High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 247: Chapter 160: The Bright Moon Forms, Qingshi in Peril

A subtle crack appeared, then began to spread.

The medicinal power ignited completely, and the tide of his True Essence surged to its zenith.

Then, in a single instant, the barrier shattered without a sound, like a snow-capped peak collapsing silently in the sunlight.

A far more expansive reservoir of power opened up before him.

A profound and immense power erupted from the very source of his being. As it flowed through him, his bones seemed to grow denser, the explosive strength coiled in his muscles multiplied, and his qi and blood surged like a mighty river.

His body emitted a faint, pleasant hum, as if every cell was rejoicing.

[Physical Body Level +0.1]

[Realm: Peak of Flying Star Stage (Level 39.9)]

His profound eyes opened, gleaming with a divine light that soon receded, leaving them warm and deep once more.

Li Wen felt the power within him ascend to a new height, and a flicker of satisfaction crossed his tranquil features.

Peak of the Flying Star Stage. It was a natural progression.

He now stood at the absolute pinnacle of his realm, just a single step away from the Bright Moon Realm.

...

At the very moment Li Wen had just finished stabilizing his cultivation at the Peak of the Flying Star Stage in Courtyard A-1 on Nine Heavens Peak...

...far away, thousands of miles distant, outside Bluestone County.

Deep underground, a few dozen miles from the county seat, space began to quietly warp.

Silently, without a sound, a peculiar "gate" materialized.

It consisted only of a smooth, cold metal frame. Instead of a passageway, the space within the frame held a slowly rotating Star Map, as deep and dark as the night sky.

This was the Stargate.

The moment the Stargate appeared, it spontaneously began to absorb the spatial energy from its surroundings.

As it continued to absorb spatial energy, the massive Star Map within the frame maintained a constant rotational frequency.

Meanwhile, fueled by this energy, the Stargate itself began to slowly expand outward at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, but definite nonetheless.

The instant it fully formed, the rotating Star Map at its center acted like an efficient spatial pulverizer and teleporter.

The dense, heavy layers of surrounding earth and rock vanished without a sound, as if erased by an invisible giant hand. A large, spherical cavern was carved out deep underground, with the Stargate hovering at its very center.

This displaced earth and rock was not annihilated. Instead, drawn by the coordinates on the other side of the Star Map, it instantly traversed the endless void and was transported to another vast and dangerous world—the Demon Realm.

Almost simultaneously, deep underground in a similarly desolate region of the Demon Realm, another Stargate materialized from nothing.

From the Star Map at its center, soil and rock from deep beneath Bluestone County on Blue Star continuously poured out and piled up.

At this moment, the subterranean depths of both worlds were utterly silent.

On the Demon Realm side, no members of the Demon Race were active nearby. The sudden appearance of the gate, along with the otherworldly soil and rock it brought, went temporarily unnoticed.

Back in Bluestone County on Blue Star, the secret buried deep underground remained perfectly concealed by thick layers of rock, unknown to anyone.

...

Within the county seat of Bluestone County, the summer morning air carried a slight chill.

On the streets, people began their day as usual. The aroma of breakfast filled the air, punctuated by the clear sound of children’s laughter.

It was a scene of peace and serenity. No one was aware that dozens of miles away, buried deep underground, a destructive time bomb had been silently activated and was now slowly counting down.

The scene shifts to the regional hub city not far from Bluestone County—Changning City.

In the bustling downtown area, hidden within an inconspicuous, low-rise building that resembled an ordinary hangar or small research institute, lay the true protective core of all of Changning City.

In one of the meditation chambers sat a cross-legged middle-aged man. His aura was as profound as a still abyss and as imposing as a towering mountain.

His eyes were closed, and a majestic yet restrained energy fluctuated around him. This was the defense chief responsible for guarding Changning City, a Fiendgod at the Peak of the Bright Moon Realm.

In the adjacent chambers were five other Fiendgods, slightly less powerful but still at the Late-stage Bright Moon Realm. Together, the six of them constituted the highest level of defense for Changning City and its surrounding regions.

In the central monitoring hall connected to their meditation chambers, a massive light screen that took up an entire wall operated in silence.

The screen clearly displayed a satellite map centered on Changning City. The light representing each county flickered with a color corresponding to its security level.

At this moment, the light representing Bluestone County was steadily emitting a soft green glow, indicating that all was safe.

The initial, weak spatial fluctuations from the nascent Stargate were not yet strong enough to penetrate the thick layers of earth and span the great distance required to trigger the monitoring network’s alarms, which had been set by the guardian Fiendgods.

Danger lurked beneath the surface of tranquility.

...

「Several days passed. It was now the morning of June 5th, Year 229 of the Galactic Calendar.」

In Courtyard A-1 on Nine Heavens Peak, Li Wen slowly opened his eyes, emerging from a state of deep meditation.

After several days of continuous consolidation, the surging power within him had fully stabilized at the Peak of the Flying Star Realm.

Today, he would officially attempt to break through to the Bright Moon Realm.

For him, the only true obstacle in breaking through from the Peak of Flying Star to the Bright Moon Realm was the depth of his comprehension of "Intent."

Given that his martial skill had long ago entered the Blade Soul Realm, there was no reason for this breakthrough to fail.

But the calm and cautious nature of Li Wen’s character ensured he still treated the matter with the utmost seriousness.

’A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit.’ He would not allow himself to be careless in any detail.

After washing up and having a simple, high-energy breakfast, Li Wen strode out to the spacious martial arts training ground in the courtyard.

He raised his hand out of habit. An invisible force reached out, and a specially forged practice blade, hanging on a distant weapon rack, hummed as it flew into his grasp in an instant.