Chapter 369: What is Missing? (Second update, New Year bonus update)

"……Still, it won't work?"

In an ice cave a thousand meters underground, Ren Yidao, sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the Mei Mu barrier shrouding him from above.

His pupils were slightly unfocused; he was not staring at any particular spot, but rather looking into an unknown void.

Since that day he sought help from Mei and asked her to guard him, quite some time had already passed.

Although the sky could not be seen from deep underground, about seven days and nights had passed.

Ren Yidao still had not broken through.

Or rather, he had not broken through the great barrier of Void Refining in one go as he had anticipated.

The first six days had gone very smoothly; he had successfully broken through the successive barriers, and both his Dao Technique and physical body had reached the Transformation Spirit Peak.

And then……

He hit a bottleneck, unable to advance even half a step further.

Still missing one step.

No.

Only missing half a step!

"Where is it missing?"

It was quite miraculous.

Ren Yidao had actually encountered a bottleneck.

Having cultivated for over a hundred years, this was the first time he had encountered a barrier he could not break through.

And it was the kind where he had no clue, could see not a shred of hope, and only felt clearly that he was missing something, yet did not know specifically what was missing.

"Could it be that my limit is right here?"

The path of cultivation is often this cruel.

Some people charge forward with great momentum in the first half of their lives, invincible, only to one day make no further progress, stuck on a single barrier for a lifetime, forced to watch those who were once inferior to them gradually surpass them……

It is not as if such things have never happened; in fact, this is the norm for cultivators.

The one who laughs the earliest is not necessarily the final victor; the one who can laugh last is the winner.

Is this possible?

Ren Yidao asked himself, am I such a pathetic wretch?

Very quickly, he arrived at the answer.

"This is impossible."

It was not that Ren Yidao was blindly arrogant, but that he had a very clear understanding of his own natural talent.

In Dao Technique, the bell rang ten times.

In bloodline, Blood Flame Ten Thousand Feet.

With such talent, you are telling me I will be stuck at the Transformation Spirit Peak for a lifetime?

Don't be ridiculous.

Let alone Ren Yidao not believing it himself, there is simply no one in this world who would believe it.

To put it hyperbolically, with his aptitude, even if he found a place to lie down for a thousand years and did nothing, he would slowly reach a breakthrough without any obstacles.

Not to mention that he had never been lax in his cultivation, and his comprehension was also peerless.

Logically speaking, having accumulated for so long and made all kinds of preparations, he should have broken through to Void Refining as a matter of course.

How could it be……

Just as Ren Yidao's thoughts were about to enter a dead loop of entanglement once again, he raised his hand and gave himself a slap, neither light nor heavy.

Slap!

"Hoo…… Calm down, my mindset is a bit off."

The smooth sailing along the path of cultivation had caused Ren Yidao to lose himself somewhat, and the obstacle he had suddenly encountered almost led him into a dead end.

But the difficulty before him was real; it could not be ignored, and avoidance could not solve any problems.

"Cannot be impatient."

"Do you want to become a brainless person like Jing Yueqin!"

"I do not!"

Good, he was calm.

After gaining a moment of calm by slandering Peak Master Jing, Ren Yidao began to seriously analyze where exactly he had gone wrong.

After thinking for a while and finding no errors or omissions, he simply combed through it from the beginning, organizing all the knowledge he possessed regarding the Void Refining Realm.

From the very beginning of Qi Refining to Transformation Spirit, everything a cultivator seeks is from the outside in.

The three barriers of the Human Realm—Qi Refining, Solidifying Foundation, and Golden Core—are about establishing, about going from nothing to something.

Through step-by-step understanding and learning of the outside world, they rely on the Spirit Qi of the outside world to strengthen themselves and rely on perceiving Heaven and Earth to raise their realm.

Transforming the void objects of the outside world into one's own strength.

This is a process of going from void to reality.

And after stepping into the Earth Realm, the situation is different; merely seeking from the outside world is no longer enough, and one needs to change their way of thinking.

Seek within oneself.

The three barriers of the Earth Realm also require resources and accumulation, but what is more important lies in one word—comprehension.

The Earth Realm emphasizes comprehension; if one can have a sudden enlightenment, all barriers will be broken, and cultivation will advance greatly.

But if one cannot comprehend, they will be trapped at the starting point for the rest of their life, unable to advance an inch.

One needs to…… recognize one's true nature!

The three barriers of the Earth Realm: Dharma Aspect, Transformation Spirit, and Void Refining.

Dharma Aspect Realm: first perceive the true self, transform it into a Dharma Aspect, and manifest it externally.

Spirit Transformation Realm: master the true self and transform the true self into a spirit.

Void Refining Realm: comprehend the true self, refine the real into the void, and recreate the true self.

When everything can be transformed into void, and when one truly recognizes oneself, that is the moment to break open the gate of the Heaven Realm.

Especially the final Void Refining Realm, which requires destroying the high tower already built within oneself, and then rebuilding it in another way.

It can be said that this is a process of "no destruction, no construction."

In fact, it is not just Void Refining; the entire three stages of the Earth Realm are a complete process of reconstruction, involving structuring, deepening, and finally re-recognizing the self.

Ren Yidao considered himself to have a clear understanding of himself, and he indeed had not encountered any problems in the previous two stages.

Yet, this final Void Refining was exactly what trapped him.

What is void? What is real? And how should void and real be defined?

"Wait, I remember Mei Jie seemed to have said..."

At this moment, Ren Yidao suddenly recalled the instructions Mei gave him before he went into seclusion:

"Since you say you want to break through to Void Refining, I won't stop you, but you must pay attention to one thing."

"The barrier from Spirit Transformation to Void Refining will be different from all the obstacles you have encountered in the past."

"You may have astonishing talent, but at this stage, aptitude is no longer the root that determines everything."

"You need 'enlightenment'."

"Most importantly, you must recognize yourself."

"Who, exactly, are you?"

At that time, Ren Yidao did not pay attention, thinking she did not understand him, so he just gave a few perfunctory replies and did not take it to heart.

But looking at it now, the one who truly did not understand was himself.

"It is clear that someone had already reminded me..."

Silently expressing gratitude in his heart for Mei's hint, Ren Yidao, having figured out which step he was missing, closed his eyes.

"However, this really is a question full of philosophy."

Who am I?

After sitting quietly for a long time, Ren Yidao's originally restless mind became as calm as water.

He began to evaluate himself from the perspective of an outsider:

"Yes, I am the good brother of the Emperor of the Beigan Dynasty, an ambitious person preparing to wreak havoc on the Eastern Wasteland Royal Court with the Prince of the Chu Kingdom, and the convenient younger brother of the Demon Emperor."

"To the sect, I am the contemporary world-walker of the Divine Path Sect, a disciple of Luoyue Peak, and a good fox guarding the sect in secret."

"To the demons, I am a white fox with ancestral bloodline return in the mountains, the Fox Immortal worshipped in Xianhu Temple, and the new Demon Race Crown Prince in Demon Emperor City."

"To humans, I am a disciple, a junior brother, a senior brother, a master, a friend, a father, and the god in the mouths of believers."

"I am someone who is good at talking to people, and also someone who enjoys solitude."

"I am a fun-seeker who enjoys chaos, and also an ordinary person who does not wish to see the world filled with misery."

"I am a heartless person, and also a sentimental person."

"I..."

His thoughts paused for a moment; Ren Yidao, with his eyes closed, had the corners of his mouth slightly raised as he whispered:

"I am Ren Yidao."

Hum—

When Ren Yidao finished saying the last sentence in his heart, his previously motionless cultivation base surged violently.

The path was correct.

He successfully stepped into Void Refining!

But just when Ren Yidao thought it was over, that growing cultivation base stopped once again.

Still a little bit short.

Before, he was half a step away from entering, and now, only half a step remained uncrossed.

There was only the final layer of window paper left to pierce before reaching Void Refining.

Yet that single layer of paper felt like a natural chasm, blocking him from the true Void Refining.

"This is..."

Ren Yidao pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"I feel like I've forgotten some important part?"

"What exactly is it?"

Now that he was at the half-step Void Refining stage, his overall strength would not be inferior to a true Void Refining expert; in fact, it was already enough.

But Ren Yidao was not willing to give up halfway like this.

Since he had already reached this step, he might as well make one final push to break through.

Because the path had been found, Ren Yidao was no longer impatient; instead, he felt the differences between Void Refining and the past while searching for what exactly had been left out.

Suddenly, Ren Yidao thought of a detail he had almost missed, and his eyes widened slightly.

"The 'Ten Thousand Daos Fusion Art', the final missing piece, is actually this?"

That old thief, the State Preceptor, had no good intentions in making me practice this.

Although the State Preceptor's true goal might not necessarily have been to trap Ren Yidao in Spirit Transformation, this technique was indeed the culprit that kept Ren Yidao trapped before the barrier.

He finally realized the essence of this art—splitting the true self.

The part of himself he had perceived earlier was the true self's nature.

Splitting the true self and turning it into clones.

It was also because Ren Yidao had already practiced the first layer before; even though it was not perfected, his true self had already been divided, with only the final part left to be severed.

Ren Yidao felt somewhat speechless, not knowing what to say.

After going around in such a big circle, the problem actually lay here?

"Really, it almost made me lose my self-confidence."

The method of resolution is also very simple: one only needs to practice the first layer of the Body Fusion Art to perfection.

When the art is completed, that is the moment to break through the barrier!

"..."

Should he do it?

"Although Huang Huang advised me to prepare for a while longer, since I've already reached this point, how could there be any reason to stop?"

Ren Yidao opened his eyes, tilted his head back, and gave Mei Mu an embarrassed smile.

"Mei Jie, are you there?"

Rustle...

Mei's face emerged from the wooden wall; she looked at Ren Yidao, her eyes filled with both amazement and regret.

Amazement at his exceptional talent, having broken through several barriers in succession to reach Transformation Spirit Peak.

Although he had previously jokingly called himself an old man of over a hundred years, at his age, by the standards of the Demon Race, he was actually still very young.

Regret that he was trapped at the final step, stopping before Void Refinement.

A miracle did not happen after all, and he too was trapped before this barrier.

The Void Refinement barrier involves encountering a Heart Demon, refining the heart with one's true self.

On this point, even the most stunning prodigy cannot be an exception.

"Are you finished? Then I will withdraw the barrier..."

Mei did not mention the Void Refinement Heart Demon, not wanting to irritate his already wounded heart at this moment.

But Ren Yidao shook his head, his smile showing not a shred of disappointment, but instead full of confidence.

"No, I am still one step away; please trouble yourself to hold on a little longer, Mei Jie..."

He said:

"I want to take a gamble."

What filled his eyes was not the despair of a trapped beast driven to a dead end, but a strong self-confidence in the firm belief that he would succeed.

Mei nodded, not refusing, and was just about to disappear again when she heard Ren Yidao speak:

"In addition, can you give me a wooden sword infused with Sword Intent?"

"The wooden sword can be of ordinary material; as for the Sword Intent... at a level that won't kill me directly."

What kind of request is this?

Mei did not know what he wanted this for, but she did not ask, simply flicking her hand to thrust a wooden sword in front of him.

"Many thanks, Mei Jie."

Then, under Mei's gaze, Ren Yidao tremblingly pulled out the wooden sword.

The wooden sword was very light, but his movements were so difficult.

Today is the seventh day of the breakthrough; although Ren Yidao broke through many barriers, in order not to let the outside world discover him, he asked Mei to isolate the Spirit Qi inside and out, so everything he consumed before was his own foundation.

By this time, he himself was already nearing exhaustion; a pair of large hands that were once able to move mountains could not even hold a common wooden sword steady at this moment.

Although his body was weak to the extreme, no fatigue or weakness could be seen on Ren Yidao's face; his spirit was highly excited.

He held the sword with both hands and, according to the description in the art, aimed the tip of the sword at his own chest.

Whoosh...

"The first layer, the final step, self-severing one's own body, right?"

Is this suicide?

Perhaps?

Who knows.

"Heh, hahaha!"

Ren Yidao laughed twice, casting all those concerns to the back of his mind.

The path of cultivation is full of hardships.

Either live, or... die!

"Come on, I want to see..."

Madness flickered in his eyes, and without a moment's hesitation, he thrust it hard into his own chest!

"What exactly you can sever!"

Crack!!!

The wooden sword shattered the moment it touched Ren Yidao, completely unable to break his defense, but the Sword Intent contained within could not be resisted, directly piercing through his body.

"Cough!"

Ren Yidao spat out a mouthful of blood, which turned into a blood sword and sank into the ground, leaving a hole of unknown depth.

Mei's Sword Intent did not have the intention to deliberately hurt him, but it was, after all, Heaven Realm Sword Intent, and the pure Sword Intent of a Sword Spirit Body at that.

The violent Sword Intent easily cut his flesh, and as it rampaged through his body, it almost destroyed his internal organs.

"Ha!"

Now his body was severely injured and in urgent need of treatment, but Ren Yidao did not care; he could not be bothered with that.

He just stared blankly in front of him, his eyes wide open.

"This..."

Ren Yidao saw someone who was both familiar and yet very strange.

Someone who could not possibly appear here.

That was a young man who looked somewhat scholarly, with a tall and slender build, yet he lacked muscle, his skin was an unhealthy pale, and he looked a bit frail as if he could be blown over by the wind.

The young man and the youth, the two of them had very similar faces.

This was natural.

Because that was his past self.

A miserable man who had just earned money but had not yet had the chance to enjoy it, a hero who died to save two children.

An ordinary mortal living in a world without Dharma Power.

He was...

The past life of Ren Yidao.