132: Chapter 132 Seed

On Wednesday morning, when Chen Zhen opened his eyes, the sky outside the window was still grey.

He lay still.

He first used Internal Vision to check his Dantian.

Seventeen points of light were slowly rotating.

The golden seed in the center was suspended quietly, just like yesterday.

It was not glowing, not growing, and showed no changes at all.

He stared at it for a long time.

The seed remained the same.

He sat up and walked to the window.

It was drizzling outside.

The fine, dense rain hit the glass, merging into streaks of water that trickled down.

The outlines of the buildings in the distance were blurred, as if seen through frosted glass.

The breakfast stall downstairs had set up a large umbrella, and the steam from the bamboo steamers dissipated quickly in the rain.

People hurried past holding umbrellas, their footsteps making a pitter-patter sound.

He turned and walked to the workbench.

Elder Lin's notebook was still there, and he opened it to the first page.

Li Xiuying, female, eighty-seven years old.

"Finally, someone believes it."

He stared at this line of text for a while, then closed the notebook.

At 7:20, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework.

Seeing him enter, he shouted without lifting his head, "Help! Lend me your math homework to copy!"

Chen Zhen threw his homework notebook over.

Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head, copying furiously.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down.

The girl sitting in front, Su Xiaoya, turned around, holding an insulated bag in her hand.

"My mom made sticky rice chicken. She said you should eat something warm on a rainy day."

Chen Zhen took the insulated bag and opened it.

Inside were two sticky rice chickens wrapped in lotus leaves, still steaming.

He opened one; the sticky rice wrapped around chicken, mushrooms, and Chinese sausage, smelling delicious.

Su Xiaoya watched him eat, smiling.

"Is it good?"

"Mm."

"My mom said if you like it—"

"No need for every day."

Su Xiaoya smiled.

"Alright, I'll tell her to make it every other day then."

She turned back around.

In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him once, then lowered his head to read.

Chen Hao turned around from the front row and lowered his voice.

"Xiaoxue said the last shadow has left too."

"When?"

"Last night. She said that before the shadow left, it stood in front of her bed for a long time."

"Then it said thank you and disappeared."

Chen Zhen nodded.

Chen Hao waited for two seconds.

"She asked if any new ones would come."

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"Not for the time being."

Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief and turned back around.

After school at noon, Chen Zhen didn't go to the cafeteria.

He left the school gate and walked toward the Old Street.

It was still raining, not heavily, just fine and dense.

He didn't use an umbrella; the rain mist fell on his face, feeling cool.

He turned into the alley and pushed open the door of the Bookstore.

Grandpa Wu was eating a boxed lunch behind the counter. Seeing him enter, he put down his chopsticks.

"You're here again?"

"Just came to look."

Grandpa Wu nodded and took out a paper bag from under the counter.

"Grandpa Zhou sent something over again."

Chen Zhen took it and opened it.

Inside was an old book with a yellowed cover and worn edges.

On the cover were four characters: Heavenly Road Fragments》.

He opened to the first page.

The handwriting was neat; it was hand-copied.

"In my youth, I heard from elders that there is a path connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Heavenly Road."

"When the road opens, travel between the two realms is unimpeded."

"However, the road does not open often; it only waits for the time when the flower blooms."

He flipped through the pages one by one.

The book recorded many things.

The origin of the Heavenly Road, the time of the flower's blooming, and stories between the two realms.

Flipping to the last page, there was a slip of paper tucked inside.

"Little friend, when the seed is sleeping, it needs to be maintained with Spiritual Nourishment."

"Once a day, without interruption."

"Wait until it glows, then you may stop."

Chen Zhen put the paper away and closed the book.

"Grandpa Wu, please thank Grandpa Zhou for me."

Grandpa Wu waved his hand.

"I don't get involved in you young people's business."

He picked up his boxed lunch again.

"Go on now, don't disturb my meal."

Chen Zhen pushed the door and went out.

It was still raining.

He quickened his pace and walked toward the Secret Base.

At 3:00 PM, Chen Zhen pushed the door open.

That flower had completely withered, and its stem was dry too.

Shen Nian put it into a box and attached a label.

Next to it, three large jars were filled with powder ground from fallen petals.

Zhou Rui was drawing talismans at the workbench, Shen Nian was organizing Spiritual Plant records, and Yun Xi was leaning against the wall.

Everything was as usual.

Chen Zhen walked to the center of the array and sat down.

He looked down at his chest.

The golden seed was suspended quietly.

He reached out and pressed his hand against his chest.

Spiritual power slowly poured in.

The seventeen points of light flashed simultaneously.

On the surface of the seed, an extremely faint golden pattern appeared.

It was very faint, flashing and vanishing.

But it had indeed appeared.

He continued to inject spiritual power.

The seed began to rotate slowly.

One circle, two circles, three circles.

With every rotation, the pattern became a fraction clearer.

After rotating a dozen times, the pattern stabilized.

It stopped changing.

He withdrew his hand.

The seed was still rotating, but very slowly.

The pattern was glowing, very faintly, like a star in the distance.

Yun Xi walked over and looked at him.

"Is there any movement?"

"Mm."

"How long will it take?"

Chen Zhen shook his head.

Yun Xi waited for two seconds and smiled.

"True, no one can say for sure about this kind of thing."

She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

Zhou Rui put down his pen and walked over.

"Master, what I drew today."

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

One hundred and fifty Protective Talismans.

Each one had reached the high-quality level.

The last fifty had already reached the top-quality level.

He nodded.

"You've improved very quickly."

Zhou Rui smiled.

"Practicing every day."

He walked to his workbench, sat down, and continued drawing.

At 7:00 PM, Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the array.

He looked down at his chest.

The seed was still rotating.

The pattern was still glowing.

It was very faint, but it was indeed glowing.

He reached out and pressed his hand against his chest.

Spiritual power continued to pour in.

The seed rotated a bit faster.

The pattern became a fraction clearer.

He withdrew his hand.

No rush.

Once a day, without interruption.

That's what Grandpa Zhou said.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The rain had stopped.

The clouds split open, and moonlight leaked down.

He looked down at his chest.

The seed was glowing.

It was very faint, like a star in the distance.

But it was glowing.

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

The seventeen points of light were slowly rotating.

The seed was slowly rotating.

He closed his eyes.

Waiting for it to shine.