Chapter 31: The Beginning of Change
\nAs the world shifted, the martial realm grew more chaotic. Many who had cultivated internal power underwent changes, though these had yet to surface fully due to the slow passage of time.
\nZuo Meng shut his little shop, deciding not to reopen for the foreseeable future.
\nThe world\u2019s upheaval was the moment he\u2019d awaited for years. He planned to visit areas where the changes were most evident, aiming to break free from the two-century limit of his internal power without relying on his creator abilities. By gathering insights from the transforming world and other martial experts, he hoped to pave the way for altering the real world in the future.
\n“Closed again?!”
\nThe moment the door shut, Zhi Hua\u2019s voice rang out behind him, dripping with disbelief.
\nShe knew her lazy uncle was idle, but this was too much. Glancing at the sky, she noted it was barely morning!
\n\u201cZhi Hua.\u201d
\nZuo Meng turned with a faint smile. The girl had grown over the years, becoming a familiar presence who often helped at the shop, saving him considerable trouble\u2014if only she\u2019d stop pestering him about finding her a \u2018master.\u2019
\n\u201cAfter years of diligent study, I\u2019ll head to the capital once more. When I top the exams, I\u2019ll ask the Emperor to grant you a golden-match husband.\u201d
\nDiligent study?
\nZhi Hua\u2019s mind buzzed with questions. In seven years, she\u2019d never seen him hold a book. He\u2019d always been sprawled in his chair like a lazy fish. Was this just an excuse to squander his earnings in the capital?
\n\u201cThe autumn exams ended weeks ago! What \u2018exam\u2019 are you even taking?\u201d
\n\u201cFarewell. We\u2019ll meet again if fate allows.\u201d
\nZuo Meng waved, offering no further explanation. He hoisted his bag and strode away.
\n\u201cMr. Xue is taking the imperial exams?\u201d
\nA woman in a black gown approached. Yu Linglong had known Zuo Meng for years. Once a bride-to-be whose fianc\u00e9 drowned before their wedding, she\u2019d gained a reputation as a widow of ill omen after two more betrothals ended in tragedy. Defying gossip, she\u2019d built a thriving gambling den in Suzhou through sheer grit, silencing troublemakers along the way.
\nThe once-pitied widow now commanded fear as \u2018Madam Yu.\u2019 She\u2019d met Zuo Meng three years ago during a rainstorm, buying a painting from his shop. Over time, she became a regular patron, drawn by the unassuming store\u2019s occasional masterpieces.
\n\u201cMiss Yu.\u201d Zuo Meng nodded politely.
\n\u201cWith your talents, you\u2019ll surely rank first. May your name resound across the land.\u201d
\nWith no more paintings to acquire, Yu Linglong saw little reason to visit anymore.
\n\u201cYour blessings are appreciated. Take care.\u201d
\nWithout delay, Zuo Meng departed the city.
\nLeaving An Leju was but the first step.
\nThe world\u2019s transformation had only just begun.
\nCold Mountain Temple
\nOnce a hub for spreading internal power under Zuo Meng\u2019s influence, the temple had declined after its recent schism. Jie Ming stole the \u2018source stone\u2019 of internal power from Zuo Meng, establishing his own sect. As Jie Ming\u2019s profound skills flourished, the temple became a symbol of failure. In desperation, Jie Nian sought help from \u2018Scholar Xue,\u2019 only to find the man was merely an ordinary person with basic internal power, clueless about the source stone\u2019s secrets. Defeated, Jie Nian returned empty-handed.
\nNight
\nJie Nian sat alone in the meditation hall.
\nAs a martial monk, he\u2019d once scorned this place as fit only for mediocrities. But since Jie Ming\u2019s betrayal, he\u2019d grown quieter, drawn increasingly to the hall\u2019s silence. Slowly, he began embodying the aura of esteemed monks, unraveling Buddhist wisdom that hinted at why Jie Ming had abandoned their clan.
\n\u201cAmitabha.\u201d
\nSetting down the wooden mallet, Jie Nian exited the hall. He glanced back at the Buddha statue and murmured the Buddhist chant.
\n\u201cBrother, we found an underground palace in the Blackwood Forest!\u201d
\nA young little monk rushed in. His name was Jie Cheng, a new disciple at Cold Mountain Temple who joined after Jie Ming\u2019s betrayal. He belonged to the Jie generation.
\n\u201cOutside Suzhou, in the Blackwood Forest.\u201d
\nJie Nian remembered the night he left the little shop in Suzhou, when Mr. Xue had told him:
\n\u201cIf you truly care about the source, search the Blackwood Forest outside Suzhou. I found this source stone there.\u201d
\nBecause of these words, Jie Nian had sent people to scour the Blackwood Forest for years. To his surprise, they\u2019d actually uncovered a secret.
\nAround the same time,
\ninside a dim underground gambling den in Suzhou, Yu Linglong reclined behind a red silk curtain, her legs visible as a subordinate reported to her.
\n\u201cSo someone really found an underground palace in that forest outside the city?\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s true. I saw the underground palace myself.\u201d
\nThe masked man in black kept his head lowered. He knew better than anyone how dangerous this venomous beauty was. Every man who\u2019d dared admire her looks had met a grim end\u2014several by his own hand.
\n\u201cSend Luo San to investigate.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThe masked man vanished into the shadows.
\n\u201cHow amusing. Has an immortal descended to our world?\u201d
\nYu Linglong walked to a wall hung with paintings bought from Zuo Meng\u2019s little shop. At first, she\u2019d simply found them mysterious. But lately, the ink landscapes seemed alive. Whenever she neared them, she heard flowing water\u2014yet when she listened carefully, the sounds vanished.
\n\u201cSo Mr. Xue isn\u2019t ordinary after all. What secrets is he hiding?\u201d
\nYu Linglong wasn\u2019t the only one who noticed.
\nZhi Hua, who owned the most paintings, also sensed something wrong.
\nUnlike Yu Linglong, Zhi Hua had actually stepped inside a painting. The strange experience nearly scared the little girl to death.
\nDarkness surrounded her. Mountains made of ink loomed as black rivers flowed. Ink-wash bamboo leaves rustled in an unseen breeze.
\n\u201cWhere is this?\u201d
\nZhi Hua trembled, tears welling up. She\u2019d been painting in her room moments ago\u2014how did she end up here?
\n\u201cDid a monster catch me?\u201d
\nGrowing up on tales of man-eating monsters from street storytellers, the little girl immediately thought of demons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 31: The Beginning of Change As the world shifted, the martial realm grew more chaotic. Many who had cultivated internal power underwent changes, though these had yet to surface fully due to the slow passage of time. Zuo Meng shut his little shop, deciding not to reopen for the foreseeable future. The world\u2019s upheaval was the moment he\u2019d awaited for years. He planned\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1410","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1410\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}