Chapter 374: Chapter 361: The Year 13,000 of the Star Xuan Calendar

This world, it turns out, is so bizarre and magnificent, captivating the soul!

In the dim cave, Chen Xu stands before the mural.

He is completely engulfed in an indescribable shock, much greater than when he first discovered the existence of the Food Cauldron Celestial Book.

Chen Xu doesn’t want to admit it, yet at this moment, he must birth an understanding.

The vast and boundless Jiuzhou world he once thought so grand may be nothing more than a speck of dust in the face of the true great world.

But if that speck of dust were a mural—

Then he, Chen Xu, would be a person within that painting!

How could this be explained?

When he was inside the painting, he once marveled at the Micro Dust Country in the well, as small as duckweed.

Little did he know that the vast Jiuzhou is but a painting of mountains and rivers!

Centuries of earthly haze, a fleeting romance of the night.

The painted world, crafted with a few strokes of colored ink.

Thus, how could mortals, bustling with life, ever realize they themselves are within the painting?

But now, standing outside the painting, looking back at the world inside, Chen Xu doesn’t feel any sense of transcendence or joy at having “jumped out of the painting.”

His emotions are complex, for a fellow painting inhabitant, it’s unnecessary to laugh at those who haven’t reached as far.

Moreover, the immense sense of oppression he felt upon first arriving in this world, Chen Xu can now understand.

If he truly came from within the painting, then compared to the vast world before him, his existence might be a “two-dimensional” breakthrough to “three-dimensional,” a “plane” breakthrough to “solid.”

Wouldn’t paper-like Chen Xu be subjected to the infinite compression of this world?

In reality, although Chen Xu can barely adapt to the terrifying omnipresent pressure of this world, it’s still just “barely adapting,” which doesn’t mean the pressure from this world on Chen Xu has disappeared.

He constantly feels the pressuring force.

It seems as though the entire world is rejecting him, mutely telling him: Get back!

Get back to the world you should return to, where you truly belong, to live the life meant for you.

Yet Chen Xu is unwilling to simply return.

He’s not saying he will never go back again, after all, “the world within the painting” still contains his parents and relatives, dear friends.

There’s also like-minded people like Wen Daoyuan, as well as close companions like Little Hedgehog and Little Mouse.

In this world, although everyone is but a passerby, everyone who exists, bears some responsibility.

This is a bond that naturally exists between humans and the world.

As for saying the world within the painting is all illusory, and since you’ve left the illusion, there’s no need to look back on the past—

Chen Xu cannot accept such an illusory thought.

When he discovered the truth of the world and realized he was a person within the painting, he did feel a moment of daze.

In that instant, Chen Xu actually experienced some self-doubt.

But he quickly regained clarity.

Just as at the bottom of the dry well in the courtyard in Pingyang City, there could be the Micro Dust Country.

Likewise, within the mural of this unnamed cave before him, there could also be the Jiuzhou world.

Chen Xu never thought the Micro Dust Country was illusory, though it was as small as dust. The little people living in the Micro Dust Country, however, existed vividly.

They have their own joys and sorrows, life and death cycles.

So, who can say they are illusory?

The same is true for everything in the Jiuzhou world.

Whether it’s the ordinary folks in the streets or the birds, beasts, and demon spirits of the countryside and forests, who doesn’t have their own life?

The tofu of Aunt Si’s family at the South Street corner isn’t fake, every morning, the street-side tofu shop emits the aromatic smell of soybeans;

The scholars in the academy, full of ambition, aiming for fame, aren’t fake, many have hung their heads on beams, poked their thighs, striving their utmost in their efforts;

During the South-to-North Water Diversion, those who cheered with jubilation, eyes brimming with tears, weren’t fake, they also rushed to the waterways, shoveling earth and carrying sand…

If all of these could be defined solely by “within the painting,” then what does he, Chen Xu, amount to?

Therefore, although it’s a world within the painting, everything is real.

He is not illusory, nor is his life a flat surface!

Why cultivate personal power?

It is to break limits, leap beyond boundaries, and create miracles in the face of the impossible, the difficult, and the unthinkable…

Chen Xu’s thoughts have never been as clear as they are at this moment, True Yuan rushing through his meridians, Literary Qi surging in the Sea of Literature.

What he sought was never merely a path to flee without looking back, leaving chaos in his wake.

But to truly become powerful, to accomplish everything with infinite might.

In this way, it is true cultivation, true freedom.

In Chen Xu’s Sea of Literature, the ink boat races towards the other shore like an arrow, once more experiencing a surge in Literary Qi.

Insight, experience, clear mind, true nature, these are the essence of Confucian cultivation.

Chen Xu experiences unprecedented shock, illuminating his heart at this moment, increasing his Literary Qi by three more inches.

As Literary Qi surges, he suddenly feels that the various pressures squeezing from all directions have decreased slightly!

Though it’s just a subtle trace, it’s undoubtedly great news.

Chen Xu feels a surge of joy, could it be that sufficiently powerful Literary Qi can help him counteract the world’s oppression?

Crack crack—

Chen Xu finally straightens up from his slightly stooped posture before.

The struggle to resist this world’s pressure is indeed daunting, being able to stand straight is clearly a form of interim victory.

Chen Xu took shallow breaths, not daring to absorb too much Spiritual Qi.

He began to ponder how he might stay in this world longer, and what exactly is this world like?

Since he came here, how could he return if he wanted to go back?

And once back, how could he “ascend” once more if he wished to do so?

Many questions, merely pondering in the cave, would obviously not yield answers.

Chen Xu must try to venture out as soon as possible.

He observed the cave again, carefully scanning every inch from top to bottom.

This place was evidently desolate and hidden.

Aside from the grand mural on the cave wall, the entire cave seemed to have been forsaken by time.

The air was silent, and from afar, there seemed to be a faint dripping sound.

In the dim light, the rocks on the ground appeared an aged, faded gray-blue.

Chen Xu calmly observed everything and soon discovered a few lines of vertical writing at the bottom left corner of the mural.

These turned out to be an inscription with a signature.

Most of the characters were clear and similar to what Chen Xu recognized as the same as Li Kingdom’s script.

Only a few characters were blurred; it was unclear whether they were made indistinct by time or for some other reason.

Written: “In the frigid month at the end of the year, I pass… heard tales of old, that within the mural there is an Immortal’s Nation.”

“There, humans and demons live together, harmoniously; within the country, teachings… words are established, the Great Scholar speaks with authority, and what is spoken becomes law.”

“My heart yearns for it, yet I searched the mountains in vain, unable to find the Divine Nation.”

“Thus, I set this painting here, depicting the Divine Nation in my heart.”

“Hoping the Divine Nation is not rife with sects, nor immortals and demons in strife, avoiding calamity…”

“Star Xuan Calendar, thirteen thousand years, Kui Mao’s Frost, Little Cultivator of the Tribulation Crossing Stage… drew this while unwell.”

The sparse hundred or so words contained incredibly rich information, making one feel a renewed sense of awe.

Chen Xu especially noticed the last line: “Star Xuan Calendar, thirteen thousand years, Kui Mao’s Frost Sequence, Little Cultivator of the Tribulation Crossing Stage!”

Whether it was the ancient era revealed by this calendar or the phrase “Little Cultivator of the Tribulation Crossing Stage,” both evoked an indescribable grandness and vastness.

The Tribulation Crossing Stage actually referring to itself as “Little Cultivation”?

In fact, Chen Xu did not know what the “Tribulation Crossing Stage” was; after all, even in the Great Li Kingdom, there was no such term as the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

In the Great Li, cultivators start from Qi Cultivation, and the cultivation stages are: Mortal Body, Meridian Passage, Condensing Pill, Gathering Spirit.

As for what comes after Gathering Spirit, typically no one knows.

Or rather, the realm beyond Gathering Spirit simply does not exist in Great Li.

However, as Chen Xu cultivated the Food Cauldron Celestial Book, his Food God Technique Scroll clearly listed the subsequent stages.

These are: Mortal Body, Meridian Passage, Condensing Pill, Gathering Spirit, Void Transformation, Entering the Microcosm, Returning to Truth, Harmonization!

Although Chen Xu had now achieved the Golden Core, on this long path of cultivation, he had actually just begun to tread a small early section.

As for what the Tribulation Crossing Stage was, Chen Xu surmised from the name that “Tribulation Crossing” must be a pinnacle of some cultivation path.

But in this text, “Tribulation Crossing” referred to itself as Little Cultivation.

If Tribulation Crossing is Little Cultivation, then what does that make the Golden Core?

Confronted with such a vast world, Chen Xu once again profoundly felt his own insignificance.

He gazed at the divine painting before him, unable to suppress his imagination.

Imagining the infinite vastness of the world at this moment, the feeling that rose in Chen Xu’s heart was not fear of difficulty but rather joy and excitement.

The path is arduous and long; I too will traverse it.

He deeply remembered the words and images before him, deciding to first exit the cave and explore cautiously outside.

Having made up his mind, Chen Xu slowly evened out his breathing and began to walk outward leisurely.

He walked very slowly, first, because the place was unfamiliar, and secondly, because the pressure between heaven and earth was still immense, restricting Chen Xu’s body, preventing him from walking quickly.

At the same time, his Divine Thought could not reach out as it did in the Great Li Kingdom, so Chen Xu walked even more cautiously.

He walked gingerly, step by step, often needing to lean against the cave wall beside him.

The path inside the cave was rugged and uneven, requiring occasional upward climbing, at other times descending, with the passage sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, and occasionally requiring many twists and turns.

There were also numerous forks throughout.

Chen Xu remembered every fork in his mind; his photographic memory was unaffected by the immense pressure of heaven and earth, unable to slow his mental processes.

Thus he walked for nearly two whole hours, passing through many “dead ends” before finally following the light to find the cave entrance!

For one, it was fortunate that although the paths in the cave were rugged, there were no other dangers.

At the same time, deep down, Chen Xu also worried about the safety of the mural within the cave.

The mural was attached to the cave; it was uncertain whether, should the cave collapse one day, or if an outsider destroyed the mural, the world within could still persist?

Chen Xu kept these worries within, temporarily without resolution.

Fortunately, since the mural had existed in the world for many years, having endured for so long, it presumably would not encounter problems in the short term.

Chen Xu merely kept this matter in mind.

He had no intention to worry unnecessarily; he could only proceed and observe as he went.

He saw that the entrance ahead was approximately half a person’s height, dense vines hanging down and partially covering the entrance.

The light from outside passed through the gaps between the vines; Chen Xu did not proceed recklessly but instead took a long stick from the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, carefully using it to part some of the vines in front.

At this parting, he suddenly heard two voices conversing outside: “The ’Immortal Dao Travelogue of Jizhou’ records that Star Return Ancestor once convalesced among these mountains; although this Spiritual Hub has been abandoned, I do not believe this place holds no Ancestor’s relics.”

“Unfortunately, the Compass is malfunctioning here.”

Then came an excited voice: “Oh, Senior Brother, there’s movement over there, quick, let’s go have a look!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep