Chapter 203: Reaching Heaven and Entering the Primordial Wilderness

Everyone set out at the break of dawn. By noon, they had already reached the summit.

Compared to when Li Shun had climbed the mountain alone, their speed was more than a little faster.

Aside from the fact that the mountain path they had chosen this time was steeper and more direct, Zhao Cheng and Chang Yan were also constantly employing secret arts to hasten everyone's movements.

Wind seemed to spring beneath their feet, and they felt not the slightest trace of fatigue.

Instead, as they continued ascending, their essence, qi, and spirit seemed to undergo a process of tempering. By the time they reached the summit, all three had simultaneously reached their peak condition.

At the tiny square-inch expanse at the summit, the Hundred Schools had taken their respective positions.

Standing in the center was an elderly white-haired man. Li Shun could not sense the slightest aura from him.

Yet judging from the attitude of everyone present toward him, this man's cultivation should have been extraordinary.

At least, that was what Li Shun had originally thought.

However, Zhao Cheng's next words shattered his understanding.

"His name is Jin Yutang. He possesses no cultivation whatsoever."

"The Hundred Schools require a completely blank vessel in order to activate the Primordial Wilderness Illusionary Realm through a secret technique."

"The Jin Clan has been responsible for presiding over this grand gathering for generations. Every time the illusionary realm is opened, one member of the clan must sacrifice himself."

"Their contributions can be described as immensely meritorious. That is why we all hold them in such high regard."

"Furthermore, the Hundred Schools once reached an agreement to do everything within reason to look after the members of the Jin Clan. However..."

Zhao Cheng shook his head with considerable emotion.

"The Jin Clan is also rather stubborn. They have never sought credit for this. Otherwise, with such a connection, rising to become one of Great Qian's foremost aristocratic clans would have been effortless."

Chang Yan also sighed.

"Strictly speaking, all of us owe the Jin Clan a debt. I simply do not know when we will ever be able to repay this favor."

Li Shun found this rather strange.

From Zhao Cheng's words, it was obvious that whoever served as the vessel to preside over the grand gathering would be unable to continue living afterward.

Yet generation after generation, the Jin Clan had presided over the gathering, suffering countless deaths and injuries, without ever seeking anything in return.

Moreover, it seemed that not just anyone without cultivation was suitable to serve as the vessel.

There were probably certain special requirements as well.

However, the grand gathering was about to begin, and the atmosphere was solemn and reverent.

Li Shun did not voice the questions in his heart. He merely waited quietly for the proceedings to unfold.

Jin Yutang knelt upon the ground and gazed toward the heavens, solemnly reciting an elaborate sacrificial text.

After finishing the recitation, he looked back at the members of the Hundred Schools surrounding him, bent at the waist, and offered a deep bow.

The members of the Hundred Schools all returned the gesture with solemn expressions.

Once the ceremony was complete, Jin Yutang sat cross-legged upon the ground.

His expression was calm and composed.

Then Li Shun noticed something strange happening to him.

As long as a person was alive, it was inevitable that countless thoughts and conscious activities would arise within their mind.

Yet at this moment, although Jin Yutang's aura still remained, all thoughts had completely vanished.

He was alive, yet dead.

He seemed dead, yet alive.

Li Shun was astonished.

Even cultivators found it extremely difficult to gather and suppress every distracting thought in their minds and maintain an utterly tranquil consciousness.

Yet Jin Yutang seemed to have accomplished this with ease.

And Li Shun knew that what Jin Yutang was doing was far more profound than simply keeping his thoughts calm.

He was completely blanking out his entire consciousness, transforming himself into a genuine vessel.

Li Shun now somewhat understood why the Jin Clan had to be the ones presiding over the grand gathering.

"For an ordinary person, even taking their own life is exceedingly difficult."

"How much more difficult would it be to completely erase their own consciousness?"

"Furthermore, because the vessel used to open the Primordial Wilderness Illusionary Realm must remain completely pure and untouched by any external force, it cannot be artificially created through outside means."

"With such a mental disposition and ability, if he were to cultivate, he would undoubtedly have the potential to reach Creation. Yet he willingly chooses to serve generation after generation as a vessel for opening the illusionary realm."

Li Shun's instincts told him that the Jin Clan was undoubtedly hiding some kind of secret.

But this was not the time to investigate it further.

The vessel was ready.

Next came the Hundred Schools.

At Zhao Cheng's signal, the three Confucian representatives participating in the gathering stepped forward and arrived beside Jin Yutang.

They too sat down cross-legged.

Following the instructions he had received earlier, Li Shun held his breath and focused his mind, separating a strand of consciousness and sending it toward Jin Yutang's sea of consciousness.

Under normal circumstances, entering another person's sea of consciousness would inevitably encounter resistance.

The degree of resistance depended upon the difference in strength between the two sides.

But this time, Li Shun's consciousness encountered no obstruction whatsoever.

It was as though he were simply returning to his own body.

Jin Yutang's sea of consciousness was completely blank.

Aside from Li Shun, the participating members of the other schools were also present.

Their consciousnesses manifested as balls of light, each displaying a different color. For a moment, the entire sea of consciousness was illuminated in a dazzling array of colors.

"Brother Li, your divine sense..."

"It is quite pure!"

The voice of surprise came from Xu Tingshen.

The two balls of consciousness were both a faint golden-purple.

However, the ball representing Li Shun was several times larger than Xu Tingshen's.

Li Shun then looked toward He Wanbai.

As expected of someone whose consciousness had been nourished and strengthened by countless heavenly treasures throughout his journey, He Wanbai's ball of consciousness was actually even larger than Li Shun's.

However, he seemed to have no intention of making small talk.

The moment he entered this blank sea of consciousness, his ball of light began to surge continuously.

Strands of golden-purple radiance rose into the air.

They converged toward the center of the sea of consciousness.

From those silk-like bands of light, Li Shun could faintly sense He Wanbai's understanding of the Confucian school lineage of [Controlling Heavenly Mandate].

The commotion lasted only for an instant.

Very soon, the sea of consciousness fell silent once more.

The disciples of the Hundred Schools all transformed their life's accumulated knowledge and learning into wisps of radiance.

Everything converged toward the center of the blank sea of consciousness.

And there, it seemed as though a mysterious and unfathomable force existed.

It forged and refined these mutually contradictory, mutually incompatible streams of radiance into a single whole.

Watching this wondrous scene, Li Shun gradually came to an understanding.

Why could the gathering of the Hundred Schools upon this Tongtian Divine Mountain recreate the ancient scene of the Primordial Wilderness?

"What the Hundred Schools speak of was obtained by the sages through observing the heavens and grasping the Dao."

"The Heavenly Dao is vast and magnificent, stretching beyond the limits of what can be perceived. Even the Sages can only observe it like blind men trying to comprehend an elephant, making it impossible for them to see the whole."

"They can only grasp fragments."

"Yet when the Hundred Schools gather together, it is like assembling countless fragments, piecing together as much of the complete Great Dao as possible."

"This is also why the more schools that participate in the gathering, the better the effect."

Having understood this principle, Li Shun no longer hesitated.

He poured everything he had comprehended regarding the lineage of [Spring and Autumn Brush] into the enormous furnace at the center of the sea of consciousness.

'If some villain were to swallow all the various strands of divine sense within this sea of consciousness at this moment...'

'Wouldn't that be an extraordinary opportunity?'

'They would obtain the essence of all the Hundred Schools.'

Li Shun allowed his imagination to run wild for only a moment.

Soon, his consciousness seemed to be pulled along by some unfathomable force.

It was as though he had suddenly plunged beneath the surface of the water. Everything he could see and perceive gradually became blurred.

It felt as though he were leaving the world of Great Qian and entering another world, one far grander and more magnificent.

His perspective continued to rise.

Higher and higher.

Until he hovered above Mount Dai.

The three-thousand-zhang Mount Dai seemed to begin growing endlessly at this moment.

Nine thousand zhang.

Ten thousand zhang.

One hundred thousand zhang.

Finally, it reached the heavens.

Li Shun's consciousness seemed to suddenly collide violently with that boundless firmament.

Then...

Heaven and earth overturned, and his entire field of vision underwent a drastic transformation!