Bai Yuanshi was awakened by the pain.
The wound on his chest constantly reminded him of his failure, and the aches and pains all over his body further fueled his spirit.
He wanted to cover his wound with his hand, after all, losing too much blood would inevitably make him weak, and he still had so many more Heavenly Steps to climb down.
A strip of silk-textured cloth appeared in his palm, and he barely opened his eyes.
His hands and arms were wrapped in bandages, and the wound on his chest was also bandaged.
There's no one else here; it's clearly made of water.
He strained to lift his head and saw a figure standing not far away.
Lu Zhaozhao, her clothes fluttering, stood at the edge of the steps looking down.
Perhaps hearing the noise behind her, she turned around and looked at Bai Yuanshi.
With an apologetic expression, she said shyly, "I seriously injured Senior Brother Bai in the heat of the moment, please forgive me."
Bai Yuanshi shook his head and said weakly, "It's all about skill. By the way, why haven't you gone on stage yet?"
“I was worried that something might have happened to my senior brother, but now that he’s awake, I’m relieved,” Lu Zhaozhao replied, her face still showing guilt.
To be fair, the two were evenly matched in their final attack, but to Lu Zhaozhao's surprise, Bai Yuanshi's magic weapon was made of ordinary materials, and Niye's stab was even more beyond her expectations.
Her gaze unconsciously fell on the scattered fragments on the ground—the remains of the bamboo tube.
Master Bai Yuan saw through her thoughts and comforted her, saying, "Anything that can be called a ruler can be called a bamboo tube. This is not the first, nor will it be the last."
"There's something I'm really curious about." Lu Zhaozhao pursed her lips, pondering how to bring it up.
Master Bai Yuan took the lead and said, "You want to ask why my magical artifacts are made from ordinary materials, right?"
Having her thoughts exposed, Lu Zhaozhao nodded in affirmation.
This kind of thing involves privacy, so it's always difficult to bring it up for fear of offending the other person.
But Master Bai Yuan didn't take it to heart at all. He explained, "My master and fellow disciples have advised me to use better materials to make artifacts, but I always feel that they should be connected to people. I'll get used to this piece of black jade after using it for a while, so I chose it. In the future, there can be other pieces of black jade, or something else entirely. In short, I'll do as I please."
Lu Zhaozhao nodded, surprised that Bai Yuanshi, who was usually meticulous in his work, was so casual in this regard. However, since he had said so, her guilt lessened somewhat. After all, it was she who had broken his magical artifact.
Fortunately, she had a lot of black jade in her private collection, so she could bring it all over to Master Bai and let him choose the one that suited his taste.
Thinking of this, a relieved smile appeared on her face.
Bai Yuanshi could tell from her expression that the matter was over, so he forced himself to stand up and slowly walked away.
Perhaps because he looked somewhat distressed, Lu Zhaozhao reached out to help him.
Bai Yuanshi declined, as he had to walk his own path after stepping down, while Lu Zhaozhao also had her own path to move forward.
He bowed respectfully to Lu Zhaozhao and said, "Master Bai Yuan of Wenyuan Academy is completely convinced, but there is still a long way to go. I will definitely defeat you next time."
Hearing this, Lu Zhaozhao finally relaxed and cupped her hands in a respectful bow. They looked at each other in silence, yet deeply appreciated one another.
Bai Yuanshi turned around and walked down step by step; Lu Zhaozhao also turned around and walked up the Golden Terrace step by step.
A figure appeared in everyone's sight, and everyone craned their necks to see who it was.
About halfway there, Bai Yuanshi's figure became completely clear.
The place immediately erupted in a cacophony of voices.
"If it was Master Bai Yuan who came down, then whoever went up must be..."
"It's Lu Zhaozhao! This year's champion is Lu Zhaozhao, the daughter of Emperor Huizong of Qing!"
"My God, that's Master Bai Yuan! Lu Zhaozhao is even more skilled than him."
"After all, he was a disciple of Emperor Huizong of Qing, so naturally he was different from others..."
Conversations rose and fell, filled with praise, astonishment, and of course, envy.
But all of this had nothing to do with Lu Zhaozhao, yet the people in the audience felt it deeply.
The disciples of Emperor Huizong felt honored, and Ying Che also breathed a sigh of relief, revealing a gratified smile. Nian Zhi's expression was bitter, but she couldn't show it, so she could only force a smile. Yun Xian's face was pale, without a trace of color. This was the first time he had appeared in everyone's sight in so many days. His expression was unreadable, but his figure was exceptionally thin, as if he had been seriously ill.
Tears welled up in Yao Tong's eyes, and she covered her mouth, excitedly murmuring, "I knew it, I knew she could do it."
Liao Chou, who was standing beside her, didn't show much emotion. He just looked at Yao Tong with some surprise. This was the first time in many days that he had seen this usually calm woman so excited.
Sangpan hid in the crowd, gazing intently into the depths of the clouds, even though no one could be seen there. He stubbornly stared for a long time.
Then, he turned around, made eye contact with another person in the distance, and quietly left the crowd.
...
Everyone reacted differently, and Lu Zhaozhao, the leader, also had her own reaction at this moment.
She finally ascended the Golden Terrace, a goal she had set for the first stage from the very first day she transmigrated into the book.
The journey has been fraught with difficulties and hardships, but the road ahead is long and arduous, and we will eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The name "Golden Terrace" sounds magnificent, but when Lu Zhaozhao actually stepped onto it, she discovered that it was just an ordinary stone pavilion.
The area was quite spacious. Lu Zhaozhao walked around the perimeter, where there were stone tablets all around, inscribed with cultivation techniques and mental formulas.
After a quick glance, Lu Zhaozhao understood why those who ascended the Golden Terrace made such great progress.
The techniques on the stone tablet were never seen before. Their content was so complex that one could only learn one or two at most in a short period of time, but each one could be considered a secret technique of a sect if placed in the outside world.
Many of these techniques were secret teachings passed down by Emperor Huizong of the Qing Dynasty, and most of the Qinghui Sword Techniques originated from them.
So that's how it is. No wonder Emperor Huizong of Qing attached great importance to the talent cultivation at the Golden Palace Banquet. Lu Zhaozhao initially thought that the outstanding performance of her disciples would demonstrate the strength and foundation of a sect, but now it seems that it was for the purpose of better passing on the cultivation techniques on stage.
She naturally wouldn't learn the ones that looked familiar. As for the rest, Lu Zhaozhao estimated that she could master at most two techniques, but she didn't choose to stop learning immediately.
Such a sacred place, with its outermost stone tablets that are out of reach from the outside, must surely contain something else, something even more important.
Lu Zhaozhao walked towards the middle, to the very center.
Nothing unusual happened along the way; it was as if this were just an ordinary stone platform.
Lu Zhaozhao stood in the middle of the pavilion, her expression solemn. She looked around for a while, then suddenly looked up.
At the very top of the pavilion is a star map.
Lu Zhaozhao couldn't understand these things, but before she transmigrated into the book, she had followed the trend and learned the basics of tarot cards and birth charts.
Astrological charts have a similar feel to these concepts.
Lu Zhaozhao took a deep breath. So, this is divination? Or rather, what kind of operating rules are recorded on it?
Thinking of this, she suddenly recalled the illusion she encountered when she ascended the steps. The illusion mentioned that this world was ruled by the Heavenly Dao and had a fixed operating logic. At first, she thought that this logic was the common storyline of the male and female protagonists in novels. But after all she had done, she had already modified many storylines. If this storyline was the logic, then she should have been eliminated long ago. In fact, she deduced that no one should have transmigrated into the book and changed it in the first place.
So, what exactly is the operating logic of this world?
Her intuition told her that it was inextricably linked to this picture.
With time running out, she could only memorize the diagram and engrave it in her mind. The direction of the stars and the connecting lines in the middle were complicated and cumbersome, and even Lu Zhaozhao spent a lot of time on it.
Once you've memorized it, there's not much time left.
Lu Zhaozhao hurriedly found the nearest stone tablet, channeled her inner energy into it, and the words on the tablet floated in the air, conjuring up several small figures that demonstrated the techniques on it.
"The Great Dipper Mantra".
Lu Zhaozhao looked at the gold lettering above, along with the annotations that followed.
"The Big Dipper has seven stars, its divine power governs the heavens. Heaven is the Great Sage, its might is boundless."
Ascending to heaven and descending to earth, severing the source of evil. Riding the clouds, ascending to descend before the altar. Descending with true energy, passing through water and entering smoke.
Its fame spreads throughout the Three Realms, where ten thousand demons wield their fists. Slaying demons and eradicating their traces, it resurrects the dead and grants ascension to immortality.
Its incantation borrows the power of the Big Dipper and communicates with the vast energy of heaven and earth, using powerful yang energy and masculine energy to slay demons and monsters.
Legend has it that this was created by a senior figure known as the Sage of the North Star during the great war between humans and demons. It is extremely powerful, but the release of this power requires the caster to use themselves as a medium, thus posing a great risk.
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