Chapter 493 – Where the Dream Lies (2/2)

As Li Qingshan said that, he found that rather familiar. Sure enough, the voice immediately answered, “Haven’t I already asked it? Where are you going?”

“How is where I’m going relevant to you?”

“It is relevant to me, as we’re going to the same place.”

“Then tell me where I’m going.”

“Beyond the heavens.”

“How do you know?” Li Qingshan shuddered inside.

“I knew from the first time I saw you that your ambitions are anything but small. As frogs in a well, isn’t the purpose of our lifetime of cultivation to climb beyond the well and take a look at the world outside?” The voice that had remained calm and mild, without many fluctuations in tone, suddenly roused up, now filled with lofty sentiment.

He referred to himself modestly as a frog in a well, but Li Qingshan immediately knew he was anything but that. He viewed the nine provinces as a well, trapping him in there and bringing him discomfort. Was there anything he could say with an even loftier sentiment than that?

There was another side that Li Qingshan failed to consider. The frog might have been modest, but in this well, it could still lord over everyone else, an existence with no natural predator.

“You’re right. We do share the same path. I also want to venture beyond the Nine Heavens!” Li Qingshan developed some more respect and spoke much more politely, but he only recognised him as a fellow traveller on the same path. Their statuses were no different, and he did not grovel at all. This was the pride the black ox had given him. He would never lower his head or submit before anyone.

Li Qingshan could roughly tell what the voice was saying. The so-called venturing “beyond the heavens” was the objective of all cultivators. They wanted to break free from the restraints of this world and venture to a higher, more distant world. That did not necessarily mean he knew about his promise with the black ox.

“I’m wrong.”

The voice fluctuated again, filled with shock this time.

“How are you wrong? Have I said something wrong?” Li Qingshan was confused.

“I still ended up underestimating you. Beyond the Nine Heavens. Sigh, even to me, this objective is far too distant, well beyond my reach, something that I won’t even consider.”

“Aren’t we talking about the same place? Beyond the Nine Heavens—is that very far?”

Li Qingshan had mentioned these four words many times, but he actually had no exact concept of it. He had only faced the first heavenly tribulation so far, so thinking about that was a little soon. Remaining down-to-earth and cultivating was more important.

However, having run into someone who knew the path coincidentally, he could not help but ask just where the destination of his dream led to.

“Far? Hehe, I only want to climb out of this well, but you want to fly through the sky!”

“Is it really that difficult?” Li Qingshan was tongue-tied. This comparison was not too exaggerated. Just how deep could the well be and how far could the ground be from the sky?

“No, no, no. This is a little too simple. If it’s just flying through the sky, then even I have some hope. As long as you continue, going from a frog to a bird is not completely impossible. However, you want to become a star! It truly is an impressively great ambition. You’re probably the only one with this dream across all nine provinces and the billions of lives that live here.”

Curiosity filled the voice as if it wondered how Li Qingshan had such an unrealistic dream.

I await you beyond the Nine Heavens, for the time when you stand beside me.

The black ox’s words when he left echoed through Li Qingshan’s mind. Only now did he realise just what it was implying.

Li Qingshan fell silent. He naively believed he was only carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

“What, have you become frightened? Seems like I’m just overthinking. Looks like you just added “Nine Heavens” by mistake! I’ve spoken too much. Let me ask you again. You also want to go beyond the heavens, right?”

The voice seemed relieved, yet also slightly disappointed.

Did brother ox add the two words by mistake? The answer was very obvious, No!

Li Qingshan’s reply was the same. “No, I want to go beyond the Nine Heavens.”

He raised his head and laughed wildly. His face was glorious.

“You….”

Once upon a time, there was a frog that leapt around at the bottom of a well. It trained its legs, anticipating the moment that it leapt out of the well. At this moment, a tiny tadpole swam over and said, “Frog, frog! I want to become a star!”

The frog told the tiny tadpole patiently, “Stars are very, very distant, and tadpoles can’t become stars. I think you’ll have a very good chance at becoming a frog.”

The tadpole considered it. “Alright then. I’ll become a frog first… then I’ll become a star!”

The frog was left speechless.

The awe-inspiring bearing that Li Qingshan gave off suddenly crumbled. He scratched his head in distress. “But what kind of place is beyond the Nine Heavens? Hey, you look like you know a lot. Tell me about it. We can probably travel together.”

“I don’t know what kind of place that is. I’ve only heard that it’s the centre of the trichiliocosm, the place where gods and buddhas roam freely.”

“Looks like I can’t get an answer out of you anyway. Though, as long as I make my way up step by step, I shouldn’t get lost, right?”

Only after a very long time did Li Qingshan understand that the “nine” in the Nine Heavens was not a quantifier, but an adjective.

Nine was the limit of numbers, implying infinity!