Awakening the Mind's Eye, Going Down the Mountain

Having finished classifying and organizing the many martial arts, Lin Heng stepped out of the Underground Vault where he had spent the past year.

With every step he took, the Boundless Qi of Heaven and Earth surged toward Lin Heng, realizing the potential he had accumulated over the past year.

His aura rose at a breathtaking pace.

Before long, it had surpassed the limits of the Great Grandmaster Eleventh Level and entered the Twelfth Heaven.

And there was no sign of it stopping. It soon broke through into the Thirteenth Heaven.

At this moment, Lin Heng's aura was still skyrocketing!

This was cultivation in the Great Grandmaster Realm. Once one comprehended the Artistic Conception, with the enhancement of the "Boundless Sea Divine Art" and the nourishment of the Power of Heaven and Earth, one's cultivation could rise at an astonishing speed.

At that moment, Lin Heng felt his consciousness spreading through Heaven and Earth.

He did not need his eyes to see, his ears to hear, or his nose to smell. The entire Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate naturally appeared within his mind.

A year had passed, and the Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate had now been completely restored. Not a trace remained of the devastation left behind after the Great Battle.

Not only was the entire mountain gate more majestic and sturdier than before, it was also far more spacious.

Many experts came and went within the mountain gate. Every one of them possessed a powerful aura and wore confident, high-spirited expressions, and the place was beginning to take on the air of the world's foremost Martial Arts Holy Land.

"Does this count as a Mind's Eye? Or Divine Sense?"

As he reflected Heaven and Earth with his mind, all things in the world were perceived clearly by Lin Heng. There was no difference from seeing them with his own eyes; if anything, it was even clearer.

Lin Heng could feel that as his cultivation continued to rise, the range in which his mind could reflect the surrounding Heaven and Earth was also expanding.

At first, while at the Great Grandmaster Thirteenth Heaven, Lin Heng could only see a radius of one thousand meters centered on himself.

But once Lin Heng's cultivation rose to the Great Grandmaster Fourteenth Heaven, the range reflected by his mind immediately reached two thousand meters.

Then, when Lin Heng reached the Great Grandmaster Fifteenth Heaven, the radius of his mind's reflection reached three thousand meters.

In the end, Lin Heng's cultivation stopped growing after passing the midpoint of the Fifteenth Heaven, and the radius of his mind's reflection likewise settled at three thousand five hundred meters.

From this, it could be seen that every increase of one Heaven in cultivation increased the radius of the mind's reflection by one thousand meters.

"While the Mind's Eye remains active, it consumes Spiritual Power. If I focus my attention on a single point, I can not only see macroscopic things, but even observe the movements of the Microcosm and perceive extremely minute changes."

"The more closely I observe a single object, the more information I obtain, and the greater the impact on my brain."

"Besides fully covering a radius of three thousand five hundred meters centered on myself, I can also gather the Mind's Eye's observation ability into a line and scan distant places, looking only at a specific location. This can greatly expand the observation range."

"If I look at only one location, the maximum perception range is one hundred and twenty kilometers."

Lin Heng tested the characteristics of this brand-new ability and quickly figured it out completely.

Using the Mind's Eye normally did not place much burden on Lin Heng. The Spiritual Power it consumed could quickly be replenished by expending Blood and Qi to Nourish it. He could even keep it active throughout combat to search for enemies without any problem.

But if he used his mind to observe a patch of land no larger than a square inch, staring only at a grain of sand to investigate the peak of the Microcosm—to observe Molecules, Atoms, and even the motion of electrons—

Although he could see them, the enormous amount of information returned every instant from the Microcosm demanded immense Brain Computing Power to comprehend. It rapidly consumed Spiritual Power and placed a burden on his body.

And this gradually made Lin Heng understand what the Heaven-Human Realm was.

A Heavenly Being was someone who perceived the Origin of the world and whose consciousness was close to the Dao.

The Great Grandmaster Realm cultivated Artistic Conception. Through cultivating Artistic Conception, one broke through the limits of the Human Body, and one's Essence, Qi, and Spirit gradually reached a transcendent, saintly state. One's capacity for understanding also continued to improve.

When the day came that Lin Heng's Mind's Eye could clearly see everything within Heaven and Earth and comprehend the world's most fundamental laws of operation, he would have broken through into the Heaven-Human Realm.

Then, once he turned those most fundamental laws of the world to his own use and elevated his strength to the Peak, Shattering the Void and Ascension in Broad Daylight would no longer be a fantasy.

"Then it is time to see this dazzling, flourishing world."

Lin Heng withdrew from the state of the Mind's Eye, a smile appearing on his face.

Once he understood the Heaven-Human Realm, he also understood how to break through toward it.

Next, Lin Heng would descend the mountain to travel, measuring the rivers and mountains on foot, comprehending Heaven and Earth Nature and the Myriad Phenomena of the Mortal World, cultivating his Artistic Conception to Great Completion, and charging in one go into the Heaven-Human Realm.

"Master, I am going down the mountain to travel."

Lin Heng appeared in the Cloud Sword Palace Main Hall and conveyed the news of his departure to his master, Xiao Rang, who was handling sect affairs.

"Good. Go, my disciple. Remember to come back and visit when you have the time."

Xiao Rang did not try to keep him and agreed at once.

Had it been a few months earlier, Xiao Rang would likely have asked Lin Heng to remain and guard the mountain gate.

At that time, all of Cloud Sword Palace's experts had been out conquering territory and gathering the Spoils of War from becoming the world's foremost Martial Arts Holy Land.

But now, a year had passed. The Spoils of War had long since been gathered, a new Ruling System centered on Cloud Sword Palace had been established, and the Local Tyrants throughout Lan Continent had obediently submitted to Cloud Sword Palace and offered tribute.

Thus, many experts had returned to the mountain gate one after another to stand guard, and their Combat Power had returned to its peak.

Even if Lin Heng left at this time, there was no need to fear anyone raiding their home.

In fact, even if Lin Heng had not wanted to descend the mountain, Xiao Rang would have urged him to go traveling soon.

Lin Heng had spent more than ten years on the mountain. Through a great victory, he had integrated the martial arts inheritances of the three great Martial Arts Holy Lands and many major powers into himself. If he continued squatting inside the mountain gate every day without descending, there would be nothing left for him to improve.

Xiao Rang was looking forward to Lin Heng becoming a Heavenly Being.

As long as Lin Heng became an expert of the Heaven-Human Realm, he could leave behind an inheritance leading directly to the Heaven-Human Realm for Cloud Sword Palace, forging eternal and undying glory for the sect.

"I'll write to you regularly, Master."

Lin Heng answered with a smile.

After a pause, he reminded him, "While handling sect affairs, Master, do not neglect your cultivation either. Setting aside the other benefits of improving your cultivation, having a longer Lifespan is always something tangible."

As his words fell, Lin Heng used Sound Transmission into Secrecy to impart the latest version of the Boundless Sea Divine Art's Internal Cultivation Method to Xiao Rang.

This Internal Cultivation Method had evolved from Cloud Sword Palace's internal cultivation method, the Cloud Sword True Art, but its speed of Qi Refining and Body Tempering was more than a whole tier faster than the Cloud Sword True Art.

Though it could not guarantee that its practitioners would break through many Realms and become Heavenly Beings, it would still benefit their cultivation. It would allow them to travel farther within the Great Grandmaster Realm and live a few more years.

Lin Heng still had several centuries of lifespan ahead of him. He did not want his own master to grow old and die too soon.

"Thank you, my disciple. Your master will not fall behind in cultivation."

After contemplating it briefly, Xiao Rang sensed the exquisite profundity of the Boundless Sea Divine Art.

And through it, he felt Lin Heng's filial devotion.

Xiao Rang's expression softened further as he accepted with a smile.

"Master, when you have the time, you can pass a copy of this Internal Cultivation Method to Senior Brother Zhang Yuan."

"As for the other sect elders, give a copy to anyone you consider trustworthy."

"I'm leaving."

Lin Heng waved his hand, and with a flash, vanished before Xiao Rang.

He did not mind passing down his martial arts, because it was people who had always been strong, not martial arts.

Under equal conditions, Lin Heng was confident that he would not be weaker than anyone.

"Perhaps those words Heng'er casually spoke to comfort me that day will come true?"

Watching the direction in which Lin Heng had disappeared, Xiao Rang recalled what Lin Heng had told him on the second day after breaking through to Great Grandmaster: that in the future, he would bring everyone with him in ascension to the Upper Realm, where they could enjoy immortality.

At the time, Xiao Rang had not taken it seriously. He had merely thought that his disciple had witnessed the pain of life and death, and was speaking from emotion to comfort him.

Now, however, it seemed that all of it might truly become reality!