Morning.
Ye Ping had maintained the Sky Gazing posture for an entire day.
But unfortunately, he had not comprehended the Primordial God-Demon Diagram.
This left Ye Ping somewhat distressed.
The manual had made it very clear.
Those with aptitude could comprehend the Sky Gazing God-Demon Diagram at a single glance.
Those without aptitude, however, might never comprehend the Primordial God-Demon Body Refining Art in their entire lives.
Yet Ye Ping did not give up.
He rested for a little while. With the Qi Replenishing Pill, he did not need to eat rations, saving him the time spent on meals and even the time spent relieving himself, since he had not eaten anything.
Of the twelve hours in a day, Ye Ping now spent nearly eleven cultivating, leaving only one hour to rest a little or do something else.
Noon.
Ye Ping still had not comprehended the Sky Gazing God-Demon Diagram.
But he was not discouraged. On the contrary, he became even more diligent.
"The Primordial God-Demon Body Refining Art requires someone of great perseverance to comprehend it. Though my aptitude is not good enough, I possess perseverance that ordinary people lack. I will succeed. Ye Ping believes in himself."
Beneath the blazing sun, Ye Ping still held both hands aloft, sensing heaven and earth.
Carrying this resolve.
He continued until deep into the night.
The Qingyun Dao Sect was quiet and peaceful.
Above, the stars spread like a river, while the moon had yet to appear.
Ye Ping was still trying to comprehend the Primordial God-Demon Body Refining Art.
But unfortunately, he still failed to comprehend it.
Ye Ping understood that his aptitude was ordinary, that he could not compare to those geniuses. If he wanted to achieve comprehension, he had to pile up enough time.
But even though he understood, Ye Ping still felt anxious. Asking himself honestly, who would not want to master such a God-Demon Body Refining Art sooner?
One hour later.
Ye Ping's arms had grown tired. He lowered them, then sat upon the ground and let out a deep sigh.
It was night.
A cold wind swept past.
Holding the Primordial God-Demon Body Refining Art, Ye Ping kept pondering where he had gone wrong.
"The manual must be correct."
"I must have understood it incorrectly."
"But where exactly is the problem? Should I ask Senior Brother?"
Ye Ping pondered inwardly.
But soon, he shook his head.
If he asked Senior Brother about this too, would his image in Senior Brother's eyes not become even worse?
Ye Ping dismissed the idea, feeling that he should study it properly himself.
Thus, holding the manual, Ye Ping continued to ponder.
Though the manual was not thin, there was no content afterward. The key lay in this Sky Gazing God-Demon Diagram.
Ye Ping believed this was an unparalleled cultivation art, because the simpler a technique appeared, the more profound its meaning.
As the saying went, the Great Dao was simple.
The more cumbersome and gaudy something was, the less reliable it tended to be.
Ye Ping understood that much.
A full half hour passed.
Then suddenly, Ye Ping slapped his thigh. He had thought of the crucial point.
"The Sky Gazing Diagram! 'Gazing' does not mean truly looking upon heaven and earth, but replacing the eyes with the heart to behold the boundless cosmos."
Ye Ping had pondered for a full hour before suddenly fixing his gaze on the character for "gazing."
This character was somewhat different from the others, slightly larger. It was only through this detail that Ye Ping found a line of thought.
"Yes, yes, yes."
"When ordinary people look to the sky, they merely feel that heaven and earth are vast. But they do not know that so-called heaven is actually the cosmos, endless star systems without boundary or limit. That is the true sky."
"When I gazed upon heaven and earth, I too was bound by it. Dao Venerable Moxuan existed even before heaven and earth were born. The sky in his eyes was the boundless cosmos, infinite and vast, the immeasurable world. It was not the sky seen by the eyes, but the sky held in the heart."
"Hiss, Eldest Senior Brother, I understand."
Answers surfaced in Ye Ping's mind one after another.
At this moment, he was incomparably excited.
"The reason I could not comprehend it was because I had been walking down the wrong path."
"Ye Ping, Ye Ping, how could you be so stupid? You nearly failed to comprehend it."
Ye Ping secretly blamed himself for being too foolish.
He had failed to understand the meaning of the words "Sky Gazing."
Yet Ye Ping's thoughts were exceedingly correct.
Though the heavens in an ordinary person's eyes were still vast, as a transmigrator, Ye Ping knew just how immense the true sky was.
When he had been young, he had especially loved reading about cosmic exploration, so he naturally understood how vast this world was.
With that, Ye Ping took a deep breath.
He tucked the Primordial God-Demon Body Refining Art into his robes, then once again assumed the Sky Gazing God-Demon posture.
But this time, he did not gaze at the firmament.
Instead, he closed his eyes, turned his heart into eyes, and beheld the heaven and earth within his heart.
In an instant.
A gentle breeze brushed past.
Within Ye Ping's mind, the grand vista of the cosmos emerged.
Countless galaxies appeared in Ye Ping's mind, endless and immeasurable, undying and indestructible.
And at that very moment.
One star after another in the heavens suddenly trembled.
The multitude of stars shook, blossoming with incomparably brilliant light.
The Great Xia Dynasty.
This place was magnificent and resplendent, luxurious beyond measure.
Within Heavenly Mystery Hall.
The stars flickered upon an ancient diagram.
The old man seated before the ancient diagram abruptly opened his eyes, his face revealing disbelief.
"Th-This! This is impossible! The stars are shining—is an Immortal Saint being born? How could such a phenomenon occur?"
The old man's body trembled.
He was the master of Heavenly Mystery Hall in the Great Xia Dynasty, his authority reaching the heavens, his status second only to the Great Xia Emperor.
Yet at this moment, the old man trembled, terror showing in his eyes.
Nor was that all. In the eastern, southern, and western directions stood three other Heavenly Mystery Halls. Within those halls, powerful figures likewise revealed looks of terror.
In the world of cultivation.
Peerless experts enjoyed observing the stars in the heavens to divine the secrets of fate. The study of heavenly mysteries was immensely important in the cultivation world. It could reveal fortune and misfortune, the fate of a nation, even the great destiny of an entire clan.
No matter the kingdom or dynasty, before any major decision was made, Heavenly Mystery Practitioners had to be invited to observe the stars and predict the matter's future.
If it was inauspicious, they retreated.
If it was auspicious, they advanced.
Though the calculations were not guaranteed to be accurate one hundred percent of the time, they were indeed miraculously effective in certain matters.
Now that the powerful figures of the four great Heavenly Mystery Halls were all shocked was enough to show how terrifying this matter was.
Yet for most cultivators beneath heaven, nothing seemed unusual.
For instance, within the Qingyun Dao Sect.
Su Changyu stood alone, quietly watching the heavens.
He had not noticed anything unusual at all.
If he had to say something, Su Changyu only felt that tonight's stars seemed somewhat brighter than usual.
Not far away.
Xu Luochen and Chen Lingrou were watching Su Changyu.
"Second Senior Brother, what do you think has been wrong with Eldest Senior Brother lately? At this time every day, he watches the stars alone. Do you think he has something on his mind?"
Chen Lingrou asked.
"I don't know."
Xu Luochen shook his head. He was not sure.
"Could it be that Little Junior Brother's aptitude is too poor and he is too difficult to teach? Is Eldest Senior Brother unhappy?"
Chen Lingrou continued.
"Possibly. After all, not just anyone can learn the sword path. Forget it. In a few days, I'll teach this Little Junior Brother myself. If this continues, who knows whether Eldest Senior Brother might do something extreme."
Xu Luochen said.
Thus, everything remained peaceful.
And within the Qingyun Back Cliff.
A God-Demon phantom had completely emerged within Ye Ping's mind.
Before you continue