Closed-Door Cultivation and Digestion

The Saint's pressure dissipated, yet Golden Turtle Island did not immediately return to its former clamor.

A heavy, solemn atmosphere shrouded the entire island.

The disciples returned to their respective abodes, some tending to their spirits, others silently digesting the terrifying experience of having seemed to fall into an abyss.

With a Saint's single thought, heaven and earth were shaken. For the vast majority of cultivators, this was a shock they would never forget in their lives, and a brutal tempering of their Dao Hearts.

Biyou Palace still stood tall and silent, as though the Sword Qi that had shot into the heavens and the clash of Saintly words across the void had merely been a dream.

Inside Xuan Chuan's abode, the restrictions were fully activated.

Upon the Jade-Purple Platform, Xuan Chuan did not immediately enter meditation. He sat quietly with his eyes closed, his face still somewhat pale, though his breathing had gradually steadied.

The cold sweat on his robes had long since been evaporated by his mana. Only the deep bloody marks in his palms proved just how much pressure he had endured.

He did not rush to heal his wounds or cultivate. Instead, he allowed his mind to settle, like a beach after the tide had receded.

He carefully reviewed every gain and every trace of insight from this journey to Qianyuan Mountain, as well as from facing the Saint's pressure head-on.

First was his battle with Taiyi.

The blazing heavenly might of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood, a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal's preliminary use of laws, and Taiyi's vast mana had all left a deep impression on him.

If not for the "Fate-Cutting" sword intent striking directly at the core flaw in the operation of divine abilities and magic treasures, and if not for Acquired Merit protecting his body and rendering him impervious to all techniques,

he could never have protected Shiji amidst such world-destroying attacks, much less gained even a slight upper hand, with his cultivation only newly entered into the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

"Fate-Cutting... cutting off the tracks of destiny, disrupting the fixed outcomes of divine abilities..." Xuan Chuan silently contemplated that flash of sword intent from the battle.

He discovered that his previous understanding of "Fate-Cutting" had still been far too one-sided, focusing more on "seizing opportunities" and "evading calamities."

Yet in this actual battle, especially when confronting a powerful, fully integrated magic treasure like the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood, "Fate-Cutting" had revealed an even more terrifying potential: "breaking order" and "introducing variables."

"If I can take this further... could I not merely sever a divine ability's connections, but briefly 'cut off' the opponent's connection to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

"Perhaps even... 'cut off' the very 'existence' of a portion of their Dao attainments and cultivation?" A bold thought surfaced, making even Xuan Chuan's heart skip a beat.

This had already touched upon the terrifying domain of "shearing away the Three Flowers atop the head and sealing the Five Qi within the chest." Though it was only a rudimentary notion, it pointed out a possible future direction for the Dao of "Fate-Cutting."

Next came the feedback from successfully saving Shiji and changing a "minor trend."

He could clearly sense that his connection with Jiejiao's overall fortune had become closer and smoother.

It seemed that because he had successfully "defied heaven and changed fate," the portion of Jiejiao's vast fortune belonging to "variables" and "vitality" had become more receptive toward him.

In the unseen, more and more of his fellow disciples' "trust" and "aspirations"—especially those of the outer disciples and some lower- and middle-ranking inner disciples—gathered toward him.

Like tiny streams, they were not majestic, yet they flowed without end, nourishing his Dao foundation and fortune.

It was an exceedingly mysterious experience.

He seemed to have become a more crucial "helmsman" or "sail" aboard the great ship that was Jiejiao. The ship's direction and speed were intimately tied to his own state.

And the trust and support of those aboard the ship, in turn, granted him greater strength and guidance.

"So this is... the sliver of 'man can triumph over heaven' within the greater trend?" Xuan Chuan seemed to gain some understanding.

The Investiture of the Gods Tribulation was a heaven-determined greater trend, vast and mighty, yet every individual within it—especially the "variables" standing at crucial junctures—

could indeed, through their choices and efforts, stir the currents like butterfly wings and ultimately influence the course of the storm.

Saving Shiji had been one successful flap of those wings.

Finally, the most weighty and the most precious gain was the experience of facing Primordial Heavenly Venerable's Saintly might directly.

That absolute suppression stemming from the level of life itself and the origin of the Great Dao, that helpless feeling that all things lay within the other party's control with a single thought, had nearly shattered his Dao Heart.

Yet it was precisely beneath such extreme pressure that The One That Escaped and the Chaos Pearl Fragment erupted with unprecedented potential, struggling desperately,

concealing, distorting, and attempting to carve open a crack of "variable" within the "fixed outcome" of the Saint's gaze.

The process had been incomparably painful, but it also gave Xuan Chuan a deeper understanding of the essence of The One That Escaped.

It was not merely "a thread of survival." It was also a kind of "uncertainty"—the "tributaries," "spray," and "undercurrents" in the river of fate that were not wholly encompassed by the mainstream "fixed outcomes."

Though Saints accorded with the Dao in truth and could observe the greater trend and command the overall situation, they might not necessarily see through every minute variable, especially when that "variable" itself was a special existence capable of interfering with "fixed outcomes."

"Saints are not omniscient or omnipotent... At least, when matters involve Great Dao anomalies such as The One That Escaped, they too can be disrupted, and their calculations can become blurred..."

This realization was like a ray of dawn, driving away part of Xuan Chuan's absolute fear of Saints.

Saints remained supreme and impossible to confront with force, but they were not impossible to contend with, nor impossible to outwit!

At the same time, his master Master Tongtian's unhesitating and forceful protection, that supreme sword intent which cleaved through all things and seized a chance of life, had also been deeply branded into Xuan Chuan's soul.

It was a perfect union of "protection" and "severance," the resolute determination to draw one's sword against a higher existence in order to protect one's disciples!

It gave him immense reassurance and further strengthened his conviction to walk the path of "Fate-Cutting" and protect Jiejiao.

His thoughts became clear, and his insights settled.

Xuan Chuan no longer hesitated and formally began his closed-door cultivation to assimilate them.

He first used the Dao rhythm of The One That Escaped to guide the mana within his body, sorting through the meridians and acupoints that had been somewhat thrown into disorder from resisting the Saint's pressure.

As his mana circulated, it continuously absorbed the dense spiritual energy gathered within the abode, as well as the faint "aspirations" of his fellow disciples and the nourishment of Jiejiao's growing fortune that converged in the unseen.

The expenditure from his battle with Taiyi rapidly recovered, and he even improved slightly.

Immediately afterward, he focused on revisiting every detail of his battle with Taiyi, especially the instant when his "Fate-Cutting" sword intent had interfered with the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood.

His divine sense simulated, deduced, and refined it countless times within his sea of consciousness, combining it with his new understanding of The One That Escaped.

He attempted to integrate the intent of "breaking order" and "introducing variables" more deeply into his sword intent.

The Fate-Cutting Sword floated before him, trembling softly in resonance with its master's realizations. The purple-gold Dao patterns and silver-white lightning patterns upon its blade flowed without cease, as though it too were undergoing some minute transformation and growth.

Time quietly passed amid his deep closed-door cultivation.

Within the abode, spiritual energy formed a vortex visible to the naked eye, slowly revolving around Xuan Chuan.

His aura gradually became deeper and more condensed. The barrier of his realm, originally only newly entered into the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, began to loosen beneath the impact of abundant accumulation and profound insight.

Who knew how much time passed.

At a certain moment, Xuan Chuan's aura suddenly surged!

Purple-gold radiance shone from within his body. It was not dazzling, yet it carried an unfathomable quality, as though it stood apart from fate itself.

Within his sea of consciousness, The One That Escaped spun at a new equilibrium. Its purple glow became more solid and agile, while its connection to the Chaos Pearl Fragment seemed to have tightened by another thread.

Mid-Stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal!

It happened as naturally as water flowing into a channel, without the slightest obstruction.

At the instant his cultivation broke through, his comprehension of The One That Escaped also abruptly deepened.

Some application techniques that had previously been vague became clear. His deductive abilities, premonitions of danger, and even his ability to obscure his own heavenly secrets all improved markedly.

He could even vaguely sense that he had gained a more concrete grasp of "severing" certain weaker, more direct "karmic connections" or "tracks of destiny."

Slowly withdrawing his cultivation, Xuan Chuan opened his eyes.

A flash of purple-gold light passed through his eyes, making them seem even deeper and more restrained. He sensed the surging mana within his body,

nearly twice as vast and pure as before, as well as the clearer Dao rhythm of The One That Escaped in his soul. His heart was calm and fulfilled.

The gains from this period of closed-door cultivation had far exceeded his expectations.

Not only had his cultivation steadily improved, but more importantly, after actual combat against a veteran Golden Immortal, changing an established fate,

and even facing a Saint's pressure directly, his Dao Heart had become more resilient, his understanding of his own path had deepened, and his awareness of the coming great tribulation had grown clearer.

He knew that after this brief assimilation and improvement, even harsher challenges awaited ahead.

But at this moment, he was far stronger than when he had left Golden Turtle Island for Qianyuan Mountain.

He rose to his feet and looked beyond the abode. His gaze seemed to pierce through the restrictions, seeing the clouds of fortune above Golden Turtle Island—still heavy and solemn, yet seemingly more tenacious and vibrant than before.

The road was walked one step at a time.

Tribulations were crossed one layer at a time.