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

After the data panel, which had been flashing with an eerie light, dissipated in the darkness, Duan Rong raised his hand from the knee of the statue, and his figure vanished in a flash, appearing like a ghost in the swirling miasma of the deep forest.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged on a rock deep within the miasma and began to digest and absorb the spirit of the divine statue he had just devoured.

This time, the digestion and absorption of the divine statue's spirit is different from before. All previous devouring and digestion were about deepening the power of the laws within the cave.

However, at this moment, the seventy-nine laws of power within his psychic cave were already at their perfect state. The power of laws had reached its limit and could not be deepened any further.

His purpose in devouring the spirit of the divine statue, which had been burning incense for ten thousand years, was to break through the barriers of the law, penetrate the shackles of the power of law, enter the third state, and allow his Dao body to emerge.

The first half of the sentence about the devouring effect of the spirit of the statue that has been burning incense for thousands of years is almost the same, describing it as exhausting the limits of the laws.

Duan Rong intended to use the magical effects of the incense-burning statue's spirit, accumulated over ten thousand years, to help him break through this final barrier.

Duan Rong sat down cross-legged, observing the changes in the incense and deity statue that had been burning for ten thousand years, while pondering Lü Yinlin's words.

Lu Yinlin's words were the key to breaking through the barrier.

Neither empty nor existent, yet both empty and existent. By delving into the space between emptiness and existence, one enters that third state, and the essence of the Tao will emerge.

Duan Rong now wants to use the wondrous power of the ancient incense and deity statues, accumulated over ten thousand years, to enter the so-called third state during this moment of enlightenment...

Duan Rong sat there for more than ten days without moving.

A black, venomous centipede, about half a foot long, crawled into Duan Rong's sleeve, along his arm, and onto his face.

Although Duan Rong was in meditation, he could clearly perceive the poisonous centipede, but he ignored the little creature.

But the poisonous centipede actually settled down in Duan Rong's hair, making it its nest, crawling in and out every day.

About a month later, in the space about three feet in size where Duan Rong was sitting, strange vortices began to appear in the surging miasma.

Those cyclones, about the size of a fist, constantly appeared and disappeared around Duan Rong.

As these strange cyclones grew denser, the entire miasma seemed to surge even more violently.

The miasma spread to nearly a third of the area, leading to the relocation of a Miao village on the outskirts.

After this continued for more than ten days, the dense cyclones suddenly disappeared. The rise and fall of those dense cyclones also startled away the poisonous centipede that had been coiled in Duan Rong's hair.

After the dense cyclones disappeared, everything seemed to return to calm. Even the miasma that had permeated the surrounding area shrank back to its original range.

After another month of silence, on this day, the miasma that permeated the half-zhang around Duan Rong suddenly surged at varying speeds.

When it surged, it was like a strong wind, blowing Duan Rong's temples wildly and making his clothes rustle. But the wind only howled within half a zhang, stirring up rings of earth energy, like a tornado.

When it slowly surges, it appears as if it is still, and even the miasma seems to be settling.

Just then, amidst the fluctuating speed, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes.

At this moment, his eyes were devoid of any brilliance, even appearing as cloudy as the eyes of a dead fish.

However, his dantian was completely empty, with no trace of the power of law surging within it.

He broke through the barrier.

Duan Rong suddenly exhaled a long breath of turbid air, which caused the spreading miasma to churn violently.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, and his cloudy eyes quickly transformed, becoming clear and bright like autumn water.

Looking at the miasma, rocks, and trees before him, he suddenly said, "No wonder Lü Yinlin said that none of these are the ultimate breakthrough. None of these are the Dao Body."

"Actually, 'neither' means 'both'. Only when both are true can 'neither' be true. Only when neither are true can 'both' be true."

"Spring arrives and flowers bloom everywhere, the mountains and rivers, every blade of grass and every tree, all reveal the Dao."

"The Dao is omnipresent. A grain of dust and a great river are no different to the Dao, therefore they are both. Nothing is me, yet nothing is not me, therefore neither is."

Duan Rong now understood that Lü Yinlin's insistence on saying "neither" or "yes" was intended to guide him to begin with the concept of "breaking through." For someone who hadn't yet broken through the barrier, saying "neither" and then "yes" would only lead to confusion.

Duan Rong stood up from the rock. In the deep mountains of the Miao village, he had only been sitting in meditation for two months when he used the spirit of the divine statue that had devoured the incense offerings of ten thousand years to break through the first step of condensing the nascent soul.

Suddenly, Duan Rong's figure flickered, disappearing from the center of the miasma like a ghost, and reappearing on the horizontal branches of a huge tree on the outer edge of the miasma.

He sat on the branch and took out the few yellowed animal hides that Lü Yinlin had given him from under the Wan Ya Li Huo scarf tied around his waist.

These animal hides contain detailed explanations of the process of condensing a nascent soul. Duan Rong sat on the branch and, by the bright daylight, began to examine them one by one.

After breaking through the barrier, his Dao body has emerged. Although his divine sense has not yet merged with the Dao body, Duan Rong's understanding of the Dao body and the Nascent Soul is no longer just at the conceptual level, but has some personal insights. Therefore, when he looks at the few pieces of yellowed animal skins, he feels a sense of sudden enlightenment in many aspects.

In just half a day, as dusk approached, Duan Rong had finished opening all the yellowed animal hides.

In fact, apart from the first step, the other three steps of condensing the Nascent Soul are not difficult. They only require mobilizing an astonishing amount of heaven and earth energy, which is why sects have Nascent Soul Formation Arrays.

Duan Rong carefully put away the few yellowed animal hides. He knew he should return to his sect and ask Lü Yinlin to oversee the sect's grand formation and help him condense his Nascent Soul.

However, before leaving, he had another matter to attend to: devour the remaining five spirit statues that had been imbued with the incense offerings of ten thousand years. This was because the devouring effect of these spirit statues contained a second part: the nurturing of the nascent Daoist spirit. Moreover, Duan Rong had understood this meaning when he devoured and absorbed the spirit statue of the first ten-thousand-year-old incense offering.

The spirit of the statue, which has been enshrined for thousands of years, can not only break through the shackles of the power of laws, but also help in the condensation and nurturing of the nascent soul.

However, he is not currently in the sect's Nascent Soul Formation Formation and has not yet begun to condense his Nascent Soul. Therefore, the effect of the first ten-thousand-year-old incense statue spirit that he devoured has been completely dissipated.

However, Duan Rong then devoured the spirits of the five remaining ten-thousand-year-old incense statues and returned directly to the sect to begin condensing his nascent soul. In this case, the role of these five spirits in condensing and nurturing the nascent soul could be put to good use.

In the dim light, Duan Rong's figure flickered and transformed into a wisp of green smoke, disappearing from the dense forest.

The wisp of green smoke suddenly shot to a cliff face, swirled around the feet of a deity statue, and when the smoke dissipated, a small squirrel appeared at the statue's feet...

After Duan Rong devoured the remaining five divine statues and artifact spirits that had been burning incense for ten thousand years, he returned to his sect and went straight into the valley where Lü Yinlin lived in seclusion.

Standing at the entrance of the valley, Duan Rong, having broken through to the next level, had become even more sensitive to the Nascent Soul Formation array within. He could clearly sense that the ancient, verdant pine tree not far from Lü Yinlin's cave entrance was the array's core. Not only that ancient pine tree, but even every single pine needle seemed to resonate subtly with the array.

No wonder that ancient pine tree is the key to the formation; every single one of its needles resonates with the great formation.

Duan Rong stood at the entrance of the valley for a while, then slowly walked to the entrance of Lü Yinlin's cave.

As soon as Duan Rong entered the valley, Lü Yinlin noticed him. Lü Yinlin felt that Duan Rong had been studying diligently for two months without any results, so he wanted to ask him for advice again.

Lu Yinlin couldn't help but sigh. "This kid is rather impatient. It's only been two months, and he's already asking again. It took me more than ten years to break through to the first step of the Nascent Soul stage."

Duan Rong walked into Lü Yinlin's cave, suddenly knelt down, and cried out, "Ancestor, your disciple Duan Rong has broken through to the next level. Please, Ancestor, help your disciple condense his Nascent Soul."

Lu Yinlin was sitting deep inside the cave, sipping water and shaking his head with a sigh. Upon hearing this, his expression suddenly changed, and he transformed into a wisp of green smoke and vanished from the cave.

Lu Yinlin stood behind Duan Rong, staring intently at him, his divine sense already penetrating Duan Rong's dantian.

Duan Rong's dantian was completely empty, without a trace of the power of law. This was the situation that would occur when the Dao body emerged after the first step of breaking through the barrier.

A chill ran through Lü Yinlin.

"He really broke through to the next level?!"

"More than two months!?"

Lu Yinlin's expression was not only somewhat astonished, but even rather unpleasant. His state of mind was quite complex at this moment; Duan Rong's talent far exceeded his expectations.

He himself had gone through it back then. The saying goes, "To reach the top of a hundred-foot pole, to take another step forward." It's easy to say, but to penetrate the laws, enter the third state, and for the Dao body to emerge—how incredibly difficult! It's like a headless fly bumping around aimlessly!
However, Duan Rong actually accomplished it in just two months.

Lu Yinlin was able to condense a Nascent Soul and become one of the ancestors of the Eight Sects of the Nine Provinces, so he was naturally highly talented. He also had a sense of arrogance deep in his heart. However, when facing a true genius like Duan Rong, that arrogance in his heart had been crushed into dust.

After pausing for a few moments, Lü Yinlin suddenly said, "Duan Rong, get up."

Duan Rong heard the voice coming from behind him, so he stood up and turned around to look at Lü Yinlin.

Lü Yinlin asked, "Having already broken through to the next level, what insights have you gained?"

Duan Rong said, "The lush yellow flowers are nothing but Prajna, and the verdant bamboo is all manifestation of the Dao. The Dao is omnipresent. What the Ancestor said is not everything, yet everything is everything."

After a moment's thought, Lü Yinlin smiled and said, "I understand."

Lü Yinlin wasn't just chatting idly with Duan Rong. The state of his dantian was a form of confirmation, but he also needed to articulate his own insights. Only through this mutual verification could he confirm whether he had truly broken through to the next level.

If it is broken but not broken, it will cause a lot of trouble when condensing the nascent soul.

But when Duan Rong uttered the line, "The lush yellow flowers are nothing but Prajna, and the green bamboos are all manifestations of the Way," he had truly attained enlightenment.

Lu Yinlin asked, "Now that you have broken through to the next level, when do you plan to begin condensing your Nascent Soul?"

Duan Rong said, "If possible, I would like to begin now."

Lu Yinlin's eyes flickered slightly. Back then, after breaking through to the next level, he took half a year to adjust his state of mind and stabilize it completely before he began to condense his nascent soul. This kid is really reckless. He wants to start right after breaking through to the next level.

Lu Yinlin hesitated for a moment, then reminded him, "Are you confident? Don't you need to consolidate your mental state after just breaking through to the next level?"

Duan Rong clasped his hands in a fist salute and said confidently, "This disciple's state of mind is stable and requires no further consolidation."

In reality, he wasn't in a state of mental stability at all. Before leaving the deep mountains of the Miao village, he had already absorbed the spirits of five ancient statues that had been incense offerings for thousands of years. It was fine for him to consolidate his mental state, but these statue spirits couldn't afford to waste time and would slowly dissipate over time.

Seeing Duan Rong's resolute attitude, Lü Yinlin said, "Sit down under that old pine tree. I will activate the great formation in a moment."

"Yes, thank you, ancestor."

Duan Rong clasped his hands in a salute to Lü Yinlin, then slowly walked to the old pine tree and sat down cross-legged.

Lu Yinlin glanced at Duan Rong, who was sitting cross-legged under the pine tree, and then walked into the cave.

About an incense stick's time later, Lü Yinlin emerged from the cave again. He walked to the center of the valley, his expression grave as he looked at Duan Rong under the pine tree, and abruptly asked, "Duan Rong, have you thought this through? Once I activate the great formation, it cannot be reopened for thirty years. Are you sure you want to begin condensing your Nascent Soul now?"

Duan Rong's eyes were firm as he said, "Reporting to the Ancestor, this disciple is certain. Please activate it, Ancestor."

"it is good!"

Lu Yinlin uttered a "good" and with a flick of his sleeve, several streaks of green light flew out from his sleeve.

As soon as the azure light emerged from the sleeve, it scattered into the void above the valley. Several beams of azure light suddenly stopped in the void, and then dissipated, revealing their true forms.

A green ruler, a green sword, a copper bell, and two copper rings.

Five magical artifacts were scattered across the valley. Each artifact was positioned at a key point in the grand formation.

After the five magical artifacts were placed in their respective positions, Lü Yinlin suddenly sat cross-legged in mid-air, his body rising about half a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) in height.

In the void, Lü Yinlin made hand seals and chanted incantations. Suddenly, a spell was cast on the copper ring in the center of the valley above his head.

Suddenly, the copper ring emitted a bright blue light, within which it could be seen spinning rapidly. The surface of the copper ring was covered with flowing runes, densely packed, like flowing water.

Lu Yinlin sat there cross-legged, and then cast four more spells, causing the other four magical artifacts to emit a bright blue light.

The blue light emitted by the five magical artifacts suddenly intertwined into a net.

The core of that blue light net was the ancient pine tree where Duan Rong was sitting cross-legged at that moment.

Just then, Lü Yinlin suddenly flicked his sleeves again, and another magical artifact flew to the ancient pine tree, about half a zhang away from the top of the tree.

The magical artifact that flew to the top of the ancient pine tree was actually an ancient bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror tilted slightly, its surface reflecting the net of azure light and the five radiant magical artifacts… (End of Chapter)