Chapter 275: Refining Heaven and Earth, the Following Four Years! [Combined]

Nightfall descended, stars like dipper points.

Beneath the vast sky, you slowly circulate the Great Huangting Scripture; your blood and qi surge like rivers, ceaseless and turbulent, sweat drenching your entire body.

The Great Huangting Scripture has only thirteen levels, yet with extraordinary perseverance, you have advanced it to an unprecedented eighteenth level.

At this moment!

Your true qi is mighty; even your master Liu Jinchan cannot match your cultivation base.

No ancestor of the Three Truths Sect in history ever pushed this method to the eighteenth level.

Beyond the eighteenth level lies the Grand Martial Master.

The pinnacle of martial arts.

Now, only one step remains!

Between Master and Grand Master, a single character separates them—yet the difference is heaven and earth.

You do not pause; your fist motion rises again. The Empty Clarity Fist has eighty-one forms, advancing and retreating—among the supreme martial arts of this age.

You strike a swift punch, then slowly extend it as you turn.

Light and heavy, fast and slow.

"Huuu—"

A long breath exhales from your mouth, accompanied by another surge of true qi within.

You lift your fist, spin, and in one breath, execute the twenty-eighth, thirty-sixth, forty-fifth… up to the seventy-ninth form—each movement flawless.

You have practiced this fist set over a hundred thousand times; it is as inseparable as your shadow, deeply embedded in your bones!

"Huuu—"

A sound like tiger's roar and thunderclap!

The true qi in your chest is spent!

Not enough!

Your breath has now climbed to the peak of the Martial Master realm.

Still not enough!

You suddenly open your eyes, feet moving without pause, delivering another punch.

Your back is soaked in sweat, your face flushed red, veins bulging on your forehead, your stance unsteady.

Before you lies an invisible barrier!

Like a mountain of cosmic force pressing upon your shoulders, you tighten your stance.

Heaven and earth forbid!

Your entire skeleton trembles, hot sweat drips from your temples, your head feels like a steaming furnace, your whole body twisted as if wrung into a rope.

Heartbeat like thunder!

"Hah—"

You clench your fist; countless attempts have ended in failure, yet you know—this final punch will cross the impassable chasm.

Achieve Grand Master!

Not enough, still not enough!

You feel your skin stretched to its limit, your heart pounding as if about to burst from your chest, the world before you spinning, dizzy and blurred—but your gaze grows ever brighter.

You close your eyes, calm your mind, and let chaotic thoughts settle; every movement of the Great Huangting and the Primordial Skill is etched into your memory.

Though the Great Huangting has reached the human limit, true breakthrough awaits now.

A sudden insight arises within you!

You resolutely expel your final true qi.

The agony of suffocation nearly makes your legs tremble!

Bloodshot veins spread across your eyes, yet they gleam with resolve and determination.

You grit your teeth, allowing not a single thought of retreat to enter your heart.

This breath—you must not inhale! You must use this last sliver of strength to deliver a punch beyond yourself!

At this moment, your heart seems to stop beating—but within the newly opened acupoints of the Great Huangting, an unprecedented vortex begins to coalesce.

You prepare to strike; every inch of skin, every bone, every strand of true qi converges into this single punch.

You strike!

The expected resistance does not come; the invisible barrier shatters like a bubble.

You pause, a flicker of surprise and confusion in your eyes.

You raise your head again to gaze at the night sky!

You feel—

The stars above shine far brighter than before, as if freshly polished.

The Milky Way glitters brilliantly!

Your vision opens wide like a mirror, reflecting heaven and earth inverted.

You slowly inhale; fine threads of spiritual energy, like faint fireflies, flow into your lungs.

A sensation unlike any before floods your body; your true qi undergoes a qualitative transformation, becoming purer, stronger—spiritual energy.

Shedding flesh, renewing bones, breathing in unison with heaven and earth.

You spread your arms, letting the night wind brush over you; the cold wind chills the sweat on your back.

What remains is a body refreshed, at ease.

You smile broadly and whisper: "I have entered the Grand Master realm."

At this moment!

Lu Yu's figure leaps down from the cliff like a mountain spirit monkey, catching the moonlight, landing steadily before you.

He had been waiting here long, guarding your path.

Lu Yu smiles: "Brother, congratulations!"

"I won't be able to beat you anymore," Lu Yu jokes.

Though you are now a Grand Master, in your eyes, Lu Yu appears utterly ordinary, showing not the slightest trace of cultivation.

Like an ordinary man walking the world!

Know this!

Whether cultivating internal or external arts, years of practice leave clear marks on the body: full temples, changed eyes, visible killing intent—none of these exist in him. Even after years of fist training, his arms are not thickened.

Now, Lu Yu arrives with empty hands.

He has returned to simplicity.

Hearing Lu Yu's words, you smile helplessly!

You wonder what realm Lu Yu has reached.

Where there is achievement, there must be celebration.

As the two of you prepare to descend the mountain—

Suddenly!

You keenly sense that around Zhongnan Mountain, delicate essence, like moonlight, gathers quietly, drawn by invisible force, swirling around you.

You freeze; Lu Yu halts his step.

"What's wrong, brother?" he asks, puzzled.

You stretch your body, leap upward—where once you needed true qi to clear one zhang, now you effortlessly clear three zhang.

This is the gulf between Master and Grand Master!

Seeing this, Lu Yu follows closely, concerned.

In moments!

You stand atop Zhongnan Mountain, on its highest cliff!

You see—

A thick tide of colorful aurora surges toward Zhongnan's peak, dazzling and radiant.

Before you can react—

The aurora, as if sentient, instantly flows into your body.

In that instant!

Your newly opened, parched spiritual acupoints, like drought-stricken land receiving rain, rapidly gather threads of spiritual power—like a great tide rising on a stone pillar, condensing into glistening droplets upon its surface.

Spiritual fluid!

Spiritual energy condensed into liquid—far rarer than ordinary spiritual energy.

Following the guidance of the Primordial Skill, you slowly circulate the spiritual fluid through your limbs and organs; in an instant, you feel your cultivation base has risen slightly.

Even stranger—

At this moment, you sense a unique star in the distant heavens linked to you.

Located in the north!

Glowing with a crimson light.

You recall star charts: this star's position seems tied to the authority of command and warfare—but ancient texts contain no record of such a star.

As you attempt to probe deeper, to grasp this strange connection, it vanishes, hidden beneath clouds, gone without trace.

A look of confusion crosses your face!

You gaze at the rolling aurora coming from the northern wind.

【Yan Region!】

【You recall the final teaching left by the Three Truths Patriarch.】

【"Shatter the Void!"】

【"Unify the Rivers and Mountains!"】

【The relationship between the two seems to be growing clearer.】

【Colorful mists, like drifting clouds, continuously flow in from the North.】

【They gather at Mount Zhongnan, then slowly draw closer to you.】

【You reach out your hand—but cannot touch them. They are formless.】

【Originating from the North, could they be connected to Yan Region?】

【Qi Destiny?】

【The momentum of a nation?】

【Channel the momentum of an entire nation into oneself.】

【Melt heaven and earth—shatter the void!】

【Your emotions stir unexpectedly—this had never happened before!】

【The only difference tonight is!】

【Breaking through to Grand Master.】

【Thinking of this!】

【Your emotions surge like tides—only by breaking through to the Grand Master realm can you perceive such "colorful mists."】

【You extend your fingers—they appear only in your vision, yet remain untouchable between your fingertips.】

【Your gaze pierces through thousands of mountains and rivers, turning toward the distant west—the Qianyuan Region.】

【That Empress had long since entered the Grand Master realm, ruling a nation as a woman.】

【Her cultivation and authority have reached the pinnacle, entering a realm beyond imagination.】

【Beyond the Heavenly-Person realm, what realm lies?】

【Gongsun Zhongshu of Great Chu is also a Grand Master, wielding the nation's power through the seal of Chancellor.】

【What of Han?】

【Yuwen Yan, the current emperor of Han, does not seem so simple after all!】

【This strife among the states does not merely confine itself to this world—it seems to reach even higher realms.】

【Attain the Dao, ascend to immortality!】

【To retreat from the world—and yet enter it.】

【Lu Chen, the path you have long pursued, led you to retreat.】

【Yet all was hidden within "entering the world."】

【You cannot help but smile, your fingers slowly clenching.】

【You begin absorbing the mysterious "colorful mist" energy—everything must proceed gradually, no haste allowed.】

【Things must be done slowly!】

【You turn back, eager to ask Lu Yu whether he can see the qi-veils around you, glowing like morning sun.】

【Lu Yu merely shook his head.】

【You feel a pang of disappointment.】

【Lu Yu gently shook his head, his face calm.】

【Lu Yu said: "Brother, you need not do this."】

【"Everyone has their own destiny. I, Lu Yu, am no lesser than others!"】

【You look at Lu Yu, his face full of smiles.】

【You are momentarily lost in thought.】

【You recall the past story Master Liu Jinchan once told you—about the mysterious First Patriarch of the Three Truths Sect.】

【The founding Patriarch of the Three Truths Sect left behind the texts: The Primordial Skill, and the Void-Mind Fist.】

【The later Great Yellow Court was derived from the Primordial Skill; the Three Truths martial arts evolved from the Void-Mind Fist.】

【This Patriarch's surname has long vanished into history's river.】

【His name survives only as "Yu."】

【This Patriarch named "Yu" spent his entire life seeking the elusive method to shatter the void; his life spanned a staggering two hundred and eighty years.】

【Over these long years, he tried countless methods—each time filled with hope, yet repeatedly thwarted.】

【In the end, at the twilight of his life, he left these haunting final words:】

【"Spiritual energy returns, unifying rivers and mountains, shattering the void."】

【"Alas! Alas!"】

【"I have found the method—but not the time!"】

【With that, he peacefully passed away in the mountains, leaving behind a legend.】

【What captivates the imagination most is!】

【Legend says this Patriarch, though living to two hundred and eight, retained the appearance of a youth, with a red mole like cinnabar on his brow.】

【You turn to Lu Yu—he is only one year younger than you, now forty-five, yet looks no older than a man in his twenties.】

【His shoulder-length black hair remains unchanged, showing no sign of aging.】

【Most striking of all is!】

【The small red mole on Lu Yu's relaxed brow.】

【"Brother, the disciples have prepared fine wine and food?"】

【"Today is the Double Ninth Festival!"】

【Lu Yu smiles at you.】

【The Double Ninth Festival is traditionally a day for family reunion and climbing high to gaze afar.】

【Your current realm has awakened—you can now hear the buzz of insects and flies within two zhang!】

【You turn toward the sound.】

【On the mountain path near the peak, a Daoist with a slovenly appearance, wearing a crooked robe, calls out toward you:】

【"Uncle, Master, dinner's ready."】

【It is Yang Su, Lu Yu's fifth disciple.】

【Beside Yang Su stands a woman, wearing an apron and Miao headgear, her expression shy.】

【She is Yang Su's wife, and the Holy Maiden of the Yin Kui Sect.】

【After learning of their affair, you spoke with Lu Yu.】

【Lu Yu personally traveled to Jiangnan.】

【Since descending Mount Zhongnan, Yang Su had followed her like a shadow—for over half a year.】

【Once, Yang Su had cruelly abandoned her and returned to Mount Zhongnan; now he fears facing her.】

【Lu Yu brought Yang Su back to Mount Zhongnan and told the woman everything.】

【The woman risked her life to storm Mount Zhongnan, demanding to see Yang Su.】

【Finally, you intervened and revealed the truth—Lu Yu reluctantly accepted it, and the woman married into Mount Zhongnan.】

【You watch the couple before you—the woman tenderly adjusts Yang Su's robe, her eyes brimming with warmth and love; Yang Su, in turn, has grown more mature and steady.】

【You pat Lu Yu on the shoulder.】

【Lu Yu has always been your younger brother.】

【"Let's go!"】

【That night, all seven of Lu Yu's disciples arrived—it was lively.】

【When all was finished, it was already midnight.】

【The disciples were all fast asleep!】

【You return to the Living Dead Tomb and begin cultivation.】

【You begin stance training, refining spiritual energy, gathering the "colorful mists" from the North.】

【At this moment, a star in the northern night sky grows brighter, drawing closer to the Central Palace.】

【In the seventh year, your cultivation advances further, reaching the Primordial realm.】

【That autumn, Tuoba Hongyan ascends the throne as Emperor of Northern Wind; Tuoba Shuwei becomes Retired Emperor.】

【In the eighth year, your cultivation advances further, reaching the Primordial realm.】

【At the start of the year, the green-robed Daoist you met on Yuetangjiang visits Mount Zhongnan.】

In the ninth year, in the Yan region, foreign tribes submitted one after another; the Prince of Yan followed the trend, establishing a system of frontier military governors to strengthen control and integration.

【In mid-year, dozens of tribal chieftains from Yan Region arrive at Mount Zhongnan, bearing heavy gifts.】

【That autumn, in Great Chu, Gongsun Zhongshu is appointed Grand Commandant of the Grand Imperial Court, then Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and by month's end is named Imperial Tutor.】

【The following month, Gongsun Zhongshu submits a memorial to rebuild the Flying Tiger Army, with Peng Gu as its commander.】

【At year's end, in Han, Yuwen Yan performs the Fengshan sacrifice on Nine Deer Mountain; the next day, he appoints Zhou Ye as Grand General and reorganizes the Han Wuzu.】

【At the start of the tenth year, Qianyuan revises its military system, replacing the Fubing system with the recruitment system.】

【At the end of the tenth year, the four states host a grand event—led by Qianyuan's Gongsun Pingxi, students from all four states travel to Yan Region for academic exchange.】

【Students from Daqing, Jiangbei, and Hexi all participate, journeying together to Yan Region.】

【The ten-year simulation has ended. Please return tomorrow.】

【Rewards are being acquired…】

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(End of Chapter)