Solitary Enlightenment

Fang Chen walked to the hillside behind the courtyard, placed the bundle full of books on the ground, picked up the Myriad Beast Compendium he had just been reading, summoned the Floating Immortal Sword, held the book in one hand and the sword in the other, and began to chop trees.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

As the Floating Immortal Sword struck the tree trunk, streams of cool air continuously flowed from the hilt into Fang Chen's palm, coursing through his meridians and spreading throughout his body. When this cool air entered his mind, Fang Chen's spirit instantly perked up, and his thoughts became incredibly active. He could now memorize everything in the books with just a glance.

"Haha, just as I thought! This way, I can improve my cultivation while reading. The efficiency is truly top-notch!"

Fang Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily, then continued to chop trees while reading.

As time passed, Fang Chen's mental state grew better and better.

After the time it took for one incense stick to burn.

"Buzz!"

A roar echoed from deep within Fang Chen's mind. The next moment, everything around him vanished, leaving only the Myriad Beast Compendium in his hands within his field of vision.

At this moment, Fang Chen stared at the contents of the book, memorizing everything on its pages in a single glance.

"Whoosh!"

A gust of wind blew, and the Myriad Beast Compendium in Fang Chen's hand flipped rapidly. All the content on its pages was deeply imprinted into his mind.

About ten breaths later, the mysterious spiritual energy within Fang Chen disappeared, and he instantly broke free from that profound state. Although the profound state only lasted for ten breaths, Fang Chen had already finished reading the three-inch-thick Myriad Beast Compendium, and he could now recite its contents backward.

Fang Chen knew that he had entered a state of enlightenment again. During this state, the mysterious spiritual energy flowing into his body from the Floating Immortal Sword was rapidly consumed, allowing the enlightenment state to last only ten breaths.

However, even with just ten breaths, Fang Chen benefited greatly. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken him at least a month to fully memorize the contents of the Myriad Beast Compendium. Now, from the moment he started chopping trees to entering enlightenment, it had only been a little over the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, and he had already memorized the entire book.

"Hahahahaha... Let's continue!"

Fang Chen let out a wild laugh, turned back to the bundle of books, and selected a book of similar thickness to the Myriad Beast Compendium. This book was called the Herbal Flora Atlas.

The Herbal Flora Atlas contained information about spirit herbs and spirit woods, including not only text but also illustrations for most of them.

Fang Chen held the Herbal Flora Atlas, reading as he continued to chop trees.

Two incense sticks later, Fang Chen entered a state of enlightenment again. Upon entering this state, Fang Chen immediately began flipping through the book rapidly.

This time, Fang Chen's state of enlightenment lasted for a full fifteen breaths. When he emerged from the enlightenment state, he had also finished reading the entire Herbal Flora Atlas and memorized all its contents.

Fang Chen was exhilarated. In this manner, he continued to read books while chopping trees.

On the third day, at noon.

Fang Chen put away the Floating Immortal Sword, looked down at the book in his hand, and a slight smile touched his lips. This was the last book he had purchased, and he had finished reading all of them.

After several days of intense reading, Fang Chen had memorized the contents of all these books, gaining a new understanding of the Barbaric Realm.

"I never expected the Barbaric Realm to have so many wondrous Demonic Beasts and plants!"

Fang Chen couldn't help but exclaim. The Savage World was vast and full of wonders.

Some of the Demonic Beasts and spirit beasts recorded in the Myriad Beast Compendium possessed various unfathomable abilities. For example, an ancient spirit beast called the Void-Piercing Beast could traverse space, a spirit bird called the Time-Space Bird could travel through time and space, and an ancient exotic beast called the Five-Step Serpent mastered special spatial laws. Once bitten by it, one's body could not leave a five-step radius, and attempting to do so would result in immediate death from spatial law backlash.

Some of the spirit medicines recorded in the Herbal Flora Atlas also possessed powerful functions. For instance, the Sky-Reaching Divine Wood was said to reach heights of millions of feet, directly touching the starry sky. On the Sky-Reaching Divine Wood grew Sky-Reaching Divine Fruits, which, when eaten, could lead to enlightenment and immortality.

There was also the Enlightenment Tea Tree, a tea tree with miraculous properties that could induce a wondrous state of enlightenment, making it easy to comprehend various great Dao laws.

And then there was the Elixir of Immortality, which could extend one's lifespan and grant eternal life when consumed.

However, whether it was the Void-Piercing Beast, the Time-Space Bird, the Five-Step Serpent, or the Sky-Reaching Divine Wood and the Enlightenment Tea Tree, they were all too ethereal. The books did not include illustrations, and they were merely legends.

"Now that I've finished these books, I should go ask Elder Yun if he has any books on Alchemy. I'll find some to read!"

Fang Chen muttered, then put away the books and headed down the mountain.

A short while later, Fang Chen arrived at the foot of the mountain. He saw Li Yanshan organizing many bottles and jars. He walked over and asked, staring at the bottles and jars, "Uncle Li, what are you doing?"

Li Yanshan looked up at Fang Chen and replied, "I'm selecting spirit medicines. The trial path isn't as simple as you imagine. There are many powerful Demonic Beasts inside, as well as many poisonous insects and plants. For example, the scent emitted by some fungi can cause dizziness, vomiting, confusion, hallucinations, or even direct death. Once I'm done organizing, I'll give you a portion. Oh, and Elder Yun has already repaired your sword for you. Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you!"

After speaking, Li Yanshan entered his stone house and handed Fang Chen a sword wrapped with cloth strips, along with a book. The cover of the book bore the words 'Sword Control Art'.

"Sword Control Art?"

Fang Chen's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing the words on the book. He hadn't expected Elder Yun to even get him the Sword Control Art.

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen and said, "Although one can cultivate the Sword Control Art once their cultivation reaches the third level of Qi Refining, its cultivation is extremely difficult, and not everyone can succeed. It took me three months to master the Sword Control Art back in the day. You can take the Sword Control Art and study it slowly. If you have any questions, come find me!"

"Alright! Thank you, Uncle Li!"

Fang Chen bowed slightly to Li Yanshan, then directly unwrapped the cloth strips from the Black Iron Sword. He discovered that the originally rusty Black Iron Sword had been completely renewed. Although the sword body still appeared pitch black, its edge now gleamed with a chilling silver light, and Fang Chen also noticed some dark golden patterns on its surface.

"Much cooler!"

Looking at the brand-new Black Iron Sword before him, Fang Chen couldn't help but exclaim.

He gripped the Black Iron Sword and swung it a few times, then began to read the Sword Control Art.

The Sword Control Art was only about twenty-odd pages long, with both illustrations and text. Fang Chen quickly finished reading it.

Over the past two days, Fang Chen had entered a state of enlightenment nearly a hundred times while chopping trees and reading. This had greatly improved his reading comprehension and thinking abilities. Even without the help of the Floating Immortal Sword, he could now easily memorize the entire Sword Control Art.