Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1581 - 853: One Stroke Cannot Write Two ’Zhao’ Characters (Part 2)

Zhao Sheng gave a light flick to the ancient bell in his palm, launching the Qinghuang Bell into the heavens. A faint, ethereal phoenix silhouette danced around the vessel, gradually spinning out brilliant ribbons of light.

After circling the artifact more than a dozen times, the True Spirit Phoenix abruptly dove into the bell, vanishing from view.

The Qinghuang Bell’s tolling suddenly spiked in intensity, emitting a radiance far purer and brighter than it had previously possessed.

At that exact moment, the fractures marring the outer shell of this Treasure Bell had mended by more than half, and the number of damaged sections decreased by three, granting the object a newfound, reborn appearance.

Zhao Sheng could clearly feel that the True Spirit residing within the metal vessel was experiencing a sense of profound exhilaration. The chime continued to ring out, and with every note, subtle ripples of law-based fluctuations radiated throughout the entire Blessed Land Space.

A faint smirk played on Zhao Sheng’s lips before he reached out his hand. The Qinghuang Bell immediately plummeted, settling obediently into his grasp.

With a quick snap of his wrist, the bell flickered and vanished into the depths of his sleeve.

After stretching his limbs, Zhao Sheng slowly drifted into meditation, his consciousness instantly manifesting within the Purple Mansion Soul Sea.

High above the Soul Sea, a projection of Zhao Sheng—indistinguishable from his physical form—opened its eyes. His gaze,sharp as lightning, illuminated the entire realm.

Simultaneously, with a mere shift in intention, the deep reaches of the Soul Sea reacted instantly.

Before long, the Hundred Generations Book rose gently from the depths, coming to a halt directly before him.

As Zhao Sheng watched, the Hundred Generations Book parted, and a worn, fractured brush emerged from between the pages, hovering to meet his hand of its own accord.

The moment they made contact, the Broken Pen pulse with a feeling of deep familiarity and intimacy.

With a solemn air, Zhao Sheng gripped the lower end of the pen and lowered the tip toward the very first page.

Upon touching the paper, every fragment of memory from his first life coalesced into countless unseen threads, silently weaving themselves around the nib.

Guided by a glimmer of spiritual light from the void, Zhao Sheng moved his wrist, the pen’s stroke shifting from bold to delicate:

One stroke,

Two strokes,

Three strokes,

...

Aeons seemed to traverse the space between seconds, yet it was also as if no time had passed at all.

Once Zhao Sheng pulled the pen away, his Primordial Spirit flickered between vibrant light and shadow, appearing temporarily ethereal and drained.

Zhao

Sitting at the center of the page was a perfectly rendered character: 'Zhao'.

Though his spirit was pushed to the brink of exhaustion, the sight of the character filled Zhao Sheng with a sense of immense joy and fulfillment.

Suddenly, the 'Zhao' character dissolved, cascading into countless white sparks that permeated the page.

A heart-beat later, lines of text began to materialize:

[Chen Daxing] Life Span: 127, Mixed Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm

[Mo Jiu] Life Span: 36, Pseudo Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm

[Zhao Lao Nian] Life Span: 48, No Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm

[Zhao Xiaoni] Life Span: 23, No Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm

[Xin Yuanting] Life Span: ...

...

As the illumination faded, ninety-three individual entries occupied the page, each one denoting a specific life.

Watching these ninety-three entries, a wave of realization struck Zhao Sheng with overwhelming force.

These 'souls' were his direct bloodline descendants, the progeny of his very first incarnation!

Shock rippled through him, leaving him speechless.

Wait, something wasn't right.

Zhao Sheng noticed a glaring discrepancy.

If every soul displayed here belonged to his bloodline from that first life, then, logically, the descendants from his second, third, and fourth lives—all the way until the last—should also be linked to the first.

Given the passage of lifetimes, his total number of descendants should reach the tens of billions; having only ninety-three was mathematically impossible.

Why did the first page display only these specific ninety-three?

Thoughts churned within him like a crashing tide. Countless hypotheses flooded his mind, yet not one could offer a logical explanation for this anomaly.

Thirsting for clarity and ignoring the fragility of his Primordial Spirit, he turned to the second page of the Hundred Generations Book.

As his fingers closed around the Broken Pen, a sudden tremor seized his Primordial Spirit, ringing immediate alarm bells of danger.

Instinctively, Zhao Sheng discarded the brush and summoned the Southern Haoyang Mirror through sheer will.

The Haoyang Treasure Mirror erupted in brilliance. Its surface rippled, spitting out over thirty High-grade Treasure Pills.

Opening his mouth, Zhao Sheng inhaled, drawing the pills in. They converted into refined medicinal power, bolstering his fading Primordial Spirit.

Months drifted by.

Eventually, Zhao Sheng returned to his peak.

Once more, he grasped the Broken Pen and touched it to the parchment, crafting the 'Zhao' character stroke by stroke.

The ritual repeated itself.

White light washed over the page, birthing a list of names.

However, the tally this time was significantly lower than before.

As the radiance died down, only eight names remained.

[Li Zhongshu] Life Span: 27, No Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm

[Li Yiming] Life Span: 53, No Spirit Root, born in Tianzhu Realm.

[Ren You] Life Span: ...

...

A strange glint entered Zhao Sheng’s eyes as he stared at the list.

These eight 'descendants' held completely unrelated surnames; not one of them was named Zhao.

He recalled his second life, where he had been an Innate Grandmaster blessed with ten children and over a hundred grandchildren—far more than in his first life.

Yet, compared to that first generation, his bloodline from the second life appeared nearly wiped out, without a single kin remaining. How tragic.

A soft sigh echoed through the Purple Mansion Soul Sea. Zhao Sheng released the Broken Pen, letting it retreat to the book’s spine.

The Hundred Generations Book snapped shut and sank into the quiet abyss of his Soul Sea.

Once more, Zhao Sheng drew out the Haoyang Mirror to consume a dozen High-grade Treasure Pills, steadily nursing his Primordial Spirit back to strength.

...

Above the Source Crystal Lotus Platform in the Jade Void Spirit Pond, Zhao Sheng’s eyes snapped open, and he was instantly engulfed in a swirling halo of multicolored light.

Rumble...

The spiritual vapors of the Blessed Land gathered from afar, caught in the colorful radiance, and surged wildly into Zhao Sheng’s body.

In moments, the raw spiritual energy was refined into droplets of Returning Void Power, rain-like, falling into the ocean of power within his Dantian.

Time marched on, and the spiritual aura of the Blessed Land grew thin. The liquid vapors in the Spirit Pond began to recede.

Even the Mystic Origin Pearl on the tray nearby began to shrink rather than grow.

Days later, a thunderous roar echoed across the hidden grotto.

Zhao Sheng stood, tore the void asunder, and stepped into the Dark Sky, vanishing entirely.

...

A tall figure appeared high above the Divine Continent, with oceans of clouds rolling beneath his boots.

Zhao Sheng scanned the horizon until he spotted the sun piercing the cloud cover, its rays painting the mists in shades of gold.

The Gang Wind howled, occasionally shredding the clouds to reveal a vibrant, sprawling continent of immense scale.

Looking down at these Ancestral Lands, Zhao Sheng expanded his Divine Thought, which caught the wind and spread in every direction.

Moments later, his awareness covered ninety thousand miles—a range far beyond others at the Returning to Void stage.

A ripple of surprise crossed his expression before he murmured, "So that is the truth... indeed!"

He had realized the Ancestral Land and the heavens were in a state of constant 'repulsion'.

It was precisely the immense strength of this repelling force that allowed this continent to stay aloft.

He finally understood what kept the Divine Land suspended.

No wonder the Ten Lands Zhao Clan was so legendary in the Taiyi Spirit Realm; onlookers couldn't help but call this floating continent a miracle.

Zhao Sheng shut his eyes, pushing his mental perception to its absolute limit to sense the elusive gravitational currents of space-time.

After an age, he finally isolated the frequency and detected the anomalous spatial fluctuations emanating from a specific coordinate.

In a flash, Zhao Sheng strode through the void and disappeared.

...

At the heart of the continent, the geography dipped into a vast, central depression, creating a sea stretching for tens of thousands of miles.

In the depths of these waters lay scattered islands. Spiritual energy was scarce here; there were no apex monsters or great beasts in sight.

The islands housed small populations of mortals; anyone with the potential for Cultivation fled this barren region at the first opportunity.

Without warning,

Zhao Sheng materialized out of empty air above the sea.