Chapter 245: Chapter 103: Origin Fragments of the Heavens, Supreme Secret Technique
Shi Yunjing was the Hall Master of the Heavenly Destiny Hall in the Zhou Yi Dynasty.
His cultivation had long since reached the pinnacle of the 6-dan Star River, making him one of the most prominent figures in the entire dynasty.
Recently, a Mandate Chaos Master had emerged, and he was tasked with the pursuit, stationed at the Zhilan Valley.
He had thought that the adversary wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would soon flee, but to his surprise, almost a month had passed. Not only was there not a single trace of the foe, but the originally somewhat chaotic Heaven Mandate Domain had become much more stable.
Knowing that there would be no developments in the short term, he had arranged for personnel to keep watch and rode an Aerial Origin Beast back to the Heavenly Destiny Hall himself.
Having not returned for a long time, there were numerous matters that had piled up, which needed to be dealt with promptly.
Recalling his own residence within the Heavenly Destiny Hall, a faint smile immediately appeared on his face.
He had never married, had no wife nor child, and had not set up a household, so he made a room in the Heavenly Destiny Hall and moved in.
Although the room wasn’t large, the decor was exquisite, with various kinds of formations—defense formations, energy-gathering formations, concealment formations… He had set up no fewer than a dozen kinds.
It wasn’t that he feared surprise attacks or was cowardly and afraid of death, but rather it had to do with the type of Heavenly Mandate Vitality he practiced.
He practiced the “Treasured Destiny,” which allowed him to advance in cultivation and break through shackles as long as he could collect precious cultural relics and valuable artifacts.
As the Hall Master of the Heavenly Destiny Hall in the Zhou Yi Dynasty, a high-ranking official, with a distinguished and prominent status, collecting treasures was naturally somewhat easier for him, so his residence was filled with various kinds of precious stones, agates, ancient paintings and calligraphy, and even various kinds of porcelain…
In short, these items were his treasures, his life; each time he returned to his residence, he would carefully clean them, even more seriously than he would bathe himself.
“So many days without seeing my treasures, I need to go back and give them a good polish…”
With a faint smile, Shi Yunjing’s eyes curved up, thinking of those treasures, and instantly felt as if the fatigue and exhaustion of the past several days had disappeared.
“Fly a little faster. There will be a delicious reward for you when we get back…”
Standing on the beast’s back, he gave the command. Shi Yunjing crossed his hands behind his back and gazed forward.
Massive and continuous, Zouyi City already appeared in sight: tall stone walls, streets bustling with crowds, all revealing its prosperity.
“Chirp chirp!”
Hearing his command, the Origin Beast nodded, flapping its wings as if a meteor. In just over a dozen breaths, the grand structure of the Heavenly Destiny Hall came into view.
“Finally arrived…”
Knowing he would soon see those treasures, his elated face turned red. Shi Yunjing rubbed his hands together, and just as he was about to jump down from the beast’s back, he saw Elder Zhu Xun leading a large group of people rushing out of the room with anxious expressions.
He frowned.
This Elder Zhu was always calm; why did he seem so panicked today?
While wondering, several other Elders rushed out as well, equally anxious.
Shi Yunjing was displeased. It seemed that in his absence, everyone had become somewhat restless.
Just as he was about to shout reprovingly, he saw the sturdy and magnificent Heavenly Destiny Hall suddenly collapse with a “boom!” Countless rooms fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, it became a pile of ruins.
“???”
Shi Yunjing stared in shock, the world before him darkened, almost falling off the back of the flying Origin Beast.
Did my home just disappear while I was gone?
“My jades, my treasures, my collection…”
No longer able to control himself, with boiling rage in his chest, Shi Yunjing spurted out a mouthful of blood.
All the things he had collected over his lifetime – could it be that they had been destroyed with the collapse of the Heavenly Destiny Hall…?
…
Let’s rewind time to a few minutes earlier, inside the room.
As Zhang Xuan’s absorption of Heavenly Mandate Vitality became faster and faster, the entire River of Destiny inverted, countless koi rushing madly into his body, everyone revealed anxious expressions.
We really can’t be with the teacher… Too defiant of the heavens!
“Let’s also quickly find the Heavenly Mandate that belongs to us and extract as much as possible…”
Luo Ruoxin called out.
“Yes!”
Everyone knew time was of the essence; no longer hiding, they frantically began absorbing the Heavenly Mandate they had just found.
Boom!
More than a dozen talents, surpassing Emperor-grade, simultaneously absorbed Heavenly Mandate Vitality. It was as if more than a dozen whirlpools had suddenly formed in the river. The originally turbulent Heavenly Mandate Force Tide was instantly divided into over a dozen tributaries, riddled with holes, torn and constantly shaking, ready to collapse at any moment.
“They…”
Feeling that something was wrong with the river, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and slowed his absorption rate.
Although he had a great demand for Heavenly Mandate Vitality, if it meant that the people before him could progress further, he would rather absorb less.
Unaware of his intentions, the rest increased their speed, especially Luo Ruoxin and Luo Qiqi, who unrestrainedly released their Strength, swallowing at a pace that was hardly weaker than that of Zhang Xuan.
Boom!
As everyone absorbed simultaneously, within a minute or two, the illusion of the river in the room could hardly be maintained. The tombstones inscribed with ancient runes gradually revealed themselves, and the ground also started to shake.
Although the River of Destiny in the room was not real, it was a small section drawn from the River itself. To maintain it without dispersing, it relied on all the formations within the Heavenly Destiny Hall.
It was the pressure of the whole Heavenly Destiny Hall that balanced with the river, preventing any incidents. Once the river was devoured, the balance was broken, leading to uncontrollable mishaps.
It was akin to having removed a load-bearing wall from a building…
“These guys…” Zhang Xuan was speechless.
Although he also absorbed vigorously, he at least considered the consequences. These disciples, on the other hand, had really gone overboard, overturning someone’s entire lair…
Every single one of them more reckless than the next.
Such an upright person as himself, how could he have taught such a group of disciples!
This is troublesome!
However, it was already too late to stop them.
The building began to topple, and even the strongest person could not stop it, let alone that he had not reached the strength to do so at this time.
“Forget it. If the formations collapse, the Heavenly Mandate Vitality will disperse into the world. Rather than waste it, it’s better to collect it all…”
After pondering for a long time and finding no better solution, following the principle of not wasting, Zhang Xuan had to follow behind everyone else and absorb the Strength they did not want.
In a dozen breaths, the room, which had housed seventy or eighty million strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, was left devoid of any. Zhang Xuan had only absorbed just over thirty million, less than half, while the rest was completely devoured by the others.
His mind sank into the Library of Heaven’s Path, and Zhang Xuan felt a hint of helplessness.
After absorbing so much, he still had not broken through to the Heart of Tranquil Water. The consumption was indeed great.
Looking up at everyone, Luo Ruoxin, Luo Qiqi, Yuan Tao, Liu Yang, and others all sensed their own fragments of the heavens, each shining brightly, quickly advancing in power.
Boom!
Luo Ruoxin was the first to break through, with her Dharma Form appearing behind her like a cold and unattainable saintess floating in the void.
Immediately after were Luo Qiqi, Yuan Tao, Liu Yang, Lu Chong, Wei Ruyan…
One after another, the group made breakthroughs, and in a few breaths, they all reached the 9-dan Dharma Form Realm of Source Pool.
Understanding their fragments of the heavens had greatly aided their cultivation, and they were no exception.
“Good job!” Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction.
Having understood their destiny and with enough strength, these people no longer needed his protection and could traverse the Source World and shine brightly.
Boom!
With everyone’s simultaneous breakthroughs and the Heavenly Mandate Vitality being depleted, the room designed for the assessment could no longer withstand the pressure and collapsed with a rumble.
“Everyone, be careful…”
With a large grasp of his hand, Zhang Xuan formed a defensive Strength around him, protecting everyone as he looked into the distance and sighed with relief.
…
At the distant and mysterious headquarters of the Heavenly Destiny Hall.
The Heavenly Mandate selection competition, held every hundred years, was proceeding.
“I hope everyone can give it their all. The top three will have the chance to inherit the Supreme Secret Technique of the Key of Destiny!”
A halo-crowned elder hovered above the stage, looking around as his mild voice, like spring rain, cascaded down into everyone’s ears, silently nourishing their spirits.
“The Key’s Secret?”
“That’s the power to break open the Fate Locks; if one inherits it, one can control the Cultivation Laws between heaven and earth and become one of the strongest in the world. I must succeed!”
“That’s mine, Hao Tianyi’s! I am the most astonishing and outstanding talent in this world.”
“It’s mine, Murong Feng’s. My ancestors were once Hall Masters of the Heavenly Destiny Hall. I inherited the bloodline and was born with the ability to inherit such secrets…”
“Ability my ass. I, Xuanyuan Mu, am the true recipient of destiny. All of you, stop fighting!”
Hearing this, there was a stir below.
The Heavenly Destiny Hall had countless Fate Masters, controlling countless fragments of the heavens, but speaking of the most powerful one, there was only one: the Origin.
One of the eight Eternal Destinies in heaven and earth.
The Key’s Secret was the most powerful branch within the “Origin,” not the root itself and unable to mobilize the entire Origin of Destiny, but it could unlock the Fate Locks that were sealed between heaven and earth. That was something countless cultivators dreamed of but could never attain.
“The competition officially begins…”
Seeing the crowd’s emotions stirred up, the elder in the sky nodded with satisfaction, and with a sweep of his hand, a stage suddenly appeared in Phantasm Space, encompassed by a special barrier.
“Your cultivation is too strong. If we don’t seal off the stage, it’s easy to cause spatial turbulence, which could bring disaster to the Source World. You can fully unleash your Strength here…”
“Yes!”
Everyone nodded in agreement. As the conversation ended, two young men immediately flew into the arena.
“I am Xuanyuan Mu!”
“Murong Feng!”
Two prodigious talents stood proudly, about to clash, when suddenly, above the celestial sphere-like Firmament, a dragon-like slender streak came hurtling across like lightning, traversing north to south, as though intending to rend the special space they were in.
Subsequently, the ground beneath them shone with dazzling light, and a magnificent River of Destiny, unexpectedly appeared in mid-air, shining upon the earth like stars.
The two, who were about to fight, both halted, unable to help but turn their gaze towards it.
“This is… someone has grasped the Supreme Secret Technique of the “Origin” without guidance? How, how is this possible?”
The old man suspended in midair suddenly narrowed his pupils, his eyes showing disbelief.