Chapter 258: The Spirit Sect Holy Son and the Divine Mark

Haoran: @Gate of All Wonders

Gate of All Wonders: It's here.

Gate of All Wonders: I declare, Zhang Suannai lost this round.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha...

Grandma Always Says:???

Grandma Always Says: Bullshit!

Chen Shu could already imagine Zhang Suannai's exasperated look, so he put away his Mobile Phone with satisfaction and walked out of the Breaking Realm Tower.

"Ah..."

The cool air made him stretch again, feeling as if he had been reborn and tempered through a tribulation.

Before his eyes, ten thousand peaks formed a forest, and there was still daylight in the west.

It seemed to have rained during the day; the tiled roofs of the palaces atop the mountains had been washed clean, clearly reflecting the lingering light of the sunset. Chen Shu looked into the distance, and even without using a Spell to enhance his vision, he could see very far.

The fields at the foot of the mountain had just been turned, with neat pits dug into them.

It must be rapeseed, right?

Chen Shu thought to himself.

He should come back again next spring.

It was said that the rapeseed flowers of Yuding Qunshan were also a marvel; in the short videos he had scrolled through before, the bamboo-covered mountains dotted the plains, and the plains were covered in golden rapeseed flowers, which were breathtakingly beautiful.

Chen Shu took flight and flew toward the foot of the mountain.

The cool evening breeze brushed against his cheeks, but it was felt most clearly as it passed by his ears; the tips of his ears soon became cold, stained with the dampness after the rain. The oncoming wind and the rapidly opening landscape before him brought a strong sense of freedom, as if there was nowhere between heaven and earth that he could not go.

And when he stopped in the air...

His whole person was like a dandelion, or a jellyfish in the sea, floating quietly, his mind completely empty, thinking of nothing.

So this was what it meant to be truly at ease.

A hundred times more at ease than drifting down from the top of a volcano.

At ease and composed.

No range anxiety.

Chen Shu suddenly thought of his childhood in his previous life, the first time he owned a children's bicycle; although the two experiences were completely different, the sense of freedom he possessed at that time was the same as it was now, feeling that he could just go slowly, slowly, to any place in the whole world.

Finally, he landed on a field ridge.

He had originally intended to go to the ancient town.

However, it was summer vacation now, the peak tourist season, and the Yuding Qunshan in summer was a good place to escape the heat, so there were too many tourists in the ancient town at dusk. A Six-Stage Martial Artist was still very rare in daily life, and the Spirit Sect was an ancient sect with a legendary reputation; he was afraid that if he landed in such a floating manner, some young ladies might not be able to suppress their excitement and would come over to strike up a conversation with him.

Moreover, he had just mastered this skill and was not yet proficient in using it; he was a bit unstable when taking off and landing, and he was afraid of being laughed at, or worse, becoming material for a funny video.

The field ridge was not bad either; the fragrance of green grass and soil was intoxicating, and there were still water droplets on the grass.

Chen Shu lowered his head to admire it for a few moments.

It had indeed rained.

The crops in the field were indeed rapeseed.

After staying for a while, he took flight again and flew back to the sect.

This time, Chen Shu roughly calculated his Spirit Power consumption.

After entering the Sixth Stage, his Spirit Power Quality had exceeded the minimum requirement of the Ling Chi Principle, and his Spirit Power finally entered a state of normal consumption during flight. Using the energy-saving Cloud Sky Technique under windless and level flight conditions, his estimated single-charge range was between 150 and 180 kilometers. With the improvement of Spirit Power Quality brought by subsequent cultivation, this range would continue to grow.

This was the result of the dual bonus of Chen Shu's Spirit Sea and the Cloud Sky Technique; for an ordinary Cultivator, at the Sixth Stage and having just unlocked a Flying Skill, a single-charge range of 50 kilometers would be considered good.

Therefore, to have free flight and travel around the world by flying, one would ideally need to reach a High-Tier level.

The speed was not quite there.

If Chen Shu used the Cloud Sky Technique, his normal cruising speed was just over 100 kilometers per hour, his maximum cruising speed did not exceed 150 kilometers per hour, and his burst speed without considering cruising might approach 200 kilometers per hour; it could only be said that he was faster than most birds.

He was slower than almost all manned aircraft.

This was caused by insufficient Spirit Power Quality.

Moreover, the faster the speed, the shorter the range; in a burst speed situation, the Spirit Power consumption was terrifyingly high.

As for "Rising with the Wind," he hadn't learned it yet.

Using "Rising with the Wind" would certainly result in a lower range, but it was a high-speed Flying Spell, and he didn't know which one was more energy-efficient at high speeds.

Generally speaking, using a steady Flying Spell for high-speed flight or a high-speed Flying Spell for low-speed flight was uneconomical, so the Imperial Sky Technique learned by most Cultivators was between the two, capable of both, but the performance was a compromise.

There was also another problem—

He had only just mastered this Spell, and when flying, he relied on his own casting; it was fine for short distances, but for long-distance flight, a slight distraction or lack of focus could cause the Spell to be interrupted.

Integrating it into the Thousand Machine Art could perfectly solve this, but it would require quite a bit of time.

Troublesome...

Chen Shu landed on the mountain, his landing very stable.

"Full marks!"

Chen Shu walked toward the cafeteria with a grin, and while the chef hadn't finished his shift yet, he ordered a Twice-cooked Pork, sat down, and hurriedly took out his Mobile Phone.

Chen Shu: Qingqing Qingqing

Chen Shu: Guess what I want to say

Qingqing: Not guessing

Chen Shu: Why

Qingqing: You will tell me

Chen Shu: Haha, I'm at the Sixth Stage!

Qingqing: Mm

Chen Shu: No sending "hmm" or cursing.

Qingqing: Okay.

Chen Shu: Add an emoji.

Qingqing: /well-behaved

Chen Shu: What about you?

Qingqing: Planning to try tomorrow.

Chen Shu: Don't.

Chen Shu: I have an extra potion.

Chen Shu: I'll be back in a few days.

Qingqing: The Secret Sect has prepared one for me.

Chen Shu: No, no, no.

Chen Shu: I'll come to watch over you.

Qingqing: I won't be in danger.

Chen Shu: No, no, no, no, no!

Chen Shu: I'll come to watch over you.

Chen Shu: You've watched over me so many times, it's time for me to return the favor. Uncle Chen here is not someone who doesn't know how to repay a kindness.

Qingqing:...

Chen Shu:?

Qingqing: I'm afraid that after I finish my promotion, my body will be covered in your fingerprints.

Chen Shu: It won't come to that.

Qingqing:...

Chen Shu laughed out loud while sitting alone in the empty cafeteria, then stopped dwelling on this issue, gave her no room to refuse, and changed the subject—

Chen Shu: Have you eaten?

Qingqing: I have.

Qingqing: Hot and sour glass noodles and stir-fried potato slices.

Qingqing: Ordered takeout.

Chen Shu: What did you eat?

Chen Shu:...

Chen Shu: You're quite proactive.

Qingqing: /well-behaved

Chen Shu could imagine her expressionlessly opening the emoji bar, selecting this emoji, and sending it over, and he felt happy again.

Qingqing: What about you?

Chen Shu: Ordered a dish, it hasn't arrived yet.

Chen Shu: I just woke up.

Chen Shu: I couldn't help but go out for a flight just now, it was really fun.

Qingqing: You only remembered me after you finished playing around.

Qingqing: Very good.

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Having slept for a long time, he truly had no sleepiness left tonight, nor did he want to sleep, so Chen Shu came to Phoenix Tower again, took out "Rising with the Wind", and began to study it.

Before he knew it, the bright moon entered the window.

Amidst the dark mountains, tiny lights were scattered everywhere; many windows on Phoenix Tower were lit, and there was a figure in front of a window on the eighth floor.

The night gradually deepened.

The lights of Phoenix Tower went out one by one, with only two or three still shining.

Before he knew it, dawn broke again.

Sleepiness gradually came.

Chen Shu looked up at the sky; daylight was faintly showing behind Yuding Mountain, as if it were about to be dawn—he didn't want to fall asleep at this time and disrupt his schedule, but as a lazy person, it was hard for him to resist the temptation of a good sleep when drowsy. After a moment of hesitation, he set an alarm for nine o'clock, and just like that, he slumped on the table in the reading room on the eighth floor of Phoenix Tower and closed his eyes.

It felt like taking a nap at school.

His consciousness quickly sank into dreamland.

But in his daze, his consciousness seemed to recover a little, and in the depths of his dream, he vaguely touched upon some information.

It was not an image, nor was it a sound.

This information did not seem to be expressed in any concrete form; it was just that after receiving it, he instinctively converted it into a form easy to understand.

And so, in a trance, he seemed to see the ocean, with waves higher than the roof of the world churning in it, pitch-black and reaching the end of the firmament. Yet, these giant waves, possessing the power to destroy the world, just stood there quietly without crashing down; time seemed to have stopped.

In a trance, that information seemed to turn into a voice, conversing with him.

The voice asked him: Now that you have seen the good side of the world, and you have also seen the bad side of the world, you once thought the spring breeze was gentle, you once thought the sunshine was bright, but later you knew that this spring breeze had also brought disaster to some places, and the scorching sun had also left many people homeless. It turns out they never intended to take care of you or warm you. There is good in the world, but evil has not been lacking either. Even so, are you still willing to embrace such sunshine and wind, such a world?

Chen Shu was dazed.

The voice seemed to ask many things later, and Chen Shu remained dazed; it seemed to be him, yet it seemed not to be him; it seemed he had answered, yet it seemed he had not. It was illusory and ethereal, impossible to grasp.

Until the alarm went off.

Chen Shu struggled to open his eyes, suppressed the thought of turning off the alarm and continuing to sleep, sat up straight, and gradually frowned.

It seemed like he had a dream, yet it also seemed like he hadn't.

This was not strange; dreams are always like this, ethereal and illusory. Even for a Six-Stage Martial Artist, having a dream while in a state of fatigue or the like is not a very strange thing.

It was just that...

Chen Shu vaguely felt that his body was somewhat unusual, which made him seem to associate it with something.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Shu stood up and lifted his clothes.

On his right waist, there was unexpectedly an extra white mark.

The mark had a simple design and looked like a Rune, or perhaps related to the Spirit Sect. It was the size of a palm, and he did not know when it had appeared; it was neither painful nor itchy.

Zhong Miao Zhimen, Qingdeng Gufu, Zhang Suannai, Qunzhu, and others all seemed to have a similar mark.

He had seen the marks on the bodies of Zhong Miao Zhimen and Qingdeng Gufu.

By comparison, the pale cyan mark on Zhong Miao Zhimen was more profound and ancient, vaguely showing that it belonged to the Daoist school, while the one on Qingdeng Gufu was golden, and its pattern could also be seen to be related to Buddhism. The one on his own body was more like a Rune, but that did not mean it was a Rune; it was very likely still a mark—the foundation of the Spirit Sect lay in Runes and Spells, and the Spirit Sect's own sect emblem pattern was also in this style.

When Chen Shu sensed it carefully, relying on his high affinity for Spirit Power, he could vaguely feel an extremely pure energy inside, pure to the point of even exceeding Spirit Power.

What is this?

Just at this moment, a sound came from nearby.

The ancient wooden stairs emitted a dull thumping sound under someone's footsteps.

Chen Shu lowered his clothes and turned his head to look.

The figure of the Vice Sect Master appeared: "Stayed here all night?"

"Yes..."

"No need to be so anxious; when one is young, one should both strive and enjoy life," the Vice Sect Master said. "School should be starting soon. I will take this book for you to bring back, and also bring back the first three volumes of 'Spirit Body' for you to study slowly."

"Alright."

Chen Shu hesitated for a moment and said to the Vice Sect Master: "Last night I seemed to have a strange dream, and when I woke up, there was a strange pattern on my body... What is that?"

"The favor of the Spirit Saint."

The Vice Sect Master looked at him with a calm expression: "It means that from today on, you are the Saint Son of our Spirit Sect. If there are no accidents, in the future, you will be the one to succeed to the Spirit Saint Godhood."

"!"

Chen Shu was both shocked and strange.

He had indeed heard of the term "Saint Son" or "Saintess" in top-tier sects—

Saint Sons and Saintesses do not exist in every generation. Generally speaking, it might take a thousand years for each sect to have one disciple confirmed as a Saint Son or Saintess. Naturally, a Saint Son or Saintess is not the sect's chief disciple or the Sect Master's successor. Historically, almost every person confirmed as a Saint Son or Saintess has eventually stepped onto the God Altar.

But what is the significance of this mark?

Does a successor to a deity still need to be branded?

And why is there energy within the mark?