175: Chapter 134 A Life of Wandering

Chen Xuan felt deeply dejected.

He was at a loss.

The flying boat drifted aimlessly through the night sky for two days.

Chen Xuan did not set a course, nor did he stop.

He leaned against the railing, watching the landscape below change from scorched volcanic ash plains to grayish-brown hilly belts, and then from the hilly belts into rolling, withered yellow grasslands.

The wind chased from the south, pushing the hull northward, and he let it carry him along.

For two days, he did only one thing—repeatedly drawing out and retracting the two Golden Essences within his Dantian.

The dim yellow light of the City Wall Earth and the dark golden light of the Heavenly Fire alternated in his palm; each time, he probed them with his Divine Sense, attempting to find even a sliver of response.

Every time, he failed.

The two Golden Essences were like two lamps encased in glass covers—he could see the light but could not feel the warmth.

On the morning of the third day, he retracted the Golden Essences, stood up, walked to the railing, and looked at the distant skyline.

The morning light was rising from the horizon, dyeing the base of the clouds a pale gold.

He looked down at his hands; his fingers were slender, with thin calluses on the pads worn from years of gripping a sword.

He had spent over twenty years going from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment Perfection, from gathering two complete Golden Essences out of the three imagery, from Nanming Volcano to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, and from Qi Refining Perfection waiting until Foundation Establishment Perfection.

He thought he was just one step away from that threshold, but it turned out the door was sealed shut.

He stood by the railing for a long time, then made a decision.

The flying boat changed direction and flew toward Wanyao Immortal City.

It was noon when it landed at the airport; the sunlight was blinding, and his footsteps were a few shades heavier when he stepped off the flying boat than when he had departed.

Master Liu Yun was sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the back hall of the Conquest Hall, and the cup of spiritual tea in front of him was still hot, as if he knew he would return today.

Chen Xuan sat down at the table, skipping the pleasantries, and the first thing he said was: "The Golden Essence will not respond in the Southern Region. I tried for twelve days at seven different Daoist sites, and not one showed any movement. The Heavenly Dao rules of the Southern Region have been altered."

Master Liu Yun's hand holding the teacup paused, and the rim of the cup made a very slight clinking sound.

He did not answer immediately, but lowered his eyelids and remained silent for a long time.

The wind from outside the window blew through the spiritual bamboo grove, and the rustling sound of bamboo leaves colliding filled that silence.

"...Are you sure?"

"Sure," Chen Xuan said. "I met all the fishing conditions recorded in the diary of Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji. The Daoist site location, the Earth vein flow, the number of imagery, the completeness of the Golden Essence—everything was correct. But the Golden Essence does not respond. It is not that the method was wrong; it is that the world does not recognize it."

Master Liu Yun set down the teacup.

His gaze lingered on Chen Xuan's face for a long time, long enough for Chen Xuan to see something that had settled for many years and had been deliberately suppressed in the depths of his eyes slowly rising to the surface.

"You have tried too," Chen Xuan said.

"I have tried," Master Liu Yun's voice was lower than usual. "Six hundred years ago, after I reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, I attempted to fish for the City Wall Earth Golden Essence. At that time, I did not know about the Dao-Locking person, and I thought I just lacked Opportunity. Later, I tried two more times, two hundred years apart, and each time the result was the same. After the third failure, I gave up. I used a False Core to attain the Dao and became a False Core Immortal Master. Then my cultivation was locked at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, unable to take another step forward."

His tone was flat, but Chen Xuan heard what was buried beneath that calmness.

Six hundred years of regret, something that would sink a little deeper every time he thought of it for six hundred years.

His Revered Master was not born a False Core Immortal Master; he too had once stood before that threshold like Chen Xuan today, thinking he could step over it.

"Your path now is the same as mine back then," Master Liu Yun said. "There are two paths to choose from. The first is to give up on the Golden Essence Golden Core and use the two Golden Essence fragments within you as a guide to forcefully attain the Dao with a False Core. This way, you can immediately become a Golden Core Master, but your cultivation limit will be locked at the Middle Stage or Late Stage of the Golden Core. The Great Dao of the Nascent Soul—will have nothing to do with you anymore."

"But at least it is stronger than a False Core Cultivator who attains the Dao with a beast core."

Chen Xuan did not respond.

Master Liu Yun looked at him, his voice dropping another degree, like an undercurrent in deep water: "The second path is to continue waiting and find a way to break the Heavenly Dao Seal of the Southern Region. But this path has no timetable; you might wait one year, ten years, one hundred years, or you might never wait for it."

The back hall was silent for a long time.

Chen Xuan sat at the table, his hands folded on his knees, palms facing upward.

The two Golden Essences in his Dantian hovered separately across a fissure, like two closed doors.

He remembered his first life.

At that time, he did not have the qualifications to cultivate, and he served as the Left Duke of Literature in the court of a secular Dynasty, dealing with endless documents every day.

After returning to his room at night, he would sit by the window watching the stars, wondering what it would be like if he could cultivate.

At that time, he thought that cultivation meant longevity, freedom, and escaping the shackles of the mundane world.

In his second life, he became President Wang of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce.

With a Pseudo Spiritual Root, he spent his whole life cultivating but could never reach Foundation Establishment.

Before he died, he lay in that familiar courtyard in Fusheng Immortal City, looking at the roof beams above, thinking that he must reach Foundation Establishment in his next life.

He did indeed reach Foundation Establishment, Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

In his third life, he joined the Liuyang Sword Sect, became a disciple of Master Liu Yun, obtained the wordless heavenly book, gathered imagery, and acquired the Golden Essence.

He thought that in this life, he would finally reach the end.

Now he stood before the Golden Core threshold, and the door was closed.

He looked down at his palms.

The two Golden Essences were still there, quietly hovering in his Dantian, like two things he already held in his hands.

The door was closed, but the things were in his hands.

He looked up at Master Liu Yun.

"I will not take that step of the False Core."

Master Liu Yun's gaze flickered slightly.

"I spent three lifetimes to get to where I am today," Chen Xuan said. "Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, Pseudo Spiritual Root, Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, imagery, Golden Essence. I had no shortcuts for any step. I will not take shortcuts for this Golden Core step either."

He stood up, and the three bright moon sword swayed gently at his waist.

The cracks on the sword body shimmered with a dark silver luster in the light filtering through the window.

"I will find a way. The Seal was locked by someone, so there must be a way to unlock it. It is just that I do not know where that key is yet."

He turned and walked toward the door, pausing when he reached it.

Without looking back, he just stood there, with his back to Master Liu Yun, his voice steady: "Revered Master, I will not give up."

When he walked out of the back hall, the noon sun fell on the bluestone steps, making him squint.

He walked down the stone steps, passing the spiritual bamboo grove, the pillars of the Yanfa Hall, and the flagpole at the edge of the airport.

Several Utility Disciples of the Conquest Hall were sweeping the floor in the distance; seeing him pass, they bowed their heads in salute.

He nodded in response, not stopping his pace.

After returning to his Immortal Cave, he sat down in the quiet room.

He closed the door, set up the Formation Plate, and then sat on the cushion without moving.

The sunlight shifted across the window, from noon to afternoon, and from afternoon to dusk; the light in the quiet room changed from bright to dim yellow, and then from dim yellow to grayish-white.

He remained sitting there, his hands on his knees, palms facing upward.

Three lifetimes of seeking the Dao.

In his first life, he failed to seek immortality; in his second life, he failed to reach Foundation Establishment; in his third life, he failed to obtain the Golden Essence.

Every time, he thought he was almost there, and every time, he was stopped at the last moment.

This time, what stopped him was not his Spiritual Root Aptitude, not a lack of resources, and not insufficient Opportunity, but that someone had sealed this path shut long ago.

He did not even know who that person was, what that Seal looked like, or where that key was located.

He spread his palms in the dusk, looking at the crisscrossing lines on his palms.

The two Golden Essences were quietly hovering in his Dantian, like two tools he did not yet know how to use.

It was not that he did not have the Golden Essence; it was that he had the Golden Essence, but the world does not recognize it.

It was as if he were holding a complete key in his hand, but the keyhole had been blocked by someone.

He sat for the whole night.

When the morning light shone in through the window the next day, he raised his head.

His eyes were a bit dry, but his expression was calm.

He unbuckled the three bright moon sword from his waist, placed it on his knees, and looked down at the crack.

The crack ran across the spine of the sword, extending from the guard to near the tip, like a dried-up riverbed carved into the iron surface.

He looked at it for a long time, then stood up, hung the sword back at his waist, pushed open the door, and walked out of the quiet room.

The morning light fell on his shoulders; he walked out along the stone steps, not stopping when he passed Liu Lili's courtyard.

He walked to the edge of the airport and stood for a while, looking at the rolling gray ridge line of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range in the distance, which shimmered with a faint gold in the morning light.

He looked down at his hands.

The two Golden Essences were still inside, quietly hovering.

He did not intend to give up.

Seeking the Dao for three lifetimes, every time he was stopped, he would find another path to continue on.

This time was no different.

Only this time, he did not yet know where the next stop was.

He stood by the edge of the airport; the morning wind blew from the direction of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth.

He stood there for a long time, and no one could give him an answer.

He just stood there, like a stone pushed to the shore by a current and left stranded, quietly waiting for the next wave to surge up.