Chapter 2781: Chapter 2781: The Ripple Pavilion

Sitting quietly in his room, Zen reflected on what had happened in the Mountain Viewing Province.

Back then, he had accidentally absorbed the Shade Stone.

While trying to escape Elizabeth, his body had been burned by the Sun Crow race's divine flames. While absorbing the divine flames, he also ended up absorbing the Shade Stone.

This time, Zen wanted to replicate the scene.

Silently, he reached out his hand to his chest, stroking it lightly. Suddenly, a flame rose from his chest.

Gradually, the flames climbed over to his arms, then legs, till his whole body was consumed in flames.

In the past, every time Zen absorbed some sort of flame, his body strength would grow. However, as his body continued to strengthen, he'd been unable to forge himself further with only fire.

Besides, ordinary flames wouldn't do him any good, anyway.

Sizzle!

Zen was now at the consummation of the Elementary Fire Godly Way, but he would still cultivate it occasionally.

Although the flames he materialized were not as strong as those of the warriors who specialized in flames, they weren't considered weak. In fact, they were quite powerful.

Under Zen's constant activation, his body burned a bright, hot red.

Finally, as the flames rose higher and higher, Zen's body began to glow a golden light.

The golden light was generated from the Truth of Godly Way hidden within his body. If the golden light kept blazing, he would soon enter the Other Shore.

The first time he had done this, he was in the divine land.

Although he was not exactly sure as to what the Truth of Godly Way was, he stopped it before it took effect on his body.

Therefore, before the flames burned too hotly, he would restrain them, so as to avoid being sent to the Other Shore.

As the golden light was suppressed, circles of golden Sanskrit words hovered around him. One by one, they turned into little whirlpools, absorbing the flames on his body.

While the flames were burning his body, Zen gently pointed at the Shade Stone liquid. It leapt into the air, landing on his shoulder.

Whirl!

The Shade Stone liquid started climbing down his arm. Some part of it had been sucked into the whirlpools.

Last time, Zen wasn't aware that he had absorbed the Shade Stone. This time, his eyes widened in amazement as he observed the process attentively.

'Since I can absorb the Shade Stone, I wonder if I can absorb all kinds of things?'

Waving the thought away for the meantime, he resumed his focus on absorbing the Shade Stone liquid.

After a few minutes, the black liquid that was crawling on his skin had disappeared. It had been completely absorbed.

Zen willed the flames on the surface of his body to die down. Then, he noticed threads of black spread over his shoulder, like an intricate map.

“It's done!”

Seeing the pattern again, Zen felt a surge of joy.

With a thought of his, the black map on his shoulder crawled along his ribs and towards his arm.

Most of the time, Zen would store the Shade Stone in his right arm. Now, the two streams of Shade Stone liquid gathered together, forming a black mass on his arm too. ɽ𝖆₦ỌΒËȘ

Zen narrowed his eyes. He felt the Other Shore Power from the Strength God Totem surging within him.

“Seven hundred divine megatons!”

Previously, Zen's bones were shattered when challenged by 700 divine megatons of force, so this time, he tested whether he could withstand it.

A terrifying Other Shore Power began to gather in his black arm.

The enormous force caused the space around Zen's right hand to warp as though he were distorting time and space.

But his arm remained intact. This time, he could bear the force easily!

“Eight hundred divine megatons!”

He tested an even heavier force. To his delight, he could bear it too.

His right arm covered with the Shade Stone liquid had become an extremely strong Other Shore Treasure. Moreover, it was stronger than ordinary Other Shore Treasures with Zen's flesh, blood and bones as the supporting force.

“Nine hundred divine megatons!”

“One thousand divine megatons!”

“1, 100 divine megatons!”

“1, 200 divine megatons!”

The pure Other Shore Power surged in Zen's arm.

If he managed to control this power, the destruction it could cause would be unimaginable.

'One thousand divine megatons is the limit in the Lust World, ' Zen thought to himself. 'It seems that my body can handle even more.'

Now, he had mastered three Truths of Godly Ways. The Truth of Cultivation Nature could integrate another kind of Other Shore Token.

The day after the Seven Mountains Meeting, Zen had gone to the temple on the Other Shore to claim his reward: soul crystal, and his Soul of Light had grown again. He planned to continue to explore the Other Shore upon returning to the Oneness Sky Palace.

The following morning

A massive drum, around 300 feet wide, appeared in the Su City.

A man covered with copper powder stood before the drum, banging it with incredible speed.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

The drum made a deafening noise, echoing throughout the whole Su City. Even people a hundred miles away from the city could hear it clearly.

Then, the elites of the Su City walked on the main street, dressed up in fancy clothing.

The rally at the Ripple Pavilion was the most grand festival of the Clear Lake.

“Before the reign of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the human race here gathered themselves around the Clear Lake. If birds and beasts came, they would scare them away with the sound of the huge drum. It's said that Eastern Emperor Taiyi found a handful of holy water in the Clear Lake, and took a sip. After that, he began to transform,” Gant explained to Zen.

“Holy water? What's that?” Zen asked curiously.

Gant gave a small smile. “The story was fabricated by later generations. The Clear Lake is so big! If the holy water truly existed, I'm sure there wouldn't just be a handful of it.” “Anyway,” he continued, “later on, the human race that surrounded the Clear Lake had become more and more prosperous. The Ripple Pavilion was built in honor of that.”

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The copper man continued beating the huge drum. Two burly men had lifted the massive drum and walked out of the Su City. A parade of residents of the city followed.

The people of the Su Clan stood in flying carriages, flying along with the crowd below them.

The frontmost carriage had the character “Su” engraved on it, and it carried Cailen. Zen and Gant sat behind him, followed by several uncles of Gant.

“Who is the man behind the master of the Su Clan?”

“What did he do to deserve a seat there?”

“I can't believe that Gant has come back!”

The Su Clan was the most prominent clan in the Su City. The seats on the first flying carriage carried certain prestige. Zen must have been considered a distinguished guest if he was made to sit right behind Cailen. Naturally, the people were very curious about him.

The parade headed for the Clear Lake.

Zen drank in the scene before him. On one side of the Clear Lake, many willows lined the water, making a picturesque, peaceful scene.

Along the way to the Clear Lake, people from the other surrounding cities also gathered, each with their own large drums.

The drummers of the other cities beat their drums furiously; it seemed like they were competing to see who could beat it the hardest. The people cheered, making the scene very lively.

Around two hours later, Zen saw a black line emerge in the Clear Lake. As he got closer, he found that it was a small, narrow island on the lake. The sole building on the island was a beautiful pavilion.

“Is this the Ripple Pavilion?”

Zen blinked his eyes in disappointment. Originally, he thought the Ripple Pavilion would be a magnificent building, but it turned out to be so ordinary.