Chapter 96, Awakening!

Translator: StarReader

 

Dawn broke, the morning sun casting its gaze upon the earth. The Vastest Lake, tranquil and endless, mirrored the sky above like a sheet of jade.

 

An ancient fishing boat, barely able to hold half a dozen people, emerged from a dense thicket of reeds. On board were an elderly man and woman, their weathered faces bearing the marks of years spent on the lake. They cast their nets in the shallow waters amidst the reeds, seeking sustenance for another day.

 

Xikou Town, nearby, had seen its fishing boats seized by Gusu’s constables. This old boat, however, was too decrepit to be of use—its planks were rotting away, barely holding the vessel together. The constables feared it would sink before long, deeming it unfit even for transporting captured martial disciples.

 

“Old man,” fretted the elderly woman, “last night, so many martial heroes stayed in Xikou Town. And now the constables are taking boats… It seems another fight with the Whale Gang pirates is about to happen. Why not lay low for a while?”

 

The old fisherman grumbled, his voice steady yet trembling slightly, “Why should we? They fight their battles, and we fight ours—catching fish. If we meet pirates, we give them fish; if we meet martial heroes, we bow our heads. No one will kill two old folks just for fun! Besides, who’ll feed us tonight if we don’t catch a few fish? We can’t even afford a bowl of fish soup!”

 

They worked together, pushing the boat deeper into the reeds. The old couple cast their nets in calm waters, catching small fry and shrimp—all they could manage in their advanced years on such treacherous waters.

 

Suddenly, the old fisherman froze, rubbing his bleary eyes. He saw a young man drifting aimlessly on the water’s surface, eyes closed and motionless, seemingly devoid of breath. The young man’s attire suggested he was a disciple from the Medicine King Group in Gusu City.

 

“Oh no, what a pity!” the old fisherman exclaimed, shaking his head. “I wonder which family’s child this is, losing their life on Vastest Lake?”

 

The recent years had been chaotic; unknown martial artists often met their end here. The old fisherman couldn’t understand why well-bred youngsters would leave their homes to join sects or become pirates, risking their lives for nothing.

 

He prodded the young man with his long bamboo pole.

 

There was no response, so he prepared to haul him onto his boat. If the youth’s family came looking, he could return the body and do a good deed. Maybe he’d even earn some money for his trouble, enough to last a few days of fishing.

 

Abruptly, the young man opened his eyes and looked at the old fisherman. His gaze was as clear as Vastest Lake’s waters, captivating yet fleeting like a meteor. It seemed as if all the lake’s spiritual energy had gathered in him, making him otherworldly, untouched by mortal affairs.

 

“Ah, a ghost!” The old fisherman cried out, mistakenly thinking he’d stumbled upon a vengeful spirit from Vastest Lake. He tumbled onto his boat’s deck, dragging his bewildered wife along as they desperately kowtowed and pleaded for mercy…

 

…

 

Sunrise broke as the earth awakened.

 

Su Chen finally emerged from his long slumber.

 

He opened his eyes to find himself adrift in a dense maze of reeds by the lake. Nearby, an old fishing couple wailed about some ghostly apparition.

 

Su Chen glanced over with indifference; they were strangers to him.

 

Zhou Village, thirty miles away from Vastest Lake, was unfamiliar territory for the fishermen he knew. They usually applied their trade in smaller, neighboring lakes like Firm Mountain Lake.

 

Unconcerned with the couple’s drama, Su Chen floated with the current, his expression tranquil and unfathomable. An air of mystery surrounded him.

 

Last night, in the depths of the lake, he attempted to hold his breath while channeling the Turtle Breath, aiming to seal off his six senses.

 

He hadn’t held high hopes for success, having barely survived entering the Upper Dantian once before.

 

For years, he’d been dedicated to cultivating the Wanderer’s Journey immortal art but hadn’t regained entry into the Upper Dantian.

 

Yet, miraculously, at the bottom of the lake, under immense pressure, he managed to seal off his senses and cultivate a powerful perception.

 

This newfound perception relentlessly battered against the Muddy Grain Palace before finally breaking through and entering the Upper Dantian.

 

Compared to last time, this entry was considerably smoother, perhaps due to his enhanced perception.

 

Within the Upper Dantian, all remained unchanged—a chaotic giant egg with cracks enveloping a Spirit Mountain.

 

A spectacle that filled it with wonder and delight was the presence, within the chaos egg, of thousands upon thousands of blue strands. These wisps of blue energy floated freely within the vast chaos egg.

 

“My spirit,” Su Chen marveled aloud, astonishment tinged with joy in his voice. Once a mere seedling anchored to Spirit Mountain, unable to stir even slightly, it now boasted several roots sprouting from its base and a ten-inch tender sprout on its crown, verdant and vigorous.

 

Su Chen waved this new tendril, snaring nearby blue energy that drifted close enough. This new appendage allowed Su Chen to gather energy from a ten-inch radius around him, improving his efficiency by several dozen times over his previous passive method.

 

Thus, Su Chen stretched out his sprout, tirelessly capturing blue energy amidst Spirit Mountain until he had vacuumed up thousands of strands. The chaos egg’s blue energy reserves depleted rapidly in response to the tiny spirit’s growth and expansion.

 

A single giant leaf unfurled from its center, further accelerating its absorption rate. With each sweep of its colossal leaf, scores of blue energy were consumed.

 

Soon, every last trace of energy within the chaos egg had been swept away by Su Chen’s expanding foliage.

 

Su Chen’s mind reeled. He recognized this leaf as the rudimentary form of a lotus leaf.

 

“My Upper Dantian spirit takes the shape of a verdant lotus,” he murmured, lost in thought…

 

Su Chen’s consciousness withdrew from his Upper Dantian, gazing into the sky. The entire world appeared refreshed and captivating. Every cloud in the sky glimmered with red hues, vibrant and bold like an immortal artist’s watercolor masterpiece, exuding an ethereal charm.

 

In the vicinity of three hundred meters around the lake, lush reeds thrived with life, greedily absorbing nutrients from their roots as they sprouted vigorously. Yet, some were withering, wilting, and rotting away.

 

In the nearby lake’s waters, fish and shrimp of varying sizes darted about playfully, foraging for vegetation. Each movement was unique, a myriad of lively dances that played out before Su Chen’s eyes. All these changes were etched in his mind, even with his eyes closed. His mental prowess allowed him to effortlessly scrutinize his physical self.

 

Su Chen realized he could now freely enter and exit his Muddy Grain Palace and Upper Dantian at will, monitoring Spirit Mountain and his spirit’s state without any restrictions. This meant he no longer needed techniques like Turtle Breath or underwater breath-holding to seal his senses before entering the Upper Dantian.

 

He recalled countless martial and herbal texts he’d studied, attempting to deduce his current cultivation. It was clear this wasn’t the Grandmaster level; even advanced cultivators could only occasionally enter their Upper Dantian, not at will like Su Chen now did.

 

“One’s divine consciousness is contained within the Spirit Mountain, while their mortal traces are left behind in the mortal realm.

 

“The Spirit Mountain holds the secrets of cultivation, leaving the mortal world barren of enlightenment.”

 

Su Chen remembered something he had read in a Daoist text, a hazy description. Various signs pointed to the fact that this was no longer a realm that could be explained by martial arts theories. He had surpassed even the level of a Grandmaster, stepping into a more mysterious and extraordinary domain.

 

“Have I entered the state described in the Wanderer’s Journey, the realm of immorals?!” Su Chen’s mind suddenly flashed with inspiration, leaving him deeply shaken.