115. The Path of Cultivation

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115. The Path of Cultivation

Even a cultivator who devoted his entire life to the pursuit of the Dao might never break through into the Transformation Realm. Yet the road now lying before Qi Fei was astonishingly smooth. According to Tong He, Qi Fei would encounter no real difficulty in reaching the Daoist Transformation Realm. It was merely that the path before him had left him somewhat hesitant.

The path of cultivation was, by its very nature, a defiance of Heaven. It was filled with countless dangers and unknowns. If all those unknown dangers were removed, could one still experience the insights born of cultivating the Dao?

Whether one followed the martial path or the Daoist method of cultivation, there were traditionally three ways to break through into the next realm.

The first was to consume some kind of auxiliary pill. Such pills were usually refined from rare treasures of Heaven and Earth. Alternatively, one might rely on some other external force to advance—for instance, having an elder expert open the Ren and Du meridians within one’s body, allowing one to circulate one’s true essence and charge through the mysterious gate.

The second method was to rely on prolonged accumulation and cultivation. In this way, one could naturally enter the process of breaking through. However, this kind of breakthrough was exceedingly difficult.

As for the third method, it was the one Qi Fei now intended to follow: relying on overwhelming strength to forcibly shatter the obstacles along the path of advancement and thereby achieve a breakthrough.

Although all three methods ultimately led to the same source and could help one advance, it was obvious that different methods of breakthrough had a tremendous influence on one’s actual strength. Take Qiu Hanfeng, for example. He had relied entirely on pills to reach the Transformation Realm. Although he had attained that realm, in terms of his own strength alone, he could only be considered one of the weakest among those of the same level.

What Qi Fei did not know was that, throughout the Divine Land, there were many people who had relied on external forces to enter the Transformation Realm. One-tenth, or even one-fifth, of all Transformation experts had entered that realm through such methods.

Most of the rest had cultivated naturally. Through gradual progress, they slowly comprehended the Heavenly Dao, and eventually, after finding an opportunity to break through, seized it and entered the Transformation Realm.

Tong He had said that those who naturally cultivated their way into the Transformation Realm possessed significantly greater strength from the very beginning than those who advanced with the help of external forces.

Of course, that did not mean that Transformation experts who advanced in this way would always suppress the others in overall strength. Aside from one’s comprehension of the Heavenly Dao and the depth of one’s true essence, a martial artist’s overall power was also affected by divine weapons, martial techniques, cultivation arts, and many other factors.

It was like a Daoist cultivator who had relied on external assistance to reach the Transformation Realm. If he practiced a Mysterious-grade martial art and fought someone who had cultivated only a Yellow-grade or even Star-grade technique, he could still secure an easy victory.

The only difference between these methods was that anyone who relied on external assistance to reach the Transformation Realm would have to continue relying on external assistance if they wished to break through the initial stage of that realm.

Clearly, once one reached the Transformation Realm, the external forces required for further breakthroughs could no longer be ordinary. The higher one advanced, the rarer and more difficult to find those external aids became.

Thus, in essence, those who advanced with the help of external forces would find it increasingly difficult to progress further. Those who reached the Transformation Realm through natural cultivation, however, had no such concern. Even if they eventually felt that their own efforts were no longer enough to achieve another breakthrough, they would find it far easier to rely on external assistance at the same realm than those who had depended on it from the beginning.

That was the fundamental reason why two-thirds, or even more, of the Transformation martial artists in the Divine Land had chosen this path.

Of course, Tong He was merely explaining the three methods of breakthrough to Qi Fei. He had not intended to tell him all this so soon, but he could not withstand Qi Fei’s curiosity. A path such as Qi Fei’s—breaking through the void with sheer force—was exceedingly rare throughout the Divine Land.

Even among those supreme experts ranked on the Transformation List, only three or five had advanced by such a method. Most of the others had simply cultivated in the conventional manner. This was why the supreme experts who made it onto the Transformation List were almost all ancient figures of extraordinary age.

To prove the Dao through strength, and to forcibly overcome the barriers of cultivation with overwhelming power, made it easier to comprehend the Great Dao of cultivation afterward and created more opportunities for further breakthroughs.

Although this method was the most difficult of the three—several times harder even than natural advancement—there was no doubt that those who used it possessed far greater potential for future development than those who followed the other two paths.

If relying on external force meant that one’s road became narrower and narrower, while natural advancement represented a steady and moderate path, then after shattering the void through strength, subsequent breakthroughs would become comparatively easier.

Qi Fei naturally understood the benefits of this method, so there was no need for Tong He to explain further. He had already begun practicing.

However, inside this space with three times the usual restraint, Qi Fei understood the moment he drew the Hanpo Blade from storage that bringing the Drawn Blade Technique to the same level of power as outside would not be as simple as he had imagined.

Although being in this place made him feel as though he were submerged dozens of yards beneath the water, the Hanpo Blade did not feel as light as an object held underwater usually did. Within this peculiar space, the blade weighed only a few pounds, yet holding it felt like gripping something weighing several hundred pounds with one hand. Its heaviness made him almost incapable of entertaining the thought of drawing it swiftly and thrusting it forward.

Although he possessed peerless true essence, even he could not wield an object weighing several hundred pounds as easily as a wooden staff.

“If three times the restraint is already this difficult, then what will it be like inside the Blade Room, where I’ll have to withstand twenty-four times the restraint?”

Qi Fei silently muttered to himself, then expanded his chest and abdomen and drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He had never been the sort of person who could be frightened away by imagined difficulties. In the past, he had gone several years without managing to cultivate even the slightest trace of true essence, yet he had persisted in silence. How could the sight before him possibly make him retreat?

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Qi Fei gripped the Hanpo Blade tightly. As he focused his mind and steadied his breathing, he suddenly let out a fierce shout, drew the blade in a flash, and thrust it straight ahead.

“Break!”

A sharp sound split the air. The blade light instantly condensed into a long, flowing streak.

Yet despite the seemingly imposing strike, Qi Fei shook his head in deep dissatisfaction and muttered, “It’s at least half as slow as it should be, if not slower. I could actually see the trace left behind when the blade light first appeared. This strike has lost the most fundamental speed of the Drawn Blade Technique. It also produced such a powerful sound as it cut through the air. If I used this against an enemy, more than half of those in the Transformation Realm could probably evade it.”

Could this result really have been caused merely by the Hanpo Blade becoming lighter?

Qi Fei furrowed his brows and racked his brains, struggling to determine the reason. Unfortunately, even after prolonged thought, he still could not tell whether his body had failed to adapt to the threefold restraint, whether the Hanpo Blade had effectively become “heavier,” or whether some other unknown factor had prevented him from displaying the essence of the Drawn Blade Technique.

After pondering for a long time without result, Qi Fei vaguely understood that the cause was probably a combination of all these factors.

He could therefore only verify his thoughts through action.

For the time that followed, he remained almost constantly within the threefold restraint space, practicing the Drawn Blade Technique again and again in hopes of bringing out its full power as quickly as possible. Fortunately, Tong He stayed nearby to look after him, so Qi Fei did not need to worry about food and could devote himself wholeheartedly to his arduous cultivation.

As the saying went, deep in the mountains, one loses track of the days; while in the outside world, a thousand years may pass.

The days of cultivation were always dry and monotonous. Yet during that month, Qi Fei constantly savored his understanding of the Dao and his comprehension of the martial path. In the midst of his undistracted cultivation, more than half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Whether it was because he ate and slept entirely within the threefold restraint space and had gradually adapted to the pressure, or because his uninterrupted practice had brought about substantial progress, on this particular evening Qi Fei suddenly leaped to his feet in excitement.

“Old Grandpa Tong He, look! This strike has reached my usual level!”

With that, he once again performed the Drawn Blade Technique that he had practiced thousands of times.

Unlike his earlier attempts, which had been accompanied by a violent sound of tearing air and blade light that condensed into a brilliant streak, this strike emerged in complete silence. Only when the force of the blade reached its limit and neared its target did a heart-stirring flash of cold light suddenly burst forth, vanishing into nothingness an instant later.

Qi Fei returned the blade to its sheath and stood upright. He exhaled in satisfaction and calmly waited for Tong He’s reply.

Aside from spending his mornings and nights freely, Tong He had spent most afternoons observing and supervising Qi Fei’s cultivation. At dusk, he had gone to the cave dwelling and slain a large flower-patterned purple serpent. He had just lit a fire and set the serpent above it, where the roasting meat was already glistening with oil.

Hearing Qi Fei’s question, he nodded slightly. “Not bad. It seems that half a month of effort has not been wasted. You’ve finally made a little progress.”

As soon as Tong He finished speaking, he tossed the roasted meat in his hand toward Qi Fei.

“Catch it. You should know that this stuff is useful to you.”

“How did you know?”

Qi Fei noticed that Tong He seemed completely unaffected by the pressure of the restraint space. The speed and manner in which he tossed the meat were exactly the same as they would have been outside.

After catching it, Qi Fei examined the food for a moment before asking in astonishment, “Old Grandpa Tong He, how were you able to control the force behind the throw so that the meat did not deform or veer off course under the pressure of this space? Is there some special method?”

Tong He smiled but did not answer directly. Instead, he said calmly, “Once you reach the Transformation Realm, you’ll naturally be able to do what I just did—to control an object consciously and make it fly according to your will. Although this restraint space seems to exert pressure everywhere, in truth, if you reach the Transformation Realm, you’ll discover that there are gaps between those pressures.”

Qi Fei stared blankly for a moment, then looked around several times before asking in a daze, “You mean that when you threw the meat over, you found a gap in the pressure and sent it through that opening?”

“Exactly. It’s a very simple principle. Once you reach the Transformation Realm, you’ll understand it naturally.”

Tong He smiled again, seemingly unwilling to explain the matter in greater detail. In his view, some things were too subtle and mysterious to be conveyed through words. Experiencing them personally left a far deeper impression than hearing someone else describe them.

After all, every person’s martial path was different. Explaining too much could instead lead to misconceptions that would be difficult to correct.

Tong He was unquestionably a grandmaster in this regard. After saying only a few words, he directly changed the subject.

“Boy, there’s actually another path available to you if you want to enter the Transformation Realm—and it’s already right in front of you.”

“Oh? There’s another method that can let me enter the Transformation Realm?”

Qi Fei was stunned.

“It can’t be. People have always said how difficult the Transformation Realm is. More than eighty percent of the martial artists in the Divine Land are trapped at this level and cannot even enter it. Before, whenever I wanted to advance into the Transformation Realm, the conditions were always described as impossibly harsh. Why is it that now, just when I’ve begun working toward it, methods are suddenly appearing one after another as though they cost nothing?”

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“How could they have suddenly appeared?”

Tong He lied smoothly, then spoke with some embarrassment.

“This is something I only discovered in the past few days. You visited that cave dwelling before, did you not? There was a colossal tree stump there, so enormous that its ends could not be seen, forming something like a canyon. Around that canyon grew a grove of iron poplar trees more than a thousand years old, and there was also a small plant with a bluish-purple color…”

“Ah, that little purple plant…”

Qi Fei’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, “I noticed it, and I even stored several blossoms in my space. Does that purple plant possess some special effect that can help me enter the Transformation Realm?”

Tong He smiled casually. “At your current stage, it won’t be of much help in reaching the Transformation Realm. But you don’t yet know that the flower is called the Purple Exquisite. I believe I mentioned before that consuming it can shorten the time required for cultivation. In other words, if you don’t want to work so hard, you could spend a year or three cultivating a batch of Purple Dragon Fruits. Then entering the Transformation Realm would naturally be within reach.”

“You’re saying that flower was the Purple Exquisite?”

Qi Fei frowned deeply. After hesitating for a long while, he let out a sigh.

“If I had known earlier that it was the Purple Exquisite, I suppose I might have chosen to rely on Purple Dragon Fruits to reach the Transformation Realm. But now that I understand the benefits of shattering the void through strength, I naturally have to choose the best path. Old Grandpa Tong He, you wouldn’t stand by and watch me choose the method with the least potential.”

“The method with the least potential… perhaps.”

Tong He tilted his head back and muttered to himself. Then he gave a strangely triumphant laugh.

“With this old man guiding you, do you really think you’ll lack potential? Of course, shattering the void through strength is ultimately the best method. Leaving aside the benefits it will bring you in the future, the fact alone that it will save you effort when you advance later makes it worthwhile to work harder now.”

“It seems the best is always the best. Nothing else can replace it.”

Qi Fei chuckled as he replied, already understanding Tong He’s meaning.

It was true that with Tong He by his side, even if Qi Fei chose the inferior method of relying on external force, Tong He would certainly have a way to make him as strong as someone who had advanced by shattering the void through strength.

The old man’s knowledge and methods were simply too defiant of Heaven. He could even treat certain laws with contempt.

Moreover, Qi Fei himself possessed a Mysterious-grade martial art, along with several other abilities that clearly did not belong in the Divine Land. Once he reached a certain level, his overall strength would certainly not be inferior to that of any expert at the same level.

Even so, this was not a reason for Qi Fei to abandon the method of shattering the void through strength.

When there was a better choice, why would anyone choose the inferior one? To select a worse path when a better one was available would be foolish.

Although this ability appeared extremely powerful for the moment, the obstacle was clearly one he could overcome. Qi Fei had no reason to allow it to become a hindrance later.

After all, the martial path was like a pyramid: the higher the realm, the more difficult it was to advance. Life was limited. If one did not seize every moment to improve, how could one know whether one would ever reach the summit?

This was the endless emotion that had risen from the depths of Qi Fei’s heart after he learned about the life of the cave dwelling’s original master.

That person had been able to challenge the supreme experts of the continent in every direction without meeting a rival. Yet even with a lifespan of several thousand years, he had ultimately died in defeat, reduced to a mound of dry bones.

From this, it was evident that reaching the summit and achieving eternal immortality required countless years of effort, as well as innumerable obstacles to overcome.

Therefore, for the sake of his life, the safest method was to advance step by step. Although it would be more difficult, at least he would not have to live in constant fear. And since he had to choose a method that would benefit him in the future, this was unquestionably the proper path.

After agreeing with Tong He, Qi Fei laughed heartily. He then devoured the roasted meat in his hands in only a few mouthfuls. Without saying anything more, he walked forward several steps and entered the region of fourfold restraint.

There, he began practicing the Drawn Blade Technique with utter seriousness, one move after another.

It was an extremely difficult process. According to the map of the cave dwelling, every increase of threefold restraint represented a new step. Before he could enter the stone chamber and experience twenty-fourfold restraint, Qi Fei still had an extremely long road ahead of him.

The pressure of fourfold restraint was clearly incomparable to the previous threefold restraint.

The instant Qi Fei entered the area, he felt his entire body sink beneath a sudden weight. Fortunately, he had just eaten the roasted meat, and his vital energy, spirit, and essence were all at their peak.

The pressure that seemed to rush at him from every direction, leaving no opening untouched, settled over his body. Yet Qi Fei felt as though he were lifting an exceptionally well-balanced object. It seemed that with just a little more strength, a fierce aura would surge straight from his chest, breaking through every obstacle and shattering every barrier in its path.