Chapter 1564 - 1564 The 24 Solar Terms
Chapter 1564 The 24 Solar Terms
“Tick, tock, tick, tock…”
The spring breeze suddenly stopped, and it was drizzling.
As Fang Qiu stood on the fifth step, some subtle changes in the scenery came into his sight. Just like the transition from morning to noon, it could not be more natural. There was a drizzle in the air, which gently fell on him. With the spring breeze blowing, Fang Qiu could feel that millions of lives on the earth were sprouting and growing.
Fang Qiu moved forward to the sixth step.
It came to the next solar term, Insects Awaken.
Following that, it came to Spring Equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, the Beginning of Summer…
In this way, Fang Qiu strode up step by step.
And the surrounding scenery kept changing with his footsteps.
It was as if he had entered a tunnel of time.
With every step he took, Fang Qiu saw different scenery in various places. There were rising and falling suns and moons, rising purple Qi, frost-like moonlight, spring breezes blowing willows, burning summer sun, cool autumn wind, and the biting cold winter!
As every scene pa.s.sed by…
Fang Qiu saw different things so as to develop different moods.
Fang Qiu didn’t gain great enlightenment, but he improved his mental state.
Of course…
Most importantly, in addition to improving his mental state, Fang Qiu noticed that there would be a bright light spot in his body forming on his spine, with every step up he took.
It was like lighting a lamp. Every floor of steps he went up would light up a lamp.
Finally…
Fang Qiu stood on the twenty-fourth step.
It came to the last solar term, Heavy Snow.
In his surroundings between Heaven and Earth, a gust of cold wind blew again, and the weather gradually changed from autumn’s coolness to winter’s coldness. There was already a bit of snow drifting about in the air.
Even though it snowed lightly, Fang Qiu could distinctly feel the arrival of winter.
He took this step.
Fang Qiu was still in the thought about what he would see next.
Just then, everything before him returned to its original.
He saw himself standing on the Heavenly Ladder. The scenery around the Heavenly Ladder, which was the first thing he saw, disappeared, and everything was back to normal.
Fang Qiu turned his head and looked around.
Still, there was no one around him.
However, when he looked into the distance, he was surprised to see the others. They were still climbing up on the first 24 steps.
Fang Qiu was confused.
Fang Qiu extended out his right leg and continued to move up.
But…
When he had just stepped onto the 25th step…
“Crack…”
Fang Qiu saw a scene with his own eyes.
Without a sound…
He saw that the ladder under his right foot was cracked completely.
It was like a silent film, from beginning to end.
Before Fang Qiu could stand up and walk to the 25th step, the ladder under his right foot suddenly fell apart, sank down piece by piece, and an incomparably huge s.p.a.ce rift quickly formed under his feet.
This s.p.a.ce rift seemed to be about to devour everything.
Fang Qiu retracted his right foot in a hurry.
He was going to fly up and continue to move forward.
However…
When he activated all the internal Qi in his body, he found that he seemed to be suppressed firmly by a sort of enormous pressure. No matter how hard he tried, he could not fly.
In the face of such a situation, Fang Qiu couldn’t help frowning.
The current situation was out of his expectations.
Didn’t it say that one could change from a mortal to an immortal by ascending the Heavenly Ladder?
Right now, the Heavenly Ladder fell apart.
Did it mean the path of changing from a mortal to an immortal was gone?
Fang Qiu swept around.
He realized that he really had no way out.
Without other choices…
Fang Qiu had to give a wry smile and calmed down. Then he started to study the light spots on his spine.
Since these light spots were caused by climbing the path to the Heavens, there must be some reason for their existence.
Fang Qiu sat cross-legged on the ground.
Fang Qiu closed his eyes and observed with his Divine Consciousness.
As it turned out, these light spots were very strange. They didn’t seem to be tangible, but they did exist on his spine.
Fang Qiu observed for a while.
Then he began to try to activate these light spots on his spine.
Surprisingly…
These light spots were connected into a line in an instant and turned into a beam of light, rus.h.i.+ng straightly to the Baihui acupoint and then down to his face. But, when they got to his nose, they stopped abruptly.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t activate them further.
Fang Qiu took a closer look.
Surprisingly, the part between his nose and his throat was broken.
In this situation…
Fang Qiu couldn’t help frowning. Then he began to control this beam of light, trying to have it forcibly sprint over.
At the beginning of the sprint, Fang Qiu distinctly felt a particularly deep obstacle, which made him feel that the beam of light could not rush through.
However…
He did not give up.
When the beam of light didn’t move, he continued to activate it. When the beam of light moved, he used even more force to activate it. Regardless of whether he could succeed or not, Fang Qiu continuously tried, holding back a breath, rus.h.i.+ng and rus.h.i.+ng again.
His eyes had been closed.
Therefore, Fang Qiu didn’t see that the s.p.a.ce around him gradually changed while he kept trying to sprint.
The broken and collapsed Heavenly Ladder was constantly being repaired.
One step at a time, the fragments of the Heavenly Ladder, which had fallen into the s.p.a.ce rift earlier, flew out of it one by one, returning to their original positions.
And meanwhile…
In Fang Qiu’s body, the beam of light that had rushed to his nose was pressing down bit by bit.
Outside, the Heavenly Ladder was quickly being repaired to the last step.
However…
When the last step was about to be connected…
Suddenly…
All the steps, which had just been connected, fell apart with a bang.
Once again, it collapsed into millions of pieces and fell into the s.p.a.ce rift below.
Fang Qiu did not give up.
He tried several times in a row. When he was about to break through, the beam of light suddenly shrank back as if it had received a rebound of something.
“Phew…”
Fang Qiu opened his eyes and wiped the sweat that covered his forehead.
He happened to see the steps collapsing ahead again.
“Is it broken again?”
Seeing this…
Fang Qiu seemed to have realized something.
Although he failed in rus.h.i.+ng through this time, he seemed to have learned something.
But…
He couldn’t explain it.
“Is it because the part of the human body is broken so as to fail in breaking through?
“So, if we make up for it, can modern people overcome the shackles of a guru?”
Fang Qiu murmured inwardly.
Then Fang Qiu smiled bitterly.
All of a sudden…
“Uh?”
A figure showed up next to Fang Qiu, attracting Fang Qiu’s attention.
Fang Qiu took a closer look.
He recognized that it was Master Numinous.
When Fang Qiu was about to stand up and say h.e.l.lo to Master Numinous, another figure suddenly showed up. It was Diwu Mingchuan.
Following that, the four patriarchs, Sword Fanatic, He Gaoming, and the brothers, showed up.
Not long after…
All showed up.
Including everyone from the eight factions and sixteen sects.
The Heavenly Ladder was quite wide, so it appeared particularly loose, even though everyone gathered here.
“Everyone is here.”
Fang Qiu said with a smile.
Everyone smiled and nodded at Fang Qiu with hold fist salute.
“Brother John Doe, what have you seen along the way to ascend the Heavenly Ladder? How about we exchange information to see if we have seen the same things?”
Master Numinous said with a smile.
“I’ve spent a year ascending the first 24 floors of steps.”
Fang Qiu didn’t intend to hide anything. He said honestly, “I got started with Winter Solstice and ended with Heavy Snow. I’ve experienced the 24 solar terms. It is exactly one year.”
“Likewise.”
He Gaoming immediately stood up and said, “I thought it was arranged by the ancestors, who wanted me to go through the four seasons, letting us know that life is just a cycle of reincarnation.”
Hearing what He Gaoming said…
Everyone laughed out loud.
“Looks like everyone has experienced the same thing.”
Master Numinous nodded and said, “We all have experienced the 24 solar terms.”
“Haha, do you think you are asked to do a reading comprehension question?”
Sword Fanatic patted He Gaoming on the shoulder and laughed.
Hearing that…
He Gaoming immediately smiled awkwardly.
Aside…
A guru from Sword Sect stood out, pointed to the s.p.a.ce rift in front, and asked, “What’s up ahead?”
The group immediately looked forward.
“It’s the Heavenly Ladder.”
Fang Qiu said, “When I arrived here, it was already broken. However, there was a way to repair it, but it was very difficult.”
“What’s the solution?”
The guru of Sword Sect immediately inquired.
“I don’t know whether you have noticed or not. When we experienced the first 24 steps, a light spot would appear on our spines every time we went across a step. If I’m not mistaken, each of you should have 24 light spots on your spine.”
Hearing that…
Master Numinous, the four patriarchs, the guru of Sword Sect, and Sword Fanatic, all nodded knowingly. Some of the others also nodded to echo, while part of the others did not notice this at all.
In this case…
Those who didn’t notice it at all closed their eyes to check.
It turned out that they did have 24 light spots on their spines.
“Before you guys arrive here, I tried to connect these light spots together, only to find that they turned into a beam of light. However, this beam of light will stop when it reaches a specific position. As long as we try our best to control this beam of light to rush through that specific position, the broken Heavenly Ladder can automatically get repaired.
“I tried in this way just now, but I failed.
“Now, since everyone is here, let’s work together and have another try.”
Hearing that…
Everyone immediately agreed and sat down cross-legged.
With John Doe’s reminder, no one closed their eyes. Instead, they opened their eyes to face the s.p.a.ce rift ahead while trying to activate the light spots according to what John Doe had reminded them of.
Fang Qiu also sat down and began to try for a second time.
Everyone worked together.
The fragments of the Heavenly Ladder in the s.p.a.ce rift ahead quickly rose and began to repair.
Everyone was amazed.
That was exactly as they expected.
They immediately worked harder and began to speed up the repair.
However…
It cost too much energy, so when they saw that the Heavenly Ladder started to get repaired, they all closed their eyes and devoted themselves to activating the light spots.
With everyone’s great effort together…
The Heavenly Ladder was getting repaired rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had reached the last step.
Unexpectedly…
When the last step was about to be repaired successfully…
The step, which had just been repaired, suddenly began to shake quickly in silence. Then, the newly repaired Heavenly Ladder began to crack and fall constantly.
It seemed that they hadn’t succeeded yet.
After a while…
Everyone opened their eyes one after another. They looked at each other and then shook their heads with a bitter smile.