Chapter 42

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Chapter 42: Where is the Dao?

After Yang Guanfeng finished speaking, he bowed three times to Chen Yang before leaving the ancestral hall.

Long after he had gone, Chen Yang felt a stirring in his heart, unable to calm himself for a long time.

"Heading toward the Dao… is it?"

He quietly repeated Yang Guanfeng’s last words in his mind.

Those words struck deep within him, prompting Chen Yang to truly begin examining his own place in this world.

In the secret realm, he had no choice but to lie there silently.

But ever since Yang Guanfeng and Old Yu brought him out of the secret realm, his fate had intertwined with the Yang Family.

This point of intersection deepened after several crises, until that day of the blood sacrifice to the spirits when the Yang Family regarded him as their treasured protector, and Chen Yang began to feel that sense of connection he had experienced in his past life.

In simple terms, a bond had formed between the two.

From that moment on, Chen Yang was no longer just a stone basking in the sun and sleeping every day.

To the Yang Family, he was like a guardian deity; to Chen Yang himself, he felt a sense of responsibility and mission.

At least, he thought so until then.

But that night, after hearing Yang Guanfeng’s words, Chen Yang couldn’t sleep.

Since his arrival in this world, he had always been able to sleep whenever he wanted, enjoying great sleep quality, but on this night, he just couldn’t find rest.

"The Dao is heartless… is that so?"

A thought crossed his mind as he wondered what choices he would make if he truly reached that point.

Was what Yang Guanfeng said the foundation for establishing himself in this realm?

After thinking for half the night, Chen Yang rejected this notion.

"The Dao cares not for love or hate; the Dao is simply the Dao!"

If, in the end, abandoning the Yang Family and fleeing were his destined path, something even he could not accept or convince himself of, how could it be worthy of the name ‘Dao’?

"But… what exactly is my Dao?"

Unable to come up with an answer, Chen Yang began to recall the many events that had happened since he had crossed over, pondering them repeatedly in his mind, seeking an answer.

"I’m just a gambler fighting against fate. The clan has finally produced a few promising talents, and for the future of the Yang Family, regardless of the danger, I must take a risk…"

"In the future, during practice, I must not be careless; you must work diligently and strive hard, and not let down the Master’s earnest efforts…"

"The path to the Yang Family’s prosperity shall begin, and I, Yang Lingrui, shall be the sharpest sword of the family! If anyone dares to block my way, I shall kill them! If ghosts come to disturb us, I shall slay the ghosts…"

"Then I will leave the Mysterious Stone in your care. You three will take turns, using spiritual power to nurture it daily, until the Mysterious Stone completes its advancement…"

"A precious treasure, I know of your power. If monsters come, you must definitely remind us…"

"Today’s blood sacrifice to the spirits, if it does not repay the Immortal Master’s kindness, is indeed a shame. In the future, the Yang Family, generation after generation, must uphold this to find peace…"

"The Immortal Master works hard, and the Yang Family is endlessly grateful…"

"The Immortal Master possesses boundless powers; I thank you on behalf of Wu Tong…"

"If disaster truly strikes, please do not let the Yang Family burden you; just follow the Dao!"

Until the sunlight streamed into Song Mountain the next day, Chen Yang’s heart seemed to be illuminated in an instant.

"Now I understand… now I truly understand!"

Chen Yang felt a sensation of clarity, as if enlightened by a sudden realization!

The white space, which was still slightly lacking in spiritual power, unexpectedly began to expand.

In a moment, Chen Yang leaped over that hurdle as if he were weightless, smoothly arriving at late-stage Gathering Qi without even going through the steps of sleep.

"Is this what enlightenment feels like? How amazing, indescribably wonderful."

Feeling the changes within himself, Chen Yang couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Old Yang, you were calculating this all along, weren’t you!"

"Where is the Dao? Where is the Dao? It is far away in the sky but close at hand!"

The confusion in Chen Yang’s heart had vanished completely, and he unknowingly ascended to a new state of mind.

Choices?

Why would he make a foolish choice, one that leads to endless suffering?

It’s not that complicated; I will just take the Yang Family’s path to enlightenment!

Realizing this, Chen Yang felt a sense of boundless freedom and great satisfaction.

"Old Yang, take care."

He gazed toward the rising sun in the east, thinking to himself.

Before dawn, Yang Guanfeng had already taken Han Wang to the eastern border of the dynasty, and everyone in the Yang Family who practiced cultivation, including Wu Tong, had bid him farewell.

Everyone looked forward to and believed that Yang Guanfeng would return home soon.

But only Chen Yang knew that last night’s meeting might truly have been his final farewell to Yang Guanfeng.

Whether those words last night were intentionally spoken by Yang Guanfeng or were merely casual remarks, Chen Yang could no longer discern.

However, at this moment, with the knot in his heart untied, the truth no longer mattered.

After bidding farewell to Yang Guanfeng, Elder Yu returned to the ancestral hall with Yang Lingrui and Yang Lingqing, now holding a turquoise green treasure in his hand.

After the three bowed to Chen Yang, Elder Yu presented the treasure and placed it beside him.

"This item is an unexpected treasure we acquired, belonging to the spirit stone, and the Master specifically instructed that you, Immortal Master, should take a look at it first."

With that, Elder Yu stepped back.

Chen Yang gazed at the small stone beside him and then released his consciousness.

"Wait, this feeling!"

As soon as his consciousness touched the stone, he felt a sudden rush in his heart.

It was a long-lost sensory stimulation!

"Delicious! So fragrant!"

"My brother, you smell so good!"

The fragrance emanating from the stone instantly rekindled the hunger Chen Yang had lost for more than twenty years.

He eagerly extended his consciousness, activating his spiritual power to draw the stone closer.

At this moment, Chen Yang was still unaware that he could now project his spiritual power externally to retrieve objects from a distance.

Seeing this commotion, the three from the Yang family were taken aback; it was the first time they had seen the Spirit Stone Immortal react so intensely.

"Elder Yu, what is this…?"

"Shh! Quiet, the Immortal Master is performing a technique; do not speak."

Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui immediately fell silent, quietly watching as the stone was pressed against Chen Yang and slowly absorbed into his body.

Once the stone was completely absorbed, a turquoise green glow enveloped Chen Yang.

This glow flickered for a moment before gradually shrinking into a turquoise green pattern on Chen Yang’s body.

"So delicious, hic~"

Within his consciousness, Chen Yang felt satisfied and let out a big burp.

After swallowing the stone, his cultivation level surged tremendously; what had once been an empty white space after breaking through was now filled to twenty percent.

Theoretically, if he could swallow four more treasures of the same quality as this stone, Chen Yang would be able to break through again and reach Perfected Gathering Qi.

However, this was practically impossible to achieve in the short term, as after swallowing the stone, the sensation of hunger completely vanished, replaced by a drowsy feeling of fullness, so he couldn’t eat anything more.

He needed a long time to digest before he could consume anything again.

Previously, under Zhang Chen’s possession, this treasure had displayed five different abilities, but unfortunately, it was not a true spiritual treasure, but rather a consumable, so Chen Yang could not inherit any of those abilities.

Now, having progressed to late-stage Gathering Qi, he was able to control spiritual power to retrieve objects from a distance, and his mastery over his own consciousness had also greatly improved.

"I’m so sleepy, can’t hold on anymore…"

After eating the stone, Chen Yang communicated a thought to the three, then succumbed to the urge of fullness and fell into a deep sleep.