Chapter 1376: A Painted Dream; Clues to the Great Void
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Zhou’s gaze fell on the painting on the table that Fan Zhong left behind. He could not help but think of the ancient goatskin map, which was surprisingly similar to the painting. The ancient goatskin map had revealed to him the Unknown Land, but it was unfortunate that there were more questions than answers.
The Unknown Land was oval and vast. The golden lotus domain was small, looking like a leaf that had just sprouted not too long ago. Compared to the vast Unknown Land, the nine domains were truly too small. The nine domains surrounded the Unknown Land like nine leaves; some were bigger, some were smaller, some were far, and some were closer together.
The yellow lotus domain was not far from the golden lotus domain.
Lu Zhou wondered if the golden lotus domain was separated from the Unknown Land, and the yellow lotus domain was separated from the golden lotus domain. He thought this was quite likely. He wondered why the sea beasts would come to sh.o.r.e to attack humans every once in a while as well.
After a moment, he asked Lu Li, “Lu Li, when you were in the Black Tower Council, how did you know the sea beast king was making its way to the red lotus domain?”
Lu Li answered, “The 3,000 Dao inscriptions on the tower aren’t just for defense. The square formation at the top of the tower resonates with the power of heaven and earth. Coupled with the 3,000 Dao inscriptions, they can detect the directions of fierce beasts. However, it can only detect those at or below the stage of beast kings. It’s useless against those fierce beasts with high intelligence. Intelligent fierce beasts know how to avoid human detection. Sometimes, I wonder if the Great Void looks down on us just like how we look down on the sea beasts…”
Yan Zhenluo said, “That’s foolish. In my opinion, sea beasts are much stronger than humans. Humans are lucky to be able to survive until now. They’re on par with the land beast…”
Lu Li did not refute Yan Zhenluo’s words.
Lu Zhou said, “Both of you can leave. If there’s anything, report immediately.”
“Yes.”
After Yan Zhenluo and Lu Li left the training hall, Lu Zhou activated the power of sight again to observe Si Wuya. However, he cut the power off when he saw Si Wuya sleeping.
Then, he brought out the Vast Sky Bag and brought the Great Void Pill, the Celestial Mark Brocade Box, and Gou Chen’s life heart out.
“Gou Chen’s life heart isn’t suitable to be used to activate the 19th Birth Chart,” Lu Zhou muttered to himself before he returned it into the Vast Sky Bag.
Then, he looked at the Celestial Mark Brocade Box that he had obtained from the mausoleum. He wondered if he could open the box now that he had become a Great Venerable Master.
He placed his hand above the brocade box, his palm facing downward, as vitality energy surged out and buzzed before it pressed down on the brocade box.
Click!
A crisp noise rang in the air.
The brocade box was unlocked!
Lu Zhou lifted the lid. What he saw was not some powerful secret cultivation method, panacea, weapon, or treasure. Instead, it was an old beige Daoist robe.
“A robe?” Lu Zhou really did not expect to find an article of clothing in the box.
‘What’s the use of this? However, this brocade was placed in the tomb of the late Emperor Emeritus. Would they put invaluable things in the box? Let’s test it out…’
Lu Zhou casually waved his hand, launching a streak of karmic fire at the robe.
Sizzle!
“Hmm?”
The karmic fire stopped half an inch away from the robe. It could not get any closer to the robe.
As expected, the robe was not just an ordinary robe.
He tried to push the karmic fire closer. However, the karmic fire could not get any closer to the robe. Even if the karmic fire could not come in contact with the robe, with the distance of only half an inch between them, the robe should have been affected by the high temperature of the karmic fire. However, the robe remained safe and sound.
He was reminded of Little Yuan’er’s Cloud Feather Raiment. The effects were rather similar. The Cloud Feather Raiment was woven from golden and silver threads by formation masters. It did not take a genius to figure out that the beige Daoist robe in the brocade box was not simple.
Lu Zhou withdrew his karmic fire and brought out Unnamed in the form of a sword. He was planning to use Unnamed to slash at the robe. However, when he thought about how even the Confinement Seal might not be able to withstand Unnamed, he thought better of it. He decided to try with another weapon instead.
Lu Zhou brought the robe with him as he flashed outside the training hall. Then, he found a sword and slashed the robe a few times.
Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+
As expected, the robe was not damaged at all.
“Interesting.”
Ordinary weapons were useless against it.
Then, he launched energy sabers and energy swords at the robe, slas.h.i.+ng at it over and over again. Similar to before, the robe was not damaged the slightest bit.
“Although the zen tunic is also capable of blocking ordinary energy sabers and energy swords, this robe should be superior to the zen tunic,” Lu Zhou muttered to himself.
Then, he brought Unnamed in the form of a sword out again. After a brief moment of hesitation, he waved Unnamed.
Swoos.h.!.+
The distinct sound of fabric tearing rang in the air.
When Lu Zhou took a look, he saw there was indeed a very small tear on the robe.
He shook his head, slightly disappointed, “It’s useless.”
Since it could not withstand Unnamed’s attack, it was useless.
He was just about to discard the robe when something rather magical happened. He saw the tear mending itself, returning the robe to its original state.
Lu Zhou was slightly surprised. Humans could heal their injuries, but robes could now also heal damages to it? He wondered what the robe was made of.
Lu Zhou brought Unnamed down on the robe again.
This time, a bigger tear appeared on the robe. Similar to before, the tear mended itself after a few seconds. The threads that wove the robe together seemed capable of finding each other and reconnecting.
“It’s a treasure indeed!”
Lu Zhou channeled some Primal Qi into the robe, trying to sense something from the robe.
Buzz!
In just a moment, he felt as though he had fallen into a painted dream. He was in a mysterious and infinite galaxy. The universe was woven by silver threads, forming a formation. After a moment, he discovered there was actually only one silver thread. From the beginning until the end, only one silver thread weaved back and forth, with all sorts of twists and turns, forming a long Daoist robe.
The faint patterns on the robe flashed with light due to the formation on it. On both sleeves, there was a Taiji Yin Yang diagram.
Lu Zhou looked at the extremely exquisite weaving technique in admiration.
The robe was spotless as well. Whenever even a speck of dust fell on it, it would be automatically repelled by the silver thread of the robe.
“It’s a treasure,” Lu Zhou murmured.
Lu Zhou removed his outer robe and put the Daoist robe on.
Swoos.h.!.+
In just a second, he felt as though his Eight Extraordinary Meridians were connected to the robe, fusing harmoniously. The feeling was rather comfortable. After a moment, Lu Zhou’s body began to cultivate on its own.
“Amazing!” With this robe, even if he did not consciously cultivate, his Primal Qi would recover faster than before. It could even recover his divine power. Combined with the Purple Glazed Ceramic and the Pillar of Impermanence, it would only take half a day to recover his completely depleted divine power. If he had an unlimited supply of divine power, it was not impossible for him to hold his ground against a Saint with his current cultivation base.
‘Amazing! It’s too amazing!’
…
When he returned to the training, Lu Zhou began to cultivate immediately. It would be a great loss if the robe’s effect was only temporary. Hence, it was best to take advantage of it now.
Lu Zhou brought out the Scripture of Sermons and began to meditate on it along with the Heavenly Writing.
The robe seemed to possess an invisible force, pulling his consciousness into the Scripture of Sermons.
“What Scripture of Sermons? Cultivating the Dao? They’re all bullsh*t!”
“I spent my entire life imparting my blood, sweat, and tears to the world, breaking the shackles of heaven and earth…”
“It’s a pity! It’s truly a pity! What is evil?”
“I’ve observed the world for a long time. Everyone is evil! Since everyone calls me evil, I’ll show them what evil is!”
Buzz!
Lu Zhou’s consciousness seemed to have entered a dark place that was surging with killing intent. Clanging sounds and disembodied voices continuously rang in his ears.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
The sound of killing was ear-piercing.
Cultivators from the golden lotus domain, red lotus domain, black lotus domain, white lotus domain, purple lotus domain, dark green lotus domain, the jade green lotus domain flew past his eyes. Each and every one of them was fierce and malicious as they brandished their weapons at him; their faces were twisted with anger and hatred.
“Evil shouldn’t exist in this world!”
“You deserve to die!”
“Is someone so evil qualified to preach?”
“Die!
At this moment, Lu Zhou’s eyes suddenly flew open. He stopped cultivating immediately.
A thin layer of sweat could be seen on his forehead. He was slightly surprised by this. Since he had started cultivating, he had not sweated for a long time. Under normal circ.u.mstances, cultivators would not experience the exhaustion of ordinary humans that caused sweating. He did not expect meditating on the Scripture of Sermons would result in him sweating.
Originally, he had thought perhaps, he would be able to obtain more Heavenly Writing Scrolls and power from the Scripture of Sermons. However, not only did it not go the way he thought it would, but he even felt lingering fear.
He had felt strong emotions such as grief, anger, arrogance, fear, and many over emotions invading his consciousness and mind. Fortunately, he was not drowned by those emotions.
“Is it the robe?” Lu Zhou looked at the robe suspiciously. He suspected the robe and the Scripture of Sermons had resonated which led to the earlier situation.
The painted dream was vague and mysterious. What did the owner of the Scripture of Sermons experience for him to leave behind such strong remnant emotions?
Lu Zhou shook his head and sighed. He felt slightly uncomfortable as though he was a stand-in for the owner.
After putting away the Scripture of Sermon, Lu Zhou checked his remaining lifespan.
“30 days have pa.s.sed?”
Lu Zhou frowned slightly. It only felt like a short while, but 30 days had pa.s.sed? 30 days were due to the 100 times speed from the Pillar of Impermanence. Without the Pillar of Impermanence, he had spent about half a day.
Lu Zhou thought about Si Wuya and quickly activated his power of sight.
…
A Sky Shuttle shuttled through the dark clouds.
Si Wuya and Jiang Aijian stood on the deck, observing their surroundings.
“Are you really not going to look for Senior Ji first?” Jiang Aijian asked.
Si Wuya replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve already sent a message.”
“Alright. Whatever it is, don’t forget about my swords.”
Si Wuya said with a smile, “Don’t worry. I won’t forget them.”
…
Lu Zhou then recalled there were indeed movements from a talisman, but he was too immersed in his cultivation to pay attention to it at that time.
He continued observing with his power of sight as he brought the talisman out and ignited it.
The content was very simple: There’s a new discovery regarding the shackles of heaven and earth. I’m going to Mount Halcyon. Don’t worry, master.
…
Below the Sky Shuttle, the sea was turbulent. They were already crossing the Endless Ocean.
Jiang Aijin said, “Turn left about 200 miles ahead, and you’ll arrive at Penglai. Do you want to stop by? My master misses all of you greatly.”
Si Wuya replied with a smile, “How are Island Master Huang and Miss Jinyi doing?”
“Very well. It’s just that the sea level had risen and flooded two little islands. Apart from that, there’s nothing much that’s happening,” Jiang Aijian said.
“Alright, let’s go and have a look!”
“Okay.”
It did not take long for them to arrive at Penglai.
Si Wuya noticed that it was just as Jiang Aijian had said; two of the five islands had been submerged by the water.
The island in the middle was still hovering in the air so there was no need to worry for the time being. However, the rise of the sea level was quite concerning. If it continued, it would not take long before the highest island would be submerged as well.
At this time, Huang s.h.i.+jie and Li Jinyi flew up with the other disciples.
After greeting each other, Huang s.h.i.+jie, who had learned that Si Wuya was going to Mount Halcyon, exclaimed in surprise, “You’re going to Mount Halcyon?”
“That’s right. I’ve always felt there’s something strange about the shackles of heaven and earth. Mount Halcyon is the most easterly place known at present. Perhaps, we can find some answers there,” Si Wuya replied with a nod.
Li Jinyi smiled faintly as she said, “Mr. Seventh studies the shackles of heaven and earth and regards it as his lifelong pursuit. It’s really admirable.”
“Hey, hey, hey, junior sister, I’m admirable as well, alright?” Jiang Aijian protested jokingly.
Li Jinyi only smiled in response.
Huang s.h.i.+jie said, “Mount Halcyon is thousands of miles away from Penglai. It’s very dangerous. Jinyi and I will accompany you on this trip.”
For a long time now, the cultivation limit of the golden lotus domain had been broken. They could be considered to have made some progress. However, they were still a distance away from the Thousand Realms Whirling cultivators in the other domains. Even Jiang Aijian who was quite talented only had ten leaves.
Things were not the same as before so Si Wuya shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that. I’ll go with Jiang Aijian.”
“One more person means extra strength. Don’t refuse me. Brother Ji had done Penglai a great favor. If I just stand by and watch while you go to Mount Halcyon, I’ll feel bad,” Huang s.h.i.+jie said with a smile. When he saw Si Wuya was about to refuse again, he hurriedly added, “It’s settled then. I won’t waste your time. Let’s go now. Everyone else, return.”
“Yes.” The Penglai disciples returned to the island.
Si Wuya looked at the submerged islands and said, “Island Master Huang, you have no plans to move?”
Huang s.h.i.+jie sighed. “Penglai is my home and roots. How can a tree survive without its roots? I only hope the imbalance will end soon.”
Si Wuya did not say anything else.
The Sky Shuttle continued to fly in the eastern direction among the clouds above the Endless Ocean.
The sound of cras.h.i.+ng waves and the roars of sea beasts rang from below.
The Sky Shuttle creaked.
“Everyone, be careful. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the sea beasts can’t come up to such a high place. However, with the imbalance, there’s no guarantee for that,” Si Wuya reminded.
Swoos.h.!.+
In the dense fog, a sea beast leaped up in an arc.
Jiang Aijian was taken aback. He said, “You jinxed us!”
Splas.h.!.+
The sea beast fell into the sea again.
Si Wuya did not reply. Instead, he accelerated the speed of the Sky Shuttle.
…
Lu Zhou followed the direction of Si Wuya’s gaze and saw a black shadow under the surface of the sea through the dense fog.
The black shadow covered the entire sea. It was hard to tell how wide or long it was.
Following that, Lu Zhou cut off the power of sight.
“Men.”
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Kong Wen and his brothers rushed over as soon as they heard Lu Zhou’s voice.
“Pavilion Master, what are your orders?”
“Gather everyone. We’re returning to the Evil Sky Pavilion.”
“Understood!”
Kong Wen and his brother quickly pa.s.sed on Lu Zhou’s orders to the others.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong stopped sparring immediately. They did not even have time to bid Little Zhou and Little Wu farewell before they flew back to the training hall.
When Yan Zhenluo and Lu Li arrived, Little Yuan’er and Conch were already at the training hall.
It did not take long before everyone was gathered.