Enlightenment

Time flew by, and before he knew it, September had arrived.

Over the past few months, Bai Yue's footsteps had spanned the entire globe. For an ordinary person, such a feat would have been impossible, but for someone already at Planet Level, it was nothing remarkable.

Ever since he had gained insight into the method of comprehending a domain, he had set aside all worldly affairs, focusing solely on traveling further, witnessing more diverse landscapes, and drawing close to nature to merge with it. Even the many upheavals that occurred on Fog Island in August did not halt his cultivation journey.

Though he mostly walked to better attune himself to nature, he still relied on an intelligent fighter jet when crossing oceans.

He simply followed his whims, doing whatever he pleased!

Mount Everest, the main peak of the Himalayas and the world's highest summit at 8,848 meters, stood on the border between Huaxia Country and Nepal.

The northern slope, located within Huaxia's borders, was the primary route for mountaineers attempting to conquer Everest.

However, since the Great Nirvana Era, few had been able to reach this place. The contraction of human territory had left vast stretches of Wilderness Area, which, over decades, had been overrun by countless monsters.

Only a handful of Council members could cross the Wilderness Area to arrive here.

The weather was gloomy, and a cold wind howled. It was clearly not a good day for climbing, yet a dark figure was steadily making his way toward the summit.

This person was Bai Yue. He wore a black one-piece training suit, and snow clung to his head, clothes, and even his eyelashes—a clear sign he had been climbing for quite some time.

His shoes pressed footprints into the ground, his pace unhurried and steady, each step firm as he gradually approached the peak.

A fierce wind swept snowflakes down, slowly burying the footprints again, much like the corpses of explorers buried deep beneath the ice.

Atop this snow-white mountain peak, the freezing temperatures had driven away most life, leaving an eerie silence—so still it seemed time itself had frozen. Only Bai Yue's figure and the trail of footprints stretching toward the summit remained.

The wind grew more violent, and the sky darkened further.

Finally, the summit was reached!

Standing at the peak, he gazed into the distance. Mountain ranges stretched endlessly, peaks undulating, white clouds swirling in a hazy, indistinct mist.

Sitting cross-legged on the summit, Bai Yue's mind was empty of thoughts, his soul as ethereal as the snowy mountain itself.

The experiences of two lifetimes gradually surfaced in his mind, even forgotten memories emerging.

In his previous life, he had been born into an ordinary rural family—unremarkable in background, appearance, and grades—before landing an average job.

After starting work, aside from the first year or two as an Apprentice when he could barely support himself, he later helped support his family, filially caring for his parents and funding his two younger sisters' university education. He didn't even dare buy an extra piece of clothing, believing it was all his duty.

A few years passed in a flash. At twenty-five, his parents urged him to marry year after year, and he was on the verge of giving in. A small ripple disturbed his uneventful life when he started dating a fairly pretty English education major.

Like most couples at the beginning, they were deeply in love. He naively thought they would walk down the aisle together, so with a decent salary, he covered all his girlfriend's expenses during her studies.

But reality rarely bends to personal will. When his girlfriend graduated and he proposed marriage, she told him she had just graduated and didn't want to marry yet—she wanted to secure a government job. He agreed.

Another year passed. After a year of exam preparation, his girlfriend finally passed the teacher recruitment exam, but she was assigned to a different city. When she left, they agreed to marry once her job stabilized!

Then came six months of long-distance relationship. Just as the holiday approached, his girlfriend broke up with him—only two days earlier, they had been discussing names for their future children!

When he asked why, she said a male teacher at her school was pursuing her, and she felt drawn to him. Ridiculous, wasn't it? Yet that was reality.

He dropped his work and braved a snowstorm to rush to her school, but she refused to see him. After waiting all night in the cold, she finally came out the next day to have a meal with him and explained further: his family background was poor, and he couldn't give her a good life in the future.

After returning home, he—who had never touched alcohol—bought many bottles, trying to drown his sorrows. In a daze, he found himself in this world.

In his previous life, he had struggled alone, often working overtime. Sometimes he wondered what would happen to his parents and two sisters if he suddenly died from overwork. So he had prepared a backup plan: every year, he spent a little money on life insurance, and he had told his parents about it. His sudden departure would leave his family with a decent inheritance—no regrets left behind.

"This life, I am alone—only the Dao matters. Let the past be past."

Letting go of his burdens, Bai Yue felt his soul clearer and more complete than ever before. The connection between his small inner world and the outer cosmos had never been so smooth.

His spiritual consciousness radiated from his body, spreading across the snowy summit and gradually expanding outward. Sensing the extent of his control within this range, he rose from his seated position.

Standing atop the peak, he felt as if he had become one with the surrounding mountains, connecting heaven and earth, transcendent and solitary!

The first level of the Earth Domain was achieved!

Immersed in the domain, he sensed the changes in nature and the heavens, as if the very workings of the laws were within his grasp. He even gained a faint insight into the Origin Law of the universe.

"Caw, caw." A cry full of killing intent came from afar.

A pure white Snow Goose was patrolling the sky in the distance, scanning the ground. From the aura it emitted, it had reached the Mid-level Lord level.

It was searching for prey. Animals surviving in this era were far different from those before the Great Nirvana Era. Even once-gentle species had become fierce and cruel to survive, evolving sharp teeth and claws to arm themselves!

It did not detect Bai Yue. With his domain extended outward, his aura was perfectly integrated with nature, making him undetectable to a mere Mid-level Lord monster.

With a thought, the Snow Goose in the sky felt as if a great mountain had pressed down on it. Its body froze instantly, its thoughts seemed to slow, and it plummeted straight toward the ground.

With a thunderous crash, the Snow Goose—massive as a passenger jet—smashed into the side of a peak. The immense impact and sound echoed through the valley, causing accumulated snow to collapse and rush downhill with the force of a thousand troops, triggering a considerable avalanche.

"Caw, caw."

Still confused, the Snow Goose let out a mournful cry. Bai Yue, not intending to torment it further, released his suppression with a thought. Feeling the pressure vanish, the goose frantically took to the sky again, fleeing into the distance.

The avalanche continued, like a chain of dominoes, pulling more snow down with it.

Bai Yue carefully sensed his domain again, noting the growing difficulty of controlling distant areas. "It seems the farther the distance, the harder it is to control the domain."

Conversely, the closer the range, the finer the control. A domain wasn't just for restraining enemies—it could also be condensed on the surface of the body to block attacks, much like Long Yun had done during the Genius Battle. Of course, that required high-level control and practice, something Bai Yue, who had just comprehended the domain, could not yet achieve.

New book, seeking collections and recommendations.