Chapter 67: Chapter 61: What a Huge Firework
To achieve immortality, one must ascend.
And to ascend, one’s only hope is to claim the Emperor Ziwei Star.
Since time immemorial, countless prodigious Cultivators have been reduced to withered bones in their fight for this singular path to immortality.
Sects schemed and battled in the shadows and the light. Masters and disciples became bitter foes, and brothers turned on one another.
The Great Dao is merciless. Under the frosty heavens, all of creation vies for freedom.
The winner takes all, and the loser bites the dust.
...
Glazed Island.
A nine-story altar, constructed entirely from black jade, stood tall and imposing.
The altar’s body was covered in carved Star Patterns.
Atop the altar, Beitang Batian sat cross-legged, his true form present. His white hair cascaded like snow, and his face was as withered as ancient wood.
Only his eyes blazed like torches.
The name "Batian" was given to him by his father.
He had hoped his son would have the heart to challenge the heavens and defy his destiny.
However, as his Cultivation Level deepened and his understanding of the Heaven and Earth Laws grew more profound, Beitang Batian perceived the might of the Celestial Dao with increasing clarity.
And so, he gradually grew distant from and resentful of the name "Batian."
He believed it was a form of blasphemy.
All things exist under the Celestial Dao.
Those who follow it prosper; those who defy it... end up like Jiang Chaoxi.
He wanted to change his name to "Beitang Jingtian" or "Beitang Xundao," but for various reasons, he was unsuccessful.
He often taught his sect’s disciples to revere the Celestial Dao and follow its laws.
He hoped that the heavens would see his attitude and, at the final moment, grant him a sliver of mercy.
Even the slightest trace would be enough.
Below the altar, the current Island Master, Beitang Kun, gazed up at his elderly father attempting to claim his Star Position, his eyes burning with fervor.
Beside him, his wife stood dressed in plain robes. Her features were gentle, but she couldn’t conceal the worry in her eyes.
"Can Father-in-law truly do it?"
"Of course he can!"
Beitang Kun clenched his fists, his tone resolute.
"Father has been unstoppable his entire life! He never even gave that Great Demon, Jiang Chaoxi, who threw the world into chaos, a second thought. If Jiang Chaoxi could claim the Emperor Ziwei Star, why can’t my father?"
Beside them, his little son, only six years old, clapped his hands and said in a clear voice:
"Grandpa can definitely do it!"
Beitang Kun laughed heartily and dotingly rubbed his son’s head.
Due to the unique nature of the Cultivation Technique passed down through the generations on Glazed Island, having children was extremely difficult.
Beitang Batian had cultivated until he was over sixty before using a Secret Technique to have his only child, Beitang Kun.
And Beitang Kun himself was nearly fifty when he finally had this son.
The boy bore a striking resemblance to his grandfather, and the island’s elders had hailed him as a "Bearer of Good Fortune."
His young wife glanced up at her father-in-law, then down at the son in her arms. A complex, dark emotion flickered in the depths of her eyes.
Beitang Kun failed to notice his wife’s strange expression and continued speaking.
"Back then, my father couldn’t stand the way that Great Demon conducted himself, daring to be disrespectful to the Celestial Dao, so he offered some criticism. Who would have thought that demon was so petty he’d personally come to Glazed Island to cause trouble.
Thankfully, my father is a magnanimous man and refused to lower himself to that person’s level. He chose to enter secluded cultivation in the forbidden grounds, completely ignoring how Jiang Chaoxi cursed and provoked him from outside the island."
At this, Beitang Kun snorted coldly.
"At the time, everyone said my father was afraid of Jiang Chaoxi, that he was a coward hiding in his shell. Hmph, how ridiculous!
Later, when my father learned that the Great Demon was about to be obliterated by the Celestial Dao, he brazenly came out of seclusion, preparing to face him. It’s just a pity he was a step too late. The demon died first, which became the greatest regret of my father’s life."
Beitang Kun gazed at the celestial phenomenon gathering in the sky and declared proudly,
"I imagine if that Great Demon could see my father’s power now, even he would have to step aside."
The words had barely left his lips when heaven and earth went dark.
A stream of light shot up from the altar into the sky.
Like a meteor in reverse, trailing a long comet’s tail, it plowed a brilliant trail of light across the gray canopy of the sky.
Space itself warped in its wake.
HUMMM—
The Emperor Ziwei Star, high above in the Nine Heavens, seemed to truly "come alive" for the first time.
The surrounding purple-gold halo slowly spread out,
sending out circular ripples of purple light, each imbued with a supreme Dao Rhyme.
Wherever the ripples passed, the countless stars across the sky flickered uncertainly, as if they were courtiers trembling and bowing before their emperor.
At this moment, all those in the world who possessed a Star Position looked up at the sky.
Some watched coldly, some were filled with anticipation, some cursed incessantly, and still others secretly activated Secret Techniques, attempting to profit from the chaos...
The full spectrum of mortal reactions was on display in that one shared moment.
...
The Jiang family’s courtyard.
Bai Xiang looked up at the celestial phenomenon.
Her simple dress swayed gently, its hem unfurling like flowing clouds.
The woman’s body was faintly haloed by a sphere of pure white starlight, which echoed the distant Ziwei in the night sky, yet also held a certain detachment.
The moment Beitang Batian shot into the sky, she had already prepared herself.
’If that old bastard really dares to touch the Emperor Star, I’ll stop him, even if it means exposing my identity and triggering a heavenly tribulation.’
’A mere bastard son dares to overstep his bounds and proclaim himself emperor?’
...
On the roof, Jiang Mu and Ling Ye held their breath, watching with wide eyes.
At some point, their spoons had found their way back into the watermelon, digging mechanically.
In their tension, the two had long forgotten about any boundaries.
He dug into her half, and she dug into his.
They even swallowed the watermelon juice mixed with the other’s saliva from their spoons, completely oblivious.
The celestial phenomenon in the sky grew more and more intense.
That stream of light broke through layers of astral wind, and the clouds scattered.
Getting closer and closer to the Emperor Ziwei Star...
The entire world fell silent, craning their necks to watch.
Closer!
Even closer!
Just as that stream of light was about to touch the edge of the Ziwei Star—
BOOM!!
The stream of light shattered.
The massive figure disintegrated in an instant, transforming into a spectacular rain of a billion points of light that scattered down upon the mortal world.
The entire world fell into a dead silence.
Everyone looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
What was happening?
Why did he suddenly just explode?
This was a scene that no one had anticipated.
Logically speaking, even if one fails to claim a Star Position, at worst they would just fall back, or be seriously injured and lose their original Star Position.
But they weren’t supposed to just blow up on the spot.
Ling Ye was also stunned silly, her lips slightly parted, her face a mask of astonishment.
Jiang Mu didn’t know much about this level of star claiming and thought it was a required part of the performance, watching with great interest.
He scooped up a large spoonful of watermelon, popped it in his mouth, and exclaimed with sincere admiration:
"Wow, what a huge firework."
...
In the small courtyard, Bai Xiang was also frozen in place, a rare, dazed look on her face.
The hand seal for her Spell was only half-complete. She had been preparing to give that old fool a nasty surprise, but he went and exploded on his own.
Bai Xiang felt her scalp tingle.
’Is the Emperor Star always this short-tempered?’
’It won’t even let someone touch it?’
’How on earth did Jiang Chaoxi succeed back then?’
’Was this Ziwei Star tailor-made just for him?’
The thought of how she herself had once tried to approach Ziwei with the aura of her "Harem Star" made Bai Xiang break out in a cold sweat.
’It seems that it merely pushing me away back then was it being in a good mood.’
Seeing that the Ziwei Star was still spreading its Dao Rhyme, its anger seemingly not yet subsided, she vaguely felt that it was watching her.
Bai Xiang’s heart skipped a beat.
She quickly moved her Star Position’s aura further away.
Usually aloof, she put her hands together and muttered softly to the sky:
"My apologies for any offense. So sorry, so sorry."
Only when the light of the Ziwei Star had completely faded did she let out a long sigh of relief.
But then she remembered the fate of that old geezer from Glazed Island. Her lingering unease instantly vanished, replaced by a faint smile that curved her lips.
’Hmm, I’ll treat myself to an extra chicken drumstick tonight.’
’And cook a proper feast for that Jiang boy.’
...
「Glazed Island.」
The area around the altar was dead silent, with only the whimpering of the sea breeze.
Beitang Kun’s mouth hung open, unable to close, as if the blood in his veins had completely frozen.
’Father? Where is my father? He was right here!’
But his little son, Beitang Xuan, excitedly tugged at the corner of his robes, jumping up and down and pointing to the sky.
"Daddy, look! Grandpa exploded! Grandpa turned into fireworks! They’re so pretty... Daddy, Grandpa exploded..."
"Shut up!!"
Beitang Kun’s face was flushed red as blood. He turned and roared, his eyes looking like they would pop out of their sockets.
The little boy flinched in fright and burst into tears with a loud "WAAAH!"
His wife quickly pulled her son into her arms and comforted him softly.
As her gaze swept over the now-dark and silent altar, a trace of something long-suppressed, and finally released, flashed in the depths of her eyes...
Glee.
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