Chapter 649: Peak of Emptiness
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was as though Ling Tian had been through a terrible nightmare and endured an endless series of torture throughout his nightmare. It was as though he experienced all eighteen levels of hell before going through it over and over again. Up until the very end where Ling Tian’s body was no longer aching, Ling Tian’s thoughts had still remained in that horrifying dreamscape and his powerful mental will was on the brink of collapse!
Thankfully, he had finally soldiered through all of that!
Following this loud explosion, Ling Tian finally regained his consciousness. The first instinct upon regaining his consciousness was to cry out in pain but he was surprised to realize that his whole body was filled with a warm fuzzy feeling of comfort. He could not help but be startled and his eyes opened widely with his body shooting up.
The first thing which entered his sights was little young noble Ling standing up straight as though it was saying hi to him. Ling Tian cried out in misery. Just what is going on? Could it be that I was raped during this period of unconsciousness?! While he had the urge to feel his bum, he managed to resist the urge!
If not, why would I be completely naked? Young noble Ling wanted to burst out into tears. Just why did he have such miserable luck? Every time he met with a fortuitous encounter, he would always end up completely naked. The last time, he was still seen naked by an old man many times his age! All of a sudden, Ling Tian realized that it didn’t seem to matter even if he was raped by someone else. As long as the other party wasn’t a man, he wouldn’t be bothered by it.
As Ling Tian wanted to get up from the ground, he realized that his whole body didn’t seem to properly obey his commands. After standing up, Ling Tian attempted to take a step forward only to plunge face-first into the wall in front of him.
“F**k! What is going on?” Ling Tian supported his naked body against the wall as he tried to recall what happened when he was unconscious.
“Could this be the outcome of me consuming that spiritual milk?” Ling Tian muttered under his breath. He then suddenly felt an intense pain coming from below, and lowering his head to take a look he saw that little young noble Ling was the one who took the first impact to the wall. Regardless of how strong a man was, his little brother would still be very soft. After all, it was the most important jewels of a man. Ling Tian quickly circulated his inner qi and activated his inner vision to check on his little brother.
Who would have thought that the moment he circulated his inner qi, all of the pain in his groin completely disappeared? Furthermore, his inner qi made a full revolution on its own as though it was alive, with a speed three times faster than before! Ling Tian suppressed his feelings of surprise as he calmed his heart down to observe the changes in his body…
He was overjoyed!
Ling Tian could clearly feel that the moment his inner qi was circulated, it immediately filled his entire body. Not only did the feeling of pain disappear completely, it was as though all of the meridians in his body did not exist any longer. It was as though there was a large highway in his body and his inner qi could flow freely without the slightest bit of obstruction. This was a shocking phenomenon that would only happen when someone opened up all of their acupoints and meridians!
Ling Tian suppressed the joy in his heart again and began chanting the incantation for his Divine Shocking Dragon Formula. From the first level, his inner qi began to circulate, all the way to the ninth… tenth… eleventh…
Just as Ling Tian had expected, he finally achieved a breakthrough in the eleventh stage and he was fully able to control his inner qi of the eleventh stage. He then began reciting the incantations for the twelfth stage. Ling Tian was shocked to realize that there wasn’t the slightest bit of obstruction and he broke through into the twelfth stage smoothly!
He broke through in a single attempt!
Ling Tian was in complete disbelief. This was the twelfth stage which no one had managed to attain for the past thousand years. Why would he achieve a breakthrough so easily? Could it be an illusion or his own imagination?! However, everything was far too realistic, so how could it be fake?! Just when he was still hesitating, Ling Tian suddenly thought about the spiritual milk which he had just ingested and came to a realization filled with both shock and a lingering fear!
My goodness! Could this be a celestial elixir from the heavens? After drinking this thing, I actually made an impossible breakthrough as though I was sitting in a rocket! Despite the pain being completely unbearable, it was just too worth it. Even if I have to go through it again… Hmm, it’s best that I don’t go through it again. That experience was truly too horrifying!
Wait! While I finally managed to break through into the twelfth stage, there is still a final thirteenth stage behind it!
Empty!
The thirteenth Divine Shocking Dragon Formula stage only had a single word: Empty! This was the incantation! The only incantation!
What kind of an incantation was this? Empty?!
Ling Tian fell into deep thought for a long while and got more and more confused as he thought about it. All of a sudden, he felt his inner qi rumbling around uncontrollably and he was dizzy. This was a strength which he had just acquired after all and he was still unable to utilize it as he wished. He could not help but curse, “Empty! Empty your head! Isn’t this torturing this daddy here?!”
Ling Tian flew into a huge rage and his naked body also became agitated. Something that he didn’t notice was that little young noble Ling also lifted its head up in anger but was unable to vent it!
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. If Ling Tian had not broken through to the twelfth stage, he would not have been so frustrated at the moment. After all, he still had a target to work towards. But now that his inner qi had broken through into the peak of the twelfth stage with some remaining momentum left over, wouldn’t it be a wonderful feeling for him to breakthrough into the thirteenth stage in one go?
However, he did not have any incantation or even hints at this very moment! It was as though there was a huge treasure vault in front of him but the lock on the vault was one that he could not break open no matter how hard he tried!
Even with his strength, he was unable to break the lock and could not obtain the treasure on the inside.
Thus, Ling Tian was completely crazy!
“Of all things to leave behind, why do you have to leave behind a single ’empty’ word? Wouldn’t emptiness signify that there is nothing at all? If there is nothing at all, what would there be to cultivate?” Ling Tian continued ranting with anger, “Of all things for me to comprehend, why do you want me to comprehend emptiness? D*mmit!”
All of a sudden, it was as though Ling Tian was struck by lightning as he fell into a daze and repeated the words which he said in a fit of rage, “Emptiness means that there is nothing! Comprehend emptiness! Comprehend… emptiness…”
What is there to cultivate if there is nothing?
Ling Tian was in a complete daze.
A lock would naturally require the key to open it and that was the hint to the location of the key. The most important thing was whether or not Ling Tian could understand the hint!
Emptiness signified that there was nothing. It meant that there wasn’t a need to be stubborn about anything. One should just let go of everything and that would signify nothingness. Nothingness referred to the entire world and everything! Everything was emptiness!
Having was the same as losing? Losing was the same as having? The sky was the earth? The earth was the sky? What was the earth? What was the sky? What is man? Where is man? Where is where?
All of these thoughts flowed through Ling Tian’s brain rapidly without stopping. At this moment, Ling Tian felt as though his head was about to explode and he felt an immense headache. He then let out a loud roar, “Since the sky is empty, the earth is empty, you are empty and I am empty, what is the point for me to comprehend emptiness?!”
Boom!
Ling Tian’s spirit was suddenly silent and completely empty without a single speck of dust!
Since there wasn’t anything within it, how would there be any dust?!
If someone was present here, he would definitely be filled with shock. While Ling Tian was standing on the spot without moving, it was impossible to see or even feel the naked man in the middle of the room. While Ling Tian’s body had physical substance, it had already become one with the rocks, air, and dust in the entire mountain.
This was a mysterious feeling and Ling Tian felt as though he was like Sun WuKong having the ability to make seventy-two transformations. On the mountains, he could join together with the rocks. In the water, he would naturally become the stream. In the sky, he would be the snow-white clouds and blue sky…
He did not even need to intentionally maintain such a state and would be able to naturally remain in this profound and mysterious state!
One becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight… He becomes infinity, becomes the blue sky and white clouds, becomes a part of the world and then returns back to emptiness. The emptiness gives birth to ten thousand creatures and the ten thousand creatures return to one.
“I finally understand!” Ling Tian’s eyes were clear as water. “In the martial way, martial was martial, the way was the way. The martial way was just the way of martial arts. It has nothing got to do with the way at all! The way refers to the sky and earth, it refers to the numerous creatures in the world. It is emptiness! It is an emptiness that can contain everything!”
With a casual wave of his hands, Jun ZhanTian’s secret manuals that were on the ground flew into his hand as though there were invisible threads pulling on them. Ling Tian then burst out into laughter and said, “Since the way is emptiness, it means that the way was just bullsh*t! It was even worse that bullsh*t! What is the point of pursuing it? As long as one lives according to his wishes and leads a carefree life, who can say that it isn’t the way? When one follows his heart, what wouldn’t he be able to accomplish?!”
“Having children and enjoying their company, isn’t that also the way?”
“Since everything is emptiness, then wouldn’t fighting for hegemony and massacring the masses be also the way?”
“Having a high moral standing and worrying about the happiness of the world, isn’t that also the way?”
“Being a despicable and unscrupulous individual while scheming behind the scenes, could it also be the way?”
“Leading an ordinary life and being in the lowest rung of society, could it also be the way?”
“Hahaha… Every living being in the world, be it flora or fauna, aren’t they also the existence of the way? Every possible path in the world can also be the way and since every path is the way, where would there be sin? Sin is also emptiness and is also the way!”
“Following your heart and doing as you wish would be the best way!”
“Since they are all the way and they are all emptiness, why would there be a need to talk about the way? What is emptiness?” Ling Tian smiled proudly, “The so-called ‘way’, so-called emptiness, are no more than just a single word!”
“HAHAHAHA, it is only a single word, just a single word! Hahaha…”
“Senior Jun ZhanTian, I shall take my leave!”
At this moment, Ling Tian’s problem was solved and he was in an extremely good mood. Without seeing him make a visible move, his figure gradually faded away in the stone chamber and disappeared without a trace. With a loud bang, the hundreds of feet of tunnels within the cave collapsed!
Ling Tian’s figure drifted up in the wind and he floated up to the peak of the cliff as though he was a light cloud. His actions were extremely fluid and carefree as he scaled the cliff as though it was flat ground! He was still completely naked at this moment but he did not have a single trace of awkwardness or feel out of place. He flew up the cliff boldly and then disappeared mysteriously.
From afar, a flurry of footsteps could be heard. The loud commotion from the collapse of the cave had attracted the attention of the Shui Family members.
A short while later, Ling Tian walked out of Mount Vacant neatly dressed and made his way to Jade River City happily.
With Ling Tian’s martial arts at the moment, not to mention snatching a set of clothes from the Shui Family guard, even if he had to strip Shui ManKong naked, it wouldn’t be too difficult a task. But after a moment of consideration, Ling Tian decided to not create trouble for his future father-in-law and only knocked two guards out magnanimously. Stripping both of them naked, he put on one set of clothes and used the other set to make a small bag to store the martial arts formula and King Solomon’s seal. Then, he carried the bag and walked towards the city like a working adult going out for work. However, the speed of this working adult was truly too frightening. Despite Mount Vacant being almost 200 miles away from Jade River City, he only took less than two hours to arrive at a restaurant in the city.
After ordering his dishes and wine, the starving young noble Ling realized that he did not even have a single tael on silver on him. He was angered to the point his face turned green. No wonder he felt that something was strange when he was stripping the two guards naked. It turns out that these two fellows did not have a single cent on them! They were two classic broke people!
Ling Tian was furious! Was the Shui Family poor to such a point? Why would their guards be completely penniless? After flipping through his pockets countless times, he only found cloth and nothing else.
No matter how angry he was, Ling Tian still had his ways. He would still order the dishes and wine he wanted to eat. In any case, this wasn’t the first time he freeloaded a meal and this single meal of his probably wouldn’t make the boss of this restaurant go bankrupt. Looking at the fat belly of the boss, it was obvious that he was definitely a wealthy individual. For this young noble to eat a free meal today, I am robbing the rich to feed the poor and serving justice to the world! Having riches is emptiness, being broke is emptiness, since everything is emptiness, why would there be a need to pay?
Thinking about that, Ling Tian immediately felt better. He is such a wealthy individual whereas I cannot even afford a meal. Isn’t this considered robbing the rich to feed the poor? I can also help this fellow do a good deed and ensure that he will not go down to hell after his death. This young noble is trying to save him. Mmm, I am trying to save him and am doing a good deed.
Besides that, this restaurant is a property of the HuangFu Family? To think that there are still fishes that escaped the net? If that’s the case, I must all the more sponge off of them! In any case, the HuangFu Family is going to disappear very soon.
As such, Ling Tian purposely ordered all of the expensive dishes and began his feast. After coming out, he found out that he had stayed a full three days in the cave and the generational battle between the Shui and Yu Family was beginning in another three days. After not eating anything for three days and nights, it was no wonder that his stomach was rumbling. No matter how high his martial arts was, he was still made of flesh and blood. When his stomach was empty, he would still have to eat!
As though a gust of whirlwind blew past, the dishes on the table were swept clean. The fat boss had a big smile on his face. Just what Ling Tian had eaten alone would bring a full twenty taels of silver in profit. Their restaurant had never been afraid of those with big appetites. The more he ate the better!
Breaking a pair of bamboo chopsticks casually, Ling Tian casually waved his hands and it was shaved down into a toothpick. As he picked his tooth with the toothpick, he waved his hands at the boss and said, “Bill.”
The fat boss bounced over happily, “Sir, are you done eating? Ah ah, let us round the figure down to twenty taels of silver. We can forget about the small change.” As he said that, he stretched his hands out to receive the money.
“Oh, the dishes aren’t too bad and it wasn’t too expensive either.” Ling Tian replied. The fat boss was overjoyed when he heard that. Ling Tian was truly like a fat lamb in front of him. As long as this fat lamb came once every few days, he would definitely become rich!
“Put it on my tab.” Ling Tian added, “I didn’t bring any money.”
The fat boss sucked in a deep breath and he forced a smile, “Sir… are you joking?”
“Who is joking with you? Do you think that you are even worthy of me to joke with you?” Ling Tian rolled his eyes as he put his feet on the bench looking like a hoodlum, “What are you waiting here for? Are you trying to put up a show in front of me?”
As he said that, Ling Tian stood up and began walking out of the restaurant.
“You… stop there!” The fat boss was angered to the point his eyes widened like saucers as he sneered, “You dare to leave?! Do you know where you are right now? You actually dare to have a free meal in my Superior Fragrance Restaurant? Men, catch this brat who dares to freeload a meal. I will let him know what it means to feel comfortable over here! This little brat doesn’t look too bad. Don’t wreck his face! If he really doesn’t have money on him, we can sell him to the Refined Leisure Courtyard for a good price!”
As the other customers saw that things were going to get messy, they immediately threw down their money and ran out of the restaurant without waiting for their change. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to stay behind and watch the show, but they knew that the show of the HuangFu Family’s business was not one that they could watch. Thus, they all fled the place as quickly as possible and the whole place was immediately emptied.
A few burly men then charged into the restaurant with a baleful aura as they looked at Ling Tian with a malevolent grin, “Little brat, you are in deep trouble. Why didn’t you pick a better place to freeload a meal?”
Ling Tian looked at the burly men with interest. “Oh? Isn’t it just a single meal? Could it be that bad? Where is the Refined Leisure Courtyard? Somewhere for me to perform hard labor?”
The fat boss looked at Ling Tian with a lecherous smile on his face. He then looked at the burly man and said, “Ah’Hei, this little brat is truly refined and he looks pretty good. Doesn’t the second young noble like handsome young men like him the most? It would be a waste to send him to the Refined Leisure Courtyard directly. Hehehe, why don’t we send him to the second young noble?”