Chapter 24

Chen Changsheng smoothly embarked on the path of cultivation, encountering none of the common difficulties found in stories. If others knew, they would certainly be puzzled, but he himself did not find it strange, especially after confirming that the three thousand scriptures his master had him memorize held significant meaning.

Of course, this was ultimately a matter worth rejoicing... Being able to concentrate one's mind meant being able to fixate on the stars, and being able to fixate on the stars meant being able to draw starlight to cleanse the marrow. Being able to cleanse the marrow meant being able to sit in meditation and observe oneself, and being able to observe oneself meant being able to connect with the mysterious. Understanding the workings of heaven and earth, being able to connect with the mysterious meant being able to gather stars within the body, making one immune to all diseases. Being able to gather stars meant being able to walk as a sage, riding the wind for thousands of miles, and finally being able to hide one's presence between heaven and earth, outside the cycle of life and death. Perhaps at that point, there would be no need to defy fate and change one's destiny?

Yes, for Chen Changsheng, the purpose of cultivation was always clear, never deviating. Or perhaps on the path of cultivation, one could pursue other things along the way, such as seeing landscapes that ordinary people could not see, experiencing feelings that ordinary people could not feel, and repaying the humiliations he had endured to those who had wronged him. But these were not important; what mattered was the ultimate goal.

However, just having concentrated his mind, not even reaching the first step of cultivation, he began to consider the realm of divine concealment, which existed only in legends. Even Chen Changsheng knew that this was thinking too much, and saying it out loud would easily invite ridicule. Fortunately, he would never tell anyone.

Compared to his peers, Chen Changsheng was relatively quiet and more composed in his actions. In Xining Town, people often thought he was three or four years older than his actual age. He was very clear that the reason he could successfully concentrate his mind in just one day and night was mainly because his master had laid a solid foundation for him from a young age and prepared him well. However, to say that this far surpassed the true talents like Xu Yourong was not necessarily the case.

The next morning, he still woke up at five, washed up, tidied up, and had breakfast. The events of the previous night did not affect his routine. Only the slightly weary look in his eyes betrayed that he was not as calm as he appeared. It was not because the dampness in the small building had not been completely removed, but because he was truly happy.

The National Teaching Academy was still bustling. Craftsmen and laborers were busily repairing and cleaning the main building, while the library remained quiet. Because of his request, no one came to disturb him, allowing him to continue his cultivation.

Cleansing the marrow is the first realm of cultivation, which can be briefly divided into three steps. Concentrating the mind is the first step and the foundation of all. The second step is to find one's destiny star. Chen Changsheng was not too worried about this seemingly mysterious step. What he was truly concerned about was the third step: drawing starlight into the body to cleanse the marrow. Only at that step would he be able to determine the impact of his physical condition.

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Cultivation is the process of borrowing the power of heaven and earth to enhance human strength. After the descent of the Heavenly Scriptures, humans began to cultivate, developing countless methods and trying various means. Some cultivation techniques absorb heavenly fire, while others draw on the power of nature and fields. Ultimately, with the formal establishment of the National Teaching, and after countless years of human practice, it was proven that human cultivation gradually began to be based on the stars.

The scorching lava in the volcano can indeed be transformed into true essence within the body, helping cultivators become extremely powerful. The fresh energy in the fields can also be utilized by cultivators. However, none of these energy sources can compare to the stars.

The stars in the night sky are eternally fixed, illuminating the continent with solemnity. People on the ground, as long as they look up, can see the infinite starlight from their childhood until their old age. The stars always quietly accompany them. For the continent and the people living there, the stars are light, coordinates, energy, and time, because they are eternal.

Humans ultimately chose to transform starlight into true essence, not because of these poetic descriptions, but because starlight is the purest energy source in the world, with no impurities and much gentler than sunlight or earth fire.

The demon race can also absorb starlight, and their special constitution allows them to directly incorporate starlight into their bodies, turning it into their strength. Therefore, any demon that can transform is always incredibly powerful.

Compared to the demon race, humans cannot directly absorb starlight, or rather, the efficiency of direct absorption is too low. For this reason, humans creatively invented a cultivation technique, and from that day on, humans began their path to dominating the continent.

— That is, lighting the destiny star.

There are countless stars in the night sky, vast as the sea, beyond counting, far more numerous than humans. Cultivators among humans, to cleanse their marrow, need to find their own star among the billions of stars, which is their destiny star.

No one can explain the principle of the destiny star, why that particular star forms an unbreakable connection with you, or why, despite the vast distance, the star can resonate with humans. Even the greatest scholars in the history of the National Teaching could not provide an explanation.

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Everyone has their own star.

But only those who successfully concentrate their mind can find their own star, forming an indescribable connection and ultimately using their mind to light up that star. This is called lighting the destiny star.

There are countless stars in the night sky. As long as you can disperse your mind, you will always find your own star. This relationship, like many others, is absolutely exclusive. Once you establish a connection with your destiny star, no one can take it away.

This raises a question: what kind of star is most suitable as a cultivator's destiny star?

Now, there is a general consensus on the continent that the farther the destiny star, the better. This is because countless generations of scholars in the National Teaching have conducted detailed tracking and analysis of countless cultivators, confirming that this theory is correct.

However, why is this the case?

If cultivators directly absorb the energy of their destiny star, shouldn't the closer the star is to the ground, the better?

To explain this phenomenon, National Teaching scholars established a model. In this model, cultivators do not directly absorb the energy of their destiny star. Instead, they treat the night sky as a wall and their destiny star as a nail on that wall, thus tying a line between themselves and the night sky. They use this line to swing back and forth, absorbing the starlight energy floating in the night sky.

In this model, the invisible line is like a wet cotton thread, and the starlight in the night sky is like the willow catkins flying in the air during late spring. The line slowly swings in the spring breeze, picking up more and more willow catkins, eventually falling into the hands of the person holding the line. If the line is long enough, stretching from the highest building in the imperial palace to the top of the Heavenly Scripture Tower, it could even gather all the willow catkins in the capital.

The great scholar Tungus of the Demon Clan severely criticized the National Teaching's theory, considering it an uneconomical and purely imaginary delusion. The current Pope mercilessly countered this criticism, stating that only a theory that can be established is the one closest to the truth.

Ultimately, the great scholar Tungus of the Demon Clan sent a letter to the entire continent, asking: Where is that line?

If there is a line between the cultivator and the destiny star, then the National Teaching's theory can be established, because through observation of nature, it is easy to find that the longer the line, the greater the amplitude, and the more energy it can produce, as in the case of the willow catkins.

The problem is that no one has ever seen that line.

The Pope in the capital briefly answered this question: "Since there is a connection between the destiny star and the cultivator, there must be a line between them. Just because the people on the continent cannot see or touch it does not mean it does not exist."

The great scholar Tungus of the Demon Clan sent another letter to the entire continent, stating: "If it cannot be touched and has no impact on the objective world, then its existence or non-existence is meaningless, and it should not exist."

In response to this fundamental challenge, the Pope thought for several months before giving his most famous answer.

"That line is fate."

Yes.

The unexplainable connection is fate.

The stars in the night sky reflect the destinies of the people on earth.

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No one taught Chen Changsheng how to choose a destiny star. His master certainly knew but never mentioned it.

Of course, he knew the words of the Pope, and the three thousand scriptures would not lack this famous story.

Since the connection with the destiny star is fate, he was very cautious—since the age of ten, he had been most concerned with these two words.

From morning to night, he was familiarizing himself with the process of dispersing his mind. He did not know how much of his soul remained after the anomaly at the age of ten, but he was somewhat relieved that the process of dispersing his mind was not much different from what was written in the books.

He closed his eyes, allowing his mind to leave his consciousness and float in the quiet library. Although he could not see, his mind vaguely perceived the surroundings, a bit blurry and with a dreamlike quality, a new kind of perception.

When night fell, he did not linger in the perception of the outside world like other beginners. Without any hesitation, he directed his mind to fly out the window, higher and higher, passing through the finest down of returning birds, the finest water particles of dispersing clouds, and the cold currents of the wind, finally reaching the countless bright points.

That was the sea of stars.

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