103: Chapter 103 [The Eye of the Heavenly Road]

Thursday, 4:00 AM. Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Five points of light slowly rotated within his Dantian. After a night of Cultivating, his Cultivation had increased by 128 points. Qi Refining Level 5: 576 / 2500.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights flickered in the distance. He activated [Fragment Perception] and stared at that point of light in the northwest—Kunlun Mountain.

The sixth piece.

He turned around and walked over to the pots of spiritual plants.

The six pots of spiritual plants were growing amazingly well under the nourishment of the five fragments.

The four stalks of soul-calming grass had bloomed ten more flowers overnight, the Mint leaves were thick and shiny, and the second crop of that wild soul-calming grass had already grown to two feet tall.

He picked the flowers, collected the leaves, and ground them into powder.

anshen flower powder stock: 420 grams.

Mint leaves: 900 pieces.

Enough.

He walked to the corner, where Shen Nian was still sleeping.

Chen Zhen squatted down and nudged him.

Shen Nian opened his eyes.

"Let's go."

5:00 AM. The two stood on the open ground outside the Secret Base.

Shen Nian was wrapped in a thick coat, looking at the night sky to the northwest.

"Leaving now?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer; he took two talismans out of his Storage Space.

He stuck one Speed Talisman on his own leg.

He handed an identical talisman to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian took the talisman and learned to stick it on his calf.

Instantly, a light, airy force surged through his entire body.

"Let's go."

Chen Zhen started running.

The speed was five times faster than normal running, but the spiritual energy consumption was minimal.

Shen Nian followed behind; he could keep up at first, but ten minutes later, he fell behind.

"You... slow down..." he shouted, panting.

Chen Zhen didn't slow down, only looking back at him once.

"Keep up."

Shen Nian gritted his teeth and chased desperately.

10:00 AM. The two stood at the foot of Kunlun Mountain.

Chen Zhen looked up at the massive, snow-covered peak, which was much higher and far more perilous than Changbai Mountain.

Shen Nian stood beside him, panting, his face pale.

"You... you run... way too fast..."

Chen Zhen ignored him and activated [Fragment Perception].

That point of light was on the mountain, at an altitude of about 3,000 meters.

He took a step and started climbing the mountain.

Shen Nian let out a wail and had no choice but to follow.

2:00 PM. Altitude: 3,000 meters.

Chen Zhen stood in front of a massive rock.

The rock was three stories high, and its surface was covered with runes—densely packed and ten times more complex than the one at Dongshan. In the [Talisman Eye], those runes were glowing faintly, forming a massive Formation.

Shen Nian, panting beside him, pointed at the rock.

"This is it. My dad tried three times and couldn't get in."

Chen Zhen took a step closer.

As soon as he stepped within ten meters of the rock, the Formation instantly lit up with a blinding light, and a golden barrier appeared before him.

Densely packed runes emerged on the barrier, emanating a powerful aura.

[Formation detected]

[Type: Purification Domain]

[Effect: Repels all polluted aura]

[Strength: Extremely High]

Chen Zhen looked at the barrier.

A Formation specifically targeting the polluted.

He raised his right hand, and a dark blue light lit up in his palm—pure Stellar Energy, without a trace of pollution.

The moment his palm touched the barrier, the golden light, as if encountering its own kind, automatically opened a gap.

He walked inside.

Shen Nian's eyes widened behind him.

"Holy crap..."

He tried to follow, but as soon as he took a step closer, the golden light instantly became blinding and sent him flying back.

Chen Zhen looked back at him.

"Wait here."

He turned and walked towards the giant rock.

Inside the giant rock was a massive space, much larger than he had imagined.

It was about fifty meters high and at least the size of a football field. The rock walls all around were carved with runes, each one glowing. In the center of the space floated a huge stone—no, not a stone, but a crystal.

A dark blue, translucent crystal, inside which was a fist-sized fragment.

The sixth piece.

Chen Zhen approached.

The surface of the crystal was also protected by runes, but these runes were much gentler than the ones outside, as if sensing the pure aura on him.

He reached out, passed directly through the crystal, and grabbed the fragment.

The fragment felt cool to the touch and emitted a stable light.

[Obtained: Pure star core fragment × 1]

[Pollution Level: 0%]

He stored it in his Storage Space.

He turned around and walked out.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.

Deep in the space, something was glowing.

He walked over.

It was a stone stele, as tall as a person, with characters carved on it.

Ancient text.

He glanced at it.

"To the successor:"

"If you have reached this place, it means you possess a pure body and can bear this object."

"My name is Wuming, the first-generation wielder of the star core. Ten thousand years ago, I sealed the evil entity here and left this stele as a record."

"Although the evil entity is sealed, its consciousness remains. If you collect more than six fragments, you may go to the other side of the Heavenly Road to find my Original Body and discuss countermeasures together."

"Also: When the Heavenly Road opens, the evil entity will also awaken. Remember, do not let it awaken first."

Signature: Wuming.

Chen Zhen stared at the stele for a long time.

Wuming.

The first person to achieve Fusion with the star core.

The first person to walk the Heavenly Road.

Shen Mo's grandfather's Original Body.

He reached out and touched the stele.

The stele instantly turned into points of light and dissipated into the air.

A jade plaque was left in its place.

He picked it up.

A single character was carved on the jade plaque.

"Come."

5:00 PM. Chen Zhen walked out of the giant rock.

Shen Nian was sitting outside, trembling—not from the cold, but from worry.

Seeing him come out, he stood up abruptly.

"Did you get it?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Shen Nian let out a long sigh of relief.

"That's good, that's good..."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Your dad was right not to enter back then."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment.

"Why?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He looked up at the sky.

The sun began to set, and the sunset clouds dyed half the sky red.

The sixth piece.

Twelve more to go.

10:00 PM. Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Formation, with the sixth fragment placed in front of him.

Five were rotating in his Dantian, and one was in his palm.

He took a deep breath and injected spiritual energy.

The fragment instantly turned into points of light and surged into his body.

It merged with the five in his Dantian, and then—

Exploded.

The six points of light rearranged themselves, forming a hexagon, and slowly rotated. With every rotation, Stellar Energy six times stronger than before surged out.

[Fusion successful]

[Spiritual Energy Limit: 1500 → 2500]

[Obtained new ability: [Star Core: Sixth Layer] (Passive) Stellar Energy intensity increased sixfold, Cultivation efficiency +400%, damage to dark/evil entities +2000%]

[Obtained new ability: [Eye of the Heavenly Road] Can clearly perceive the scene on the other side of the Heavenly Road]

[Obtained new ability: [Purification Domain: Modified] Consumes 20 points of spiritual energy to expand a 50-meter diameter Purification Domain, instantly purifying all pollution within the Domain]

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and looked at his hand.

In his palm, that layer of pale gold within the dark blue light had already taken up one-third of the space.

Power.

Power six times stronger than before.

He activated [Eye of the Heavenly Road].

His consciousness instantly pierced through the barrier and reached the other side.

A person was standing there.

A person exactly like him.

That person turned around, looked at him, and smiled.

"Six pieces. Soon."