16 Chapter 13 : Against the sky! (2)

The Qi settled down as Zhang Feng finished his breakthrough. Zhang Feng felt great. His body felt full of power. Zhang Feng slightly grinned. But the words of Gu Di caught his attention. "Master, what is Absolute Heart control?" asked Zhang Feng curiously. He already had a guess in his heart but he still decided to ask to clear his doubts.

"Haha, don't you know? After all you just achieved it." said Gu Di. " I don't know. " answered Zhang Feng truthfully. Gu Di's became speechless. He forgot to speak for a moment. "Y-You... What you did just now in your breakthrough was without your knowledge?" asked Gu Di. "No, I couldn't breakthrough as my heart and mind weren't in coordination. So I was stuck and couldn't breakthrough." said Zhang Feng.

"You mean you had to coordinate your body till it reached Absolute Heart Control? It's complete nonsense! How's this possible? I know that one must have a much more better control and coordination than normal cultivators in order to reach 11th Stage of Qi Refining, however to reach Absolute Heart Control is too far fetched. It's already a miracle that you achieved it. Are you sure that you are understanding your situation?" said Gu Di in a stunned tone. " Master can you first tell me what Absolute Heart Control is? " asked Zhang Feng patiently. " Sigh, fine. Listen. It's a state which is extremely hard to achieve. At least in your realm, I have seen no one achieving that state. You are the first. The name itself tells you about it. 'Absolute Heart Control'. It means to have complete control over one's heart beat. One can stop it, slow it, fasten it by will. Of course you can't stop it for a long time or you will die. But it is greatly effective in combat. The faster the heart can beat, the more will the blood be supplied and the better will you be able to perform." replied Gu Di. "Oh, so there's such a thing too!", answered Zhang Feng feeling a bit amazed. His heart was already stronger than normal ones. With the Absolute Heart Control, it will make him surpass his limits. He will be able to confront opponents with a higher cultivation than him. Zhang Feng's nonchalant reply made Gu Di speechless once again. "You brat! How can you be so calm right now? What you did was too against the sky! At least.... sigh... Let it be.. I'm too tired to speak. " sighed Gu Di helplessly.

"Master, now disciple will hit the 12th Qu Refining Realm you said in the Legend. Just you wait and watch!" said Zhang Feng grinning. "Impossible! The 12th realm is nearly impossible to achieve! There are no records about achieving it since no one in the history has achieved it. Sure, you are extremely talented but still you stand an extremely low chance of achieving it. It might sound rude kid, but it's the truth." retorted Gu Di. "Is it really so hard?" asked Zhang Feng. Gu Di nodded solemnly. "Don't underestimate cultivation itself. But what we are talking about now is an advanced level in cultivation. After all no one did it. I just hope that you don't lose confidence and hope in yourself after this setback." said Gu Di.

"I'll try my best Master! " said Zhang Feng as he started to cultivate towards 12th Stage of Qi Refining. "Feng'er I just hope that you won't be disappointed in yourself" thought Gu Di silently. Zhang Feng had some got some experience and knowledge from breaking through the 10th and 11th Stages of Qi Refining. There was always a prerequisite for them to achieve it. Zhang Feng started checking his entire body from head to toe while cultivating. Head, torso, arms, legs all the parts of his body were scanned by him. "Hmm.... I always feel like I am missing something important. But what? Sigh, I can't give up now. I must keep searching. I will search each and every part of my being. From cells till organs, I believe that I can find something which can point me in a new direction." Regaining his confidence, Zhang Feng initiated a detailed search for clues throughout his body.

3 months had passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Feng still couldn't find a proper direction in which he could go to break through. He felt lost. Looking at Zhang Feng's lost look, Gu Di secretly sighed. " Let this small setback be a way to firm your heart kid. Even I cannot help you in this matter. The 12th Stage is extremely mysterious. Its prerequisites are unknown. " muttered Gu Di. Zhang Feng felt confused. He always felt that he was missing an important clue and that clue might help him point a direction to break through the 12th Stage of Qi Refining. "What am I missing? Think. Think. Think! Ahhh, my head hurts. Sigh, can my poor soul never be able to break through?" thought Zhang Feng.

"Hmmm? Soul..... Soul! Haha! That's it! It's soul! I had my body and mind in coordination but my soul isn't! Yes! This must be it! This is the only thing that makes sense! My whole being must be in unity. Perfect Unity." Zhang Feng quickly used his mental energy and tried to feel the existence of Soul. Soul is an extremely mysterious thing among Heaven and Earth. Every living thing has a soul. Without soul, the body is just a vessel to occupy. Zhang Feng's mental energy fluctuations were felt by Gu Di. "What! This kid even cultivated mental energy! Hmm? .... P.. Purple Mansion Realm! How's this possible? I didn't sense any mental energy fluctuations from him earlier. But now..... This boy has too many secrets! But I am happy for him." muttered Gu Di happily.

Zhang Feng soon got engrossed in the process. His soul became much stable. He vaguely felt the connection with his soul getting stronger. Few months passed by and Zhang Feng had entered the temple for nearly one year. Zhang Feng felt himself being in complete unity. His mind became clear, without any doubts. "Is that Heaven and Man Unity? My God! It is! What....." muttered Gu Di as he inhaled sharply. Zhang Feng felt his body getting hotter by the second. The surrounding qi trembled as the clouds in the sky gathered. The clouds rumbled in the sky as thunder flashed. Heavy rain started pouring. Gu Di got dumbstruck after seeing this phenomenon. "T-This....How...Is that brat breaking through to the 12th Stage? Yes! Heavens! He is about to create history! Miracle! Hahaha! Worthy of my disciple." The suction of the nearby Qi got stronger and stronger as Zhang Feng approached closer and closer to the bottleneck. Just as Zhang Feng was about to break through he felt the time stop. Zhang Feng looked ahead and saw a golden door locked with chains. Zhang Feng felt confused after seeing the door. "How did I come here?", muttered Zhang Feng. Zhang Feng approached the door and tried to open it. The moment his hand touched the door, he felt a sharp pain throughout his body. The pain intensified by each passing second. Zhang Feng couldn't even think properly because of the pain. Zhang Feng felt his consciousness blurring. He knew that he was about to faint due to intense pain. Suddenly a voice echoed in his mind " Break down the door Feng'er. That's the only way to solve this problem." " Master? Is that you? " called out Zhang Feng weakly. "Hurry up I can't speak more. Break down the door." said Gu Di.

"Okay. I will." saying that Zhang Feng stood up suppressing his pain and made his way towards the door. The door was locked with silver chains. "How should I break it down? Let's try attacking it first!" saying that Zhang Feng attacked the door with full power. Zhang Feng felt a bone chilling pain as soon as his attack landed on the door. Trembling, he once again attacked the door. What met him again was pain. "Ahhh! What's this pain? Is this door connected to me? Master said that I must break it down. But it's too difficult and.... painful.", whispered Zhang Feng. Firming his will, Zhang Feng attacked the door again and again. After nearly 100 punches, one chain melted away. There were 11 chains still remaining. "These chains... they must correspond to the realms of Qi Refining. To break through I must break all 12 chains." thought Zhang Feng as he guessed the situation. Punches. Kicks. Zhang Feng repeatedly attacked the door will all his might. At the same time he fiercely fought back the pain. "This is too slow. Only 3 chains have been broken down after all these attacks. I must use stronger attacks like Wind Tiger Claw." Zhang Feng displayed the Wind Tiger Claw. Boom! A bang sounded as another chain broke. But the pain which hit Zhang Feng was the pain which was many times stronger and intense that he got from hitting punches and kicks to the door. Zhang Feng felt the the world spinning round as he saw stars. "Wow..... That sure hurt like hell." said Zhang Feng as he stood up. Zhang Feng felt the taste of iron in his mouth. He was bleeding from his mouth. Wiping the blood, Zhang Feng got ready for the next attack. Bam! A low collision sounded as Zhang Feng attacked the door. Another wave of pain passed over to his body. Zhang Feng ignored the pain as he kept on attacking the door. After nearly 10 attacks, Zhang Feng stopped. He was bleeding from his 7 orfices. He looked like a bloodied man. His knees felt weak. His eyes looked drowsy. It looked as if he could fall at any moment. Just as Zhang Feng was about to fall the Origin of Chaos trembled and some words echoed in his mind. " Eternal, my will!" Zhang Feng felt enlightened after hearing those words. Those three words. They were small but contained endless majesty and confidence as well as firmness towards martial arts. Zhang Feng smiled after hearing it. His smile looked relaxed and carefree. It was as if he came from taking a stroll in the backyard. "What bold words!How firm and determined must it be! If Chaos can go against the heavens then so can I! Haha! Pain! What Pain! Come at me!" said Zhang Feng laughing grandly. There was only one chain left. Zhang Feng looked at it and said, " You are the last obstacle in my way. No matter how difficult, I will break it." Zhang Feng gave a loud yell as he attacked the chain. The pain which the last chain gave Zhang Feng was beyond imagination. Zhang Feng cried tears of blood. But he never stopped attacking. Five, Ten, Twenty Wind Tiger Claws and kicks later there was a single huge crack on the chain.

Blood kept on flowing endlessly from his body. His face looked deathly pale. Zhang Feng urged his heart to got faster and soon recovered some blood. "If this isn't enough then..... 4-Bronze Bell Body! First Gong!" muttered Zhang Feng as a low bell rang through his joints. The attack rivaling condensing energy peak cultivator, attacked the door. Crack! Crack! Two huge cracks appeared one after another after the attacks of 4-Bronze Bell Body. The chain hanged weakly on the door. It looked like it would break soon. But Zhang Feng felt his body going numb. He couldn't feel anything of his lower body. His arms were paralyzed and his legs were frozen. Actually they weren't frozen but it's Zhang Feng who overexhausted himself. Zhang Feng felt his vision going dark. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Feng yelled, "Eternal, my will! Invincible, my will!" and banged his head towards the chain. The last chain broke with a loud bang as the sky trembled. Zhang Feng felt his body getting lighter and lighter. The surrounding Qi was madly absorbed by the Chaos Bead as he broke through the shackles of 12th Stage of Qi Refining. Boom! A loud bang sounded as the nearby area got broken due to lightning. "A tribulation! It's a heavenly tribulation! But he is only at Qi Refining Realm! " whispered Gu Di. A huge eye was formed in the sky as it looked straight at Zhang Feng. "The heaven's eye! Heaven actually noticed Zhang Feng's existence!" A cloud filled with crackling thunder approached Zhang Feng. Zhang Feng opened his eyes as he gazed towards the cloud with a firm look.

The first thunder hit Zhang Feng with a loud boom. Zhang Feng hit the thunder back with a punch. "Next!" yelled Zhang Feng as he continued warding off the attacks by punching. The lightning got fiercer by the second. Soon after 12 lightning attacks, a bright light flashed through the sky as a sharp lightning made its way towards Zhang Feng. Zhang Feng felt his body tremble as he sank I to the ground due to the huge force of the attack. "18 sets of Tribulation! The first 12 have passed but the last 6 are extremely strong. Sigh! This is bad! I don't know if Feng'er can hold on. No! He can! He will! He must! He has performed repeated miracles! This time is no exception!" thought Gu Di as he firmed his belief. Zhang Feng's whole skin was parched and filled with cracks. Boom! Bam! Bam! Boom! The lightning mercilessly hit Zhang Feng. At last the final lightning was remaining. It sizzled through the air as it made its way towards Zhang Feng. Bang! Zhang Feng got blasted of the ground and flew away few metres. He then got up weakly and looked in the sky. "Is it over?" muttered Zhang Feng. He then noticed a huge eye looking at him from the sky. The eye looked indifferent, as if it looked at an ant. There was aloofness and a sense of mystery in it. "What's this eye? Why does it keep looking at me? Looks like a stalker. Creepy." thought Zhang Feng. If Gu Di knew Zhang Feng's thoughts he might be dumbfounded. Zhang Feng just called the Heaven a stalker. Heavenly Dao is a sacred existence. It cannot be blasphemed. After a while the eye disappeared along with the clouds as a ray of light shined towards Zhang Feng. The light looked pure and holy. Zhang Feng felt all his wounds getting rapidly healed as the light surrounded him. Zhang Feng felt as if he was in softest silk bed.

"Ahhh, comfortable.... Is this my reward? I thought that I might get some cool technique but its okay. This feels really good. Kind of like a massage." muttered Zhang Feng. Gu Di got speechless again. "This brat called the "Sanctification " a massage? Sigh, I won't even bother to speak now." Soon the light disappeared and the surrounding returned to calm. "Over? So soon? Sigh, but that felt really good. I hope I can get it in future too." thought Zhang Feng. "Haha! You did it! You goddamned brat! You did it! Brilliant! I never thought that you could do it! But boy was I wrong!" boomed Gu Di. "Hehe, I told u master. I will do it." grinned Zhang Feng.