Chapter 449 - 370: Five Volumes of the End
Deep within the Phecda Star, amidst the swirling clouds of the luminescent Secret Realm, a Dao Platform made of Star Jade floated above the Spirit Vein.
The platform was encircled by thirty-six Enlightenment Bodhi trees, their green leaves emitting a Spiritual Rhyme that intertwined with the surging Earth Vein Spiritual Qi below, forming a visible Spiritual Energy Vortex.
Dozens of cultivators dressed in the Inner Sect attire of the Yunlu Daoist Palace sat cross-legged, each suspending a Jade Token engraved with Dao Patterns before them, quietly savoring the insights from the recent Taoism debate.
At the center of the Dao Platform, Mirror Master Ti Lan, in a Moon White Daoist Robe, wore a Glazed hairpin that shimmered with a clear brilliance.
Her eyes were slightly closed, her fingers gently pinching, eight faint golden Dao Tribulation marks encircled her body — marks of transcending the Longevity Dao Tribulation eight times, qualifying her alone in the entire Inner Sect to initiate this Taoism debate.
Feeling the steady breaths of everyone present, she slowly opened her eyes, her voice clear and melodious like spring water dripping on stones:
"In this debate, we have all made progress, especially Junior Sister Qinglan’s novel interpretation of ’Annihilation Births Cold’."
Fairy Qinglan, being noted, nodded slightly to express her gratitude, her appearance calm and elegant in a light green Daoist Skirt.
After the debate concluded, the group did not disperse. Amidst the fragrance of Enlightenment Tea, their conversation naturally shifted to the most talked-about figure in the Inner Sect recently.
A cultivator holding a Folding Fan spoke first, his tone full of admiration:
"Speaking of which, the most outstanding person in our Dao Palace recently must be Junior Brother Miesheng, right?"
"Not even two thousand years old, yet he has reached the ninth level of the Star Tower; this speed is unmatched within the Inner Sect."
Another cultivator in a Purple Robe continued, his Jade Token glowing to reveal a phantom image of the Star Tower’s ranking:
"Indeed, the Master holds him in high regard, personally taking him into seclusion in the Star River World, where he has been cultivating in seclusion for years out of sight."
Mirror Master Ti Lan looked toward Fairy Qinglan, speaking warmly:
"By the way, Qinglan, didn’t you compete in the same arena as Junior Brother Miesheng in the state competition back then? Did you ever interact with him?"
Upon this, everyone’s eyes focused on Qinglan — she had shone brilliantly at the state competition with a seventh-place finish in Yun State, being seen as a new prodigy, naturally knowing more about that sensational Junior Brother than others.
Fairy Qinglan paused slightly as she lifted her tea cup, her mind flooded with bitter memories.
During the state competition, her pride was high, and in her eyes, only a few people including Venerable Mu Yu counted as competitors. She had entirely overlooked a novice like Chen Sheng.
But who would have thought, in the later domain competition, she would be successively injured by prodigies from the other two sects, ultimately ranking only 2,700th among 3,600 participants.
While in the entire Yun State, only Venerable Mu Yu, the Nine Refining Dharma Master’s direct disciple, made it into the top hundred to enter the Creation Treasure Realm, retaining Yun State’s honor.
Upon returning to the Dao Palace, she learned from her senior brothers’ conversations that the "small player" she ignored was actually noticed by the Master and was directly accepted as an Inner Sect Disciple.
What startled her more was that in just a few hundred years, he had rapidly progressed, surpassed the eighth level of the Star Tower, and reached the ninth, already surpassing her.
Upon receiving the news, she felt a suppressed unwillingness, dedicating herself to arduous cultivation day and night, and finally, a century ago, she too broke through the eighth level, entering the ninth, barely matching Chen Sheng’s achievements.
Yet she understood, their potential was worlds apart.
Fairy Qinglan put down her tea cup, her voice gentle yet tinged with complexity:
"We only had a brief encounter. Back then, I just felt Junior Brother’s Sword Dao had some profundity, never expecting he would grow so quickly."
Mirror Master Ti Lan nodded, sighing lightly, her eyes full of regret:
"Such talent as Junior Brother Miesheng’s is truly a pity. If he could catch the appropriate timing, he might have advanced into the top hundred and gone to the Creation Treasure Realm for training."
"Indeed! The Creation Treasure Realm opens once every ten thousand years; missing it is a lifetime regret."
"I remember many talents using the opportunities in the Creation Treasure Realm to advance swiftly, even becoming Dharma Masters."
Everyone nodded in agreement, their words full of regret for Chen Sheng.
Fairy Qinglan recalled the formidable prowess of those prodigies during the domain competition, holding a different view in her heart. The combat power of the ninth level of the Star Tower might still be some distance from the top hundred!
But for Chen Sheng, to have such cultivation at less than two thousand years of age, his potential shouldn’t be inferior to Venerable Mu Yu.
"Such assumptions are meaningless."
A steady voice arose, belonging to Treasure Light Heavenly Sovereign, surrounded by seven Dao Tribulation marks, as he fiddled with a Glazing Jade Bead in his hand:
"There are regrets like this every domain competition, which cannot be forced."
"That’s true."
A hearty voice emerged, with a yellow-faced cultivator in the corner shaking his head with a bitter smile:
"Junior Sister Qinglan’s luck was at least somewhat favorable, having participated in the domain competition."
"My strength was no less than Junior Sister Qinglan’s, but when the Dao Assembly was held, I had just passed the age limit of 3,300, and couldn’t even qualify to compete."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed sympathy; on the path of cultivation, sometimes a mere chance makes all the difference.
Just as everyone was lamenting, the Jade Token before Mirror Master Ti Lan suddenly flashed fiercely, and where it had shown the ninth level in the ranking, the name of a mysterious figure leapt upwards.
Her pupils contracted, then she smiled and spoke:
"It’s not just the ninth level anymore. Just now, the ranking of the Star Tower changed — Junior Brother Miesheng... has already reached the tenth level."
This statement caused the entire room to burst into an uproar.
Everyone hurried to activate their Jade Tokens to check, and upon seeing the characters "Miesheng" firmly positioned at the tenth level on the ranking, they all displayed expressions of surprise.
Among them, more than half are stuck at the Ninth Layer, unable to even touch the threshold of the Tenth Layer.
Fairy Qinglan looked at the names on the Jade Token, her inner defenses completely collapsed. Though the Ninth Layer might not make it into the top hundred, the Tenth Layer is assured.
And then came the opponent’s astonishingly young age; she sighed softly in her heart: "Cannot compare, truly cannot compare!"
At that moment, a distant bell sound suddenly echoed throughout the Yunlu Daoist Palace. The sound was ancient and vigorous, possessing the power to shatter time and space, and it tolled seven times before gradually dissipating.
The faces of the cultivators in the Secret Realm changed dramatically, and they all stood up together, looking towards the core of the Daoist Palace.
"It’s the Star-holding Treasure Bell!"
"Seven tolls from the Treasure Bell signify the master receiving a direct disciple!"
"That means... Brother Miesheng not only crossed the Tenth Layer but was also accepted by the master as a direct disciple?"
"Seems from now on, we can’t call him Brother Miesheng anymore—must call him Brother Miesheng!"
...
Several days later, the grand master-teaching ceremony took place.
Chen Sheng, clad in the attire of a direct disciple, wore the "Star Hub Pendant" bestowed personally by Dharma Master Hong Jue around his waist, solemnly standing before the Jade Throne.
His gaze was calm, but he could clearly feel the countless gazes from around the square—filled with the envy of Inner Sect disciples and the admiration of Named Disciples.
"Fellow Daoist Hong Jue, congratulations, congratulations!"
A hearty laughter rang out amid the blue-green spiritual light.
Evergreen Dharma Master walked in slowly, dressed in an evergreen Daoist robe, his hair and beard entirely green, surrounded by phantom shadows of ancient vines. Upon arrival, he smiled broadly at Dharma Master Hong Jue, his tone carrying a hint of "regret":
"Had I known your disciple was this outstanding, I would have fought to snatch him during the state competition back then; how could I let you pick up such a treasure so easily!"
Following him was the Nine Refining Dharma Master, who, upon hearing this, laughed heartily while clapping his hands:
"Brother Evergreen is right! Back then, you used a few barrels of Star Drunk to send the rest of us off."
The other Integration Cultivators chimed in agreement.
Dharma Master Hong Jue burst into a hearty laugh upon hearing this, his laughter full of boldness:
"Today, I’ve stashed away enough Star Drunk!"
...
The noise of the master-teaching ceremony faded away, and the Star Hub Hall returned to tranquility.
Dharma Master Hong Jue sat on the Star Jade Throne, withholding all his pressure, with only his eyes as deep as pools.
"Miesheng, step forward."
Dharma Master Hong Jue’s voice carried the power to penetrate the Divine Soul. Chen Sheng complied, moving forward and standing three zhang away from the Jade Throne. He then saw the Dharma Master raise his right hand, and the palm slowly revealed nine layers of faint golden light-scroll illusions.
The scrolls overlapped layer by layer, with the topmost scroll only showing the word "Termination," while the other four scrolls were hidden in the halo.
As each scroll rotated, countless law runes emerged from it, momentarily forming Dao Domain illusions in the air—scenes of Circulation Stars in annihilation, states of the collapse of magnetic phenomena, and even ultimate images of all returning to chaos.
"These are the ’Five Volumes of the End,’ the essence of my lifetime’s enlightenment, directly passing the mantle of the Integration Realm."
Dharma Master Hong Jue waved his robe, and the nine light-scroll illusions hovered before Chen Sheng:
"The ’Yin Yang Five Elements Annihilation Calamity Resolution’ you practiced before was a technique extracted from the first three volumes."
Chen Sheng’s heart suddenly stirred; ever since his cultivation began, he had comprehended various principles left by the creators of Small Thousand Worlds through divine treasure mirrors.
But he had never encountered such systematic high-tier inheritance.
The Dao Rhyme exuded by the nine light-scrolls alone hinted at a faint linking of his previously scattered insights into the Termination Law.
Observing Chen Sheng’s situation, Dharma Master Hong Jue touched his fingertip lightly, causing the top scroll revealing the word "Termination" to suddenly unfold.
There were no grand anomalies, only lines of golden Dao Text flew out from the scroll.
The Dao Text was not the common language of the Spirit Realm but was composed of pure law runes, each character containing the ultimate truth of "every beginning must have its end."
As the first Dao Text fell onto Chen Sheng’s brow, he felt his gaze as if struck by lightning, with countless insights into the Termination Law emerging from the Dao Text.
These insights included how to evolve the power of termination, ways to refine Dao Domain with the Dao of termination, and crucial nodes for breaking through the Void Refining bottleneck and touching the Integration threshold.
"The ’Five Volumes of the End,’ each volume is a layer of heaven; mastering them thoroughly allows one to wield the Termination Law, command the state of the end, and ascend to the Integration Realm."
Dharma Master Hong Jue’s voice, like a gentle rain of spring, accompanied the flow of the Dao Text into Chen Sheng’s ears:
"Carefully observe the sequence of this Dao Text flow; don’t be hasty. The Dao of the End rejects impatience."
Chen Sheng quickly gathered his Heart Spirit, sat cross-legged in the void, and closed his eyes tightly, fully immersing himself in the comprehension of the Dao Text.
As the Dao Text continuously merged into his Divine Soul, he found the wonders of the ’Five Volumes of the End’ far surpassing his imagination, encompassing the end states of all paths, including stars, magnetism, space, vitality, and flame.
Chen Sheng sighed inwardly: "Truly a mastery over myriad paths!"