Chapter 572: Godlike

In the capital city, the entire populace was thrown into disarray. It was typically the busiest time of day, but the sudden celestial phenomenon caused an uproar throughout the city.

At the open-air vegetable market, vendors with their stalls and ground cloths suddenly noticed the sky had darkened. Looking up, they were instantly dumbfounded.

"Heavens! It's dark?"

"What? It's dark?"

"Oh my heavens! Wasn't it just daytime?"

"It's truly dark! It's truly dark!"

Pedestrians on the streets also halted, staring incredulously at the sky. Above, stars glittered brightly; below, people were filled with astonishment.

Inside restaurants and tea houses, many who had been dining, drinking tea, or listening to storytellers suddenly found the sky darkening, leaving them disoriented. Then, hearing shouts from outside like "It's dark!" or "The sky has changed!", they rushed out and, just like everyone else, stood transfixed, looking up at the sky.

The source of all these changes was the Yin Manor, but the city's inhabitants were naturally unaware of the full story. They could only vaguely sense the brightest point among the celestial stars. Some individuals with keen spiritual senses, or children, could even faintly perceive starlight descending.

While the "Creation of Heaven and Earth" was indeed performed by Ji Yuan, he was essentially "lending his magic" to Du Changsheng. This required Du Changsheng to use his own spiritual power as a guide, allowing Ji Yuan to know how to assist him.

In the current situation, the "borrowed magic" had certainly been acquired, but strictly speaking, its mastery still depended on Du Changsheng himself. It tested not only his own spiritual power but also his performance.

This was precisely the situation for Du Changsheng. Starlight rained down from the sky, and a colossal Eight Trigrams diagram rose behind the Yin Manor. All the starlight was drawn in and channeled downwards.

The infusion of spiritual wind and flowing light into Yin Zhaoxian's bedroom seemed only a prelude. Everyone within the Yin Manor could vaguely see the descending starlight gathering in increasing intensity, and a faint, ethereal blue-white light converging from all directions.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

The sound of rushing water echoed both inside and outside the Yin Manor. As spiritual energy and starlight converged, a shimmering phantom image of a stellar river seemed to materialize on the Eight Trigrams diagram.

Du Changsheng was drenched in sweat, his clothes already soaked. Yet, he had no time to spare to control his perspiration with magic. The horsetail whisk in his hand moved so rapidly it formed an impenetrable white blur, enveloping him in a sphere of light.

The starlight and spiritual energy were now overwhelmingly intense, and Du Changsheng was nearing his limit. However, he knew he might never have another such glorious moment in his life, so he had to persevere no matter what.

"Let the Stellar River descend, guiding the Heavenly Light of Wen Qu to shine forth!"

A slightly hoarse voice roared from Du Changsheng's mouth. The Eight Trigrams diagram in the sky descended lower and lower, and the starlit river flowed through the Yin Manor's courtyard. Everyone was wide-eyed and awestruck, as if they were immersed in a surging, illusory stellar river, even feeling a current brush their hands when they reached out.

"Whoosh... whoosh..."

The sound of surging waves echoed continuously, and Du Changsheng's movements before the altar grew increasingly frantic. Throughout the Yin Manor, only Ji Yuan's courtyard had slightly shallower starlight, yet it too was submerged within the stellar river.

In that moment, the walls, courtyards, and buildings of the Yin Manor seemed to vanish, replaced by a flowing stellar river. Most people, including Yin Qing, could no longer see each other, only the dazzling starlight surging around them. Still, no one dared to move haphazardly, fearing they might disrupt the grand formation.

From a distance, as Du Changsheng waved his horsetail whisk, he seemed to glimpse Ji Yuan through the layers of the stellar river. Ji Yuan was gazing at a chessboard, holding what appeared not to be a regular chess piece, but a star.

With a sword-finger gesture, he placed the piece. As the star touched the chessboard, ripples of light emanated, stirring great waves within the stellar river flowing through the Yin Manor.

Just as Du Changsheng was captivated watching Ji Yuan, Ji Yuan turned his head and looked at him.

"Do not dwell on other thoughts."

A gentle pressure accompanied the soft voice, jolting Du Changsheng back to reality. His spiritual essence was unstable; he had almost failed to prevent it from leaving his body.

Du Changsheng's gaze swept his surroundings once more. Previously, he couldn't discern anything beyond the stellar river, his vision filled only with starlight. But now, he seemed to perceive the scene outside the Yin Manor. Beyond the panic-stricken, astonished, or awestruck citizens on the streets, some ghostly and divine figures were already lurking on the periphery.

"Everyone, hold your positions! Do not waver! Success or failure hinges on this moment!"

Du Changsheng roared, and with a flick of his wrist, flung his horsetail whisk forward.

"Go!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

The waters of the stellar river surged towards the "Gate of Life." Yin Chi and Yin Dian, holding hands, leaned against the blurred guardian, clenching their teeth, afraid to move. A wave crashed over them; although their clothes didn't stir, the impact made the two children sway precariously, as if they might fall at any moment.

After holding on for a few breaths, the guardian beside them instantly dissolved into dust. The two children, supporting each other, remained steadfast. In that moment, they seemed to once again clearly perceive the room before them, seeing their grandfather's bed and the rivers of water pouring inside.

"Rumble..."

The roof of Yin Zhaoxian's dwelling was torn open by the stellar river. His bed, with him still on it, flew directly into the air with the current, and a stream of light shot straight up into the high heavens, as if a cascading waterfall of stars had been hung between heaven and earth.

The starlight of the stellar river within the Yin Manor gradually dimmed, yet the starlight between heaven and earth shone even more brilliantly. For a moment, more than half the people in the capital city stared blankly in the direction of Rongan Street.

Within the imperial palace, in the Imperial Study, Emperor Hongwu, Yang Hao, was reviewing memorials. He suddenly noticed the room's light dimming slightly, though it wasn't immediately obvious due to the constant candlelight and lamps in the study.

Yang Hao simply finished reviewing a memorial and gave an instruction to his attendant.

"Make the lamps brighter."

Usually, when he said this, the eunuch beside him would immediately respond. But this time, Yang Hao heard no reply. He looked over, puzzled, to see the eunuch staring wide-eyed and blankly towards the window.

Yang Hao also looked up, seeing that it was completely dark outside, as if the weather had changed and a heavy rain was about to fall.

"Outside..."

The eunuch snapped back to attention, about to speak, when a long cry of report suddenly echoed from outside.

"Report... Reporting to Your Majesty!"

A eunuch, his face pale with shock, burst into the Imperial Study, neglecting to bow. Pointing outside, he spoke urgently to Emperor Hongwu.

"Your Majesty, just now, the sky suddenly turned from day to night! The stars are shining brightly outside!"

"What?"

Yang Hao instantly rose from his chair. After a glance at the window, he set down his brush, stepped from behind the imperial desk, and hastily walked out, two eunuchs quickly following him.

In the courtyard outside the Imperial Study, beyond the visibly agitated guards, the most striking sight was the sky, which had transformed from clear daylight into night. Myriad stars glittered brilliantly, a sight that was both mesmerizing and astonishing.

"What time is it now?"

The eunuchs by the emperor's side always kept track of the time, and relevant officials would also periodically announce it. At this moment, the old eunuch, though not the most favored, had long served the emperor, and quickly answered.

"Your Majesty, it should be Sishi (9 AM to 11 AM) now."

"Sishi? It's not even noon yet! Where is Li Jingchun? Go quickly to the Bureau of Astronomy and summon Grand Astrologer Yan Chang to the palace! Hurry!"

Faced with such a miraculous celestial change that inverted day and night, Emperor Hongwu's first thought was Yan Chang of the Bureau of Astronomy. But just as he finished speaking, the old eunuch beside him replied.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Li and Master Yan should both be at Prime Minister Yin's residence right now. Have you forgotten? Today, Master Du is performing a ritual to save Prime Minister Yin."

Upon hearing this, Yang Hao suddenly understood. Then, a thought struck him: Could this celestial phenomenon be related to that event?

"Your Majesty, quickly look at the southern sky!"

A eunuch prompted him, and Yang Hao looked up again, only to see a brilliant silver light rising in the southern sky. It reached the horizon in an extremely short time, seemingly connected to the constellations above, and from afar, it resembled a shimmering river of starlight.

'Could this be Du Changsheng's doing?'

Witnessing the changes before him, Yang Hao was momentarily stunned, his heart filled with disbelief.

Inside the Yin Manor, people's vision had returned, allowing them to see the courtyard and each other once more. However, apart from themselves, everything appeared both illusory and real; even walls and other objects felt somewhat transparent. Yet, this was unimportant, as most eyes remained fixed on the sky.

Yin Zhaoxian's bed floated approximately ten zhang (about 33 meters) high in the air, seemingly permeated by the light of the stellar river, connecting directly to the Ninth Heaven.

Amidst the surging stellar river and brilliant starlight, after approximately half a *ke* (about 7.5 minutes), Yin Zhaoxian's bed slowly descended. As the bed drew lower, people's gazes finally began to focus on each other and the situation in the courtyard, particularly on Du Changsheng and the others before the altar.

His three disciples had already collapsed to the ground, their condition unknown. Du Changsheng himself was bleeding from his seven orifices, and the arm clutching the horsetail whisk trembled uncontrollably. Anyone could see that the Celestial Master had reached his limit.

Yin Zhaoxian's bed finally settled gently onto the ground. The original roof of the dwelling was gone, as were the doors and windows, carried away by the wind to parts unknown, leaving the structure completely open and exposed.

The moment the bed landed, all the white strands of Du Changsheng's horsetail whisk detached, scattering across the courtyard. Du Changsheng himself toppled straight backward, landing solidly on the ground with a "thump."

As Du Changsheng fell, the night scene slowly began to dissipate. The sky grew progressively brighter; this transition, though still rapid, was not as abrupt as its onset.

After roughly ten breaths, the sky returned to blue with white clouds, and the capital city once again basked in daylight. The sudden night scene from earlier seemed like a mere illusion, yet the dazed crowds on the streets and people in buildings across the capital, still standing stunned or exchanging bewildered glances, all confirmed the reality of what had just transpired.

Inside the Yin Manor, the silence was shattered. As daylight returned, two imperial physicians were the first to rush out, one toward Yin Zhaoxian and the other toward the altar.

The imperial physician examining Du Changsheng frowned continuously, while the one examining Yin Zhaoxian beamed with joy.

"It's a miracle! A miracle! Although Prime Minister Yin is still weak, his pulse is stable. A miracle! Truly miraculous! Prime Minister Yin is saved!"