97: Chapter 97, Fifth Floor

Sunday, 6:00 AM. Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Inside his Dantian, that newly formed spiritual bead slowly rotated.

Within the dark blue light, a trace of pale gold was mixed in. With every rotation, Stellar Energy ten times more concentrated than before surged throughout his entire body.

Qi Refining Level 5.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The sunlight outside was very good; it was an ordinary Sunday morning.

But he knew that from today on, many things would be different.

He raised his right hand, a thought stirring in his mind.

[Starlight Domain]

A dark blue light spread out from his body, instantly covering a range with a diameter of ten meters.

Wherever the light reached, the air became viscous—not truly viscous, but the power of a certain field.

He felt it for a moment.

In this Domain, his speed increased by at least fifty percent, his reaction was faster, and the flow of spiritual power was smoother.

And those "enemies" shrouded by the Domain.

If they existed—would be suppressed.

He withdrew his power, and the light dissipated.

Satisfied.

This Spell could be very useful in actual combat.

He walked over to those few pots of spiritual plants.

The six pots of spiritual plants, under the support of the four Celestial Star Arrays, were growing amazingly well.

The four stalks of soul-calming grass had bloomed eight more flowers, the Mint leaves were dense and shiny, and the second crop of that wild soul-calming grass had already started to sprout.

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

anshen flower powder stock: 120 grams.

Mint leaves: 350 pieces.

Enough for use.

He walked back to the center of the array and sat down cross-legged.

Activating [Fragment Perception].

Sixteen points of light.

Five red ones—two in the northeast, one in the northwest, two in the south.

Seven yellow ones—scattered everywhere.

Three green ones—Yun Xi was at the foot of Changbai Mountain, and the other two were near Wuyi Mountain and Changbai Mountain.

And the point of light of that person who looked exactly like him—on the other side of the Heavenly Road.

And, a newly appeared point of light.

It was right in this city.

Less than ten kilometers away from him.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

There is a star core fragment holder in this city?

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked in that direction.

Southeast direction, the old city district.

Who?

At 9:00 AM, Chen Zhen stood in front of an old residential building.

Fragment Perception showed that the point of light was right in this building, on the fifth floor.

He went upstairs and walked to the door of Room 501.

The door was ajar.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

The room was very dark, with the curtains drawn. The living room was piled with books, and a blackboard hung on the wall, covered in dense runes.

Exactly the same as the kind he saw in Dongshan.

An old man sat in front of a desk, his back to him.

The old man heard the movement but did not turn around.

"You have come."

Chen Zhen stood at the doorway.

"Did you know I was coming?"

The old man turned around.

He was over eighty years old, with a full head of white hair and a face covered in wrinkles.

But his eyes were very bright, pale gold, a bit like Shen Mo's grandfather.

He looked at Chen Zhen and smiled.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Chen Zhen walked in and sat down opposite him.

"Who are you?"

The old man picked up a dark blue star core fragment from the table and placed it between them.

The fourth star core fragment.

"My name is Shen Zhiyuan," he said, "Shen Mo's grandfather."

Shen Mo's grandfather?

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"I have met Shen Mo's grandfather. It is not you."

The old man nodded.

"The one you met is my Clone. I have been waiting here for a hundred years."

A hundred years.

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

"What are you waiting for me for?"

Shen Zhiyuan looked at him with gentle eyes.

"Waiting for you to come and make a choice."

He pointed to the star core fragment on the table.

"This star core fragment is one I brought back from the Heavenly Road years ago. It is the last uncorrupted star core fragment, and also the most crucial one."

He paused.

"There are eighteen star core fragments. You have three in your hand, and I have one here. There are twelve more outside. Once they are all collected, the Heavenly Road will truly open."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Do you want me to collect them all?"

Shen Zhiyuan shook his head.

"It is not what I want. It is what you must do."

He stood up, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtains.

The sunlight shone in, illuminating the dust filling the room.

"The me on the other side of the Heavenly Road has been waiting for you for a long time," he looked back at Chen Zhen, "He has also been waiting for a long time."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

Then he asked: "Why should I go?"

Shen Zhiyuan smiled.

"Because you are already on this path," he said, "From the moment you first touched a star core fragment, there was no turning back for you."

He walked back and pushed the star core fragment in front of Chen Zhen.

"Take it. Use it, and you can find the other star core fragments."

Chen Zhen stared at the star core fragment for a long time.

Then he reached out and picked it up.

The star core fragment felt slightly cool in his hand, but it was very stable, without that kind of violent aura.

It was pure.

The fourth one.

He looked up at Shen Zhiyuan.

"Do you have any conditions?"

Shen Zhiyuan shook his head.

"No conditions. Just one sentence."

He stepped closer and looked into Chen Zhen's eyes.

"On the other side of the Heavenly Road, someone is waiting for you. That person is you, and also not you."

Chen Zhen's heart jolted.

That person who looked exactly like him.

"Who... is he?"

Shen Zhiyuan was silent for a few seconds.

"He is your Original Body. Or rather, you are his Clone."

He paused.

"Ten thousand years ago, the first person to fuse with a star core walked onto the Heavenly Road and split himself into two parts. One part remained on that side, and one part was reincarnated, becoming you."

Chen Zhen stood where he was, not speaking.

Ten thousand years.

Original Body.

Clone.

"What is he waiting for me for?"

Shen Zhiyuan looked at him.

"Waiting for you to do what he cannot do."

"What thing?"

Shen Zhiyuan shook his head.

"I don't know. He only said that once you go, you will know."

Chen Zhen was silent for a long time.

Then he put the star core fragment into his Storage Space.

Four of them now.

He turned and walked out.

Walking to the door, he stopped.

"Does Shen Mo know?"

Shen Zhiyuan smiled.

"He doesn't know. But he will soon."

Chen Zhen nodded and pushed the door open to go out.

3:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the array, with four star core fragments placed in front of him.

Three fragments had fused into one and were rotating in his Dantian.

One was just obtained and had not yet been fused.

He stared at the new star core fragment for a long time.

Then he placed it in his palm and injected spiritual power into it.

The star core fragment lit up instantly, producing a strong resonance with the three star core fragments in his Dantian.

[Fuse with the fourth star core fragment?]

He looked at the prompt and was silent for three seconds.

Then he chose—Fusion.

The star core fragment turned into countless points of light and surged into his body. It merged with the three in his Dantian, and then—

Exploded.

It did not hurt.

It was an indescribable feeling of fullness.

The four points of light rearranged themselves, forming a square and slowly rotating.

With every rotation, even stronger Stellar Energy surged out than before.

[Fusion Successful]

[Spiritual Power Limit: 500 → 800]

[Acquired New Ability: [Star Core: Fourth Layer] (Passive) Stellar Energy intensity quadrupled, Cultivation efficiency + 200%, damage against evil and sinister things + 800%]

[Acquired New Ability: [Heavenly Road Perception] Can sense existences on the other side of the Heavenly Road]

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

In his palms, a layer of pale gold had been added to the dark blue light.

Power.

Power four times stronger than before.

He activated [Heavenly Road Perception].

His consciousness instantly penetrated a certain barrier and reached another world.

Over there, a person was standing.

A person exactly like him.

That person turned around and looked at him.

Smiled.

"You have come."