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

Lu Yinlin said, "Young Duan, come back to me when you have mastered the first step. I will personally preside over the sect's Nascent Soul Formation Array to help you condense your Nascent Soul."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered. Even so, he had absolutely no confidence in mastering the first step.

Seeing that Lü Yinlin was about to turn and leave, Duan Rong suddenly asked again, "Please enlighten me again, Ancestor, how do I break through the first step?"

Lu Yinlin stopped and turned to look at Duan Rong. He knew Duan Rong was somewhat unwilling. Duan Rong seemed to have some understanding of what he had just said, but he couldn't fully comprehend it.

Lü Yinlin said, "Neither empty nor existent, yet both empty and existent; without destruction, there is no construction, yet both destruction and construction are possible."

After Lü Yinlin finished speaking, Duan Rong's expression seemed even more confused. Lü Yinlin couldn't help but sigh and said, "Actually, saying more is useless and will only be an obstacle. It is neither emptiness nor existence, nor existence nor emptiness. To understand this emptiness and existence, one must delve into a third state, which is the Dao. I have already said too much. If it weren't for your amazing talent, I shouldn't have said these last words."

After Lü Yinlin finished speaking, he walked into the cave.

Duan Rong stood there, as if in a daze, repeating Lü Yinlin's words blankly.

"Neither empty nor existent, yet both empty and existent!?"

"No destruction, no construction; both destruction and construction!"

After a long while, Duan Rong finally came to his senses with a disappointed expression. He looked at the valley, which was nearing dusk, and he really couldn't understand what Lü Yinlin had said.

Not far away, under the ancient pine tree, there was a stone table and chairs. Duan Rong walked over slowly, brushed off the pine needles on the stone chairs, and sat down.

He knew that breaking through to the next level was not easy. The saying "to take another step forward from the top of a hundred-foot pole" implies a transcendence and a qualitative change, which is what Lü Yinlin called the third state of being neither empty nor existent.

But how can one break through the constraints and truly understand it?

Duan Rong sat on the stone chair, but suddenly remembered something.

This description of the Dao as neither empty nor existent, in terms of its terminology, is somewhat similar to the first principle of Marxist dialectics he learned on Earth in his previous life, namely the unity of opposites.

It is both contradictory and unified; is this the third state?

Is dialectics simply the third state?
A strange, cold light flickered in Duan Rong's eyes, filled with deep doubt.

As if he had discovered a new continent, he began to consider Lü Yinlin's words from a completely new perspective.

Duan Rong sat beneath the ancient, verdant pine tree, motionless as if in deep meditation. Until the valley was shrouded in darkness, and the cold moonlight streamed into it.

As if possessed, Duan Rong muttered to himself under the ancient, serene pine tree, "The third state!? Dialectics!?"

Until the soft light of the cold moon disappeared, the sunlight once again filled the valley.

Duan Rong finally snapped out of his reverie. Through his night of contemplation, he had come to a certain conclusion: what Lü Yinlin had described as a third state—neither empty nor existent, but existing between these two—was clearly something on a higher level than the dialectical unity of opposites.

This third state can also be described as the thing behind the unity of opposites. That is, the thing that comes after the first principle of Marxism.

That true first cause is the Tao itself.

Duan Rong spent the night lost in thought, only to arrive at this seemingly useless conclusion, leaving him somewhat disappointed. He realized that even breaking through to the first step of Nascent Soul formation was no easy feat; even Marx himself would likely be trapped in a state of utter confusion.

Duan Rong decided to put the matter aside for now. Now that he was back, he should go home and reunite with his family. Maybe his mindset would change and he would come to a better understanding.

Duan Rong stood up from the stone chair and walked out of the valley.

The moment Duan Rong stood up, inside the cave, Lü Yinlin's eyes rippled slightly as he muttered to himself, "This kid really is a Daoist fanatic."

Lü Yinlin's words were actually a compliment to Duan Rong.

Lu Yinlin knew very well that this first step in condensing the Nascent Soul was extremely difficult to comprehend. Only those who were completely focused on this had a chance to break through it by chance.

However, Duan Rong was clearly that kind of person. He sat on that stone chair all night after hearing his argument.

In Lü Yinlin's view, this action was very important. Because the experience was fresh after hearing the story, pondering deeply at this moment was actually very beneficial.

Back then, he listened to the tale told by his ancestor on that very stone chair, but he only sat there for two hours. Duan Rong, however, sat there for a whole night.

Therefore, Lü Yinlin was very confident that Duan Rong would break through the barrier.

After Duan Rong left the valley, he transformed into a streak of black light and shot into the sky, heading towards the hilltop of the Lü family residence.

After achieving the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cave of Clarity Realm, his speed was much faster than that of the mid-stage.

In just a few breaths, they were already high above the Lü family residence, and with a flicker of their bodies, they were about to leap out of the clouds.

High in the sky, he saw two black dots moving in the courtyard. Duan Rong swept his divine sense down and the courtyard became clear in every detail. It was Shen'er and Qian'er playing in the courtyard.

Over the years, Shen'er and Qian'er have grown much taller. Although they are still not flexible enough to practice martial arts, they are already learning some poetry and literature.

Duan Rong was about to appear in the courtyard to play with Shen'er and Qian'er, but he suddenly stopped mid-air, realizing that his blue robe was covered in poison. This was the result of more than a year of exposure to the miasma in the deep forests of the Miao village.

If he were to appear in the courtyard, Shen'er and Qian'er would be overjoyed and would surely rush towards him. This poisonous creature, which has been tainted by miasma for over a year, is extremely potent. Shen'er and Qian'er are still young; how could they withstand it?
Upon realizing this, Duan Rong turned around like a great eagle and flew back into the clouds. Soon, he landed in the dense forest on another mountain not far from the Lü family mansion.

Duan Rong landed in the dense forest. With a thought, the power of the laws around him surged, and his green robe instantly turned into dust. At this moment, Duan Rong was completely naked in the dense forest, with only a scarlet scarf tied around his waist. It was the Ten Thousand Crows Fire Scarf, and inside the Ten Thousand Crows Fire Scarf were the few yellowish animal skins that Lü Yinlin had given him.

Duan Rong walked through the fallen leaves to a clear spring in the dense forest. He had come to this forest specifically for this spring.

Duan Rong took the Ten Thousand Crows Fire Scarf from his waist, placed the animal hides on the rocks beside the spring, and then jumped naked into the spring. He washed his body, hair, and the Ten Thousand Crows Fire Scarf in the spring water.

Afterwards, Duan Rong walked out of the spring, soaking wet.

The power of laws surged around him, and his whole body was steaming with heat, drying out instantly, even the Ten Thousand Crows Fire Towel dried out completely.

Suddenly, Duan Rong grabbed a large number of fallen leaves with one hand, like a whale sucking in water. The leaves wrapped around his body in layers. Then, the power of the laws around Duan Rong surged, and the fallen leaves blurred and turned into a moon-white robe.

Duan Rong dusted off his long robe, walked slowly to the rock, put away the few yellowed animal hides, and was about to leave when he suddenly froze. In the clear spring where he had just washed away the filth, there was a large carp, a foot long, floating belly up on the surface, clearly dead.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly. He had spent more than a year deep in the miasma of the Miao village, and not only were his clothes covered in potent poisons, but his body and hair probably also contained a lot of them. Just now, when he was bathing, those poisons entered the spring water and killed the foot-long carp.

But for some reason, Duan Rong felt a stirring in his heart as he looked at the large carp floating belly-up in the clear water.

This feeling seemed to be related to something he had pondered all night in the valley where Lü Yinlin lived in seclusion.

Duan Rong couldn't quite put his finger on the connection. But he had a feeling that there must be some kind of implicit connection, otherwise he wouldn't have had that feeling.

"What!?"

Duan Rong seized that fleeting feeling, sat cross-legged on the rock beside the pool of clear water, looked at the dead fish floating in the water, and began to enter a strange state of contemplation.

Duan Rong remained seated until nightfall, completely unmoved.

He was certain that the scene before him and the matter he was pondering were somehow secretly connected, but he couldn't yet figure it out.

He sat there for three whole days. By this time, Duan Rong had long forgotten about Shen'er, Qian'er, and the reunion with his family at the Lü family mansion. All he cared about now was the dead fish in the clear water in front of him.

Duan Rong found it very strange that a dead fish could trigger such a deep emotional response in him. This in itself was quite bizarre.

Three days passed, but Duan Rong still hadn't gained anything. Moreover, that feeling of being moved only occurred for that initial moment and never returned.

"Is it just a coincidence?" Duan Rong was a little frustrated. No matter how patient he was, he couldn't keep wasting his time here. Besides, even if he was willing to wait, it was still a dead fish, and it would rot in a few days.

Just as Duan Rong was about to give up, at dawn that morning...

In the quiet morning, a hawk's cry suddenly rang out from the eastern side of the deep mountains.

Duan Rong recognized the eagle's cry; it was the cry of the Cloud Feather Mad Eagle.

Duan Rong turned his head and looked eastward. He saw a dark shadow flying away into the distance in the dim light of dawn. Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly; it was clear that the sect was sending out the Cloud Feathered Mad Eagle on an important mission.

Since he began focusing solely on his cultivation, he has no longer cared about sect affairs; his only concern is breaking through his cultivation level.

Duan Rong watched the Cloud Feathered Eagle disappear into the eastern horizon, but his eyes suddenly flickered.

In the dim light, amidst the sky resembling blue tiles, a pale white hue appeared in the east.

Duan Rong looked at the pale light on the horizon and felt a stirring in his heart. He turned his head and looked at the clear spring not far away. In the dim light of the sky, the spring water also showed a pale light on the horizon.

In the hazy sky, the spring water and the sky above the blue tiles seemed to blend into one.

And that pale white color resembled a rubbing.

Duan Rong suddenly burst into laughter. At that moment, he finally understood what had touched his heart.

The pale light of dawn was already in his mind. But the pale light reflected in that clear spring suddenly appeared, colliding with the sky in his memory.

This collision created a subtle awareness. This awareness, permeated by what Lü Yinlin had said, was what made Duan Rong feel something.

Duan Rong's smile faded, his eyes clear and bright. He suddenly said, "The white belly of this fish is not the white belly of that fish. The white belly of that fish is not the white belly of this fish."

"The white belly of that fish is the same as the white belly of this fish. The white belly of this fish is the same as the white belly of that fish."

As Duan Rong uttered this verse, the needle-like cavern in his dantian contracted again, as if the entire cavern had vanished without a trace. Only the power of the laws continued to surge within his dantian.

Duan Rong knew he hadn't yet transcended the bamboo pole. Beyond the bamboo pole lay beyond the laws. But he had clearly grasped some of that.

At this point, Duan Rong no longer wanted to return to the Lü family mansion.

He suddenly thought of the spirits of the ancient incense statues in the deep forests of the Miao village. At that time, he had no idea what the new world was, and he dared not devour the spirits of the ancient incense statues at will. He was afraid that he would be ignorant and waste the few spirits of the ancient incense statues by devouring them randomly.

But at this time, after Lü Yinlin's guidance and after much contemplation, although he still had not been able to grasp the first step of condensing the nascent soul, that new world was no longer completely unfamiliar to him.

Duan Rong felt that he should try devouring the spirit of a divine statue that had been burning incense for ten thousand years. Perhaps by digesting and comprehending through that statue's spirit, he could break through his shackles in one fell swoop, enter the third state, and comprehend the first step in condensing a nascent soul. This was absolutely possible.

Thinking of this, Duan Rong suddenly stood up, his figure blurred, and he flew out of the dense forest. At this time, the sky was just beginning to brighten. Although the Lü family mansion was just across a valley from this dense forest, Duan Rong still went in the opposite direction without looking back.

He flew out of the Zongmen Mountains, like a shooting star rushing towards the moon, heading towards the deep mountains of the Miao village.

Duan Rong entered the deep mountains of the Miao village late at night.

The Miao region's deep forests were filled with towering trees, blocking out even the moonlight. In the dead of night, the dense forest was pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. But under Duan Rong's divine sense, everything around him was crystal clear.

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

A grotto was carved into the cliff face, and inside the grotto is an ancient and simple statue.

Duan Rong placed his hand on the knees of the seated deity and thought to himself, "Read the spirit."

The next moment, a data panel shimmering with a faint light appeared in the darkness.

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).

Duan Rong looked at the line of text within the Devouring effect. The original riddle of the heavenly book was no longer so mysterious to him. Without hesitation, he silently thought, "Devour." (End of this chapter)