Chapter 289: The Realm of Mastery

Chen Mo sat cross-legged beneath a palace; Daoist techniques manifested around his body, and thousands of profound mysteries emerged in their wake.

Ever since he handed over the item entrusted to him by Fengdu Niangniang to her avatar, Chen Mo had come to this palace to await the lecture from the avatar of the Xuanhuang Supreme.

As of today, he had been listening to the lecture here for half a month.

The Qi within his body was condensed to its limit, causing the manifestations of anomalies to reach the brink of a breakthrough.

Chen Mo was only one step away from truly breaking through to the Mastery Realm.

Among the many Martial Artists present, no one cared about this anomaly.

For them, a Martial Artist breaking through while listening to a Supreme's lecture was truly not a very rare occurrence.

After all, the Martial Artists who came here to listen to the lectures were of top-tier aptitude and comprehension, and people broke through quite often.

Yin-Yang Law appeared on Chen Mo's skin, and a Taiji Diagram manifested; Yin and Yang intertwined, seemingly transforming into a dragon and tiger battling with techniques.

And within his Small World, the power of the Yin-Yang Law collided even more fiercely.

If a Martial Artist wishes to comprehend the Heavenly Law, they must contemplate the Origin Law; only by grasping and understanding the Origin Law are they qualified to modify the laws of Heaven and Earth.

If an opponent has not reached the same realm, then no matter how many low-realm Martial Artists come, unless they form a grand array, it is difficult to cause them effective harm.

In the Zhidhang Third Heaven, the Secret Skills created by the Martial Artists themselves are gradually perfected, and their grasp and understanding of their own laws become increasingly proficient.

This is truly grasping the Heaven and Earth Power; Martial Artists in the True One Realm have almost no power to resist when facing a Mastery expert.

But just because it is difficult to achieve does not mean it cannot be done.

As thoughts twist, Yin and Yang change, sealing Heaven and Earth, isolating all phenomena; with a single thought, Yin and Yang shift.

Accumulated over infinite years, the Heavenly Dao understood today is absolutely different from how Heaven and Earth were at the very beginning.

The reason is simple: from ancient times to the present, the number of Martial Artists who can reach this realm is truly too few.

The grasp of Heavenly Law by Martial Artists in the Mastery Realm is divided into three levels.

And most importantly, Martial Artists in this realm can use the power they control to seal the power of laws mobilized by their enemies.

And even if one understands it clearly, one may not necessarily be able to break through, because the methods of breakthrough for every Supreme may be different.

The strongest, however, are able to permanently modify the Heavenly Law, making the Heavenly Law operate for their own sake.

The laws between Heaven and Earth were not constituted this way from the beginning; Martial Artists in the Great Ability realm can already modify the Great Dao they have understood to a certain extent.

Although the weakest can also modify the laws they grasp in a certain sense, this modification is not permanent and can only be maintained within a certain range for a certain time.

Unlike other realms, the Great Ability realm has no clear and distinct division of cultivation levels, because throughout history, the number of Martial Artists who could reach this realm was already very few.

As for the Zhizun Realm after the Great Ability realm, regarding this realm, apart from a few Supremes and a small number of Great Abilities, others know very little.

And as for how to break through from the Great Ability realm to the Zhizun Realm, there is even less of a clear and distinct path for breakthrough.

But wanting to comprehend these cultivation notes already has a very high threshold.

What is "grasping"?

Within their own world, they can freely operate the power of the Yin-Yang Law.

And by borrowing the Heaven and Earth True Gang they have mastered, they can also exert these powers outside their own Small World.

If the Heavenly Law at the beginning was a blank sheet of paper, it is now covered with many colorful lines.

But no matter what, they can only operate these powers, but cannot truly grasp them.

The first level is just having broken through, having a preliminary grasp of the Heavenly Law one cultivates.

Yet, simply permanently modifying and overriding the laws of the vast Heaven and Earth is enough to show the might of a Great Ability.

For Martial Artists in the Zhidhang Second Heaven, as long as one law is sealed, the power of many Secret Skills will decrease accordingly.

There are thousands of Heavenly Dao, and each Great Dao influences and changes the others; various Secret Techniques and Secret Skills also contain many Great Daos, not just one law of the Dao.

Every Supreme perhaps writes their own cultivation notes for later generations to view and study.

And wanting to comprehend the Dao and break through to the next realm requires understanding the Origin Great Dao.

The second level is to allow the power of the laws one has grasped to be used only for oneself within a certain extent.

No matter how strong a Martial Artist in the True One Realm is, they ultimately only use the power of laws and cannot achieve complete mastery.

And the gap between the upper and lower limits of the strength of Martial Artists in this realm is very large.

Chen Mo can now do both; his understanding and application of the Yin-Yang Law have reached a certain critical point after long-term cultivation.

And the Secret Skills he created himself may not be the strongest in power, but they are absolutely the most suitable for himself, and their power will not decrease because an enemy seals the Heavenly Law.

Even to ensure the stability and firmness of the laws, the extent of the modification is not large.

And every one of these Martial Artists is a hero and a genius, and the breakthrough methods they use are not exactly the same.

And wanting to achieve this step is not so easy, and even if achieved, one may not necessarily be able to truly break through to the Great Ability realm.

Admittedly, the extent of modification will not be too large, and if one wants to permanently modify the Great Dao laws in all of Heaven and Earth, even a Great Ability Martial Artist finds it very difficult to do.

Yin-Yang rotation can evolve boundless vitality, while Yin Yang Reversal can only manifest the boundless Power of Silence.

And they can condense a domain within a certain range, using the laws they have mastered to seal the law power that other Martial Artists can mobilize.

It is precisely because of this that Martial Artists who reach this realm begin to create their own Secret Skills.

Most importantly, Martial Artists who reach this realm have a clearer and more distinct understanding of the Heavenly Dao and can perceive the most primordial Heavenly Dao.

Therefore, others using this method to break through themselves may not necessarily succeed.

Only one point is certain: all Supremes who break through must have used some method to establish a Great Dao of their own between Heaven and Earth.

This level of difficulty can be called unimaginably high; even the strongest among the Great Abilities only modify the Heavenly Dao to a small extent.

And for a Supreme expert to establish a completely different Great Dao between Heaven and Earth, the difficulty is so high that it is even somewhat unimaginable.

However, the few Supremes who broke through felt that everything happened naturally; they were previously Great Abilities, and not even the strongest among them, but suddenly one day, by chance and a whim, they succeeded in breaking through.

If one were to say which Supreme's breakthrough in Heaven and Earth had a traceable path, it would only be that Dao Ancestor.

That Dao Ancestor had the blessing of Heavenly anomalies when he was born, and his own strength was terrifyingly powerful.

The cultivation method of Martial Artists in Heaven and Earth today was created by him, which in a sense can be said to be the Heavenly Dao he created.

With this Heaven and Earth Pulse, the spiritual leaders of all things are able to cultivate.

And apart from this Dao Ancestor, the breakthroughs of other Supremes are difficult to fathom.

It is precisely because of this that the number of Supreme powerhouses between heaven and earth has always been extremely scarce.

The Great Ability realm is the same; there is no clear path of cultivation, only a rough judgment based on strength.

Therefore, the gap in strength between powerhouses of this realm is very large.

Chen Mo has now reached the In-Charge Realm; as long as he cultivates steadily, he possesses the qualifications to step into the Great Ability realm.

As for whether he can reach the Zhizun Realm, that is hard to say, because wanting to take this step is truly too difficult.

It no longer depends solely on comprehension and aptitude, but rather on opportunity and sudden enlightenment.

As the aura around his body climbed to its peak, the Yin-Yang Law within Chen Mo's Small World was also constantly surging.

The myriad phenomena of the Heavenly Law became increasingly clear before his eyes, until finally, there was a distinct vein.

This is the Heaven and Earth Pulse, the traces left behind by the Heavenly Law as it operates between heaven and earth.

Any Martial Artist whose cultivation has reached the Innate Realm can vaguely perceive the existence of this Heaven and Earth Pulse.

And a Martial Artist who has reached the In-Charge Realm must master the Heaven and Earth Pulse.

By discerning the laws of its operation and incorporating it into their own body, the Martial Artist begins to initially master the Heavenly Law through this Heaven and Earth Pulse.

The Dao that Chen Mo cultivates and comprehends is the Yin-Yang Law, so the Heaven and Earth Pulse he sees now naturally belongs to the Yin-Yang Dao.

By refining and mastering it, he can break through his current realm.

The power of the Yin-Yang Law within Chen Mo's body manifested and merged into this Heaven and Earth Pulse, and a Golden Lotus flew over, merging into his body.

This Golden Lotus is a manifestation of heaven and earth during a Supreme's lecture; a Martial Artist can refine it to further deepen their understanding of the Heaven and Earth Dao.

At this moment, Chen Mo felt as if he had divine assistance; his cultivation had never been so smooth and easy, the process of refining was incredibly effortless, and in just an instant, he mastered the Heaven and Earth Pulse before him.

But this is far from enough; he has indeed mastered a portion of the Yin-Yang Dao, but it is only a portion.

Next, he must continue to cultivate so that he can make further progress.

However, the subsequent cultivation will be relatively much easier.

It is nothing more than following the steps; as long as there is sufficient time, he will be able to break through slowly.

This is something that even he cannot be certain of right now—whether he will have sufficient time.

If a change truly occurs within Refuse Sea Pass, he will likely never have the opportunity to listen to a Supreme's lecture again, and not only that, but he will not even be able to guarantee his own safety at that time.

By then, he will only have two choices: one is to stay within Refuse Sea Pass to accelerate his own cultivation, and the other path is to leave, going as far away as possible to buy himself more time.

There is no rush to decide which one to choose specifically; the time to make a choice has not yet arrived.

Chen Mo steadied his mind and continued to listen to the Supreme's lecture.

Myriad mysteries manifested, were grasped and understood by him, and these powers were gradually integrated into himself.

Time passed quickly, the lecture ended once more, and the Supreme avatar above the palace vanished.

The Supreme's true body is not present, and every time a Supreme avatar arrives, it consumes a great deal of power after the lecture.

Even as an avatar of a Supreme existence, they must use sufficient time to replenish themselves so that they can continue the next lecture.

As the Supreme avatar left, the many Martial Artists who had been listening to the lecture also left one after another.

Chen Mo also set off, but he was not in a hurry to head to the place where Fuyao Supreme was lecturing.

Instead, he returned to the palace where he had temporarily stayed when Senior Ye Qingshan brought him to listen to Taichu Daozun's lecture earlier.

This palace is not special, but by using the Xuanhuang Heaven Token, he can exert some influence over it to a certain extent.

For example, making it completely sealed so that external forces do not disturb his cultivation.

Although this palace cannot completely isolate the influence of the Mirage Sea, it can allow a Martial Artist to cultivate in peace and stability within it.

The reason Chen Mo came here was to trigger his power of Mortal Transformation.

He dared not be certain, and even less could he gamble on when that catastrophe would arrive!

Perhaps it will be a long time, but perhaps it will be very short.

The only thing he can be sure of is that once the catastrophe descends, Refuse Sea Pass will certainly be able to hold out for a period of time.

But even if Refuse Sea Pass can hold out, he might not be safe by then; after all, he is currently on the front line facing the Mirage Sea.

Although neither Fengdu Niangniang nor her avatar ever spoke of the specific situation of the catastrophe.

But without needing to think, one can infer from the Mirage Sea that this catastrophe must come from the Mirage Sea.

Otherwise, there is no other power between this heaven and earth capable of destroying Xuanhuang Heaven and Ju Hai City.

Under these circumstances, he has no way to escape and no choice; only by improving his strength as quickly as possible is the royal way.

Chen Mo had previously accumulated quite a few resources; he had many various cultivation pills, heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and Mirage Sea items.

He had not been in a hurry to use these things before.

Because at that time, although he needed to improve his strength, there was no overly urgent demand, and using the resources slowly could allow them to exert their greatest effect.

But now, he cannot care about that; even if it is a waste, he must improve his strength as quickly as possible, otherwise the result left for him will not be very good.

The palace doors closed, Chen Mo took out the Putan and sat cross-legged, and the power stored within the Transformation Pearl was triggered.

Chen Mo used the power of Mortal Transformation to boost his own strength.

The Heaven and Earth Pulse manifested by the Yin-Yang Law appeared once again, and Chen Mo began to fuse, refine, and master these powers of the law at a faster speed.

Mortal Transformation is not like a lecture; the process of a lecture is from the outside in, and in the end, it is power brought from the outside world, so even if it is easy to instill into one's own body, it still takes time for the body to accept it.

Mortal Transformation is from the inside out; this power seems to have belonged to him originally, and there is no process of refining and mastering at all, just like the blood flowing in the body or the beating of the heart, which belongs to one's own instinct.

As these powers continuously merged into his body, Chen Mo could perceive that his mastery of the Heaven and Earth Pulse was also constantly improving.

It did not stop there; as this power cleansed his entire body, Chen Mo instantly perceived clearly that the power he had previously accumulated from being eroded by the Mirage Sea's aura was purged clean under the washing of this power.

His physical body's laws began to further condense and sublimate; at first, it was only a ray of mysterious precious light, and then it spread rapidly.

Although Chen Mo had countless laws within his body before, these powers were not one entity when operating, but were just flowing within his body like water.

And now, it was as if it had received some kind of command, or perhaps it was to resist the power of the Mirage Sea.

The laws within Chen Mo's body were spontaneously condensing toward a certain Array; once this Array was formed, he would be able to completely resist the Shenhai Breath and no longer need to worry about its erosion.

Chen Mo did not hesitate and guided the power of the laws within his body to condense the Array.

His understanding of the field of Arrays could not truly be called extensive, but he was merely not adept at setting up Arrays, not lacking in vision.

Chen Mo had seen many Arrays, and he was even currently situated within a peerlessly malevolent Array.

Under these circumstances, simply guiding the laws of his own physical body to form an Array was by no means a difficult task.

Furthermore, there was no need for him to guide it much, as his physical body had already reacted instinctively.

The Array condensed, featuring a total of three Array Eyes: the Shenhai, the Life Spring, and the Purple Mansion.

Countless blazing golden laws intertwined, spreading from the three Array Eyes throughout Chen Mo, his entire physical body forming an airtight net that constantly resisted external disturbances.

Chen Mo was clear that this was not yet the limit of the physical body Array; it still had room for improvement.

He seemed to have discovered another way of cultivation, but whether this path could be traversed to the end, and exactly how far it would go, was hard to say.

Chen Mo did not delve into it further; there was not much time left for him, and improving his current strength was the most important thing.

As the veins of heaven and earth continuously merged into his body, his cultivation also rose with the tide, quickly reaching the perfection of the First Heaven of Mastery.

(End of this chapter)