Chapter 191: Strength Unknown

On the peak of Nishan, white with winter, the accumulated snow covered the fallen leaves, and when one stepped on it, a rustling sound would come, which is one of the most subtle sounds of collapse in the world.

Inner courtyard disciples traveling between the five peaks could not help but walk out of the hall and look toward the mountain road.

They saw a long string of footprints starting from the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest and extending all the way to the inner courtyard immortal residence.

And beneath the footprints was the accumulated snow melted by heat, turning into a pool of clear spring water with a sizzling sound, covering the withered yellow grass leaves like amber that had not yet solidified.

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan has five great immortal halls, among which the disciples of the Wuchen Hall mainly cultivate the Dao of Qi Source.

There is a theory in the Dao of Qi Source, proposed by Elder Jiao, which is that energy is never generated autonomously, but is obtained through the conversion of work.

And what accompanies the conversion process of certain energies is an unquenchable heat...

After the winter snow in the twelfth lunar month, there were sunny days with mild warmth. Although the brilliant sunlight was not enough to drive away the chill, it could still shine so brightly that people could not look directly at it.

At this time, outer courtyard teachers Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang came through the snow to the Dao enlightenment field, gently exhaling a puff of white smoke.

Although it was not yet the New Year, and the outer courtyard Autumn Battle of the coming year was even further away, they still had to come every five days to check on the disciples' cultivation situation.

At this time, there were not so many disciples in the Dao enlightenment field.

Only Fang Jincheng, Lu Qingqiu's younger sister Lu Hanyan, and Pu Yangxing, as well as a scattering of five other disciples, were sitting cross-legged and enlightening themselves on the Dao.

This phenomenon is just like what Cao Jingsong once said to Ding Yao: when entering the courtyard, everyone thinks they will become a generation of heaven's pride.

But as the gap gradually widens, the Dao hearts of many who fall behind will gradually extinguish.

In the end, only those few who are far ahead remain, along with some fellows who are unwilling to give up.

Lu Qingqiu's younger sister Lu Hanyan had already taken the lead in gathering the third mystical light, one step faster than Pu Yangxing, and Ma Jiaoxi was very gratified.

Pu Yangxing was a student of Ding Jiaoxi, and was currently chasing hard.

As for Fang Jincheng, he was personally recruited by an inner courtyard elder and still only had five mystical lights.

"Fang Jincheng's speed seems to have slowed down?" Ding Ang said gently at the edge of the Dao enlightenment field.

Ma Zhiyuan nodded: "He delayed a year before entering the courtyard, yet so far he only has five mystical lights, and the speed is getting slower and slower, much worse than the two from last year..."

"The Lower Three Realms and the Upper Five Realms cultivate the self and enlighten the Heavenly Dao respectively; there is a world of difference between them. Some people have good bones, and the speed in the Lower Three Realms is very fast, but their enlightenment is extremely poor, and the Upper Five Realms are difficult to move in; this is not fresh news."

Ding Ang stroked his long beard gently: "It seems that Ah Xing and the Second Miss of the Lu family still have great opportunities."

Ma Zhiyuan nodded, then fell into silence, his thinking vaguely a bit dazed.

Because although they were the same as in previous years, concentrating all their energy on the comparison of the disciples' cultivation progress, there did not seem to be the same enthusiasm for tit-for-tat as in previous years.

Even when chatting about how this disciple or that disciple was doing, who was a cut above, or whose talent was obviously high, the tone was indifferent and weak, with a feeling of being unable to muster any spirit.

Thinking about it, there are two reasons.

First, there was no atmosphere of tit-for-tat among the outer courtyard disciples themselves.

At this time last year, the outer courtyard disciples were all focused on those few who were far ahead; those few were chasing each other, with friction occurring constantly, and even the inner courtyard had gazes gathering.

But this year, the focus of both the outer courtyard and inner courtyard disciples was on the inner courtyard.

Coincidentally, no matter how the focus of the inner and outer courtyards shifted, it actually ultimately fell on the same person.

The second reason comes from themselves; to put it bluntly, the struggle between the teachers also had no gunpowder smell.

Because in previous years, among these outer courtyard teachers, there was a fatty who, because his foundation was extremely poor, would become the object of everyone's ridicule every year.

But starting from last year, this object of ridicule disappeared, and instead, it turned into a huge chest that was bulging to the point of bursting.

"I heard from a few inner courtyard disciples that Ding Yao has broken through his realm again."

Ding Ang nodded: "Hmm, I heard. He spent half a month breaking through to the Upper Realm of Profound Understanding this time, which exceeded many people's expectations."

Ma Zhiyuan pursed his lips: "I really don't know if it's fast or slow."

Fast and slow are actually not absolute concepts in the field of cultivation, but are relative.

Ding Yao spent a year reaching the Upper Realm of Profound Understanding, which is actually already considered god-like speed.

You must know that Pan Bin, who was a year earlier than him, and Liu Qichen, who was two years earlier than him, are still only in the same Upper Realm of Profound Understanding.

And slow refers to the process of his breakthrough.

To break through a minor realm, he actually spent a full half month; this speed is almost not even comparable to outer courtyard disciples, otherwise it would not have triggered a large-scale discussion about "should not practice body refinement."

A few days ago, the inner and outer courtyards even held a lecture hall for this reason, and these outer courtyard teachers all went to participate.

What was said in the lecture hall was not to allow students with extremely high talent to practice body refinement.

But just today, the discussion about "should not practice body refinement" suddenly decreased; the reason seems to be the evaluation of Ding Yao after his breakthrough by those few Hall Master candidate personal disciples.

Ma Zhiyuan looked at Lu Qingqiu, who was protecting her younger sister, at this time; she was talking about something with several sisters, Lou Siyi, Sun Zhiqiao, and others, and her gaze occasionally glanced toward the outer courtyard.

"They said Ding Yao's aura after breaking through his realm was very strong."

"Yes, they also said that the accumulated snow was melted, I don't know if it's true or false."

"But combat power cannot be judged solely by aura, right? Like the five Hall Masters of the inner courtyard, there is almost no aura around their bodies."

"Aura indeed cannot be considered a standard for combat power. If he doesn't make a move, perhaps no one will know what level he has reached..."

Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang spoke one after another, then looked up at the white sky.

And at this time, others often mentioned a few words about this protracted breakthrough.

Even some senior sisters and junior sisters in the academy were very eager to try this heat.

Breaking through a minor realm is not a big deal; let alone in the seven great immortal sects, even in those bottom-tier mountain manors, it would not attract so much attention.

Ultimately, it is because everyone cannot judge Ding Yao's combat power at this time.

In the past cultivation world, everyone judged combat power basically by the height of the realm, but no one can be sure what level Ding Yao, who could slash and retreat a Soldier King and kill a Profound Demon in the Middle Realm of Profound Understanding, is at.

At this time, Ding Yao, after breaking through his realm, was in a deep sleep of darkness.

This breakthrough of a minor realm was indeed not easy, especially when charging to the end, that intense sense of restriction was like being wrapped in a layer of viscous substance, bringing a suffocating feeling that could not be shaken off.

That feeling, although it was just a false thought and not true suffocation, the panic it brought was the same.

And at the moment after the breakthrough, exhaustion surged like a tide, making his five senses less keen.

During this time, a figure wearing loose clothing drifted over and stood in his room for a long time, tinkering here and tinkering there, and then returned everything to its original state, not even changing the position of the dust.

Finally, he pinched his fingers to calculate and threw three charcoal sticks allowed by the fixed number into the furnace that was about to burn out.

Then he pointed gently, and the flames rose.

Ding Yao slept as if he were dead, completely unaware, only kicking off the quilt when the temperature in the Zen room gradually rose.

Subsequently, this loose figure disappeared quietly from the room, without causing any wind, nor leaving any traces on the snow.

The sound sleep lasted until noon the next day. At this time, the winter snow of the twelfth lunar month had stopped, and the snow water melted by the sunlight at noon dripped from the eaves, but was frozen into hanging icicles bit by bit in the afternoon.

After waking up, Ding Yao was a bit dazed, and after being dazed for a long time, he got up and walked toward the teacher's courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

"Done?"

"Hmm, done."

The awakened Ding Yao came to Cao Jingsong's courtyard facing the noon sun.

Because he sweated a lot while breaking through his realm, his immortal robe had long been soaked, and at this time Ding Yao had changed into a scholar's robe, draped with a scholar's cloak on the outside, his aura restrained, unable to see the depth.

Cao Jingsong was brewing tea while sizing up Ding Yao, finally sitting on the soft cushion of the stone stool, his expression slightly dazed.

During the few days Ding Yao was sleeping, there were various opinions in the outer courtyard.

Some said he melted the accumulated snow in the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest after breaking through his realm, others said he made the inner courtyard female disciples' eyes full of spring water so they couldn't sleep at night, and some even said his clothes were burned through directly, and he went back bare-assed.

Of course, whether the bare-assed part was because it was burned through or because it was too lewd, this point is still in doubt.

After all, within the Nine Provinces, accents are all different.

The most exaggerated way of saying it was that they wished to describe him as if he would ascend to the Immortal Realm with one stomp.

But looking at it now, Cao Jingsong felt that the feeling Ding Yao gave him at this time was not as exaggerated as the rumors.

"Try releasing your aura."

Ding Yao looked at him and said with a hint of fatigue: "Release what, it's tiring."

Cao Jingsong instantly put on a serious expression: "If I tell you to release it, release it!"

"How much money can releasing aura give?"

"I really recruited an ancestor!"

Cao Jingsong's beard trembled with anger, and then he took out his money bag and took out a piece of silver that was about right.

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin pushed the door and entered at this time; they had actually been to Ding Yao's courtyard to see Ding Yao once last night, but Ding Yao was sleeping at that time, so they didn't disturb him, and only rushed over after getting the news at this time.

Pushing the door, they saw the scene of Cao Jingsong taking out silver to give to Ding Yao, and couldn't help but hiss.

This is robbing after just breaking through the realm and relying on increased strength? Filial piety!

Ding Yao accepted the silver at this time and looked up to see Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu: "Senior Brother and Ding Shijie?"

Cao Jingsong looked at them: "You came just in time, sit."

Ban Yangshu waved his hand: "No, I remembered I have some things to do..."

Wen Zhengxin also responded with a shallow smile: "It seems I still have tea water boiling in my Zen room..."

"?"

Cao Jingsong only then knew they had misunderstood, and hurriedly said it was not robbery, but that it cost silver to see Ding Yao release his aura.

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin were sitting on the stone stool at this time, thinking to themselves, what is the difference between this and robbery.

Subsequently, Ding Yao began to open the acupuncture points around his body, guiding the ubiquitous Heavenly Dao spiritual energy into his body.

Until the spiritual energy was full, Ding Yao clenched his fist gently and began to release his aura, his aura gradually climbing.

Before long, a whistling wind had gathered around his body, carrying a scorching aura that instantly spread into the courtyard, shaking the osmanthus tree in the Zen room until it rattled.

At this time, Ding Yao could already feel more surging energy flowing around his body, especially after his essence, energy, and spirit were fully nourished, he had a heroic feeling of hating the sky for having no handle and hating the earth for having no ring.

However, the meridians of his arms were not yet fully cleared, and the energy flowing here would cause a burst of soreness.

In addition, he discovered that the improvement of his realm had another influence on him, which came from his physical body.

Because just now, as the spiritual energy in Ding Yao's body continuously filled up, the spiritual energy carried out through the shattered spiritual essence ignited the spiritual fire under the slight movement of his spiritual sense.

At this time, the powerful sense of peace brought by the sixteenth Dim Illumination seemed to have disappeared...

In addition, there was another point: when his spiritual sense looked inward, he discovered that his spiritual essence was shattered even more severely.

Cao Jingsong called him to stop at this time.

The crossing of a minor realm actually does not allow a cultivator to possess more wonders, and the changes caused are only the improvement of spiritual energy and spiritual sense, finally turning into a leap in combat power.

So just watching him operate his aura, it was still impossible to judge Ding Yao's current combat power.

"Half a month, Ding Yao, do you know that even students with less talent than you have never used such a long time."

Cao Jingsong couldn't help but sigh.

Although Ding Yao was his wicked disciple, he had never worried about his cultivation; except for the guidance he once gave this wicked disciple when he was comprehending the Little Little Tian Shu, he had never asked about other things regarding Dao enlightenment and charging the realm.

This was not because Cao Jingsong didn't care about him, but because the talent gap between them was there, and Cao Jingsong didn't want to lead him astray with his own shallow understanding of the Heavenly Dao.

It was precisely because of this that he had never asked about Ding Yao's indulgence in body refinement.

It was only until this breakthrough to the Realm of Profound Understanding, when Ding Yao spent more time than others, that it aroused his worry.

Body refinement is truly an act that wastes cultivation talent, and it really will offset a cultivator's closeness to the Heavenly Dao.

After hearing this, Ding Yao picked up his teacup: "I know what the teacher means; physical strength does indeed hinder the speed of my breakthrough, but combat power has always been my pursuit, so I might continue to practice body refinement."

Cao Jingsong pursed his lips: "This time it was just the crossing of a minor realm, and it was already so difficult; are you really not afraid that you will finally be unable to successfully merge with the Dao?"

"Man proposes, God disposes; anyway, I have already cultivated to this point, it's nothing more than adding flour if there's too much water, and adding water if there's too much flour. And I have always felt that as long as I can grasp the balance between the physical body and the spiritual sense, this cultivation method of mine is not necessarily wrong."

"This old man's talent is not as good as you, this wicked disciple, and I can't give you too much advice, but you still need to be cautious about practicing body refinement."

"Don't worry, I will stop when I realize something is wrong."

Ding Yao put down his teacup and whispered.

After breaking through two realms overnight in Yuyang County, his spiritual essence shattered; logically speaking, he should have been unable to continue cultivation.

But now that he could cultivate to this point, it was like picking it up for free for Ding Yao.

Cultivation is about letting nature take its course; since it is already like this, he felt that continuing to cultivate in this way was also a kind of letting nature take its course.

However, just as Cao Jingsong said, the Realm of Profound Understanding is only the first step; what he had to face next was how to break through to enter the Realm of Merging with the Dao.

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin were both cultivators of the Realm of Merging with the Dao, and seeing that Ding Yao had reached this step, they shared their own experience of merging with the Dao.

The Realm of Profound Understanding focuses on observing the Heavenly Dao, while the Realm of Merging with the Dao is to merge the observed Dao into one's own body.

Like in the five halls of the inner courtyard, some focus on the Dao of Force Method, where a move is like a mountain attacking, with unparalleled energy; some focus on the Dao of Four Symbols, with thunder methods surging, using wind as a shield; there are also the Dao of Light and Dark, the Dao of Flower Blooming, and the Dao of Flowing Water, all different, corresponding to the myriad Great Daos.

And the opportunity for the Realm of Merging with the Dao lies in fixing the Dao.

Some cultivators fix the Dao on mountains and rivers, some fix the Dao on the mysterious sea, and some fix the Dao on the stars.

It is said that the broader the fixed Dao, the more immeasurable the cultivation.

However, the fixed Dao did not come from subjective choice, but from the visualization thoughts that emerged from the depths of the cultivator's heart when breaking through from the Realm of Profound Understanding to the Realm of Merging with the Dao, originating from the life pattern, or from thoughts that one cannot forget.

And when the cultivator finds the opportunity to fix the Dao, they can enter the Realm of Merging with the Dao.

Subsequently, they can mainly cultivate force methods, mainly cultivate light and dark, mainly cultivate heavenly secrets, using the myriad methods of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan as support to increase combat power, while simultaneously letting the realm slowly improve.

In this realm, as the practitioner's understanding of the Heavenly Dao deepens, the feedback obtained from the Heavenly Dao will become increasingly intense.

So what Ding Yao needs to do now is to first stabilize his current realm, continue to observe the Dao, and then comprehend heavenly secrets, asking his heart and asking his fate.

Wen Zhengxin said bluntly that the Dao she fixed was the Zizai Mountain of the inner courtyard.

When she merged with the Dao, it was at the time of competing with He Lingxiu, and that Zizai Mountain in the inner courtyard was the visualization in her heart.

Ding Yao looked up at this time, thinking to himself, it's over, it won't be fixed on snowy white little feet, right? He pondered for a long time and then looked at Ban Yangshu: "What is the Dao that Senior Brother Ban fixed?"

Ban Yangshu put down his teacup gently: "A wall."

"Isn't it said that the bigger the better?"

"Actually, in my opinion, fixing the Dao may not necessarily have any influence on your future cultivation path. At least I don't have this feeling, so I think the Realm of Merging with the Dao still depends on the understanding of the Heavenly Dao; fixing the Dao is just a process, and no one talks about this kind of thing on weekdays."

Cao Jingsong couldn't help but speak at this time: "Not necessarily."

Ban Yangshu raised his head upon hearing this: "?"

"What you students see is different from us teachers. As far as I know, there are those in the inner courtyard whose cultivation has advanced rapidly because of fixing the Dao; that Chai Ze is one of them."

Cao Jingsong placed his hands on his knees: "For thousands of years, the seven great immortal sects and thousand-year noble families have been studying the path of seeking immortality. Regarding the matter of fixing the Dao, in our view, it may be irrelevant, but they may have already discovered the mystery within, just not telling others."

Ding Yao clicked his tongue twice after hearing this: "Is it bloodline monopoly again?"

"That's not wrong to say, because besides Chai Ze, He Lingxiu and You Buyu are actually like this."

"Chai family...?"

Cao Jingsong nodded: "The noble family where Hall Master Chai Hu of the Longevity Hall is located; Chai Ze is the direct descendant of the Chai family's main line."

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin frowned: "So there is such a thing..."

"The resources of the cultivation world are like the tax offerings of the Qingyun world; they have never been equal. Even if you enter an immortal sect, the difference brought by your foundation and background is very large. There are some things that are not that you can't reach even if you risk your life, but that you might not even be able to know about even if you risk your life; this is reality."

Ding Yao was silent for a long while before saying: "Then what is best to fix the Dao on? Does the teacher have any news to reveal?"

Cao Jingsong shook his head: "I don't know, but as long as you don't fix the Dao on silver, I think it's quite good."

Wen Zhengxin turned his head at this time: "Don't say that, I think Ji Shidi is very likely to fix the Dao on silver."

Ban Yangshu expressed deep agreement: "Asking the heart to attain the Dao, sometimes a person's visualization represents the desire in their heart..."

Ding Yao smiled upon hearing this: "Then it seems that if the Rulong Long Xiandi merges with the Dao, I'm afraid he will fix it on his buttocks."

"Ji Shidi's words are very true."

"By the way, speaking of Rulong, why didn't he come? It's been a long time since I saw his money bag, I miss it quite a bit."

Ding Yao raised a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Could it be that he couldn't break through his realm and is in hard seclusion?"

Ban Yangshu looked at him sideways: "He seems to have found a Dao companion recently."

Wen Zhengxin nodded: "After he came back, he went into seclusion for three... cultivation is too tiring, round buttocks with tails are not worth looking at, so he spends all day wandering in the outer courtyard."

"?"

Just as they were talking, Cao Jingsong's courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open.

Rulong Long Xiandi entered gracefully, his face glowing, as if bathed in a spring breeze: "Brother Ding, you finally broke through your realm!"

Ding Yao couldn't help but narrow his eyes, feeling very dissatisfied with his behavior of indulging in romance while he was struggling to break through his realm, and decided to punish his money bag, so his expression was quite unkind.

Rulong Long Xiandi was also a bit sharp, feeling that the position two inches below his heart where he kept his money bag suddenly felt a bit chilly, and immediately opened his mouth to change the topic, talking about the woman he met today.

Something about reciting poems and having fun together, walking arm in arm, showing off to everyone.

Rulong Long Xiandi looked at Ding Yao after finishing: "Brother Ding, in half a month it will be New Year's Day. At that time, there will definitely be a lantern festival in Shengjing City again. Do you want to call a few fiancées to walk arm in arm with us?"

Ding Yao: "Heh."

Rulong Long Xiandi restrained his smile, finding that the chill two inches below his heart had not decreased at all, and even vaguely worsened a bit, immediately becoming vigilant, not knowing what had stimulated the fierce bandit in front of him.

Actually, cultivators of the same age as Ding Yao, especially some who had no hope of breaking through their realm, had all found Dao companions recently.

Earlier when he came down from the inner courtyard, he saw someone going to sneak into the small woods.

Everyone said he had many fiancées, but in the end, wasn't he still a lonely person?

Ding Yao patted his robe and got up, looking at the snow reflecting the sunlight: "Let's go, let's go down the mountain."

Cao Jingsong got up at this time, his chest swelling rapidly as if inflated: "I'll go with you."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going down the mountain, I'm just going to the Dao enlightenment field to walk around. I haven't been there for several days, I don't know if Ma Jiaoxi and Ding Jiaoxi miss me, hahaha."

Ding Yao couldn't help but show a grinning expression, thinking to himself that Ma Jiaoxi and Ding Jiaoxi were truly unlucky.

Fixing the Dao...

He muttered to himself, walked out of the courtyard gate, and walked toward the foot of the mountain.

During this time, the disciples on the Dao enlightenment field, the two teachers Ma and Ding, as well as countless gazes from the outer courtyard, looked over, looking at Ding Yao who had appeared for the first time after being in seclusion for a long time.

(Seeking monthly tickets, in addition, the list of winners will be announced in the next chapter!)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 192 =====