A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Lu Yinlin said, "To be honest, I don't know how that kid Gu Daoling broke through to the next level."

Duan Rong was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

Lü Yinlin said, "Breaking through the barrier is a profound and subtle experience that is often difficult to express in words."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Duan Rong's eyes. He didn't know if Lü Yinlin was being deliberately mysterious or if breaking through to enlightenment was really that difficult to express.

“However…” Lu Yinlin changed the subject and continued, “There are some moments when you break through to enlightenment that I can talk about, but how much you can comprehend depends on your comprehension.”

"I will now tell you two stories about breaking through to enlightenment: one is the story of Lan Ruoshui, the founder of our Taiyi School, and the other is my own experience of breaking through to enlightenment."

When Duan Rong heard that Lü Yinlin was going to tell him two case studies, he immediately perked up his ears and stared intently at Lü Yinlin.

Lu Yinlin said, "Senior Lan Ruoshui is the founding ancestor of our sect, a true hero of his generation! Tens of thousands of years ago, he single-handedly opened up the mountain gate and established the foundation of the Taiyi Sect. We are all able to cultivate in the sect because of the legacy of our ancestor."

Seeing that Lü Yinlin seemed about to launch into a long speech, Duan Rong immediately said, "We disciples will always remember the kindness of our founding master."

Lu Yinlin nodded and then said, "The exact medium that Ancestor Lan Ruoshui used to comprehend when he was cultivating in the Cave of Darkness Realm is now impossible to ascertain. However, the story of his breakthrough has been passed down, and there is even an inscription on a stele that has been passed down through generations."

Seeing that Lü Yinlin had begun to recount the case, Duan Rong became even more focused, afraid of missing a single word. He wanted to ask what the inscription was, but fearing that he would disrupt Lü Yinlin's rhythm, he suppressed his question.

Lu Yinlin suddenly smiled and said, "This case from tens of thousands of years ago has been passed down for a reason, so it must be quite legendary. The patriarch broke through to enlightenment while urinating."

"Pee?!" Duan Rong was once again stunned. He suspected that Lü Yinlin was talking nonsense. Or perhaps he wasn't talking nonsense, but rather that this case from tens of thousands of years ago was fabricated.

What kind of legendary tale is this?! And it's all vulgar, scatological nonsense—probably just some charlatan's trick to fool people...

Lu Yinlin noticed the disbelief in Duan Rong's eyes, but he didn't care and continued, "Because of this widely circulated case, those old monsters in the Nascent Soul realm of the sects in the Nine Provinces often laugh at our sect, saying that we are like the Dao in excrement."

"The Dao is in excrement and urine?!" Duan Rong's facial muscles twitched. He felt that those powerful figures who had achieved the Nascent Soul Realm not only lacked the air of immortals, but also had some low-level tastes.

Lü Yinlin said, "When the Patriarch broke through to enlightenment using urine, he also spontaneously composed a verse."

"There's another verse?"

"Yes, it is said: Rivers rush forth but do not flow."

"Rivers rush in but do not flow!?" Duan Rong's eyes widened in surprise. He felt that this sentence seemed self-contradictory, but upon closer examination, it seemed to have a profound meaning. His previous contemptuous thought that this case was just a fabrication of the martial arts world immediately dissipated.

Because he suddenly realized that there was indeed a subtle connection between the act of urinating and the phrase "rivers rush forth but do not flow."

Duan Rong looked at Lü Yinlin and asked, "Since you've placed a bet, why isn't it going to be withdrawn?"

Lu Yinlin said, "This is the verse of the founder of the sect who broke through to enlightenment. How can it be so easy to understand? When I was cultivating in the Cave of Enlightenment Realm, I often pondered this koan and this verse. Now that I have achieved the Nascent Soul Realm, I still do not know its true meaning."

Duan Rong was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Does the Ancestor also not know the true meaning of this verse?"

Lu Yinlin said, “As I said before, breaking through to enlightenment is a profound and subtle experience that cannot be expressed in words. That is why when the Patriarch expressed it in verse, it seemed contradictory. As for the true meaning behind it, it is even more difficult to comprehend. Unless you and the Patriarch are comprehending similar laws, you might be able to savor some of the flavor.”

After hearing this story, Duan Rong understood that Lü Yinlin hadn't been deliberately mystifying things. He genuinely might not know how Gu Daoling had broken through to enlightenment. Not everyone has the ability to express the profound feelings of breaking through enlightenment in words. For example, the founder of the school, Lan Ruoshui, suddenly broke through to enlightenment while urinating and immediately composed the line, "Rivers rush forth but do not flow!" Truly a genius of extraordinary talent.

Suddenly, Lü Yinlin pulled out a yellowed, old animal hide from a pile of documents and bamboo slips, handed it to Duan Rong, and said, "This is a rubbing of the inscription that has been passed down through generations. This stele was personally written by the founding patriarch after he broke through to enlightenment, and it is the most precious treasure of our sect. The patriarch personally named this inscription 'On the Immutability of Things,' but unfortunately it is too obscure, and none of the virtuous people in the sect throughout the ages have been able to understand it. I myself have often pondered this text, but to my shame, after a thousand years of contemplation, I have gained nothing."

Seeing how serious Lü Yinlin was, Duan Rong looked at the yellowish-brown animal hide in his hand as if he were holding a heavenly book. On the side were four small seal script characters: "On the Immutability of Things".

Duan Rong looked up at the main text, which began: "Life and death alternate, seasons change, and things move and flow—this is human nature. But I say otherwise..."

He had devoured many spirits of calligraphy and paintings in this realm, and had already achieved a high level of proficiency in classical Chinese, so he had no difficulty with the language. But that was all; he couldn't understand the meaning at all!
Duan Rong forced himself to pick up the book and read on. He soon came across the verse that Lü Yinlin had mentioned earlier, and in the text, it was no longer just one line, but four.

“Whirling winds bend mountains yet remain still, rivers rush forth yet do not flow, wild horses gallop yet do not move, the sun and moon traverse the sky yet do not revolve.”

Although Duan Rong could not grasp the true meaning of the text, the words he read possessed a powerful and unstoppable momentum, like a surging river.

He was deeply moved after reading it just once.

Whirlwinds are the mist swirling in the mountains. Wild horses are dust. These four lines seem different, but in fact they all represent the evolution of rivers flowing together without flowing, which speaks to the principle of immutability of things as understood by the founder of the school, Lan Ruoshui.

Duan Rong murmured these four sentences, raising his head with a blank look in his eyes.

Lu Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and said, "It's understandable that you can't comprehend it. Even after a thousand years of study, I still can't grasp it. However, I advise you not to get bogged down in this 'On the Immutability of Things.' Breaking through the barrier requires finding your own medium through investigating things, and starting from your own medium, you can forge your own path. Breaking through the barrier is a profound experience. You can hardly comprehend what others have said. Only through your own empirical verification can you approach the origin of the Dao and deepen your understanding of the power of the laws in a profound way."

"Trying to use someone else's skills to improve one's own abilities is not a good approach. The deepening of the power of laws is not like worldly martial arts, where there is such a thing as stealing a master."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "By the way, Ancestor, you said you wanted to tell two cases, and there's one of your own."

Lü Yinlin said, “Since I have said it, I will explain. These two cases have different focuses. The case of the founder of the school focuses on the principle. My own example of breaking through the koan focuses on the appearance.”

"Focusing on appearance?" Duan Rong was intrigued by the concept of "principle" and "appearance" in this explanation of the breakthrough. "Exactly," Lü Yinlin said unhurriedly. "The so-called principle is the principle of the immutability of things. To be honest, only the founder of the sect, with his extraordinary talent, could have written down his profound and subtle experiences and passed them down to future generations. It's just a pity that we, his disciples and grand-disciples, are all unworthy, and none of us can understand the profound meaning of his inscription. As for me, although I am the patriarch of the sect, I am not even a fraction as good as the founder. I can only tell you the superficial aspects. As for the principle of subtle understanding, I am truly at a loss for words and cannot express it."

Duan Rong's eyes widened suddenly. To be honest, what he wanted to hear most was about appearances. He simply couldn't grasp the principle of things not changing.

Lu Yinlin said, "Back then, I traveled all over the world, looking for a medium to comprehend the laws of nature. I spent many years wandering in the marketplace but could not find it. Moreover, after a few years, I grew tired of those bustling and prosperous places, so I hid in the deep mountains and became a hunter."

"Unexpectedly, in the third month after I entered the mountains, I found my medium."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong almost held his breath, eager to know what the medium through which his ancestor Lü Yinlin had comprehended the truth was.

Lu Yinlin saw the expectation in Duan Rong's eyes, but smiled faintly and said, "My medium is chopping wood."

"Chopping wood?!" Duan Rong was slightly taken aback. Then, a thought struck him: Chu Wushang's medium was walking and weaving bamboo baskets; the founder of the sect, though unaware of the medium, broke through his dantian while urinating; and the founder, Lü Yinlin, used chopping wood—all seemingly insignificant things. Only Gu Daoling's medium was observing the stars at night, which should have been the most normal, but now, it seemed somewhat unusual.

Lü Yinlin said, “In the mountains, I live as a hunter, completely emptying my mind and body. I had already abstained from grains, but since I became a hunter, I had to hunt and eat. Therefore, I had to chop wood and carry water every day.”

"It was on a certain day in the third month that I was chopping firewood on a big tree stump in the yard when I suddenly had a faint feeling, a faint surge of the power of law for a moment."

"I caught it right away."

"After that capture, I often felt the sensation while chopping wood. But 'often' means only two or three times a month, and each time it was fleeting, like a dragonfly skimming the water."

"Even so, the fact that it appears every month confirms that it is the medium."

"So I began to immerse myself in the process of chopping wood."

"Gradually, I realized that my true medium was not the act of chopping wood itself, but the sound of chopping wood."

"The sound of chopping wood!?" Duan Rong was almost engrossed in listening when a question suddenly arose in his mind, and he couldn't help but ask.

“Yes!” A look of longing flashed in Lü Yinlin’s eyes, as if he had returned to the time when he comprehended the truth. He made a chopping motion with one hand and said to himself, “It’s the snapping sound of an axe splitting a piece of firewood.”

"That voice is my medium."

"Using sex as a medium, what a great medium!" Duan Rong couldn't help but think to himself.

Lu Yinlin couldn't hear Duan Rong's inner monologue. He only saw Duan Rong's blank expression and assumed he was engrossed in listening, so he continued, "I listened to this voice for a full fifteen years before I finally broke through to the next level."

"Just like you saw Chu Wushang weaving bamboo baskets every day, I've been chopping wood in the deep mountains every day since I found the medium. The sound of chopping wood in the courtyard never stops all day long."

"The other hunters on that mountain all said I was crazy. I had no choice but to tell them that I was practicing a strange sword technique."

“Some people didn’t believe me and often passed by to mock me, so I chopped off half of their noses with an axe. From then on, no one bothered me anymore.”

"I spent fifteen years chopping on that mountain, until I broke through the ginseng for the first time before I left."

At this point, Lü Yinlin suddenly fixed his gaze on Duan Rong and asked, "Do you know how I broke through the barrier?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "Wasn't it the ginseng you were splitting while chopping firewood?"

Lu Yinlin chuckled and said, "Do you think the founder of the sect broke through his enlightenment while urinating because he was constantly meditating on urination all the time? The founder would have to urinate frequently to cultivate faster. Otherwise, if he didn't urinate all morning, wouldn't he never have been able to comprehend it?"

Duan Rong said, "If the Ancestor didn't break the ginseng while chopping wood, then when did he break it?"

Duan Rong was momentarily confused. If chopping firewood was the medium, wasn't it about breaking through the mental barrier while chopping firewood? If it wasn't about breaking through the mental barrier while chopping firewood, how could it be said that chopping firewood was the medium?

Lu Yinlin said, "It was dusk in the mountains. I gathered some chopped firewood and prepared to cook. I set up the iron pot, added water, put in a prepared pheasant, and then started a fire."

"The finest firewood began to burn beneath the iron pot..."

Duan Rong frowned slightly. He felt that Lü Yinlin was just talking about mundane daily matters, and he gradually lost interest as he listened.

Lu Yinlin, however, continued unhurriedly, "As the firewood burned, one of the pieces suddenly cracked open with a snap, scattering some sparks."

Lu Yinlin described a scene common in life, but at that moment his eyes suddenly became deep and his voice became somewhat deep as he said, "It was at the moment that the firewood was burned and cracked that I went in and broke through the barrier instantly."

Duan Rong sat there, his whole body turning cold. The example of Lü Yinlin was so vivid, it was as if it were happening right before his eyes.

Lu Yinlin continued, “I was a hunter on that mountain for fifteen years, cooking every day, and every now and then the firewood would crackle from burning. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this sound, but I never reacted. But on that particular day, when the firewood cracked at dusk, I went in.”

"This was an opportunity, but also hard work. If I hadn't practiced chopping wood every day and repeatedly tried to understand it, I wouldn't have been able to enter that state in that instant. The cracking sound of the firewood being burned is not the same as the cracking sound of me splitting firewood every day, but they are similar."

"It was in that seemingly unrelated moment of connection that I suddenly entered the state and instantly broke through to the next level." (End of Chapter)