Who let him join the Sword Sect?!-Chapter 858 - 429: Shrouding the Heavens

The auspicious time approaches.

The blood moon hangs in the sky, and the reverse rain rises again.

Lily clambered up the ladder obsequiously, holding an oiled paper umbrella for Old Tang, pretending to shield him from the rain.

Though it was already dark, Old Tang still wore sunglasses, looking like the chief commander, silently calculating time in his mind.

As the blood moon rose to the zenith, Old Tang gently waved his hand.

Then, nothing happened.

Because it wasn't part of the process, and he waved his hand too early.

The duo uselessly amusing themselves here, while the real big shots started to act.

Qin Lang unfurled a wreath woven from Divine Wood, as a fierce wind began to rise in the center of Luoyu Mountain, and the storm that stirred the earth's energy began to gather again.

But before the vortex could form, a sword light flashed like a startled swan.

With just one strike, it severed the connection between Luoyu Mountain and Chang State.

Then Mo Jingchun gently raised his hand, sending Luoyu Mountain into the sky with the aid of the surrounding array.

As Luoyu Mountain flew higher, the illusion of the blood moon gradually disappeared, the earth returned to peace, and Luoyu Mountain slowly reverted to its original form.

Amidst the flowing splendor, rocks and vegetation turned to void, like cicadas shedding their old shells, a silver raindrop pointed to the heavens.

Slowly and gracefully, as if it was meant to swim in the sky.

She didn't care whether Maomao had opened the camera cover, directly pulling out the little walnut to shoot the sky.

But for some reason, although she clicked repeatedly, the little walnut was unresponsive, as if it were broken.

She looked around and found everyone else was the same.

They were all patting their little walnuts or tapping the screens with brushes.

"Strange? What's wrong with the little walnut?"

Faced with the anomaly of the little walnut, Lily's mind spun, all sorts of oddities surfaced, and suddenly, she thought of something terrifying.

"Could someone want a refund?"

Lily shivered in fear, looked around to see no one was paying attention to her, then sneakily climbed down from the ladder.

Then, she stealthily donned a cloak and took advantage of the lack of attention to perform Lily's stealth technique, achieving great success, and quietly left.

Problems could be solved over time, but there was absolutely no way to get a refund from Lily.

Master Lily had a kind heart and couldn't bear to see such things.

...

When faced with the sudden malfunctioning range of the little walnut, Xiaoxue was probably the one who cared the least.

She was sitting on a mountain ridge on the outskirts, her roots probing into the earth, supporting her chin as she looked up at the sky.

She never touched the little walnut unless necessary.

At the same time, she found it hard to understand what was so fun about that thing.

Once, Xiaoxue volunteered to give a lecture at the Beast Taming Sect, planning to transform into an ambassador of abstinence, sharing with new disciples how to abstain from playing with the little walnut and focus on cultivation.

However, when she mentioned how photosynthesis was interesting and standing on a mountaintop with closed eyes was enjoyable.

She clearly sensed the pure and complex gaze from those unfortunate kids below the stage.

The purity was that these poor kids didn't know how to hide their thoughts.

The complexity was that their eyes were filled with deep meaning.

Xiaoxue read a nearly materializable message from their eyes.

That they all thought she was crazy.

So since then, Xiaoxue refused to share her photosynthesis insights with anyone.

Except for Fuji, but then, she wasn't human anyway.

And in occasions like the new little walnut auction, she would avoid it, to spare herself from recalling such embarrassing memories.

Today, as Luoyu Mountain ascended, she knew from its annual rings that the bored crowd would take out their little walnuts to snap pictures.

"These people are truly boring, once you've seen the scenery, it's seen, keeping it in your heart is enough, what's the point of preserving it."

Muttering to herself, Xiaoxue suddenly felt movement beneath her feet, it was the Mother Tree of Chang State 'speaking' to her.

After 'listening' for a while, Xiaoxue asked, "Are you saying... you want to bid them farewell?"

The gentle breeze came by, serving as an affirmation.

Xiaoxue thought for a moment, nodded, and replied, "Alright, as long as you're happy."

With that, Xiaoxue took a step, arriving at a deep pit, manifested her true form, and a Twin Tree Sara, both virtual and real, rose from the ground.

She became a wire, beginning to help the Mother Tree sense heaven and earth.

Moments later, the sight of heavenly fire falling on Chang State seemed to reappear.

But this time, those 'heavenly fires' did not fall.

With Xiaoxue's assistance, a silver-white phantom city appeared on the scorched earth.

As Luoyu Mountain soared higher, the hundred-mile-wide silver-white city rose from the ground.

Flying toward the stars, never to return.

This celestial phenomenon appeared like a mirage in the skies over various regions of the East Continent.

Almost everyone saw those 'meteors' defying gravity soaring upwards.

And it was today that Chang State's endless dream.

Finally came to an end.

...

Though it was bustling outside, Zhang Ze felt nothing here.

This takeoff was far less violent than the first; if one did not pay close attention, they wouldn't feel any tremors at all.

Zhang Ze thought to himself, his mother-in-law sure treated him well.

After feeling moved, he shifted his thoughts and transformed himself into the Innate Dao Body.

Important matters were at hand.

Timing the moment, Zhang Ze placed a specially-made Spirit Stone at the center of the array.

Detonate.

The silver-white abandoned city regained its color at this moment, with a glow of ghostly blue, like the lights of thousands of homes.

As the array exploded one by one, the seals placed on Luoyu Mountain also began to loosen, and the curse from the Central Continent gradually lifted.

Amidst the explosion, Zhang Ze gave a thumbs up to his own model, then closed his eyes.

The flames engulfed them.

In a place Zhang Ze couldn't see, because of Li's meddling, a Zhang Ze decoy filled with bombs was placed.

An extra force, carrying the silver-white Luoyu Mountain, passed through the canopy of the sky.

This was not part of the plan.

Raindrops broke through the canopy, beginning to disintegrate and dissipate under the starlight.

Like an epiphyllum blooming, like a silver lotus unfolding.

The last city of the nameless extinct race, or rather its shelter, finally ended its service.

All that remained were the joyful firefly spirits like Fuji, and the history engraved on iron plates and pendants that had yet to be deciphered.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Zhang Ze heard a voice.

"Thank you."

...

Upon opening his eyes, Zhang Ze directly gazed at the starry sky.

Looking at the beautiful starry sky, Zhang Ze always felt something was off.

"Did I fly a bit too far? Weren't we supposed to fall right at the edge of the canopy?"

However, after thinking it over, he didn't mind, as after all, it was merely the starry sky, and he thought if he drifted for a while, the Old Ascender and others would surely pull him back.

Moreover, even if the Old Ascender and others didn't pull him back, he could easily fly back with his current strength.

Stretching lazily, Zhang Ze shifted to a comfortable position, deciding to first enjoy this rare view.

Observing the stars from here was much clearer than from the ground.

But after drifting for a while, Zhang Ze suddenly sensed a certain cognitive dissonance.

Observing the stars... observing the stars?

Yeah, observing the stars!

Why have the cultivators of the Four Continents never thought to come out to space for a look?

The Great Power cultivators traverse thousands of miles, move mountains, fill the seas; even a fart could send at least three Apollo ships into the sky.

Even without True Qi as protection, their meticulously tempered bodies wouldn't fear icy flames, the mere vacuum high pressure couldn't harm them in the slightest.

Then why had he never heard his master Li say, old man has nothing to do today, gonna bring back a star from the asteroid belt for my good disciple?

Meteorite iron is worth a fortune, yet they laboriously search for it in the ground; why not just come here to stock up directly?

Celestial Sect cultivators enjoy star-watching, searching for mountains, exploring seas, so why not come here for a good look?

Is it a matter of dislike? Unwillingness? Or perhaps inability?

The more Zhang Ze thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

The more he thought, the more things seemed out of place.

He suppressed the urge to unleash Shi Xiu or let Li out.

Instead, he decided to test it himself first.

Zhang Ze extended his arm in front of him, carefully undoing the Innate Dao Body on his pinky.

As his fair and delicate skin was exposed, a layer of frost instantly formed on it; however, with just a slight movement, the frost dissipated into nothingness.

The pressure and low temperature posed no threat to Zhang Ze's body.

Something else was preventing cultivators from crossing the canopy to face the true starry sea.

As he pondered, Zhang Ze unconsciously curled up like a baby, remembering the conversation he had with Shi Xiu before takeoff.

"There's something above us."

This seemingly meaningless statement strung many things together like a thread.

The primordial era, the Ten Thousand Races that descended on the Four Continents.

The wars during the late Dongqi, the history obliterated without a trace.

Shi Xiu, controlled by Xiao Jing, looking up to the sky.

Those mysterious black stones capable of altering perception.

Emperor Xiaojing's mental barrier method resembling a plunge into the starry sky, capable of making one forget their inner thoughts.

...

Zhang Ze had a realization.

The concept of 'heaven' had never disappeared from their consciousness; on the contrary, for Immortal Cultivators, heaven was always at the tip of their tongue.

Taken to swearing, invoking heavenly ancestors, proclaiming the infinity of Heavenly Dao, these were all common expressions.

The rhythm of the stars, celestial phenomena were even part of the cultivation methods of many.

But why did not only the Old Ascender and others, but even himself, never have a thought to cross the canopy?

Even though he knew a lot and had created many things in the fantasy and reality that were not allowed by copyright.

All thoughts of crossing the canopy were naturally eliminated.

Senior Shi Xiu clearly told me there was something above, so why didn't he let me come here to take a look?

Why didn't I say I'd come here to take a look on behalf of him?

Even though I said I would take the Firefly Spirit to the sky, why didn't I let the Taoist and others send me a step further during preparation?

These things I never thought about while on the ground, and even if I did, they would naturally stop at the last moment.

It was as if some force from the unseen veiled the sky, firmly trapping the beings of the Four Continents, himself included, to the earth.

Heavenly Barrier.

Zhang Ze inexplicably thought of this term.

Despite being in the state of an Innate Dao Body, Zhang Ze suddenly felt a shock, realizing he might have drifted too far.

Moreover, even his in-laws hadn't come looking for him.

Stretching his body, Zhang Ze looked back in the direction of the Four Continents, planning to return home first.

But, upon seeing the Four Continents, he froze.

Perhaps because he had drifted too far, or maybe his thoughts were too chaotic and he was seeing things.

The appearance of the Four Continents, in Zhang Ze's eyes, somehow resembled a baby curled in the womb, peacefully asleep...

And in the 'dantian' of the 'baby', there, was pitch-black like a clot of congealed blood.

Zhang Ze recalled that this place had another name.

It was called Central Continent.