Only after Liu Qingcheng left did Chu Yan finally relax, then he raised his head to gaze at the starry sky. Billions of stars filled the firmament, yet Chu Yan focused on only one throughout.
That star was exceptionally bright, as if it were the most dazzling among billions, named Heavenly King. Chu Yan had always kept this star deeply etched in his heart, like a brand, constantly reminding himself.
Mother, your child will come to save you very soon.
Chu Yan left the guest room and walked alone to the center of the Liu family's reception hall.
In front of the reception hall stood a pair of stone lions, their mouths holding precious pearls, appearing incredibly majestic. Chu Yan now stood between the two stone lions, head bowed, meticulously counting the bricks and tiles beneath his feet.
“Mother once said that this pair of twin lions faces the Heavenly Radiance Star. Activating Origin Qi here, take ten steps north, then ten steps east, until the third Wutong tree on the left-hand side. The Star Formation can then be broken. I’ll try it first.”
Chu Yan recalled the steps Qin Ruomeng had instructed him, and began to Cultivate Origin Qi along these two stone lions.
If anyone else had seen Chu Yan at this moment, they would have been greatly astonished, because after he activated his Origin Qi, he only took one step forward, and a deep footprint was left on the bricks and tiles of the ground. One must know, these bricks and tiles were all High Grade glazed tiles, capable of defending against attacks from any strong practitioner below the Moving Dust Realm. Yet now, Chu Yan, only at Fan Chen Realm Layer 1, was able to leave a footprint on them?
This was just the beginning. With the second step, the bricks and tiles shattered, a glazed tile directly crushed into pieces.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately after, with every step Chu Yan took, a brick or tile would shatter. Of course, Chu Yan's condition was not good either; he was drenched in sweat, his cloth clothes completely soaked, and his entire being was enduring millions of pounds of force.
It was hard to imagine how Chu Yan, at Fan Chen Realm Layer 1, with one star in his Life Body, and a Mortal Body, could withstand the immense pressure of the Heavenly Radiance Star Array. Yet he stubbornly endured it. Although on the tenth step, his knees buckled, and he fell with a thud to his knees, splitting a brick on the ground.
“The Heavenly Radiance Star Array is indeed formidable!” Chu Yan clenched his fists, and despite the intense pain, a smile of excitement still appeared on his lips.
At this moment, as the pressure from the Heavenly Radiance Star Array grew stronger, a ball of flame rose in Chu Yan's Dantian. This flame became hotter with the increasing pressure from the Heavenly Radiance Star Array, causing Chu Yan’s entire body to turn red, like a man of fire.
After a short rest, Chu Yan stood up from the tenth step, took a deep breath, and advanced ten more steps towards the east. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw three Wutong trees on his left, fixing his gaze on the third Wutong tree, and grinned.
“It’s under this tree.” Chu Yan again stood up, enduring the immense pressure. Immediately, rows of bricks and tiles cracked open, and he finally reached the base of the third Wutong tree.
Under this Wutong tree, Chu Yan smiled excitedly. Then he rubbed his palms together, injecting all of his Origin Qi into the base of the tree.
“Rumble!”
The soil beneath the tree suddenly churned, as if a hidden Dragon was rising from the abyss. A golden Nether Stone floated into the air from the soil.
Holding this golden Nether Stone, Chu Yan could not suppress the throbbing in his heart. He licked his already cracked lips, then gently felt the power of the Nether Stone, as if a small spiritual snake was swimming through his body.
Chu Yan meditated with his eyes closed, his perception following this power as it continuously moved within his body. Soon, his five senses were sealed, and his entire being entered a dark, Chaos space. This space was filled with Yin Qi, and the sky was covered with billions of Talismanic Incantations. In the center was a nine-story Mysterious Tower, sealed and entangled by millions of black chains.
Chu Yan was not visiting this space for the first time, but in the past, this space was incredibly dark, emanating bone-chilling cold from all sides. Nor was it his first time standing before the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower, but previously, no matter what power he used, he could not open the stone door of this Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower. This time, however, was different; the power of the Nether Stone was like a key, a key capable of unlocking the Seal of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower.
“All these years, all the Origin Qi I’ve Cultivated, the stars of my Life Body, and the Bloodline within my body have been suppressed by this Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower. Now, I can finally open you.” Chu Yan’s hands gleamed with light. He raised his hand, spread his five fingers, and slowly pressed the Nether Stone onto the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower.
“Rumble!”
A tremendous roar immediately erupted from within Chu Yan’s body. The heavy iron chains suddenly began to shake, as if a wild Dragon was Awakening. Then, with a crack, the first chain broke. The strong winds here intensified, and one by one, the chains continuously shattered into dust. At this moment, the dim Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower immediately burst forth with a brilliant light.
Chu Yan watched the changes in the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower with growing excitement. Following this, the swirling winds turned golden, and the stone door of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower finally opened a crack. However, this also brought an immense burden to Chu Yan’s body. This kind of pain was truly beyond what ordinary people could comprehend; his skin was tearing inch by inch, and the impure blood within his body was forcibly expelled.
Before long, Chu Yan, under the Wutong tree, had turned into a Blood Mark.
“As long as I endure this final stage, and succeed, I can transform. Any pain during these ten years of humiliation is insignificant. Chu Yan, hold on, you must hold on.”
Chu Yan let out a hoarse roar, like a tiger's roar and a Dragon's cry. His eyes turned completely red at this moment.
Chu Yan continued like this for an unknown period, until the sky had brightened and the people of the Liu family gradually awoke.
Outside the Liu family's meeting hall, many Liu family Disciples gathered nearby, in groups of two or three, whispering amongst themselves.
“Look quickly, who is that person? Why is he covered in blood?”
“I’ve seen him; he seems to be Young Miss Qingcheng’s fiancé, but why is he here?”
“Ah? Is he that Chu Yan? Oh heavens, why is he so disheveled? Is he dead?”
“It’s best if he’s dead, that way Young Miss Qingcheng won’t have to marry this beggar. Hmph, it saves our Young Miss Qingcheng’s reputation from being ruined.”
“Ah! He moved! He’s not dead!” A few little girls said timidly.
At this moment, Chu Yan’s eyelids suddenly fluttered, and then he gradually regained his senses. Immediately after, he sharply opened his eyes.
Then, as if he hadn't seen anyone around him, he suddenly leaped up from the ground. His leap was no small matter; he jumped over a meter high. Upon landing, he quickly meditated, and when he saw a bright Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower within his Dantian, with all the surrounding chain Seals shattered, he became ecstatic: “I succeeded?”
“I really succeeded?”
Chu Yan was utterly thrilled. Immediately, disregarding the strange looks around him, he turned and embraced a slender figure closest to him, cheering excitedly: “I succeeded! I succeeded! Haha, I finally succeeded!”
“Oh no, oh no, Son-in-law Chu is crazy! Son-in-law Chu is crazy!” Everyone screamed at this moment, quickly fleeing.
Seeing them flee, Chu Yan didn't mind. He knew that from today onwards, he was no longer a useless person, but an Awakened Genius. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower, containing the mysteries of Heaven and Earth, now that he had finally unsealed it, he would soon be able to ascend to the Nine Heavens and rescue his mother.
However, at this moment, he suddenly paused, then couldn't help but look down at the little girl he was holding: “Oh right, why didn’t you run?”
“Young Master, I am the maid arranged for you by the Master… I have nowhere to run.”
The little girl said tearfully in her heart, if I weren't your maid, do you think I wouldn't run?
“A maid arranged for me?” Chu Yan was startled, then smiled and nodded: “That’s good too. This Young Master has just Awakened and has many things to attend to; I do need someone to help.”
However, Chu Yan then scrutinized the little girl again. Not only was her body frail, but her clothes were tattered, one could say quite fitting for a beggar like himself. This made him frown slightly.
“Why are your clothes so tattered? I see that other Young Masters and Young Misses' servants, while not wearing gold and silver, are at least neat. Why are your clothes full of holes?”
“Replying to Young Master, because Bao'er has no father or mother, the Liu family has always adopted Bao'er, so having one set of clothes is already very good.” Bao'er lowered her head, not daring to look at Chu Yan.
A hint of sympathy flashed in Chu Yan's eyes. Of course, it wasn't that his sympathy was overflowing, but rather that Bao'er's situation was quite similar to his own.
“Since you’re following this Young Master, your attire won’t do. This Young Master’s maid should live more nobly than a Young Miss in this Liu Manor. How about this, you go to the accounting office later and ask them for fifty taels of silver. First, buy some clothes for the two of us, and then help this Young Master purchase some herbs to bring back.”
“Can I buy them myself?” Bao'er looked at Chu Yan suspiciously. She knew that their servants received clothes from the Liu family every year and were absolutely forbidden from buying their own. So even if they saw clothes they liked, they could only admire them from afar.
“Of course! And buy beautiful ones. Never mind, I guess you wouldn’t know what beautiful means. Did you see the clothes Liu Qingcheng wore yesterday? Just buy something like that. If the money isn’t enough, just ask the accounting office for a bit more.” Chu Yan said.
Bao'er felt a sweetness in her heart. She suddenly realized that this useless son-in-law didn't seem as wicked as she had imagined; instead, he was rather kind and approachable.
“Yes, Son-in-law!”
Bao'er agreed. Chu Yan then took out paper and pen, casually writing down the names of some herbs. He had just unsealed the Nine Heavens Mysterious Tower, and his body was frail, so he needed a large amount of replenishment.
However, as he wrote down the names of the medicinal ingredients, Chu Yan frowned, seemingly smelling the foul odor emanating from himself. He couldn't help but lower his head, only to see that he was covered in Blood Mark and some filthy substances.
“No wonder everyone ran, it really stinks to high heaven.”
Chu Yan chuckled to himself, but he was very excited, because he knew that these Blood Mark and filthy substances were the Impurities in his body. Now that they were all expelled, he was like a Flood Dragon shedding its skin, about to become a true Great Dragon.
“Bao’er, I need to bathe. Please draw my bath before you leave.” Chu Yan called out, and Bao’er complied.
Looking at the large wooden tub of warm water, Chu Yan smiled. Next, he would start anew from this one tub of water.