Wayless Sect.
After meeting with Ye Luo and discussing his need to leave the mountain to handle some affairs, Chu Yuan prepared to depart.
Time waits for no one, after all.
Upon realizing his own strength was still weak, Chu Yuan became eager to take on more 'trash' disciples.
To teach a trash disciple was to ascend a minor realm.
To teach three was to ascend a major realm.
Fast!
Soon, he would be invincible!
Everything was under the control of someone named Chu!
...
At the sect gate.
A gentle breeze arrived, and clouds wreathed about.
Ye Luo escorted Chu Yuan to the sect gate, where the two stood.
Chu Yuan looked out through the mountain gate at the clouds and mist without speaking.
His white garment flapped in the breeze, hands clasped behind his back, his demeanor tranquil and detached, as if he were an exiled immortal.
Standing beside him, Ye Luo hesitated for a moment before speaking, unable to restrain himself, "Respected Master, I have grasped a trace of the Dao left by you and integrated it into my sword technique. Please give me your guidance!"
You've grasped something?
What have you grasped? Couldn't it be that you sit there day after day, so lost in thought that you've contracted delusional disorder?
A sudden thought crossed Chu Yuan's mind.
If he got delusional disorder, would that still count as a disciple he had led astray?
Could he still gain cultivation levels from that?
It should count.
Having delusional disorder might even be a good thing, saving him from thinking every day that he hasn't grasped anything significant.
Once Chu Yuan thought this way, he quickly felt relieved. With a faint smile, he said, "It's not necessary. Whatever you have grasped, your master already knows. What you have now grasped is just one ten-thousandth of the whole."
"The core essence, you have yet to grasp. Look up more often, and you will truly understand your master's intentions. Alright, your master is leaving now. Continue your contemplation diligently, and do not slack off!"
After speaking, clouds formed beneath his feet, and he soared into the sky, as carefree as the wind.
But in his heart, he sighed.
How long had he been bluffing?
To think he had bluffed his way into a disciple developing delusional disorder.
Sigh.
But perhaps delusional disorder was for the best.
It solidified his certainty.
This disciple would surely solve the puzzle. After that, he would just need to test him and then raise his cultivation levels.
With this thought in mind.
A smile appeared on Chu Yuan's face as he sped down the mountain.
As for Ye Luo.
After listening to Chu Yuan's words, he fell deep into thought.
He could never doubt his master's words, of course.
So he kept pondering what his master had said.
The aspect he had grasped was merely one ten-thousandth...
If he thought back to the scene he had witnessed in the past, the sky filled with innumerable chains, the essence of the Dao pervading everywhere.
Indeed, what he had grasped was just one ten-thousandth... or even less.
But what was that core essence Master spoke of?
He told him to look up?
Ye Luo looked up and saw a bright sky, the sun shining high.
The sun was blinding…
Besides that, he perceived nothing at all.
But his master wouldn't mislead him. Enlightenment came first, and the secrets were glimpsed later in the Hall of Law Transmission.
There couldn't still be someone thinking his master was deceiving him, could there?
Hardly, hardly...
Ye Luo, puzzled, returned to the Grand Hall Square and sat down cross-legged again.
Enduring the glare of the fierce sun, he continued to look with his eyes open.
His master wouldn't deceive him.
"Look up more often..."
He must grasp his master's intentions!
He could not let his master down!
Ye Luo calmed his mind and gazed toward the sky.
One hour passed...
He had no revelations.
But he wasn't impatient.
His meditations these days, nourished by golden characters, had already altered his mental state.
Two hours passed...
Still no clue emerged.
After six hours...
The sky had already darkened.
Yet Ye Luo still watched the sky with wide-open eyes.
At that moment.
Suddenly, his mind shook.
A wave of clarity surged to his head.
He couldn't help but close his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the sky had undergone a huge change.
In the sky above, all the clouds and stars had disappeared without a trace.
Only a pitch-black expanse of sky remained.
Ye Luo looked up at the sky.
It was as if he was facing the entire world.
A sense of his own insignificance emerged.
Is this what the Respected Master meant?
The heavens are vast, to an unimaginable extent...
And he had only witnessed a fraction of it, yet he was so proud, wanting to show off in front of his master.
That's why the master had awakened him...
Master, your disciple understands!
Ye Luo had an epiphany.
At the same time, golden characters flashed in his mind.
A thought emerged.
Ultimately, human strength is inferior to that of heaven.
Why not borrow the power of heaven for oneself!
Ye Luo drew his sword, his eyes firmly closed.
The next moment.
He swung his sword.
Hum...
This slash, void of any sharpness, fell lightly.
But the endless sound of sword pinging echoed, and the sword wind roared to life.
Luckily, no one was here.
If someone were here, they might witness a scene of the heavens collapsing and the earth sinking, likely being frightened to death.
Because.
What this slash cut.
Was not a person, but the heart!
To slash one's own way of the heart with a sword!
Clang...
After delivering the slash, Ye Luo fell to the ground, pale and exhausted.
The sword clanged as it fell to the ground.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
He had understood the Respected Master's meaning.
He had also discerned this sword technique.
Presumably, his master would be delighted to know how quickly he had understood.
Thinking this, Ye Luo closed his eyes and rested.
...
The next morning.
Ye Luo was awakened by hunger.
After putting away his sword and picking up the bundle beside him to look, he found that there was no dry food left.
He couldn't help frowning.
There wasn't much food within the sect.
This he knew.
Now that his master was away.
What would he eat?
Ye Luo was puzzled.
Could it be that his master had forgotten about his need to eat?
Just as this thought came to him, he dismissed it.
"The master couldn't have forgotten to prepare food for me, it definitely wasn't an oversight."
"Perhaps the master did it on purpose, wanting me to solve the food problem myself, there should be some animals down the mountain, I'll go and have a look."
Ye Luo muttered to himself.
It would be just as well, he didn't know how strong the sword technique he had comprehended was, and it would be good to test it on some animals at the foot of the mountain.
But as per his understanding...
That slash of his, those in the Qi Refinement Stage would likely be unable to withstand it.
Those in the Foundation Establishment Realm might be able to hold it off a little.
But the specifics were unclear to him.
Even so, that was enough.
Not yet having stepped on the Immortal Path, but surpassing the Qi Refinement Stage!
To think, he had reached such a state less than two months after joining the sect...
What terrifying heights could he reach if he were to cultivate in the future?
What's most important is that he still has several months to comprehend the Way; what might he discern by then?
All of this is unknown; under the master's guidance, everything is possible.
In any case, Ye Luo was extremely satisfied with his current combat strength.
To surpass the Qi Refinement Stage in a mortal's body.
He, Ye Luo!
Would not bring shame upon the Hidden Sect!