122: Chapter 122 Waiting for the Flowers to Bloom

At 4:00 AM on Monday, Chen Zhen opened his eyes from his Cultivation.

Seventeen specks of light slowly rotated within his Dantian. A night had passed, yet the seedling had not grown taller, nor had its markings increased.

It sat quietly in the flowerpot, its light soft, like a lamp about to burn out. It was tired.

Chen Zhen stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, it was still dark. The city lights flickered in the distance, and early-shift sanitation workers had already begun sweeping; the sound of brooms scraping against the ground drifted faintly toward him.

He turned, walked to the seedling, and crouched down, reaching out to touch its leaves.

That consciousness was very weak, like someone whispering: "Wait."

"Wait for what?"

There was no answer. The leaves drooped, as if it had fallen asleep.

He stood up and walked back to the center of the Talisman Array.

At seven, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework; seeing him, he shouted for help as usual.

Chen Zhen tossed his homework notebook over and went to his seat to sit down.

The person in front, Su Xiaoya, turned around and stared at him for a few seconds: "Chen Zhen, did you not sleep well?"

"I'm fine."

Su Xiaoya shook her head: "You look like you didn't sleep at all last night. You have dark circles under your eyes."

Chen Zhen was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't had dark circles under his eyes for a long time.

He reached out to touch under his eyes; they were indeed a bit puffy.

After the Fusion of the seventeen fragments, his body had long surpassed the scope of an ordinary person; not sleeping for a night would have no effect on him at all.

But now, he had dark circles.

"It's nothing. I was reading late last night."

Su Xiaoya stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded and turned back.

In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him, his eyes filled with worry.

The first class was Mathematics.

Old Zhao was teaching comprehensive functions, and the blackboard was covered in formulas.

Chen Zhen listened for a while, but his mind was on other things.

The seedling was tired. From the day it sprouted, it had been growing continuously, emitting light continuously, and transmitting consciousness continuously.

Now it needed rest.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Shen Nian: "Don't touch the seedling today; let it rest."

Shen Nian replied instantly: "Understood."

He put away his phone and continued listening to the lesson.

When school ended at noon, Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria.

After getting his food and finding a seat, he had only taken a few bites when three people carrying trays walked over—Zhou Rui, Zhang Meng, and Chen Hao.

Zhang Meng sat down heavily and began to eat in big mouthfuls.

Chen Hao sat opposite Chen Zhen and looked at him: "Chen Zhen, my sister said she wants to see you again."

"What's wrong?"

Chen Hao was silent for two seconds: "She has been seeing more and more things these past two days. Not just light, but shadows too. She says there are many shadows on the street; some look like people, others don't. She is very scared."

Chen Zhen put down his chopsticks.

Shadows, some looking like people, others not.

They were things from the Heavenly Road.

They had awakened and were looking this way.

Xiaoxue could see them.

"Saturday afternoon, same time."

Chen Hao nodded and lowered his head to eat.

Zhou Rui watched Chen Zhen from the side, waiting for him to finish his meal before speaking: "Master, what's wrong with the seedling?"

"It's tired and is resting."

Zhou Rui nodded and didn't ask further.

At 3:00 PM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen pushed open the door. Shen Nian was squatting in front of the seedling, staring motionless at those golden markings.

Hearing the commotion, he turned his head: "Chen Zhen, it didn't grow today."

"I know."

"But—" Shen Nian pointed at the markings on the leaves, "They have changed. It's not an increase, they are moving."

Chen Zhen walked over and crouched down.

Sure enough, those golden markings were slowly moving, as if they were alive.

They were rearranging themselves, forming a new pattern.

He stared at those patterns for a long time.

A core circle with three dots, radial curves, nested geometry, a peripheral dot matrix—these were runes.

The seedling was drawing runes on itself.

"What is it doing?" Shen Nian asked in a low voice.

Chen Zhen didn't answer; he stood up and walked to the center of the array to sit down.

The seedling was drawing runes, and he recognized them.

They were insights derived from the runes on the Heavenly Pillar; they meant "Open." It was drawing "Open."

He closed his eyes. Seventeen specks of light slowly rotated.

At 7:00 PM, Zhou Rui arrived.

He walked to the seedling, crouched down to look for a while, then stood up and walked over to Chen Zhen, taking a stack of talismans out of his pocket and handing them over: "Master, these were drawn last night."

Chen Zhen took them and looked at them one by one.

Fifty talismans; each one had reached the level of a fine product.

The last three Tracking Talisman, with smooth lines and stable spiritual energy, had already touched the threshold of being top-grade.

He nodded: "This is enough."

Zhou Rui was stunned for a moment: "What is enough?"

"You have finished your apprenticeship."

Zhou Rui was stunned. After a long silence, he spoke: "Master, I—"

Chen Zhen interrupted him: "I'm not driving you away. I'm saying you no longer need me."

Zhou Rui stood there, his eyes reddening.

He didn't speak, just bowed deeply.

At 10:00 PM, Zhou Rui left.

As he left, he looked back at the seedling, looked at the Talisman Array covering the walls, looked at Chen Zhen sitting in the center of the array, and then pushed the door open to leave.

Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the array.

The seedling was drawing runes; those golden markings had rearranged themselves into a complete pattern.

A core circle with three dots, radial curves, nested geometry, a peripheral dot matrix—it was exactly the same as the rune on the Heavenly Pillar.

The seedling had finished drawing. It quieted down, its light fading, its leaves drooping as if it had exhausted all its strength.

Chen Zhen stood up, walked over, and crouched down, reaching out to touch the leaves.

That consciousness came again, very weak, like someone whispering in his ear: "Wait for the flower to bloom."

He nodded: "Okay."