Chapter 531: The Origin of the Dao Body

Lv Yinlin walked into the Cave Abode.

Duan Rong stood there, looking at the mid-air not far from the ancient pine, where more than thirty Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles were still suspended, motionless, shimmering with a white, glistening cold light under the moonlight, quite eerie!

He walked over slowly, and just then, those thirty-plus Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles suddenly merged into a bundle, hovering in front of him.

It was as if an invisible ghost had gathered these Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles for him.

Duan Rong's expression was slightly startled; he turned his head to glance at Lv Yinlin's Cave Abode, took the bundle of flying needles, and flipped his hand to put them away.

After putting the flying needles away, he turned around, only to see that in the moonlight not far away, Lv Qingzhu was already standing there, though he did not know when she had arrived.

Lv Qingzhu had originally been meditating and practicing in her Cave Abode; it was when Duan Rong broke through his bottleneck and let out a long whistle that shook the valley, startling her, that she walked out of her Cave Abode to see what was happening.

Just as Lv Qingzhu walked out of the Cave Abode, she heard the Ancestor Lv Yinlin evaluate Duan Rong: With this level of diligent practice, within three years, he will surely enter the Dongming Realm!

Hearing this evaluation from the Ancestor, Lv Qingzhu's heart was quite unsettled.

It was only about ten days ago that she and Duan Rong had worked together in the Dark Forest to deal with an adult Mysterious Ice Turtle for the sake of the turtle shell, an auxiliary medicine for the thirteenth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra.

The two of them had eventually joined forces to kill that Mysterious Ice Turtle, but the entire process had left them quite disheveled.

But at that time, Lv Qingzhu felt that the gap between her strength and Duan Rong's was not very large.

How could it be that Duan Rong had only been to the Wanxiang Cave once, and only ten days had passed, for the Ancestor to give him such a high evaluation?

Having just advanced to the Qi Cyclone, he was already looking toward the Dongming Realm?

Lv Qingzhu truly did not believe it!

Duan Rong looked at Lv Qingzhu, whose temperament was cold under the clear moonlight.

She was like a cold plum, standing tall and proud, her waist as straight as a Sword!

Lv Qingzhu's moth-like eyebrows were furrowed, and she looked at Duan Rong with unkind eyes; suddenly, with a *shhh* sound, she drew her Long Sword, pointed it at Duan Rong, and said coldly, "Let's fight!"

Although the Ancestor's evaluation was high, she had to test Duan Rong's skills herself to know for sure.

Duan Rong's gaze swept over Lv Qingzhu's beautiful and cold face, and he smiled faintly: "Miss Lv, it is not that I am being arrogant, but as of now, I fear you would not even last a single move in my hands."

"Is that so?!"

Lv Qingzhu let out a cold rebuke, thrusting her Long Sword forward as Sword Radiance suddenly exploded forth!

From the very first move, she unleashed her full cultivation!

Lv Qingzhu held nothing back, and with a flash of cold light from her Long Sword, she stabbed toward Duan Rong's face.

Duan Rong's expression shifted slightly; having not seen her for ten days, Lv Qingzhu's Sword Intent seemed to have become much more solid and refined.

The sword light was three inches from Duan Rong's face; Lv Qingzhu's eyes were cold, and her gaze, like the sword in her hand, shot toward Duan Rong without any emotion.

Duan Rong suddenly swayed his body, and his hands, wearing the Phosphor Silk Gloves, crossed in an eerie manner, as fast as a ghost.

Lv Qingzhu only felt a blur before her eyes; she could not see how Duan Rong had moved at all, only feeling two balls of white light flash before her.

Her Long Sword had already left her hand!

Lv Qingzhu's eyes had not seen how Duan Rong had made his move, but in that instant, she clearly perceived Duan Rong's force.

One force tapped at the base of her sword near the web of her thumb, while another force flicked at the tip of her sword.

The intersecting forces, like a spinning wheel, directly caused her Long Sword to leave her hand!

The force that flicked at the tip of her sword was handled with extreme precision and subtlety; as soon as this force arrived, her sword technique and Qi flow were already in disarray.

Then, the other force at the base of the sword, in that moment of chaos, crossed and flicked, and the Long Sword was gone from her hand.

It took only one exchange!

Duan Rong was not only incredibly fast, but what shocked Lv Qingzhu even more was the exquisite precision of his handling of the minute details.

That second force that tapped the base of her sword—had it been a hair's breadth earlier or later, her Long Sword would never have left her hand.

As for the first force that flicked at the tip of her sword, had the timing or the angle been even slightly off, her Qi flow would not have been suddenly and slightly disrupted!

In that moment of slight disruption, Duan Rong had managed to disarm her barehanded in a single exchange!

Lv Qingzhu stood there, stunned, her face deathly pale!

She turned her face away, but Duan Rong had already left, and her Long Sword was stuck in the ground not far away! The cold moon shone on the cold blade, emitting a pale, chilly light!

Lv Qingzhu pulled out her Long Sword and watched Duan Rong's back disappear into a remote corner of the deep valley; her gaze was cold and sharp, yet deep within her heart, for the first time in her life, a subtle sentiment of admiration for the strong arose.

Duan Rong returned to his own Cave Abode within the deep valley.

On the stone wall deep inside the Cave Abode grew those strange mushrooms, emitting a faint fluorescent glow.

Duan Rong sat there and exhaled a breath of turbid air; only then did he take off the Phosphor Silk Gloves.

Using them for the first time, they were actually quite handy.

He sat for a while and lifted the water pot on the Stone Table, but the pot was completely empty.

Duan Rong was quite thirsty after his practice just now, so he took the pot and went to the spring eye in the deep valley to fetch water.

He carried the pot and walked out into the deep valley; Lv Qingzhu was already gone, and the cold, deep valley was empty.

He walked slowly to the spring eye and saw a crescent moon shattered into glistening white cold light within the bubbling spring water.

Duan Rong dipped the water pot into the cold light, as if he were scooping up a pot of moonlight.

He lifted the pot, residual water dripping down; Duan Rong glanced at the floating cold light and turned to leave.

Duan Rong returned to the Cave Abode and drank three cups of clear water in a row using a Bamboo Tube.

For some reason, the shimmering cold light from the spring eye kept floating in his mind.

Just then, he suddenly looked up, his eyes meeting the calligraphy by Gu Daoling hanging on the stone wall.

In this instant, the cold light in his mind and that calligraphy by Gu Daoling merged in an eerie way.

The shattered, glistening white moonlight seemed to be individual "knife" characters in bird-seal script, layered and stacked together...

Because of this eerie illusion, the calligraphy by Gu Daoling before his eyes actually melted and rippled like water...

Duan Rong felt as if he were surrounded and enveloped by the melted characters...

He no longer saw the shattered light of the cold moon; he saw a vast galaxy, layered and stacked, boundless and immense!

Beyond the starlight is still starlight!

Beyond the end of the galaxy is still the galaxy!

He suddenly recalled that discussion of the Dao by Gu Daoling outside Shenyun Prefecture!

Entering the Dao through Celestial Phenomena!

Heaven has a murderous intent, and the stars shift! Earth has a murderous intent, and dragons and snakes rise!

At this thought, that vast and endless galaxy suddenly surged with murderous intent!

It was a murderous intent far deeper and more turbulent than that within Wanxiang Cave; it surged from the deepest part of the endless galaxy, vast and boundless, like the Dao of Heaven! Formless, yet piercing through everything!

A tearing, intense pain struck Duan Rong's head!

He woke in pain from the intoxicating dream of the galaxy, and only then did he realize his back was soaked with cold sweat!

With a look of terror, Duan Rong glanced at a corner of Gu Daoling's calligraphy, then immediately turned his head away.

In that very instant, the Clear Glass Body within his bright Spirit Sea had actually shattered! In the center of the Cangqiong, a Gray Shadow blurred and rolled!

Had his Divine Soul been even slightly weaker, he would have had his soul scattered in that instant!

Duan Rong struggled to his feet, lowered his head, walked over, rolled up Gu Daoling's calligraphy, and put it away!

He could no longer look at this piece of calligraphy!

Just in that instant, he had caught a glimpse of the origin of Gu Daoling's Dao Body, which was the source of the Law Power he had comprehended.

Although he had only seen the surface and had not glimpsed the depths of that Dao Body origin, even Gu Daoling himself had likely never glimpsed its true appearance in those deepest depths!

The origin of the Dao Body is not the origin of Artistic Conception; with Duan Rong's current Divine Soul strength, he could not bear it at all!

However, for Gu Daoling to be able to imprint the surface of the Dao Body origin he had comprehended into the deepest part of this calligraphy, his brushwork was truly magnificent!

Duan Rong carefully put the calligraphy away!

Although his Divine Soul was damaged, he was already very tired tonight, so he decided to sleep first and restore his Divine Soul after getting enough rest.

Fortunately, in these Endless Great Mountains, the Tree Spirits of the ancient trees were inexhaustible; in the two days since leaving Wanxiang Cave, the Tree Spirit Light Sea within his bright Spirit Sea had already been replenished. He only needed to sleep enough and then use the Qingyou Light Silk of the Tree Spirits to repair his Divine Soul.

Duan Rong climbed onto the stone bed, wrapped himself in the animal skin blanket, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Waking up the next day, Duan Rong used the Qingyou Light Silk of the Tree Spirits and operated the Womb Treasury Sutra technique to re-refine the shattered Clear Glass Body.

For the next few days, Duan Rong kept himself locked in the Cave Abode in the deep valley to cultivate, thoroughly digesting his gains from these past few days.

Five days later, when Duan Rong stretched and walked out of the Cave Abode, he happened to see Lv Qingzhu practicing her Sword on the open ground opposite the deep valley; the Sword light flickered, and her movements were as agile as a rabbit and a falcon.

Duan Rong watched for a few moments, then secretly shook his head. With his current perspective, he felt that any martial art in the world was full of loopholes.

He finally understood now that when cultivation reaches its highest point, one must return to the basics and start all over again!

All the paths walked before were merely stepping stones!

Those ancestors who achieved the Dongming Realm actually knew this, but they never said it!

Because, even if they told you, you wouldn't understand!

Cultivation is borrowing the false to cultivate the true; when one glimpses the origin, all delusions vanish into thin air!

Without glimpsing the origin, no matter how flowery the words spoken to you, you will still be obsessed and lost!

Therefore, it is best to continue walking along that path; at the end of the fog, perhaps in some moment, you too might glimpse the true essence!

Thinking of this, Duan Rong stopped watching Lv Qingzhu's Sword technique and just stared at her graceful, swaying waist for a while.

Lv Qingzhu's Long Sword paused; she turned her head to look at Duan Rong, her eyes filled with anger!

She had already noticed where Duan Rong's gaze was directed.

Duan Rong yawned, turned his head away, and muttered to himself, "Not a cloud in the sky for ten thousand miles; this is clearly a beautiful day!"

As he spoke, he walked toward the outside of the deep valley as if he hadn't seen Lv Qingzhu at all.

Lv Qingzhu stood there, glared at Duan Rong's back, and went back into her Cave Abode.

After leaving the valley, Duan Rong went Wind Riding, passing through the misty valley, and landed like a great eagle in the dense forest on the mountain peak belonging to Shang Xiangyu.

From high in the air, he saw many figures busy near the pool on the mountain peak.

Duan Rong landed not far from the pool and saw many people cutting timber, while Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan were gathered with several History Supervisors, discussing something.

One of the History Supervisors held an unfurled blueprint. Another History Supervisor pointed at the blueprint with his hand, saying something to Xiao Yu.

Duan Rong walked slowly toward Xiao Yu.

Those who were cutting trees all looked at Duan Rong with curious eyes.

These people were all Registered Disciples transferred from the Lower Courtyard by the History Supervisors, and none of them recognized Duan Rong.

Before Duan Rong had even reached them, Xiao Yu looked up inadvertently and suddenly saw him.

"Husband!"

Xiao Yu's eyes lit up with joy, and she ran toward him.

Duan Rong smiled slightly: "I haven't been here for a few days, and it's already like this."

Duan Rong was not wrong; the place was now bustling with activity!

Seeing Duan Rong arrive, those History Supervisors immediately hurried over and bowed to Duan Rong one by one.

Seeing those History Supervisor masters, who usually barked orders at them, bowing respectfully to Duan Rong, the Registered Disciples cutting timber could not help but look at Duan Rong with curious eyes.

After Duan Rong greeted the History Supervisors, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan took the blueprint and began to introduce the preliminary plan they had decided upon.

Xiao Yu pointed at the blueprint and smiled: "There is a lake here!"

"A lake?!" Duan Rong's eyes showed slight surprise; he saw that in the courtyard on the blueprint, there was indeed a lake, with a pavilion beside it.

Xiao Yu said: "This was Ximen Kankan's idea. He said to make a lake to keep fish for fun. After the History Supervisors discussed it, they said they could build an underground channel from the pool over there to bring water over; the distance isn't far, so it's not a difficult task."

"Is that so?" Duan Rong hadn't expected they would even create a lake.

Then, Xiao Yu pointed at the blueprint again, introducing the various buildings of the courtyard to Duan Rong.

After listening, Duan Rong rubbed his nose and said: "This layout is fine. But don't build the two-story main building; one story is enough. What do you think?"

Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu with an inquiring tone as he spoke, and Xiao Yu accepted the opinion as soon as he heard it, saying, "I also think one layer is enough."

"You really are a weathercock! I told you before that one layer would do. You insisted on making it two, saying two layers had better scenery and would allow one to climb high and look far. What's wrong now? As soon as your Master Duan speaks, you change your tune. Not climbing high and looking far anymore?"

Ximen Kankan's mouth was like a rapid-fire cannon, mocking Xiao Yu, especially with that tone and expression, which were very comical.

"Ximen Kankan, I'll twist your mouth off!" Xiao Yu was trembling with anger at Ximen Kankan; he rolled up the blueprints, threw them at Ximen Kankan, and was about to go and twist his mouth.

Ximen Kankan moved his body, leaped backward, and shouted, "Duan Rong, keep your shrew of a woman in check!"

Duan Rong spread his hands and laughed, "You caused this trouble yourself, so you'd better settle it yourself."

As Duan Rong laughed, he suddenly saw a figure flickering in the dense forest nearby, through the sparse branches and leaves.

Duan Rong stopped smiling and walked over slowly, seeing that it was Shen Mizhi practicing in the dense forest, her Sword shadows flickering.

Shen Mizhi had just entered the Qi Refining Realm, and her swordsmanship was several levels behind that of Lv Qingzhu; in Duan Rong's view, it was like a toddler's juggling.

However, with all that noise outside, Shen Mizhi could still focus on her practice here, which showed the strength of her will!

When Duan Rong stepped out from the tree shadows, Shen Mizhi had already caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.

Shen Mizhi practiced for a while, finished the set of moves, and only then sheathed her Sword and turned around, suddenly looking at Duan Rong. At this moment, her forehead and neck were covered in sweat, and she was panting, her chest rising and falling slightly, as she asked, "How was my practice?"

Duan Rong looked at Shen Mizhi's shining eyes, rubbed his nose, and said, "It's passable."

Hearing this, Shen Mizhi let out an "oh," a flash of disappointment crossing her eyes. She had asked like that just now naturally hoping that Duan Rong could give her some pointers. Just like when they were both Registered Disciples, Duan Rong's few words could often hit the mark.

Seeing the dimming of Shen Mizhi's eyes, Duan Rong smiled and said, "Do you know what the problem with your sword practice is?"

"What is it?" Seeing Duan Rong ask this, Shen Mizhi raised her head again, staring at Duan Rong with flickering eyes.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Practicing is not fighting! When you practice, don't tense your body so tightly, as if you are facing a formidable enemy. Keep your mind focused and your body relaxed; only then can you feel the subtle changes in the sword moves. If you do this for a long time, you will become skillful through practice and be able to grasp the subtle, clever force in the swordsmanship! Only then, when facing an enemy, can you be fluid and connected!"

"If you are always so tense when practicing, although you are diligent, you only have a reckless force, and your progress will be very limited!"

This speech from Duan Rong left Shen Mizhi stunned there, unable to speak for a long time.

She did indeed have a fierce drive when practicing, but as Duan Rong said, she was too tense. If Duan Rong hadn't pointed it out in one word, she wouldn't have realized it herself.

Shen Mizhi chewed over Duan Rong's words carefully, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

It was truly a word that awakened the dreamer!

PS:

Recommending a friend's book: "Zhangmen Journey".

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(End of this chapter)