Breaking the Restrictions

In the cave where Li Yang had attained enlightenment, the clamor of the mortal world was completely shut out, as if he had entered a world existing beyond time. The faint light filtering through the entrance traced mottled shadows across the cave walls, like blurred marks left behind by time.

At first, the light still reached boldly into the depths of the cave, draping the cold stone walls in a layer of warm gauze. But as time passed, that beam became like an aging traveler, its steps growing slower and its radiance dimming. The outlines of light and shadow, once clear, gradually twisted and blurred until they merged with the darkness, heralding the retreat of day.

In the darkness, the only thing that could sense the passage of time was the water dripping from the cave ceiling. "Drip, drip." Each sound was crisp and monotonous, tapping steadily against the ground and echoing through the silence. The noise was like time's pendulum, swinging again and again as it precisely measured the length of the years. To the rhythm of the falling drops, the damp ground gradually gathered into a shallow pool. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the faint halo above, as if the years were silently accumulating strength.

As the darkness deepened, chill surged in from every direction and spread unchecked through the cave. Moisture on the stone walls condensed into frost, like a thin film of ice reflecting a ghostly, frigid light. The cold seeped into the marrow, making one feel the slow flow of time all the more clearly. Every breath carried a heavy chill, as though what was being exhaled were frozen time itself.

No one knew how long had passed before a thread of feeble dawn cautiously slipped in through the entrance, shattering