closely following, the light rays melded into each other, or perhaps reflected off one another, giving rise to more colourful rays of light, with the scene being especially dazzling and beautiful.

At first sight, it seemed akin to the Divine State spoken of in myths; upon careful examination, it could be seen that the light rays were variously straight or crooked, forming a mountain within the water.

That mountain had no peak or top; that’s because a peak existed upon every direction. No matter from which angle you start to ascend from, the direction you were facing could be considered the peak.

It didn’t have a peak, but that mountain still had bluffs and streams, with rugged and strange stones. Upon the mountain, there were countless trees that looked akin to coral, trees that had grown to some inestimable height.

Between the trees and the rocky bluffs, paths could faintly be seen, with those paths being complex, extremely narrow and exceptionally steep.

The wind that had been formed from Chen Chang Sheng’s divine sense, upon enter the lake, became slower; revolving around that strange mountain and gazing upon it while being slightly bewildered.

He saw that there vaguely seemed to be a door within a deep section of the mountain path.

Behind the door it was unknown as to if there was a cavern or a miniature world similar to the Education Palace.

Up to this moment, he still couldn’t be sure as to what he was facing, but he could already confirm something, the lake water and the snow plain that had already been burnt out, all came from the same place and were of the same nature – that’s right, this immense volume of lake water had all come from the real world’s night sky and was called Star Brilliance.

That mountain which was surrounded by the lake is his heart.

Clear water followed the lake water’s flow and naturally entered. His divine sense reached the mountain, silently alighting between the bluffs and dazzlingly eye-catching trees.

Subconsciously, he understood that everything centred around that door at the end of the mountain path, he wanted to find that door, but the bluffs shrouded it, neither was there any direction of up and down that can be spoken of.

That door constantly flitted in and out of view and he couldn’t even confirm its location, let alone get near it.

The lake water lightly swelled and that gust of wind broke through the water, carrying with it a foam that resembled pearls, alighting upon a rock on the mountain. A rustling sound could be heard and he lowered his head to look, all he could see was that his foot had trampled some weeds.

Without any hesitation, Chen Chang Sheng started heading forwards along that steep and narrow mountain path.

He was currently in a very mysterious and profound mental state, without feeling or knowledge, even forgetting where he had come from or where he had to go. All he knew was that he had to continue forwards, that he wanted to find that door.

The path twisted and with but a casual glance, eighteen turns could be seen, the trail was slow and no matter how long he walked for, he still remained upon the mountain.

Without clouds and without end, he started to feel tired, but didn’t stop and rest, his foot blistered, but he didn’t pay it any attention. He ran along the path, walked, observed, turned back, ran, turned back yet again. This cycle continued, searching from top to bottom.

Time passed by inexorably and he didn’t even know how long he had spent running along the path and searching, how much time he had used. Finally, at some moment, he found that path.

The mountain was covered by the lake and didn’t have a peak, didn’t have up or down, thus, it didn’t have any direction, the mountain paths were like a spider’s web, impossible to count, but the mountain had water, a lot of water.

The water on the mountain was not the same as the surrounding lake water in being still, but was endlessly flowing, upon reaching some steep precipice, it would fall. The water would pound upon the lake water, raising up a lot of waves and foam.

The water’s flow, was the actual path.

Chen Chang Sheng found a tiny waterfall, he didn’t pay any attention to the strange scene of water clashing against water that could be seen as he travelled.

He was incredibly concentrated as he climbed, the reverse flow extended above for three thousand miles and he finally arrived at the end of all the waterfalls on the mountain.

That end should more accurately be described as source.

At the end of everything, water fell and rocks jutted.

Upon the pure white stone that covered the entire mountain and its valleys, there was a door.

It was the very door that he had been painstakingly searching for.

He walked up to the door, and, for the first time, he stilled his steps. At this moment his clothing was already in tatters, his face full of water stains, his shoes broken and ankles injured, looking very ragged, unknown as to how long he had been travelling for.

That wasn’t just a simple door, but a grandiose one. In much the same way this wasn’t a stretch of lake, but a suspended lake.

The latter was because the lake had the form of a droplet, the former was because the door is far too immense.

That door was close to a hundred metres tall, its material resembled gold and jade, but upon closer inspection, it resembled common stone, only being a little pale, being very close to the mountain stone that surrounded the place.

The stone door’s surface emanated a dull and gentle light, giving one a benevolent and safe feeling. All who gazed upon it would be captivated and would want to place their palm upon the door immediately, using their strength to push it open.

However, Chen Chang Sheng felt hesitant, because he felt danger.

He already knew what this mountain is, thus, he could also guess as to what this door was.

What was stranger, was that even though he had never come here before, and of this, he was certain – for some unknown reason, the door gave him a feeling of extreme familiarity, as if he had gazed upon the door for a very long time. Approaching from a different angle, it seemed as if this door had been waiting for him for a very long time.

His hesitation, in actuality, had only lasted a very short while.

Danger couldn’t make him stop; in order to continue living, he had already risked his life many times, therefore, what kind of situation can stop him from risking it once again?

His hand landed upon the door and lightly pushed. The door was about a hundred metres tall and from its outer appearance, its thickness should also be rather excessive. Logically speaking, it should be heavy to the point of resembling a city, yet mysteriously, following his light push, the door had opened.

Chen Chang Sheng retracted his hand, cautiously preparing himself.

The stone door slowly opened and countless rays of light spilled out from inside, landing upon his face and body. His eyes were dazzled to the point of making his vision slightly blurry, while his tattered clothing gleamed with an incredible brilliance, as if it had been set ablaze.

Surprising him, the light was not dangerous at all, but was instead filled with a positive energy, instantly making him feel that his injuries had improved considerably.

His fatigue disappeared, making him feel indescribably relaxed; he felt very strong and his control over many things became unconstrained, to the point where he had a feeling that could be described as “free”.

This type of feeling was very pleasant and this type of temptation was very strong. No kind of uncertainty about the future or the threat of danger could suppress that type of longing; Chen Chang Sheng headed into the direction of the doorway.

Beyond the door, it was a world of light, countless rays took over heaven and earth, flooding his eyes, making it impossible to see anything or make out a direction. He could only head forwards, bewilderingly and nervously.

This time, he didn’t walk for long.

The light rays gradually parted and became calm, the shading separated into black and white, then, more colours; such as the colour which represented life and ardour, red; the vast and mysterious blue.

This blue should be representing vastness.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the stretch of blue as he quietly mused to himself.

He then saw several strands of white clouds that were slowly converging with some dark clouds above.

It was only then that he understood what type of blue he had seen; it was the sky’s blue.

Following this, he saw black eaves, the second floor’s windows, and a beautiful maiden that was wearing court clothes, staring at him from beside the window. He recognised her, he couldn’t understand why her brows revealed a sign of worry, but he could at least confirm one thing; his divine sense had returned to the Education Palace.

He had returned to the Tower of Purging Dust.

His body was still in midst of falling through the air.

His divine sense had sought incessantly, for an incredibly long time within his body, but for his body that existed outside in the real world, it was actually only a short instant.

For others, it could be even said that they had only seen him close his eyes and then open them.

Who could have thought, in such a short period of time, that he had experienced so many things and then returned to his original location? Who could have thought that he would no longer be the same person he previously was and that he had already arrived at a brand new world?

His divine sense had opened that door, yet returned to the tower. This demonstrated the fact that his micro heaven and earth had already fully connected with the real world’s macro heaven and earth.

The door to his Ethereal Palace had already been opened, though his meridian channels were still broken and hard to traverse, his True Essence will no longer fall into a chasm and disappear. The trickling streams that had been left behind by the snow plain alongside that lake’s water, continuously poured into his Ethereal Palace, helping him to continually interact with heaven and earth.

The rainstorm had already stopped, becoming a curtain of drizzling rain. Chen Chang Sheng’s body travelled through the rain and his eyes opened. His eyes were bright like lacquer and his mind, incredibly tranquil.

He once again tightly grasped the sword within his hand and through the freshly abundant True Essence inside him, he once again regained control of his body.

Chen Chang Sheng lightly buckled his knees, tightened his waist, corrected his form and landed upon the floor. His soles suddenly relaxed and then tightened, akin to a stone that has fallen into water; accompanying a light sound, he firmly stood upon the ground.

Closely following this, he unhesitatingly took out a large quantity of pills refined from medicinal reagents obtained from the Hundred Herb Garden and stuck them into his mouth. He quickly chewed and swallowed them, then turned his gaze towards Gou Han Shi.

Gou Han Shi will not underestimate any opponent, especially Chen Chang Sheng, whose ability he had personally seen at the Ivy League gathering. Not to mention, Chen Chang Sheng managing to storm into the final match of the Grand Examination, already evinced too many things.

Yet, after the battle had started, Gou Han Shi found that he had actually yet to make an accurate judgement of Chen Chang Sheng.

Chen Chang Sheng had burnt a fragment of snow plain, ten fragments and finally, all the fragments. If his meridian channels didn’t have any problems, he would have displayed an even stronger ability, though his current ability had already made Gou Han Shi feel rather shocked.

Fifteen years of age, having only cultivated for less than a year and having Purified through Starlight for an even shorter time, yet possessing such a vast True Essence. Throughout all his years, Gou Han Shi had only seen his senior brother display such an unfathomable achievement, he never could have expected that Chen Chang Sheng would also be able to do this.

Yet, as with what he had said to Qi Jian and his other junior brothers at the guesthouse for Li Mountain, he firmly believed that Chen Chang Sheng would not be able to defeat him and Tian Hai Sheng Xue, that’s because Chen Chang Sheng didn’t have any way of achieving Ethereal Opening.

Ethereal Opening required at least a hundred nights; drawing Starlight to devoutly knock upon the palace nightly.

Even if it were to be Zhou Du Fu of ages past, he would be no exception.

Chen Chang Sheng hadn’t even completed Purification a hundred nights ago, how could Ethereal Opening possibly come into the picture?

Yet, currently, something seemed to be happening.

Gou Han Shi looked at Chen Chang Sheng, he suddenly felt that the praise directed towards him for having read the scriptures in their entirety… was completely meaningless, that’s because, even if one was to search through the three thousand scriptures of the way from page to page, you wouldn’t find something similar to this.