Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 149 A great shame and humiliation

Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement surging in his heart. He knew that mastering the ancient formation was not an easy task, but he must succeed.

He sat cross-legged in front of the boulder, closed his eyes, and tried to enter the dream again to find more clues about the ancient formation. Those ancient runes kept appearing in his mind, interweaving like a tangled mess, leaving him at a loss as to where to start.

"Xingchen, don't be anxious, take your time." Nanli said softly, handing him a cup of tea.

Gao Xingchen took the teacup and looked at Nanli with gratitude. He knew that Nanli had been silently supporting him, which made him feel very warm.

He took a sip of tea to calm himself down, then closed his eyes again and focused all his attention on the runes. As time passed, beads of sweat oozed from Gao Xingchen's forehead, but he never gave up.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to his mind, and he opened his eyes suddenly, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"I know! I know what to do!" Gao Xingchen stood up excitedly, walked to the boulder, and began to manipulate the spiritual power according to the ideas in his mind, trying to activate those ancient runes.

However, things did not go as smoothly as he imagined. Those runes seemed to have been sleeping for a thousand years, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not wake them up. Failure after failure gradually dissipated Gao Xingchen's confidence, and his mood became more and more depressed.

At this moment, a discordant voice suddenly sounded: "Hey, isn't this the tall formation master? Why, are you still studying this broken stone?"

Gao Xingchen turned around suddenly and saw a young man in gorgeous clothes, with several followers, standing not far away, looking at him with a mocking expression.

"Who are you?" Gao Xingchen asked with a frown, feeling a little unhappy in his heart.

"Who am I? You don't deserve to know!" The young man snorted coldly, "I heard that you have been studying here for a long time, but in the end you didn't even fart. It's really funny!"

Gao Xingchen's face suddenly turned livid. He clenched his fists, suppressed his anger, and said coldly: "You don't need to interfere in my affairs!"

"Haha, you're really stubborn!" The young man laughed as if he had heard a funny joke. "You think you can become a formation master? Don't dream! You're just a piece of trash, a piece of trash who can never go home!"

Every word of the young man was like a sharp blade, fiercely hurting Gao Xingchen's self-esteem. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with anger and humiliation.

Nan Li noticed Gao Xingchen's abnormality, and quickly walked to his side, gently held his hand, and said softly: "Xingchen, don't listen to his nonsense, you have worked very hard, I believe you can succeed."

Gao Xingchen forced a bitter smile, shook his head, pulled his hand back, and whispered: "Nanli, you don't understand. I'm not angry because of what he said, but I really feel useless. I've been here for so long, and there's been no progress. I..."

Gao Xingchen's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally became almost a silent murmur. He sat on the ground dejectedly, holding his head in his hands, and fell into deep self-doubt. He began to doubt his ability, his original choice, and even the meaning of his existence.

Xiao Hei felt Gao Xingchen's pain and walked around anxiously. It rubbed Gao Xingchen's legs with its furry head and made low whining sounds, as if to comfort and encourage him.

Gao Xingchen gently stroked Xiao Hei's head and said with a wry smile: "Xiao Hei, am I useless?"

Xiao Hei seemed to understand what he said. He rubbed his hand even harder, nudging his palm with his wet nose, his eyes full of worry and encouragement.

However, no matter how hard Xiao Hei tried, Gao Xingchen was still in a low mood. He was like a ship that had lost its way, drifting on the vast ocean, unable to see hope or find direction.

At night, Gao Xingchen lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. The young man's words kept echoing in his ears, like a spell that trapped him firmly in the quagmire of self-doubt.

He closed his eyes, trying to forget all his troubles and fall asleep. However, the dream was more cruel than reality. He dreamed of his hometown, his parents, and his friends, but they were getting farther and farther away from him, and finally disappeared in the fog.

Just when Gao Xingchen was about to despair, an old voice suddenly sounded in his ears: "Kid, what's wrong with you?"

Gao Xingchen suddenly opened his eyes, only to find himself in an unfamiliar environment. It was dark all around, with only a dim oil lamp emitting a faint light.

Next to the oil lamp, sat an old man. His hair and beard were all white, but he looked vigorous, and his eyes were deep and wise, as if he could see through everything in the world.

"Who are you? Where is this?" Gao Xingchen asked vigilantly.

The old man smiled slightly and did not answer his question. Instead, he asked: "Child, your heart is full of confusion and pain. Do you want to change all this?"

Gao Xingchen was stunned for a moment and nodded subconsciously.

"Then follow me." The old man said, standing up and walking into the darkness.

Gao Xingchen hesitated for a moment, but finally followed. He knew that this might be his last hope...

Gao Xingchen followed the old man through the dark corridor with trepidation. The walls on both sides of the corridor were engraved with ancient runes, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura. Gao Xingchen felt that these runes seemed to contain some powerful power, but he could not understand it.

The old man brought Gao Xingchen to a secret room. In the center of the secret room, there was an ancient altar, and above the altar, there was a golden sphere emitting dazzling light.

"Child," the old man pointed at the golden sphere and said slowly, "This is the heart of a star. It contains infinite power. As long as you can gain its recognition, you will be able to gain power beyond that of ordinary people."

Gao Xingchen looked at the Heart of Stars in amazement, his heart filled with desire. He knew that if he could obtain this power, he would be able to change his fate and protect the people he wanted to protect.

The old man seemed to see through Gao Xingchen's thoughts. He smiled and said, "Child, if you want to be recognized by the Heart of Star, you need to work hard. Are you willing to accept my test?"

Gao Xingchen nodded without hesitation, his eyes full of determination.

The old man nodded with satisfaction, and he began to teach Gao Xingchen a special cultivation method. This cultivation method was completely different from what Gao Xingchen had learned before, and it focused more on the cultivation of spiritual power and the perception of the power of heaven and earth.

Gao Xingchen followed the old man's instructions, sat cross-legged under the altar, closed his eyes, and began to practice. As time passed, Gao Xingchen was immersed in practice, forgetting time and everything else.

During the practice, Gao Xingchen encountered many difficulties and challenges. His body was hit by powerful energy again and again, and his spirit was pushed to the brink of collapse again and again. But Gao Xingchen gritted his teeth and persevered, because he always had a belief in his heart: he must become stronger and must change his destiny!

Finally, on a full-moon night, Gao Xingchen felt that the energy in his body had reached an unprecedented peak. He suddenly opened his eyes, and a beam of light shot out from his eyes, illuminating the entire secret room.

"Congratulations, kid, you succeeded!" The old man looked at Gao Xingchen with satisfaction, a gratified smile on his face.

Gao Xingchen stood up, feeling the power surging in his body, and his heart was full of confidence. He knew that he had been reborn and was no longer the boy who was bullied by others!

When he woke up, Gao Xingchen found himself lying on the bed, soaked in sweat. But he didn't care about that, he immediately sat cross-legged and began to recall the cultivation method taught to him by the old man in the dream.

To Gao Xingchen's surprise, he found that he could clearly remember every move and every detail of the old man. He began to practice according to the old man's method, and streams of pure energy flowed through his body, washing his meridians and enhancing his strength.

As his cultivation progressed, Gao Xingchen's understanding of the ancient formation became more and more profound. He discovered that the cultivation method taught to him by the old man was inextricably linked to the ancient formation.

Gao Xingchen's mind moved, and he decided to try again to master the ancient formation. This time, he was full of confidence and determination, and he knew that he would succeed!

However, just as Gao Xingchen was about to start, a discordant voice suddenly sounded: "Hey, isn't this our genius array master? Why are you still studying those junk?"

Gao Xingchen suddenly opened his eyes and saw the visitor who had humiliated him standing in front of him with a mocking smile on his face.

Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in his heart. He told himself that he could not be influenced by this guy. The most important thing for him now was to master the ancient formation. Only in this way could he become stronger and protect the people he wanted to protect.

"It has nothing to do with you." Gao Xingchen replied coldly, and then he no longer paid attention to the visitor and refocused his attention on the formation in front of him.

The visitor was furious when he saw Gao Xingchen ignoring him. He snorted coldly and said, "Why, are you angry because I said it right? I advise you not to waste your energy. You think you can master the ancient formation? It's wishful thinking!"

Gao Xingchen didn't say anything, but his hands holding the formation tightened involuntarily. The visitor's words were like a sharp blade, piercing the most vulnerable part of his heart.

Seeing that Gao Xingchen was unmoved, the visitor thought he had hit a sore spot and felt even more proud. He walked up to Gao Xingchen, looked down at him, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Why, you don't want to talk anymore? Do you think you are useless and can't even master a simple formation?"

Gao Xingchen suddenly raised his head and glared at the visitor, his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. The visitor's words completely angered him.

"Shut up!" Gao Xingchen roared, the spiritual power in his body surged, and a powerful momentum burst out from him.

The visitor was intimidated by Gao Xingchen's aura and took a few steps back involuntarily. He never thought that this guy who usually looked timid could actually have such a powerful strength.

Gao Xingchen ignored the visitor's shock. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He knew that now was not the time to conflict with this guy. He had to seize the time and master the ancient formation.

Gao Xingchen closed his eyes and focused all his attention on the formation in front of him. He followed the instructions of the old man in the dream, controlling the spiritual power in his body step by step, trying to activate the ancient formation.

However, just when Gao Xingchen was about to succeed, the visitor's voice rang out again, like a spell, breaking Gao Xingchen's concentration.

"It's useless. Don't waste your energy. You won't succeed!"

Gao Xingchen's body trembled violently, and the spiritual energy in his body instantly became disordered. The formation that was about to be activated was also extinguished.

Gao Xingchen opened his eyes, which were filled with despair and pain. He dropped his hands helplessly, letting the spiritual power in his body dissipate.

"Why? Why do I always fail?" Gao Xingchen murmured to himself, his voice full of bitterness and despair.

The visitor looked at Gao Xingchen's distraught look and smiled triumphantly. He walked up to Gao Xingchen, patted him on the shoulder, and said with regret: "Alas, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you are really not suitable for cultivation. You'd better give up as soon as possible to avoid wasting time and energy."

Gao Xingchen didn't say anything, he lowered his head, and his facial expression couldn't be seen clearly. But his body was trembling slightly, showing that he was extremely restless at the moment.

Seeing Gao Xingchen didn't say anything, the visitor thought that he had beaten him to a pulp and felt even more proud. He was about to make a few more taunts when he suddenly felt a cold gaze falling on him.

The visitor was startled and looked up, only to see Nan Li appear behind him at some point, looking at him coldly with a dangerous light flashing in her eyes.