Chapter 207: Chapter 69: The Whereabouts of the Second Heaven-Mending Stone Fragment
 

All chief disciples of the Foundation Establishment Realm throughout Kunlun’s history had an unknown benefit.

That was, after their inauguration, they could visit the deeply situated Heaven’s Gate Hall in the ancestral shrine to pay respect to the Taiqing Heavenly Venerable.

The ancient image of Taiqing Heavenly Venerable here is not an ordinary clay or wooden idol, but an ancient artifact that has been handed down from before the Clarify Cult.

It could bestow the worshiper a one-time “Enlightenment Baptism,” which would greatly advance their current cultivation realm.

Theoretically, regardless of what realm a cultivator is in, they could gain an almost enormous boost through this enlightenment.

In reality, to attain enlightenment in the Refining Mansion phase of the Foundation Establishment Realm is the most cost-effective, because whether the foundation at the Refining Mansion phase is solid or not directly determines the Grade Rank of Core Formation.

And the Grade Rank of a Golden Core limits the maximum Grade Rank of a Nascent Soul, and even the maximum limit of Feather Transformation and ascension to the Immortal Realm… It is indeed like the foundational cornerstone of a high tower of cultivation, none can afford to be careless.

If a Kunlun cultivator with relatively good innate talent starts cultivating at the age of ten, spends forty years on Qi Refinement, ten years on Marrow Cleansing, and uses all remaining time for Refining Mansion,

One’s lifespan wouldn’t exceed two hundred years without reaching a Golden Core. By the age of one hundred and ninety, that roughly equates to one hundred and thirty years in the Refining Mansion stage.

As long as one becomes the chief disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm and then visits the Heaven’s Gate Hall to pay respects to the ancient image of Taiqing Heavenly Venerable, one can attain seventy years of Refining Mansion cultivation in one enlightenment. Altogether, that makes two hundred years, just reaching the threshold of a Third Grade Golden Core—this is also why the Grade Rank of Core Formation for all chief disciples of Kunlun’s Foundation Establishment Realm throughout history has never been below Third Grade.

To rise further to a Second Grade Golden Core, one would need to double the cultivation level in the Refining Mansion to four hundred years, which requires a variety of serendipitous encounters, and isn’t something that can be forced without being the chosen one.

Ling Yunpo, when he entered the Refining Mansion stage in the Demon Locking Tower, took into account the acceleration from the Cloud Sea Empty Cocoon, had one hundred and thirty years of mortal life left.

Setting aside ten years as a precaution, that means one could still laboriously cultivate for one hundred and twenty years.

Adding sixty years from the Mercurial Elixir Liquid, thirty years from the Cloud Sea Empty Cocoon, and seventy years of enlightenment from the Kunlun Heavenly Pillar Hall, that makes a total of two hundred and eighty years of arduous cultivation, leaving a gap of one hundred and twenty years from the Second Grade Golden Core…

Qiu Changtian suddenly awoke from enlightenment, quickly inspected his inner self, and discovered that his Purple Mansion was nearly immaculate, already possessing the basic outline of the Jade Mansion.

This meant he was close to reaching the threshold of a High Grade Golden Core.

He rose from his meditation mat, respectfully bowed to the ancient image of Taiqing Heavenly Venerable to express his gratitude.

There still was a gap of one hundred and twenty years, Luo Yan from Yuqing View needs to start exerting effort now.

He must first let Elder Shi Ding know and accept the fact that he himself had advanced to the Refining Mansion stage in an adequately reasonable way, then begin inquiring about methods to advance his Refining Mansion cultivation.

The expectation was to at least advance for a cycle of sixty years! The remaining gap would be filled by Wei Dongliu from there.

Second Grade Golden Core, charge, charge, charge!

Leaving the Heaven’s Gate Hall, Qiu Changtian once again bowed in gratitude to the old Taoist outside the hall.

“There is no need for such formalities.” The old Taoist chuckled, “With your natural talent and aptitude, this position of chief disciple is well deserved; I dare not take credit for it.”

“I also thank the ancestor for the reminder,” Qiu Changtian earnestly said.

With his emotional intelligence, it was not difficult for him to guess that the amiable old Taoist in front of him was the legendary guardian immortal of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect— otherwise, who would have the power to guard the Heaven’s Gate Hall here? Wasn’t he afraid that other powerful beings would steal the ancient image of Taiqing Heavenly Venerable?

After exchanging a few words with the old Taoist to make a good first impression, Qiu Changtian bid farewell and left.

On his way back along the stone steps to the Kunlun Heavenly Pillar and entering the back hall of the ancestral shrine, he suddenly heard the Kunlun Mirror softly call out:

“Chen Guanshui…”

Qiu Changtian: ?

It took him quite a while to realize that this was his name before he had transmigrated to this world.

This is the only name I truly acknowledge, the “true name” that represents my real identity.

Really, having worn so many different masks for such a long time, I’ve even started to get a bit fuzzy on what my true face looks like under them.

“What’s the matter, Ah Jing?” Chen Guanshui asked patiently.

“A fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone.” The Kunlun Mirror spoke slowly, “I just sensed it.”

“It’s in that old Daoist’s… the basket holding the black chess pieces.”

——————

Chen Guanshui was somewhat speechless.

The fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone had split into six pieces; the whereabouts of four had already been ascertained, each located within the Kunlun Taiqing Sect, Shushan Shangqing Faction, Penglai Yuqing View, and the Demon Cult’s Hell Path.

Among them, the two fragments in Kunlun and Shushan were in the hands of the Sect Guardian Immortal, the Supreme Elder.

On closer thought, it seemed that the owner of such an innate strange object like the Heaven-Mending Stone could hardly be an ordinary mortal.

Ah Jing, Ah Jing, you’re being inhumane! You want me to obtain fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone from immortals, and not just from one, you you you…

“Alright, alright.” The Kunlun Mirror said dejectedly, “There’s no helping it. Besides, I didn’t set a time limit for you.”

“Isn’t it a thousand years?” Chen Guanshui said, at a loss for words.

“That limit wasn’t set by me either.” The Kunlun Mirror defended staunchly, “If the heavens are falling, what’s that got to do with me? Go blame the heavens then.”

“How did Lady Nuwa repair the heavens back then?” Chen Guanshui grumbled resentfully, “Was it a shoddy job?”

“It’s not a quality issue, it’s because when the Heavenly Sphere intersected, the Mortal Realm and the Immortal Realm separated…” The Kunlun Mirror began explaining, then stopped short, saying, “In any case, knowing the reason now won’t help you, you’re better off thinking of a remedy.”

“What other remedy could there be?” Chen Guanshui retorted, “Unless I turn around now, report everything to the ancestral masters of the immortals, and ask them to figure out a way to mend the heavens.”

“Sure.” The Kunlun Mirror snorted coldly, “Whether he’ll mend the heavens or not is another matter, but you definitely won’t be able to keep me safe, so you can say goodbye to your ‘Daoist Heart Clarity,’ ‘Innate Sword Bone,’ and other peerless talents.”

Chen Guanshui:……

His mood at this moment could only be summed up by a common plant.

For the Kunlun Mirror, a Supreme Elder of a cultivation sect was undoubtedly harder to control than a multi-faced spy; if they decided not to save the world, what could it do?

It told Chen Guanshui that gathering the six fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone could repair the rift in the heavens and save the world.

What it didn’t tell Chen Guanshui was that even with just one fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone, although it wasn’t enough to mend the sky, it was more than sufficient to protect the land of an entire province.

The fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone were, after all, strange objects of sealing enchantments nearly at the same rank as the Great Way!

These Supreme Elders of the cultivation sects, if they knew the true reality of the apocalypse, would they choose to make the effort to collect the fragments and save the world, or would they choose to use the single fragment they had to first protect their own sect… The Kunlun Mirror neither knew nor wished to know.

The only thing it knew was that aside from Chen Guanshui, whose fate lay beyond this world, no one else could stop the preset destruction.

“Cough, I was just joking.” Chen Guanshui said awkwardly, “How could I possibly hand you over, Ah Jing? You are my life-bound magical treasure after all!”

“Do I need to show humor in response to your joke?” The Kunlun Mirror said dryly, “Hahaha.”

“Let’s think long-term!” Chen Guanshui immediately made amends, “The fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone from the Kunlun Taiqing Sect is a must-have for me!”