Chapter 4 - The Master of Dongzhen Ruins

The Dao veins are the foundation of cultivation.

This “Dao” is not the Dao of the Taoist Sect, but the Dao of the Great Path.

Whether they are practitioners of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, the art of war, Mohism, or any other school, they all must first manifest their Dao veins in their pursuit of cultivation.

In ancient times, so-called cultivation seeds were those born with natural Dao veins.

However, the Human Race does not let talent determine one’s whole life, and the Channel-opening Pill is one such method to resolve cultivation aptitude.

By borrowing the power of the pill, one can manifest the Dao veins within the human body.

It can also stimulate the vitality of heaven and earth to nourish the flesh body.

With the feedback of qi and blood, one then nurtures the Path Origin and steps onto the road of cultivation.

Speaking of which, compared to the equipment that Zuo Guanglie had destroyed in the explosion, the Channel-opening Pill should not be considered precious.

But for this beggar trapped in dire straits, it is the only key to unlocking the body’s treasures.

Eternal hardship begets only death, at the end of one’s destiny, one begs for heavenly grace!

Now, the beggar has grasped his key of hope.

He is so devout.

With trembling hands, he holds the jade bottle, brings it to his quivering lips, tilts his head back, and pours it down!

Beside him is the silent broken observatory, in the distance are the corpses of other beggars, and next to him are the shattered bones and flesh.

At this moment, the setting sun casts the last of its light, and the clouds dissipate in the sky.

Bodies lie across the fields, while the sick beggar swallows the pill.

The Channel-opening Pill rolls onto his tongue, turning into a warm current that flows down his throat and disperses into every limb and bone.

The beggar gently closes his eyes, and at this moment, hundreds of images swim through his mind.

Braving the heat and cold in practice, wielding the sword through spring and autumn.

Chasing down great thieves, battling fierce bandits.

In the end, he walked down from the bandit-infested western hills alone, drenched in blood.

This is what he traded for a single Channel-opening Pill.

How many years has he used to approach the transcendent world?

He has given it his all, struggling every moment for advancement, but how did he get to this point?

His mother passed away early, and his father, who succumbed to illness later on, had nearly exhausted their last bit of family wealth.

Alone in the world, he could only rely on himself.

From the competition where only one in a thousand emerges, he entered the Dao college, and after surpassing others in the fiercely competitive external college, he finally grasped the key to transcending for the first time.

But what followed immediately after that was…

Poisoning, ambushes.

He fought desperately for a slim chance of survival, mixing in with the beggars to avoid the search.

He had planned to wait for an opportunity, but his body could no longer endure it.

He became weaker and weaker until he could only lie on a pile of straw, waiting hopelessly for death.

Dragging his sick body, he struggled to search the battlefield, driven by a heart that refused to give up.

But unexpectedly, he found a Channel-opening Pill!

Why would someone as strong as Zuo Guanglie carry a Channel-opening Pill on him?

The reason has gone with his legend, and no one knows anymore.

But the beggar’s story has thus begun a new chapter.

There is nothing more unpredictable than fate.

The beggar turns his focus inward, feeling the indescribable changes within his body.

He feels the warm force emanating from every corner of his body, “swimming” through his body in a way he cannot understand, eventually converging towards his spine.

This process is slow and clear.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint force rises from the coccyx, traveling up along the spine.

This sensation is like a worm swimming upstream in a river.

The journey is difficult, but the warm force from all parts of the body keeps supporting it…

The “little worm” finally swims through this lengthy journey, penetrating the spine and shooting straight to the Heavenly Spirit!

A miracle occurs.

It’s as if he can see light inside his body.

Warmth bursts from every limb and part of the flesh body.

He no longer feels the cold, no longer feels weak, no longer feels pain.

With the Dao veins now manifest, vitality nourishes him.

The beggar opens his eyes, which are bright and spirited.

He feels full of strength, and he has once again seized control of his destiny!

His Dao veins have manifested, and although the True Spirit of the Dao vein is merely the lowest-grade little earthworm, it also means that he can formally set foot on the path to transcendence.

Flying through the heavens and burrowing into the earth, entering the blue void, these are no longer unattainable dreams!

One day, Gongyang Bai, Mo Jingyu, and even Zuo Guanglie, Li Yi…

these renowned giants, the things they can do, he will be able to do as well!

…

The beggar stands up, gazing down at the pile of broken flesh at his feet.

Life gazes at death, the beginning connects to the end.

Outside the broken observatory, he buries Zuo Guanglie and those beggars.

Even with his newly emerged Dao veins and abundance of energy, it takes him until the moon is high in the sky to finish the task.

It is a small deed that may seem pointless, but it is a principle he abides by.

Although the group of beggars had chosen to abandon him when danger came, in the days before he was dying, they did not leave him to die in the wilderness.

Although they couldn’t extend his life with medicine, they at least gave him a few sips of water.

Just for that, when it is within his capability, he should give them a proper burial.

So that their lives of hardship do not continue into the next without refuge.

People believe that only by being buried can one rest in peace.

Within the embrace of the vast, infinite, and compassionately heavy earth, the souls of the dead can find tranquility.

Finally, the beggar stands in front of Zuo Guanglie’s grave.

“He who buries you is not without a name.

From Zhuang Country, Qinghe County, Fenglin City…” Under the moonlight, the beggar stands in front of the small grave, filthy and mud-stained, yet he straightens his back and fearlessly reveals his own name: “Jiang Wang.”

Before forming its stripes, the tiger possesses the demeanor to prey on oxen.

“You did not die in a nameless place either.

This is called the Taixu Illusion Realm.

Although its signboard is worn and no longer prominent, it must become known to the world because of you!”

Having said those words, Jiang Wang bowed deeply, “May your soul find peace in heaven.”

This bow was not just for the Channel-opening Pill that Zuo Guanglie had left behind, but also for his compassion, honesty, and bravery.

Figures such as Zuo Guanglie deserved every ounce of respect.

Tonight happened to be a full moon, with its brilliant light shining upon the fresh grave.

It seemed as if a gentle breeze was rustling in the quiet darkness.

Jiang Wang saw specks of silver light fluttering from Zuo Guanglie’s grave, slowly rising in the moonlight and gathering into a small, silver crescent.

It floated above the new grave, within reach and exuding both mystery and nobility.

“Is this…”

Jiang Wang was profoundly moved.

He reached out and caught the silver crescent.

Darkness engulfed his sight.

In the nearly boundless dark, a gentle voice arose, seemingly containing the truth of the universe and the mysteries of the great way, making one’s mind clear and spirit bright upon hearing it.

“Welcome to the master of the Dongzhen Fortunate Land!”

In the next instant, a glimmer of light appeared, followed by countless points of light.

Blinding brightness obscured his vision, and when Jiang Wang’s sight returned, he saw an overwhelming star river swirling in the vast darkness before him!

And before the star river, there stood a young man.

This person had clear eyes and a high, straight nose.

His expression was so gentle it seemed devoid of any aggression, with just a hint of stubbornness in his lightly pursed lips.

Besides a dao robe of indiscernible material, he wore no other adornments.

Jiang Wang was stupefied.

Because the young man was himself.

Despite different clothing and looking much cleaner and more refreshed than he did, he could not mistake his own face.

And he was looking at himself from an angle he couldn’t yet understand, in a non-visual sense.

“Path Origin feedback insufficient, nineteenth layer seal of the Simulation Reality Platform.”

That gentle voice resonated once more across the vast starry sky.

“Eighteenth layer seal of the Simulation Reality Platform.”

…

“Second layer seal of the Simulation Reality Platform.”

With each repetition of this phrase, the star river before him dimmed slightly.

Jiang Wang tried to make sense of everything he was seeing when he heard:

“Grade-3 Discussion Platform seal.”

“Grade-4 Discussion Platform seal.”

It continued in this way until “Grade-8 Discussion Platform seal,” before stopping.

Jiang Wang did not understand the meaning of this, but it likely related to his own insignificant strength.

The “master of the Dongzhen Fortunate Land” should have been Zuo Guanglie, not him.

Meanwhile, he observed a line of text floating within his field of vision, characters he had never seen before.

The script was wholly different from the characters he knew from Zhuang Country, alien to him, yet he inherently grasped the meaning of these words.

“Power: 1850 points.”

As Jiang Wang pondered, the “him” he “saw” suddenly stepped forward, merging into one with him.

This process was so brief it could almost be ignored.

Jiang Wang moved his limbs and found everything agreeable.

In this mysterious world, he had finally obtained some form of physical existence.

At the next moment, the stars in the vast expanse abruptly surged, and he was overtaken by the entire brilliant star river!

He was submerged in the star river.

Time seemed to lose its meaning, and when Jiang Wang came to his senses, he found himself in a realm filled with the mists of immortality, and many messages flowed through his mind.

This was the world of the Taixu Illusion Realm; his place in the Dongzhen Fortunate Land was encapsulated within it.

The silver crescent he had grabbed was called the Illusion Key, the key to entering this place.

It pulled the host’s Spiritual Sense into the Taixu Illusion Realm using the Taiyin Star Power.

Everything here simulated reality, except it doesn’t inflict any harm on the host’s actual flesh body, everything else resembled actual circumstances.

The Simulation Reality Platform was the place to deduce Cultivation Techniques and Dao Techniques, and the “Power” that was spent for deduction.

The Discussion Platform was specifically for traversing the Taixu Illusion Realm to exchange and compare skills with other cultivators.

“Power” was usually generated through combat, with victories in equal-level battles earning power, and losses leading to power deductions.

Overcoming challenges across levels brought additional benefits.

Apart from this, there were other methods as well.

For instance, corresponding fortunate lands would regularly produce “Power.”

Among the seventy-two fortunate lands, the lowest-ranked East Sea Mountain Fortunate Land produced one hundred “Power” monthly.

Each rank increase in the lower thirty-six fortunate lands added ten to the “Power” yield, while each rank increase in the upper thirty-six fortunate lands added one hundred.

The Dongzhen Fortunate Land, once held by Zuo Guanglie, ranked twenty-third and could produce 1850 points of “Power” each month.

That was the resource Jiang Wang now possessed.

Although he was still unsure of their specific effects, Jiang Wang already heard his own heart pounding intensely.

This place…

this place!

This world of splendid star rivers seemed to hide colossal secrets.

The mere sight of the Simulation Reality Platform and Discussion Platform unveiled a vast, stirring world.

To deduce the Dao within the fortunate land, to discuss swords amidst the star river, how majestic!

Yet, before today, Jiang Wang had never even heard its name.

His mind was in turmoil, and he could hardly settle it until his gaze fell upon the phantom of a sundial, where he read the following words:

The master of the fortunate land will face the challenge of the master of the Twenty-Four Azure Jade Altars in thirty days.

A failure will result in demotion.

The five characters were dark as ink, each one as heavy as a thousand jin.