104: Chapter 104 The Last Piece

Friday, 3:00 AM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the six Celestial Star Arrays.

After the Fusion of the sixth fragment, he had drawn two more arrays.

With six Talisman Arrays operating simultaneously, the Spiritual Qi concentration throughout the Secret Base had reached a staggering 800%.

Six points of light rotated slowly within his Dantian, forming a perfect hexagon.

With every rotation, vast Stellar Energy surged through his entire body.

He activated the [Eye of the Heavenly Road].

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

A person stood there. A person identical to him.

The Original Body looked at him and smiled. "Six pieces now. Faster than I anticipated."

Chen Zhen looked at him. "Where is the last piece?"

The Original Body did not answer directly. He turned around and looked in a certain direction.

Chen Zhen followed his gaze—there, it was no longer Chaos, but faint scenes could be seen.

A mountain. Very high, very steep, covered in snow. On the summit, there was a huge stone. It was identical to the one on Kunlun Mountain.

"That is..." "The Heavenly Pillar," the Original Body said, "the place where the two worlds intersect."

He turned around and looked at Chen Zhen. "The last fragment is right there."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds. "Why don't you take it?"

The Original Body smiled. "Because I cannot take it."

He raised his hand, and a dark blue light lit up in his palm—identical to Chen Zhen's, but more than ten times stronger.

"Do you see?" he said, "I am too strong. The Heavenly Pillar cannot withstand my power. If I step on it, it will collapse."

He looked at Chen Zhen. "But you are different. You are just right. Six fragments, Qi Refining Level 5, strong enough, but not yet at the critical point."

Chen Zhen looked at him. "So, you go and get it."

The Original Body nodded. "After you take it, the Heavenly Road will open."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds. "And then?"

The Original Body looked at him, his eyes gentle. "Then, we shall meet."

4:00 AM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes. The Original Body's words were still spinning in his mind. The Heavenly Pillar. The last piece. Meeting.

He stood up and walked to the window. Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights were like scattered stars.

He activated [Fragment Perception]. Sixteen points of light. Four red ones—two in the Northeast, one in the Northwest, one in the South. Seven yellow ones—scattered across various places. Three green ones—Yun Xi was at the foot of Changbai Mountain, and the other two were still in their original places. Shen Mo's small piece—was five kilometers away. Shen Nian—had no fragments, his aura was stable. He himself—was here. The last piece was at the Heavenly Pillar.

He withdrew his perception, turned around, and walked back to the center of the array. He took the stack of blank Talisman paper from his Storage Space and began drawing Talismans.

This time, he was not drawing ordinary Talismans; he was preparing specifically for the trip to the Heavenly Pillar—Protective Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, Purification Talisman, and Attack Talisman, fifty of each.

One after another, purple light rose and fell within the base. He drew until dawn.

Friday, 7:00 AM, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom. Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework; seeing him enter, he shouted as usual, "Help! Lend me your math homework to copy!"

Chen Zhen threw his homework notebook over. Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head in frantic copying.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down. Su Xiaoya, who sat in front of him, turned her head to look at him. "Chen Zhen, are you asking for leave again today?"

Chen Zhen looked at her. "How did you know?"

Su Xiaoya pointed at his expression. "You look like... you are about to go on a long journey."

Chen Zhen didn't speak. Su Xiaoya waited for two seconds, then pulled a small object from her pocket and handed it to him. It was a Protective Talisman—not the kind he drew, but an ordinary one, obtained from a temple.

"My mom told me to give this to you," she said. "She said you are a good person, and good people should be safe."

Chen Zhen took the Protective Talisman and glanced at it. Then he put it into his pocket. "Thank you."

Su Xiaoya nodded and turned back around. In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him. Shen Mo was also watching him.

Chen Hao turned his head from the front row and looked at him. "Chen Zhen, is there something going on?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer. Chen Hao waited for two seconds, then sighed. "Forget it, pretend I didn't ask." He turned back around.

At noon, school ended, and Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria. After getting his food, he found a seat and sat down. Five people walked over with their trays. Zhou Rui, Shen Mo, Zhang Meng, Chen Hao, and Shen Nian. The six of them sat around one table.

No one spoke. After a few minutes of silence, Zhang Meng couldn't help it. "What are you guys doing? Why is the atmosphere so weird?"

Zhou Rui ignored him. Shen Mo didn't speak either. Chen Hao kept his head down and ate. Shen Nian looked at Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen put down his chopsticks. "I am going on a long journey."

Zhang Meng paused for a moment. "Where to?" Chen Zhen didn't answer. Zhang Meng waited for two seconds and scratched his head. "Fine, anyway, I don't understand your business." He continued eating.

Zhou Rui spoke up: "How long?" Chen Zhen thought for a moment. "I don't know."

Shen Mo looked at him. "Do you need help?" Chen Zhen shook his head. Shen Mo nodded and didn't ask again.

Chen Hao raised his head and looked at Chen Zhen. "Will you come back?" Chen Zhen looked at him. "I will."

Chen Hao was silent for a few seconds. Then he reached out his hand. "Then, take care." Chen Zhen looked at his hand and reached out to shake it. "Yeah."

3:00 PM, Secret Base. Chen Zhen stood in the center of the six Celestial Star Arrays, with three thousand Talismans laid out in front of him. Three thousand. This was his entire stock drawn over the past few days.

He put them into his Storage Space and turned to look at the few people there. Zhou Rui, Shen Mo, Shen Nian. "When I am away, the base is left in your hands."

Zhou Rui nodded. "I have taught you how to maintain the Talisman Arrays." Zhou Rui nodded again.

"Shen Nian knows how to take care of the spiritual plants." Shen Nian nodded.

"If anything happens, use this to contact me." Chen Zhen took three Transmission Talismans out of his Storage Space and handed one to each of them. The three took the Talismans and carefully put them away.

Shen Mo looked at him. "When are you leaving?" Chen Zhen looked up toward the northwest. "Now."

4:00 PM, Chen Zhen stood on an open space outside the city. He activated [Star Radiance Flash · Modified]. Two hundred meters at a time. Fifty times in a row. Ten kilometers away.

He stopped, took out a Speed Talisman, and stuck it on his leg. He began to run. His speed was twice as fast as before. Northwest direction. The Heavenly Pillar. The last piece.

Saturday, 2:00 AM. Chen Zhen stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a massive mountain range. Higher, steeper, and more desolate than Kunlun. The summit was covered in thick snow, shimmering with silver-white light under the moonlight.

He activated [Eye of the Heavenly Road]. On the summit, that huge stone was glowing. A dark blue light pierced through the wind and snow, shooting straight into the sky. The last piece. He took a deep breath and began to climb the mountain.