novelraw Chapter 103 : Breaking Through the Myriad Phenomena Realm
Chapter 103 : Breaking Through the Myriad Phenomena Realm
Chapter 103: Breaking Through the Myriad Phenomena Realm
The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month — the eve of the New Year.
Outside the military tent came faint sounds of soldiers bustling about in preparation for the festival, yet within the tent, there was utter silence.
Jiang Zhaoming sat cross-legged, once again taking out the warm, smooth Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant.
Infusing a wisp of spiritual power into it, a faint radiance flowed across the pendant.
An invisible ranking list slowly unfolded before him — it was the final update of this year’s Dragon Ranking.
His gaze swiftly swept over the familiar names and the cold numbers that represented both power and potential.
【1. Jiang Zhaoding, Imperial Destiny Value: 13,997 (Last Month: 13,894, Excavating the Linxi Canal +103)
Jiang Zhaoqian, Title: Prince of Great Yan Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 9,336 (Last Month: 9,305, Resolving the Yanbei Cold Disaster +31)
Jiang Zhaoming, Title: Prince of Anxi Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 5,162 (Last Month: 4,734, Reclaiming Thirty-Four Lost Counties of Yutian +428)
】...
Seeing the significant leap in his Imperial Destiny Value and his first entry into the top ten,
a heavy sense of accomplishment surged within Jiang Zhaoming’s chest.
This was proof of the years he had painstakingly managed Anxi, especially of his recent great victory in the western campaign.
However, when his gaze landed upon the number behind the name at the very top,
he still could not help but take a deep breath.
“How could this be—after Great Jin’s retreat, he could still maintain such terrifying growth?”
Jiang Zhaoming thought silently, wondering just how deep Jiang Zhaoding’s foundation and means truly were.
After returning to the imperial capital and attending the evening banquet, Jiang Zhaoming changed into his casual robes and, beneath the cold night sky of the imperial city, walked straight toward that grand building deep within the royal palace — a symbol of the royal family’s profound heritage.
The Royal Scripture Repository.
Under the night sky, its towering silhouette stood solemn and vast, like a slumbering primordial beast.
Nine-tiered eaves curved high under the moonlight, outlining a majestic and solemn shape.
Ancient cloud-dragon carvings adorned the massive stone gates, their time-worn surface exuding the weight of ages.
The entire building radiated an invisible pressure that sealed off the outside world, leaving behind only an awe-inspiring, suffocating stillness.
This was one of the true foundations of the royal clan, where countless generations of cultivation techniques and secret arts were preserved.
Pushing open the heavy doors, a scent of aged scrolls, rare woods, and faint ink fragrance washed over him.
At the entrance, a shadowy figure stood silently in the darkness, as though one with the ancient structure itself.
It was an elderly eunuch with a thin, clean face, clad in deep violet inner-court robes, slightly stooped, yet giving off a sense of unshakable steadiness.
He was one of the Emperor Father’s most trusted attendants — Eunuch Kang — who had long guarded this heavily restricted repository.
“Eunuch Kang,” Jiang Zhaoming stepped forward and bowed slightly, “I’ve come to borrow some secret scriptures.”
Eunuch Kang lifted his clouded yet unusually clear eyes, glancing at Jiang Zhaoming without a hint of expression. Only in his slightly hoarse yet calm voice did he say, “The rules — His Highness the Prince of Anxi naturally knows them. Please proceed.”
His voice echoed through the vast, silent hall, adding an even graver tone to the solemn atmosphere.
Jiang Zhaoming nodded and stepped into the vast sea of books.
The rules of the Royal Scripture Repository were exceedingly strict, its core purpose being to prevent the leakage of royal secret techniques.
Within the repository were laid out extremely profound formation arrays. One could read all the secret manuals inside, but if one wished to bring their contents out, the only way was to completely comprehend and master them.
This rule was absolute and inescapable.
No matter how prodigious one’s memory was — if one had not truly mastered a secret art, then upon stepping out of the repository, all specific details — texts, diagrams, meridian paths — would vanish completely from one’s mind, as if they had never existed.
Even if one had comprehended seventy or eighty percent, upon their next visit, they would still have to start again from the beginning.
This iron law fundamentally prevented the princes from memorizing the scriptures and secretly teaching them to the generals and subordinates within their fiefs.
The repository had nine floors, and the higher one went, the more profound and precious the scriptures became.
Jiang Zhaoming was not one for vain ambition — his goal was clear. He directly ascended the spiraling staircase leading to the fifth floor.
This level contained various secret arts of the Myriad Phenomena Realm.
Weaving between rows of shelves faintly glowing with spiritual light, he stopped at the section dedicated to water-element cultivation methods.
Finding a quiet corner, he sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, calming his spirit as he sank his consciousness into the first jade slip in his hand.
In an instant, torrents of information surged into his mind — mysterious runes, complex meridian cycles, and myriad explanations of the laws of water—
All of it material so intricate that an ordinary Divine Power Realm cultivator would need months, even years, to comprehend.
Yet in Jiang Zhaoming’s eyes, it seemed to resonate with some strange harmony.
His All-Encompassing Mastery innate talent seemed to ignite like starlight, operating silently.
The abstruse words decomposed and rearranged themselves before his eyes, becoming crystal clear and easy to understand.
The complicated diagrams of spiritual circulation seemed alive, naturally playing out within his meridians without the slightest obstruction.
The myriad truths of water — its softness, penetration, coldness, and even its violent destruction — were swiftly understood and absorbed by him.
His speed in reading through the scriptures was astonishing.
The profound essentials and complex pathways that would have stumped others
flowed before him as smoothly as running water.
In just a few hours, the True Water Art of Xuanming’s frigid essence
had already condensed and dispersed between his fingertips.
The Thousand Currents Mirage Technique’s water-shadow form had taken initial shape,
and the Visualization of the Sea-Overturning Serpent stirred waves within his sea of consciousness — a vast, deep-blue serpent’s phantom, scales shimmering with the light of laws,
grew ever clearer and more lifelike.
Water vapor quietly gathered within the repository, encircling him in a moist, spiritual aura.
Behind him, the illusory foundation of his Myriad Phenomena Dao Base rippled slightly, the western position of water glowing brightly. The spirit serpent upon it resonated with the serpent within his sea of consciousness.
The moment of breakthrough — had come naturally.
Outside the window, the buds of early spring quietly bloomed. At that same moment, the phantom of Jiang Zhaoming’s Dao foundation solidified completely.
The barrier of the Myriad Phenomena Realm — was shattered!
Spiritual energy surged in like a tide.
Sensing the sudden depletion of aura within the hall, Eunuch Kang, standing on the first floor, slightly furrowed his brows and formed a seal with his withered fingers.
The spiritual veins beneath the repository were activated; massive torrents of pure aura flooded back in — nearly ten thousand Spirit Crystals silently turned to dust.
Feeling no bottleneck and abundant energy, Jiang Zhaoming wasted no time, continuing to absorb the vast sea of spiritual energy.
Power surged and condensed within his body.
When he opened his eyes again, his aura was deep yet restrained — he had reached the Late Stage of the Myriad Phenomena Realm!
Four years of arduous effort and a flawless Dao foundation now yielded tremendous reward, saving him decades of consolidation.
Rising to his feet, his bones crackled softly — power filling every inch of his being.
Next, he only needed to attune his Dao foundation and forge his Golden Body, and he would step into the next great realm.
Once he entered the Golden Body Realm, Jiang Zhaoming would no longer need to accumulate foundation, for the forging of the golden body itself required the slow passage of time.
Twenty days later,
Jiang Zhaoming bid farewell to Eunuch Kang, who stood silently in the shadows,
and left the deeply-rooted Royal Scripture Repository.