Chapter 227: The World in the Palm, Innate Awakener (I)
Chapter 227: The World in the Palm, Innate Awakener (I)
Within the Yunwu Mountain Range, a white figure glided effortlessly over the sea of trees, almost as if he was flying. Each light touch on the branches and leaves was made with a graceful, seemingly weightless movement.
Occasionally, a mutated avian creature in the sky would catch sight of him. As it descended from above to pounce on him, however, confusion became evident once it approached within a hundred meters. It would then spread its wings and soar back skyward, completely forgetting its mission to hunt down the white creature.
That morning, on the edge of a cliff deep within a branch of the mountains, An Fuqing sat cross-legged. A formless sword will enveloped her, emanating a sharp aura capable of tearing through everything.
After days of enlightenment, her cultivation had reached a hair's breadth away from the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm. However, her comprehension of the spatial rifts had also reached a bottleneck. Though the sword will surrounding her was formidable, it still lacked the final touch to fully condense.
Not far away, a figure dressed in snow-white appeared, standing on a tree branch as if weightless. A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes as he watched her majestic and beautiful profile full of vitality.
So similar. Considering the timing, she should have also just arrived at the mutated beast battlefield.
Suddenly, the white-clad youth said calmly, "Space is intangible, beyond the reach of human effort. What you see should not be the intangible space, but the sword in your heart, with the will of 'only me, no one else' as the sword, reflecting the momentary rift in your heart, transcending reality and illusion, severing all..."
The voice reverberated in An Fuqing's mind, causing her spirit to tremble. The space reflected in her eyes collapsed, her long hair fluttering. Within a ten-meter radius around her, the air solidified, resembling an intangible space with her in the center, as black rifts silently spread out.
Bang!
The intangible world projected by her will collapsed, instantly generating strong gusts of wind sweeping through the surroundings.
Boom!
An Fuqing's sword will surged into the sky, forming a translucent sword phantom over her head that stretched up to three meters and exuded an extreme sharpness.
Simultaneously, the true power within her body roared and vibrated. Under the sword will that could tear through and sever everything, she instantly broke through to the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.
It didn't stop there. The true power within her continued to circulate, swallowing the dense transcendent energy around her and growing stronger and stronger, until it gradually came to a halt approaching the late stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.
At just the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm, she had mastered the Disillusionment and Spatial Sword Wills.
After her true power settled down, An Fuqing turned her head to look into the distance. When she saw the white-clad youth, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and couldn't help but express her gratitude. "Thank you for your guidance. May I ask which school you are from?"
The girl's voice was clear and devoid of any impurities.
Zuo Jing smiled faintly and gracefully descended from the tree branch. "Where I come from doesn't matter. Just consider me a passerby."
"A passerby." An Fuqing paused slightly, not expecting such a response.
Zuo Jing stood not far from the girl, his tone gentle as he said, "I noticed you were stuck in the final step of condensing your sword will. It reminded me of my own past struggles, so I felt compelled to offer advice."
"Your past struggles? Are you also adept in the power of will?" An Fuqing's eyes showed surprise.
Since she had started her cultivation journey, she had encountered many students from other martial arts schools, some of whom were talented geniuses. However, she had rarely encountered someone who had fully condensed their will, evidence of how rare individuals with such talents were.
Considering the advice he had just given her, however, it was likely that his understanding of the power of will surpassed hers.
"I have some understanding, yes," Zuo Jing said, as a radiant burst of sun-like energy erupted from him. His aura exploded around him, condensing into a dazzling sun wheel behind him.
An Fuqing was somewhat astonished. "Perfection in martial arts and manifestation of will!"
Even a girl who was confident in her extraordinary talents couldn't help but feel shocked at this; the white-clad youth's realm was only the late stage of the Fifth, but his true will had already reached the advanced level, even able to fully manifest.
Meanwhile, she was still very much at the beginner level, only just beginning to comprehend two sword wills, let alone manifesting them at the advanced level. That was the hallmark of the Seventh Heavenly Realm.
As An Fuqing's mind trembled, Zuo Jing slowly said, "No need to be surprised. I've just been on the path a little longer. But I feel you've strayed a bit."
An Fuqing looked puzzled. "I've strayed...?"
"The so-called 'talent for comprehension' is actually a kind of wisdom that makes us more sensitive to all things and allows us to perceive the essence of the world. In such a situation, you shouldn't be fixated on a certain 'sword will,' but rather observe the world itself.
"When the entire world is within you, the space, earth, and wild winds are at your fingertips, like the sun and moon in my eyes..."
As Zuo Jing spoke, the transcendent energy surged around him, converging into a transparent sphere in his hand, within which gusts of wind suddenly roared and lightning flickered.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the sun rose, and the moon descended, almost forming a complete natural scene.
Watching this miniature "world," An Fuqing slowly seemed to comprehend something in the midst of her astonishment, soon entering a state of enlightenment.
As the girl fell into silence, Zuo Jing, with one hand dragging the illusion of that "world," stood with his other hand behind his back, a hint of complexity in his eyes.
***
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Boom! Boom! Boom!
That evening, deep within another mutated beast battlefield far from the southern one, the free violent transcendent energy surged, howling winds roared, and dazzling thunderbolts descended from the sky, exploding upon the rocks.
In such an environment, a young man in Daoist robes sat cross-legged on the edge of a cliff. The winds howled fiercely, causing his robes to continuously flutter and crackle. An invisible gravitational force emanated from the young man, wildly drawing in the electrical energy permeating the world and forming blue electric lights that danced around him.
From afar, he appeared like an immortal, surrounded by thunderbolts.
Suddenly, not far away, the space distorted and folded, then with a thunderous crash, collapsed, forming a several-meter-high rift passage that spun continuously.
Immediately after, a figure covered in blood, wounds visible down to the bone, dashed out of the passage and landed, barely managing to stay upright.
Glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings, as well as the significantly diminished but still violent transcendent energy, Bart couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... I'm not dead. I made it!"
As Bart's body exuded a strong bloody aura, the blood on his body and the ground seemed to come to life, wriggling as they were absorbed back into him. At the same time, his wounds visibly healed at a rapid pace, his body soon returning to its original state.
However, while his external injuries had recovered, the aura around his body remained extremely weak, and the wounds from the spatial cuts were still etched deep within his flesh, requiring time to heal gradually.
Phew!
Bart suppressed his excitement and prepared to take out the magic plaque he had carried through, to inform the other side of the passage about his safe arrival and successful positioning. Just then, a surprised voice sounded behind him.
"Interesting. You've actually opened a spatial rift to the depths of the northern battlefield. You must be from the Blood Cult, that stench of blood on you is quite foul."