Slow Progress

"He's bluffing!"

If they hadn't reached the realm of flight, fearing no fall, who would dare walk up there, let alone fight on it.

This thought immediately flashed through Hong Jing, Wen Ninghou, and the others' minds.

But what made their hearts tremble and their bodies stiffen was that after Luo Bei spoke, he merely glanced at them before walking towards the One-Blade Heaven.

Luo Bei walked straight to the cliff face, which was only about two feet wide, barely enough for one person to stand on.

"Master!"

On either side of the cliff face were abysses ten thousand feet deep, with swirling clouds and howling winds between the cliffs, making Luo Bei's eyes and nose sting. Yet, Luo Bei's state of mind became even more resolute! The scene of Yuan Tianyi bringing him to the Forbidden Death Abyss flashed through his mind. "Master, disciples are competing today, but this One-Blade Cliff, this life-and-death challenge, will surely, as you said, make my true heart even firmer!"

After taking a deep breath, Luo Bei took a step forward and walked onto it!

"Junior Brother Luo Bei! Don't." As Luo Bei took a step, Lin Hang couldn't help but cry out urgently.

"Senior Brother Lin Hang, it's alright." Luo Bei turned around, gave Lin Hang a slight smile, and then continued walking.

Step by step, walking on that One-Blade Cliff!

Step by step! Each step was like a hammer blow to the hearts of everyone present.

In the blink of an eye, Luo Bei had slowly walked several dozen feet forward!

He had actually smiled slightly at Lin Hang before walking up.

Now, this smile, combined with Luo Bei's complete lack of hesitation or fear, was the greatest contempt in the eyes of Hong Jing, Wen Ninghou, and the others!

Wen Ninghou's eyes instantly turned red, and hot blood surged to his head.

"Does he think he can scare me away like this?"

"I don't believe that as a newly initiated disciple, you can walk up there, and I can't!"

Wen Ninghou also walked straight onto the One-Blade Cliff!

Everyone present could barely breathe, watching Luo Bei and Wen Ninghou walk along the cliff face, one after the other.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, making Cai Shu's black hair dance and her clothes flutter.

"Not good!" Cai Shu's face instantly turned pale. She saw both Luo Bei and Wen Ninghou sway on the cliff face, and her heart clenched with each sway.

The wind was strong and cold. Yet, Wen Ninghou's back was already covered in cold sweat.

His face was no longer flushed red as it had been at the start, but frighteningly pale.

When he first stepped onto the One-Blade Cliff, his blood had surged, casting aside all other thoughts. Under such a surge of righteous energy, he feared no ghost or god, let alone the One-Blade Cliff.

But after taking only a few steps, the mountain wind blew, and looking at the scenery on both sides of the cliff, the surging blood within him instantly subsided.

This immense psychological pressure, where every step was a life-or-death gamble, was not something someone with his level of true heart cultivation could withstand.

Under such circumstances, any trace of fear would instantly transform into a vast ocean, engulfing all other thoughts!

After walking only a few dozen steps, Wen Ninghou's legs began to tremble involuntarily.

His entire Primordial Spirit trembled as if facing some terrifying celestial demon.

Now, this gust of wind made his body sway wildly. After finally regaining his balance, Wen Ninghou realized that he absolutely could not continue walking.

Not only could he not walk further, but Wen Ninghou didn't even dare to look down. He couldn't even stand steadily!

Yet, Luo Bei was still walking forward!

Did he not fear death!

On the mountaintop, Hong Jing and the others were also sweating profusely. Just watching Luo Bei walk step by step on the cliff face exerted such a psychological pressure on them that they lost the confidence and courage to go up.

Luo Bei walked straight to the center of the cliff face and stopped.

After stopping, Luo Bei surprisingly turned around slowly on the spot.

In this instant, Luo Bei gave everyone present the feeling of a small tree growing on a cliff face, looking as if any strong gust of wind could break and blow it away, yet possessing an indescribable arrogance!

When Hong Jing and the others met Luo Bei's sharp gaze, their minds went blank.

And when Wen Ninghou's eyes met Luo Bei's, he could no longer hold on. He trembled and lowered himself to the ground.

Wen Ninghou, his mind completely shattered by fear, didn't even dare to walk back. He could only crouch before Luo Bei and slowly crawl backward!

Lin Hang, Ling Dong Shan, and even Miao Mu, who harbored hostility towards Luo Bei, and Xuan Wuqi, who considered Luo Bei an enemy, all felt a blockage in their chests at this scene, wanting to cheer loudly.

"Hand it over." Cai Shu suddenly smiled and extended her hand towards Hong Jing. Her smile was incredibly radiant, possessing a captivating charm.

"What?" Hong Jing, still shaken, didn't react immediately. When he saw Cai Shu's gaze fixed on his hand, he clenched his fist and handed the Mysterious Fire Thunder Pearls to Cai Shu one by one.

"From now on, with him here, you disciples of Jingshen should not bother us." After taking the Mysterious Fire Thunder Pearls, Cai Shu turned around, no longer looking at Hong Jing and the others. But looking at the gaze she cast towards Luo Bei standing on the One-Blade Heaven, Hong Jing and the others understood her meaning: unless they could also walk back and forth on the One-Blade Heaven with the same composure as Luo Bei, they would forever be the losers!

***

"This time, when I had a contest of wills with Hong Jing and the others, walking on the One-Blade Heaven, just as Master said, I challenged the boundaries of life and death again, and indeed benefited greatly."

"It's just that this kind of cultivation that tempers the divine soul and strengthens the true heart can only happen by chance. If I try to force it, it might not have the same effect."

In the evening, in his room on Tianhao Peak, Luo Bei, drenched in sweat as if he had just emerged from water, let out a slow breath, thinking with some surprise.

Although cultivating the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion always involved the pain of meridians rupturing and being tempered, Luo Bei still persisted daily. Every night, he would only stop practicing when he was utterly exhausted and could no longer even achieve the first stage of entering tranquility and non-self.

According to the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion's cultivation technique, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy absorbed would be circulated for ten heavenly cycles before beginning to temper and strengthen Luo Bei's meridians and bones. This process was akin to placing oneself in a furnace and constantly forging the physical body, generating boundless pain that required immense willpower and vital energy to resist. Previously, after circulating ten heavenly cycles, Luo Bei could at most endure another ten before his mind and body reached their limit, rendering further cultivation impossible.

Today, however, Luo Bei was pleasantly surprised to find he could endure a full fifteen heavenly cycles before finally reaching his limit.

Furthermore, after stopping his cultivation, despite feeling utterly exhausted both mentally and physically, he experienced a sense of refreshing clarity and an almost ethereal lightness he'd never felt before. After resting for just a moment, Luo Bei felt his Blood Essence surging within his body, his limbs feeling so full of strength they were about to overflow. With a "crack," Luo Bei easily snapped off a corner of the wooden table beside his bed with his hand.

"It seems my cultivation over these past few days, combined with the trip to One Blade Heaven today which tempered my divine soul and willpower, as well as that Azure Snail Immortal Fruit, has led to some breakthroughs in my Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion."

"Master said cultivating the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion is a path of nine deaths and one life, requiring enduring pain beyond what ordinary people can bear. Given my progress, it seems I'm not cultivating it incorrectly; this is simply how it is."

"But why is my progress with the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art so slow?"

Luo Bei rested for a little longer, then forcefully concentrated his mind for internal observation. He discovered that in his Sea of Consciousness, the vital energy previously condensed by the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, which had been like wisps of faint golden mist, had now condensed into many strands of golden vital energy, intertwined and swirling like a loose ball of golden thread. However, Luo Bei also noticed that the azure vital energy formed by his cultivation of the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art had only increased by a few dozen faint strands compared to when he first started cultivating it on the first day.

With a "whoosh," Luo Bei concentrated his mind and threw a punch. His will guided his actions, and Luo Bei felt his Blood Essence surging. The punch was filled with power, striking the air with a faint explosive sound. The azure vital energy within him flowed and coursed through the meridians in his arms. Yet, Luo Bei saw only a faint azure glow emanating from his hand. This weak glow was not only far inferior to the burst of azure light that erupted from Cai Shu and Hong Jing's hands when they fought, but it was also inferior to even Ling Dong Shan's.

"Could it be that they didn't listen to Dan Lingsheng's advice and secretly practiced during their rest at night?"

"This is a violation of our elders' teachings. If discovered, it would result in severe punishment. I'll discreetly ask Cai Shu and Ling Dong Shan about it tomorrow."

Feeling hungry, Luo Bei picked up a steamed bun from the table, chewed it slowly, and thought to himself.

At this moment, Luo Bei had no idea that the slow progress of his Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art cultivation was not due to lack of practice time or incorrect methods. In fact, with his resolute and diligently advancing willpower and speed of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, if he were to cultivate only the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, he would likely be the fastest cultivator in Shushan in hundreds of years.

The reason his Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art progressed so slowly was solely because of his cultivation of the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion!

The initial stage of the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, Body Tempering, was nine parts tempering and one part nourishment. Nine parts of vital energy were used to temper and repair damaged meridians and the physical body, with the remaining one part of true qi used for slow nourishment. This one part of vital energy was just barely enough to moisten the meridians and the physical body. Luo Bei's meridians and physical body were like parched earth lacking rain. The vital energy condensed by the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art was naturally warm and nourishing. As it circulated within Luo Bei's body, it was like parched earth suddenly receiving sweet dew; how could it not absorb it desperately?

Therefore, of the vital energy condensed by the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, nine-tenths was absorbed invisibly by Luo Bei's meridians and physical body, leaving at most one-tenth remaining. In this way, Luo Bei's cultivation speed for this technique naturally decreased by nearly tenfold.

However, this nourishment played a crucial supporting role in the cultivation of the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion. A night of tempering, combined with a day of ample nourishment, meant that Luo Bei's progress in cultivating the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion might even be faster than Yuan Tianyi had anticipated.

Even Yuan Tianyi had not expected that Luo Bei and the others would be directly taught the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, nor had he anticipated that this technique would have such a strong auxiliary effect on the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion.

The reason Shushan directly taught Luo Bei and the others the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art was also not unrelated to him. Thus, the karma of this world, past and future, is truly something no one can fully comprehend.

Even Luo Bei himself did not know that he had already broken through the first level of the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, Blood Refinement Mercury Paste, in just under a month!

Upon reaching this realm, Luo Bei's entire Blood Essence would continuously surge and churn within his Sea of Consciousness, propelled by the remaining golden vital energy condensed by the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion. His Blood Essence would become heavier and more condensed, its nourishing effect on his body would increase severalfold, and his strength would continuously grow.

After breaking through the first level, the subsequent second level would involve vital energy driving Blood Essence to temper bones and skin. By then, Luo Bei's physical body would become extremely resilient, and ordinary martial artists who did not cultivate Daoist arts would likely not be able to harm him.

Concurrently, from the first level of cultivation onwards, the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion had been continuously tempering Luo Bei's meridians. Cultivators who practiced Inner Core Dao methods typically referred to themselves as a furnace and cauldron, likening themselves to vessels that contained the vital energy for cultivation. The most profound aspect of the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, a Body Attainment of Sainthood technique unparalleled in Luofu, was its continuous modification of this "furnace and cauldron," enabling it to contain more and more vital energy, eventually merging it all into one, indistinguishable whole.

If Luo Bei knew this, and were to enter tranquility for internal observation, he would likely discover that his Mud Pill Sea of Consciousness, where strands of golden and azure vital energy drifted, had become much more spacious than when he first began cultivating.