Bottleneck, Going Home

However, this time it wasn't just the Death Rule that allowed him to become a god; Jie Ning could feel that his comprehension of the Life Rule had also improved considerably.

"Jie Ning, did you find the method you were looking for?" Arannis looked at him curiously.

She knew that the real reason Jie Ning had been so interested in the Elf Race's 'Sacred Tree' all along was to find a way to help strengthen the soul.

"Of course I succeeded." Jie Ning's tone carried a hint of joy.

"From now on, my soul will no longer be my weak point—it might even become my strongest asset."

"And I might also be able to help all of you strengthen your own souls."

"A powerful soul can be a great help in comprehending the Heaven and Earth Laws."

"That's wonderful." Arannis smiled happily. If she could become stronger too, she could stay by Jie Ning's side forever.

After finishing his cultivation, Jie Ning's main body spent some leisurely time with his family before preparing to enter a formal seclusion for cultivation.

This time, his goal was to strengthen his soul.

Jie Ning and Arannis went directly to a remote wilderness area, a corner of the entire Life Duke's Territory that was far from any human presence.

Jie Ning scattered seeds from various plants he had collected in an orderly fashion across the ground. The earth churned briefly, loosening the soil, and the seeds fell into place at proper distances and positions.

The arrangement of these positions drew on some discoveries Jie Ning had made in the Elf Race's valley. Though he couldn't yet grasp the fundamental principles, that didn't stop him from using them as a reference.

This time, Jie Ning split off a large amount of his soul power and infused it into each seed. Then, with a sweep of 'Life God Power', all the plants sprouted and began to grow in unison, as if following a command.

But the difference from before was that Jie Ning didn't choose to force all the plants to full maturity in one step. He knew that the process of natural growth was the most important for the soul—quality mattered more than speed.

If he relied entirely on Life God Power to force growth, it would waste divine power, and the overall effect on soul enhancement wouldn't be particularly ideal.

Using divine power sparingly, like applying fertilizer, would yield the greatest results.

In the forest, the plants slowly grew, and Jie Ning's Life God Avatar gradually became wrapped in vines.

Arannis and Jie Ning's Sanctuary Main Body built a small wooden cabin nearby and settled in.

Time flowed on.

The roots of the plants held more and more Water Elements beneath the land, and the ground gradually began to gather into lakes and rivers.

At the same time, some trees grew tall, and a new forest gradually took shape. Wind Elements blew into the forest as if lost, unable to find their way out, stirring up gentle breezes throughout.

Water Elements and Wind Elements interacted endlessly. The wind stirred the earth, and water nourished it...

The soil grew fertile, the Earth Elements became more active, and the plants grew healthier.

Jie Ning felt the changes in his soul, comprehending the mysteries of life, occasionally merging into the Earth Elements...

Only his Death God Avatar would periodically shift its awareness into the Undead Realm. This was an unexpected discovery he had made while studying the fluctuations of souls as they vanished. As long as he found the right method, souls or spiritual energy carrying the aura of death could enter the Undead Realm with exceptional ease.

From then on, Jie Ning's Death God Avatar often focused its attention on the Undead Realm.

As he had guessed, the undead couldn't strengthen their souls on their own. They needed to constantly absorb the souls of other undead to maintain and enhance their own, and this process relied mostly on instinct.

But once they reached the Sanctuary realm, the process of absorbing souls allowed them to gain some understanding of the Death Rule. With that understanding, they could reduce the loss of their own souls.

As for completely avoiding that loss, Jie Ning estimated it would only be possible if these undead became gods.

These conclusions came from Jie Ning's 'research' on some undead.

Still, the Undead Realm was indeed part of the Underworld. Jie Ning felt that comprehending the Death Rule here was far clearer than in the Material Plane, which led him to devote more of his Death God Avatar's attention to this place.

Arannis had also found a direction for her cultivation during her earlier epiphany. She sensed the changes in the Wind Elements within the forest and occasionally chased them as they darted through the trees, experiencing a joy she had never felt before.

If anyone had been watching, they would often see Arannis's figure dissipate in one place and reappear in another, as if she were teleporting...

The two were immersed in the beauty of cultivation, occasionally waking to travel together to the nearest town for a stroll, or try their hand at fishing in the lake that had formed in the forest—though the fish themselves were ones they had put in...

The forest gradually attracted animals and even Magic Beasts that stumbled upon this paradise...

In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed. As the forest grew larger, Jie Ning could feel that his soul's growth had reached a limit.

Arannis had also successfully cultivated the 'Spirit Nourishing Technique' years ago with Jie Ning's help, and her soul had reached its current limit.

What had once been a wilderness was now a vast forest, filled even with fruit trees that shouldn't have grown here—all carefully selected and left behind by Jie Ning.

Jie Ning occasionally used divine power to 'fertilize' the land, creating the forest's prosperity.

Most of the life in this forest had once carried Jie Ning's soul. But this time, instead of reaping them when they approached death, he chose to let that portion of soul power return directly to his body after their growth period, then select new 'bodies'. This was what had led to the forest's abundance...

'Just one more opportunity.' Jie Ning felt that his Life God Avatar was still one opportunity away from becoming a mid-level god.

The Life Rule in "Panlong" had no specific subdivisions of profound mysteries, but Jie Ning instinctively divided them as he comprehended.

For instance, he had first called the direction of his godhood comprehension 'the Growth of Life'. Later, he gained some insights into 'the Soul of Life' and 'the End of Life'.

However, his understanding of 'the End of Life' unexpectedly led him to comprehend the Death Rule, leaving him temporarily without a new direction and stalling his progress.

On the other hand, after years of study, his comprehension of 'the Soul of Life' had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Referencing the method of fusing elemental profound mysteries, he also studied how to merge the different directions of the Life Rule while comprehending. By now, all his insights into life had been fully integrated.

And a vague intuition told him that his understanding of 'the Soul of Life' was still lacking just a little. If he could find that missing piece, his Life God Avatar would be able to advance to a mid-level god.

'Come to think of it, it was definitely worth spending the time to study the mysteries of the soul.'

'Having a powerful soul to perceive the Heaven and Earth Laws is indeed much smoother. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of cutting wood.'

Then, following their usual habits, Jie Ning and Arannis, both having hit a bottleneck, naturally decided to leave this forest and go out to see the world.

The two first took a rough tour of the continent, observed the changes in recent years, traveled and enjoyed themselves for a while longer, and finally returned to the City of Life.

And this day happened to be the new year's 'Gods' Festival'.

Back in the Hall of Life, Arannis, who was pulling Kaixi into a discussion, discovered with surprise, "Kaixi, you've reached the Saint Realm. Congratulations!"

"I only broke through not long ago," Kaixi said with a modest smile.

In fact, not long after Jie Ning and the other had left over a decade ago, she had already accumulated enough Battle Qi to become a Saint.

But now, she felt that becoming a Saint without comprehending any Heaven and Earth Laws was nothing to be proud of.

Watching the change in Kaixi before him, Jie Ning couldn't help but marvel at the power of time.

The once impulsive elf had now grown steady.

Leaving Arannis and Kaixi to continue their discussion, Jie Ning went to the garden on his own.

He stepped forward to check on the growth of the Tree of Light. 'It seems it's almost fully recovered.'

By now, the soul within the Tree of Light had mostly healed. According to Jie Ning's estimate, it would take about ten more years to awaken—much faster than the time he had promised the elf race.

Just as Jie Ning was inspecting, a letter happened to arrive at the Hall of Life from Duke Darut's Territory.

Indeed, when I keep thinking about rushing, inspiration runs dry.

Good thing I've set a general direction, so I can still write.

My cousin is getting married, so there won't be anything today.

Finally, I still ask for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.