Chapter 556 - The Boiling Stone Summit
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
To calm the heart with strong wine and the blood of one's foes: carefully considered, these words were incredibly heroic.
For a while, Chen Chou said nothing. Finally, he spoke, "At the very beginning, I knew that you were drowning your sorrows in wine because of a woman."
The young officer smiled, saying, "Yesterday, I received a letter sent by her from the south. She found that person she thought to be dead, and…it's such a coincidence, that person is actually that fiancé that she hated so much. Tell me, do you think I should congratulate them or congratulate them?"
Chen Chou looked at him with much more sympathy. Patting him on the shoulder, he soothed, "Then if it's really over, it's better not to think about it anymore."
Back on the snowy plains, on that night when they were surrounded by wolf cavalry, the two had chatted about many things. Of course, what they had talked about the most was men and women, so he could roughly guess at what was going on with this story.
The young officer's eyes suddenly glowed as if illuminating the dark night, the wind and snow, and the path within. He calmly but firmly replied, "No, if that person had really died, I would naturally not be able to beat him and I would have no hope. But now that he's alive, it also means that my hope has been reborn."
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Summer was coming to an end and autumn was beginning to set in, the Boiling Stone Summit about to convene. At various locations in the continent, people began to set out.
Unlike the Grand Examination and the Garden of Zhou, the Boiling Stone Summit was not famous. Knowledge of it only circulated in the upper layers of the cultivating world, and only those worthy of being invited knew of it. Every time the Boiling Stone Summit convened, it would always do so at the Heaven Lake in the distant Mount Han at the northeast of the continent. Regardless of whether one departed from the capital, Tianliang county, or from the south, reaching the Heaven Lake required traversing a great distance. To many people, rather than the Boiling Stone Summit being a grand meeting of the cultivating world, it was better to call it a journey.
Of course, to cultivators at this level, a journey had always been a sort of cultivation. As a result, very few people used immortal birds or arrays to travel, instead walking along the official roads that ran all across the human world. They crossed through dense spider webs of rivers, soaked in the scenery, and earnestly advanced forward.
It was said that countless years ago, innumerable meteorites crashed down upon the continent in streaks of fire. Many of these meteorites fell at the present-day location of the capital at the place where soil formed into a mountain. Those meteorites became the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, opening the minds of the continent's lifeforms. That location was the Mausoleum of Books. Besides those meteorites that fell into the Mausoleum of Books, many meteorites were burned into ash in the sky while many others returned to the sea of stars. There were some fortunate, or unfortunate, meteorites that did not fall into the Mausoleum of Books, nor were they rendered into ash. Instead, they shattered into countless stones and fell upon the earth. These stones were named Heavenstones.
Miraculously, these Heavenstones did not scatter over the continent. Instead, just like the Mausoleum of Books, the vast majority of them fell in the same place.
This location was Mount Han in the northeast of the continent, and they were particularly numerous around the Heaven Lake at the peak of Mount Han.
Those Heavenstones had been burned too severely, leaving no mystical lines on their surfaces, nor did they possess the wonder of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. Still, these Heavenstones were ultimately existences that shared the same origin as the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, and so to cultivators, they were still incomparably precious. It was said that many experts had used these Heavenstones to successfully break through their original cultivation levels.
What the Boiling Stone Summit boiled was these Heavenstones. Of course, it was impossible for countless stoves to pop up on the shore of the Heaven Lake to heat water for this purpose. The boiling stones had always been boiled in the Heaven Lake itself, because the water within the Heaven Lake was the congregation of many hot springs and its temperature was incredibly high, like the world's natural stove.
The Boiling Stone Summit was precisely a grand meeting held for the sake of increasing the cultivating speed of the human world's cultivators. As long as one was ranked at the top in the Boiling Stone Summit, one would be qualified to obtain a Heavenstone to comprehend and receive. The wonder of the Heavenstones was far inferior to that of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, but the Heavenly Tome Monoliths were in the Mausoleum of Books, while the Heavenstones could be carried on the body and interacted with whenever one wished. Consequently, to cultivators, the importance of the Heavenstones was no less than that of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, and to certain people, it might even be greater.
As for when the Boiling Stone Summit was held, after Emperor Taizong returned to the sea of stars, the Five Saints and the Eight Storms jointly drew up a plan, with the Elder of Heavenly Secrets placed in charge of organizing it all. The specific time at which it was held could only be decided after looking at the cultivating situation of the younger generation of experts. Only after confirming that their cultivation levels were enough to comprehend the Heavenstones would they decide to hold one.
As Emperor Taizong's generation gradually took a step back from history's stage, the cultivating world gradually grew more cold and cheerless, with the Boiling Stone Summit not being held once over the span of several decades. It was not until Wang Po shocked the world and the cultivation world once more entered a generation of blooming flowers that the frequency at which the Boiling Stone Summit convened gradually increased.
The most important objective of the Boiling Stone Summit was for the cultivating geniuses of the human world to gain some assistance at the most critical points of their cultivation, thus allowing them to quickly recognize their obstructions and advance over them. Thus, very few were invited. For example, this year, only thirty-some young cultivators were on the invitation list.
On this list, there was the famous name of the Heavenly Dao Academy's Guan Bai. Qiushan Jun was there, as was right. Naturally, Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng were also present, as well as Gou Hanshi and fourth place on the Proclamation of Golden Distinction, Zhong Hui. Although Zhexiu and Tang Thirty-Six failed to enter the Proclamation of Golden Distinction, this did not mean that the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets did not view them highly, so they were also on the list.
Besides these names that were familiar by dint of repetition, the list also contained a few obscure wandering cultivators and experts of small sects. Those wandering cultivators and small sect experts were all forty-some years old. In the cultivation world, they were still rated as rather young, but when compared to those young geniuses above, they were older by quite the margin.
Several hundred Orthodoxy cavalry escorted several carriages out of the capital.
These Orthodoxy cavalry and Divine Generals all had cold expressions and exuded a stern aura, but they could not obstruct the resolve and courage of the denizens of the capital to see the excitement.
Mao Qiuyu and Linghai Zhiwang were sitting in two different carriages, their eyes closed in rest as if ignorant to the shouts from outside.
Those shouts were all aimed at the people within that carriage.
Within this carriage, Tang Thirty-Six placed down the list in his hands and scratched his ears that had gotten somewhat itchy from all the yells. Shaking his head, he said, "They don't even know what we're doing, so why are they yelling so loud, and there's Rou'er…I just gave you one thousand taels of silver last night. What are you planning, acting like you’re sending off your husband?"
He looked at the upstairs of a building by the street at the mournful dancing girl leaning on the balcony, the expression on his face rather unnatural.
No one paid him any attention, and no one was interested in him, or else he would have been even more embarrassed.
Zhexiu had his eyes closed in rest. His true essence traveled along his somewhat deformed meridians like a scraping small knife, but no pain could be seen on his face.
Chen Changsheng was studying a Daoist scripture, his expression focused and serious, while his sea of consciousness performed incessant calculations to find a way to break down the array left behind by Wang Zhice.
Tang Thirty-Six felt somewhat ashamed, thinking, why can't I detach myself from all things like these two?
"You hear…there's actually a person who's guessing that you're going to South Stream Temple to propose!"
A burst of shouts rang out from the streets. Upon hearing them, Tang Thirty-Six rocked back and forth in laughter, incredibly amused.
"Fancy that some people would think of that, but this sort of display really is rather similar. If one wants to marry the Holy Maiden, one definitely needs to dispatch two Prefects of the Orthodoxy."
This was speaking of Mao Qiuyu and Linghai Zhiwang who were seated in the carriages in front of them.
In this year's Boiling Stone Summit, only Chen Changsheng and his group were departing from the capital, but a vast force had been mobilized, even sending two archbishops to personally escort them.
This was because Chen Changsheng's status was no longer the same and the journey was long. Moreover, Mount Han was not far from the land of demons, and who knew if the demons might not move against this future Pope? With two grand experts at the peak of Star Condensation personally standing guard, it would presumably be much safer.
Chen Changsheng kept his head low, focused on his book and showing no response.
Tang Thirty-Six finally felt that something was off. Giving him a few pats, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Chen Changsheng raised his head and took out two balls of fur from his ears. Somewhat vacantly, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Tang Thirty-Six was quite speechless. Pointing at the paper, he said, "Shouldn't you be concerned about what sort of opponents you will face in the Boiling Stone Summit?"
Chen Changsheng froze for a moment, then smiled and replied, "I don't plan to step onto the stage."
To cultivators, the Heavenstones were naturally extremely precious objects of comprehension, but to him and Xu Yourong, the effectiveness of this sort of comprehension was almost nil.
The Heavenly Tome Monoliths were in their hands, so there was no need to care about some Heavenstones.
His reason for attending the Boiling Stone Summit, besides broadening his experiences, was to meet a few people. For example, because of Scholartree Manor's Zhong Hui, Wang Po might make an appearance at the Heaven Lake. As another example, Gou Hanshi and the rest of the Mount Li Sword Sect disciples that he had not met for so long were also coming. Or for example, she who he had parted from not too long ago.
Tang Thirty-Six replied, "That's true, you're the future Pope, so it's truly inappropriate for you to fight with the rest of us. Moreover, you can enter the Mausoleum of Books whenever you want, to see whatever Heavenly Tome Monolith you want to see. If you want to bring your girl to look at the Heavenly Tome Monoliths together, you'll take her…"
Chen Changsheng glanced at Zhexiu. Only after affirming that Zhexiu had absolutely no interest in their conversation did he relax.
Seeing his nervous expression, Tang Thirty-Six shook his head and then placed that list of names in Chen Changsheng's hand. "Even if you don't plan to fight, our most powerful opponents will definitely be these guys from the Mount Li Sword Sect. The demi-humans will also be sending people. I hear that even Xiao De of the Proclamation of Liberation will be coming."
Upon hearing Xiao De's name, Zhexiu suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "Confirmed?"
"Basically confirmed." Tang Thirty-Six creased his brow at him and asked, "Do you have a grudge against that guy?"
Zhexiu asked, "If I do, will you help me?"
Tang Thirty-Six responded in a matter-of-fact manner, "Of course not, that's an expert of the Proclamation of Liberation's top five, and was I that close to you?"
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On the long journey, there were fresh sights, but not many fresh stories.
Chen Changsheng spent the vast majority of the time reading, cultivating, and thinking. He would treat Zhexiu's illness, and then the two would look together at Tang Thirty-Six who, due to his boredom, was getting sharper and unkinder by the day. Occasionally, Mao Qiuyu would find him to chat about a few things. However, other than when they were eating in the wilderness, he actually never saw Linghai Zhiwang.
Just as summer was on the verge of departing, the convoy finally arrived at Mount Han.
This place was in the extreme north. Once one passed that unbroken line of mountain peaks, one would enter the bounds of the demon realm's snowy plains. Moreover, as one approached the mountains, the ground also increased in altitude. The temperature continued to decrease and it seemed as if the deep winter had come in advance. The armor of the Orthodoxy cavalry was gradually covered in a thin layer of frost.