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

On the cliffs deep in the forest of the Miao village, there are statues of gods everywhere. Even next to the various wooden houses in the village, there are many blackened wooden statues of gods that have been there for countless years.

At dawn, deep in the forest of the Miao village, miasma filled the air.

The miasma was blue, purple, and white. Suddenly, a blue miasma drifted through the mountains and forests, as if it had been blown out by the wind.

The bluish miasma howled through the mountains and forests, moving with ghostly speed. It quickly coiled around the feet of a statue on the cliff face, and as the miasma dissipated, a squirrel appeared. The squirrel's eyes, however, gleamed with a strange, profound light.

Both the bluish miasma and the squirrel were conjured by Duan Rong using the power of laws. Therefore, since it was daytime, he didn't want to appear casually and be seen by the Miao people.

The squirrel placed its tiny paws on the statue's feet, and Duan Rong immediately thought to himself, "Reading the spirit."

The next moment, a data panel shimmering with a faint light appeared in front of the squirrel.

The little squirrel's bright black eyes looked toward the data panel.

Artifact: Stone statue of Nuopo deity

Spirit Rank: 23

Absorption Requirements: Host's mental strength is at level 23 (met)
Devouring effect: Four thousand years of incense offerings (deeply comprehend the complex laws of time).

Duan Rong thought to himself, "Devour."

As the data panel in front of him disintegrated and disappeared, the little squirrel once again turned into a wisp of miasma and drifted into the deep forest.

The bluish miasma suddenly darted into the white miasma that permeated the depths of the forest. And within the white miasma, it surged deeper and deeper until it disappeared completely.

There are no villages in the deep forests filled with miasma, and pythons and poisonous insects rarely enter, which makes it an ideal place for Duan Rong to cultivate.

Duan Rong was already a cultivator at the Cave-Ming Realm. He could draw upon the power of laws at any time within the Cave-Ming Realm of his dantian. Moreover, his body had long been tempered by the power of laws. How could this bit of miasma poison possibly harm him?

The bluish miasma penetrated into the deepest part of the white, pervasive miasma, and suddenly swirled around the bluish-gray boulder.

As the blue miasma swirled, Duan Rong revealed himself.

He sat cross-legged on the rock. He had been cultivating here for some time. The rock was covered with a layer of dark green moss, and its surface was stained with a layer of black poisonous substances from long-term exposure to miasma.

Duan Rong, however, sat down without a care and immediately began to digest and absorb the spirit of the divine statue.

This cycle repeated itself, and before long, a year had passed.

Duan Rong's blue robes had turned black, not from filth, but from the poisonous substances that had accumulated over a long period of exposure to miasma.

That day, deep within the white miasma, Duan Rong sat cross-legged, as if he were sitting in a thick fog. Suddenly, deep within this fog, he opened his eyes.

But in fact, he had only been sitting down for a few hours.

The spirits of the statues, which had been worshipped for seven thousand years, had all dissipated, not a single one entering his inner cave.

The good news is that after a year of arduous training, he finally achieved the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm.

When he reached the mid-stage of the Cave of Clarity, the spirits of the divine statues that had been burning incense for a thousand to three thousand years dissipated and no longer entered his Cave of Clarity.

However, from the mid-stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm to the late-stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm, the spirits of the divine statues and artifacts that had been burning incense for four thousand years to seven thousand years all dissipated.

Of course, achieving the late stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm is inherently more difficult than achieving the middle stage.

However, the rate of consumption slightly exceeded Duan Rong's expectations. This was because as the spirit of the divine statue aged, the depth of the laws contained within it also increased.

For example, the spirits of statues and artifacts that are four or five thousand years old contain the power of a deep understanding of the complex laws of time.

When the statues and artifacts reach six or seven thousand years old, the description of the laws they contain changes in the data panel, becoming: "Deeply comprehend the complex laws of time."

The spirit of the eight-thousand-year-old statue has thoroughly comprehended the complex laws of time.

The spirit of the nine-thousand-year-old statue has fully comprehended the complex laws of time.

These changes in wording represent the ever-deepening influence of the laws.

Duan Rong had been paying close attention to the changes in the data panel. After a year of cultivation, he had reached the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm. The spirit of the statue, which had been burning incense for seven thousand years, had completely dissipated. Based on this information, Duan Rong had gradually deduced that the spirit of the statue, which had been burning incense for about nine thousand years, was the spirit of the statue when he reached the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm.

Because the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave of Clarity Realm represents the complete perfection of the power of laws. If one were to advance further, one would reach the Nascent Soul Realm, which would no longer be about the power of laws.

Although Duan Rong felt these guesses were probably correct, he ultimately had to put them into practice to know for sure. Since the spirit of the statue, which had been blessed with incense for seven thousand years, was no longer useful, he began to devour the spirit of the statue, which had been blessed with incense for eight thousand years.

This continued day after day for about half a year.

Late that night, the entire Miao village was deathly silent deep in the mountains, with only the miasma spreading and permeating the darkness.

Duan Rong opened his eyes in complete darkness, atop a rock deep within the miasma.

Just now, the spirit of the divine statue he had devoured, which contained incense offerings from nine thousand years ago, all dissipated. However, he finally achieved the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave Realm.

At this point, his realm had far surpassed that of Gu Daoling. Although Gu Daoling had reached the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm, the journey from the late stage to the later perfection was far more difficult than the journey from the middle stage to the late stage.

Because perfection implies a certain exhaustion; if one goes any further, it leads to another world.

Duan Rong had no idea what the new world was. At this moment, Duan Rong did not understand the difference between the power of the Nascent Soul Realm and the power of laws wielded by cultivators in the Cave of Enlightenment Realm.

Although he didn't know what the new world was, he was already standing at the door of it.

The next step after reaching the Great Perfection of the Cave of Clarity Realm is the Nascent Soul Realm.

Suddenly, Duan Rong's figure sprang out from the dark depths filled with miasma, like a ghost. With a thought, he abruptly released his divine sense.

The desolate, dark forest was revealed in every detail under the probing of divine sense.

In the darkness, Duan Rong stopped in front of a cliff.

A grotto was carved out of the cliff face, and inside the grotto was a statue of a deity. The statue was not large, and its appearance was somewhat ancient, with its eyes and nose not being very rounded.

But this unassuming statue has a spirit that is tens of thousands of years old.

In the darkness, Duan Rong gently placed his palm on the knees of the seated deity, thinking to himself, "Read the spirit." The next moment, a data panel shimmering with a faint light appeared before Duan Rong's eyes.

Duan Rong stared at the data panel in the darkness, a cold glint in his eyes.

Artifact: Stone statue of Nuopo deity

Spirit Rank: 29

Absorption Requirements: Host's mental strength is at level 29 (met)
Devouring effect: Ten thousand years of incense offerings (exhausting the limits of the laws, nurturing the embryonic form of the Dao body and primordial spirit).

In the darkness, Duan Rong stared at the line of words behind the incense burner of ten thousand years, his eyes filled with deep contemplation.

"Exhausting the limits of the laws!?"

"The embryonic form of the Dao Body and Primordial Spirit is being nurtured!?"

This sentence can be broken down into a first half and a second half.

The first half of the sentence is difficult to understand, while the second half is simply like a riddle.

"Exhaust the limits of the laws? What are the limits of the laws? And how can they be exhausted?!" Although Duan Rong could not fully understand this in the first half of the night, at least he could still ask questions.

But in the latter half of the night, it was like reading a book written in heaven. He didn't know the meaning of each individual word, and when they were put together, he had even less of a clue.

"What is the Dao Body? What is the Primordial Spirit? What is the prototype of the Dao Body and Primordial Spirit? And what is the prototype that gives birth to the Dao Body and Primordial Spirit?!"

In Duan Rong's view, these layers of riddles were like an iron barrel, with no way to break through. His thoughts couldn't even find a foothold, let alone unfold.

However, this also shows that the riddle may be something from the new world. In other words, the riddle is about the Nascent Soul Realm, which Duan Rong naturally couldn't understand at this time.

Because he had never entered this world. Just like a child cannot understand what adults are saying, it is a strange world to him.

Duan Rong hesitated for a moment, then slowly removed his hand from the statue's knees.

He could, of course, directly devour the spirit of the divine statue that had been burning incense for ten thousand years, and then, in the process of digesting and absorbing it, understand the meaning of those riddles.

However, Duan Rong felt that this process was probably not so simple.

It's very simple: if his cultivation level advances further, he will be able to condense his Nascent Soul.

In other words, this process is not simply about him digesting and absorbing the spirit of the artifact; it also involves changes in his own realm, or even a leap across a major realm.

The risk here is that if he blindly devours it, he might waste the spirit of a deity that has been worshipped for thousands of years.

Over the years, during his exploration and cultivation within this Miao village, Duan Rong discovered that there were only six ancient statues and artifacts with incense offerings that had been burning for thousands of years.

Besides this Miao village deep in the mountains, Duan Rong doubted whether there were any other places in Kyushu with such ancient statues and spirits.

If there are only six artifact spirits in the entire Nine Provinces that have been blessed with incense for ten thousand years, wouldn't it be a terrible waste to squander one of them for no reason?!

Before he could devour the spirit of the divine statue that had been burning incense for ten thousand years, he had to figure out what exactly was in that new world of the Nascent Soul Realm, and how one could condense a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator after reaching the Great Perfection of the Late Stage of the Cavern Realm.
At the very least, one needs to understand the sentence on the data panel of the ancient incense statue spirit. That is, what exactly does "nurturing the embryonic form of the Dao body's primordial spirit" mean?

To understand these things, he must return to the sect. These things are clearly things for those in the Nascent Soul realm, and only Ancestor Lü Yinlin can teach him.

Thinking of this, Duan Rong transformed into a streak of black light and shot into the dark sky, heading towards the Taiyi Sect.

Duan Rong traveled day and night without stopping for a moment. Upon returning to his sect, he went straight to the hill where Chu Wushang's thatched hut was located.

Duan Rong walked over slowly.

Chu Wushang sat on a low stool in front of the thatched hut and saw Duan Rong from afar. His brows furrowed slightly, and a divine sense swept over, penetrating Duan Rong's dantian.

Duan Rong had previously mastered the fourth level of the Great Vajra Mandala Divine Soul Technique in the valley. Today, the strength of his divine soul and the subtlety of his divine sense are unmatched, let alone Chu Wushang, and even Lü Yinlin is probably inferior to him.

Therefore, before the divine sense could penetrate his body, Duan Rong sensed it the moment it emanated from Chu Wushang's body. However, he did not stop the divine sense from penetrating, nor did he use any illusions to conceal his cultivation level in front of Chu Wushang.

The moment Chu Wushang's divine sense pierced through Duan Rong's dantian, his face was filled with astonishment, and his eyes widened. He looked at Duan Rong approaching as if he had seen a ghost.

At first glance, Duan Rong's dantian appeared empty. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that at the very core of his dantian, there was a tiny black dot, the size of a pinhead, that kept flickering. Around the dot, there were wisps of black light that appeared and disappeared incessantly.

"Late-stage Great Perfection of the Cavern Realm!?"

"How can this be!?"

In the early, middle, and late stages of the Cave-Ming Realm, and up to the Great Perfection, the Cave-Ming within the dantian will gradually shrink and become smaller as the realm increases.

At the point of perfect perfection, it becomes as small as a pinhead, almost imperceptible.

Although the cave was shrinking smaller and smaller, the surging power of the laws was becoming stronger and stronger.

Currently, Duan Rong's dantian is at the Great Perfection stage.

Duan Rong walked over, bowed to Chu Wushang, and said, "Mr. Chu, is the Ancestor in the valley? I would like to see the Ancestor."

Chu Wushang originally wanted to ask Duan Rong how he could have skipped the late stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm and achieved the Great Perfection Realm in just over a year after leaving.

In just over a year, he achieved two new levels of mastery.

And for someone like him, even a hundred years might not be enough to traverse each of these realms!

Chu Wushang opened his mouth, but only sighed. He suddenly didn't want to ask anymore. Perhaps it was because he had seen such extraordinary talent so often that it had become second nature.

After all, Duan Rong confirmed the miasma as a medium in a short period of time and quickly reached the mid-stage of the Cave Nether Realm. For him, this process would have taken two hundred years.

Moreover, more than a year ago, in the valley of the sect's mountain statue, he personally witnessed Duan Rong standing on the altar, his body engulfed in flames. The sacredness of the entire ritual in that valley even penetrated him, giving him a good feeling and nourishing his soul.

Which of these things isn't monstrous? If you were to ask, could you possibly ask them all?

Chu Wushang sighed, swallowing the words he was about to say, and simply said, "The Ancestor is in the valley; you may go." (End of Chapter)