106: Chapter 106 Returning to the Real World

At 5:00 AM on Sunday, Chen Zhen stood at the foot of the Heavenly Pillar, looking up at the towering mountain.

The rift had completely closed, the sky had returned to its normal grey-blue color, and the wind and snow had ceased.

It was as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

But the sensation of seven points of light slowly rotating within his Dantian reminded him—it was not a dream.

He had truly gone there, met his Original Body, reinforced the Seal, and returned.

He looked down at his hands.

In his palms, a pale golden light flickered in and out of existence, more than twice as intense as it had been before he left.

Seven fragments.

Qi Refining Level 6.

Shuttle between the two worlds.

He took a deep breath, activated a Speed Talisman, and began to run back.

His speed was at least twice as fast as it had been on the way there.

With the augmentation of the seven fragments, the effect of the Speed Talisman increased from five times to ten times.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the scenery flew backward rapidly; in less than two hours, he had completed the journey that had taken half a day on the way there.

At 7:00 AM, Chen Zhen stood at the entrance of the Secret Base.

The door was ajar, and a faint light shone from within.

He pushed the door open.

The Six-Path Celestial Star Array was still running, and the six pots of spiritual plants had grown even more lush than before he left.

The soul-calming grass had bloomed with over twenty more flowers, the Mint leaves were so dense that the soil was almost invisible, and the third crop of the wild soul-calming grass had already begun to sprout.

Zhou Rui was asleep on the table, still holding a pen in his hand, with a stack of failed talisman papers spread out before him.

Shen Nian was lying in the corner, covered by that old coat, his breathing steady.

Shen Mo was not there.

Chen Zhen walked over and glanced at the stack of talismans Zhou Rui had drawn.

Over twenty Spirit Gathering Talismans, each one better than the last.

The one on top was already approaching Mortal Grade: High Tier, with stable spiritual power fluctuations and smooth lines.

He nodded and put the talismans back.

Zhou Rui stirred and opened his eyes.

The moment he saw Chen Zhen, he sat up abruptly.

"Master?!"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Awake?"

Zhou Rui rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't dreaming.

"You... when did you get back?"

"Just now."

Zhou Rui stared at him for three seconds, then his eyes widened.

"You had another Breakthrough?"

Chen Zhen did not answer; he walked over to the pots of spiritual plants and began to pick the flowers.

Zhou Rui followed, standing next to him, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Chen Zhen did not stop what he was doing.

"What do you want to ask?"

Zhou Rui hesitated for a moment.

"What is it like... over there?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"Grey. Full of fog everywhere."

Zhou Rui was stunned.

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Zhou Rui was silent for a few seconds.

"Then... what about that person? The Original Body you mentioned?"

Chen Zhen's hands paused.

"I saw him."

"What is he like?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"The same as me."

Zhou Rui waited for a long time, but no more came.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Zhou Rui smiled bitterly.

"Master, can you say a bit more?"

Chen Zhen placed the picked flowers into a jade box.

"He has guarded it for ten thousand years. I helped him reinforce the Seal. Then I came back."

Zhou Rui opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he just nodded.

"Oh."

Chen Zhen glanced at him.

"Your talisman drawing has improved."

Zhou Rui was stunned, then smiled.

"I practice every day."

At 8:00 AM, Shen Nian woke up.

He saw Chen Zhen sitting in the center of the array, paused for a moment, then stood up abruptly.

"You're back?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Shen Nian walked over and stared at him for a few seconds.

"How is it over there?"

"Grey."

Shen Nian waited for a long time, but no more came.

He looked at Zhou Rui, who shrugged.

Shen Nian smiled bitterly.

"Fine, if you don't want to say it, then don't."

He walked over to the pots of spiritual plants and crouched down to check them.

"In the two days you were gone, the soul-calming grass bloomed with twenty-eight flowers, the Mint grew over a hundred new leaves, and the third crop of that wild one has also emerged."

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Did you harvest them?"

"Yes." Shen Nian took three jade boxes from the corner. "The pollen is ground, 120 grams. Four hundred Mint leaves."

Chen Zhen took the jade boxes and put them into his Storage Space.

"Where is Shen Mo?"

Zhou Rui replied, "He went back last night, saying he had things to do today."

Chen Zhen nodded and stood up.

"I'm going to school."

At 9:00 AM, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Since it was a Sunday makeup class, there weren't many people in the classroom.

Zhang Meng was sleeping in the back row, Chen Hao was doing problems in the front row, and Su Xiaoya was reading.

Seeing Chen Zhen enter, Su Xiaoya looked up, and her eyes brightened.

"Chen Zhen? You're back?"

Chen Zhen nodded and walked to his seat to sit down.

Su Xiaoya turned around and stared at him for a few seconds.

"You seem... different again."

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"How am I different?"

Su Xiaoya thought about it.

"I can't quite say. It's just that you feel... brighter."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Su Xiaoya waited for two seconds, then took a small object out of her pocket and handed it to him.

It was a new Protective Talisman, the same as the one she had given him before.

"My mom went to the temple to pray for it again yesterday," she said. "She said you are a good person, and good people deserve more blessings."

Chen Zhen took the Protective Talisman and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you."

Su Xiaoya smiled and turned back.

Chen Hao turned his head from the front row and glanced at him.

"Back?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Chen Hao nodded and turned back to continue working on his problems.

In the back row, Zhang Meng was still sleeping, snoring loudly.

At 2:00 PM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Seven-Path Heavenly Star Formation—after returning, he had added another one, and with seven Talisman Arrays running simultaneously, the concentration of Spiritual Qi reached an astonishing 1000%.

Seven points of light slowly rotated in his Dantian; with every rotation, vast Stellar Energy surged throughout his entire body.

He took out the stack of blank talisman paper and began to draw talismans.

This time, he wasn't drawing ordinary talismans, but new ones—derived from the runes on the Heavenly Pillar.

Those runes were astonishingly complex, but their core structure actually consisted of only seven parts.

Seven basic runes, corresponding to the seven fragments.

He drew them one by one.

The first talisman, a core circle plus three dots—the same as the Dongshan Rune, but more refined.

The second talisman, radial curves—nine lines, corresponding to the Nine Palaces.

The third talisman, nested geometry—seven layers, corresponding to the seven fragments.

The fourth talisman, outer dot matrix—three hundred and sixty dots, corresponding to the number of the celestial cycle.

The fifth talisman, a Two-World Talisman—a brand-new rune he had never seen before, capable of communicating between the two worlds.

The sixth talisman, a Seal Talisman—the kind used when reinforcing the Seal with the Original Body.

The seventh talisman, an Origin Talisman—the simplest, just a single point. But within that point lay the source of all runes.

After finishing the seventh talisman, the talisman paper erupted with a blinding golden light that lasted for ten seconds before fading.

[Origin Talisman: Complete Version]

[Effect: Connect to Star Core Origin, Cultivate efficiency +1000%, duration 1 hour]

[Side Effect: Spiritual power consumption +500%, Meridians pressure +1000%]

[Quality: Legendary]

Chen Zhen looked at this talisman and was silent for a few seconds.

1000% efficiency, but the cost was also high.

He put it away.

It wasn't for use right now.

At 4:00 PM, there was a knock at the door.

Shen Mo pushed the door open, holding that small fragment in his hand.

The fragment was blindingly bright, its frequency as fast as a heartbeat.

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Mo walked over and placed the fragment in front of him.

"It's been like this since last night," he said. "It's getting brighter and brighter."

Chen Zhen picked up the fragment and probed it with spiritual power.

The fragment instantly erupted with an even stronger light, and a scene appeared within the light.

A mountain.

The Heavenly Pillar.

On the mountaintop stood a person.

That person turned around and looked this way.

The Original Body.

He smiled and said a sentence.

There was no sound, but Chen Zhen understood the lip-reading.

"Soon."

The image dissipated.

Chen Zhen returned the fragment to Shen Mo.

"It has a connection with your grandfather."

Shen Mo was stunned.

"My grandfather?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"That fragment was left by him. It contains a trace of his consciousness. He is over there, and he is also waiting."

Shen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

"Waiting for what?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Waiting for you to go over."

Shen Mo was stunned.

"Me?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"You have his Bloodline in you. You can go over too."

Shen Mo looked down at the fragment in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Rui was listening from the side, looking confused.

"What are you guys talking about? What 'go over'? Go where?"

Chen Zhen did not answer.

He looked at Shen Mo.

"When you are ready, I will send you over."

Shen Mo looked up at him.

"My grandfather... is over there?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Shen Mo was silent for a long time.

Then he gripped the fragment in his hand tightly.

"Okay."

At 8:00 PM, Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the array.

Seven points of light slowly rotated, and Stellar Energy surged within his body.

He activated the [Eye of the Heavenly Road].

His consciousness penetrated the barrier and reached the other side.

Over there, the Original Body stood in the fog, with his back to him.

Hearing the movement, he turned around.

"You came again?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"You made my disciple's fragment light up."

The Original Body smiled.

"His grandfather's affair needs to have a resolution eventually."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

"You knew his grandfather?"

The Original Body nodded.

"Ten thousand years ago, his grandfather was my first disciple." He paused. "Later he left, went over there, went through Reincarnation, and it was passed down generation by generation. That fragment was what I gave him back then."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"You want me to send Shen Mo over?"

The Original Body nodded.

"He wants to see his grandfather. I haven't seen him for many years either."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

"And then?"

The Original Body looked at him, his eyes gentle.

"Then, you decide for yourselves."

At 10:00 PM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Seven points of light were still rotating.

He stood up and walked over to the pots of spiritual plants.

The twenty-eight new flowers had already been picked. The Mint had grown over a hundred more leaves.

He put away the pollen and leaves and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights were like scattered stars.

Tomorrow, Monday.

Another new week.

He turned around and walked back to the center of the array.

He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

In his Dantian, seven points of light slowly rotated.

There were still eleven fragments left.

No rush.

The road is still long.

Take it one step at a time.