Section 81: Listening to You Huang Speak the Dao!
By Gu Zhenren
The “Myriad Miles Solo-Tread Boots,” ranked fourth among the ten greatest foot fetishes in Xingzhou, were aptly named for their incredible speed, allowing the wearer to traverse ten thousand miles in an instant. Dongyin had always relied on them to roam Xingzhou and wreak havoc. Many attempts to capture him had failed precisely because of these boots, which Dongyin had cultivated into a Tribulation Demon; his cultivation was profound, and his speed astonishing.
Thus, the Myriad Miles Solo-Tread Boots had practically become Dongyin’s signature item.
Now, seeing the boots worn on Chu Yun’s feet, Wine King immediately understood Dongyin’s fate.
“Hahaha, well killed! Drunken Snow Fox Lord, you’ve done Xingzhou a great service. Your fame will surely spread far and wide. Moreover, on the Jun level rankings, you’ll replace Dongyin and rise to sixth place,” Wine King said, giving Chu Yun a thumbs-up.
“Lord Wine King, please just call me by my name. Drunken Snow Fox Lord, or Teng List, they are merely empty titles, nothing to be proud of,” Chu Yun replied with a calm smile and serene expression in response to the King’s praise.
Wine King nodded without speaking, his eyes showing even greater admiration. He looked at Chu Yun, then at Erlang Tian Jun, and mused: Among the younger generation, these two clearly stand out. Both disdain empty fame and press forward fearlessly, unbothered by danger. If only they were brothers. If not, a fierce rivalry would surely ensue, and the loss of either one would be a loss for the current era.
Whether they were brothers or not would be revealed by the blood-testing stone monument at Chu Bawang’s inheritance site. Without further delay, the group headed towards the entrance of the third World – the Polar Ice Dragon Gate.
After passing through the Dragon Gate, everyone separated again. Chu Yun remained with Xiao Xiaoxian and Jin Bihan, while Wine King and Erlang Tian Jun’s group were split up by the gate.
This was a world of vast snow and ice, with delicate snowflakes drifting down. The snow-covered ground stretched out, pristine and white, to the limits of their vision. Life still teemed here. Chu Yun looked to his left, marveling at a snow pine forest about fifty feet away. In the distance behind them, mountain ranges were faintly visible. Within the pine forest, the swift silhouette of a snow fox flashed by. Beneath the snow, ice-crystal snakes slithered, and on the plains, stout Dragon Tusk White-Backed Bears ambled aimlessly with their rotund bodies.
After crushing Wine King’s token, they regrouped within half an hour.
“Follow me. Ancestor Bawang’s inheritance site is in the center of this World, within the largest snow pine forest. Don’t stray from each other. The climate in this World is extremely unpredictable,” Wine King cautioned.
As if to prove his point, the weather soon changed drastically. The light snowfall turned into a blizzard in an instant, accompanied by fierce winds that whipped the snow into a blinding white sheet, obscuring their vision and chilling them to the bone. The group quickly summoned their protective demonic creatures and activated their cultivation methods to erect defenses. However, Chu Yun and the others soon noticed their defensive cultivation methods were being eroded, as if the wind and snow itself carried hostile enchantments.
“The first and second layers of the Dragon Gate World were relatively mild, intentionally set up by You Huang to accommodate weaker Wanderers. From the third layer onwards, the climate becomes erratic, testing the Wanderers who enter. This is considered good weather. During a blizzard, the snow fills the sky and earth, disorienting everyone and scrambling their senses,” Wine King explained. This was one of You Huang’s trials. Wanderers without sufficient strength could only linger in the first two layers. The winds and snow were not mere meteorological phenomena but contained countless cultivation methods: wind, ice, water, cloud, and even space, time, and mental cultivation methods. Especially here, in the Dragon Gate World, a separate dimension, these forces merged into one, becoming World Power and the power of nature. Of course, with Jun level strength, self-preservation was still possible, and King level strength allowed for free movement, but it would consume considerable battle power.
Wine King had just engaged in a fierce battle with Greedy Wolf, one of the Seven Kings, and was concerned about them. Simultaneously worrying about the group scattering, he chose a safer approach: to wait for the storm to pass.
The harsh weather that arrived so quickly also departed swiftly. In less than fifteen minutes, the howling wind and snow ceased. The surrounding landscape had transformed. The accumulated snow had reshaped the hilly terrain into a vast snowy plain. The snow pine forest they had just seen was now completely buried.
Wine King seemed to read their thoughts. “Don’t worry about the demonic creatures. Survival here has given them a certain cunning. In fact, they are more sensitive than us; they can detect the approaching snowstorm well in advance. Soon, a whirlwind might sweep away the accumulated snow here and form a blizzard in another region.”
The group marveled at this. Chu Yun, however, felt a stir within him. “Perhaps I can also sense the impending snowstorm.” He focused his spirit, concentrating on his eyes. Instantly, his pupils, usually as deep as ink, blazed with brilliant light. Fleeting visions of swirling winds, rain, thunder, mountains collapsing, and fires erupting flashed before his eyes.
The Heavenly Eye.
Born from the spiritual energy feedback of the Sky Fox, it allowed him to perceive meteorological changes promptly and, on occasion, glimpse the workings of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Chu Yun opened his Heavenly Eye and gazed around. His mouth gradually fell open, his footsteps slowed, and he finally stopped, rooted to the spot.
“What’s wrong?” the people beside him asked, turning back in confusion. They saw Chu Yun with a look of utter fascination, his eyes shining with a divine light, reflecting the constant shifts in the phenomena of heaven and earth. His spirit seemed to have soared beyond the mundane, lost in another realm.
“Sect Leader…” Xiao Xiaoxian began, intending to approach, but was stopped by Wine King.
“Don’t disturb him; this is an opportunity for him,” Wine King stated.
At this moment, the third layer of the Dragon Gate World revealed a completely different aspect through Chu Yun’s eyes. Heaven and Earth transformed into a vast net – the Net of Law. Each vertical thread of this net was called a “Dao,” and each horizontal bar was called “Li.” This was the Net of Law, interwoven with Dao and Li.
“The Net of Law is vast and inescapable; it is profound and boundless, containing infinite mysteries. It is the Great Dao and Truth.” Chu Yun couldn’t look away, overwhelmed by the spectacle. Every intersecting line was something he could spend an eternity contemplating and researching. His entire consciousness was immersed, involuntarily sinking into it. He felt a dawning realization: once he completely understood this Net of Law, he would ascend to an unprecedented height! He thirsted for knowledge, like a bookworm climbing a mountain of books, or a libertine entering a country of women. Every glance brought immense gain. It was like listening to a sage speak the Dao, the profound resonance of the Dao harmonizing with Heaven and Earth, cleansing his spiritual platform and refining his Soul.
His Soul, in particular, was being refined at an astonishing rate. In the blink of an eye, its condensation had tripled! However, as he continued to observe, the feeling of weakness grew. The world through his eyes became increasingly blurry, and the Net of Law receded further away. Eventually, weakness permeated his entire being. The Heavenly Eye closed on its own, and Chu Yun returned to reality.
With ragged breaths, he blinked, seeing Jin Bihan and the others looking at him with concern. A profound sense of loss washed over him. He desperately wished he could continue watching! But unable to activate his Heavenly Eye, he felt extremely weak. This weakness wasn’t physical fatigue but a depletion of his Spirit Light. He noticed his Spirit Light had dimmed to an unprecedented degree.
“Observing the Net of Law requires wisdom. The deeper the wisdom, the wider the Net of Law one can perceive, thus consuming more Spirit Light. You cannot continue watching for a short while, or else the Contract will be broken, causing your demonic creatures to flee. More critically, your Spirit Light could disappear completely, rendering you a simpleton,” Wine King warned. The volume of Spirit Light determined how many demonic creatures one could contract with. The brightness of the Spirit Light indicated its consumption level. A brighter Spirit Light signified fullness, perfection, higher wisdom, and faster thought processes. Conversely, a dim Spirit Light indicated severe depletion and the need for recovery time. During this period, thoughts would slow down, and wisdom would fall below normal levels.
Chu Yun could clearly feel that every thought was much slower than usual. It was an uncomfortable sensation, like suddenly becoming dull-witted. Yet, his mind remained calm, free from any agitation. It was as if, in that brief moment, he had endured a great deal of hardship and tribulation, transforming into an elder who had seen through the world and could calmly accept the ebb and flow of fate. This was due to the significant refinement of his Soul.
The cultivation of a Monster Tamer had three key elements. First, the body, akin to a vessel for water. The larger and sturdier the vessel, the more water it could hold, leading to deeper strength. Second, the Soul, representing willpower. The more refined the Soul, the stronger the willpower. As people age and gain experience, their Souls become more refined, which is why elders are often calm and unperturbed. Third, Spirit Light, representing wisdom. A flash of inspiration, a sudden idea, all stem from the spark of wisdom. Currently, Chu Yun’s Spirit Light was dim, but his Soul had been greatly refined, becoming almost four times stronger. A stronger Soul would generate new Spirit Light faster and accelerate its recovery.
“As Monster Tamers cultivate, their Spirit Light expands, their understanding of Heaven and Earth deepens, gradually touching the essence of the World. At the Jun level, they can only vaguely sense parts of Heaven and Earth. At the Marquis level, their senses strengthen, forming a unique spiritual pressure. Only at the King level can they truly glimpse a corner of the Great Dao, and when successful, it manifests as Divine Path Techniques.” Wine King paused here, looking at Chu Yun with envy. “With your current strength, you shouldn’t be able to perceive the Net of Law of Xingzhou. What you glimpsed just now was actually a minor Net of Law within this Dragon Gate World. This represents You Huang’s understanding of Heaven and Earth from that time. The Heavenly Eye is truly of immense help in cultivation. What you just experienced was akin to listening to You Huang speak the Dao!”
