Chapter 341
Chapter 341: Lu Bu Qi
With Si Yao guiding them, it took only half a month to reach the Xuan Du Pass in the First Star Cloud. Three Chan Heaven sat right at its center.
Xuan Du Pass lay at the very bottom of the First Star Cloud, connecting it to the Second Star Cloud.
Si Yao brought Wang Jie to a planet from where Three Chan Heaven could be clearly seen, then departed. Before leaving, he explained to Wang Jie that nearly everyone hoping to enter Three Chan Heaven stopped here to rest. Yet this was no prosperous land—quite the opposite, in fact. This region was filled with mortal kingdoms locked in constant warfare.
Coming to Three Chan Heaven was truly a last resort. The best place for cultivation was actually Armor One Sect, since Armor One Sect possessed the Starry Cliff, which could greatly enhance the power of his Starry Finger technique.
But he didn’t dare go there.
Who knew what Armor One Sect truly thought of him? If they also chose to observe him for ten years, he’d completely lose any chance at the Starry Martial Meet. Considering all this, he preferred Three Chan Heaven. After all, he had the Chan Token, so entry would pose no problem. Furthermore, Three Chan Heaven was also a major force, making it difficult for anyone who intended him harm to find him.
Another benefit of the Chan Token was that no one would investigate his background. Unless someone came directly from the Death Realm, Three Chan Heaven never questioned anyone’s origins. Wang Jie had specifically asked about this. He didn’t understand why Three Chan Heaven had this rule, but it suited him perfectly. As long as he didn’t practice qi cultivation openly, no one would detect his connection to the Death Realm.
The Nine Form Diagram further ensured his disguise. Perhaps the cultivation environment of Three Chan Heaven would help him too; after all, it surpassed even Black White Heaven.
…
Three Chan Heaven heavily emphasized one word—Zen.
But what was Zen? No one truly knew. If one did, that meant they’d already entered Zen—so why go through trials at all?
Those mortal kingdoms waged war constantly, but behind them were people aiming to enter Three Chan Heaven. They deliberately provoked these kingdoms into conflict, watching mortal battles to gain insight and increase their chances of admission.
Life and death were always the quickest paths to understanding profound realms.
Of course, they ignored the suffering of mortal kingdoms completely.
One planet, two entirely different worlds.
High atop the mountains, clouds swirled gently around cultivators who gazed downward expectantly, murmuring in excitement: “It’s about to begin. Both kingdoms have sent over a million troops. This battle will surely be fierce.”
“Are you sure? Don’t let them suddenly make peace again.”
“No chance. Brother Zhang deliberately disguised his group and assassinated key figures from both sides. This hatred runs deep, impossible to reconcile.”
“Haha, good, then we can enjoy it fully.”
“The great battle begins soon. Everyone, please take your seats.”
Following their directions, Wang Jie sat in an area separated by stone walls. Each spectator was isolated so they could gain insight undisturbed.
They watched these mortal wars, hoping to grasp their own path of Zen from the chaos and carnage below.
They believed this would increase their chance to enter Three Chan Heaven.
In the eyes of these cultivators, millions of lives meant nothing more than a mere game. Before the fighting had even started, someone had already asked if he wanted to watch the next battle on a nearby planet—another fight with millions, this time mixed with love and hate.
This reminded Wang Jie of Zhi Yu.
She also fabricated stories to experience life, yet she never instigated battles or directly caused such mass suffering.
“Does watching these wars really improve one’s chance to enter Three Chan Heaven?” Wang Jie asked.
Someone outside respectfully replied, “Of course it does. Many who’ve joined Three Chan Heaven confirmed it, and the sect itself silently allows this practice.”
Wang Jie gazed down at the battlefield.
War soon erupted. The roar of a million voices shattered the heavens, echoing upward. He watched those below, eyes bloodshot as they slaughtered one another. Despite the stone walls, he heard others breathing excitedly nearby, some even cheering.
Were they truly here to enter Three Chan Heaven?
Perhaps at first. But repeated failures had twisted their hearts long ago.
Such a place disgusted him.
He left.
He went to another planet, but the scene was exactly the same.
It seemed the whole region surrounding Three Chan Heaven was like this.
Gazing at Three Chan Heaven from afar, was this really what they sought? What was Zen? Was taking life Zen? Was bullying the weak Zen? Was treating life and death as entertainment Zen? For a moment, he resisted the very idea of Three Chan Heaven.
He knew all great sects and forces across the universe were the same.
Armor One Sect’s trials required sacrificing Blue Star to build a cosmic bridge, a process that would kill everyone on Blue Star. Yet to Armor One Sect, this meant nothing.
Armor One Sect, Three Chan Heaven, Sincere One Dao, even Black White Heaven—which of them was any different?
This was how the universe worked.
Life was just a transition. If you were fortunate, you crossed safely. If not, someone else used your life to cross instead. Such was life.
But what about him?
And what about his master?
Wang Jie entered a small tavern on the edge of a desert. Inside, a servant listlessly swatted flies. Most tables were broken, and the stools shook unsteadily. Fierce sandstorms rattled the windows.
“Customer, what’ll you have? We only serve our homemade sand wine.”
“Anything,” he replied.
“Alright, one pot of sand wine.”
Wang Jie glanced at the murky wine, took a sip, and frowned. It tasted terrible, filled with gritty sand. Looking up, he saw a mountain in the distance. Many people stood atop it, staring downward eagerly.
From their perspective, they looked down upon him. Yet, from where he sat, he too was looking down upon them.
Heaven and earth held no absolute high or low.
Outside, people ran and shouted urgently.
“Waiter.”
“Here, customer,” replied the waiter promptly.
“War is about to start. Aren’t you running away?”
“What’s the use of running? Where can we go? If General Lu can’t defend this city, escaping means nothing. Those nobles back in the imperial city don’t care whether we live or die. But if General Lu can hold the city, staying here is actually the safest choice. General Lu is good to us.”
“Can the city hold?”
The waiter’s gaze dimmed as he replied, “Those desert people are brutal. Without supplies, I’ve heard they’ll feast on human flesh. They fear nothing, not even death. Holding this city seems impossible.”
Wang Jie turned to him, asking, “Human flesh?”
The waiter smiled faintly, “You must be from far away. Listen to my advice—finish your drink and leave. Never come back.”
Just then, several people entered the tavern. “Bring us a jug of desert wine!”
“Oh? Young General, why are you here? Have the enemies retreated?”
“How could they? They’ve run out of human flesh, so they need this battle to replenish their supplies. They’ll never retreat.”
“Then why are you here?”
The Young General chuckled grimly, “A bit of wine to numb the pain.”
“Right away, Young General.” The waiter hurried to prepare the drink.
The tavern fell silent, leaving only Wang Jie and the group at the nearby table.
The Young General looked at Wang Jie and asked, “Brother, where are you from?”
Wang Jie glanced at him, noticing the young man’s refined appearance and delicate features, resembling more a scholar than a general stationed long-term in the desert. He replied, “From afar.”
“It’s not good that you’ve come here. Leave quickly.”
“If you have no hope of holding the city, why not abandon it?”
“My name is Lu Bu Qi. Father taught me to never abandon my country nor my home. This city is my home. How could I abandon it?”
Wang Jie withdrew his gaze, quietly sipping his wine once more.
Soon, drums sounded, and the battle commenced.
Inside the tavern, Wang Jie gazed into the distance. The city gates shuddered under relentless blows. With only twenty thousand defenders against an army exceeding a hundred thousand, the city could hardly hold.
Most of the civilians had fled.
He watched as the waiter picked up a kitchen knife and charged forward. The tavern’s owner had likely already fled.
Finally, the city gates broke open.
A general clad in armor rode out on horseback, standing resolutely before the shattered gates, glaring fiercely at the overwhelming enemy forces. He roared, “Kill!”
Behind him, Lu Bu Qi charged forward, eyes burning crimson, echoing loudly, “Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
Countless voices pierced the heavens, reaching the ears of those upon the distant mountain, yet stirring no emotion among them. They merely watched, smiling, enjoying the spectacle unfolding before them.
Wang Jie lifted his cup, watching as well.
He watched as the general slew enemy after enemy, watched as bodies piled high at the gates, watched as enemies heaved massive logs to strike him down. The general coughed blood but swung his blade once more, shattering the log with a single strike, his roar trembling the hearts of his foes.
Wang Jie casually waved his hand, conjuring the nine-form diagram, sketching—Lu Bu Qi.
“Father!” Lu Bu Qi struggled to move the fallen horse off his father’s body. “Father, we can’t hold any longer.”
The general laughed bitterly, eyes bloodshot as he stared outwards. “How many have we killed?”
“Sixty-two.”
“Bu Qi, are you afraid?”
“No, Father. I’ve already drunk my wine.”
“Hahaha! Then follow me and kill over a hundred.”
“Yes!”
Enemies surged forward again, their faces twisted in excitement, eyes fixed on the abundant food within the city.
Sixty-three, seventy-two, eighty-nine, ninety-five…
The general’s blade shattered, his body leaning against the broken gate.
His fierce aura momentarily halted the enemy’s advance, but soon, with another horn sounding, they charged again.
One hundred.
Lu Bu Qi tightly grasped his father’s arm—they had reached one hundred.
Countless blades swung down.
The city gate trembled, on the verge of collapse.
Suddenly, the general vanished. In his place stood Lu Bu Qi, raising his head, a smile curling his lips as he whispered, “One man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot pass!” Lifting his blade, he struck forward.
Corpses stacked higher and higher.
Each slash took another life, the gate soon impassable with the piled bodies.
Those gleaming strikes no longer counted merely a hundred slain.
Upon the mountain, someone shouted, “Something’s wrong! That man’s a cultivator! No ordinary mortal could fight like that!”
“Quickly eliminate him. A cultivator daring to interfere in mortal wars must pay the price for breaking our rules.”
“At once!”
Suddenly, the mountain crumbled, burying everything beneath rubble.
A young man stood quietly beneath the city gates, watching the fleeing enemy survivors in the distance. He exhaled softly, completing the final task for the Indestructible Body. That young man, of course, was Wang Jie.
But from this moment on, he was Lu Bu Qi, the son of a general in a mortal kingdom, who had by chance acquired a Chan Token, destined now to cultivate in Three Chan Heaven.
Whatever his feelings toward Three Chan Heaven, cultivation belonged only to himself.
Next was the journey to Three Chan Heaven, but first—he needed the Indestructible Body.
Wang Jie found a secluded spot and entered his field.
Within the field, eight plants were finally complete. These were the longest-growing materials he had ever cultivated—even longer than those required for the Heaven Reversal Path.
Hopefully, this immense effort would bear fruit.
Wang Jie reached out and touched them.
Hazy light flickered, rushing toward his forehead, then vanishing instantly.
Wang Jie stood frozen in place for a long moment before slowly opening his eyes. So, this was the Indestructible Body?
The Indestructible Body—taking all the stars of heaven as bones!
Such a simple sentence, yet it sent waves of excitement surging through his heart.