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

Duan Rong entered Lü Yinlin's cave.

Lu Yinlin sat there, looking at him with a cold gaze. Lu Yinlin had always wanted to ask Duan Rong where he had learned the supreme secret technique of the Faxiang Sect—the Great Bright Flame—and how he had mastered it, more than a year ago, when he was surrounded by raging flames in the valley.

However, Lü Yinlin felt that asking Duan Rong about this matter so directly upon first meeting him was somewhat unbecoming of an ancestor. Therefore, he decided to first ask Duan Rong why he had come to see him, and then ask the questions that were on his mind.

Duan Rong respectfully bowed to Lü Yinlin upon meeting him.

Lu Yinlin said, "Get up. Duan boy, where have you been for the past year?"

Duan Rong stood up and said, "Reporting to the Ancestor, this disciple has been studying the miasma deep in the Miao village."

Lu Yinlin nodded and said, "Comprehension of miasma? Then your sudden return must be because you encountered something you can't figure out, right?"

"Indeed," Duan Rong said. "This disciple has something to ask the Ancestor."

Lü Yinlin said, "Tell me."

As Lü Yinlin spoke, he took a sip of water. Duan Rong then asked, "This disciple would like to ask the Ancestor, what is the Nascent Soul Realm? And how does one condense a Nascent Soul?"

Lu Yinlin put down the bamboo water bottle in his hand, his face already somewhat gloomy. He glanced at Duan Rong and said coldly, "Don't be overly ambitious. You will know what the Nascent Soul Realm is when the time comes..."

Lu Yinlin was only halfway through his sentence when his words suddenly caught in his throat. He stared blankly at Duan Rong, his heart churning with turmoil.

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

Lu Yinlin even asked somewhat inappropriately, "When did you achieve the Great Perfection of the Late Stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm?"

The reason Lü Yinlin reacted more strongly than Chu Wushang was because Lü Yinlin bore the heavy responsibility of cultivating the next Nascent Soul cultivator for the sect. This was the key to the Taiyi Sect's continued existence.

Now, Duan Rong has achieved the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave-Ming Realm, and is only one step away from achieving the Nascent Soul Realm. Moreover, he is only in his early thirties and is still so young.

This was of extraordinary significance to Lü Yinlin.

Duan Rong said, "Reporting to the Ancestor, a few days ago, in the depths of the miasma in the Miao village, I achieved the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave Clarity Realm. However, now that I have achieved this Great Perfection, I do not know how to continue my cultivation. Hence, the question above."

Lu Yinlin said, "You reached the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave-Ming Realm a few days ago? If that's the case, it's only been a little over a year since you reached the mid-stage of the Cave-Ming Realm?"

Duan Rong said, "It is indeed as the Ancestor said."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yinlin fell silent.

Previously, Duan Rong had also reached the mid-stage of the Cave-Ming Realm in just over a year, which had already surprised Lü Yinlin. However, the mid-stage was relatively easy to achieve, and Duan Rong, with his exceptional talent, could easily break through to the mid-stage of the Cave-Ming Realm if he had a sudden enlightenment.

However, the later stages of the Cavern Realm, especially the final Great Perfection, cannot be achieved through occasional enlightenment. It requires meticulous and real advancements in one's realm, allowing no room for falsehood.

Perfection means flawlessness; it is the ultimate state of the power of laws. It must be achieved through meticulous understanding over a long period of time, gradually overlapping and integrating, until finally it is fully woven into an ultimate state of perfection.

Even for those with exceptional talent, this process would take one or two hundred years. Yet Duan Rong completed it in just over a year.

This point has shattered Lü Yinlin's understanding.

He couldn't understand how such a thing could be done.

Is it possible that there are truly people in this world who can gain a thousand insights into the laws in an instant? If not, how could such a detailed and complex understanding, required for the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave Clarity Realm, be completed in just over a year?

Lu Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Young Duan, can you tell me how you achieved the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm?"

Duan Rong's cultivation level was genuinely located in his dantian, so Lü Yinlin naturally had no doubt about it; he was simply curious.

Duan Rong had truly achieved the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm, so he had a deep understanding of this realm and the intricate and complex interweaving of laws. Naturally, he knew how to answer Lü Yinlin's question.

Duan Rong said, “I often enter a state of clarity while contemplating the miasma. Then, amidst the ever-changing miasma, I can suddenly have a deeper perception of two or three points. After that, these points of perception begin to intertwine and collide, and then a dense array of insights and perceptions emerge in the collision, like a gushing spring.”

"A dense array of insights and sensations? Emerging from the collision?" Lü Yinlin stared at Duan Rong in astonishment. As Lü Yinlin imagined the scene, a chill ran down his spine.

This description wasn't Duan Rong lying; it was because when he devoured and digested the spirit of the divine statue, the power of the laws he comprehended was absorbed into his inner space—that's exactly how it happened. He was simply describing it truthfully.

It took Lü Yinlin a long time to come to his senses and finally accept the fact that Duan Rong had achieved the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave-Ming Realm in just over a year. However, the scene Duan Rong described was like a thunderbolt to cultivation.

Lu Yinlin said, "What is the Nascent Soul Realm? How does one condense a Nascent Soul? Now that you have achieved the Great Perfection of the Late Stage of the Cave-Ming Realm, it's time to talk to you about these things."

Duan Rong knew it was time to get down to business; only Lü Yinlin could help him unravel the great mystery in his heart.

Duan Rong respectfully said, "Please teach me, Ancestor."

Lu Yinlin said, "After achieving the Great Perfection of the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm, you have gained a deeper understanding of the power of laws. Duan boy, have you ever heard the saying, 'To go further after reaching the top of a hundred-foot pole'?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "Reporting to Ancestor, this disciple has heard."

Lü Yinlin asked, "What does the phrase 'to take another step forward from a hundred-foot pole' mean?"

Duan Rong said, "It is to encourage people to work even harder and make progress based on their existing achievements."

As Duan Rong answered, he wondered why the patriarch had asked such a trivial question.

Lu Yinlin sneered upon hearing this, saying, "This is a misuse by common people, not the original meaning of the phrase. I'm asking about the original meaning of the phrase."

"Original intention!?" Duan Rong was stunned for a moment. He had never known that there was any original intention behind taking this step further. So he respectfully replied, "Reporting to the Ancestor, this disciple does not know."

Lu Yinlin suddenly raised his hand and spread it out. A cold light surged in his hand, and in the next moment, a section of bamboo pole, which had been blurry, became clearly outlined in the cold light in his palm.

Lu Yinlin picked up the bamboo pole and noticed that the tip of the pole was quite rounded.

Lü Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and asked, "You've climbed over a hundred feet and reached the top of the pole. But now that you've reached the top, where do you go next?"

Duan Rong's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. "Indeed. We've already reached the top; why push further?"

Lu Yinlin continued to hold the bamboo pole, saying, "It's easy to climb a hundred feet, but it's hard to break through this last layer of paper! The next step after climbing a hundred feet is just beyond the bamboo pole."

"Beyond the bamboo pole?!" Duan Rong felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had grasped something. "This pole tip represents the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave-Ming Realm." Lü Yinlin touched the smooth tip of the bamboo pole and said, "To take another step beyond the hundred-foot pole is to exhaust the limits of the laws and pierce through them!"

"Exhausting the limits of the laws, piercing through them!?" Duan Rong was utterly astonished, goosebumps rising all over his body. Because what Lü Yinlin said was almost identical to the first half of the phrase in the great mystery that had been troubling him—the devouring effect of the spirit of the ancient incense-burning statue. The data panel also displayed the phrase, "Exhausting the limits of the laws."

“That’s right,” Lü Yinlin said. “Beyond the bamboo pole lies beyond the laws.”

"Beyond the bamboo pole lies beyond the laws!?" Duan Rong murmured, repeating the words, a cold glint in his eyes. After a few moments of contemplation, he looked up and asked, "May I ask, Ancestor, how can one exhaust the limits of the laws and penetrate them?"

Lu Yinlin smiled meaningfully and said, "There is only one way, which is simply to break through."

Duan Rong exclaimed in surprise, "Just broken?!"

After pondering for a long time, Duan Rong still couldn't figure it out, so he raised his head again and asked, "Please explain in detail, Ancestor."

Lu Yinlin had originally planned to explain this to Duan Rong, but he wanted to wait for Duan Rong to think it over before speaking. At this moment, looking at the deep doubt in Duan Rong's eyes, he said, "Breaking through the power of laws is being outside the laws."

Duan Rong asked in bewilderment, "Does the Ancestor mean to destroy his own cultivation level?"

Lü Yinlin said, "It's not destroyed, it's ruined."

Duan Rong pressed on, asking, "What is meant by 'break'?"

Lü Yinlin said, "Neither of these means it's broken."

Duan Rong murmured repeatedly, unable to understand yet feeling that it held profound meaning.

Lu Yinlin said, “No, it’s already beyond the bamboo pole. Beyond the bamboo pole is beyond the laws. When you comprehend this, the Dao body will emerge. With your divine sense, condense a spiritual body within the emerging Dao body, which is the nascent primordial spirit. This nascent primordial spirit, after being nurtured and consolidated, becomes the Nascent Soul. You ask what the Nascent Soul realm is? I can answer you now, when divine sense resides within the Dao body, that is the Nascent Soul realm.”

"When divine thoughts reside within the body of the Dao, one reaches the Nascent Soul Realm." Duan Rong knew that Lü Yinlin had already told him the most fundamental things, and these words and descriptions basically matched the second half of the sentence about the spirit of the statue that had been burning incense for ten thousand years.

The second half of the sentence refers to the nascent form of the Dao body and primordial spirit.

Duan Rong, who had previously found these words as incomprehensible, now began to understand them somewhat.

Duan Rong, in his own words, explained to Lü Yinlin: "Ancestor, you mean that only when I can break through all the power of the laws will my Dao body emerge. After the Dao body emerges, I use my divine sense to condense a spiritual body within it, which is the nascent form of the Primordial Spirit. This nascent form of the Primordial Spirit, after being nurtured and consolidated, becomes the Nascent Soul. There are four steps involved: breaking through all the power of the laws, the emergence of the Dao body, condensing the spiritual body, and nurturing the Nascent Soul."

Lü Yinlin nodded and said, "That's right. That's exactly how it happened."

Duan Rong asked, "Then, Ancestor, how can we break through the power of all laws?"

Duan Rong had figured out the four-step process, but he was stuck on the first step.

Lu Yinlin said, “I have already said that none of them is the ultimate breakthrough. Since none of them are, what else can I say? Even if I say it again, it is still contained within the word ‘all’. Remember, the Dao body is formless and intangible, and cannot be spoken of. As long as it can still be spoken of and felt, it is still the power of the law, still within this hundred-foot bamboo pole, unable to step outside the bamboo pole. Only outside the bamboo pole is outside the law, and only then is the Dao body.”

Duan Rong scratched his head after hearing Lü Yinlin's cryptic words.

Lu Yinlin said, "The four-step process of condensing the Nascent Soul, the first step can only be comprehended by yourself. The next three steps can be taught, but this first step cannot be taught."

As he spoke, Lü Yinlin stood up, glanced at Duan Rong, and said, "You wait here."

"Yes, Ancestor." Although Duan Rong was full of doubts, he still clasped his hands in a respectful manner and replied.

Lu Yinlin walked to the depths of the cave, his figure disappearing in front of the stone wall, behind which was an even deeper secret chamber.

A few breaths later, Lü Yinlin returned to his cave, where he was holding several rolls of yellowish animal hides.

Lu Yinlin spread the animal hides on the stone table and looked at Duan Rong, saying, "These animal hides contain detailed explanations of the last three steps in the four-step process of condensing the Nascent Soul. Take them and study them carefully."

As Lü Yinlin spoke, he handed the animal hides to Duan Rong. Duan Rong accepted them respectfully.

Lu Yinlin said, "You will understand the last three steps after looking at these animal hides. But the first step is like comprehending a medium; no one can teach you that."

"The only thing I can tell you is that the Dao is formless and intangible, beyond description. When all illusions are broken, the Dao emerges. It is neither the breaking of illusions nor the breaking of illusions that reveals the Dao."

Duan Rong asked, his eyes glazed over, "If neither is it, then isn't the Dao Body itself also not?"

Lü Yinlin said, "Only the Dao body that is not even the Dao body itself is the true Dao body. If there is another Dao body, then that is attachment to form. As I have said, the Dao body is formless and without appearance, so how can it have an 'inherent self'?"

Duan Rong was slightly startled, as if he had realized something, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

Lü Yinlin said, "This last layer of paper cannot be penetrated without logical reasoning."

Duan Rong stood there, stunned, as Lü Yinlin's words flowed through his mind like a stream.

Lü Yinlin said, "Come out with me now."

As Lü Yinlin spoke, he walked out of the cave. Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he immediately followed him out.

The two stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at the valley where the sunlight slanted in.

Lu Yinlin said, "Duan Rong, you have already reached the late stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm, so you should be able to faintly sense something floating in this valley."

Duan Rong's heart stirred slightly. He could sense it not only when he reached the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave Clarity Realm, but also when he reached the early stage of the Cave Clarity Realm.

In fact, Duan Rong was able to vaguely sense the abnormality of this valley even at the early stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm because he possessed the power of seventy-nine laws within his Cave of Clarity Realm. Normally, a Cave of Clarity Realm with only one law power would not be able to detect such phenomena at the early stage.

Duan Rong said, "This disciple has indeed felt something."

Lu Yinlin nodded and said, "Actually, there is a large talisman array covering this valley, and that ancient pine tree is the core of the array."

Duan Rong glanced at the ancient pine tree; he had long sensed its strangeness.

Lu Yinlin said, "This talisman array is our sect's Nascent Soul Formation Array."

"A Nascent Soul Formation Array!?" Duan Rong's face showed astonishment. He hadn't expected that this array covering the valley would be related to the condensation of a Nascent Soul. (End of Chapter)