Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteenth: Perceiving the Way of Heaven

Waiting for Li Yan's enlightenment to finish, Li Yan discovered that his body was covered in black mud and even thought Ye Yun had thrown him into a mud pit, ready to beat Ye Yun; fortunately, Ye Yun noticed quickly and hurriedly said, "Calm down, the black mud on you is the result of your insight mantra, commonly called bone‑changing and marrow‑cleansing; it's a good thing, not a bad thing, and certainly not that I threw you into a mud pit."

Watching Ye Yun's frantic explanation made Li Yan laugh until it hurt; this look of Ye Yun was just too adorable. Hold on—am I really that scary? He only got scared because I approached, but is it really that much? Or is he still stuck in the terror of being embraced by me?

A moment later, Li Yan went up and grabbed Ye Yun in a hug; this time the embrace wasn't to bully Ye Yun, but because he feared Ye Yun would remain terrified of his embrace, so he held Ye Yun extremely gently.

Alright, the real truth is that Li Yan wanted to share a bit of his smelly mud with Ye Yun; otherwise, when they later went to the Sun Family Mansion, he'd be covered in mud while Ye Yun would be perfectly clean, which wouldn't be nice.

And Ye Yun was left bewildered by this sudden, unexpected hug.

Why hug me again? That's a bit sudden—has this woman become addicted to hugging? Or does she find being held comfortable?

A moment later Ye Yun finally realized his whole body was covered in mud, understanding Li Yan's true intention; even though he knew Li Yan was only doing it to mess with him, Ye Yun's face still flushed embarrassingly, and the longer the hug lasted, the redder it became.

After the commotion, the two returned to the Sun Family Mansion to freshen up; during the wash, Ye Yun deliberately released one of his own split spirits and embraced it himself.

"It really feels comfortable; no wonder that girl likes hugging me so much. So this is what hugging someone feels like—pretty good."

Goodness, Ye Yun this kid actually used his own split body to experience what it's like to hug someone else; if Li Yan found out, she'd laugh him to death. Just thinking about it is embarrassing—hugging oneself, what kind of thing is that?

Immortals have a different way of playing; before it was mortals who played, now it should be gods who play. Yet this self‑hug feeling can only be truly experienced by cultivators; as for mortals, they should just hug their partners or family—it's probably about the same.

While bathing, Ye Yun kept recalling Li Yan's appearance at the moment of her sudden insight—she was not only beautiful but also exuded a sacred, untouchable aura, especially the flash of golden light that emanated from Li Yan's body.

Just as he was reminiscing about Li Yan's recent look, Ye Yun's Dao Heart stirred once more.

"Could it be another insight? But I haven't done anything—no seal was broken, so it can't be a realm upgrade, and I haven't recently comprehended any formation either?"

This sudden insight truly caught Ye Yun off guard—he did nothing yet still perceived it? If he had to attribute it to something, it would only be thinking about Li Yan's appearance. That can trigger an insight? If I think about it every day, wouldn't I become invincible!!!

Immediately, Ye Yun sat cross‑legged, using his Dao Heart to sense this sudden insight, but with his Dao Heart he could sense nothing at all—could he be sensing it wrong?

Ye Yun was a bit puzzled; if his own strength had increased, he should be able to feel it, so why couldn't he? Then Ye Yun seemed to recall something, his eyes flashing with surprise—could it be… an insight into the Way of Heaven?

He instantly used his Dao Heart to perceive the Way of Heaven; indeed it was the Way of Heaven—he had actually grasped a sliver of it. Could it be because of the golden light radiating from Li Yan's body?

Ah, I should have realized earlier—Li Yan's cultivation and self‑refining mantra uses her own, and the source of that mantra is the Great Way of Heaven and Earth, which is the heavens, the earth, and the laws. I'm so stupid.

Then Ye Yun poured all his spiritual energy into that sliver of the Way of Heaven. Though it was only a tiny flash of insight, what it contained was truly beyond ordinary imagination; it held not only the laws but also the process of the heavens and earth's self‑circulating cycle. One must know that if the secret of this self‑turning cycle were cracked, it would be a cultivation that never ceases, and the gains would be unimaginable.

These gains made Ye Yun unable to suppress his excitement; after the insight, he leapt up and tried to decipher the entire process from the known operation. Without hesitation, Ye Yun immediately circulated his surrounding spiritual energy, shaping it into the form of heaven and earth for fusion and rotation, but unfortunately, before reaching even one‑fifth of the cycle, the spiritual aura dissipated.

"Seems it's still not possible; indeed, the technique of the heavens and earth's self‑circulating cycle isn't something you can crack casually. But this makes me, a Daoist, even more curious—I must figure this out; it's my only remaining pride."

Although I can't make the spiritual aura self‑circulate, this harvest is already huge; I didn't expect that just watching the Way of Heaven's illusion for a while would grant me insight. If I could keep watching, wouldn't I be able to constantly perceive the Way of Heaven?

I have to admit this guy's thinking isn't great, but it's limited to imagination. If the Great Way of Heaven and Earth were so easy to comprehend, everyone could grasp it, and the world would be filled with its illusion everywhere.

After a brief wash, Ye Yun began planning tomorrow's cultivation. He actually wanted to find a few more gifted individuals, but such people aren't everywhere, so they're hard to locate. Luckily he ran into Li Yan, a top‑tier talent; otherwise, relying solely on Liu Cheng would be no different from facing other worlds alone.

But at this moment Liu Cheng began to feel jealous.

"Master, you're being too biased! I'm your disciple, yet you take your own disciple—still in the great spiritual array—and bring a beauty for a private session. You've forgotten your disciple because of the beauty."

Goodness, a man in his fifties is still getting jealous—are cultivators all this childlike at heart?

But Liu Cheng was only speaking casually; Ye Yun had already explained the specifics to him. After all, he's his own disciple, so he must consider his feelings. Moreover, Liu Cheng, to avoid embarrassing Ye Yun, has been training day and night without rest; these past few days he's been seriously cultivating at the center of the great array.

As for Sun Palace and Sun Liwen, although they are mortal bodies, they are bound to Ye Yun and know his identity, so he simply informed them and asked them to keep an eye out for gifted individuals. The current main tasks remain expanding the team and strengthening power, trying to elevate Li Yan's realm to a demigod before envoys from other worlds arrive in this realm.